The Holiday Season

I have mentioned before that the holidays are hard for us while in Belgium. On top of missing time and fellowship with friends and family, we also miss out on traditions and holiday fun that we normally participate in. I love Thanksgiving. I like taking some specific time to reflect on how blessed we are and what all we have to be thankful for. Since we weren't able to be with our families for Thanksgiving, we decided to celebrate and share some of our traditions with some of our wonderful friends in Belgium. My brother Clinton was able to get away from classes and fun in Sienna, Italy to join us as well. We planned a nice potluck style meal on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. The evening was so fun! We enjoyed wonderful food, including a turkey, and great fellowship. It was nice to have a little bit of home while we were so far away.

Patiently waiting for everyone else to get food!

My brother, Clinton

Helping take the group picture

Our group!

On Thanksgiving day, I woke up a little sad because I knew that my family was together to celebrate and that we were missing it. Since they don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Belgium, it was pretty much just another day for us. I got up and got the boys ready to take Cameron to school. But when we walked out the door, there was a little gift (a chocolate bear from one of the best chocolate shops in Gent) and a card. The gift was from some of our (Belgian) neighbors. It was so sweet of them to remember the holiday and think of us on that day. I was so touched by their kindness which made my day soooo much better! 

In the evening, we had some of our Belgian friends from church over to try out some typical Thanksgiving dishes. I think they enjoyed experiencing and learning about Thanksgiving!

The week after Thanksgiving, we decided that, even though we were leaving for the U.S. on the 7th, that we would do a some decorating to make our loft a little more festive. We walked to the flower market near our house to get a tiny Christmas tree for the living room and an even tinier tree for Cameron's room. 

Walking home with our trees

We had fun decorating with the boys...even if the ornaments were a mess!

tiny little tree

Our week ended with a lot of packing for our trip home.

The boys were being very helpful! :)

I know I have said this over and over since we've been in Belgium, but I continue to be amazed by the blessings we have received and the way that God has taken care of us. I think that, especially during the holidays, it would be very easy to get discouraged, but our friends and the unexpected kindness of our neighbors made this Thanksgiving so much easier to get through without our families. We are very blessed, far beyond what we deserve, and we have so much to be thankful for. I hope these blessings can carry us through hard times that are sure to arise as we continue on this journey!