Happy Thanksgiving

It really was. It was a simple day that started out like a Sunday. We had dinner and then hung out with the in-laws and my mom until about 8, then home. We just enjoyed each other's company, looked at pictures, helped with some attic stuff and played cards and can't forget the NAP!

We have so much to be thankful for. Kids, dogs, spouses, home, Grace, Love, car, work, food, friends, family, Bible, Jesus, ice cream, toys, cash, pond, school, church, Christmas, computers, movies, telephones, books---in no particular order, and just to name a few.

When the kids complain about things and people, we usually try to remind them of something they are grateful for. For example: if they are dying for a new set of Lego's and are fussing about the big fat NO they just got, then we try to recall how many Lego's we actually have and how fun it was to have friends over and play with them, and that it would be even more work to pick them all up if we had more. So it switches the attention from negative to positive. We actually try to use that approach in a lot of our discipline, sometimes it backfires and the kiddos just need a consequence for their actions, we have plenty of those too.

I used to be a Black Friday shopper before I knew what it was. I thought Black Friday was something WWII related--like Pearl Harbor Day or something. Now I get it. I love a bargain as much as anyone, but I think maybe I just can't deal with crowds and the frenzy. We all change I suppose. Marilyn and I used to meet early at like 5ish, then hit Toysrus and Walmart, breakfast and review, then back out there if and where necessary. I just can't do it anymore. Not even for that coveted gift item at 1/3 of the retail price.

We had a conference call with Bethany (agency) last week. It was quite disheartning to learn that we will be waiting a while yet because, unbeknownst to me, they don't just consider where families are in line, but how long they have been logged in. If a family has logged in to the regular China program longer, even though they switch recently to the Special Needs China program, they will probably be considered before us. My feelings are all over the place about that, but Bethany assured us that they are most concerned with whom the child would be best suited and how quickly they could come home. It takes those of us who are not reviewed yet about 1 or 2 months longer to travel. I'm sure they know what they're doing, and I don't have to agree with everything, do I? It's not unreasonable for me to believe they should go by when you joined the program. We made this decision to adopt this way based on a ballpark estimate of a wait in a program that I thought was run quite differently than it is. I still think this is where we are supposed to be, so maybe back of the line is where we are supposed to be too. Depressing, I tell you!

So what's the upside? God has a certain little one in mind for us and in His time, we will be together. Maybe we should think about being open to a boy as well as a girl? What do you think? My approach is let's be open to as much as possible to be open to as much blessing as possible.

Thanks for listening!