Good day, friends! It is 11:30 on Friday. The kids have no school, so we got to sleep in and stay in our jammies! Zach and his friend have been outside in the rain, playing, and just came in again. Will is watching 101 Dalmatians and yammering constantly about the "y" he actually found this morning. That would be his pacifier. Chris had to go in to work after all--not sure it will be a whole day, though. I am doubting whether I'll make it in tonight with this cough.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day yesterday. The morning got a little tense, cuz we were scurrying around trying to get breakfasted, dressed, make a pumpkin pie and a spinach dip and get over to the fam's by 1:00. This was complicated by the fact that Will put both hands on the wood stove and burned them. His scream was heart rending and he was fussy for quite awhile. His hands aren't blistered though, and he seemed to forget them once we got to Grandma's.

Zach and Jessie enjoyed their sleepover. Zach got to get on the roof (his favorite thing in the whole world, he told Grandma) to help put up lights. He also caught a salamander and a frog! He did let them go, later. Jessie enjoyed having a sympathetic Grandma to give her extra attention and a kindly ear for all her chattering. :) Zoe enjoyed getting rid of her siblings for a little while, too. She rather gloated in it! My parents had Zach and Jessie do Thankful lists, and they are very good lists!

We actually got over there by 2:30 and nibbled on some good snacks until dinner was ready. It was a wonderful feast my mom put on, as always. The table looked lovely, and we tried to exercise restraint, but ended up very full anyway. There were delicious pies and coffee, and then we cracked open our traditional 1,000 piece Charles Wysocki pumpkin scene puzzle. And we got it all done!

William watched his new Thomas the Train DVD Kristi got him for his birthday. Chris and Zach played some lively ping pong in the garage for quite a long time. I really enjoyed being able to relax, be myself, and indulge in our strange family funniness that got us really cackling our heads off at times. We also played Trivial Pursuit, and my Mom won! The kids actually took part, and that was gratifying to watch. They had to learn how to answer fast! It was funny, because they'd come up with locally-inspired answers like "Columbia River!!!" for an answer to "What's the longest river in Europe?"

I am thankful for a God who answers prayers; a committed Christian husband; godly, praying parents; healthy, wonderful children; our cozy house; food, clothes, electricity, heat, clean hot water, working vehicles, washing machines, driers, dishwashers, coffee, and friends to keep in touch with via blogging!! :)