Thanksgiving day and it's traditions

⁴ And in that day you will say:

“ Praise the LORD, call upon His name;
Declare His deeds among the peoples,
Make mention that His name is exalted.
⁵ Sing to the LORD,
For He has done excellent things;
This is known in all the earth.
⁶ Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”

Isaiah 12:4-6

Thanksgiving day is steeped in tradition at our household. We do things a certain way because that's the way it was done last year and the year before that. Tradition dictates that we spend the day with the Dunfees and this year was no exception. In fact, some of them arrived Tuesday night to help prepare for the event. Here we see Kirsten helping Thomas make salsa. The Pilgrims had salsa, right?

Grandma Ruth had a tradition of making breakfast rolls for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Ben carries on that tradition now, and Jonathan helps by grinding up a bunch of walnuts.

Matthew worked hard by making tacos for Wednesday's dinner. Corn or flour tortillas, take your pick.

***
Here we are at Thursday morning. Mrs. H and I were up early getting the turkey (one that we raised) into the oven. People filter into the kitchen and hover over Ben's excellent work until the breakfast bell is rung. Last night we rang the taco bell (sorry!).

Sara and Suzanna stay busy with a little crochet work.

Setting up the tables is always a BIG production. We try arranging them this way and that before settling for the same old arrangement we use every year.

The refrigerator is always overstuffed, and this year that resulted in Ben's coconut cream pie getting an extra ingredient.

Table decorations are carefully chosen and placed.

We decided to do assigned seating this year; we may be traditionalists but that doesn't mean we can't be innovative. Guess who sat here!

Aunt Debbie taught us the value of hors d'ourves. The whole table was crowded with stuff by the time we were done. I'm doing a taste test of the sweet gherkins. Nobody cared that dinner was late. Nice job, Mrs. H!!

Ben is the pie guy. Pecan, pumpkin, cherry, apricot and hard lemonade coconut cream!!

Ben was also tasked with mashing the potatoes. He used the "on the floor and furiously bob your head" method.

Perfect!!
***
We have to apologize. With all of the pictures that were taken, there are absolutely none of the dinner itself. We also missed half of the guests that graced us with their presence this year. Nana & Poppa, Marsha & Bob, the Van V's and the B's were all there, but we can't prove it!

Nobody picked up the camera again until the start of the traditional talent show.

The Dunfee sisters sang a wonderful rendition of Sisters.

Benjamin D. amazed us with his manual dexterity. He didn't drop a single lemon!

The H boys did a skit that gave pacifism a strangely humorous twist.

After the talent show the youngsters went outside for a traditional game of Capture the Flag. Nic can tie his shoes and talk on the phone at the same time, but only if he is wearing camo.

***
Friday morning found us polishing off the breakfast rolls.

The adventuresome members of our group decided to take a hike up to the top of the Indian Head after breakfast. There are several ways to get there, but our favorite path takes us up Fern Gully. These two photos reveal how the gully got it's name. Thanksgiving day was warm and sunny, but Friday was cold and damp. A light mist began to fall as we reached the head of the gully.

Forward, march!!

This amazing collection of mushrooms were found waiting for their picture to be taken. We obliged.

By the time we popped out of the gully a light rain was falling. This ledge provided just enough shelter for us to rest in a dry spot.


We pressed on despite the rain and made it all the way to the top of the Indian Head!!

Congratulations to Sara, the youngest member of the expedition! This was her first time to the top.

We no sooner made it back to the house when the rain stopped and the clouds parted. We were soaked by then but satisfied with the experience. Cloud report!

Tired legs deserve a movie.

We have two more traditions to tell you about. The first one is the annual group shot. We have a lot of these going way, way back.

The other tradition is done right after the Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone at the table is asked to tell what they are thankful for. Many things are mentioned, but there are certain things that are always mentioned. Everyone agrees that the greatest thing to be thankful for is what God has done, that His Son died for our salvation and for His unfailing promises. We are all thankful for family and friends. Ben is especially thankful for what lies ahead, as are the rest of us.

As you stop to count your blessings, make sure you have plenty of time. The list is very long.

be safe,
Hec @ 19