As the name of my blog indicates, I spend a lot of time thinking about home. Of course, my Heavenly Home is the one that is eternal, so that’s where I need to lay up my treasures, and that’s the one I’m striving for. But in the meantime, I have been given this tiny piece of the here-and-now—this home on the edge of town, this family, this neighborhood—in which to serve Him. And, though this is in the earthly realm, I want the things that happen here to be investments in the Heavenly realm.




Friday, November 28, 2014

Thanksgiving Day 2014



Before I share some glimpses of our Thanksgiving Day, I thought I'd start out with a few reality shots. Because you have to have a mess before you can have the beautiful. Right? 


The Day Before Thanksgiving:


By Thursday morning, any food that could be done ahead had been prepared, the furniture had been moved, and all three tables had been set. Thanksgiving Day is one of my favorite days of the year, and I was thrilled to be sharing it with sixteen loved ones!

We set the kids's table this year with a turkey theme. Primitive Tom was the centerpiece, and we used some paper napkins with a turkey motif. 


Eight of the adults sat at this table. Bekah designed the centerpiece of gourds and other natural elements, and we used our Friendly Village dishes and my Aunt Lynn's crystal.


The remaining adults were our "servants" and had their own table. Every year, Kati, Kristin, and Brian serve. They take and fill drink orders, and they take the food to the tables, filling kids' plates and waiting while adults circulate the dishes. It is a wonderful way to serve a crowd...no long buffet lines, no pandemonium while many people go back and forth in a tight space. Our servants have also taken it upon themselves to clear the tables, put away food, and wash the dishes. Then they serve the dessert. They are working on their greatness! ("But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant." Matthew 23:11)


Peeks at our day...



We mingled. We nibbled. We chatted. We sang "For the Beauty of the Earth." We offered thanks to our Lord. 

We ate. Turkey, gravy, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, corn pudding, roasted Brussels sprouts, cole slaw, cranberry sauce, orange gelatin salad, pickles, olives, sweet potato biscuits, rolls. And then pecan pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate pie, apple pie, and whipped cream. (What did I cook? Turkey and Brussels sprouts. And I made a cheese ball. That's how easy it is when everyone else likes to cook too!)

Our blessings are numerous! In everything, we give Him thanks!


Blessed be the Lord who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation.
Psalm 68:19

12 comments:

  1. Cheryl,

    What a lovely post about your Thanksgiving. I noted there was a servants' table.. teehee.


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  2. Everything looked wonderful. I really love the idea of those who are willing to serve at the meal. Very precious...
    Thanksgiving is a favorite of mine, too.

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  3. How lovely!

    We had 19 people yesterday, but only two kids (Kyle and Kamryn, Sarah is now a young lady!). We had a lovely time.

    I love your servants! How special of them to do this! I wonder if I could make that work? Hmm, I'll have to give some thought to it.

    So glad you had a beautiful day!

    Deanna

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  4. Servants...such a wonderful concept. I am glad that you had such good help and didn't have too much to do. We started the day weary from snow clean-up and have spent today resting. It was fun to enjoy all that delicious food and be with family. Your day looked wonderful from the table to the fellowship.

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  5. Having servants to help must ease your load tremendously, and you can pay better attention to your guests. I feel like I've missed out on many conversations over the years by serving. On the other hand, I do love occasionally have a tea or something where I totally do the serving and don't even have a place set at the table. Then I can focus on serving my guests. But back to your Thanksgiving, it looked wonderful and yummy. Everything was so lovely. And the butter. OH MY!

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  6. What a lovely feast you had! Is that little yellow turkey butter? Ours was much smaller, just our seven and my husband was unable to eat due to a small surgery earlier in the week. Nevertheless, my daughter and I made a good meal. I smiled at her afterwards and told her that not everyone could do what we just did;)

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  7. Beautiful Cheryl!
    I love the reality shots mixed in:)
    Love the servant idea...great reminder to me to serve willingly...

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  8. I loved your day and the way you do it!! Come Ye Thankful People Come is one of my favorites. I taught myself to play it on the organ one year when we homeschooled.

    Your table is just beautiful!! And bless your servants' hearts!! How wonderful!!

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  9. What a lovely Thanksgiving day you had.

    May your Christmas holidays be filled with more love, joy and peace.

    FlowerLady

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  10. Everything looks absolutely perfect! So much thoughtfulness goes into your gatherings. Delightful!

    (I had to chuckle over the Clorox wipes in the first picture. Things may get messy, but the germs don't stand a fighting chance!)

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  11. Everything looked wonderful! And I LOVE the idea of a servants table. Wished I had thought of that years ago when we were "trying" to squeeze a lot of people into tight quarters. We would have adult table,. young adult table, kids table, and then pandemonium as we all tried to fill our plates and sit down. We did have those whose assignments were cooking, and those who were cleaners, but "servants" would have been brilliant, lol. Glad yuou had a good day!

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  12. Just found your blog and am now following. Your Thanksgiving sounds wonderful - I love the idea of a few serving to keep things a little calmer. It's always hectic when dinner is announced and everyone heads to the buffet line!

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