Post-Turkey Day Reflections | The Ever-Changing Face of My Military Family

First of all, can we agree that everyone's veggie trays would be totally lost without Pinterest?

I mean seriously! How did we ever used to get creative before? Who knew a humble bowl of ranch could transform into an adorable turkey??

Anyways.

Second of all, let's all say "good job Jessica" for keeping it simple... because cleaning the toilets and throwing that turkey-veg-tray together were the extent of my hostess-fanciness. 

Unless you want to count this adorable fruit punch I made, but I don't think you can call this hard or fancy or stressful in the least. It only involved pouring a bunch of sparkling cider, sprite, and cranberry juice into Kirsten's beautiful punch bowl.

The most creative part was that I froze (!!) the slices of orange and the cranberries and those were the ice cubes. 

It looked super pretty. 

But was arguably kind of annoying when trying to ladle out your punch. Whatever, sometimes you have to make small sacrifices for pretty food/drink ;-)

If you want the punch recipe, check it out here. And check out her blog even if you don't want the punch recipe because her branding is adorable... "I should be mopping the floor" haha yes.

Speaking of floors, I am blogging right now instead of mopping my floors.

Literally. #procrastination

Julia snapped the following candids and I am eternally grateful. 

Because at this moment I was cooking the gravy and getting the food on the counter, which was seriously the only moment I felt a tad busy. And it's so special that she captured a bit of that fun chaos!

I was literally dancing for joy over how good my bacon-shallot gravy smelled.

 

 

All in all it was one of our most successful Thanksgivings, yet! We had so so so much food, but isn't that kind of the point?

We also got to introduce Julia's friend Vita to her first ever American Thanksgiving, which made the experience all the more special!

I'm sure no one is surprised that the fried turkeys turned out fabulous. Because that's pretty much the definition of anything fried, right? I used to think that real women own turkey basters and know how to use them. But then I was introduced to a tiny German oven and the concept that if I get my man a fryer, I don't even have to think about the turkey till I eat it. WIN!

As is the case with most things military life, this holiday was a tad bittersweet.

There are precious faces in this crowd that won't be around for our next Thanksgiving in Germany. 

But even though it hurts to be getting ready to say goodbye to Kirsten & Dana and Pedro & Julia, this holiday reminded me of the other side of the coin of PCSing...

When you live overseas and are painfully far from your extended family, it's a comfort to know there will always be new faces, new friends, to celebrate with and be thankful with.

I am thankful for you all... I was so happy to share our turkey with you!