Thankful Turkey

My brother and sister-in-law have been doing the Thankful Turkey with their kids for many years now and I have been meaning to do it with our kids for several. I finally did it this year - pretty pitifully - but I'm happy that it at least happened a little bit. The boys really enjoyed it and now that the turkey is drawn, hopefully we can be better next year. The idea is that every day in the month of November, each member of our family writes something they are thankful for on a feather and puts it on the turkey. I think we only did it like 5 times... the extra feathers are from doing it with our Thanksgiving dinner guests.

Here are the things that managed to make it to our list: The Gospel, eating oranges, home, prayer, friends, color green, being five, my parents, climate control, food, going somewhere, playing, City Centre Mall, our family, Book of Mormon, Oman, good books, going downstairs, Thanksgiving, sleeping, color purple, Henry, being healthy and the bathroom.

Thanksgiving

Last year Dave worked on Thanksgiving and, although I made the full meal, it didn't feel too much like Thanksgiving. So this year I asked Dave to take the day off and that was nice. Plus, I really needed the help since it was a busy, busy day!

I kept Davey home from school as well, but he had a field trip that I didn't want to make him miss. They were going to the Waqif Souq, a fruit and vegetable market, that is right down the road from us so it worked out well to have Dave bring him there to meet the Kindergarten classes.

Davey's class at the souq

When they returned, we all headed to our friends', the Kings, home for some Thanksgiving crafts and fun. Nonnie read a story about the first Thanksgiving and had several fun crafts...

Making necklaces, feather hats and painting vests

Grocery stores around here only have plastic bags (one time I saw paper, but things like that are fleeting) but I knew of a restaurant who delivers their take-out in paper bags, so we both ordered from Nu Asia one night and asked for extra bags and they didn't mind our request. The bags were used for making the vests. They are cute.

The boys enjoyed playing croquet and Davey, in his typical style, was making sure they had everything set up just right and followed all the rules correctly.

There was even a Turkey Bowl game (of dodgeball, however)....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Then it was time to head home to finish up our big meal. Our church District Conference was being held here the next day, and since Dave attends the District Presidency meetings (via webcam) as the clerk and is the only one living in Bahrain, we were asked to host to members of the presidency and their families for Thanksgiving dinner - and Elder Pieper, the General Authority. Talk about pressure! Of course I knew no one would judge me or have expectations but I definitely felt stress about it.

I didn't have to worry about dessert or rolls, which definitely helped, but I was throwing in a new stuffing recipe and needed to make sure I could handle making all the dishes, plus I wanted to have a Thanksgiving dinner with people of my choosing (not that I wasn't happy to do the second one), so we did a pre-Thanksgiving dinner the Saturday before with the Harris' and Youngs. Somehow pulling it off on Saturday was much more relaxed than the on actually on Thanksgiving, though we did take 2 hours out to go to the Kings but I prepared many of the dishes the days before the 2nd meal and had done it all on the day of for the 1st. Oh well, it turned out well. I had a little hiccup when I asked my housemaid to rinse and dry the pumpkin I planned to use as a vase for my centerpiece and she started peeling it... it was the perfect pumpkin and they are hard to find here, but Dave found me a couple small squashes that morning at the souq that worked just fine.

The Prices, Phipps and Elder Piper
(If Dave had taken my maiden name we'd fit in better with this group ;-)

Their kids

Our silly little ones

The dinner conversation was quite interesting and afterward we did the traditional "what I'm thankful for" and added feathers to our Thankful Turkey.

It was a really neat experience to get to host a General Authority in our home. He was so kind and accessible - the kids totally treated him like a member of the family, jumping all over him and asking him to tickle torture them.

I certainly couldn't have pulled this off with a 5 month old without having my housemaid. Especially since my dishwasher broke on Saturday... I'm quite sure Aysha never wants to see my kitchen again (I'd rather not for a while either). Even with the help, it was still tough but worth it! I am thankful for experiences I'd likely not get living in the U.S.!

Things Are Heating Up Again

Sent from the U.S. Embassy...
Demonstration Notice - November 20, 2011
Spontaneous demonstrations take place in Bahrain from time to time in response to world events or local developments. United States citizens should keep current with media coverage of local events and be aware of their surroundings at all times. If you encounter a large public gathering or demonstration, depart the vicinity immediately.
From 20-27 November broad protest activity has been called for throughout Bahrain to coincide with the release of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report.
- 20-21 November: Demonstrators plan to disrupt traffic at a number of locations throughout Bahrain, including the International Airport, financial district, diplomatic area, near Safriya Palace, and along all major roadways.
- 22 November: A demonstration is planned at the International Exhibition and Convention Center to coincide with the opening of the Jewelry Arabia exhibition.
- 23 & 27 November: Demonstrators plan to burn tires, disrupt traffic, and have threatened to use Molotov cocktails against police throughout Bahrain.
Demonstrators continue to employ tactics such as placing debris and oil on roadways and have been known to throw steel spikes at police vehicles. These actions often result in adverse driving conditions, an increased police presence, and significant traffic delays. Please use caution as you drive and plan additional time to arrive at your destination.
We remind U.S. citizens that even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence. U.S.citizens are therefore urged to avoid the areas of demonstrations if possible, and to exercise caution if within the vicinity of any demonstrations.

Growing Up

Tonight while flossing Davey's teeth I was noticing how his perfectly spaced teeth seemed to be shifting. Then I noticed one in particular that was quite out of place - bottom front left - and a flash that it was probably loose if it had moved that much -- and I was right. I can't believe my baby is growing so fast, but my baby is elated to have a wibbly-wobbly tooth!

I had to snap a couple photos before his cute tiny-toothed smile changes forever...

Favorite Toy

Church is always challenging to sit through with little ones and I am always on the look-out for interesting quiet toys small enough to bring to church. Well, this summer my mother helped me with an awesome bag of toys and we have a killer church bag. Last week I was able to keep my kids and those of two neighboring families quiet happy for the whole hour.

Today, when it was time we could get out the toy bag (after the sacrament was passed), I asked Charlie what toy he wanted to play with and he immediately lunged toward the baby on my lap and said, "Henry!"

He shows so much love and affection for his little brother. Often, when I am holding Henry in my arms and Charlie walks in the room talking to me, he'll notice Henry and stop mid-sentence and just run to Henry and hug and play with him as if he is so overcome by just the sight of his baby brother that he forgets all else he is doing.

All Suited Up

There is so much going on in this picture you can barely see the baby, right? This is what little Henry looks like these days... a hat to keep his clawing little hands from mutilating his little head (somehow he still has made it a bloody mess), a bib to catch all the drool (when will it end... I'm lucky he's my first to be all drooly), and - most happily - a pacifier (also a first)!

Collecting

One days' find

Every day lately, Davey comes home from school eager to share with me the things he's found at school that day. It may be a discarded elastic, a paper clip or a staple. Today he pulled out a wad of paper that had gone through the wash in his pocket, asking me what it was. I explained and he then told me that Dalia gave it to him. Not only does he think trash is a treasure but its still worth just as much to him when it comes out of someone else's pocket. Crazy kid.

The Same

I can't believe my little Charlie is almost three years old. Even though I have another baby now, I still feel like he's my baby. I just love my kids to bits. They are just the sweetest things. I don't know how I'm ever going to give them up to their wives. I know I'm getting ahead of myself... but I can't think of a time when I'll be ready to let them go out on their own, though I'm already having to let go with Davey who is only five... he has another life at school, separate from me and I long to be part of it. Though I'm not ready to home school him or anything. I'm getting way off track here. Okay, back to my little Charlie and the reson for this post. As he gets closer to three, he is growing out of toddler-hood. It is amazing to me to watch him play with Davey and his friends like he's just one of them. And he definitely thinks he is...

Last night Dave was sitting with the older kids at the kitchen table having a bedtime snack and telling them how lucky they were to have little brothers. Charlie's comment was, "I'm not little! See, we're just the same (standing by Davey and trying to measure against him)." That is certainly what he thinks!

Another cute little Charlie moment - Dave asked Charlie, "Do you know why I love you?" His answer, "Because I'm a bear." We've called him our little Charlie-bear since he was born and I guess he's convinced. Silly little boy.

Recipe for Homemade Dimples

It's really simple! And, no, I didn't mean to say 'dumplings.'

All you have to do is bang your cheek really hard.

In this case, Davey was running around Grandma and Grandpa Paulson's house, tripped and broke his fall with the coffee table. As the bruise dissipated (it covered almost his whole cheek and stayed for weeks - it was a hard fall), I couldn't believe the dimple I saw. And its a very pronounced one you can see even when he is just talking. Now I guess he just needs another fall to even himself out!

Before

After

Charlie, Charlie, Quite Contrary

When my mother was visiting, she helped me pin-point what I would call a very poignant part of Charlie's personality - he is a contrarian. Where do you think he gets that? (Hint: not me!) Here's an example from last night...

Before bedtime, we were reading the story of Samuel Smith, the first missionary for the Church. When he was traveling he was refused lodging by an innkeeper who accused him of being a liar when he told him of the origin of the Book of Mormon.

Charlie's comment was, "Then I would spit on him."
Me, "But that's not a nice thing to do. We have to be nice to other people."
Charlie, "Then I would hit him. Or get him a poke (he recently got a flu shot)."
Me, "But Charlie, Jesus taught us that even if people aren't nice to us, we still need to be nice to them."
Charlie, "Jesus told me, but I said 'NO!'"

We are going to have our hands full with this little guy...