I recently organized a Thanksgiving party with our homeschool group. I wanted to contribute something American to the great group of families we've met here, so on Friday we celebrated. I encouraged the kids to come with an homemade Indian headband or pilgrim hat. We had way more indians, but who could resist bright colors and feathers? There were about 60 people in attendance! My great friend Frances helped me organize it all. We had 3 craft tables where you could watercolor fall leaves, make pinecone turkeys, write something you're thankful for on a leaf for the thanksgiving tree, or do a pilgrim coloring page.
The highlight was the food table. I encouraged the making of pies. There was pumpkin, pecan, apple, butterscotch, chocolate, and then cupcakes etc. My lovely parents mailed over some tissue paper turkeys and candy corn. That is a candy they don't have here. The kids were very fond of it.
Then I told some history of the pilgrims, a story about Squanto the indian, and we read Psalm 100 together. I needed to do some good research about the history of it all, because I honestly didn't know details about the first Thanksgiving.
Something I was proud to learn more about were the official proclamations George Washington and then Abraham Lincoln made to declare Thanksgiving a day to give thanks to God.
"The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God... I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens" -Abraham Lincoln
It's easy to stray away from what the holiday was originally created to do, credit the source of the One who truly has given us everything we have.
Life for us in New Zealand has been pretty awesome so far. Jared has a job he enjoys, we have made some wonderful friends, and we can't get over the beautiful scenery. But there are struggles with uprooting your family and moving to a new place too. Personally I still have little patience with my boys sometimes, speak in a way that is not kind, and am just down right selfish. Being so far away from family and friends I know really well is challenging, but I never have to be far away from the One who can comfort me like no one else. (Although Jared is a great comforter, he works a lot still and I'm talking about God:) I'm reminded that not only do I need to be mindful of all that God has given us, and thank Him, I need to rely on Him more everyday. God is the source of my strength and is with me (and you) wherever we go. Thank you Lord!
The highlight was the food table. I encouraged the making of pies. There was pumpkin, pecan, apple, butterscotch, chocolate, and then cupcakes etc. My lovely parents mailed over some tissue paper turkeys and candy corn. That is a candy they don't have here. The kids were very fond of it.
Then I told some history of the pilgrims, a story about Squanto the indian, and we read Psalm 100 together. I needed to do some good research about the history of it all, because I honestly didn't know details about the first Thanksgiving.
Something I was proud to learn more about were the official proclamations George Washington and then Abraham Lincoln made to declare Thanksgiving a day to give thanks to God.
"The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God... I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens" -Abraham Lincoln
It's easy to stray away from what the holiday was originally created to do, credit the source of the One who truly has given us everything we have.
Life for us in New Zealand has been pretty awesome so far. Jared has a job he enjoys, we have made some wonderful friends, and we can't get over the beautiful scenery. But there are struggles with uprooting your family and moving to a new place too. Personally I still have little patience with my boys sometimes, speak in a way that is not kind, and am just down right selfish. Being so far away from family and friends I know really well is challenging, but I never have to be far away from the One who can comfort me like no one else. (Although Jared is a great comforter, he works a lot still and I'm talking about God:) I'm reminded that not only do I need to be mindful of all that God has given us, and thank Him, I need to rely on Him more everyday. God is the source of my strength and is with me (and you) wherever we go. Thank you Lord!