Short days in Mcminnville

Winter is beginning to set in here in Mcminnville. Most days are cold and rainy. One day we even had a storm during the day! Huge gusts of wind, flashing bolts of lightning and roaring thunder that shook the house a couple times! I love storms so it was fun to watch. Gideon was pretty unaffected by it, to him it was just another day.

We have pretty much settled into normal routine. Gideon sleeps through the night, Huda has returned to work, I have rejoined my bible studies. Sometimes it feels like we never went to India. We have already been home longer then we were there and it feels like it has just sped by! If I sit and think about the people we met and love, the weather and the busy streets I can begin to remember and feel everything from our trip. I pray that God keeps India very close to our hearts as we pray and seek God's will for our future. I am disappointed in myself for not being more emotionally tied to India, but you know what. Our trip was awesome and I know God has things in store for us to do and that in no time we will be returning to India where it will seem like we never left there!

So life is busy for Americans this time of year! It is holiday season! Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and many Birthday's as well (including my own on the tenth of December!). I am taking on a fun task of hosting the family for thanksgiving dinner this year! Thanksgiving is a time of really stopping to think about everything we are thankful for, all the ways God has blessed us. With the economy the way its been, it is especially important this year and not only this YEAR but everyday! Here in America on the this particular day we call "Thanksgiving" families get together and eat lots and lots and LOTS! of food!! So my job as hostess is to make food! I have a menu all planned out and am trying to pre-prep things for the freezer until thanksgiving day (November 26th) so that I don't have to do it all in one day. I am making jalepeno poppers, turkey, ham, mashed potato's and gravy, dinner rolls, roasted sweet potato's, mushrooms, asparagus, sausage stuffing and dessert: pumpkin pie, chocolate pie, apple tart and lemon bars, whew! It will be a feast! And afterward we will play sports in the yard so we don't get too fat, lol.

So, that is what I am currently busy with. Daily tasks must continue so I have been going to the gym daily, taking part in a weekly sewing class, babysitting all my beautiful girls and hangin with my family as well as of course taking care of my husband and ever growing baby boy!

Speaking of the Gidster, he is learning more words now! He says "wash" and "yes" and Hi" and "hey" and "brush"...he will be talking our ears off in no time! He has recently taken to dumping his food out onto the highchair, bending his head and eating food with his mouth like an animal, I think he does this because he sees the three dogs we live with do it! He has also discovered a love for books! As tired as I get from reading book after book after book, it melts my heart when he races up to me book in hand, hands it to me then claps in excitement, crawls onto my lap and eagerly awaits the reading to begin. when the story is done, he jumps off my lap to go get the next book and the process continues. He is a joy! We have a collage of photo's from our trip sitting on the desk and daily Gideon points to it and says "Awww" with a really sweet tone in his voice. I hand him the photo and he hold it looking and its as if he is thinking, "Oh! There my friends are! But wait, why are they stuck in this picture?"

We hope this blog finds everyone well! Lots of Love,
-The McKay's