Thankful Thursday and Chinese New Year!!!

It has been quite a while since I have done a Thankful Thursday post. I am SOO enjoying the almost complete halt that my life has come to here in MN. I plan on writing a post JUST about that one of these days but am still processing it all and what it means but...that leads into this post as
-I am SO thankful for the time I have now and the renewing in my families life that is happening because of it.
-The awesome gift that Mark has given us to be able to spend this time close to family. I have so enjoyed the little things that we have been able to do. Yesterday, my niece Abby picked up the kids after school, they went and rented a movie and we all watched it together with much laughter on a cold Wednesday afternoon/evening. I don't think we have ever had a more enjoyable afternoon on a school night. This was after I spent the afternoon at my parents house helping my mom clean some cabinets. Its the little things.........
-The generiousity of friends like Kathy Fehr who is letting us stay in her house this winter. She is the mom of one of my best friends from highschool and lost her husband to cancer 3 years ago. She gets it....
-My kids who I will continually brag about as they have been amazing through all of the changes. May God use it all to build their character!!!

We did have a Chinese New Year Celebration! The girls and I made Mongolian Beef and Lettuce Wraps. My sister and her family came over and instead of filling the red envelopes with $$ I had one for everyone to open and read a fact about Chinese New Year and then a Chinese Proverb. We had fun with it and I had lots of compliements on the meal. Wish Mark would have been here.
That Tuesday I went down to Mnpls. to pick Mark up from the airport and stopped at the Mall of America. To our suprise they were having a Chinese New Year Celebration so Hudson and I took it in. The best part was a Lion Dance done by two men in one of those great customs. I was SOOO mad I didn't have a camera. It was great fun to see all the little Chinese girls.....I think Hudson was the only boy......dressed up in their silkies.