A Thankful Day

This Thanksgiving the Browns stayed home in Nashville. At first I was a little sad I wasn't going to spend Thanksgiving with my sister's family as we had originally planned. However, I soon replaced the feeling of regret with relief as we got to just relax and enjoy the long weekend with Shawn without having to pack up and drive 12 hours one way! We ended up having a lovely, restful day together. We truly have so much to be thankful for-- the beauty of the fall weather, the abundance of our feast and the overflow of joy and love and peace that we share together as a family all reminded me over and over again of the blessings God has graciously given me.

We spent the morning snuggling, reading, and going for a leisurely walk with Hannah leading the way. Exploring a drainage ditch, balancing on a wall, and greeting the neighbors' cats and dogs delighted all of us.

After our walk, Hannah settled down for her nap and Shawn and I enjoyed visiting and working in the kitchen. When Hannah woke up, after a few last minute preparations we all enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast complete with turkey with a cranberry raisin sauce, sweet potato swirls, green bean casserole, and homemade rolls. We even let Hannah eat off her own china plate-- she felt very special!

The bread was Hannah's favorite part! However she wasn't so sure about the sweet potatoes!

And what Thanksgiving dinner is complete with out the . . . .

Pumpkin Pie! (Made with pumpkin from our Avalon Acres Farm. Mmm, Mmmm good!)

After dinner Hannah and Shawn enjoyed some good books while I cleaned up the dishes.

Then it was time to put up the Christmas tree! Contrary to the picture below, Hannah was delighted and amazed. She immediately broke into dance at the first notes of Christmas music and continued to be in a state of wonder as we withdrew the tree from it's box and set it up. When we turned the lights on she SO happy! We were too enthralled with the process to take pictures so by the time we did-- this is the only one we got.

"Can I really touch this, Mom?"

Yes you can! And there will be lots more Christmas wonder to come!

So, in the end it was a delightful day filled with sweet memories we will all treasure. And as a TCK who often has trouble feeling like I have any sense of belonging to a place or a culture of my own, getting to share the American traditional turkey and green bean casserole with my daughter and husband in my own house somehow made me feel a little more grounded to this place I now call home. I enjoyed creating the beginnings of family culture and traditions for my own daughter.