giving Thanks

Still no baby for my little sister (though I've been checking my phone every 6 minutes!) and spent most of today getting ready for tomorrow, with the sweet help of some very helpful girls.  Once again, I'm laying down my inner Martha (Stewart, that is) and making decorating a cherished family affair (though I do admit some of Nora's work, mostly done in popsicle, I am redoing.)

This year I went through all the old group photos and printed them out...looking at our team grow and change, looking at our kiddos shoot up from one photo to another, remembering who was here and who came and went...it's all such a flash, when 10 years are hanging on my wall in a row.  

I'm thankful this Haiti Thanksgiving for His faithfulness and Unchanging-ness through it all.  The family we began with is almost entirely different than the family we have here around us now, almost everyone has come and gone, next year will look quite different, still, but He just has been new and unchanging and faithful Ever. Single. Morning, and I'm so thankful for that.  

Here's a few throwbacks...

Happy Thanksgiving! (Even if for you, it isn't :)

The kids officially got too big for the front row last year!  Trying to figure out how to switch that up tomorrow in our utterly flooded yard...

This was the roughest...Cholera Thanksgiving, deep in the epidemic and heavy-hearted, with the nurses on our team running home from the cholera clinic for 15 minutes of turkey and back again.

The only picture I have of people in 2011 is of everyone eating :)

This year was in the old Seminary cafeteria with lots of visitors, and it was Carol and my's birthday that day!

This was previously our biggest year at 36...we'll see how 39 works tomorrow!

Matt was in the States this Thanksgiving, and I remember being very thankful for Dave S and Marilyn helping me with Sofie Turkey.  Yes, those are pajamas.  Yes, I still make them wear fall colors for Thanksgiving, even if it's pajamas.

and yes, I DO wear that same outfit every year on Thanksgiving.  (Did I mention I struggle with change?)  Look at how little the kiddos!

We always stick the teenagers in a very loud corner to themselves :)

I could NOT figure out who the TINY baby was in the middle of this picture until Matt asked, "Where's Nora?" AHHHG.  Was she ever that small? 

This was our very first Thanksgiving in Haiti, 2007...before the team started doing Thanksgivings together. Matt's parents came for the very first time to celebrate with us, and I remembering struggling to make something that resembled Thanksgiving with Haitian ingredients...and with basically NO idea how to cook!  Goodness.  Babies.

Thankful, Thankful.