Thanksgiving Eve

I promised I would do a Thanksgiving post, before Thanksgiving, and I will.  There are so many things to be grateful for. From the tiny, tiny things, to the enormous and obvious ones.  The C's have lots to be thankful for and I want to share.  In no particular order, things I am thankful for:

• My husband, S.  I cannot say enough how special he is.  He is a goof ball, and he is stubborn and certainly many people don't see the same guy I do, but too bad for them.  He puts up with me and that is no small feat.
• T.  She is such a joy to parent.  (not always, but usually)  T amazes me everyday with how bright she is.  She has an insane thirst for knowledge and a heart as big as her brain. 
• P, my gentle soul.  Right now, I am especially thankful he is feeling better after being under the weather. He has made us so proud as he has taken on Kindergarten and done so well.  I was so proud to hear his teacher say he is patient and empathetic with his classmates. 
• D, the crazy Buggy.  D provides our comic relief everyday around here.  She also provides a good number of headaches, but they are totally worth it.  She is getting to big and is certainly proving to be a very bright girl who will accomplish anything she puts her mind to.
• H, I am especially thankful that the 6th C member, HM, is home to celebrate this holiday with us.  This will be he first "big" American holiday that he will celebrate with us, and for that I am thankful. 
• I am thankful for H's amazing progress.  He has been home 4 months and I see progress everyday.  It isn't always easy and for that I am really thankful.  To see H push limits and resist us...tells me that he feels comfortable with us.  He isn't pretending to be perfect for our benefit.  (not say I wouldn't love perfection from everyone one night a week!!!)
• Definitely can't forget I am very thankful for a SPONTANEOUS hug from H the other day.  It meant so much I don't think I will stop talking about it for awhile.
• I am thankful for his birth mother who gave him the chance to be here and part of our family. 
• my friends.   I feel like I have said this before, but I have the best friends a person could ask for.  From far away, to right down the street, I have people who truly care about me and my family. 
• Along with that I am thankful for the fabulous friends that are growing their families.  Friends that are getting married in the next 12 months (& have asked me to be part :)) and those welcoming new babies.  I love to watch these great families grow.
• a job that is crazy, overwhelming and even sometimes seems impossible, yet fulfilling, and amazing and a blessing.
• my coworkers that go with that crazy job.  They make it easier, fun and such a true adventure. 
• Blessed to live in my neighborhood.  We had no idea when we settled (literally) on this house that we landed ourselves in the BEST neighborhood on EARTH.  Amazing people that we have so much fun with and can borrow an egg from while still in our PJs.  (I know, totally jealous).
• My family, the ones that don't live under the same roof as I. (mom, is that proper?  me or I, can't ever remember).  I don't get to see my family that much, but I am grateful for each of them.  Some via blood relation, some got stuck with me through marriage. 
• and not to get to global, but I am thankful to be American, to have the power to have an opinion (I have lots) and voice it.  I appreciate that not everyone shares my opinions, but I am thankful we are afforded that voice. 
• Long weekends and the holidays.  I am glad to have a little down time and to move into the Christmas season.  I cannot believe how quickly this year has gone.

I did ask my kids what they were thankful for, to which they all replied "Mommy & Daddy."  Of course they are!!!  That itself is a reason to be thankful.  My children are very thoughtful and kind and make me so proud.  And well, the LOVE me....YAY.

Halloween and other events

Of course I mean to get to this much sooner than actually happens.  I have good intention of writing a nice post about all the things I am thankful for.  Many of my friends on FB have been posting their daily "thankfulness" and I decided that I would do just that, but not every day.  So there I have set myself up for at least one more post in November.

Now for a little recap of our comings and goings recently.  Of course HM got to celebrate his first Halloween.  I can't say it was his new favorite holiday but he didn't seem to loath it either.  HM was a tiger, and quite an adorable one at that.  S. Korea does not celebrate Halloween, so I wanted to be sure to give him a little space to figure out all these crazy kids in ridiculous costumes.  As for the rest of the clan, T was "Elvira", P was Captain America and D was a butterfly.  I must say I thought they were quite the adorable group of misfits.  We did our dutiful trick or treating with almost all of the children on our street, which further proves my belief that I live on the best street in the world.  More about that in the next post!!!

We also had a kid Halloween party.  This is something I have done several times over the last 8 Halloweens that I have been a parent.  I always think it sounds like an easy task, then find my self exhausted when it is over.  But I won't stop.  I love to see the joy on my kids faces as they play games with their friends and all the costumed children running around. 

Cheerleading ended and my squad rocked their routine for the exhibition!  I had had my doubts, but somehow the pressure of hundreds and hundreds people helped them pull it off.  T really enjoyed cheerleading, and that both pained me and brought me such joy.  She really is quite capable of learning a routine and hold a rhythm.  I want her to pursue whatever she loves, and right now it appears to be cheerleading. 

In the HM department, language seems to be moving along.  He is babbling a lot, which seems like the right direction.  He has some new words and certainly seems interested in learning more.  He is still receiving speech twice a month and I am seeing improvements.  I am still surprised by how much he comprehends and at the same time, how much he can ignore that which he understands when he wants to.  He definitely appreciates the duties of a 2 year old.  We are still working on using "gentle hands" as daycare calls it.

This weekend I was dusting and cleaning and trying to take advantage of the beautiful weather.  HM got 2 photo albums from his foster family when we picked him up.  I brought them down from the shelf and he began to look through them.  He saw several pictures of his foster mom and immediately said "Mom Mommy" (what he calls me).  I was glad to see how quickly he recognized her and remembered who she was in his life.  He regularly sees her picture on our fridge but doesn't seem to pay that much attention. 

The other thing I found interesting with HM was his language shift.  We try to use some Korean words yet we do speak English mostly (obviously).  I said "An Nyoung" (hi) to him and he replied "HI!"  Part of me felt sad that he doesn't say An Nyoung but knows it is HI.  It certainly reminds me of the loss of culture that inherently happens with adoption.  At the same time, I love that he can make the connection and know that they mean the same thing.

WOW, lots of babbling.  This year is flying by and I cannot believe Thanksgiving is merely weeks away.  Ahh, soon we will bide a farewell to 2012 and hello to 2013.  Crazy, time moves so fast!

 ok some pictures....the best part!