Give Thanks

Here’s the recipe for a wonderful, fun, heart-warming Thanksgiving:

Step 1: The turkey.

Every Thanksgiving needs a turkey. Duh. So I ignored the fact that I am German and therefore only semi-qualified to cook a real Thanksgiving turkey and got my hands dirty (which I can now proudly cross off of my “30 Things To Do Before I’m 30” list). By the way, did you know that they stuff BOTH ends of the turkey with nasty stuff that needs to be taken out before you cook it?!? You probably did, actually. Well, I didn’t, and I am so thankful for my mother-in-law who called me the day before Thanksgiving and told me to make sure to not forget the other end of the turkey! I passed on this vital piece of information to my friend Emily, who was also attempting her first turkey, who so succinctly said: “Double gross!” Agreed. Anyway, thanks to Mom and Pioneer Woman, the turkey turned out delicious!

Step 2: The people.

We felt so blessed to be able to celebrate with some of our “family away from family” who all stayed on campus over the break. Most of the people we had met only months ago, and it amazes me over and over again how close of a bond one can have with a brother or sister in Christ after only such a short time. It was pretty cool to have 4 nations represented at our international Thanksgiving: Germany, Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. (not including a guy who grew up in Ecuador and a staff member who was a missionary in Papua New Guinea).

Step 3: The other food.

Stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberries, green bean casserole, mac&cheese, yams, salad, gravy… the works! Not to forget the desserts: pumpkin pie, chocolate satin pie, pumpkin bread, caramel apple cake, a Canadian dessert I forgot the name of, rice crispy treats, ice cream, and coffee. YUM!

Step 4: The Game.

We played one of our favorite games: pictionary telephone! Thanksgiving-themed, of course. One person draws a scene from a phrase (example: “A pilgrim waterskiing behind the Mayflower”), the next person writes down what they see, the next person draws from what that person wrote, and so on. If you haven’t played it, you should (after getting directions that are a little clearer than what I just gave you)! It was quite hilarious and we had everything from Abraham Lincoln popping balloons, Hansel and Gretel riding on a reindeer, and an old man smoking a pipe in his bed (still don’t know how that came about).

Step 5: Give Thanks.

The most important part — being thankful for all that God has so graciously given us. We all shared what we were thankful for before eating, and we also wrote on the leaves of this cute thankfulness tree that someone made:

Today, I am very thankful for the time we had with everyone to celebrate, laugh, talk, and eat… and I’m thankful for YOU reading this blog 🙂