Thankful!

About 7:30 this morning, I heard a few noises from the other room. I got up and this is what I saw. All 4 of my kids squooshed together on the little couch watching a cartoon. I had to snap a picture. There is nothing like the sight of little kids with PJ's and messy hair.

We will be headed "home" after church tonight to spend Thanksgiving weekend with family. I realize that this year (as always) I have a lot to be thankful for.

• Christ's sacrifice
  
• A new home
• A new ministry opportunity and Jamie loves his job
• A new church that is growing and on fire for the Lord
• Micah's salvation
• Health
• A new baby on the way in the Hughes family (no, I'm not the one pregnant this time!)
• God providing our needs
• A Godly husband
• 4 beautiful children
• Jordyn's foot is healing really well
• Denisha and Trevor are married!

This is just the short list of things that are in my mind recently or this year. I have many more things to be thankful for and feel blessed.

Fancy Nancy, Pilgrim, and Native Americans

Both of my girls have had "Fancy Nancy" parties in the past few days. They earn different fun days as rewards for good behavior, and both classes just happen to choose the same one. The girls loved it!
Imagine my surprise when I opened the Friday email newsletter and saw this picture at the very top of the page.

Last week, Hannah had a feast in her class to represent the first Thanksgiving. They made both Pilgrim and Native American costumes and got to choose which person they wanted to be at the feast. I remember doing something similar when I was about her age.

I'm getting the house clean today, because we are headed towards "home" tomorrow after church to spend the long weekend with family. We haven't been back that direction in 2 months, and that was not an enjoyable trip, because half of us were sick. Hopefully this weekend will be a better time for all.

Abbi's Award and the Icy Cold Christmas Parade

Abbi was bouncing off the walls yesterday afternoon, because of the phone call and she got the Principal's Award of Excellence, which earned her a certificate and a dog tag. They collect dog tags for different achievements and wear them on Fridays, so she can proudly wear her very special dog tag. We are very proud of her and she is proud of herself. I know my kids are smart and polite, but it is exra special for it to be recognized by others.
We went to our first Christmas parade here. It is in the evening, so it is nice to see all the lights and all, but it was so incredibly cold! I cannot believe it is this cold in November!!! The temperature was supposedly 33 degrees, but I would have sworn that it was much colder. The kids were excited and we bundled up with some extra layers.
Abbi decided that her face was cold so she decided to use her scarf for some warmth. We also just watched the movie "Penelope" so she was trying to be her.
When Micah got really cold, I put my arms around him. He would never admit, but I think he was embarrassed for his mother to be bear hugging him in public He didn't complain, because we were trying to heat each other up.
Chloe was in complete awe of the whole thing. She thought it was just fantastic and even though I know she had to be cold, she never once complained about it!
Well, we were out on the sidewalk for almost 2 hours! There was still no end in sight of the parade, and Hannah was starting to meltdown as a result of being so cold. She was crying and just wanted to go home. So, this is why we missed the last half hour or so of the parade and to be honest, no one cared, because we were all very frozen. We saw a lot of other people leaving too, and they were probably thinking what we were, "when is this stinking thing going to be over!?!?"
We are all warm and toasty in our home right now. I also know that I'd never be happy further north where winter is the longest season of the year. BLECH! Give me hot weather any ol' day, but keep me away from the cold!

A Call From the Assistant Principal

You know those moments in life where your heart sinks to your toes and you expect to hear something terrible? I had one of those moments a few minutes ago.

My phone rang and it was a number that I didn't recognize. I cautiously answered it and it was the Assistant Principal at the kids' school. So, my heart started beating a bit faster in preparation of whatever terrible news he had to pass along. He introduced himself and immediately said that I was on speaker phone, and my mind was going to very bad place as to where all this is leading. I mean, why else does the Principal call your house in the middle of the day unless it is bad?

So, then he tells me that he had Abigail with him and that her teacher had been noticing some things with her. He finally told me the reason for the call was to tell how she had been excelling wonderfully in school and is very respectful and a great addition to her class and the Highland Family. WHEW!

I'm so proud of her, and she said, "Hi Mommy" as she listened to our conversation. Maybe if I get another phone call like that in the future, I won't automatically anticipate the worst. Of course my kids are smart and wonderful...call and tell me something I don't know. Sheesh people!