A Thanksgiving Heritage

Albright Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving - the holiday sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas; the holiday, though seemingly ignored by most of the retail world, holds great significance to us; the holiday that is (scarily) less than a week away! So with that in mind, we would like to take a little time here in The Sisterhood to focus on one of our favorite holidays.  

The five of us sisters will not be together this Thanksgiving, but we will each have a role in the execution of Thanksgiving celebrations in the next few days.  We have been thinking about Thanksgiving centerpieces, menu items, and traditions we want to establish for our own families - and we have also discovered that the blogosphere is full of ideas . . . from beautiful tablescapes to 100 craft turkeys any preschool would love; from trees of gratitude to random acts of kindness.  While we do go to blogs, Pinterest, and magazines for all these great ideas, most of us have found that we still tend to rely on the ideas and wisdom of the best resources we possess - our mothers.

The five of us sisters have a combined total of six mothers/mother-in-laws. We surveyed them all on the topic of Thanksgiving with the intention of learning from them and sharing their wisdom and experiences with you. Please allow us to introduce you to our moms, and impart to you some of their Thanksgiving "know-how."

Grace

Grace is the matriarch of “The Sisterhood.”  Thanksgiving dinner is typically the biggest hostessing event of the year for her, featuring an Albright Family favorite - "the rolls." The Albright kids spend the rest of the year remembering and craving more of their mom's famous yeast crescent rolls.

Jan

Jan, Joanne’s mother-in-law, enjoys planning, organizing, and hosting dinners like Thanksgiving.  Joanne appreciates the traditional family Thanksgivings she has spent with her in-laws and looks forward to many more (as do her kids).
 



Tamra



Sarah's mom, Tamra, has continually expanded their family's Thanksgiving festivities to include many more people than just family.  Sarah has obviously acquired her gracious and hospitable spirit from her mom.



Robin





Thanksgiving for Megan's family - especially her mom, Robin, has always included more than food - it involves presents! (You'll find out why further on). Last year Megan’s parents joined the Albrights for Thanksgiving, and you should have seen the display of pies Robin (and Megan) made!




Janet



Janet, Jill’s mother-in-law, loves to cook!  And Jill enjoys the Thanksgivings she has spent with Steve's family learning creative ways to use up turkey leftovers.

Laura

New to the Albright family this year is Laura, Julie’s mother-in-law.  This is only the second Thanksgiving Julie has even known her in-laws, but she looks forward to learning more about how her husband’s family has typically celebrated Thanksgiving.

The following are the questions we asked our moms, with some of their responses:

1. What are the key menu items in a typical Thanksgiving dinner in your family?



Joanne's Father-in-Law
Carving the Turkey



Combined Menu: Turkey, Roasted Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Sweet Potatoes, Sweet Potato Souffle, Stuffing, Green Bean Casserole, Corn Casserole, Cranberry Sauce, Cranberry Jello, Cranberry Salad, Homemade Crescent Rolls, Pie (apple, pumpkin, pecan). Check back in the next few days to see some of these menu items in recipe format - just for you!

2. What has been your biggest Thanksgiving cooking/baking disaster?

 Jan: I don’t really remember any although that might be convenient memory loss.

Robin: Wow. Hmmmmm, I’m so paranoid about making mistakes (I really am - so I’m NO FUN to be around) that it hasn’t happened much. But I guess it was the time I pulled green bean casserole out of the oven and the pan collapsed and casserole went ALL OVER the floor.
 

Laura: I was washing dishes afterword at my mother-in-law’s house and the water pipe broke and water went everywhere.

3. What do you usually do with leftover turkey?
 

Grace: Most years I buy the largest turkey I can find, a minimum of 21 or 22 pounds. My motive? To have lots of leftovers.  We love turkey sandwiches, turkey salad sandwiches, and sometimes turkey pot pie.  Love all of the above.
 

Jan: Got to have left over stuffing too and have warmed up dinner the next night or so.
 

Janet: Turkey Soup (carcass is used to make the broth, and then the leftover turkey is added to make turkey noodle soup).
 

4. What is your favorite Thanksgiving memory?

Creating Memories
The "Kids' Table"

Grace: 1978, my first time as the hostess for the family Thanksgiving meal.  I had never fixed a turkey by myself before and I think I spent hours on the phone with my mother having her instruct me in GREAT detail about how to prepare one.  The Albright in-laws were visiting us in our small apartment in Mt. Prospect, IL. Included in the group around our table that day were a Japanese couple and their little girl.  The family had recently moved to our neighborhood and out of curiosity about American life, attended our church for the couple years they lived in America.  We wanted them to experience a traditional American Thanksgiving celebration and invited them to join us.  Their English was quite limited and often it was difficult to communicate with them.  My favorite memory from the day was my father-in-law who believed that the best way to overcome the language barrier between Japanese and English was to raise the decibel level.  I can still hear him saying, “MASHED POTATOES!”
 
Tamra: Being a nurse I worked every other Thanksgiving when the girls were younger, so spending time with them and/or other extended family was so wonderful.  In the first several yeas after our church plant was started, we were able to have a meal at our small apartment with those who weren’t able to go home for Thanksgiving - but now the group is too large for that.  We have since had larger meals at the church which has also been a blessing to us.

Robin: An EASY ONE! The Thanksgiving my first child [Megan] was born.  I went into labor about 3am on Thanksgiving and she was born that night at 8:47.  I had a turkey sandwich about 11pm - my first meal of the day, and probably my favorite Thanksgiving dinner! :)
 
Laura: When I was a little girl, we went to my Aunt Era’s farm for Thanksgiving.  She had all the family over.  The land was beautiful, and everyone brought food.  We had so much fun that day playing with all the cousins and my uncle would take us on tractor rides.
 
5. Are there any traditions unique to Thanksgiving you have established over the years?  What are they?

Jan: When I was a kid, we would usually go to the Thanksgiving parade downtown (Detroit).  When my kids were little, we would watch it on TV.  Our typical traditions have included watching the Lions football game, and at times having shrimp cocktail (a Thanksgiving treat) when we were at my parents.
 
Tamra: Our “tradition” has truly been just enjoying the day, relaxing,and fellowshipping with each other.  We, of course, want to make sure before we eat our meal to go around the table to say what we are thankful for.  With the extended family, we have played a lot of games after the meal, looked at photo albums, and planned where we were going to shop on Black Friday. :) Several times at my sister-in-law’s house, we participated in their tradition of gong to a tree farm in the evening, so they could cut down their Christmas tree.
 
Janet: Lots of food! Making way too much food, which seems to disappear.  The Berbee Derby (5K race) several family members run a 5K Thanksgiving morning and then return home to have nice warm monkey bread.
 
6. As you approach Thanksgiving this year, what are you especially thankful for?

Grace: This blogspot does not have enough megabytes to contain a list of all that I am thankful for.  In short, this year I am especially grateful for our growing family and our children’s ongoing commitment to pleasing God and serving Him.  We are also grateful to God for our church and its core of committed faithful members.  They are an encouragement to us.  I believe that each year, I become even more grateful for my salvation and appreciative of the undeserved blessings I enjoy. 

  

Tamra: Our children and grandchildren, that they are all healthy and our children are following the Lord; our ministry, that the Lord has not only allowed us to serve Him in this way, but also the people He has given us to minister to; our continued health; most importantly, the gift of salvation, His perfect love, mercy, and grace which we see in every area of our live as we live in a major downtown city! 

7.  Any other thoughts or advice about Thanksgiving?

Jan: You (Joanne) always have to spend your Thanksgiving with your husband's family.   Hahaha, just kidding. :-) 

Robin: Spend much time during the Thanksgiving season counting and recounting all the blessings the Lord has allowed in your lives.  Don’t get so caught up in the pre-Christmas hustle that you miss out on the opportunity to praise the Lord for all he’s done.  He is a great God who is GOOD all the time!

A Pfeiffer Thanksgiving

Janet: Enjoy those who are around you: the season, the family, the friends.  Don’t be so tied up in the kitchen that you lose the fellowship of those who are around you.  Enjoy their company.  Have the thankful spirit all year round, instead of the emphasis just the Thanksgiving time.  Yet, it is a good reminder that we are to be thankful.  Take time to have a prayer of thanks, a time of prayer without asking - just praise and thanksgiving.

 8.  And finally - Who would you like to see win the Packers vs. Lions football game this year?

 
Grace: This year’s game puts me in a great dilemma.  First, I want the Lions to win as my sentimental favorite, BUT we have a family Fantasy Football League in which I "own" the Packers defense. So . . . I am hoping for a Lions victory with the score of 3-0.
 
Jan: LIONS!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course.
 
Tamra: Go Lions!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Robin: No Contest: PACKERS!!!!!
 
Janet: Go Pack Go!! 

Laura: Go Packers!