Happy Thanksgiving!

"Giving thanks always and for everything, to God the Father, in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 5:20

This was our first Thanksgiving away from either of our families. It was also our warmest Thanksgiving yet. We are still learning to make adjustments. When we woke up, we assumed the parade would be on since we knew it was airing on the east coast....but apparently we get that on a delay. We had a great morning...one full of many reminders that we are certainly blessed. We spent the morning serving with CCV in the town of Pomona, a suburb full of crime and poverty. We delivered a couple of Thanksgiving meals to families in the mobile home park we served in. We quickly realized we were going to need a translator in order to pray with them. CCV did an incredible job setting this event up . The event was set up so that families could come in and eat a Thanksgiving meal, get clothes for their family and then grab a bag of canned goods on the way out. Although we missed being with family and friends this holiday, the next best thing is serving with friends and loving others.

The afternoon was spent with Harrison and Lindsay, doing the typical football/parade watching. We anticipated our Thanksgiving meal all day, and finally gathered with another couple (Jim and Erin) at 6:00pm. The food was great! Seriously, I was impressed with how good of a job us girls did with everything. The menu consisted of Turkey (of course!--Lindsay's first and she did a great job!), Erin's fresh green bean casserole and sweet potato soufflé, and I contributed my first home-made macaroni and cheese, Sister Schubert rolls;we also added pumpkin cake, Lindsay's home-made pumpkin roll, and a ton of cider. There was a ton of food. We all ate too much and we all felt miserable after dinner....just like every Thanksgiving.

Patrick and I each took time to say 5 things we are thankful for in general and 3 things we are thankful for about the other. This Thanksgiving we are both thankful for:

1. Community-The new community we are forming here and the irreplaceable community we have back in Savannah (and Washington D.C., Florida, and Tennessee).

2. Health

3. Employment-It is in this time of unemployment (for me) that we have both become incredibly thankful for the times when we have both had a job. It is so easy for us to complain about the fact that we have never had a time in our marriage when both of us were making a full-time salary, but now we know to be grateful when both of us are making any consistent income.

4. Our Marriage and the continuous opportunities we have to love, forgive, serve and be Christ to one another.

5. Our reliable Honda Accord and our awesome chocolate lab-....so that is two in one, but Patrick and I couldn't agree. We have spent most all our marriage with one car and I can't imagine how inconvenient (and expensive) it would be if we had to put the car in the shop. We love Honda. Lastly, Bailey is awesome. He is always there to offer us love and cuddling when we need it most.