Smith Soup

How eternally grateful I am that God promises that His mercies are NEW every morning! Ok so Thanksgiving Day was not the wonderful memory I wanted it to be, or envisioned that it would be, and even if daughter Hannah says "Mamma, only ONE PART of the day was not-so-good, the REST was WONDERFUL" my hormonally influenced state of being is sort of stuck on that not-so-good part. My spirit KNOWS better, and I am praying over those hormonally tainted memories!
My 6 home schooled children had worked really hard on putting their thoughts together about being thankful; they each wrote down 5 things for 5 days in a row to share with us at dinner. UN -fortunately, one of those ugly things that happen too often when God's children are having a good time and the enemy decides to stir up "something" ... happened and the 6 kids x 25 THANKFUL THINGS got left in the dust. I am hoping we will share them tonight. We DO have so much to be thankful for and I do not want us to waste the time and effort the children put into articulating their thoughts or ever cause them to think that expressing thankfulness is a waste of any time or effort!
The meal was fantastic, it was. Everyone helped so much in getting it all ready. Wednesday we tore up 10 loaves of bread for bread stuffing, chopped 7 pounds of onions and 3 bunches of celery for corn bread and bread stuffing, the boys peeled 10# of potatoes and cut them up for me, the younger girls helped me make the pies, taking turns cracking eggs into the bowl, adding the sugars, Karo syrup, pumpkin and all that goes into a Pecan pie and a Pumpkin pie. I didn't get my cranberries cooked, or Pecan Pie cake baked until after we got home for the Oklahoma city Thunder basketball game so Wednesday night was a really late one, but that left only turkey and potatoes for Thursday. Yes a long day to be sure, but a really good full day ( well except for that losing my phone at the basketball game anyhow. *funny story, as I am writing this post, the phone rang and a lady told me she was trying to get back with Greg who had called her from this # ,she'd been calling it over and over but it was going to a voice mail. AH HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My phone has/had DID a new "owner". It didn't get left under my seat. I explained to her how Greg came to be calling her from that number and asked her if she could please ask Greg or whomever actually had my old phone if they could all me and we could make arrangements for me to get the phone from them? I really would like all my photos and old phone numbers. She was very nice and very apologetic over my losing the phone and a bit embarrassed at how she had the number. I just want my old data. I lost the phone legitimately I am sure, I don't think anyone stole it...just an inconvenience to me and he has a very dead batteries, no longer active phone anyhow, if he didn't throw it away.)
BUT I digress.............
I got to watch the May's Thanksgiving parade, Thanksgiving morning: MY personal tradition. This year was super special because Hannah and Grand baby Charlie came over to watch with me. Charlie LOVES the floats and balloons. We had a very special time making a new three generation tradition together! I have loved the parades sine I was a tiny girl and went to the Downtown Detroit Hudson's Thanksgiving parades with my aunt and uncle and cousins. Most of our children do not share my love of the parades sadly. I'll take what I an get !
As it turned out we had not "extra" guests and for that I'm thankful , but only because the folks I invited didn't think they were going to be able to be with family and things turned out for them that they could. Having three married children home along with their spouses was special, Gideon was here, but only one grand child on this occasion, with my 83 year old mom, and the at-home Smiths we filled up two big tables nonetheless.
With my boys growing up as big and hearty as they are, it would be natural for the quantities of food to disappear more quickly but I have NEVER seen Pecan pie cake disappear as totally and rapidly as I did this year!!!!!!!!!! I gave a portion to son-in-law Jon, to take home as he's hooked now too, but still........................ a whole pecan pie went along with it in its disappearing act 
 and only  a bit of pumpkin pie was left as a dessert souvenir !
There are a few photos from the day. My most treasured photos of the day are of Daniel in his THANKFUL FOR MOMMY and DADDY outfit. I bought it in summer of 2009 when Hannah was pregnant with her Charlie; we bought matching outfits for our boys, planning to dress our babies alike last Thanksgiving. Charlie , it turned out was too big for his last year, but Daniel's is even a tad too big this year. Daniel had a really good day and there were lots of SMILES from him when I was shooting pictures !

A year ago we rally had no idea if  Daniel, Junior or Diamoh would be home , soon or ever. Right now we wait for any hope of homecoming for Junior and Diamoh and that will be purely God's timing. We believe that they WILL be home one day, and we praise Him for how He is caring for them until that day. It is incredible that Daniel is home and such a testimony to God's hand upon a whole lot of us. As I watch Daniel smile or spasm, search the air for my voice, or randomly switch his tongue "like a lizard" Jael says, I am over whelmed with joy that he is HERE, with us, able to be loved round the clock , played with, medial are obtained when ever he needs it, to lay cozily in his wagon and pulled from room to room so he is never out of sight, tucked snugly into his bed, or when I am rocking him and stroking his hair. This baby should not be alive to be approaching his 3rd birthday at all, and yet he IS and he is an orphan NO LONGER. He has his official certificate of citizenship as of this week. He is 100% adopted, and except for the official name change which is in the works right now, he is as Daniel Elijah Smith as he could possibly be. We are able to speak to Junior and Diamoh often, to make sure they are cared for and their immediate needs met UNTIL we are able to bring them home. We hear from our other far away children : Kari  and family in Texas, Joshua in Afghanistan (Diana, Emily and Ethan in Maryland)  and Caleb and family in Kentucky at Fort Campbell. I wish, I dream we could all be together for a holiday, or ANY day, and I hope that one day this dream will come true. For now, I am grateful for electronic media which pull us together regardless of global geography!

When my internet connection speeds up and I an upload photos I will. Right now the speed is too slow and everything freezes