Thanks-giving 2010

This Thanksgiving, as our family was celebrating on the east coast, the west coast and places in-between…….I was struck by all that we have to be thankful for……..and in particular, all the people who have come into our lives and who have graciously shared their holidays and traditions with us, and with our kids.

This Thanksgiving, we celebrated with our son, Brian and fiancé, Rebekah, and Rebekah’s family (Parents, Jim and Annette, and sisters, Rachel, Elizabeth and Mary Grace)

In Rebekah’s family, all of the kids help put together an antipasto platter to be served as a light lunch, with the traditional turkey, dressing and mashed potatoes (and, of course, green bean casserole – some things are universal : ) to be served for dinner. In the kitchen, from the left, are: Rebekah, Mary Grace, Elizabeth, Annette, and Jim.

Mary Grace eagerly awaits the antipasto (Italian for “before the meal”) which is the traditional first course of a formal Italian meal. This tradition comes from Annette’s family. Along with the antipasto, we had a baked brie and crackers. We brought some pimento-cheese spread to share (recipe from Southern Living) as well as cornbread dressing.

In this photo: Rachael and Elizabeth await dinner.

I am also very thankful for this new age of communication, with emailing, digital photos, etc. which helps us stay connected even when we can not all be together.

Our daughter, Sarah and boyfriend, Jason stayed in Phoenix, AZ, (feeling extremely thankful for Sarah’s new accounting job) and celebrated Thanksgiving with Jason’s parents, Jim and Becky (and Sarah’s dog Lucky). Sarah and Jason helped out with the cooking, bringing the green bean cassarole.

From left: Jason, Sarah, and Becky – I noticed that they are having Becky’s traditional pumpkin roll for dessert. Several years ago, when we visited Phoenix for Thanksgiving, we enjoyed Becky’s wonderful cooking, including her pumpkin roll. Becky shared with me her recipe, but mine never has turned out as good as hers.

Our oldest daughter, Laura and our son-in-law, Dave, flew from Emeryville, CA to spend Thanksgiving with Laura’s Aunt Pam and Uncle Mike (Fred’s brother) in Encinitas, CA. As this whole group are vegetarians, the traditional Thanksgiving turkey was deliciously replaced with salmon. Other wonderful dishes included a potato dish ( recipe from Ruth Chris’ Steak House), Brussels sprouts, and green beans among other things.

Laura helps Pam in the kitchen. Later, Laura and Dave play cards.

During the Thanksgiving weekend, Mike and Pam's dog, Romer, celebrated his birthday with a group of his doggie "friends" at his traditional "doggie birthday party".

This year, we are truly blessed with family and friends, who, though we all may be spread out, remain close in spirit.