Giving Thanks!

Once again we were not able to spend Thanksgiving with our family and once again we did the next best thing, we shared it with good friends!! We spent Thanksgiving at our house in a little corner of Germany while all around us people were going about their normal day. We took part of our dinner down to our German friends and they had no idea it was even an American holiday. It was their first taste of sweet potatoes (cooked that way), pumpkin pie and a fried turkey. That's right I allowed a fried turkey onto my dinner table (the dietitian inside was crying out in opposition, but my mouth and stomach over ruled, that was ONE. GOOD. BIRD.) John did an excellent job with the task while I roasted an additional one inside. We did the meal right, potluck, which really is the best way, the entire meal is shared equally and we all get to taste a few of each others family traditions.


Every year I'm determined to have the kids enjoy the day just as much as the adults. The problem is the two groups don't have the same idea of what an enjoyable turkey day involves. So each year there is an extra table set aside for the kids with a craft, games and other items of interest. This year we made turkey leg hats for the kids and turkey leg arm bands for the guys that delivered the turkeys to our table. We got such a kick out of this:



Well, almost everyone got a kick out of it. McKenna just woke up this way! Plus it didn't help that right before dinner was put on the table she took a bad fall. We were so so lucky we did not spend the holiday at the ER as the bump on her head was large, purple and came SO close to splitting open. Lucky little sad girl.


And finally a little story about a blessed pie tin. Look at the two pies above. Both the exact same recipe. Obviously one is much prettier than the other. Why do you ask? Well, the pretty one on the right was made in my Grandmothers pie tin that I inherited awhile back. Let me emphasize how important and monumental (at least to me) it was that this beloved tin fell into my hands. First of all, Grandma's apple pie rocked all that apple pies should be, EVER. Second, I CANNOT make a bad pie in this tin. CANNOT. This is especially interesting because my pie making skills are still in infancy, I mean look at the pile of pie (can I even call it a pie?) on the left. This is proof that I'm being channeled by my Grandmother, she really wants me to be a grand pie maker, which I am, but only if I have that beloved tin.

And finally, the end of the day. Tryptophan is kickin' it in our bellies along with pumpkin, pumpkin turtle, apple pies and pumpkin cream cheese roll (thanks to Melinda). We were a satisfied lot AND we got to watch "The Christmas Story". Love that flick. Some of our kids were watching it for the first time. Remember the scene when "Mall Santa" pushes Ralphie down the slide with his boot on his face? Classic look on the kiddo's faces, almost better than watching the scene itself.

Hope you all had a Happy Day! We miss all our friends and family that are so far away and we also wanted to send a shout out to Shane. There was definitely an empty space in our day without you . . . next year will be different!!!