Thanksgiving Fave Five

It's Friday and I am not in NYS, but near Cape Cod with my husband's clan. The turkey is in the oven, the potatoes, squash, and other veggies are all prepped and the appetizers are about to come out.  Most of the clan is here and the others who are coming, are on their way!  I am blessed to be a part of the T-----Family.  And no...we are not visiting the Mayflower this year....:)

Yesterday, our American Thanksgiving, found us having quite a day.  I have included parts of it in my Friday Fave Five!  A big THANKS to Susanne for hosting this each week....I really like finding those special moments or things that God blessed me with during the week and which I call my faves.

• Service:  truly one of the best moments of the week was heading to Good Shepherd Church here in the "beach house town" and serving the needy families who came for a Thanksgiving dinner.  We had so much fun chatting with these folks, serving them, and we were blessed by the children who designed placemats, and a man with no family who offered to play the piano.  He used to play in NYC for dance troupes!  My children loved serving the young children that came and it really showed them that there is such a need for soup kitchens in our country.......how fortunate that this particular church opens up their doors to the needy families in the area on Thanksgiving Day.  It was such a good experience for all involved.  We got to pray with them, and sing with them, and surprise them with lots of yummy desserts and take home baggies of food!  GOD IS GOOD!

• Social Times: Early morning cups of coffee and conversation with my sister in law whom I only see once a year, typically.  My hubby's oldest sister from CA came to the East Coast for Thanksgiving with a friend and we had such a great talk on Thanksgiving morning, early, before anyone else was up.  My hubby was awake but K and I had the kitchen to ourselves and had many cups of coffee, chatting and getting caught up on our lives.  I treasure these moments because we live so far away and I really enjoy her company.  It was great to see her.

• Sweet Sleeping Baby:  my step-niece had a baby about 6 months ago and she was able to come to our Thanksgiving Feast today!  It was my first time seeing baby "Bella" and I had so much fun "chatting" with her, holding her and talking to her mom (my step-niece).  L is a very young mom. She is only 19 and she almost made a different decision regarding her baby. But...we are proud of her for raising Bella and working on a LPN certification.  She is starting to make good choices and for that I am very thankful.  

• Sunrise over the Bay:  On Thanksgiving morning the only people in the beach house were my family of 4 and my hubby's sister from CA and her friend.  I was the first one up so brewed a pot of coffee and watched the sun rise over the bay.  It was absolutely glorious.  A cold morning but very clear and the water was super calm.  It looked like a sea of glass.  Just breathtakingly beautiful.  We are so blessed to be able to gather here each Thanksgiving with the whole clan and celebrate their most special holiday.

• Sleeping in:  since we arrived on Wednesday evening here in the cape cod area, and since we weren't cooking Thanksgiving dinner until today (Friday), Dave and I and the girls were able to sleep in on Thursday morning this week.  I still was the first one up, but, it was so cozy cuddling down under the Amish quilt that is on the bed where we stay. The girls had fleece blankets on their beds and were cozy as well, but there is nothing like a heavy Amish quilt.  The picture above is NOT the quilt in the bedroom where we stay, but it is an Amish quilt with similar colors. I love being able to sleep in on vacation days!

Well, that's it for me.  We are still here and I am posting this late because we cooked all morning, entertained all afternoon and now tonite, some guests are playing board games, some are watching a movie, and a few have gone back home.

I hope all my American blogging friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving.......