What a week

We don't live in an area with a lot of Haitian families. Every once in a while we bump into someone with a connection to Haiti. But we are fortunate to know a few families in the area who have adopted from Haiti and 2 adult men who themselves were adopted from Haiti. So on Saturday night we hosted a potluck. Everybody was able to make it and we had a great time with great food. Mais Moulin, rice and beans, soup joumou, and griot were just a few of the goodies.

One mom made beyen and served it with a yummy sauce and coconut ice cream. 

We didn't have a lot of time to connect as adults because there were lots of young kids running around. But I hope it was good for all of us to see our families and the kids could get a sense that they are not alone. There are families just like theres and they too will grow up, and start their own family. 

The kids finally carved their pumpkins. Can I just say, those pumpkins were cleaned out thoroughly. Peter carved a bat on his instead of a face. He even got compliments on Halloween night.

The final product. Tangled hair that reached down to the ground. 

Halloween night was a bit of a mess. It would pour and then it would stop. It certainly didn't stop the trick or treaters. I didn't buy as much candy and chips as I normally would have. We went through almost everything. But that's good. I'm not complaining. Peter chose not to go out trick or treating this year. I don't know why. But both kids did go to a little party up the street. So they all had fun.

For the whole month of November I am taking a photo a day of all that I am thankful for. A blog has posted the graphic and given the suggestion for creating a thankful book. So I am participating and I'm thankful for the creativity of others and their willingness to share. 

Can I just say that I am sooooo thankful that my parents are safe after Hurricane Sandy. When the media and government officials were predicting the strength of the storm and giving the evacuation orders, it was hard to know the impact of the storm. I was concerned for my parents but thankful they are no where near the coastline. The devastation for those people in coastal areas is just so hard to see and believe. My parents are fine but they are still without power. At night as it gets a little cold here, I just hope and pray that the weather doesn't get much colder and that the power is restored to all affected sooner rather than later.