Thanksgiving

There's so much for which to give thanks!!
(Like grammar teachers who taught us how to successfully avoid
constructing sentences that end with prepositions.  :) )

Here are a few things I'm grateful for this week:

Skyping with family...who I will get to see and hug in just a few short weeks!!

My professor, my office mate, and my research team!!...
and the Ghirardelli chocolate from San Francisco that Sari brought back for us.

The Young Women I get to work with...and our yearly Young Women in Excellence evening.

Watching two of my young women compete at their gymnastics meet. 
Eevi took 1st place and Oona took 2nd. 
Onnea paljon tytöt!!
(And grateful I found the arena where the competition was held...thanks to a nice woman who gave me directions...and the whole conversation carried out in FINNISH!!) 

Jyväskylä at night...with the Christmas lights up.  I absolutely love my Finnish hometown.

Aila's sweet potato pie...and her creative use of aluminum foil because the cake decorating supplies snuck out of her bag that she had packed with everything else.

A Thanksgiving dinner with Americans, Finnish-Americans, and Finns who've lived in the US. 
The elders ran into an American couple on the bus and struck up a conversation...which led to us having a real Thanksgiving meal in Finland:
sweet potato casserole (my G'ma's recipe which was a huge hit),
chicken,
American mac and cheese (awesome secret family recipe of the American couple's aunt),
corn,
green beans,
ham,
rolls,
mashed potatoes,
and I'm sure some other deliciousness I've forgotten already
(thanks to the post-meal insulin-induced coma). 
No turkey because those suckers are really tough to come by in Finland.

One of the best parts? 
Meeting the American couple only to discover that I totally know the husband.  Weldon was one of my classmates in the Finnish course I took this semester. 
Yeah.  Jyväskylä is a small place. 
LOVE IT!

Sweet potato pie (canned pumpkin is difficult to find here...and uber expensive),
apple pie, and brownies.  Um, YUM!!

 


 I'm grateful for all the experiences that I've been able to document here on my blog.  So many, in fact, that today I learned I hit the limit for the amount of free storage on this blog.  :)  It wouldn't have ever hit the limit if it weren't for such terrific friends who've welcomed me into their lives...and with whom I've shared countless adventures (many of which are posted on my blog...and so many others that didn't...like my first Zumba class this week...hijole!!)!! 
My cup runneth over. 



I'm grateful for all who serve to protect freedom and liberty at home and abroad.

And I'm grateful for temples where families are sealed together for time and all eternity.

Rakastan perhettäni!!