...like walking in the rain and the snow...

i spent all day yesterday and the day before preparing for Thanksgiving. we attend two, and they were not at my house- but i was going to be so prepared so i cooked feverishly (well, for me)

yesterday around 4:30 we are coats on, car packed, side dishes hot and off to Iron City, Tennessee to grandmothers house we go... three hours later, back in the car on the way home, first thing my kids say when they get home ..."i am hungry, what have we got to eat?"

are you kidding me? two days?!! my life has been focused and centered around food, menu's, are there enough vegetables? what about the rolls? does everybody like tea, maybe i should buy sprite for the kids...

today it was the exact same scenario. we were in the house three minutes. "Hey mom, i am hungry, what can i eat?"

maybe it is because i look at their plate during the meal and all they have eaten is one bite of turkey, one bite of pink stuff and 3 ears of corn. (we know what corn is worth to our system).

Sadie is on her third peanut butter spoon. Happy Thanksgiving.

I, on the other hand, woke up at 3:40am this morning from a turkey induced slumber with the black Friday fever theme song playing in my head. ("The Things we do for Love", 10CC). The motivation of thinking i really was in some sort of pretend drama kept me going while i hummed the tune and slid on some warm clothes and headed out.

I am a secret after Thanksgiving shopper lover.

I really didn't get any true bargain unless you count the free mickey mouse 2007 snow globe JCPenny's gave me when i walked in at 4:12am. i was most impressed with my line standing strategy i pulled off this year. i managed to stand less than 10 minutes in any line (i shopped at 6 different locations) i think i may be getting good at something, finally.

hello, my name is Gena Killen
and i am in need of comments
because i lack affirmation in my life.

i felt rather empty after my last blog. only two of you, susan and julie, (who are now my two new best friends) relied.
either one of two things are going on:

1- susan and julie are my only two friends
2- susan and julie are the only two friends that read my blog

i am believing there may be a third option that goes something like my friend Caroline admits to: she's a reader but not a commenter. i begged her to enter the world of blogging and she readily admitted to not knowing how to blog (good one caro, i distinctly remember you doing way better than me in school)

i want to believe my friends read my last post and felt bubbly from their toes and it made them crinkle their nose...but i am guessing you read it and went-" uh, yeah right Gena, whatever."
maybe i truly can't communicate well.

sometimes i want to spank everybody and say -"Friends are supposed to be fun! Be thankful we have each other" then i'd have to spank myself and i am not into that.

either way...i will grow some confidence in believing we all love each other and are thankful for each other without the replies.

i am blessed.

i am in more of a thankful state of mind this year but don't we always go there in November?
of course we do. but this year has been a blessing for me. in so many ways it has been proven to be nothing but. starting out i must say i was still at odds about so much in my life-

then somewhere around mid way my world was rocked a bit and along the way i dropped a lot of bitterness. i could laugh and cry and be thankful and grateful and feel. i looked at my healthy children and their amazing personalities and decided God is in love with me. He really is.

now that i believe that i am blessed. it doesn't really matter what comes my way.

and i have some of the best friends in the world.

this is one of my greatest gifts from God. i am not sure why God said "Gena, you will be blessed with great kids and wonderful friends" but He did.

my friends mesh and morph into family and become rocks for me. and the greatest thing about my friends is that they range from older, wise friends to far away long-time life-long ones. to my right here girls that i know i can't live without and i share most of what makes my life fun with to my truly awesome kids in the 5th and 6th grade make me smile and laugh and truly start my week off right every Sunday. my kid friends are the best.

probably some of my truly awesome friends are reading this and can say i didn't know you loved me so much. but i do. and i plan to tell you personally whenever it isn't awkward you know i need to be cool about it all. so here's to you my friend: my five favorite things about you.

1-you laugh at and with me
2- you pray with and for me
3-you give and take advice
4- you support, affirm and forgive me
5- you have something different about you that makes you unique to me.

this year i experienced Jesus as my best friend. i have a bond with Him now that enriched all my other friendships. His convictions, His passion, the way He wraps his arms around me describes a friendship that is eternal. I am most thankful God opened my eyes to Him in a way i had never seen.
what a year.