Salt Water Turkey...

Good morning good morning good morning, SO yesterday was the official day of thanks giving here in the great white north and a crazy thanks giving it was. Mike got the idea a lil while back that it would be cool to invite everyone we could possibly think of over for thanks giving and have a huge feast. It was a great big idea but it also required a huge a mount of planning organizing and professionalism, which of course we really don't do well. That's not to say that we didn't have a game plan but more that we have a very vague game plan, on with very little clear detail or reason, but that my friend is half the fun. So we all got our heads together and started cranking out a menu and then it was time for the grocery shopping. I have discovered something very important about Mike and I, if it ain't on a list we don't get it! And so with our semi complete list which we thought was complete we headed to the grocery store and began the great shopping extravaganza. With list and hand and shopping cart in tow we ran around the grocery store hunting for bargains any chance we had. And so after some amazing wheeling and dealing (if I do say so my self which I just did!) we rolled into home and unloaded our full van load of food.
Well next came the planning of the day. The first thing to consider was how many people were coming. And so we went to our main recruiting expertise to gather a tally (aka Mike) and after some careful calculation and examining is records he promptly informed us that he had no idea how many were coming and when asked how many people he had invited he proudly announced "everyone I know" and for Mike that is saying something!
And so with a bunch of food, no idea how many people were showing up and a very vague idea as to what we were actually going to do on the day we called in for back up. And what better back up then a giant his wife and their trusty missional minded counterpart! And So Ryan and Sarah and Heidi showed up Sunday night ready for action.
Monday morning rolled around and the chaos ensued. There were more potatoes and carrots peeled, sliced and cooked then Mike has contacts in his contact list (which again is saying something because as mentioned Mike knows almost everyone;))we managed to cook two turkeys thanks to Tammy's keen sense of forward thinking and were able to pull out three pies a couple dozen rolls and a last minute upside down cake thanks to Nate's until recently hidden Baking skills. The girls pulled there own as the official decorators/dishwashers/keep the kids distracted/ save Ryan and I when we were going nuts specialists. Mike with his gift for gab was able to entertain all of our gusts which worked out to be probably 25 plus people, in a single bound and as for Ryan and I, with our armor in place our, long knives at our sides and our pots and pans in hand we attacked the culinary beast before us. After countless hours of preparation and sweat blood and tears the meal was complete, the guests were feed and content, the dishes were cleaned up, the leftovers were packed away(which by the way will probably last us a nuclear winter!) and we were exhausted.
It was a great day. I think all of us got the chance to hang out with people that we had never met with the exception of Mike(seeing as he had invited almost all of them). It was a great opportunity to show Christ's love in a practical way without programs and committees but rather with fellowship and love. Cause relationship is where its at!
Well that was a glimpse of our thanksgiving. I hope you enjoyed it now if you'll excuse me I need to go make another turkey sandwich apparently we have a fridge full of leftovers that have to be eaten.(PS if you have any suggestions of creative ways to eat thanksgiving leftovers that would be much appreciated a man can't live of turkey and crandberrys alone!)

Peace
Matt

PS a special thanks goes out to our back up, you guys saved us!

And that was our thanksgiving