Giving Thanks

We have so much to be thankful for and while I try to express my gratitude to our Heavenly Father daily, I love celebrating a holiday dedicated to giving thanks. It wasn't quite the same this year seeing as it is not recognized here in South Africa but it ended up being a Thanksgiving we will always remember. Trent worked all day, which was weird, and I spent the day with all my new very tan children. That evening I represented the U.S.A. at a Relief Society activity about Christmas around the world. I knew Trent was hoping for a turkey but there was no way I was going to make a huge turkey for just our little family, especially in our hot little condo with a very little oven. So instead I paid about $40 American dollars for a 1 pound turkey breast! For some unknown reason turkey is not very popular here, hence the high price tag. Anna ended up going out with a friend so only Aiden and Trent were home to eat their tiny turkey, potatoes, rolls and veggies! Trent sent me a text later and said it was a very good dinner but I know it's only because he hasn't had anything like it in months!

As part of the church activity I was asked to bring a sample of a traditional Christmas food from the States and I opted for pumpkin pie! I was a little concerned at first because canned pumpkin doesn't exist here and I wasn't sure how to make a pie without it! Thank goodness for smart friends who suggested I cook a real pumpkin and then puree it. I thought that sounded a bit extreme but since I couldn't think of any other traditional food they may not be familiar with here, I decided to try it out. I ended up making 8 pies and I have to brag...they were DELICIOUS! It was a huge hit with the ladies at church or at least they were able to swallow and pretend to like it!

Although, we didn't really celebrate Thanksgiving on the actual day we were invited by a family in the ward to come over for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday. It was extremely thoughtful of them to prepare a large turkey and all the fixings just for us! They even had a paper turkey centerpiece that said Happy Thanksgiving! They have a large family so it was nice to have so many people to celebrate with! We spent most of the afternoon at their house and had a really great time. It meant so much to us that they would take so much time and effort to celebrate an American holiday! We were sad to not be with our own family this year and I thought it would be better to just forget about the holiday. But the Fourie family didn't let us do that and I am so grateful to them for that!

This has been the best year for our family. It started out a bit rocky but that just makes this last few months even better! I don't know if you can truly appreciate how blessed you are if you don't have some hardships mixed in, so I am even grateful for the bad times too! I am literally bursting with gratitude!