Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2010 was truly memorable for Steven and me because it was Phil's first, Steven's parents flew to us (vs. vice-versa), we got our first snowfall of the season (and of Phil's life), Steven cooked his first full Thanksgiving meal, and one of our very favorite local families ~ Pastor Jukka and Laura Kaariainen and their darling girls Jemina and Aliina ~ joined our celebration.

Phil didn't know quite what to make of the morning snow (or his new snowsuit), the feast (which he forewent for milk), or the ritual post-prandial walk that we took despite blustery afternoon rain, but he loved playing with Aliina and Jemina. Steven and I capped off a great day by heading to the movies that night while Grandma and Grandpa babysat ~ definitely a special treat for us!

Phil's first snow

Tasty 13-lb. turkey

Snapshot of our meal

We gave thanks for many blessings this year, including:
* God's addition of a healthy baby boy to our family
* Phil's sweet nature and excellent night sleeping
* Work that is challenging, interesting, and (we hope) fruitful
* A sunny, more spacious rental home close to campus
* Loving and helpful family members
* Wonderful childcare we can trust
* Steven's opportunity to work (mostly) remotely
* Hilary's supportive advisors and department
* Strong local community, especially our bible study

Hopefully this list ~ imperfect and in no particular order ~ conveys at least a bit of what was in our hearts this Thanksgiving.

[Apologies for such extreme back-dating! For you up-to-the-minute-accurate types, this post is going live in April 2011, but for months it's existed in my mind. There are just so many things we're most thankful for, and I'm too much of a perfectionist to just dash off a perfunctory post. Is perfectionism the bane of blogging? Anyway, I back-date so that someday I can look back and know when certain special events happened. In the meantime, my blogging slogan is "better late than never". :)]