There are three firsts for me that occurred this Thanksgiving: it was my first Thanksgiving to be away from my family, my first Thanksgiving to be out of the country, and my first Thanksgiving to plan and cook all the food for the Thanksgiving feast! Our Thanksgiving here was different, but good. Our house was filled with fall-scented candles burning and our table was decorated perfectly for the holiday. We cooked all the same dishes for Thanksgiving- green bean casserole, dressing, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, etc. The biggest difference was the turkey- or the absence of the turkey. We had the opportunity to cook one ourselves but we only have one oven with ten other dishes to cook and a kitchen the size of a small bathroom. So we opted for chicken breasts which were great. Thanksgiving day we relaxed all morning and cooked and enjoyed the day. After eating, we all rolled over to the den and watched movies for the rest of the night. It was a great holiday. I do miss spending Thanksgiving with my real family, but spending it with my family here was the perfect alternative. It's hard to be thankful for what you have right before your eyes, so I'm thankful this year for not having what I've always had- comforts, family, traditions. I can now be truly thankful for those things.

We all know that as soon as Thanksgiving ends, the Christmas season begins. This means decorating our home, having parties, and baking Christmas goodies! I'm looking forward to this month! I'm a little sad sometimes to be away from the American celebration of Christmas, but incredibly thankful to finally step back from culture and celebrate why we started celebrating this holiday in the first place.