Thanksgiving Dinner Preparations

Appetizers:
Salmon Dip-purchased
Nut Thins-purchased
Olives-in pantry
Pickles-in pantry
Hummus-purchased and then recalled, ready to return to the store

Turkey-thawing to cook tomorrow
Gravy-will make tomorrow when turkey is done
White Potatoes-mashed
Sweet Potatoes-mashed
Pecans-toasted to add to sweet potatoes
Cranberry Relish-blended in Vitamix
Heavy Cream-whipped
Vanilla ice cream-purchased
Pumpkin, apple, and pecan pies-purchased
Wine-in pantry
Juice for the Lambs-in pantry

This dinner was made when there is a broken pipe in the basement of our rental. We were told to use the kitchen sink as little as possible until it is fixed. This is when I am thankful to have a landlord that takes care of what is broken, but I am not the homeowner so I don't have to pay for the repairs.

I am thankful for all my electrical kitchen servants. It is much easier to cook when you have the correct tools!

I will pick some frozen veggies tomorrow from the freezer so we add some veggies to the menu. Ram will make the turkey and gravy and I'll help if he needs me to.

The menu is not all Paleo. It made it so much easier to purchase pies. I figure we can cheat a little on holidays.

It has been many years since we have had Thanksgiving dinner with my parents. We are looking forward to a day of church, relaxing, and eating!

Stonesetters Verse

The Lambs were required to memorize this verse and recite it daily during the month of January. Now that we moved away we won't be able to attend Stonesetters next year, but this verse will always be in our memories.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 1 Timothy 2:1

This verse has run though my head almost every day since we worked on memorizing it even though we quit reciting it as a family after we attended Stonesetters in January. We pray for the American people that go to the voting booth today and for those elected to high positions.

My birthday weekend

We attended three church services. This is some of what we sang over the past two days.

Sunday AM:
Sunday School Choir sang A Mighty Fortress is our God
LSB 670
LSB 677
LSB 676
TLH 470
LSB 938 (Sang twice: once in Bible Class, once in church)

Sunday PM:
LSB 671
LSB 676
LSB 714
(Bach Cantata Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott by the choir)
LSB 944
LSB 880

Monday PM:
Though All Our Life is Like a Scroll (www.lutheranreformation.org)
LSB 561
LSB 515
LSB 556 (all 10 verses!)
LSB 894
LSB 947
LSB 377
LSB 633
LSB 813

After being away for 13 years we don't take a large gathering of Lutherans singing for granted. Thank you to all the choir members and instrumentalists that practiced so much for these services. Thank you to the Seminary for hosting the Good Shepherd Institute on my birthday.

Thankful

When we were in ID our family doctor that we liked left for another job. We did our regular checkups this spring with a new doctor. It was frustrating to do everything with a new doctor and then leave a few months later.

One of my worries about moving to a new town was that it would be difficult to find a good doctor that would accept new patients. There was some urgency to finding a family doctor so that I could have checkups after my thyroidectomy and we also wanted to schedule some more visits for other family members while we met our deductible this year.

My mom gave me a business card for a brand new doctor that she got at a pro-life event. When we first called to schedule an appointment we were told that he will not prescribe birth control. He believes in being your doctor from conception until natural death. That impressed us enough to give him a try.

One of the Lambs saw him last week and I had an appointment today. He is currently in the same building as the midwives while he is building a new office. The office walls are covered in pictures of babies. I particularly liked a photo of a baby with an LSB hymnal open to the order of Holy Baptism. There are religious quotes in the bathroom. I really liked the doctor. Ram will have his yearly checkup with him next week.

I am amazed that God not only helped us to find a doctor that would accept us as new patients, but also one that has values with which we agree. The timing is amazing to me too, he just opened his practice this year after graduating from medical school. I think when word gets out he will be a very busy doctor and it may be difficult to get in as a new patient.

I took blood pressure medication the past few months so that I could safely have surgery. It was my goal to get off of the bp meds as soon as possible. With our crazy welcome to Indiana, I wasn't sure I would ever calm down enough to get off of the meds. I liked this doctor's bedside manner and he is going to allow me to stop taking the bp meds as long as I continue to check my bp at home daily. It is a big blessing to get off of the bp medication!

All mixed up

We moved back to my hometown that I moved to when I was in high school and my parents still live in. It is becoming very clear to me that being gone for 13 years really changes things. Here are a few examples:

• The other night we got gas at a gas station that used to be a Wendy's. During marching band season in high school we would walk down there after school and get something to eat before practice.
• The ice cream store that was another place to meet when I was single and then when I was a newlywed is out of business.
• I am loving shopping at a grocery store that is in the former Borders. That was where I ordered items for my classroom before Amazon. That was where I met friends for a cup of tea when I was single and when Ram and I were newlyweds.  This grocery store has great sales and a great bulk section, but no cafe.
• When I was in high school our school football team rarely won games. Being in band, the halftime show was the most important so I rarely watched the game. But the other night when we were winning, watching the game was exciting! Our team has a good chance of going to state this year.
• Our rental house is not too far from the house I grew up in, a little farther from where I bought a house when I was single, and even farther from my parents new house. Some places in the area we go to take much longer than I am used to and other places we go just take a few minutes to get there from our rental house. I have to adjust my thinking how long it will take to get to everywhere.
• No matter which church we visited in the area, I ran into parents of my former students. I will always remember them as first and second graders, but my last class is now juniors in college and many of the older students are married and have started families.
• The school that I taught at closed by the Lutheran church and recombined with two other Lutheran schools at a different location. This makes me so sad that they can't go next door to the church for daily chapel like we did.
• The library branches were always good here and the new downtown library is awesome now. My boys have gone to a couple of programs at the downtown library and are looking forward to more programs. 
• Our calendar no longer is just for the 5 of us, but my parents are added to the calendar-all for when they can babysit for us, need a ride to something, or want us to come over for a visit/help with a few tasks around the house. I love that we are in the same town to be able to do this.

So it is not all bad changes, it just takes some readjusting in my thinking!

Heat

I turned the heat on for the first time today. We praise God that the furnace works at our rental house!

Great Day!

Yesterday we received this in the mail:

Today we went to the Seminary bookstore and bought this:

Then we went to the library and had a treat from Dunkin Donuts to celebrate that we have library cards. We bought a few books at their used bookstore section for $2 total. The Lambs picked books to check out. We found out about Minecraft time at the library and Ram took the Lambs back later in the day to participate in that. The Lambs loved Minecraft at the library! My dad stopped by to see the piano and visit while they were at Minecraft.
When we got home this was in the mail today:

The months of packing, cleaning, unpacking, and the bureaucracy when we arrived were all worth it to now have an IN Driver's license and an Allen County Public library card in our wallets and be in the same town as my parents for my dad to stop by for a visit!