sunday snapshot: {thanksgiving #1}

Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving. Because Thanksgiving Day, Andy will be in Shanghai, the kids will go to school, and it will pretty much be life as usual. Not a holiday here. So we move the holiday up a bit. For the most part, it is like thanksgiving anywhere in the US: turkey, cranberry sauce, dressing, the works. But some things are slightly different. . .

No pepperidge farm. No cans of cranberry sauce. No cans of pumpkin.

Our pumpkin pie comes from this.

I was unsure how much this little pumpkin would make. Would it even be enough for a whole pie?

Turns out that I was wrong and it was more than enough for a pie. It probably would have been enough for two, but I didn't want to take the time to make a second crust.

Some of the challenges were not just making things from the natural ingredients. I had to hunt for the turkey. Went to three stores before I found a turkey. And I won't even mention what I had to pay for it. . .

And to get cranberry sauce, I used dried cranberries.

Then I have the added the challenge of my oven. Don't misunderstand me, I am so grateful that I even have an oven. Ovens are a rarity here in China. But it is tiny. I can fit the turkey and only the turkey [and it barely fit!]. I had to take out all the other racks just to get it to fit.

With all these extra challenges, you might wonder if it is worth it. Going to all that work.

But I love thanksgiving. I love all the foods. The sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, the dressing. Mmm, the dressing. Not to leave out the turkey, but I could eat only the sides and be so happy.

I love the sentiment of the holiday. Remembering to be thankful. Thankful for all that we have. Ultimately thankful to God, and all He has done for us.

So is it worth it? Oh, yes.

Our kids have been talking about this for a while now. They each have their favorites. Josh of course is all about the turkey. Though he also devours the cranberries. Becca is my girl and digs the sides. Sweet potatoes and dressing are her faves. And little T is our bread girl.

Maintaining these traditions even when we don't live in the US is important. Yes, it is so worth it. Especially because we don't live in the US.

The spread:

And because I am slightly crazy, this was only Thanksgiving #1. I will be cooking 2 more. This one was with our small group (from our international church) and we had 25+ people here.

But our small group is our family here in Suzhou. They are aunts and uncles to our kids. Our dear friends. I love how we have learned from each one of them. They are each here for a bit of time. Anywhere from a couple months to a couple years. I love how diverse we are and how that brings such a great dynamic to our small group. Just as an example, everyone in this picture is from a different country. [Wales, Germany, South Africa, India, Indonesia, and of course our little American]

After eating way too much. Because that is part of the whole tradition. We played games and enjoyed one another until we were ready to handle pie.

In the midst of all these people, my boy was curled up on the couch reading.

But the absolutely best part of the evening? The fact that I did not wash a dish. I was shooed out of the kitchen and my kitchen magically cleaned itself.

And we get to do it all again next Saturday. Though that one will be a slightly smaller scale. I love the holidays.

And when my kids are older and looking back on their childhood, I hope they remember that our house was a gathering place. A place where all felt welcomed. They will remember that no matter where we lived, certain traditions were always important. And remember how much we loved sharing those traditions with others.

I hope you have a great week and build some traditions with your own family.

Happy Thanksgiving!