Thanksgiving was a very interesting day for us. The children had school, and Mike was supposed to have work. Unluckily, Mike had to work all last Saturday, but luckily, his boss said he could have Thursday off. So Mike, Eli and I went on some errands. Jiang took us to try Chinese Noodles. They were very yummy, but it took me a while to get over my "etiquette" training enough to "slurp" them like the Chinese do. Ok, I never did get it right. But, I tried. Mike caught right on! We picked up the kids from school, and went straight to Purple Mountain. We thought it would be the perfect place to think about the blessings we have been given. It was beautiful. We were able to ride to the top on the cable cars, and then have a family prayer of Thanksgiving before riding back down. It was lots of fun, and even when Rachel and Nicole got a little embarrassing on the ride down (singing show tunes and yelling hello to everyone in different voices), we were so glad we went. I remember Lori and I being the exact same way! Sorry Mom and Dad! We had our Thanksgiving Dinner at a little Chinese restaurant where we had pineapple duck, crispy tofu, fried rice, and a couple more dishes. We weren't feeling overly adventurous that night. It was a very strange, but very Happy Thanksgiving.
On Saturday, we celebrated Thanksgiving with our church group. I was able to get 2 turkeys (a rare and special treat) and was in charge of the desserts as well, being the only one with an oven. My friend Sharon came over Friday evening, and helped me. Four huge pans of apple crisp, and six pumpkin pies. There were 7, but somehow when we got there, there were only 6! It was a mystery. We called the driver....Not in the car. We called our Ayi...Not in the fridge! It was the mystery of the missing pie! Well, when we got home, it was in the fridge. So...Either the pie was sitting somewhere else when we called, or...She didn't know what a pie was. Who knows??? It worked out well in the end, because we have pie for our dessert tonight! Everyone was very sweet and appreciative of the food, and it was fun to see how happy everyone was to have a "real" Thanksgiving. One Chinese girl gave me a bouquet of paper flowers that she had made!
At this Thanksgiving time, we are so grateful for our many blessings. We are especially grateful for our family, and good friends. We are grateful for the influence that you all are in our lives. Here, in China we are grateful for the amazing and friendly people here. We are grateful for new things to see, and do. We are grateful for a broader outlook on life. We are extremely grateful for the comforts that we enjoy, as we watch these humble people work so hard for their day to day existence. We are grateful to family and friends who stay in contact with us and make us feel cared for and loved. We are grateful for the gospel, that is the same no matter where we live. And we are grateful to have a Heavenly Father who listens to our prayers!
A couple of things that happened this week...
Rachel, Nicole, Caitlin and I went to the movie theater to see Harry Potter 4. It was really fun! We went with the young women, who were nice enough to invite everyone who wanted to go. The only disappointment was that they only had the strange sweet popcorn they always make here. We wished for our salt and butter. There were cell phones going off every couple of minutes! I thought how upset people would be at home. But it was fun to go to a movie after so long.
On Thursday I saw a huge group of people in the park ballroom dancing! It was awesome! There are always cool things going on at the parks in the mornings. Tai Chi, exercise groups, etc. I always wonder what they would do if I went and joined in!
I bought a Christmas tree this week. Of course, there are no real trees. And barely any fake trees. The one I got (the only place I know to get one) is the old kind where you bend out the branches, and they come in silver or green. It looks just like that tinsel stuff. Crazy! We will decorate it tonight.
So...My friend Yvonne Yu, brings me a newspaper today, at church. She says..."Lonnie you are famous"! And there I am in the middle of the page. I am buying the Christmas tree. Eli is standing next to me. I didn't even know they were taking my photo!
