Thanksgiving

When we booked our place I was not thinking of a venue for Thanksgiving,

but being here now and seeing how our room worked so well for our family

made me very happy!

We pulled in the patio table and made one long table for the family to sit together!

I may have looked a bit crazy to some,

but with the thought of celebrating Thanksgiving

on this trip, signifying our gratitude for so many things,

I had to tuck a roaster and a bit of decor into our  suitcases..

And I am not sorry I did!

These two will never remember the first time they met their cousins from Indonesia

but those cousins sure have been happy to play with them.

Preparing the meal in a sparsely supplied kitchen -

extra utensils  and chairs appearing with big smiles,

all added to the urgency and gratefulness to celebrate together.

I would not need to say this, but 

my heart could barely hold the joy felt around this table.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

    Worship the Lord with gladness;

    come before him with joyful songs.

 

Know that the Lord is God.

    It is he who made us, and we are his[a];

    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

    and his courts with praise;

    give thanks to him and praise his name.

 

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100

Maui Paradise

It's only been just over a day . . .

but the memories stored up could fill more.. . .

from the meeting in the hotel lobby

to delivery pizza on the patio . . .

to trips to get groceries and forgetting 

we need to be able carry what we purchased . . .

and keeping track of who went where in the maze of pools and slides . . .

to invading the beach . . .

and games with the waves . . .

to being treated for an amazing dinner by Ben and Kari . . .

siting at  the tables till the tiki torches were lit
and kids chasing each other in the darkening shadows could barely see.

It's been  an amazing day!

And we've only just  begun!

Anticipation

And this brings me to the most exciting part of this month as

these next days will take us back to our honeymoon destination -

where family will be meeting from both sides of the Pacific

to celebrate together.

I feel just like Makenna does, on the other side!

I wonder if matching t-shirts would have been in order?

Our Honeymoon

He kept the destination a secret 

until we got to the hotel near the airport on our wedding night.

That is when he got out these tickets . . .

handwritten to Mr and Mrs . . ;

So exciting!

This was a round trip taking us from Vancouver

to Honolulu, to Kahului and back to Vancouver.

The hotel room in Lahaina . . .

Guess who had the camera in hand at that time?
And it's not his fault its blurry. . . the crop does not help.

What can I say? 

Our honeymoon was like the dream it should be.

It was a first trip away from home for both of us.

We slept till whenever we wanted to, had breakfast brought to our room,

walked the beaches, suntanned, 

ate hamburgers at the beach and steak for dinner.

It was paradise in a paradise!

Didn't buy much, but matching shirts were a quirk of the times.

I remember coming home, which meant my mom and dad's,

being welcomed with much joy,

and moving into our tiny rental house in Clearbrook, 

the first stop in a gradual-but-sure redefining of home.

Gift Opening

 Gift opening was planned for right after the wedding! 

Obviously planned by a young bride who figured  

that we open our birthday gifts on our birthday, why not the wedding gifts? 

In the end it was not a good idea, but here's the scoop.

After the reception . . . it was getting quite late,

family and other relatives packed into my mom and dad's basement 

and we opened gifts in helter skelter fashion.

I had no semblance of mind to put names and gifts together 

or to appreciate each individual gift as I would have liked.

Before we were done, we made an excuse to go upstairs and snuck away . . .

but that is another story!

I'm here to remember some of those lovely gifts . . .

especially the ones who have made it this far . . .

like the nesting bowls and casserole dishes.

a beautiful crock pot

a silver casserole stand  . . . 

Faux wood salad bowls 

and my precious rolling pin.

Crystal and glass bowls in abundance.

If I remember correctly, we exchanged one for a toaster and a clock.

Of course, the wedding was the time when most of the dishes for my china set were added.

Until I started thinking about it,

I had no idea I still had so much of what was gifted to us.

Pretty special.

The Invitation 40 Years Ago

I've loved the month of October for a long time . . .

 beginning with memories of walking in the leaves as boyfriend and girlfriend,

when there was that first kiss

and later, talks about an October wedding.

And just as we anticipated that day,

we now look forward to the celebration of it all month long!

But first off, let me unpack a little memory box . . .

Our invitations were most likely sent out in September.

They were printed on soft pale green stationary

with a torn edge - which I loved!

We also prepared about 425 wedding favors.

You may recognize the tiny package wrapped and tied up with a ring.

In those days we did not have to invent anything new or different for favors.

A piece of wedding cake (fruit cake) was placed at every place setting.

The wedding took place in my home church, 

followed by a meal in the basement.

For the sanctuary, the florist made up large bouquets of white and yellow chrysanthemums.

while the reception area was decorated with streamers
and autumn leaves surrounding a banner behind our table.

Our napkins were light green with our names and wedding date printed on them.

So simple . . . and yet every detail was as exciting as

any detail planned for a lavish wedding of today!

On opening the invitation 

I still love this verse spoken in the old English.

It's a promise of fidelity, the meaning of which has grown real with time -

 even to the next verse that says,

"where thou diest, I will die,"
in a romantic and metaphorical way 

defining the essence of  this, our life pledged to one another -
every day gifted us by His grace.