Thanksgiving 2011

We are thankful for God's providence, love, faithfulness and kindness in our lives, our family, a new baby and healthy kids who love one another!

We are also thankful for the food we eat only on Thanksgiving Day. Our feast consisted of Cajun injected turkey, Paula Deen's cornbread dressing (a staple in my house since 2006), mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato casserole (with a pecan/brown sugar crust--not marshmallows), Sister Schubert's rolls, cranberry sauce and sweet tea. We were supposed to eat with some friends but Ella was running fever the past few days and complaining of a tummy ache. So, we swapped food and ate as individual families. This meant, for me, quickly getting out the table cloth and the serving pieces as well as finding the battery charger cord for my camera.

While Chip was delivering our portion of today's lunch I set the table and the kids waited "patiently" at the dining room table.

During lunch we talked about what we are thankful for and Streed recounted for us the story of Squanto that he and I read yesterday. It is an amazing story of God's soverignty and faithfulness in the midst of evil, heartache and confusion. I was amazed at how much he recalled from the book.

After lunch I was sitting with Nate as he ate cereal. He wasn't really keen on all of the "fixin's". I could have been irritated and said, "No, you had your chance to eat." Instead I decided to realize he is 3 1/2 and be thankful that he ate peas, turkey and rolls. As I sat there, I noticed the almost empty tea pitcher adorned with a fall plaid ribbon. Then I saw my Mikasa French Countryside dish and a casual ladder back dining room chair. And I just thought, I love being from the South! Some things are just Southern, which usually translates to welcoming and pretty. The kids even enjoyed watching me tie on the ribbon. They commented that I "was making everything so pretty". I am glad they can appreciate this even at their young ages.





















At lunch we talked about what all we were thankful for and Streed recounted to us the story of Squanto from a book we re-read this year. It is an amazing story of God's sovereignty in the midst of pain, heartache, confusion and trials.