Thankful

Last Thursday we celebrated Thanksgiving at home, just the five us. Ben cooked an excellent dinner that we all agreed was his best yet.  There are so many things for us to be grateful for this year, but mostly I am thankful for stability.  Stable jobs, a home, health insurance, family for support, healthy children and the ability to compromise and work through any obstacles that present themselves.  Having that stability makes all the difference.

Book No. 2 for the December book marathon was chosen by Vita.  For those of you who know her this choice will come as no surprise.  If you ever need a Barbie, Fairy or Strawberry Shortcake book, Vita will have it.  Although I’m not a huge fan of Barbie, this is the classic Nutcracker tale.  All of us agree that the best part of this book is the illustrations by Robert Sauber.  The colors in this book are very rich and vivid.

I think this Christmas might be a good time to try to squeeze in a trip to see The Nutcracker.  The last time we went Blackburn was just a baby and he slept through the performance.

More snow is needed…

This week we got a good dusting of snow but we still need more in order for it to feel like winter and the holidays.  Here are some pictures from the park overlooking the city and a picture from one of the office windows at work.  Everything looks so pretty covered in white.

Wishing everyone a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Where’s the turkey?

Where’s the turkey?  This is what my kids asked this weekend.  Several years ago I bought a stuffed turkey at a local thrift shop and it is our main Thanksgiving decoration. It sits proudly on the dining room table, a symbol of Thanksgiving in the Savage household. Halloween decorations came down on Saturday and I dug through piles of “junk” in the hall closet until I found the turkey buried under stockings, ice skates and jolly st. nick ornaments.  Now November is officially here.  I’m glad the kids appreciate my thrifting powers, I feel justified in making this purchase so long ago.

Last Thanksgiving Celebration

Yesterday Ben’s parents visited for a late Thanksgiving celebration and to see the girls’ soccer game.  We had ham, corn, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, cornbread, vegetarian harvest roast , yams, and cranberry jelly.  For dessert Ben’s mom baked a gluten-free pumpkin cake topped off with whip cream.

The gluten-free corn bread was a favorite.

After dinner we went to the soccer game and we were unfortunately hammered by the other team, 12-1.  Are girls are good, especially during the outdoor season, we haven’t quite got the hang of indoor soccer yet, but the other team – they were good, real good.  I think all of their goals were scored by one girl.  Despite the loss, the girls had fun and were all smiles.

There was a bit of a size difference between Vita and her opponent.

 

Giving thanks

This year Thanksgiving was very low-key at our house.  Just the five of us. We didn’t leave the house at all.  We slept in, prepared the meal, and relaxed afterwards.  It was perfect.  Here are some snapshots of our day.

The turkey was buttered, surrounded by carrots and red potatoes and then slid into the oven.

We just get a turkey breast because we like white meat. Benjamin is a vegetarian so it’s just us eating the bird.

Ben made some gluten-free stuffing. Isabella was a big fan.

There was also mashed potatoes, corn, vegetarian harvest roast and gravy. Plus this awesome store-bought, gluten-free apple pie. This was really good.

The days leading up to Thanksgiving showed long lines at the local food pantry.  We would pass by on the way to my work and see the lines wrapped around the buildings.  The elderly, the young, mothers with kids, fathers with kids, all races…the kids were shocked about the number of people waiting for food.  Sometimes it is easy to forget how fortunate we are.   I am thankful for so much. Family, friends, healthy children, food, jobs, a home. Wishing everyone the best for the upcoming holiday season.