Thanksgiving in Africa!

I wrote this a couple days ago but I've had some WIFI/Blogger Issues/power outages so I'm just getting it posted tonight.  However, we now have WIFI (yeah!) so we will be able to post pictures and skype now.  We are very thankful for this as it will be easier for Don to work from the house and easier for us to stay connected with friends and family back home...

So we didn't have an African Thanksgiving but we DID have Thanksgiving in Africa!  It was a good day with lots to be thankful for.   We got more settled in and had some quality family time.  Although I was a little teary this morning thinking about the family gatherings we were missing at home, we felt truly blessed and thankful today to be in this place all together.   

I'm going to try to do this blog with pictures and see if it will get through...

We started our Thanksgiving morning with fried eggs and toast with Nutella! (this was a fun find at the store the other day and the kids were very excited!)

Then we spent the day playing cards and games, doing a little unpacking/organizing here and there, building lego towers...  

...making dolls out of flip flops we found in the yard

...learning to do our laundry by hand  (Chloe got checked out today by Ernestina and I'm up for training tomorrow!  Chloe was a washing champ!  I think she liked playing in the bubbles.  We'll see how I do tomorrow...)

...and Libby even planned a Swiss Family Robinson tour for us.  She had a "treehouse" set up where we could practice sweeping with a straw broom into a hole on the deck.  She taught us how to garden with some seeds and how to catch clams with some shells strategically placed around the yard.  We crushed flour in our coconut bowls and ground up "herbs" (leaves) to put in our porcupine soup.  Then she took us on a hunt in the neighborhood for chickens and goats.  Toby carried his water shooter (it was empty).  It's possible we shot and ate Fred...  (just pretend of course!)

We did not opt for the traditional turkey and stuffing dinner.  (for obvious reasons!  :)  )  Instead we substituted a new version of banana pancakes and fresh watermelon and pineapple we bought up the street on the roadside.  Although the kids said the pancakes tasted a little different (because I couldn't find whole wheat flour  :)  ), they all gave them a thumbs up.  Ernestina joined us for dinner and introduced us to Pineapple/Coconut juice.  On the box, it read "Pure Heaven - Out of this world!"  (I laughed when I saw it but after tasting it, I had to agree.)  As we sat around the table sharing what we were thankful about, I was so proud of my family.  With all the changes they are experiencing, they all chose joy and thankfulness on this day...and at the top of everyone's thankful list was Ernestina!!!  (She really is a treasure and such a blessing to our family.)  Our first Thanksgiving in Africa...we are so thankful!

(on a sidenote...my Thanksgiving dinner prep time this year was 30 minutes and I'm pretty sure at least the kids were happier with the menu.  I think we may be on to something here...  :)  )

Oh...and Ernestina gave Chloe an African Do while watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.  She's looking forward to some crazy curl in the morning!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!