Unconventional Thanksgivings

I can only remember a handful of times that my family actually had turkey on Thanksgiving. Over the years we have developed a lot of Thanksgiving traditions that I love, but they are a little bit different from what you might think of when you think of Thanksgiving. Instead of cooking all day, we wake up and drive to Dana Point to run in the Turkey Trot. Instead of eating turkey, we go to Lucille's Smokehouse and get ribs (if you're gonna eat good food, you might as well eat good food, right?) Instead of eating pumpkin pie for dessert, we go to Ralph's and get bags of candy and take them to the movies with us. Then we wake up the next morning and do Black Friday shopping. And I love all of it! My Thanksgivings have always been a bit unconventional, and this year was no different! Josh still had school, so Shane and I went to the pool. Now that's what you think of when you think of Thanksgiving, right? For whatever reason he was throwing a fit when I first got in with him.
What would I do without cute girls everywhere I go? This one came along and had Shane laughing and smiling within a matter of minutes.

Then for our big dinner we went up to campus where they were serving Thanksgiving food. We got there at 6, the time it was supposed to start, and stood in line.

But the food didn't get there until 7, and we didn't get ours until 7:30. If only you knew how Dominican that is. All that waiting made Shane tired.

Now, let me show you a picture of our Thanksgiving "feast"- can I get a drumroll please? Here it is in all its glory:

And Shane ate all my mashed potatoes. I can accept being unconventional, but I'm pretty sure it's just blasphemous to leave Thanksgiving feeling hungry! Oh well, sometimes all you can do here is laugh. Despite the frustrations, we really are thankful to be here. I am so grateful for this opportunity Josh has to pursue his dreams and become a doctor. I am thankful for all the beauty here, and for all the things we are learning. It is amazing the things you take for granted until you don't have them. We love our family and miss them a lot, but it has been so good for us to just have each other and to rely on one another when we have problems instead of our family. We have definitely grown a lot closer to each other and to the Lord since we have been here, and that has been worth it all. Happy Thanksgiving!