Thanksgiving and Birthday Weekend

Happy belated Thanksgiving, everyone! We had a great break, even though we just stayed here in Phoenix. Our good friends Caleb and Jordan invited us over to eat and watch football with them, so we didn't spend the day on our own. Jordan's parents were in town so it was a nice group to eat and laugh with!

I offered to bake some sweet potato casserole (James' favorite Thanksgiving dish ever since we visited my grandparents last year), as well as some fresh rolls (with dough from my bread maker). Both of these dishes were made from scratch so I started cooking as soon as I got up and didn't finish till right before we headed over there at 2:00. TOTALLY worth it though - Jordan and her mom said those were the best sweet potatoes they've ever had and demanded a copy of the recipe. =^)

In addition to my meager contributions, we had smoked turkey, ham, stuffing, green bean casserole, real mashed potatoes, cabbage salad, and a peach/mango jello that replaced the cranberry sauce that none of us really care for anyway. Later, we enjoyed some pecan pie and pumpkin cheese cake. Jordan had the dining room table all set with festive decorations. Each leaf on top of the napkins have our names written on it - very creative place cards! It's kind of hard to see in the picture there, but she also had a butter dish shaped like a turkey. =^)

While we ate, Caleb suggested we go around the table and talk about what we're thankful for. There were the typical answers - for my spouse, my family, my job, etc. But I made sure to point out how thankful I am for the wonderful friends we have here. I think the friendships we've formed with some of the other couples here at Luke goes deeper than a typical friendly relationship. These are not just people we call up when we want to go out and have fun. They are people with whom we have true Christian fellowship - a strong support system of people who love each other unconditionally, who we share everything with, and with whom we can be completely honest and transparent. It's been such a big blessing and I will really miss them all when we move.

The next day (Friday, Nov. 27th) was my 23rd birthday! I had mostly asked for money for cold weather clothes since I will need them when we move to Japan, so James graciously agreed to take me out and braved the crowds and lines at Old Navy so I could get the most for my birthday bucks. (I let him stay home on Saturday when I went and spent the rest at JCPenny.) I got some really great stuff though - a new heavy winter coat, a couple sweaters, two long sleeved shirts, a new hooded sweatshirt, a couple new pairs of jeans, and some blue gloves that actually match my beanie. (I had been walking around in college with a brown coat, turquoise hat and bright red gloves. Very strange...) Needless to say, Thanksgiving left-overs tasted really good after all that craziness.

Later that afternoon, James took me out to see The Blindside. It's definitely the best movie we've seen so far this year. It's based on the true story of a young African American boy who was taken in by a white, southern Christian family and went on to play football in the NFL. It's a very compelling story, which talks very frankly about what it means to truly follow Christ regardless of what our society thinks, and Sandra Bullock's performance is definitely worth watching.

After the movie, James took me out to dinner at Chipotle, and then we went home and started decorating the house for Christmas. It's very strange getting in the Christmas mood when it's sunny and warm outside and there are palm trees lining every street. Not that the locals don't try... below is a picture of the palm trees lit up across from the movie theater. Tomorrow we're going to go get a free Christmas tree from the base so maybe it will feel a bit more real when all of our decorations are complete.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and we look forward to seeing some of you over Christmas and New Year's! Enjoy the season!