Thanksgiving 2012 - Part 2

Well, though Saturday (our "Bulgarian" Thanksgiving) has come and gone, we are still working on the leftovers.  What a lovely thing.  As we continue to benefit from the long day of cooking and prep, we are reminded of how thankful we are for how God has given us everything we've needed this past year...

Faith - how to live in a place for God when all else pushes you the opposite direction.  We've failed many times, but He's been a great Teacher & is showing us how to have solid faith in Him through anything.

Friends - whether online or in person, we've been so blessed by our buddies!  We are especially thankful that the Djatov's joined us Saturday to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Family - our family is so supportive & shows their love for us even from this far away.  We enjoy our skype sessions, and, now that we think about it, are very thankful for skype!

Food - a very enjoyable thing, but also very necessary.  God has continually provided for us, whether through our jobs/money or through friends being generous in their garden harvest. Thanksgiving was truly bountiful and enjoyable!

And, since we all love a good picture or two, here's a snapshot into our second Thanksgiving this year:

The girls worked the kitchen (since we both love to cook, we were a perfect team!)...

while the boys played some serious Wii on the big screen, working up an appetite.

And, after all the hard work (cooking & Wii), we wined and dined!

We can't communicate well enough how blessed we really are! Thank you, Djatov's, for celebrating with us!

Joy & Randall

Thanksgiving 2012 - Part 1

That's right, this is only Part 1 of 2012's Thanksgiving goodness.  This past weekend, our buddy, Joe, invited us Americans to his village, Lyubcha, to celebrate Thanksgiving... and, boy, did we celebrate!  Not only did we go on a beautiful hike through the mountains, but, with lots of cooperation and "hunting" (in various grocery stores), we had all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes on the table.  It was a great mix of Bulgarians + Americans.

We are so thankful for how God has blessed us with great friends on this side of the ocean to celebrate with.  It makes it not so difficult to be away from home.  Check out some of our pics...

We hope and pray that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving today with you friends and family.  We miss and love you all.

Joy, Randall, and Liza

P.S.  Look for Part 2 soon...

Happy Thanksgiving, America!

At this very moment, we hope you all are enjoying some late-morning football, smelling delicious things cooking in the next room, OR are the ones preparing those lovely Thanksgiving staples we all adore.  We definitely wish we were there!!

Well, let us tell you guys about what weˈve done instead of being there... 

When we were told we would live in Plovdiv, we found out that it was tradition for the married couple living there to host Thanksgiving.  Weˈre so glad we accepted the "challenge," because having thirteen guests for an early Thanksgiving this past Sunday was amazing!

As you can imagine, it was quirky, to say the least, finding and "tweaking" the ingredients of many of our favorite dishes.  It was also interesting trying to fit that many people in a 700 sq. ft. apartment (thank God for a closed-in balcony!).

So, long story short, here's what our 15-person Thanksgiving Party looked like:

Macaroni and Cheese (from scratch)

MMMMMMM..... thanks, Joan!

Delicious carmelized apples... thanks Joe!

Two dining-room tables & a coffee table (all in a row to make one long table), 2 couches, 2 borrowed stools, 2 of our stools, and 5 of our chairs...  Thanks, Vania & Stefan for letting us borrow your stools!

A very full kitchen... and, with that came lots of help!

Lots of hanging out on the balcony, waiting on the food to be ready, and watching Joe work his caramelized-apple magic... good job, guys!

ɛnjoying good drinks...

Lots of TURKEY!  This was a huge success... mostly because Vania & Stefan ALSO let us cook one of our 2 turkeys (9 lbs. each) in their oven.  We couldn't have timed this delicious meal without their oven.

You guys rock!

We also had squash (tasted very similar to sweet potatoes), mashed potatoes...

green beans, stuffing...

rolls, and trushia (a pickled Bulgarian winter favorite).

And, that's not even including dessert!

Jake, my long-lost red-headed brother, your pumpkin pie was superb!  ɑnd, Jackie, your bruschetta was delish. Canˈt wait to finish off your cookie recipe!

Besides the fact that this woman made some killer apple pie, she was a life-saver!  This being our first time hosting Thanksgiving, she brought experience & major talent to the table.  Couldn't have done all this without her!  Weˈre SO thankful she lives only ʒ0 minutes away.  We love you, Joan!

One must keep in mind that finding ingredients for Аmerican Тhanksgiving cuisine, utilizing multiple kitchens, and having enough dishes (though we're only living here for 27 months) are quite the hurdles.  Because of that, this post might seem more focused on the food aspect of Thanksgiving, this year.

But, it would not have been Thanksgiving without our PC buddies.  Thanks, you guys, for coming to our home for Thanksgiving, for cooking and bringing food, for helping clean up afterwards, and for just being Аmerican together for one day.

Weˈre truly thankful to God, this Thanksgiving, for your support and empathy on this journey in Bulgaria!

Happy Thanksgiving, Аmerica!  ʀest assured we are representing you well... even on Turkey Day!

ʀandall and Joy