Thanksgiving 2016

It has been a great Thanksgiving Day.  

We attended a Thanksgiving Reunion of Ken's mom's family, The Rostans.  They are Waldensian and are from Valdese, NC originally.   

We ate traditional American Thanksgiving food, but also had some Soutissa, an authentic Waldensian sausage.  Ken loves it.  And I have to say it's pretty tasty.  

This was the first time our kids have ever had any that they remember.

They liked it, too!

There were lots of old photos to look at.  I love family history and love looking at old photos.

This photo is of Ken's grandmother, Henrietta "Babs" Rostan Grana and her baby sister, Nita.  

Babs was the first child in her family to be born in America.  And she married Michol Grana, who came to America from Sicily, Italy.  

This is a photo of Susanna Rostan's certificate of citizenship.  Susanna was Ken's great-grandmother.  She and her husband came through Ellis Island with their oldest two daugthers before Ken's grandmother was born. They settled for a time in Chicago, Illinois before moving to Valdese, NC. 

We had a great afternoon visiting with family that we know and getting acquainted with some that we didn't know.  Susanna Menusan Rostan and Jean Louie Rostan had nine children.  Only the youngest is still living and was in attendance today.  SO, there were lots of folks to talk with.  We really enjoyed listening to Ken's Mom and her cousins recount stories about their grandparents.  

This is Ken's aunt, Rosalie.  She is the oldest grandchild in the family.  She still lives in Valdese.  We really enjoyed getting to visit with her today.

We drove home late this afternoon and got a picture of our family together. 

Yep. A family selfie.

The weather today was beautiful.  It was about 72 degrees today in North Carolina, so we had a good time playing football in our yard in the late afternoon.  

Maggie for the catch.  

Because I was taking pics, Allie and Brady were on a team together and Lillie and Maggie were on a team.  Ken was the QB for both teams. 

I think this might be my favorite shot of the day.  

Their faces, though!!

HIKE!

I love this one of Allie running the ball, too!

We then came inside and ate some leftovers.  

And now, we are enjoying A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving as a family.

It's been a good day.  

We've much to be thankful for.  

Parents and family who care about where they came from and share it with us and our children. 

Reuniting with family not seen for a while and meeting new family members.

Football in our yard.

Leftovers from Ken's birthday party for supper.

Dear Lord, I'm so thankful for this day.  For family, for simplicity, for a quiet evening at home.

Thank you so much for the gift of this day and all that it has held.  Amen