Happy Thanksgiving!

Tonight we were able to have 4 of our friends over for a Thanksgiving dinner. This was very interesting and involved a lot more preparation than my past experiences in the States. I sure miss my ready-to-make box mixes! Homemade mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing (from a loaf of bread), green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, spinach salad, cranberry sauce (from fresh cranberries), and rolls, with a pumpkin pie from real pumpkins and homemade pie crust for dessert (plus boxed cheesecake and jello - in case the pumpkin pie didn't turn out so well). All centered around our difficult to find, imported from France, somewhat expensive, 6.5 lbs turkey. Everything turned out great (even though I am not known for my cooking!), and they all seemed to have a good time. We were able to each share something that we are thankful for. "I am thankful that God brought our family to Holland to connect with old friends and make new friends that we can spend our time with."

We are also SO thankful that our families are so supportive of us being here, even though they all wish we were closer, but they understand that we must do what we are called to do. We miss you all and wish we could be there. It is a little strange not being home for this very special, family-oriented, always such a big deal, day, but it is also nice to see that even when we can't be with our families, God shows us over and over again all the things we have to be thankful for.

We hope that wherever you are, you too can count the blessings that God has given to you and be grateful.


Miss Sonja came over to help me with last minute cooking.
Green bean casserole and sweet potatos
Here is our cooked turkey. For reference, we cooked it in a 9.5x11 cake pan.

Our turkey, fully carved.Antoine, Kim's boyfriend, and the kids. He let them play with the games on his Iphone. Brave guy!
The group for dinner.


Of course, this was really just a practice round for us as we have invited our Dutch classes over to celebrate Thanksgiving on Saturday night with us. There could be as many as 25 people. I know that this is not as many people as I typically invite to parties and may not sound like very many, but I usually do potluck style when I have large groups, and for this Jeremy and I are doing all the cooking! Please, please, please - pray that it goes well and that I don't burn too much!