First, we do try to maintain our American culture as much as possible and Thanksgiving is such a special, amazing holiday that we don't want our children to forget how important it is to Americans. Unfortunately, the school is an International one, so the kids did not have a holiday today and had to get up as usual and get the bus at 7:10am dressed in school uniforms. The highlight of the day were the assemblies. The middle school had an assembly in the morning that was prepared by the Student Council. Jacob is a representative and was a speaker who talked about Giving. What is amazing is that he actually wrote his own two minute speech about volunteering at Feed My Starving Children in Aurora. For those friends in Illinois who are reading this, I hope you have heard about or even volunteered with this group; they are doing great work for children around the world. If you are not from Illinois, quickly, FMSC packs a nutritious mixture of dried vegetables, soy, rice and a vitamin fortified flavoring to be shipped to groups around the world to get children in orphanages and other agencies the food they need to survive.
Later in the day, the lower school had an assembly where all the grades sang a song of thanks together and then each grade did a short presentation. The fourth graders did a Thanksgiving Day Rap (hat and glasses required)! But Steve and I missed all of these demonstrations of Thanks, because we took the train to London instead.
Each year on Thanksgiving Day there is a special service for Americans in London at St. Paul's Cathedral. We had heard great things about this service and were not dissappointed. The music selection was great. The speakers were great. And to be able to celebrate and praise God in a building as beautiful and amazing as St. Paul's makes you think that your prayers of Thanks had been certainly heard. I know many Americans who weren't there and yet the cathedral was full. It is amazing to know how many "aliens" there are in the London area. (The scripture lesson was from Ephesians chapter 2 and talked about being an alien in a foreign land.)
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| Statue of Queen Victoria in front of St. Paul's Cathedral (designed by Sir Christopher Wren) |
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| Transept of St. Paul's Cathedral |
So we spent the day at school or at church but the family did have a chance to celebrate God's bounty with a feast at home in the evening. Many families in the American community around us made reservations in a timely manner and are eating a Thanksgiving feast at a local pub that has put together a special menu just for those of us craving turkey and stuffing on the fourth Thursday of November. All reservations were filled quickly and we missed out (my procrastination, I must admit). Many other friends are taking advantage of the day off from school tomorrow and are at the airport right now flying off for city breaks in Paris, Edinburgh, or Dublin to name a few. Steve and I came home and I actually got very busy pulling together a traditional meal for the five of us. I know, lots of work for dinner for five, but you would do it too, trust me.
I did not make a full turkey, rather, I found split turkey breast roast and actually made two of those. My kids don't like mashed potatoes, please don't get me started about that, so I made Jacob's favorite roasted potatoes. For Cameron we had Kraft macaroni and cheese on the table because he is most thankful for that. Sweet potatoes, green beans and carrots helped to round us out. Steve had only requested that stuffing be on the table. Since there are no bags of Pepperidge Farms stuffing mix in the grocery stores or even in the ones that carry American goods, I actually made it from scratch. I made cornbread first to use as the base rather than traditional bread. Steve liked it which is all that really matters!
Today we prayed at our table for our family and friends so far away, but we also thanked God for the new friends who have made us feel at home in England. We are also very thankful for our dog, Rupert, and can't wait for him to be here next Thanksgiving to help eat the leftovers! Thanks to my parent's for making sure he is well loved until he can come to England. I also thank all of you for reading these crazy blogs. Thanks for being part of my overseas experience!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
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