Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There is no pressure to buy gifts, instead it's a time to reflect on all we are thankful for, and share our blessings with others. Every year we have someone new at our table. This year we'll have a couple of guys from the Navy ship joining us for turkey dinner. I am looking forward to hearing everyone share what they are thankful for. But I thought I'd use my post for today to give you a chance to share what you are thankful for, too. I'll give you my brief list. 1. My awesome husband, Harry. 2. My wonderful, loving kids, Josh, Sarah and Regis. 3. A few of my good friends who have weathered the triumphs and pains of life this past year - Chris, Laura, Hozumi. There is much more to this list, of course. But I thought I'd keep it brief, in hopes that some of you share your "thankful for" list too. Have a great Thanksgiving!!
After 16 days of studying and taking exams, Harry and Brad received their PADI Dive Instructor certifications in Guam. Harry was sick as a dog during most of it, but he still managed to pull off an almost perfect score. I'm very proud of him. I arranged a little get-together for them both as a Welcome Home and Congratulations party. A number of dive friends came over and congratulated the "boys". Angelo and Brad R. were not able to make it due to a horrible car accident over the weekend, and a soccer game. I'm sorry they couldn't make it, as they had plans to "entertain" Harry and Brad with a little lip sync. A friend let Harry and Brad use an empty house in Guam, so the neighbors all thought that Brad and Harry were the new gay couple that moved in. So Angelo was going to dress up as Harry (eye patch and all) and Brad was going to dress as Brad D. They were going to sing "Just the Two of Us" for them. That would have been a hoot! I laugh just thinking about it. In the picture below, the cats found a safe place from all the people in the house - right on top of the frig. 
Here's some of the group - L to R - John, Esther, Mike and Malou. 
L to R - Chris, Brad (congrats!) and Dennis
Judy and Harry
Sarah (who cooked some amazing appetizers for the party), Morgan and Denise. 
Mike and son. This little guy smiles all the time. 
And Oli, "helping" with cup clean up. Oh, maybe she was just biting holes in the cups, that's it. 
I set up a Facebook account. It's kind of fun so far. And I've been able to contact different people from our past, so that's been fun, too. I posted a few pictures on my page. And I finally figured out that if I list I'm married, I should put to whom. HA - yep, a facebook mutant, still, but working on it.
Check it out! I'm in the November 2008 Issue of Beach Road Magazine. Nope, not the cover girl - maybe next time.
After work last night I went to a beachside bbq that was arranged as a farewell to a friend and business associate. While waiting for the bbq to start, I called a friend to see how she was doing. She told me about a car accident that she and her husband were in last week, in almost the exact same spot that the person almost hit Sarah and I. Thankfully, my friend and her husband are ok, but very sore from the impact. However, they are not sure if their car can be repaired or if it will be totalled. I'm just thankful she is ok. Close calls sometimes bring our attention back to the important things - life and the well being of those we love. So once I found out she'd be ok, and we arranged to meet this weekend, I thanked God for His protection, and headed over to the bbq. We said farewell to John O., who has lived on the island for many many years. John will be missed very much. It's sad to see someone like him leave our little community. But of course, we can understand. He said, you know, it's just not fun to live here anymore. There is nothing to buy in the stores, just not much good left out there. I listened, nodded. I do understand what he is saying, and I hear the same thing over and over. The quality of life has greatly diminished. Many have chosen to move on from that. So later in the evening I told him I know what things make him want to leave, but what things about Saipan will he miss? He said the people. He said he's met alot of really great people out here, and he will miss them very much. Well, John, you also will be missed very much. But we wish you the best in your new adventures in Arkansas. It sounds like you have a great place lined up. I'm happy for you, and hope to hear of your continued life adventures. 
Saturday night Chris, Sarah and I decided to have a campfire at Ladder Beach. We cooked out our dinner, let Emma play on the beach, and just relaxed in the cave listening to the waves crashing on the shore. It was a beautiful, peaceful evening. Sarah cut up some fresh pumpkin, yams, zucchini and local green beans. We tossed them in olive oil and a few herbs, then wrapped them in foil and placed them on the hot coals at our campfire. Here is the beautiful and peaceful Ladder Beach, at about 6:00 p.m.
Emma enjoying her beach and family time. 
Sarah inside the cave, wrapping our veggies in foil. Chris making sure the fire is going. 
Emma the ever faithful guard dog - wouldn't want that stray cat to get too close to her family. Sarah and Chris relaxing while the coals are getting ready. 
Our little foil packs of fresh veggies on the fire. We went to the farmer's market that morning and bought all our veggies. Sarah bought some fresh shrimp, too. 
Mmm - fresh fire grilled veggies!
Awesome grilling results - everything tasted fantastic! But note to self, wooden skewers for the shrimp don't work with an open flame. Ha. 
If all that good food wasn't enough, we even had champagne with fresh (yes, fresh) strawberries. Were we spoiled or what?
Chris and I enjoying our champagne and strawberries. 
Chris and Sarah - just enjoying a hug. 
This was an awesome end to a wonderful sunny day on our little tropical island. Good times! - as Josh would say.
Here is the delicious roasted turkey, fresh out of the oven. We sent a good portion of turkey and fixings back to the ship with the guys. 
Sarah carving the roast beast - ha - not really. I took the knife from her and did that job myself. Yeah, it's usually Harry's job, but he wasn't back yet with the Navy guys, since they stopped for the Grotto swim, so I went ahead and got the carving done. 
This picture is a little blurry, but I always like having a picture with my chef of the day. 
This picture is a little blurry, but I always like having a picture with my chef of the day. 
