We have a friend and fellow Christian here in Duluth, Doug, who is such a dear man. Since he moved here in 2001, we have had him to our house for holiday fun and food :) Today we had him for lunch after morning worship services. It is such a pleasure to cook for Nick and Doug, They both appreciate a home cooked meal. I made cranberry chicken, sweet potatoes, green beans, and blueberry pie. The cranberries were from a bog in Wisconsin, and the blueberries were from a field here in Duluth. The three of us had such a nice time.
Doug does not like big crowds or a lot of attention, so we keep his celebrations very low key. Doug has a lot of knowledge when it comes to meteorology, stock market investments, and the Bible. When Doug talks, I have learned to listen. Doug has taught me to look for the quiet member(s) of the congregation, and get to know them. We have a true blessing in this very godly man.
Ruth, I already posted this on Nick's blog, but I just realized you were the one who responded to my last question, so I thought I'd post here as well. :-) Erin (my sister) has been sick with a cold all day. She is still dying to go and insists she'll be fine, but I wanted to make sure it was still ok with you. We don't want you two to get sick! If I don't hear from you before church I will give you a call. Thanks! [x]
I'm with Hilary, Aaron and Amos Michael :) Amos is sooo precious :) He is just beautiful. His complexion is perfect. He has the cutest nose and ears, and makes the most adorable faces. I know Nick posted, but I don't remember if he gave the stats--born on his Great Uncle Jonathan's birthday at 7:55 PM. He was 8 lbs. 2.6 oz. and was 21 inches long. He has blue eyes and light brown hair with blonde eye lashes. He has Hilary's sweet cheeks--reminds me a lot of her when she was an infant. Very sweet and he loves to cuddle. All is right with the world when holding this bundle of joy :) He truly is a grand blessing from God. Needless to say I am a happy Nana :)
I liked your description of talking to him and him cooing back. I miss you like crazy Darling, but you are exactly where you need to be. I have the box ready to send to Jersey, I kept out Heidi's stuff. I thought I might mail hers to Tennessee. What say you? She might be able to use... um you know the thing, while traveling. I haven't asked if she is leaving her car in Tenn.
Still waiting for Kacey to go into labor. But, since one of her twins was in the hospital for 24 hours (dehydration problems from a virus), it's a good thing we didn't have to deal with a newborn at the same time. Is this your first grand child? It truly is a GRAND blessing!
Aren't grandchildren wonderful!! We got a Kaelyn fix at Thanksgiving. So precious--another one of God's many blessings. Hope you make it fine through the blizzard.
Hilary, our #2 daughter, is at the hospital as of about 1:30 PM Central time. We expect Baby Boy Collier before dinner time, according to her mid wife :) Please pray that all goes well. Nick and I will be traveling from Duluth to St Paul-about 3 hours away as soon as we can get away.
Most stories of Thanksgiving history start with the harvest celebration of the pilgrims and the indians that took place in the autumn of 1621. Although they did have a three-day feast in celebration of a good harvest, and the local indians did participate, this "first Thanksgiving" was not a holiday, simply a gathering. There is little evidence that this feast of thanks led directly to our modern Thanksgiving Day holiday. Thanksgiving can, however, be traced back to 1863 when Pres. Lincoln became the first president to proclaim Thanksgiving Day. The holiday has been a fixture of late November ever since.
The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly. Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America. Most of those making the trip aboard the Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company's interests. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Separatists.
The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast. The feast was more of a traditional English harvest festival than a true "thanksgiving" observance. It lasted three days.
A modern staple at almost every Thanksgiving table is pumpkin pie. But it is unlikely that the first feast included that treat. The supply of flour had been long diminished, so there was no bread or pastries of any kind. However, they did eat boiled pumpkin, and they produced a type of fried bread from their corn crop. There was also no milk, cider, potatoes, or butter. There was no domestic cattle for dairy products, and the newly-discovered potato was still considered by many Europeans to be poisonous. But the feast did include fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison, and plums.
CORNUCOPIA, korn-yoo-KO-pee-uh
One of the most recognizable symbols of Thanksgiving is the cornucopia, also called horn of plenty.
Yesterday Nick and I took a drive up the North Shore. I never tire of it's beauty, as the lake and it's surroundings are different with the weather, time of year, and it's mood. The lake itself was "lake blue" yesterday. This description always gets a laugh out of Nick, "what do you mean by lake blue?" This is a deep color blue that to me accurately tells it's color! There are many shades if blue, but once you see the lake, one can tell why it so well describes Lake Superior.
The landscape around the lake is full of huge rocks and trees. There are rocks at Silver Cliff that tumbled down the hill recently to break barriers before they reached the highway!!
As you climb to White Sky Rock to see the panorama, you can see for many miles the colorful palette of colors on the trees as they blend with the sky above them.
You can see a lot from the highway as you travel along the shore, but when you take a side road, or hike up a trail, you truly see this as God's creation.
What a way to spend my birthday with the dearest man on earth to me :) Thanks for a wonderful birthday, Nick.
Wow. Nick is not the only one who can paint a vivid picture with words! The beauty of God's creation obviously abounds in your neck of the woods. Glad you enjoyed your birthday!
Ruth, hi. Denise Teer Guillot here. Haven't seen you and Nick since Dry Creek but really missed y'all every year after y'all left. I see from your blog that you are in Duluth. You are getting Taylor, lucky you! He almost came to us outside of New Orleans. He's such a fine young man. Please tell him "hi" from us.
