Davoll Family to Ecuador

Happy THANKSGIVING

Ps 105:1 Oh Give Thanks unto the Lord, call on His name, make known upon the nations what He has done.

Thanksgivng has long been one of our family's favorite days. Late autumn in Upstate New York with the crisp cool weather and the beautiful masterpiece of God's watercolor in front of you is a great time for a celebration. We love gathering around a great big table with our grandparents, our cousins, our aunt and uncle and remembering all that we have to be thankful for together. This year-- it was spent in a new place--Cumbaya, Ecuador, our new home. The weather was a balmy 80 degrees-- and the landscape incredible with mountains on every side.

We had a blend of old and new traditions to celebrate. We were invited to share the day with an Ecuadorian/American family who have recently returned from Miami. They were looking forward to "EL DIA de La ACCION de La GRACIA" as much as we were. It was a great time of fellowship together-- including a lively game of Monopoly. In the morning, we were able to talk to our families on the phone-- to join in a bit on their day of Thanksgiving.

There was much anticipation as we thought about the food-- We very much enjoyed having turkey again! (Last year, our family lived in Costa Rica while we attended language school and we celebrated thanksgiving with ham and chicken) This year we shared a GIANT TOM TURKEY!!!! There was enough turkey for everyone-- even our Jordan. We had homemade stuffing, sweet potato casserole ( a recipe our kids have enjoyed from their favorite elementary school teacher-- We love you Mrs. Parker) and a brand new homemade twist on Green bean casserole (no campbells soup or french's onions-- and no body missed them). Cranberries-- well, they are hard to come by-- we did see one lonely can of oceanspray sauce in the grocery store for $2.68. Ximena made an Ecuadorian equivalent out of Naranjilla. (Watch out cranberries-- you may have some competition on your hands). For dessert, we had apple pie, ice cream with yummy mix-ins, and pumpkin roll (Davoll family tradition).

We laughed too much. We ate too much.

We had a wonderful time together.

Thank you Lord for all you have done for us.

Thanksgiving may be a day--- but our year should be devoted to thanking YOU!