It's been a full and busy holiday season for us this year, full of joy! Allow me to hearken back to Thanksgiving when the holidays started with a bang.
Why was Thanksgiving so special for us this year? Because we had family in Kenya with us! It's the first time we've celebrated a holiday with family on this side of the ocean and it was wonderful.
Eli's parents were finally able to use their plane tickets that were originally meant for May 2020 and they came to Chogoria for the first time. It was so nice to show them our home here. Getting to show people our life and ministry here is always a treat, and it makes it easier for them to later visualize the people and places we speak of so often.
Having a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Horn was the highlight of the year! The boys were so excited to get grandparent time and give them the grand tour of Chogoria. I always love hearing what they have to say about our home. Their perspectives are unique and delightful.
It rained most of the first week they were here, which squashed our plans to take them to Mount Kenya National Park, but the silver lining is that Eli and his dad were able to hang our new curtains that we had brought over at the beginning of the year and had never found time or wherewithal to do before. It required installing new hardware and having the curtains measured and hemmed by my local seamstress friend, but we got it all done in a day and I am very pleased with the outcome (especially since they match our throw pillows)! We were finally able to give the previous curtains back to the hospital guesthouse and now every curtain in this house actually belongs to us. Such a simple thing, but such a feeling of ownership! We've spent our entire married life learning how to make a house a home, particularly since we've never owned a home and have no idea when we ever will. Finding ways to make our mark on a dwelling helps a lot.
Back to Thanksgiving. We hadn't done our Thanksgiving Tree yet, so we got to do it with Grandma and Grandpa. The boys helped me cut out leaves for the tree, then we all wrote down what we're thankful for and took turns sharing those things with everyone and putting the leaves on the tree. It's such a simple tradition, but I love it. It's a physical reminder to help us focus on gratitude.
This year we celebrated Thanksgiving with a potluck for the entire community. It was the first time we've done that since we've lived in Chogoria. Our Bible Study now meets on Thursday nights, so we're usually together on Thursdays, and someone said it well: "We have much to be thankful for. Let's do Thanksgiving together." So we did! And it was wonderful, and also the perfect opportunity to show our parents a piece of community life here. Our potlucks are one of my favorite things about living here.
And it was a feast! A mixture of American and Kenyan cuisine. An eclectic, excellent Thanksgiving meal.
We also had a traditional American Thanksgiving on a different day. All the typical foods were cooked and we feasted yet again. Eli's mom even made a staple Horn dish: cheesy hashbrowns! It really felt like Thanksgiving to us with that on the table.
So much food, so much yumminess, so much satisfaction in our bellies.
It was a blessed Thanksgiving. We are so thankful we could celebrate with family this year!
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