I love the Thanksgiving & Christmas holidays. Not only the present times, but those times in the past, bringing back so many memories. And feeling how fortunate that I am surrounded by a loving family & some great friends, even those here on Active Rain.
I can remember coming home for Thanksgiving when I was in the Military.... Another time while staying at college one year and cooking my first Thanksgiving dinner for my best friend's roommate who was from Spain and one of the waitresses that I worked with when I bartended at a restaurant. Again, so many memories.
But let's jump back 13 years first. For some of you, you know that I am single, never married or kids. (just never met the right one) I only have one sister who is 3 years younger than myself and 2 wonderful parents who are still together. My sister got married 13 years ago this past September to a great guy, my brother-in-law. A few years down the road, they found out that my sister couldn't have kids. After going to some of the top specialists in the U.S. and trying every which way to get pregnant, they decided to adopt. They first adopted a boy & a girl, Katerina & Johnny. Johnny is 2nd from the left in orange and Katerina is the tallest in white.
Right after they came back from Kazakhstan, where they adopted, my sister found out that she was pregnant with Andrew. (the one in red) So after a year or so, they felt bad for Katerina and decided to adopt another girl who they named Alisha, who is one in the orange hooded sweatshirt.
This Thanksgiving brought back some special memories when I was younger, when my parents had friends over who had kids. There one son John and I dressed up as cowboys and Indians. ( we were around 6 at the time)
My nephew Andrew was in tears earlier today when I got to my parents house, because he wanted to play Indians and nobody else wanted to. And he was upset because my once niece, Katerina, had a Pocahontas outfit and he had nothing but feathers and a bow. I told him that he could take his shirt off like real Indians and that I would paint him. WOW, his eyes lit up, just like if his uncle were to win a million dollars. Well, since we didn't have any body paint, I got 2 washable markers and drew some marks on him.
(picture - Andrew & Alisha)
But wait, you think I am done here? I am just in the middle of things. About 1 1/2 weeks prior to this time last year, my mom called me up and asked if I was sitting down. I thought something bad had happened to my sister or one of my nieces or nephews. My mom said... "your sister has been told that she is having twins." One of the first things that I thought of, besides being happy for them all, was that they just matched the Brady Bunch. They will now have 3 boys and 3 girls... lol
Well, here is one of the new additions to the Cleaver family, Ava Cleaver. Yes, my sister married a Cleaver. But there is no Ward or June involved.
And here is the last of the Cleavers, Joey Cleaver. He came second amongst the twins.
I am just so thankful for my sister & brother-in-law not only taking on the responsibility of adopting 3 awesome kids, but able to live the joy of actually giving birth to 1 boy 7 years ago and now giving birth to 2 amazing and healthy twins, a girl & boy back on April 19th, 2007.
Now, not only must I save my money, but get a second job so I can go out and buy my sister and her family the Partridge Family Bus. For those that don't remember the Partridge Family sitcom from the early 70's, this also brings back memories.
Overall, I could be here all day. listing the many things that I am thankful for. And not just being thankful on Thanksgiving Day. That I am very happy for all of those that I have met on Active Rain in person or on the phone. And how thankful I am for those that created Active Rain and how special it has been for me since day 1, over 2 years ago.
But especially praying for all those men & women who are serving in our Armed Forces, being away from their families. And for those that have lost love ones in 2008 and in the past, not just those that were in the military, but anyone & everyone....
Wishing each and everyone of you & your families a Happy & Safe Thanksgiving
Jeff- I absolutely love your story! How blessed your sister is! Reminds me of Angelina Jolie and her twins and older one and the kids she adopted. The say that this happens alot- that when you give up trying to have children and adopt, you get pregant! What beautiful blessings! Happy Thanksgiving with all those bundles of joy. And Katerina is extra special to me:)
Dude...I was following along until I saw the partridge family bus. I have like 2 albums of theirs plus a Christmas one. So great. Mine was awesome as well. Be blessed J....be blessed.
Jeff, great story! And really adorable kids! Twins! Yikes - that's a handful!
And happy Thanksgiving!
KATERINA.... . thank you very much.... yes, my sister is very blessed... and for also getting me off the hook with giving my parents grand kids... lol Hey, I would love to have a few kids, it just hasn't been in the cards... And in regards to Katerina, yes, I was going to mention this to you the last time that we spoke, but I just forgot. So I was going to bring it up next time. In any case, thanks for the kind comments and a Happy Thanksgiving to you and Nestor.
LARRY.... . lol.... did it bring back memories? You are older than me... lol But not by much. And glad to hear that your Thanksgiving was a blessed one also... thanks
PAT.... . thanks.. and yes they are. Twins a handful? I guess so, but don't forget, they have 4 other kids. lol And yes, happy Thanksgiving to you to.
A lovely story, and those kids have a special uncle! Come on get Happy!
Jeff,
Great story! And true to boot!!! You hear so often of women getting pregnant after adoption, and twins yet!!! WOW...six...You never told me you were Catholic!!! LOL, Thanks, Fran
Jeff, how exciting for you and your whole family. Twins.........wow. Hope you enjoy your day, with everyone. Now about getting married, are you THAT picky? LOL
MAGGIE..... thanks for the kind words.... now, you said, come on get Happy? lol I am...
FRAN.... . thanks... and yes, you hear so often of the same story. Well,, not having six kids, but getting pregnant after adopting. And yes, I am Irish Catholic... ;o)
MISSY..... yes, it was and is very exciting.. thanks. And being to picky? Nah... just so many woman that I meet nowadays are way to independent, feel like they don't want to date, just to be single, or so many have kids now and are content with life...
Those pictures on your blog are sooo cute, Jeff...and who in our age group could forget the Partridge Family!!!
I had a great Thanksgiving too...I am glad you had a day full of rejoicing with your family!!
=-)
Jeff, it does not take long to realize how fortunate we are in our lives. This a great exercise in tkaing our emotional inventories. Thanks for sharing
Wishing you a happy holiday weekend as well.
Bo
Jeff,
Those are fantastic Thanskgiving words and what a wonderful way to bring us back and forth in your time machine. You are truly blessed to be surrounded by such a wonderful family. Children just breathe life into things. Thanks for sharing.
ALEXANDER.... . yes, who could forgetthat sitcom, especially those in our age group. Thanks for comments and glad that your Thanksgiving went well...
BO..... . I agree.... and thanks for the support and best wishes to you and your family this holiday weekend also. thanks
REBECCA..... . thanks, I truly appreciate those kind words. Have a blessed weekend...
Jeff - What a special story your sister and her husband have. Kevin and I were married for 10 years before our daughter came along. There were times I had given up hope of having a child of our own. It makes the blessing of having one so much more sweeter!
Happy holidays to you and your family - Maryellen
That was a beautiful story Jeff! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and an upcoming Holiday Season too!
Jeff, I gotta say I have not seen that Bus in many years. I loved the story and how you add the adorable photos along the way. I can relate to the Military part - my first 10 years in, I was away and it does make you cherish being with family and friends all the more.
Never married? No kids? Having been a single parent for a while I can relate to taking in the rest of the family during the holidays. It sounds like you had a wonderful time and really cherished the great moments!
MARYELLEN..... . thank you very much... even though I personally didn't go through it myself, I could semi relate to what you and your husband went through, because I watched my sister and brother-in-law go through it... Glad that you all got to experience the life of a newborn.... thanks and hope your holiday was well.
SALLY..... . thanks... and same to you and your husband. Overall, it's great to look back on this and truly be thankful.
TIM & PAM ..... . lol... yes, it's been a long time since I saw that bus. And yes, being in the military and away was different. At least I was only an 11 hour drive away. .. in which I did myself a few times just on a weekend.
TRACY..... . nope and nope... lol why, have someone in mind? lol I will travel... and I am sure being a single parent and working, always had its challenges. And yes, I did have a wonderful time and will cheerish those moments. Hope that you and your family had a great thanksgiving.