Thanksgiving~ First for Jing

Our family had one of the best Thanksgivings ever~

so wonderful to have all the girls home...

especially JingJing.

We enjoyed a weekend full of family, friends, and food!!!

Psalms 106:1 NIV

Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;

His love endures forever.

For the month of November,

I posted something I was thankful for each day.

Thought I would repost them

as a praise to the ONE Who blesses me everyday!!!

Day 1 of Thanksgiving~ I am thankful for my 5 beautiful daughters who amaze and bless me every single day!!! Thank you Jesus!!!

Day 2 of Thanksgiving~ I am thankful for my sweet husband who drives to Gwinnett each day to work... there no one like him and I am so blessed!!!

Day 3 of Thanksgiving~ it's been a good day!!! House is clean, laundry done, groceries bought, girls happy, and breakfast for dinner. So thankful!!!!!

Day 4 of Thanksgiving~ So thankful to be home each day for my family- homeschooling the littles and being here when the bigs get home from school. Available to talk to Sav whenever she calls. Priceless.

Day 5 of Thanksgiving~ So thankful for HEAT and coffee! We froze to death at the football game but oh so happy to go celebrate senior night with Amelia!!!

Day 6 of Thanksgiving~ A beautiful morning with all our chicks. Couldn't ask for anything more wonderful!!!

Day 7 of Thanksgiving~ Love this time of year and my first tree is UP!!! All the girls plus Josh helped decorate Jing's first Christmas tree. ;)

Day 8 of Thanksgiving~ Just got second opinions for the girls' dental work and got a much better prognosis. PTL!!!

Day 9 of Thanksgiving~ my friend Susan has her forever daughter Holland in China. God has blessed them beyond measure!!! To Him be the glory!!!!! Blog post later. ;)

Day 10 of Thanksgiving~ So thankful for this time of year and my sweet friend Cyrise who came over today and helped me decorate my house for Christmas. What a sweet blessing!!!

Day 11 of Thanksgiving~ Thankful for all the veterans and those currently serving today~ especially Oyran Lopes!!! So thankful for his dedication to our country!!!

Day 12 of Thanksgiving~ Thankful I am able to stay home with the girls and take them to the park on such a beautiful day as today!!!

Day 13 of Thanksgiving~ thankful a sweet friend trusted me to shoot their Christmas pictures today. So Fun!!!

Day 14 of Thanksgiving~ thankful for Sundays and time with Scott and the girls. ;) and

thankful I live so close to my mom and dad. It is so sweet that they get to be a part of the girls' lives. ;)

Day 15 of Thanksgiving~ my brother and sister are two of my best friends and I love them beyond measure!!! The other best part of that? They both gave me another sister and brother. Love Sissy, Jason, Chris, and Amy!!!

Day 16 of Thanksgiving~ Thankful for Dr. Morgan and the wonderful medicine that will make my two littles feel better. :) Jing talked about her all day and the last thing she said before she fell asleep was... I like Dr. Morgan. :) That is huge!!!

Day 17 of Thanksgiving~ Court was in session today for us as we completed SJ's re-adoption. She is officially SJ JJ Ankerich. :)~ US birth certificate on the way.

Day 18 of Thanksgiving~ So thankful that Two months ago yesterday Jing had heart surgery. We are on the way to cardio for our monthly appt.SJ got a raving report @ cardiologist! I truly believe love is mending her heart day by day!:)

Day 19 of Thanksgiving~ Thankful my meds finally kicked in and got rid of the terrible migraine I came home with last night. I always seem to get one after we leave the cardiologist.

Day 20 of Thanksgiving~ I am thankful that my girls have each other to share their lives with... the happy and the sad. Sister love is so sweet~ I should know... I have the sweetest sister in the world!!!

Day 21 of Thanksgiving~ I am thankful my family enjoys coming to eat lunch with us on Sundays~ sweet memories our children will have forever!!!

Day 22 of Thanksgiving~ I am thankful to be taking A&R for their bridesmaids dresses... in preparation for one of the happiest days of our lives. Excited for Sav's wedding in May. :)

Day 23 of Thanksgiving~ I am thankful all the chicks are in the nest and my Christmas cards came today!!! Whoo hoo!!!

Day 24 of Thanksgiving~ Thankful we were able to take the girls to see Santa! :)

Day 25 of Thanksgiving~ Thankful for Jingle Bell and a house full of love!!!

Amazing the big and little things we have to be thankful for...

Now I need to do this everyday

until next Thanksgiving!!! :)

The Best Thanksgiving!

We had one of the best Thanksgivings ever. Scott and the girls were all home. We did some shopping, lots of cooking and eating, movies (theater & rentals), reading, football, and just hanging out by the fire. On Wednesday, we met Scott in Atlanta for dinner and a visit with Santa. EK was still a little Santa shy but the girls did a great job encouraging her to share the list. So excited about the picture... don't you know???



Thanksgiving was a day spent eating and hanging out with family.



So much to be thankful for... when I stop to think about them all it just boils down to one thing... LOVE! Christ loves me and it is through Him I am surrounded by the love of family and friends. I am so thankful for each of you!!!



Blessings,

Thanksgiving with my Family

My sister Marcia and family drove in on Saturday to be home for a holiday weekend. Jason and Amy are flying to Michigan for Thanksgiving on Wednesday so it was the perfect weekend for us to all celebrate our Thanksgiving together. My grandfather was able to be there as well. We were only missing sweet Savannah. The weather was very yucky so encouraged her to stay put because we didn't want her driving alone.

After a great time at church, we all enjoyed a delicious meal of turkey, DRESSING!!!, and all the fixings- topped off with strawberry cake and German chocolate pie!!!



It was so wonderful to be together- lots of smiles!!!



A&R were away for the weekend on a retreat with their youth group- thus the sleepy faces. They actually came home after lunch, fell asleep about 2:30 and slept until 8 this morning. Crazy!



Looking forward to Christmas Eve when we will all be together once again!!!

Blessings,

A Sweet Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. I was so thankful for...

Scott being home with us the whole time. He got so much done around the house. It was so wonderful to enjoy our house together during this special holiday with all the girls home!!!

Savannah being home spending time with us. She and the girls went to the movies and did a little shopping. EllaKate LOVED having another 'mom' here to give her undivided attention.

Amelia and Rosemary home from school- time to sleep in every morning and just have time to relax. One night they along with Becca slept out in the playhouse- YES... it was so COLD!!! They layed out on the trampoline for a while and saw a shooting star :). A memory to never be forgotten!

EllaKate learning what it meant to be thankful. She is thankful for all her ponies :)... every morning when she wakes up- 7:15 or so... she yells, "Is it morning now?" I always go right in to get her and this morning, she reached up and said, "Mama, I love you SO much!" It was the sweetest thing!!! I am thankful for my baby because I love her too!!!

My family!!! Being close to them is so wonderful and having Marcia and her family home was icing on the cake! Jessie came to memommy's and spent the afternoon too! It was great to be a happy family again and thankful to all be together!!!

Of course Max Thomas Martin!!!

One of the things everyone wants to do everytime we are together at mama and daddy's is build a bonfire. Samuel loves it the most. Here they are enjoying a good time!!!

We are soooooooooooo thankful for our fireplace once again.... WE HAVE NO HEAT AGAIN!!!

We have an abundance to be thankful for... many stories within this one image of thankfulness. I pray everyone has the best Thanksgiving ever!!! We sure plan to!!!

Chicks in the Nest

Thanksgiving has officially begun at our house because ALL the chicks are in the nest- even the Rooster is taking the rest of the week off!!! I am so thankful to have everyone home, my family so close by, my sister is coming to town tomorrow, and lots of precious friends too!!! I pray each and every one is happy and well this Thanksgiving season!!! Bless you all!!!

Thanksgiving

Thankfulness: I am so thankful to be home this holiday season. There are times in your life when you think God is leading you to do something and you reason with yourself - am I hearing God correctly? Am I following His Will? Are we really supposed to move to Hartwell? Well, we heard God telling us to move to Hartwell, so we put the house on the market, packed, and moved. No, our house has not sold, but we know for sure we are where we are called to be. The girls are so happy here in school and have made so many friends - for that we are so thankful! Savannah loves coming home from college to a small town where all her family is waiting. Scott really enjoys his commute into Atanta with Jeff, and Tuesdays here on the farm- for that we are very thankful! EllaKate and I LOVE being home each day so we can go up and see mama and daddy. Mama and I have been walking together- for that I am so thankful! I am so thankful that I am here to welcome my sister and brother home each time they come home. I love that the girls can spend so much time on the farm- riding the 4 wheeler and jumping haybales. This is a picture of them hanging out today while we up getting ready for our Thanksgiving meal tomorrow.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with my side of the family on Saturday up on the farm. My mom and dad had a house full. Marcia and her family, the Lopes family, Jessica, us, and my grandfather were all there. We enjoyed the best food in the world and time together as a family. The kids had a ball jumping the haybales again and riding 4 wheelers. I am truly thankful for precious family and friends!!!

Thanksgiving~ EK's First

Thankful for....

T= The one and only God
H= Husband that is so precious to me!
A= Answered prayers and blessings
N= Nights @ home with our family
K= My Kitchen- the heart of our home!
F= Four beautiful daughters!!!
U= Unforgetable memories from China
L= Loving family and friends

As the blog says... Blessings Beyond Belief!!!