Thankful (pictures to follow)

How could I not be. I got to spend Thanksgiving with 15 great friends. It started a week ahead of time with turkey ordering (you can't just stop at the local market and get a whole turkey). Two days before the big day, I went to pick up our two 14 pounders and no huge shock, they weren't ready, but to my surprise, they delivered them the next day. After shopping at three different markets to get just the right ingredients, I was ready to start cooking. My friend Karine (she's French) hadn't done an American Thanksgiving so we decided to have it at her house. The night before I loaded up all the stuff for cooking and headed to her house for the night. The day of Thanksgiving I woke up early and began cooking. I cooked from 8 a.m. until we ate around 7 p.m., it was literally my perfect day. Over the past few years I've developed a real passion for cooking and this was a perfect excuse to spend an entire day doing what I love. Karine set a beautiful table and everyone arrived hungry. We had a great time of eating, talking, and laughing. It made me think of how thankful I really am for the countless blessings I've been given. I have amazing friends, who constantly entertain and encourage me, a loving family that sticks with me through everything, delightful students who challenge me and teach me that there's more to life that just school, and most of all I have a loving, compassionate, caring God who is so patient with me, and sees the depths of my heart, but loves me anyway.