Friday, November 25, 2011

Thanksgiving (our fourth one overseas)



the Choate chefs hard at work



Sarah made all of the desserts, carrot cake cupcakes, pecan pie, and two pumpkin pies, all by herself.  No store bought crusts here!



I kept pulling out recipes for Thanksgiving, and they all belonged to my Mama.  Oh, how I miss her.



Our thankful turkey - it's always fun to pull out the feathers from previous years and read the things for which we were thankful.  Living in Honiara this year means we have feathers added by our SITAG family, too.

 




My kids' turkeys are growing way too fast!



We shared some of the carrot cake cupcakes with our amazing staff (pictured are Frieda and Betsy) to tell them thank you for keeping SITAG running smoothly.


I was so excited to find a real turkey in Honiara.  Previous years we've eaten chicken, but this year we splurged and bought the turkey to feed the ten American colleagues and two adopted Aussies that would be joining us.


And when everyone finally arrived, I teared up looking around the room at the bounty before us and the people God has placed in our path.  He knew we needed to be in Honiara for Thanksgiving this year, even though it wasn't in our plans.



We watched American football (some games recorded from January 2010) and gave instruction so Naomi would be able to follow the game.  I'm sure our neighbors wondered about the cheering, but eating Sarah's pies (and the other yummy desserts) and watching football was the perfect way to end our day.  I'm overwhelmed at God's gift of a "normal" Thanksgiving this year.

5 comments:

Jolene said...

What an enormous blessing to have a taste of home while so far away! Many blessings to your family in the year to come!

Kecia said...

What a happy Thanksgiving! I'd like to know more about your thankful turkey feathers--I love good traditions. :)

Choate Family said...

Kecia,
Our thankful turkey isn't anything fancy, just a construction paper turkey body. Each year we start with a "naked" turkey and add one feather at a time on which we write what we're thankful for. I know some people who do the same kind of thing with a tree trunk and colorful leaves. We do keep our feathers from year to year, and it's always fun to watch the kids handwriting change and read the overflow of their grateful hearts.
Joanna

The Hibbard Family said...

This post makes me smile a big smile.

Herding Grasshoppers said...

What a wonderful blessing!

Love your thankful turkey. Some years we've done a turkey, and some years a tree... the tree is easier for me to cut!

Either way, fun and joy to see what the kids are thankful for,

Julie