Thankful Mom of Five, Adoptive Mom of Two Ukrainian Beauties and Bereaved Mom

         Today I am thankful that I wrote this blog.   I am thankful that I learned many things from writing this blog.  I have learned to appreciate the small moments of love, friendship, family and fun even more than before. Some tiny moments mean more than a huge celebration in a lifetime!  I also learned to look for the things that I am thankful for in my life. I am thankful for my friends and my family, especially my loyal family and friend blog readers!!

         Today I am thankful that we are back home!! Be it ever so humble there is NO PLACE like home!!! Traveling can be exhausting! I loved being away but I love coming home even more!! I always like to see new things and learn things I never knew before.  Olivia always criticizes me for talking to strangers, for some reason people seem to chat me up wherever I am, in stores, on planes, in hotels, at tourist attractions, etc.  I always learn new things from total strangers.  Tomorrow we take our Christmas tree down and clean up everything Christmas!  I thought I put out less this year but Dan added new houses and people to the Christmas village.  I am trying to downsize what we have, not increase it!! I also have to unpack the clothes from our trip.          The GOOD NEWS is that my sciatica is better.  I am so thankful for that!!!! It is absolutely not as painful.  It is still here, but it is less, maybe about 50% less!!!          Today my cats are thankful to my friend Debbie L. 

          Today I am thankful that we are having a good time on our vacation in Texas!! We didn't have any set plans and just decided to do things as we had time.  Dan really wanted to visit NASA so we did that and we all enjoyed the visit.  Time just keeps moving forward in life and it is the simple things and shared moments that mean the most.  This was the MOST crowded place we went to on our trip. After Nasa we decided to head to Galveston.  We found a great place to tour.  It was called the Bishop's Palace. It was a beautiful historical house that was once owned by a very rich couple, Josephine and Walter Gresham, and later owned by the Catholic archdiocese of Galveston and became the Bishop's home.  The woodwork inside was magnificent and breathtaking!  Olivia and Olya really enjoyed touring the home.

          Today I am thankful that we went on a vacation to Texas for the Winter break!  We wanted to go somewhere new and just have a relaxing and fun time together!  We went to see the George Bush Memorial and Presidential Library. The museum part was closed due to the government shut down but it was very humbling to visit the grave of George, his wife Barbara, and their daughter Robin Bush. Robin died at age 4 from leukemia.  Robin's legal name was Pauline.  There was a cop on duty, I guess to prevent vandalism or grave robbing.  The place was mobbed!  I was so surprised because the museum part was closed.  We could see his desk and his presidential limo inside the gate of the museum.  I am wondering who funds the presidential libraries and how they choose a place to erect the presidential libraries.  Bush's Presidential Library is on the grounds Texas A & M University. I know he attended there.  The girls googled some of the other presidential libraries.  Clinton&

         Today I am thankful that we are leaving for vacation for a few days. Olivia and Olya will be out on their own in a few years so this will probably be one of our last vacations with the 4 of us!

Today I am thankful that we went to my sister's house for dinner on Christmas Day. My niece Erica brought the game "Telestrations."  It can be played with up to 12 people.  It is sort of like Whisper Down the Lane, except it's done with illustrations instead of whispering!! It was so much fun!  We all kept cracking up! Those are the important moments and the important memories!! I'll be away for a few days so I may have to finish the blog when I get back home!(only 5 days left))

         The Savior is born! I am thankful for his birth.  Because of Him, I can go to Heaven.           Dan, Olivia, Olya and I went to church services at 5 pm last night.  We put all of the food on low in my slow cooker set.  This is the first year I used disposable plates and silverware and I LOVED IT!!! I used mt good Christmas glasses for drinks and they looked so festive!  i even had half a glass of wine. Dan and I are usually up until 1 a m doing dishes.  This year, clean-up took about an hour or so.  My sister and her family came for dinner and my niece and her two friends also came.  It was a great night for all of us!!  The birth of Christ was not the ordinary birth of an ordinary man. It was the birth of the most unique Person in history. The birth of Jesus Christ was the incarnation of God Himself. In other words, the very God became a man. The significance of this is profound and will take all eternity for us to appreciate. The conception and birth of Jesus Christ was the

     Today I am thankful that I had dinner last night with my three long time besties! It was our first annual Christmas dinner together! It was Jackie's idea and it was a great plan!! There are certain people that one can be around and be totally at ease and have a night of laughter and for me it is Jackie, Carol, and Nancy!!  Carol also has a walker so when we were leaving the restaurant, I felt like it was the march of the walkers instead of the march of the toy soldiers!!  Last night was a total blast!  It is just feel good time with friends. Carol and Jackie, knowing that I am a candle lover,  gave me a beautiful scented green candle,  and Nancy gave me a picture framed with the four of us in it. Olivia opened the candle immediately and put it on the dining room table.  Nancy's framed photo is in the family room.   These are the best gifts, the ones from the heart. The best times spent in life are with people you feel loved by and who you love!          Renee is at A

I am thankful that we all had breakfast together and chatted.  I made French Toast and bacon, and had fruit and donuts and Danish.  I  normally don't really eat in the morning because once I start eating I keep eating!! Kat went for a run after breakfast and all she ate was fruit?  SHe LOVES to run, I LOVE to sit!  Today Dan, Joe, Kat, Olivia, Olya, Frankie, Gabby, and Kaylee went on the train for an excursion into the city!  They went to the new WAWA in town.  Dan and Gabby both love trains.  Poor Gabby has a broken ankle, a kid fell onto her ankle at school. she gets around really well on her crutches.   When they got back, we all opened gifts. The girls really loved their gifts, Dan got Gabby some type of circuit kit and she liked working on it.  I got Kaylee a few crafts and a Star Wars hardback book.  I am glad that she was reading the book and seemed to enjoy it a lot!         Santa even visited our neighborhood last night on his sleigh! We could hear the fire engin

          Today I am thankful for the angels that my friend Debbie L sent me  a few years ago.  She sent me three of them, they are battery operated and light up.  They start out white, then pink, then blue, then red, then green.  They look so cute on my tree!  I didn't get batteries for them last year so I am thrilled that Dan put new batteries in them this year. I love watching them change colors on the tree. It is the simple things in life that bring the most joy.          Joe and Kat and their girls are here for the weekend.  They just went on a train ride into the city to see the world's biggest WAWA! I couldn't really go because of my walker and all of the steps. Joe has a TESLA and Olivia, Olya, and Frankie were excited to get a ride in it to the train station. When they get back, we'll open gifts!!    I am thankful that everyone seems to be having a good time! I made breakfast and Gabby and Kaylee helped me, which was so nice! Gabby likes to help and came rig