Thanksgiving - St. Stephen Style

Last weekend was Thanksgiving - normally this means a long weekend, family gatherings which include A LOT of food.  I almost had this opportunity but plans fell through and I had to stay at school for the weekend instead of going home. A bummer to miss out on such a great time with my family….

BUT the great thing about my school is that we're like one big family here! We may be a small school, but we are a big family! So we had the long weekend (Monday = no class), we had the 'family' time AND we had the BIG turkey dinner with all the works! Mashed potatoes, squash, carrots, pie (pumpkin and blueberry), stuffing, punch, gravy and most importantly the turkey!! Mmhhmm! The dinning hall was set up so nicely as well, tables put together to make three long tables, nice tables clothes, pretty dishes, and glasses instead of the usual plastic cups.

How is this made possible? Well that's another awesome things about this place, we all pitch into help! Carol our head cook made a sign up sheet and those of us wanting to enjoy this meal signed up for something we were willing to help with. Whether that be making pies, peeling potatoes, cooking the vegetables, mashing the potatoes, making gravy, carving the turkey, setting up the dinning hall or cleaning up…. We all pitched in for a little bit and pulled off an incredible meal! I personally, helped out with pie making! It was quite enjoyable. Carol was there to help us and she had all the other food ready so she didn't have to stay for the whole prep time.

SO Sunday's supper was a feast! Some people were home for the weekend but there were still thirty of us enjoying this meal together. And I found it so much more satisfying that we all somehow pitched in for making this meal happen, and we all did an awesome job!

The food was excellent and the fellowship with this family I have here at school was rich! A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon/evening.

This didn't complete my thanksgiving festivities for the weekend though. I was also invited to families home for Monday's thanksgiving dinner. Heidi and Keith Turner, a couple that goes to the same church as myself, are incredible people! I've recently gotten to know their children Jake and Ali since I've been helping with the Youth group this year, so it was awesome to be able to enjoy their thanksgiving with them.

They were SO generous! I was not the only student they invited to their family dinner, there were  about 10 other students (one of them being Kate who lives there). Plus their family of four that was 14 of us! A good size group! The hospitality was so fantastic!

Heidi and Keith spent a couple days preparing this food for us all! There was turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, breaded pudding, squash, cranberries (homemade and store bought),  green beans, a kale dish (can't remember exactly), gravy and maybe some more that I can't quite remember! Well that food was AMAzing!!! I don't think I've ever had anything like it! It was exceptional! And to be a part of a families' gathering on thanksgiving felt so wonderful! As much as I love my family as school, it's always nice to get out of Park Hall every now and again and enjoy the comforts of someone's home. Heidi and Keith definitely provided this for me.  While we were eating we took part in a family tradition of theirs - sharing our highs and lows of our day. And simply enjoyed each other's company.

After we had all stuffed our bellies, we loosened our belts, and moved into their living room and continued the good conversation. We situated ourselves on the couches, chairs, the floor, other people's laps and just chilled out. It was quite nice. When all of us had a little more room in our tummies, Heidi brought out the FOUR pies she had made! Two pumpkin, one peach and something else (I can't quite remember) and an apple type one - but they were all fancy! No just ordinary pies! I'm not the biggest fan of pun[kin pie so I enjoyed a small slice of each of the other two. They had also made a ginger whipped cream, as well as regular - they were both superb! And we also enjoy a cup of tea or coffee with that delicious pie! Mmhmmm!! It was a meal, oh it was a meal! SSOOO good! I wish I had the words to describe it, but just know it was SOOO good that I don't even have the words…. You're gonna have to trust me on this one.

I also could have stuck around and enjoy some fun games but reality kicked in - I had school work waiting for me at the school.  But man did I ever feel blessed and oh so thankful!

This family went above and beyond for us family-less students and opened up their home for us. It was a comfort to be there, it took some of the sting away from the fact that I coulda been home, but I wasn't. I am truly thankful for the hospitality of this family!

Thank you Turners!!

A Beautiful Morning

So this morning I went on an EPIC adventure with my dear friend April and it was marvelous!
Early in the week I had proposed to April that we do something epic this weekend since our plans for next weekend (road tripping back to Ontario together) didn't quite work out. My idea was to get up before the sun, drive to New River Beach for the sunrise and have a picnic breakfast. Of course, I'd buy April some coffee since early mornings aren't necessarily her favourite thing! But the plans changed a bit, instead we went to Todd's Point - a nature park about 6 km from here, to watch the sunrise with coffee/tea and muffins from Tims. It was a brilliant idea!

So I got up on this cloudy Saturday morning at 6:30, April came by at ten to seven and we were on our way - first stop Tims, next Todd's point. I was getting excited just driving down the bumpity road as it got further and further into country like area. I love nature! And it didn't disappoint this morning!

When we got out of the car, I spotted a dear in the tall grass on the opposite side of the parking lot, we walked a little ways looking at it only to spot another! They looked at us and mustn't have felt to intimidated because they didn't leave right away. We watched them gracefully prance back into the forest and continued on our way, amazed by the two dear we saw. But wait! When we turned the corner to the open fields we saw THREE more dear up ahead on the path we needed to go to. This was AMAZING, 5 dear in a matter of minutes! But to our left, we spotted 4 more dear on the other side of the field! None of them left immediately, they just stood with their heads in the air looking our way. But then two dear dashed across the grass to the four and they all pranced off together into the woods. The three on the path were still there, but as we started walking their direction they, in no hurry, walked to the edge of the forest. It was incredible to see all those dear, just enjoying the dawn of day in the wide open space along the ocean's bay! As April and I walked along the path, I noticed that there were more than just the three by the wood's edge -  there must have been 5 or 6 of them. I counted 12 dears for sure, and those few extra must have made it 14 or 15! It was incredible! And all them in like a 10 minute span of time!
I tried to take some pictures of them, but they were far off and it was a cloudy dawn so the pics aren't the greatest but I'll show you anyways.

 A little dark but still so awesome!

April and I traipsed through the woods to get to the rocky shore. Who needs paths anyways? The stones were wet and there was mucky mud on and around them that made for an interesting and slightly slippery walk. Don't worry, April only slipped once ...down one of those large flat rocks that almost seem like a floor - they should really have yellow signs placed on them reading caution - wet floor or something of the like. She got a little wet, a little muddy and maybe a bit bruised. I proceeded to walk around the rock rather than on it. Why make my own mistakes to learn from when i can learn from others?? haha

We eventually found a nice, dry area to sit on and under our blankets, facing east ward to watch the sunrise. The only problem was....we didn't see the sun... only clouds... but I am sure the sunrise was beautiful somewhere else, like behind the clouds.... none the less it was a fantastic morning. There was a loon just chillin' out on the water nearby, calling out to his/her friend. Birds were flying overhead, singing their morning songs, the wind was blowing in our hair and the clouds circling in the sky above. And the good conversation of friends on the rocky beach made it complete.

When i got back to my room shortly after ten I was talking with my room mate Charis about my morning and the like. And I found myself feeling good about this year. I was (and am) excited about what's to come. Sure, there's still the changes to deal with (which I don't tend to like change) but I'm slowly coming to grips with it. This is still my beloved school, my home, that I love. There are still people here that I know and love, and new people to get to know and come to love! This is what I have to hang on to. Not the fact that dear friends are moving on, but the potential for new dear friends. God has placed many amazing people in this small community and I can hardly wait to discover just HOW amazing they are! Things are going to be (and are) different around here, but that's not a bad thing. I just take a while to adjust to change. But this past week I've been able to notice a slight difference in myself as I adjust to these changes. I'm beginning to be me again! YAY!

So a beautiful morning it was, even though the sunrise was not visible to us, the beauty of God did not disappoint.
A morning's memory I will cherish.

the Loon! it wouldn't keep it's head above the water though....

April and I

Some fun silly ones of course :)

Different background :)

we're cool

part of the bay

awesome tree roots

She's so crazy, but that's partly why I love her so much!

I got really excited about this wood pile! freshly cut and smelt so good! 

metal fish!

metal turtle!