Thanksgiving

On Thursday, while you were still dreaming of your Thanksgiving meal, we were taking a French grammar test.  We can most definitely say that we have never before taken an exam on Thanksgiving Day and we hope to never do so again.

Thankfully, Thursday night, likely around the same time that our own families sat to eat around their tables in Pennsylvania, we gathered with our "French family" in 

Aix-les-Bains for a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

It was truly a night of thanks-giving as we each shared some of the many things we thank God for:

2 new babies on our team; a brother who is now a follower of Jesus; health; warm and comfortable homes; grandchildren; parents' houses being sold; good studies; opened doors with new contacts; a close team; God's faithfulness....

On Friday, we picked up our fresh 14 pound turkey from the local butcher (which we ordered nearly a month ago!) and began the preparations for our own Thanksgiving meal with some classmates and their friends and families, which we hosted today (Saturday).

Jordan was a bit nervous about cleaning out the turkey, but when he reached inside, 

he found it was already clean.

I spent more time in the kitchen this past week than I ever have before, 

but it was fun to host this traditional holiday for such appreciative guests.

I made my first pumpkin pie - crust and all!

My Grandma Ruth would have been proud of our table.  

Though days like this make us think it's time to purchase more place settings...

Jordan anxiously awaited for the turkey to cook.

It was perfect!

Here we are:  3 Spaniards (our classmate, her boyfriend, and his mom), a French man and his Russian wife (another classmate), a Chinese classmate, and the son of her French host family.

Only one classmate had eaten a Thanksgiving meal with an American friend in Spain before.  The others have heard of Thanksgiving for years but had never participated in the meal.

It was really fun to share our food (turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, baked corn, Amish cookies, pumpkin roll, and pumpkin pie) with our new friends as well as some of the history and traditions of this holiday.

They also brought lots of drinks and food to share, too.  

I think we could have fed the entire city of Aix-les-Bains!

Seeing as this was our first Thanksgiving "on our own", and our table was filled with people from all over the world, we thought it was the perfect time to start the tradition of the Thanksgiving Tablecloth.

We stole the idea from Jordan's aunt Annemarie....    

Each person around the table writes their name, the year, and something(s) they are thankful for.

Each year we will use the same tablecloth for our Thanksgiving meals and remember the things God has done for and given to us over the years.  

We'll also remember who He placed around our table each year.  

Our tablecloth may even teach us another language... ;)

While we missed being in Enon Valley with the Kissling family this year, 

we are thankful for the friends and "family" - and home - that God has given us in France.  

It was a different yet Happy Thanksgiving!