This Thursday we hosted our first Thanksgiving feast for 18 of our closest friends! Our Bible study meets every Thursday evening and we decided that since we were not going to be together next week, we would get together for a feast this week. I offered to host and was very exicted to do so! Since it was a potluck, I didn't really have to cook and that took away much of the stress of being a hostess. Allen made his family's dressing recipe and I just made cider. Jeremy smoked a delicious turkey and all other couples brought traditional Thanksgiving dishes to share.

We borrowed a long table from the Beards so that, in addition to our table, we could seat all of our guests. Our coffee table and rug found new temporary homes upstairs so that we could fit the extra table.

I wish we had taken pictures of the evening! I doubt our kitchen has ever seen more food! It was great fun to have friends over and to share our home.

Next Thursday's true Thanksgiving we will be at my mom's house in Pleasanton. We had made elaborate plans to visit Kelli & Rob in Maryland and then to have Thanksgiving in Memphis with Allen's family. Then the property taxes came. We were expecting them, but decided in the interest of paying our legal dues, we needed to do the responsible thing and not incur debt on top of that with a mini vacation. Fortunately, Allen's parents may be coming to visit right after Christmas and we are planning a vacation with Kelli and Rob next spring. Hope it all works out because we miss our family and friends living far from us!