Happy Thanksgiving!

Give thanks print by HENANDCO

Coffee dipped, hand stamped tags turned into napkin rings.
We used the back of the tag to write down
what we were thankful for

In one of my earlier posts, I wrote about how Mr. Sunshine and I hope to incorporate traditions and the culture of places we have lived in (and hope to live in) in our lives. Thanksgiving is one of those uniquely American celebrations that we want to hold on to and make it a Sunshine family tradition. I love Thanksgiving - I love that it is all about family and friends, and about acknowledging all that we have in our lives. Of course, I also love that it is all about the food. This is the first time in several years that we won't be having a thanksgiving meal on Thursday - we have a tiny celebration planned for Sunday dinner - and I can't wait to have our very first Thanksgiving in Norway! I just have to figure out how to bake three dishes in our tiny little oven, with only one baking dish.


Last year at our first family thanksgiving, all of us wrote down what we were thankful for, and read it aloud after dinner - it was a lot of fun, and emotional and touching. There may or may not have been some tears involved (see second picture). I had hoped to make it a thing to do at every thanksgiving in the future, but then we moved. So this year I am just going to post all that I am thankful for (in no particular order) on the blog. Also, this is by no means an exhaustive list.

I am thankful for:

• My friends and family, who bring sunshine in my life
• Hot showers - any one who has had to bathe using a bucket and a mug knows what I am talking about
• My grandmothers - ajji and nani - for teaching me that strength of character comes in different forms
• My parents who let me be who I wanted to be
• My brother for being the best sounding board a girl could ask for
• Letterpress printing - for letting people make amazing paper products
• Avocados - for adding that extra oomph to any dish
• Books - for who would I be without books
• NPR - for keeping me informed and entertained
• Pretty dishes - so that the ramen that I make looks like gourmet food :-) 
• The Internet - really, how else would I procrastinate?
• Coffee - for keeping me sane
• Friendly TSA agents and airport staff - because flying is stressful enough without having to deal with rude airline staff
• Freedom of Speech - this one speaks for itself
• Mr. Sunshine - he is my world
• Pretty wrapping paper - because it is even better to receive gifts wrapped in pretty paper
• Buntings - because, well, they make me happy
• Handwritten mail
• Mr. Sunshine's family - for making me a part of their family
• Saris - because I have never seen a woman who doesn't look gorgeous in one
• Tea - because it calms me
• Google Maps and Google Translate - because without either, I would be getting lost everyday in Stavanger. How did immigrants in the days before Google or the Internet survive?
• Nice smelling soap - because there is nothing like smelling pretty after a bath
• Hair dryers - because nothing annoys me more than air drying my hair
• The sea - because its vastness makes me realize how small my troubles are
• Nutella - because it makes everything taste better
• Sunshine - because when you live in a town where it rains every day, every day the Sun shines is a precious day
• Modern medicine - because without the anesthesia my last dental surgery would have been hell
• Happy babies in airplanes - because everyone who have flown in a flight with a crying baby knows that feeling of frustration - you want the child to shut up, but can't do much about it
• Teachers - because even though they have the most important job in the world, they seldom get any thanks for it
• My best friend PRR - because, well, he is the nicest person on earth
• Everything we have - sometimes I tend to complain (and worry) a lot (sorry, Mr. Sunshine) about how I wish things could be different, or about how I wish I didn't have to make certain decisions. Then I have to stop and remind myself of all that I (and we) have. We have love, and laughter. We have friends and family that love us and care for us. We have everything we need. And I am thankful for it!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

XOXOXO

Ms. Sunshine

You are my world print by EeeBee and Write more letters print by Mary Kate McDevitt

There's More To Life Than Books print by Angie Muldowney and Keep Calm and Google it print by PrintLand

Coffee and Tea Prints by Gayana Danilova