.: Happy Thanksgiving

Monday, November 24, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

I should be the first to write Happy Thanksgiving out of all those American mum's who keep blogs because... we've already had ours! We celebrated yesterday and had our big Thanksgiving feast for Sunday lunch. Of course, Thanksgiving is an American celebration so many kiwis have no idea what it is. Fortunately, there is an American club in Auckland that we belong to so that our children can have some association with part of their heritage.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was held at a yacht club on the harbour with beautiful views of the ocean. In America, Thanksgiving is in fall, but here it is spring which makes it very strange to see the traditional fall decorations this time of year (which the club decorated all the tables with). It was far from a spring day though. In fact, it was quite stormy with very strong winds. So strong that Tony had to keep holding my skirt down while I got Noah out of the car because the wind kept blowing it up!

We arrived at the yacht club all dressed up and joined by our friends Julia and Chris who were curious to learn about the American tradition (or perhaps were simply in need of a good "feed" :) For me, the best part of the day was turning up to such a beautiful meal without having to do any preparation or cooking (although I am going to attempt to cook a turkey for Christmas and Tony is begging for me to make pumpkin pie). I've never had to do much for Thanksgiving dinner in Tony's family anyway, but it was nice to simply focus on only eating! And that I did... and so did Noah and Hayden. All three of us ate our hearts out until we were ready to burst! Sadly, the pumpkin pie tasted awful, but the apple pie was so good that it made up for it. The turkey was moist and lovely and we had all the usual Thanksgiving food: ham, mashed potato, gravy, pumpkin, beans, cranberry sauce and corn bread. The only thing missing was the stuffing (maybe they forgot it?).

Before we ate, everyone stood up to sing the American National anthem and then the New Zealand anthem. Everyone sung with enthusiasm and there were a few older men with very deep loud voices who bellowed out the anthems with spirit - they sent chills down our spine. Someone from the embassy read the presidential Thanksgiving proclamation which was followed by a couple of speeches and two short talks by a couple of young American boys. We really didn't get to hear much of those though as we were two busy getting the boys to play quietly.

The setting was really cool as we were surrounded by windows outlooking the choppy waves. There were around 14 tables set up and just over 100 people. While we ate a man stood at the front singing and playing the saxophone. He sung everything from the Mama Mia soundtrack to Neil Diamond.

Noah, Ashton and I fell asleep on the way home... true sign of a real Thanksgiving meal. We are glad we were able to enjoy a Thanksgiving experience downunder. And we are so thankful that today and everyday we have so much plentiful good food to eat. As a family we are also extremely thankful for all of the many blessings God has given us... a nice warm home, healthy children, a good job, friends, family and above all the gospel on the earth.

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Funny Comments

Ashton walking into the supermarket quietly whispers to himself: "Please can I have macaroni and cheese, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Ashton: "I want to live with Jesus." Mummy: "Why?" Ashton: "Because he be nice to me and he gives me bread and water!"

Mummy, examining Ashton's legs, and thinking: My goodness, what hairy legs. Ashton, unimpressed with Mummy's examination, pulls away: "Don't touch them. I'm growing Daddy legs!"

Hayden gets upset at Ashton: "Right Ashton, that's it! I'm telling Jesus on you!"

Ashton with a cold: "I'm snotty as a piggy."

Hayden: "The sun is burning my eyeballs."

Hayden: "Mummy, how come your penis is missing?"

Hayden: "I get the bigger piece of cake because my skeleton is bigger."

Hayden (3yrs old) sees me get dressed in the morning and stares at my breasts with a confused look..."What thooooose be for???"

Hayden: "I don't want to finish my pizza, it's got blood all over it."

Hayden: "Ashton hit me in the heart."

Hayden learns the planets at Preschool: Mercury, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Penus!

Hayden (shopping with me and whining): "My brain hurts forever because you haven't buyed me anything."

QUOTES

Like the changing leaves of fall...My little boy is now a man.
--Author Unknown

Boys are God's way of telling you that your house is too neat!
--Author Unknown

There never has been, nor will there ever be, anything quite so special as the love between a mother and a son.
--Author Unknown

Boys are found everywhere - on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to. Mothers love them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers tolerate them, adults ignore them and Heaven protects them. A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a cut on its finger, Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair and the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket.
--Alan Marshall Beck

Something For A Giggle....

I Owe My Mother ....

My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE. "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

My mother taught me RELIGION. "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL. "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

My mother taught me LOGIC. " Because I said so, that's why."

My mother taught me MORE LOGIC. "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

My mother taught me FORESIGHT. "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

My mother taught me IRONY. "Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS. "Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM. "Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

My mother taught me about STAMINA. "You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

My mother taught me about WEATHER. "This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY. "If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE. "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION. "Stop acting like your father!"

My mother taught me about ENVY. "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION. "Just wait until we get home."

My mother taught me about RECEIVING. "You are going to get it when you get home!"

My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE. "If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way."

My mother taught me ESP. "Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

My mother taught me HUMOR. "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT. "If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

My mother taught me GENETICS. "You're just like your father."

My mother taught me about my ROOTS. "Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

My mother taught me WISDOM. "When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

My mother taught me about JUSTICE. "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!