Thankful - Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is certainly a time of reflection. This is something truly unique to our country.  If sources are to be believed, Canada is the only other country that celebrates Thanksgiving outside of the USA.

We may take this for granted.  This is something genuinely cool about our country.  Americans are fast-paced and like shortcuts - but we purposely carve (pun intended) out time to be thankful in the midst of our busy-ness.

We gorge ourselves in delicious food, we take a day (or two) off to be together.

This is spectacular.

As far as I can tell, Marisa enjoyed her first ever Thanksgiving.

For the month of November, the exchange program encouraged students to start thankful jars with their families.  I. loved. this. idea.

Our family spent the month writing things we are thankful for EVERY. DAY.

But the best part - we have not yet looked at them.  Marisa felt too much pressure to read them at Thanksgiving and we agreed it should be natural and not forced.

So - I boxed our thankfulness notes up with our fall decor, and we will open it up next year and read them - kind of like a thankfulness time capsule.

A family in the exchange program hosted a Friendsgiving for the exchange students at the Shakopee Fire Station before Thanksgiving - this was a fun pot-luck event with the students and student host families.

Marisa and I also attended a Thanksgiving Service at Grace Church the night before - I really need more intentional thankful moments and reflection - grateful for time set aside for that.

We spent Thanksgiving Day at my aunt's house in St. Paul.  It was a wonderful day and I'm thankful for our time together.  My heart can have bitterness at times, but I let it go this day - thankful.

Also - this note (see picture below) from Marisa on how thankful she is for us - melted my heart.

Thankful for so much.

P.S. Marisa thinks pumpkin pie is overrated. 

Our Thankfulness jar

Marisa's super sweet, surprise note to us

Exchange student Friendsgiving


TURKEY...

Bountiful feast

New desserts

Robert Paulson - our creepy new elf to surprise and scare each other with delight with!



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