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Monday, November 30, 2015

Thanksgiving 2015

My family and I do not celebrate many holidays, but one we do look forward to every year is Thanksgiving.  Grandma brought her specialty, seven-layer salad.  My sister Charity and my mom made turkey, mashed potatoes, and bread rolls.  My youngest sister (who sells pies) made pecan, apple, pumpkin, and raisin pies, and chocolate chip cookies.
I made my super-fast homemade cranberry sauce and carrot salad, opened a can of green beans, a bag of frozen cream corn, and a can of pineapples, and set the table... This time, I adhered to tradition, resisting my e̶v̶i̶l̶  humanitarian urge to set paper plates in an effort to a̶v̶o̶i̶d̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶h̶e̶s̶  conserve water.

We enjoyed the company of Grandpa and Grandma Carson, my cousin Keith, and his girlfriend Deidre.  As I wrote in my Family Dinner post last year, we always have lively table discussions.  This year we discussed the upcoming election.  
One person posited that the world would end if Trump were elected, as Trump's "shut up" remarks might not go over very well in negotiations with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.  I commented that Trump is one of the few candidates who doesn't seem anti-Putin in his speeches.

Another family member says he's leaning toward Marco Rubio.  Yet another says she'd just as well vote for the guy across the street as for any of the candidates.  Ben Carson seems like a good man, she remarked, but he doesn't seem electable... (Who could not sound like a good man with a name like Carson?!)

After dinner and dishes, we settled down into the living room for our annual recording on what we were thankful for.  It has been a good year, and who wouldn't be thankful after a meal like the one we had been served?  One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving is eating all the leftovers, so I was set to be thankful for days.  But I'm most thankful for the love and salvation of Jesus Christ.

"In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  --1 Thessalonians 5:18
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Still think *you're* having a bad day? 
I ran across this article while browsing through newspapers at the local historical society.  
No matter how bad of a day you're having, there's always something for which to be grateful!
For what are you most thankful?

50 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. It was very strange to find it in an old newspaper!

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  2. I love seven layer salad! Your food all looks so good. Nice to hear you had a great gathering.

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  3. glad you had a good family gathering! the pie line-up looks great! :)

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  4. Those pies look delicious--I think I would like to become good friends with your sister!
    Thanksgiving is about the only holiday my family celebrates as well. This year we enjoyed eating chicken casserole, asparagus and apple pie followed by a hike in the rain! Sprinkled throughout were discussions on the decrepit state of our country...during which I conveniently found something else to do. :) Not a favorite topic of mine.
    That looks like quite the article. I'd be curious to read the rest!

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    1. Yes, being good friends with my pie-baking sister is a very good idea!
      Sounds like you had an adventurous Thanksgiving--hiking in the rain! We grow asparagus in our garden, and my parents enjoy it every spring. I'm not a great fan of it myself, but apple pie sounds delicious, and so does chicken casserole!
      Wouldn't it be nice if the state of our country were a happy discussion?! Oh well, I don't really think that's happening any time soon, but I can always live in hope. An old friend always used to say, live in hope, even if you do die in despair...she was quite the optimist. At least we have hope for eternal life and the coming of God's kingdom, and can rejoice in hope of the glory of God--that is a hope that will never make us ashamed.

      That article makes me wonder if there was a #16th wife... I can say one thing for that guy...he certainly didn't believe in giving up!

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  5. I am most thankful for a loving, wonderful family -- that all are healthy and that we all get along. Politics is always a "sticky" situation here so we avoid it during family meals. lol Looks like you had a great meal. I have not had seven-layer salad in years! xo Diana

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    1. Glad your family is all doing well! And it's understable that some families choose to avoid politics at meals.

      We seem to have just about every viewpoint in my extended family--all sorts of very different people with opinions from every spectrum. But we choose not to avoid the "exciting" topics...we're used to disagreeing, and expect to disagree; we all know we love each other anyway.

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  6. I really enjoyed this post...I think the pie line-up looks good, specially that pecan pie! My daughter loves them but shouldn't eat them so I don't make them any more!

    I am very thankful that Lorelei, our granddaughter is only 15 minutes away instead of 2 hours.

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    1. Oooh, pecan pie has to be on my list of favorites! It's awesome that your granddaughter lives near you; I'm sure it's a real joy to have her around!

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  7. Yum, all of that food looks super delicious. That's a lot of different kinds of pies, I've never tried pecan or raisin. Thanksgiving is basically the only holiday our family celebrates too. We do gifts on Thanksgiving or new years day. That article..wow, haha that's crazy. I'm so very thankful for my salvation as well, that would be #1. Glad you had a great time with your family!

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    1. You are really missing out if you've never tried pecan pie! It is absolutely delicious! We generally don't do anything special on New Year's Day (except sleep in!). We celebrate New Year's Eve with family, food, games, and movies, and watch the new year come in. It's amazing we've almost completed another year!

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    2. Haha, okay I'm gonna need to try some soon then! ;) Oops, yeah I meant new year's eve, and cool, we do all of those things too. :D It really is!

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    3. Yes, always interesting to hear of similarities with fellow bloggers! Thanks for stopping by!

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  8. Those pies! Yum! :-D I am glad you had a good time! This is only my second time "officially" celebrating Thanksgiving (lived in Mexico almost my entire life) at my in-laws. When I was young, we did have a small class celebration at my Christian school, but that was about it. Needless to say, I was looking forward to this Thanksgiving! ;-) We managed not to talk about politics - that is until my husband's brother got there later that afternoon, haha! Thank you for sharing your pictures!

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    1. Ha! Well, I'm glad you got to spend time with family! Thanks for stopping by! Take care!

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  9. I'm most thankful for the Lord's goodness and mercy and love. I'm glad you had a good family Thanksgiving meal. We did, too, and still have a few leftovers to enjoy :)

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    1. I'm sure they were delicious! Thanks for stopping by, Gracie!

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  10. This post made me laugh! So glad you had a good Thanksgiving. <3 ~Lisa

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  11. Hello, looks like you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Lots of yummy food and pies. The salad does look delicious. I am thankful for my family and health. Have a happy day and week ahead!

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    1. Those are two of the things I am most thankful for as well. Have a beautiful week, Eileen!

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  12. Hi Bethany, all dishes look good, however there is a mouth-watering turkey.
    I think, I'm thankful for the mercy of God.

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    1. Without His mercy we would be lost!
      Ah, yes, that turkey was delicious!

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  13. Bethany, it looks and sounds like you had a wonderful Thanksgiving...all of the food looks so delicious! Just another day of breathing in air should be enough to make us thankful! Sweet post :)

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    1. It's important to remember to be thankful for so many things that would be so easy to take for granted. Thanks for stopping by, Debby!

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  14. A nice of family gathering and a lot of home made delicious food

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  15. Looks and sounds like it was a delicious and lively Thanksgiving Bethany! ;)

    I am also most grateful for our wonderful Savior! But the gifts I say the biggest thanks for every night as I drift off - is for my family and friends. They mean the world to me.

    Blessings to you my Friend. xoxo

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    1. Family and friends make life a lot happier! Blessings to you as well, Carrie!

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  16. Makes me wonder what Trump would say to other world leaders if he becomes president. He's certainly not a diplomat.

    Luckily Thanksgiving did not turn into a political discussion for us this year. The closest thing was my brother's mother-in-law saying something about Disneyworld hiring illegal immigrants. I figured that was only a half-truth, the only thing I can find on the matter is them replacing some tech people with immigrants with work visas.

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    1. Trump claims he'll hire "smart" negotiators.

      It might be hard to completely avoid politics even if a family tried I think, with the election coming up next year.

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  17. I regret that I can not participate in such illustrious celebration and so delicious feast.

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    1. I hope you enjoy equally delicious feasts in your own home this holiday season.

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  18. My mom just made 7 layer salad for a potluck a few weeks ago--salads are not at all common here, but hers is often requested!
    That story about the 15th wife....ha...oh man...

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    1. Oh, that is awesome that your mom makes the same salad! Thanksgiving would not be the same for my family without 7-layer salad.

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  19. The conversation sounds as interesting as the food! What a great celebration!

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  20. Your family sounds wonderful - good food and great conversation. I hope no one gets mad when another member takes an opposite stand on politics! But I usually enjoy hearing what others think even if we don't see eye to eye. How do you decide which kind of pie you want a piece of?

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    1. The secret is to try a tiny slice of each. ;) Actually I think I went for pecan this time though...according to a couple of my siblings (and I rather agree), the other pies are just there to distract the other eaters from pecan, so there's more for us!

      My extended family is so used to disagreeing on politics that I don't think anyone really gets angry. We love each other in spite of our disagreements.

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  21. so you are conserving water, are you licking your plates clean? why i do ask? sometimes when we have a really good dessert in our family we do lick the plates clean because it is just that tasty. of course i pick on my brother about that, & say when you get a real lady friend will we do it then too? family times are the greatest. your food pics look yummy good. i see above - i would try a bit of each pie, that is my thing. a bit at least. ( :

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    1. Heh! My theory is just to use paper plates, that way I can throw them away instead of washing them. I would like to say I've never licked my plate clean, but that wouldn't be true--it's been a while though. ;) Family is so special! Love having a family like mine! And, yes, I totally agree with you on trying a slice of each pie! You have a brilliant mind!

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  22. I'm playing catch-up after being off the grid for a week. Love, love, love the food photos.

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  23. How did I miss this post? And all the beautiful food photography! Thank goodness I just ate because all these images would make me hungry! What a blessing to have such a loving family. I've got one of those and I'm so grateful for them. It sounds like you had a wonderful time together. And the food...all that glorious food!

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    1. Ah, yes! It would be very hard to beat the combination of time with family and good food!

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  24. Hi Bethany, The Thanksgiving meal sounds great. You mentioned opening a can of green beans and that reminded me ... One time I went over to a neighbor's house and they were having a big meal ... I asked who did the cooking and the man-of-the-family said he did ... so, I asked, Do you enjoy cooking? ... And he said, No, but I can open a can as well as anyone! :-) That one had me smiling for a while.

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