Happy Thanksgiving!

This is our second Thanksgiving Day away from friends and family - and as much as we wish we were with our families, we are extremely thankful that the Lord is with us! We have chosen to celebrate this day of remembering how much we have to be thankful for by having a quiet day of reflexion at home. Because the cost of a turkey remains outrageous ($50-$75), we're going to be giving our Thanksgiving blessing over a roasted chicken instead.

The positive to being in Nicaragua for Thanksgiving is that it's not a holiday that's celebrated here. Sounds strange that I would consider that a positive, doesn't it? But, if I have forgotten a key ingredient or run out of something, the grocery store is open, if we need to transact business, the banks are open and the moneychangers are working, if we need to run to the doctor or to the pharmacy, it's business as usual. It's like I think I said last year...the Nicas could care less about us celebrating the Pilgrims making it through their first winter in their new country.

Our dinner will be simple...I've already mentioned that we're having a roasted chicken instead of a turkey. We'll have mashed potatoes, corn and our "treat"...I found some Stove Top Stuffing here! I'm saving our canned pumpkin for Christmas so I'll probably just fix Jim some brownies instead. I could say that Thanksgiving is not about the food but truthfully, our ritual for so many years included a big, traditional Thanksgiving meal. There's nothing like the combination of such savory smells as a beautifully cooked turkey, pumpkin pie and fresh baked rolls to be the olfactory definition of "holiday"!

I can remember thinking a few years back that it would be so nice for someone else to be fixing Thanksgiving dinner for a change...I should have known to be careful what I was wishing for 'cause it just might come about. Now, I wish I were back in my old kitchen on Chinquapin, in Cassville, stirring the gravy, putting the turkey on the platter and watching to make sure the rolls don't burn while listening to the kids playing in the family room, talking with Mandy in the kitchen as Jim puts more wood on the fire and waiting for Sadie to arrive from K.C. I know that was a busy sentence...but Thanksgiving Day was a busy day in my little kitchen and it often seemed just as breathless as the memories of those times leave me!

Although we were practically on top of each other there, it never seemed too crowded...I think there's always enough room where ever you are for the people you love. I can almost smell the wood fire (I love that smell!) and hear Maddie, Sam and Ben laughing! When it was time to eat, we would all gather in the kitchen, circle around the kitchen table, join hands and pray before we would sit down in our respective spots...I always loved that moment. That circle was such a visual representation of the work God had done in our family...each one of us tightly holding on to another.

Of course, we ate too much, talked like we hadn't seen each other in years and laughed at each other's jokes. We were a family who truly enjoyed one another's company and still do...God has blessed us immeasurably in that way. What special times those were...which were repeated at Christmas, Easter, birthdays...family dinners when we were all together. Wow...I have some wonderful memories to reflect on this Thanksgiving Day. Good memories...just another thing to thank the Lord for today!

Happy Thanksgiving All...take time to cherish the moment!