I Have a Social Life...part one

I laughingly say that I have a social life about two weeks out of the year--starting with Thanksgiving and leading into Christmas. It is then that I can count on 1-2 social engagements. The rest of the year my social life revolves around church activities and kid activities. I am sure there are other moms of young children out there who can identify. This year, we have been incredibly blessed with a flurry of activities, so indulge me over the next few posts while I share some.

The highlight of my social calendar is without a doubt Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday as a child, and I've not lost it. As a kid, it centered around my maternal grandmother's house as her sisters and their kids all came to celebrate--sometimes more than three dozen gathering around the tables. The cooking started early. If harvest had gone well, and was finished, the men would probably go hunting sometime during the day. There were lots of cousins dashing in and out of the house and laughter filled the air. I miss my grandmother most on Thanksgiving day. She was an amazing cook, and many of her recipes died with her. She would say that she couldn't write them down but she could show me. This year as I cooked I took pictures of the steps along the way. I plan to make a Thanksgiving cookbook for my girls, showing them how to prepare the meal, in her honor.


Since moving to the United Kingdom, Thanksgiving is different. It is not a holiday and most people here don't understand any of the history. So, we like to invite a few friends to share with us each year to give them a taste of what would be happening in the States. This year we had three families who could come--a couple who serves on the diaconate with German and have been among our closest friends since we arrived, a couple who just moved to our church (their daughter is Jewel's age) and a young Scottish couple who are moving in the coming week down South where his new Army posting is located. We started the evening off with a little quiz about Thanksgiving history--complete with a prize. Then we enjoyed the traditional feast.

It was so much fun getting to know everyone better and laughing and just being together. The girls had a blast playing with their new friend. Makes me thankful (no pun intended) to see how God has blessed us with a church family to share with and a home to open up and friendships that can last into eternity. If I didn't have another social event all year, this one would make it worth it.

btw...Jewel took this picture, didn't she do well?