Thanksgiving 2009

I love family traditions! When I was growing up my family had several traditions surrounding various holidays that became very special to me, and we have tried to build traditions with our own children. Early in our marriage, my husband and I talked about what each of our family traditions were, what we wanted to continue from each of our families of origin, and what traditions we wanted to start that would be unique to us. Some of our traditions have been very intentional and some have sortof evolved as we had more children. But I am convinced that it is the traditions we have and the memories we make carrying out those traditions that give our children a strong sense of their childhood.

Our tradition on Thanksgiving morning is to have special muffins (blueberry with glaze on top) and tangarines for breakfast while we watch the parade on TV. We LOVE doing this!! The children look forward to seeing the different floats each year.



During (me) and after (the children) the parade, we get ready for our Thanksgiving feast. This year, our son C found a recipe in Highlights Magazine for holiday meatballs, and he really wanted to make these. So he and I made them together. He shaped them with his very own hands. We had them in the evening, after our big turkey meal. They were very good!



L dried dishes.


Daughter G set the table,


and made the cranberry relish.


Little Man mostly colored on the "tablecloth". :-) Great way to keep him occupied while we waited for our guests to arrive!


Some of our many loved ones, whom we are so thankful for!





This is our college age nephew with his grandma (my mother in law).


My sister in law with her little grand-daughter.


Our nephew Aaron with his family.


Another tradition we do on Thanksgiving is to go around the table and have everyone say something they are thankful for. Sometimes it happens at the table, and sometimes it happens in the family room afterward, but we always look forward to this time. It often turns into a recap of the year, the trials and hardships and joys that each of us have experienced, and how those events have shaped us. We had another wonderful time together this year, sharing what we were thankful for. I feel that one thing God has done for me this year is to give me a more grateful heart. There is no way I could express my gratitude for all God has done for us during our unemployment, and all He has done in us. I am more thankful than ever for the gift of being content no matter what we have, for the fact that my husband does currently have a job, and for our home and church family that has stood by us through all our struggles. God is so good!