Thanksgiving and a Quick Trip Home

Nana did attend our wedding and we were lucky enough to get this photo of her with Kels and me. 

Part of the explanation for my hiatus from the blog occurred just before Thanksgiving.  My Nana had been declining over the past few months and passed away on Sunday November 23rd.  Saying goodbye to her before Javier and I moved was one of the hardest goodbyes I made because I was all but certain it would be the last time I saw her.  We were in close contact with my Mom and Dad in her last week, but it was still very difficult being away from home.  (I had a very different experience when my Grandmother passed away two years ago.)  Sometime in that last week, I started talking to Javier about the possibility of going home for the funeral we knew was imminent.  While I shouldn't be surprised by now (he is always the most supportive and thoughtful man) he assured me that he had always planned on me returning home to be with family during this difficult time.

Here is Nana looking beautiful and sassy as she was.

After Nana died, I quickly bought a ticket home (using miles) and anxiously created sub plans for the 4 days I would be gone (our school does not have Thursday and Friday off for Thanksgiving...for obvious reasons).  It was so wonderful to be with family over the next few days.  Kelsey and I had the opportunity to speak at the funeral, talking about Nana's love for Christmas (that included carols in her car in July), special sweet tea and evenings spent on her porch rocking and watching the cars go by.  She was such a special lady.

I also need to take a minute to acknowledge another sad loss for our family.  Kelsey and Scott's dog, Lily Mae (sometimes known as Pants), also passed away on Sunday November 23rd.  If you ever met her (and I bet most of you did....she was pretty portable), you know she was a truly special pup.  She fit in perfectly with our family through her love of food, sleep and good company.  She too will be incredibly missed.

Rushing home for the services allowed me to stay an extra day to spend Thanksgiving with the family.  It was so nice to get to see so much of my family in the hurried three days.  While I didn't get any pictures of people...in typical fashion I was able to capture a few shots of the delicious food that we ate.

While it was so nice being home, I did feel guilty that Javier was spending his first Thanksgiving in Ecuador all alone!  School did provide a Thanksgiving potluck and half day on Thursday to help their expats celebrate a little bit!

All of this food was so yum-o, but my body is clearly getting used to Ecua cuisine because I had tummy troubles the entire time I was in the US.   (Fine in Ecuador, but bring me back to the US and my weak stomach can't handle it...)

In addition to chowing down, I also got to meet this lovely lady, Miss Elsie Mae,  during my hurried trip home.  She is even more sweet and adorable in person than in this picture if you can believe it!

When I returned, Javier and I hosted a little friends Thanksgiving! I put up a few decorations and Javier and I braved the turkey!

Here is our 'Give Thanks' banner with the gorgeous view of Pichincha in the background (it never get old)!

Our organic market had pumpkins!  That I used 1st as decoration and then later for soup!  (The leaves were provided by my loving sister who knew I missed them and had a bag ready for me when I arrived in the US!)

Once again, I neglected to get any pictures of humans, but managed instead to document the food that we ate.  Javier did a beautiful job carving the turkey! and all the sides our friends brought made for a delicious Thanksgiving meal!

Going home for a few days was incredibly hectic, but 100% worth it.  It was so comforting and important to spend time with my family.  Nana was such an important part of my life and I know I'll miss her so much.