Know That Jehovah He is God

Our Thanksgiving was full of festivities, friends, food, and fervent gratefulness for another year of provision and protection. Mama has been dealing with health problems this year--which makes us even more grateful for good health when it is bestowed--so the bulk of the meal was up to Lauren, Melanie, and I to complete. Thanks to Mama's help and advice, and the contributions of our friends and guests, everything came off well and without a problem!

 Since we had to rise early to pick a selection of fresh rosemary, sage, parsley, and oregano from our garden, which we then pulverized with lots of butter and coated all over the turkey, Proverbs 31:15 seems fitting: "She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household, and a portion for her maidservants." ;-)

 Our baking was completed the night before--Old City Tavern Chocolate Pecan pie, which I made using our traditional family recipe from Philadelphia's famous haven for the founding fathers; apple pie, which Lauren carefully covered in pie crust leaves; and chocolate chip cookies, which Susanna made to munch on in the late hours of the evening.

 The centerpiece was also completed, thanks to Lauren's creativity!

And as the morning wore on, we set the table and prepared the food.

 Our guests--two families--arrived just in time!

Top Left: Susanna; Middle Left: Jonah; Bottom Left: Micah; Bottom Right: Mikaela and Lauren

 It is tradition in our household to take five kernels of corn and reflect aloud on five things for which you are thankful. These kernels of corn remind us of the hardships and privations the Pilgrims endured during 1623, when they were sometimes forced to subsist on nothing but a few kernels of corn. It was beautiful to hear everyone's points of gratefulness, and we all wrote them down on index cards which Papa collected for a rememberance.

For dinner, we enjoyed roasted turkey with cranberry sauce, gravy, and sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, fresh vegetables, pickled vegetables, green bean casserole, roasted brussel sprouts, and rolls. Delicious! The only thing I passed on--which I do every year, to be consistent--was the sweet potatoes.

After feasting, some of us felt like napping, and Darcy--our new kitty named after Fitzwilliam himself--is not one to deny himself the pleasure of such an event. 

Top Left: Lauren singing, Mikaela on the piano; Top Right: Great-Aunt Bev; Bottom Right: Mama and Papa; Bottom Left: two of our guests.

 We taught everyone a very old hymn which was new to them. After I discovered "Old Hundred" in my ballad book a month or so ago, I suggested that we sing it on Thanksgiving, since it was one of the Pilgrims' most cherished songs. It is set to the tune which we are accustomed to calling the "Doxology." Psalm 100, the basis for this hymn, was the passage the Pilgrims quoted upon reaching the New World and has a very special significance on Thanksgiving.

Make ye a joyful sounding noise
Unto Jehovah, all the earth;
Serve ye Jehovah with gladness
Before his presence come with mirth.

Know that Jehovah he is God;
Who hath us formed it is he
And not ourselves; his own people
And sheep of his pasture are we.

Enter into his gates with praise,
Into his court with thankfulness;
Make ye confession unto him,
And his name reverently bless.

Because Jehovah he is good,
For ever more is his mercy;
And unto generations all

Continue doth his verity.

Then, of course, hours of games ensued. (And yes, that is Melanie's very own bearded dragon on her shoulder.) 

We interrupted our games only to enjoy Chocolate Terrine, Chocolate Pecan Pie, Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie, and Cranberry Pie with ice cream and whipped cream. Yum! 

Somewhere past ten but before midnight, the newspaper came out and we perused the ads together, laughing at and ridiculing the Black Friday craziness, but still attracted to the deals and sales. You can see Mr. W. on the right playfully covering his wife's eyes--"Don't even look!" he seems to be saying. ;-)

Our Thanksgiving was a wonderful, blessed event--I sincerely hope yours was as well!

And, on the unlikely chance that you still have turkey hanging around in your refrigerator, may I suggest a Turkey Cranberry Wreath, which is an annual post-Thanksgiving tradition, and which we enjoyed immensely for dinner last night?

Turkey Cranberry Wreath

Serves 4-6

• 2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons honey Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 cups chopped cooked turkey
• 1 cup shredded swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 3 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*F. In bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustard, and pepper. Add turkey, celery, parsley, cranberries, and cheese and mix well.
2. Unroll the 2 packages of crescent rolls; separate into 16 triangles in a circle on a large pizza pan or stone with wide ends 3 inches from the edge of pizza pan and points towards the outside. Points will extend off the edge of the pan (depending on size). Arrange the remaining triangles in the center of the pan, matching wide ends with triangles already in placed. The points will overlap in center.
3. Using small rolling pin(or small round jar or drinking glass), roll over seams of triangles where wide ends meet, making a smooth surface for filling. Don't seal center triangles.
4. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop filling evenly over the dough in a continuous circle. Sprinkle walnuts over filling.

5. Beginning with the last triangle placed in center of pizza pan, bring point of triangle straight across filling. Next, bring point of the opposite outside triangle diagonally across filling, covering point of previous triangle. The filling will show. 

6. Repeat, overlapping points of inside and outside triangles to form a wreath. Tuck the last end under first.

7. Brush top of wreath with egg white. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!