Thanksgiving in Ulm

We made sure to get on an early train on our way to Ulm so that we could spend as much time with our newly acquainted family members for a weekend of thanksgiving. We consider ourselves pretty lucky to even have family, albeit distant, on the other side of the world.

Lorraine, our second cousin, hosted Thanksgiving dinner for the first time at her home. She roasted her first turkey, feeding her family, her mom and dad, our family, two other families, and two sets of missionaries. We had hot rolls, delicious Lionhouse honey butter, Chinese salad, roasted butternut squash, mashed potatoes, cranberries, and stuffing. I almost forgot the pumpkin pie! It was a wonderful feast, but even more wonderful because we were with great people. We will ever be grateful to Lorraine and her husband, Hao, for welcoming us into their home!

After we ate, we gathered around the piano and went around the circle naming things we were grateful for. We couldn't name something that had already been named by someone else, and even with twenty people, we still went around the circle four times! We must be a blessed crowd. Lorraine then sat at the piano, and we sang our first Christmas carols of the year. Singing carols around the piano is one thing that Curtis and I did our first Thanksgiving together, so it was a lovely tradition to continue.

Curtis and I have had a year full of blessings and are the happiest we've been so far as a couple. We are grateful for so much, but here is a short list of our most cherished blessings.

Each other. I don't know how I knew it, but I knew from the very first moment I laid eyes on Curtis that he would make my life better. He sure knows how to elevate my hopes and dreams. And I know he thinks the same thing about me. He doesn't remember saying this, but I'll never forget how his voice sounded when he told me, "You are my highest goal, my loftiest aspiration." And he doesn't have to remember saying it because he treats me as such every day.

Sebastian. I could go on and on about how much I love Sebastian. And I have. He's just a ball of fun, a whirlwind of trouble, a bundle of kisses, and a batch of cuteness all rolled into one perfect, energetic boy.

Livia. We counted ourselves lucky to have as easy a baby as Sebastian. Everyone warned us about Number Two. But sweet little Livia has surpassed Sebastian in ease and sweetness. She's so chunky and squishy and sleepy and wonderful and simply angelic.

Our family. The other night we were walking to the train station after dinner. Curtis was pushing Livia in the stroller and Sebastian and I were walking in front of them. It was dark and cold, but the stars were shining. Sebastian would run every few steps, bouncing in his gigantic coat and giggling as I tried to keep up. I looked back at Curtis and thought, this is a perfect moment. We were simply going to the grocery store, but I had never felt so full of life as I did in this moment. I love our family.

Our extended family. It's hard to think that my parents and Curtis's parents are now considered our "extended" family. But we can't imagine life without them. They are the ones we still come to when we want to express concern, frustration, hope, or delight. We are always looking forward to the next time we see them. And it's always a blast when we do.

Jesus Christ. This list would not be complete without mentioning all of the hope, love, relief, peace, and joy that comes from our Savior, Jesus Christ. He has elevated our lives because of His sacrifice, and we owe our desire to be better people to His example. We're excited that His spirit is the cause for celebration for the rest of the season. All of the joy that comes from the things we do and the people we see stems from the joy we feel from Him.

We are also grateful for Curtis's job, technology, Germany, Excel, music, health, bodies, talents, future plans, warm water, warm hats, warm blankets, knowledge, home-cooked food, fresh fruit, nature, play, cloth diapers, sunlight, chocolate, Mother Earth, friends, speech, language, books, hygiene, pizza, color, transportation, and salt.

Our Thanksgiving in Ulm will be a Thanksgiving to remember because we have experienced that no matter where we are in life, we have plenty to be thankful for.