Late-ful Grateful

Well, considering that it's now almost Christmas (ok, I'm being just a bit sarcastic, but not much), I guess I should get some pictures on here from our fabulously wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! I'll let the pictures do the talking, but I have to say that we had so much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. It has been such an exciting and life-changing year for us and we feel very humbled by the blessings that Heavenly Father has given to us. And to think, last year at this time, we were just getting used to the idea of adoption, still exploring the option, saying "I wonder where we will be at next Thanksgiving". It's crazy for me to remember that so clearly and then to see our lives this year! Sooo much has happened and we are soooo THANKFUL!! We were given an extra reminder of how blessed we are when Jessika's dad left us a message on Thanksgiving day, telling us how thankful he was to us for giving Jessika a second chance at her life. That he would actually be thanking US just goes to show what amazingly kind and good people that entire family is made of. We love them so much. And this year we were also blessed to have my entire family together (including my grandma Thurgood) for the holiday! This hasn't happened in quite awhile and won't again until my parents get back from their mission, so it was something that I was expecially thankful for!

We kicked the weekend off with Aaron and Deb rolling into town with the boys. We hit up Cafe Rio and then enjoyed the evening playing and talking. The boys were pretty sweet with Kaiya (which was sooo cute) and we were so proud of Ev because he had overcome his fear of Chase! He wasn't scared in the least and all the boys seemed to have lots of fun playing with the pup! I'm sure their little Lucy-pup has helped a ton in that department!


Next was Thanksgiving day at my parents house. The boys spent the morning 4-wheeling, while the girls had fun gabbing and cooking! I so loved the hustle-bustle of the house full of kids playing, talking, eating, laughing, and just enjoying being together as family. There's nothing better in the world than being with family! We also got to go spend the evening with Chris' parents and are so grateful for all that they do for us as well!

(Kaiya and her cousin Ame) (Debbie, Brittany, Karli, Leanne -- can you tell who are the actual sisters?!)
(Grandma getting in some snuggles with her girls)
(Kaiya doing her turkey dance)
(I had to post a picture of Kaiya's new favorite accessory -- ok, Kaiya's MOM'S new favorite accessory! I love these little boots!)
(Table 1 - Asplund's and Hanamaikai's)
(Table 2 - the rest of us!)

Chris and I came home from his parents house, cranked up the Christmas music and got busy decorating the house! I LOVE this time of year and we were in great spirits getting things all decked out in holiday fashion! Kaiya sat in her swing and gazed in awe at all the bright lights and colors! I think she especially loves the tree -- she stares at it constantly!

The next day I braved Black Friday with Ash and we had a great time and found some GREAT deals up at the outlets in Park City! I think Kaiya's Christmas is all taken care of -- whew, one down, lots to go! And Ash got some great finds for their little baby boy! Can't wait to see him in his cute new duds!

Saturday our family gathered again for family pictures, which went surprisingly well considering it FREEZING and there are 10 kids to try to get to cooperate! Then we went back and had pizza and watched the BYU/Utah game, which was AMAZING!! Go BYU!!!

(Here's a little sneak peak at cute Kaiya dressed up for pictures -- she did so good and was actually in a great mood!)

That night we got together with our friends, Matt and Danielle and little baby Ezra. We had a great meal and then came back and the babies had fun playing together. How lovely it is that they are still too young to not want to share! Kaiya was so happy to have Ezra join her on her play mat and the two of them are just sooo dang cute! Have I mentioned that we have already arranged their marriage?! Hehe! Ezra is a month younger than Kaiya, but is already soooo long! He is going to be a big tall guy like his daddy!
(Two very adoring daddy's)

And to finish off our wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, we got to meet up with some of my best friends from high school, Tim and Sara (remember, the cute high-school sweethearts that married each other?). They happened to be flying back home and had a long layover in Salt Lake, so we drove up and met them and went over to the Gateway for some grub. It was soooo fun catching up with both of them and they got to meet Kaiya for the first time! I only wish we could see them more often, but cherish our little get-togethers whenever they come around!

And what would be a Thanksgiving post without some pictures of the gift that we feel the MOST thankful for! How I love our little family and the new addition that has brought us sooo much joy!

(She loves this little play mat so much, she usually falls asleep playing with it!)
(Chris decided that while sitting in her new favorite chair, she should also be able to enjoy some rattles and stuff as well, so he combined both of her favorite toys!)

(Ohhh, how she loves this chair! Thanks, Ash!)
(Mom doesn't love this chair so much because I think it makes her look sooo much older, sitting in it...and that scares me!! No, actually I REALLY love this chair because it keeps Kaiya occupied and entertained for quite awhile!)
(Just slobbering daddy's finger!)