My Favorite Week!

Hi Everyone!

Well, it's that time of year again....my favorite week of the year! I look forward to this week all year. Only three days of work and then four days of fun. Thursday is my all time favorite food day. I can taste it already....turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, corn, fried cauliflower, brussel sprouts all covered with gravy! MMM! This year my parents are hosting my family gathering so it will be great because the kids have their own play room and we can pass out on the comfy couches and beds. I'm so thrilled that we have only one event per day! Friday, it's off to the races to catch all of the sales. I look forward to this day every year not so much for the shopping but mostly just to spend the day with my mom and my sister. That rarely happens without the kids so we can actually visit. Emily will go with us too for part of the day and then she usually meets up with her mom, sister and sister-in-law. Saturday, we have no plans! Yay! Sunday, it's off to another delicious meal at Em's parents' house. More great food and relaxing!

I don't know if my week can get any better. It started off yesterday at the Facciolla Thanksgiving. As I said in an earlier post, I always look forward to this day because we all have to say what we're thankful for at the cemetery. Knowing it's approaching really does force you to think of all the things that you are thankful for, which is great. I know that I don't want to end up like Amiee, who sometimes says "the same as everyone else!" haha! She did good this year!

The day went better than I could have imagined. Carson has been doing so well but I was still nervous as to how he would do with the crowd. He did GREAT! He stood in the circle at the cemetery and was actually pretty quiet (Griffin not so much...he's getting a little temper, terrible twos have come early.) Carson then wanted to climb the tree so I set him in there so he would be quiet. It came to my turn and I had really given a lot of thought to what I'm thankful for this year but I decided what the heck, I'm going to pull Carson out of the tree and see if he has anything to say...totally expecting nothing or for him to start yelling because I took him out of the tree. Instead when I said "Carson, what are you thankful for?" he responded "Everyone!" I almost fell down in shock because we had tried to practice over the week by asking him what he was thankful for and didn't get much response. Of course, I was wrecked. I had a huge lump in my throat, tears in my eyes and forgot everything that I had planned on saying. I was so happy at that moment. I think with that happening along with the rest of the day's events, everyone there knows exactly what I'm thankful for. The party then moved to Em's parents' house. Carson and I usually end up leaving every Facciolla event way early because there are a lot of people and noise and Carson usually cannot tolerate it. Yesterday, he was like a different child. We only spent about an hour upstairs watching Buzz Lightyear. He actually played downstairs with the other kids, spoke to people and seemed to enjoy his day. We were one of the last families to leave. It's a miracle! I had so much fun with him.

I also forgot to mention that Carson got his first GREEN face of the year on Friday! This is extraordinary for him. Green means that he was great at school with no timeouts and no trouble. Another miracle!

I know it's trying times for everyone right now. The economy is horrible; people are losing their jobs everyday. Try to focus on what you're thankful for this week though. It really works! I've forgotten about all that right now. Having Carson come back to us is a true miracle. He's worked so hard to get to where he is. I'm so proud of him. Words cannot describe the joy that I feel because he is getting better.

Em's cousin Alli said it best yesterday when she said "He's amazing. He's so much better." All I could say was "I know." I can't believe it. Thanks for noticing Alli.

My whole holiday season is already complete because this is by far the best gift I could ever ask for. Thank You God!