Thanksgiving 2012

I am only a few weeks late in posting this, but better late than never, right? 

Thanksgiving in Germany is ... different. You kind of have to change your expectations for the holiday. Both Brad & I are used to having family around with a table covered in family recipes that we have eaten for the past 20 some years. Football is always on the t.v. in the background and after a turkey induced nap, you head down to the Cinemark 25-plex movie theater to see one (or three) of the weekends newest movies. 

In Germany, you don't have family, the wife ruins the famous family recipes, there are no football games on tv, and the only theaters around are speaking German, or the movie showing was a new release LAST Thanksgiving. Expectations kind of go out the window. 

However, we are incredibly blessed to be in a military community where everybody else is feeling exactly the same way. We have some wonderful friends, Charee & Tanner Brown, that we were able to spend Thanksgiving with. It was a great first Thanksgiving together and especially as our first German Thanksgiving. (Okay, Germans don't celebrate Thanksgiving ... but you get my drift.)

The Monday before Thanksgiving, Brad's Squadron had a day of Turkey Trot football! REAL American Football!!! (I miss American Football ...) The guys were all ready to play, and some families showed up. The greatest thing ever though, is that the sun decided to shine all day long. (We don't see the sun much around these parts.) It was a really fun day and because Brad's team was eliminated early-on, I pretty much just got to hang out with him all day. 

(**Forewarning: all of these pictures are from my phone so the quality won't be the greatest)

Then, on Thanksgiving Eve, Kason's kindergarten class had a "Thanksgiving Feast". It was delicious food and somebody even brought tamales (I want to learn how to make tamales, they were amazing!). We just brought a ham ... nothing glamorous. It was kind of fun to watch Kason in his class with his friends. And, the best part is, Brad was even able to sneak away from work to be there! 

(they're pretty darn fun together)

Thanksgiving morning! I now understand why Thanksgiving can be stressful at times! I haven't usually had to cook very much in past years but, this year we were in charge of: the ham, the rolls, the mashed potatoes, a pumpkin pie & some appetizers. It was a busy morning! Thankfully, everything turned out yummmmy and by mid-afternoon we were all content. I didn't get any pictures of the kids decorating cookies but, we did that after dinner and before we headed to the church for dessert. (I didn't get any pictures of that either.)

(Kason was faking sleep ... Brad, not so much)

(seriously, everything tasted so amazing!!) 

Lastly, one of my favorite, albeit ridiculous, traditions of Thanksgiving weekend is going Black Friday shopping. I am usually one of those people who go out at midnight and get home at 6am with bags full of treasures. But, since all we have around here is a PX, and the deals were pretty pathetic, AND every American within an hours drive would probably be there - I opted out of that craziness this year. Instead, we just went to a town near us called Weiden and shopped in the cold weather, where nothing was on sale, and there were hardly any people. It was pretty much a perfect Black Friday. 

I was planning on a huge Thanksgiving post about all the things I am grateful but, that obviously isn't going to happen. I will say though, that I do have a lot to be grateful for. Living in Europe has opened my eyes to a lot of that. America is amazing. Europeans have some good things going, but, I would never want to be anything but an American. I have a pretty dang amazing husband who is my best friend, and a wonderful husband. Our little person that runs around is so much fun and constantly keeps us laughing. My family is amazing. My in-laws are equally amazing. The gospel I am apart of brings me happiness each and everyday. I have wonderful friends that are spread all over the world. I even have a roof over my head, clothes to wear and there is always food on our table. There is a lot more to be grateful for but for now, I will end with that. Our Thanksgiving weekend was surprisingly perfect.