Since we have lived in the Pacific Northwest, it has become our pattern for us to have the Thanksgiving Dinner/Giving Thanks celebration at our home (where our family out here is all within an hour or so from us). Our son and his wife host the overnight Christmas Celebration.
We do the same menu every year!
Everyone arrives around noon, and first we take a family group picture. Our family is growing so much, and this year we have the addition of Tory’s beau, and now we not only have three great grandchildren, but number four is due mid-January (all our greats belong to Conner and Caroline).
Our PNW Family (Note: our daughter and her family are in MO—we will get to see them at Christmas.
Back row: Our Guys: Russell (Grandad), Conner, Mark (Grandy—holding Oakley (2)), and Jonah (Tory’s friend)
Middle Row: Our Gals: Barbara (Mamo), Caroline, Kristy (Kiki), and Tory
Front Row: Our Greats: Leeland (7) and Lily (4)
Dinner is most certainly a ‘time for feasting.”
We always have a fresh turkey. This 17# young tom turkey had been in the oven since very early morning.
It is our tradition the last several years to have my Mother’s Butterhorn Rolls for our homemade bread for dinner.
I am here explaining to Jonah the story behind the Franciscanware Desert Rose china. These dishes came to me after Mother’s death, and some of the pieces actually belonged to my maternal grandmother (who was born in the late 1800’s).
Yes, our table is too small. For all good reasons!! But it is a glass-top table that does not have leaves, so we are somewhat crowded for now. But we are not complaining.
After dinner, we have coffee and get to the “heart of the matter,” and that is what we call “our thankful-for time.” While many families go around the table and say something they are thankful for, our time is quite a bit more involved than that. Firstly, we make sure to specify that we are thankful TO God for the blessings we are about to list. Then we do go around the table, and each one of us shares. This is a profoundly emotional time, where we feel comfortable being totally transparent with each other and before God. It is a combination of a revival meeting and a total, unapologetic sob fest. This year, Leeland (7) and Lily (4) participated in the experience.
Following the “gratitude service,” the guys (son Mark and his son Conner) get out their guitars and iPads (for chord charts), while Tory gets her phone set to cast the lyrics on to our TV screen. We are so blessed to have so much music talent in our family (vocal and instrumental), and it is always a very special time of Praise and Worship.
Then, time for pie! We always have Autumn Gold Pumpkin Pie (a traditional recipe that is SO much better than Libby’s recipe), and in recent years, the second pie is Apple Pie (for years it was Karo Nut Pecan Pie, but by popular demand, we now have Apple!).
What a blessed time!
The next day, we finished putting away all Thanksgiving stuff and getting out the Christmas decorations and putting up the Christmas tree. We have simplified so much in this one-level home, as compared to our huge house in Missouri. There we had three trees, for example. Having already pretty much finished our Christmas shopping and wrapping, we put the gifts under the tree right after we finished decorating.
All my life You have been faithful.
All my life You have been so, so good.
With every breath that I am able,
I will sing of the goodness of God.
Yes and Amen.
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