Still about Thanksgiving

People are already blogging about getting ready for Christmas but I haven't finished up my Thanksgiving blog!  But that's ok.  It is still November.  I won't be decorating for Christmas until next week anyway.

The Christmas celebrating seems to crowd out Thanksgiving.  It gets earlier and earlier.  I don't mind if others want to, but I LOVE Thanksgiving!   It is probably one of my favorite holidays!   So I won't begin Christmas until December.

Yesterday I went through this past year (used my Picasa photos to help me remember - much easier than re-reading my journals!) to think about how to thank the Lord for His goodness and His care for us in 2014.

     .....recovery for Mom from her brain bleed
     .....Dad's health improving
     .....various trips overseas for the family - Jill and Hannah to help in a children's home in Mexico, Allen and Josh to Israel for a study trip, and a medical missions trip for Staci to Ethiopia
     .....the recovery of some very sick children in our young mom's Bible study from HUS and E-coli
     .....the arrival of a new worship pastor
     .....a fun family trip to Dauphin Island
     .....baptisms of 2 of my grandchildren, Hannah and Sophia

The list goes on.

On Thanksgiving Day, it was wonderful to have my parents over.  With Dad's improving health, we were able to bring him to our home!

 We also invited a college student from Japan.  My friend Kaori and I help him with English on Wednesday evenings, and she and him help me with Japanese.  Toshiki had never experienced an American Thanksgiving holiday.  I gave him the assignment of studying what Thanksgiving was about.

 I got out our china instead of the usual throwaway plates that we often use.

See the meat platter?  Always, always, we do the Norman Rockwell turkey presentation thing.  It is a family tradition that my parents and grandparents did.  And we have continued.

But this year, I have been super busy with doing props for the production of The Christmas Birdie and with my time crunch, I purchased a Jennie-O turkey that is freezer to oven.  Unfortunately, I did not realize this but I put the bird in the oven upsidedown!!!  Ha ha!!  Actually, the breast of the turkey simmered in lots of juice and it was probably one of the tenderest turkeys we've eaten, but it definitely was not presentation worthy.  So we sliced it and put it on a platter with some sprial ham.

Of course, we have to insert a cross-eyed Sophie picture, as usual.

 Along with Thanksgiving, we surprised Staci with a birthday pie!

 And birthday gifts, of course!

Using our china, means lots and lots of dishes to wash. 

 But I have a super, wonderful dishwasher!

 And I will soon be ready to celebrate Christmas. Just think, a month to celebrate the birthday of Jesus!  Most people celebrate for 1 day, or perhaps some have a birthday week.  But we get to celebrate His birth on earth for all of December!!