Happy Thanksgiving!

I know it's a few days early, but I wanted to make sure I wished y'all a very happy Thanksgiving. I hope you can spend the holiday with your families and enjoy it to the fullest. We left Alabama this morning, and we arrived in Americus, Georgia. Jay's parents have opened their home to the entire team this week...so we'll be spending Thanksgiving here in Georgia. I'm looking forward to making memories with the kids as they celebrate their first Thanksgiving! I will miss our annual Thanksgiving at our house with my cousins (and this year, my sister's boyfriend will be there which would have been a blast!), but this is an opportunity of a lifetime.

I'm sure we'll be playing lots of board games and "Spoons" (which we taught the kids how to play tonight---see pictures in the post below.) I made a quick Walmart run to buy Sorry, Chutes and Ladders, Trouble, and Old Maid. As well as a soccer ball (our kids, especially the boys, are champion soccer players : ) and a kickball. Tonight, the kids were asking, "Antie Ashley! Can you please come out and play hide and seek with us?" So we spent about an hour outside in the dark hiding and seeking in trees, behind garbage cans, and anywhere clever.

This past weekend was a blast. I stayed in a host family with four bouncy, energetic girls: Rose, Neha, Zurufah, and Maria. It definitely kept me on my toes! Our host family was incredibly sweet, and they outdid themselves in order for us to feel welcome. They took us to see Madagascar 2 which is hysterical. I just really enjoy the humor in the Madagascar movies, so I laughed pretty much the whole way through it. So did the girls--I had to cover Neha's mouth several times in order to stifle her laughter! :P I also made a quick run to the local used bookstore (always a treat!) and picked up some good reads including "The Lucky One"--Nicholas Sparks' new book, which I'm eagerly anticipating. 

I'm always amazed what a small world this is. Last night, the kids sang at a church in Alabama. I met a girl from Liberty who was home on break. We started talking and discovered we have some mutual friends, we're both passionate about Africa and spending time over there, etc. It was encouraging to meet a fellow LU student in Alabama of all places. 

Have a blessed holiday and enjoy it to the fullest.