Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving

...from our little Pilgrim family to yours!



We have just celebrated Thanksgiving '09 on a hot and sunny day here in Sydney. While the rest of the country went about its normal business on just another November Thursday, we took the kids out of school early, made our Thanksgiving crafts and watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (we have to do something to homeschool them in the Thanksgiving traditions!) Rick even played some audio of American football games through the web so that we felt like granddad was watching games in the next room!

While we stuck with some of our traditional fare, like my great-grandmother's potato stuffing, we abandoned the hours of roasting a turkey in a hot oven for grilled chicken breast on the barbecue. My Aunt Sarah has been visiting for the past 2 weeks, so it was wonderful to have her with us, and her contribution of a pumpkin casserole made with canned pumpkin smuggled through customs was a treat! (I must add, it was also a pleasure just to have another family member to enjoy making the meal with.) Our neighbors Wes and Margaret, who have joined us for the past 3 years now, made the meal complete. Embracing our culture, Margaret has made a delicious, Martha Stewart-worthy apple pie for the past 2 years, even though she had never made one before.

The kids topped off the day with a post-meal swim in the pool with Rick while we cleaned up the kitchen- not quite a football game in the late autumn chill, but we have to work with what we are given!

We pause to give thanks for all of our family and friends around the world. How blessed we are to have crossed paths with you during our lives.

Much love from Anne, Rick, Erin, Claire, Lachlan (and Aunt Sarah!)



The only turkey that graced our Thanksgiving table was the
cantalope, pear, grapes, cheese and red pepper variety!


1 comment:

Amy Webb said...

Hello Daceys!

Glad to know that Puritan heritage is being remembered at your house!

I am prompted to write to you all because of two recent happenings which Rick, especially, will appreciate.

The first is the Sixth Annual World Aids Day concert to benefit Malawian orphans. Thanks to the tremendous talent that Robin Sellati enlisted, including the Trinity Girls Choir from New Haven and The Ct. Liturgical Dance Network dancers, the concert was a true feast for all those who attended. Your piano was used by both Christian Hakim (age 10 and a budding pianist) and a member of the Bennett Family Musical Group who pounded out a piece by Liszt. It was affirming to see that even the balconies had a good number of folks in them! The offering totalled more than $3,000 and the Silent Auction of photographs and paintings by church members gained another $1500. This will buy a lot of fertilizer and pay a lot of school fees for the children of Nthandizi. Praise God!

The second event was a new and improved Christmas Fair that took place yesterday. I had the joy of working in the downstairs children's area wrapping gifts outside the "pillow room" which had been set up for Christmas storytelling. To my delight, Beth and Kevin Ross's daughter Emily was reading to the children from Spinner McClock! I must admit it gave me a pang of nostalgia. I loved hearing Rick recite it to all of us "children" in past years.

It seems that you are happily ensconced in your Australian home, yet keeping connections in the U.S. I wish you all a blessed Christmas, miss you all, and look forward to the day when we can meet again! Love, Amy Webb