Thanksgiving 2012

With our trip to Russia the first week in November, then Jeremy being in Russia for the 2nd week (not knowing if Hazel would be coming home with him or not) while I held down the fort here and recuperated from my jet lag, then Thanksgiving….November was just a big blur. I did manage to take a few pictures, though. It’s weird how life just marches on, even when you’re all wrapped up in challenges and your brain is all foggy. I’m just glad we made it through that month. Come to think of it, I’ll be saying the same thing about December!

One fun little event that I managed to go check out at the school was Anya and Bennett’s 1st Grade Thanksgiving Feast. The kids each recited part of a poem about the Pilgrims, then they had a feast, put on by some moms. I’m so thankful that other moms aren’t in survival mode like me, and can do things like this to make school more fun for our kids.

 

We got to host the whole Fillmore Family for thanksgiving this year. Everyone was there except Danielle and Cody and Jordan, who’s on a mission in Chile. So there were 26 of us, I believe. We loved hosting the feast. It was our first time!

I found some cute Thanksgiving printables on Pinterest that made things more festive.

This banner was so easy to just print, cut out, and hang with clothespins.

I also printed out napkin rings and place cards from this website. They turned out cute. To dress them up a bit, I hot-glued a silk leaf onto each one.

Here’s the little kid table.

Here’s how we made the little cornucopia favors.

The dining room table.

I had a hard time coming up with an easy, inexpensive centerpiece. The day before Thanksgiving, my friend, DeEtte and I were out walking and she told me to just go get some fresh flowers and divide them up into Mason jars. What a genius she is!

I LOVE fresh flowers. And we enjoyed these for a couple of weeks!

 

For the big kitchen table, I purchased a few yards of burlap, hemmed the edges, then ran it right down the middle of the table. We liked the natural flare it added.

I so wish I had remembered to take pictures of the PEOPLE around the tables! Hello, Heather.

I did manage to get a few of our visiting afterward, though.

 

Time for pie!

All of the adults sat in the living room after our meal and talked. We went around the room and had everyone talk about one thing they were thankful for this year. The one trick is we couldn’t say “family” because that’s a given.

The problem was, it was so hard to say just one thing. I mean, we have been blessed this year in so many ways. The year began with our commitment to adopt another little girl from Russia. It was so scary jumping into this again. But we had a very clear answer that everything would be taken care of. Financially, mentally, spiritually…everything.  We never imagined how the blessings would be poured out upon us, though. I feel so indebted to our Father in Heaven. We’ll finish this $35,000 adoption with no debt. And the blessings aren’t just financial. Our hearts have been prepared for the change that Hazel will bring. After 4 months of paperwork, waiting, a trip to Russia, more paperwork, five more months of waiting, another trip to Russia, and another month of waiting, we feel like we are ready for little Miss Hazel to join our family. I didn’t feel quite ready a few months ago. But now I do. Both of our adoptions have shown me just how perfectly Heavenly Father knows us. His timing has been perfect. Hard while we went through it, but in the end, I can see why things have happened the way they have. This will be a Christmas we will remember the rest of our lives.