For the last 5 years for Thanksgiving I would do this craft in the my class. We would read a story about what Thanksgiving meant, make a turkey craft, maybe some vegetable soup, and then a "I am thankful necklace". The kids would have to make a list of things that they would be thankful for and put it on a paper feather and tie it along a string to make a necklace. It was always amusing to see kids put down "my Nintendo DS, my Xbox, my dolls" along with "mom, dad, sister, brother etc". I always had to steer the kids away from the materialistic things they were thankful for and really look at what was important in their lives and most importantly...why they were important. This weekend was all about family and friends.
We drove up Friday night and had our usual dinner st East Side's in Kingston. Olivia went down for her bedtime in the car which was great for us because there was still 2 hours till we hit Brampton. Although everyone was up waiting for her arrival, she didn't get to see anyone when we got there because we just we straight upstairs to the bedroom to put her down.
Olivia woke up at 7:30 with Papa, because Mama thought there was no room for her in the bed so she slept with Tita Melissa on the futon in the other room. She busily got up and went straight to our room and woke us up. Then after fighting the exhaustion, I took her to see Lola and Lolo in their room. She wasn't quite sure where she was and there was this lady who was coming at her in the dark. hahahhaah. When she went downstairs she quickly remembered Lola's house and went straight to the goldfish in the den. It was amazing that she remembered! After breakfast we got changed and asked the family to watch Olivia while Maman and Papa went on a lunch date. YAY!
Papa had big plans for lunch. He wanted to go downtown...but I swayed him to just stay in the Mississauga area. So we went to SPRINGROLLS and had the best lunch ever. We came home and Olivia and Papa went down for a nap. After the nap, we went to visit Zoey and Xan. Her 2 cousins that love her lots. Martin and Suny were able to catch up and we had a lovely dinner.
The next day, we planned an outing with Bella and Jake. The plans were for the kids to go apple picking. But as it turned out, the apples were all gone at the orchard and we were left with pumpkin picking. Olivia had a blast in the pumpkin patch, while Bella and Jake were totally amused by the farm animals. We tried for some photo ops but the kids were so busy playing with their small pumpkins that we couldn't get them together to sit. hahahhaha. After the pumpkin patch, we went for lunch and then the parents wanted a little treat so we brought them to Chapters to play for a bit so we could have a coffee. hahahahha. It was a beautiful day and I loved spending it with my best friend and her kids. Needless to say, Olivia went down for a great nap in the afternoon.
We had a nice dinner Sunday night with our family with all the usual food - turkey, ham, potatoes, corn, pancit, and rice. It was our tradition and my parents slaved away all day to prepare this wonderful meal. Here I am at 11pm at night, full and sleepy. I wanted to take this moment and reflect on things I am thankful for and why.
My husband - my soulmate - who knows everything about me and still loves me for it. He's my very best friend in the world whom I love so much to put into words. My parents - who are the rock that raised me to who I am now. Every success I've had in my life I owe to their strength, love, and support. My sister - my confidant, my best friend - who has been through all my ups and downs - always supportive, always loving and understanding. My "in-law" family - who are such wonderful people I can't believe how lucky I am to have them in my life. Their kindness, passion, support, and love shows how strong the family is. My daughter - my little miracle - my joy and happiness. To all the family members, friends, and people who have touched our lives - thank you.
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