Thanksgiving in New Zealand

Each year our family celebrates Thanksgiving even though we live in New Zealand. It is a tradition I came to love while living in Hawaii and since Joe is American I also like to do it so he feels we celebrate some of his traditions too. This year my mum and I decided to go big and host a huge Thanksgiving dinner for all our friends and family. We made it a potluck inviting people to bring a long a favorite savory dish to share. We provided the turkey, ham and all the trimmings such as stuffing, rolls, corn, gravy.

We decorated the night before with fall colored tissue pompoms, fairy lights, fall colored table clothes and little grateful trees for people to write down what they were grateful for. We were fortunate to use the church hall for our ward to host the activity. We told our friends and family to bring whoever as long as they brought something to share.

It was such a wonderful night. Everyone brought a long food, we had music playing, we ate and ate and ate and towards the end of the night people took turns giving thanks for different things. Some of my favorites where hearing the old guys talking about how thankful they were for their wives and the things she does each day to make their life better. I truly felt the spirit of thanksgiving and it reminded me so much of when we would have Thanksgiving back in the dorms in our wards.

I have heard that everyone wants us to make it an annual thing. It was huge amount of work but seeing everyone together made it so worth it!!

Thankful list:
* A great marriage
* A loving husband who takes way to much good care of me
* 3 healthy children
* Our home and car
* Our ward and callings
* Our health
* Joes job and that I can stay home and raise my children
* Living close to my parents
* Living in a safe neighborhood
* The gospel and the peace it brings to us

Going to the Dentist

This year has been a big year of learning about the importance of brushing and maintaining teeth. We are actually really good with the teeth brushing but I learned a lot about the right types of snacks and goodies to give the kids. For me we have not been diligent about watching the lolly in take especially during birthdays or special occasions. I  learned this year that actually kids will eat what you give them and if you don't have it in the house they don't notice it. I found out that raisins or dried fruits can actually become stuck in the teeth and can be a big cause of cavities. I learned that cheese and crackers are good snacks for breaking down sugars sitting on the teeth.

Hinalei got several small fillings done. It was a big job to get her to sit in the chair. Some days she was fine and didn't get the dentist a problem and other times she had to be held (bribed) to get work done. All in all it has helped me gain a greater appreciation for taking care of and looking after teeth. Hinalei has been diligent in reminding us to do teeth each morning and night and showing her brothers what to do to.