Giving Thanks

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a joyous Thanksgiving! This year, our family celebrated a quiet Thanksgiving at home for the first time ever (or at least for as far back as we can remember ;-). We were blessed to have our dad's parents (affectionately known as Bop and Nanny around here) with us for the holiday.

Julie and I (Amy) volunteered for the task of cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year. I was so thankful that we got to cook our first big holiday meal together. We made a great team, and even invented our own spice rub for the turkey, which turned out fabulously (if we do say so ourselves ;-). I'd share the recipe with y'all, but there isn't one. We called it "Guntzel Girls' Dump-and-Stir Turkey Rub" and used everything from nutmeg to paprika to spice up our bird. We had fun digging through our hopechests to make a makeshift centerpiece for our Thanksgiving table. We set the table with the china Mom inherited from her grandmother and fancy gold cloth napkins. Decorating is one of my favorite parts of every holiday!

The above picture is a little dark, but that's what our table looked like just before we added the food. So festive!

Katie did a great job helping me find decorations for the table. Thanks, Katie!

We are so thankful that Bop and Nanny were able to come. Nanny baked up some delicious homemade rolls for our meal, and a beautiful mincemeat pie for Bop and Dad's dessert. She also helped prepare the stuffing, gave us some great tips on roasting the turkey, and taught me how to make gravy. I don't know what we would have done without her! Thanks, Nanny, for all your help!

We are so grateful to have grandparents who love the Lord and their families. We always look forward to our times together!

Our Thanksgiving meal consisted of roast turkey, two types of stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, homemade rolls, lefse, pickles, carrots, pepperoncini, and cranberries. It was very yummy!

Thank You, Lord

For food on our table,

for a roof over our heads,

for material blessings,

and cozy warm beds.

Thanks for family by our side,

and those so very far away;

thanks for fellowship and friends

and for the dawn of each new day.

Thanks for guiding and sustaining,

for never leaving us alone.

Thank You for the peace You bring,

and the hope of a heavenly Home.