We had a great Thanksgiving here in Bogota. Our first turkey turned out beautifully, we had new friends from church in our home, Jackson sat in his bouncy seat for the whole meal so we both got to eat, the pumpkin pie and homemade rolls were great despite the threat of high altitude sabotage, the first time use of our china and Seth’s grandmother’s fostoria went off with not a chip or crack, and we are all healthy and happy the day after! Tired but happy. Despite it being a good Thanksgiving we still miss home so much. Here are some of the things we are missing this holiday season…

Family and friends….there is something so nice about being with people that you know and that know you. With family it is perfectly natural to crash for a Thanksgiving nap…with a house full of guests it was a bit more awkward. And there is something so nice about mom’s cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Wow, we never realized how much work it is to pull off such a fancy feast! We miss our parent’s homes and the farm. Jackson caught wind that his cousin Tommy was getting to go squirrel hunting and was very disappointed to not be there. (Mommy used living in Bogota as the reason he couldn’t go along, I will have to think of better excuses when we are actually present) We missed seeing all of the cousins at the farm..we hear there are lots of new babies around! Jackson can’t wait for his first farm visit to meet everyone. We are also missing time with my grandparents who have not yet met Jackson. Thank goodness for skype because they got to see him for the first time the other night.
The food…there are some things that are just more complicated here, like grocery shopping. We found most everything we needed but it takes such a long time to navigate through what we need and what is available. Thank goodness for a commissary with Stovetop stuffing, pumpkin pie filling and crusts and Oceanspray cranberry sauce. I miss my mom’s pumpkin bread and I miss Einstein Brothers pumpkin cream cheese (if you haven’t tried it go for me! Trust me it is so yummy!). When I was doing homevisiting for speech therapy in Dallas I would get really excited when a homevisit would get canceled on a chilly Fall morning when I was in close proximity to the Einstein Brothers. Seth was missing his mom’s sweet potato casserole (sweet potatoes are not available here..maybe Seth’s parents can smuggle them in for Easter????). Seth also missed the spicy queso his Aunt Nancy always makes when the crowds pour in. The other thing that we would be starting to anticipate missing (if that’s possible :)) are my mom’s buckeyes. Fortunately months ago we became aware of this deprivation and secured a visit from my parents. I think this insures us a batch of hand-dipped buckeyes here in Bogota.

The roadtrips…in the past we really enjoyed having time together “road tripping” in Texas when we went to see our families for the holidays. It was nice to see wide open spaces and get a break from city life. We are researching where we can escape to soon! We have so many memories of great conversations on those roadtrips.

There are many more things that we miss about not being home but we will spare you for now! Hug each other for us!

We miss you!