Saturday, December 6, 2008

Thanksgiving in Chicago

Jess and I decided to hang back in Chicago and prepare our own Thanksgiving feast. We really made a day of... well Jess made 2 days out of it. She spent Wednesday trecking around the local grocery store finding all of the ingredients from Oprah's Thanksgiving. I enjoyed getting a call at work to describe what a scallion looked like. I found it funny that she had also picked up a backup to all of Oprah's dishes, just in case something went arry.  

We met that night after all of the shopping/unloading and went to the Pacific Garden Mission and helped serve food to the homeless of Chicago. It really was awesome seeing some 550 people getting fed a free meal. They were very grateful and it made Thanksgiving that much more meaningful.

Thursday morning rolled around and we were up bright and early preparing our feast. We were sauteeing onions, celery, and carrots all while watching the parades. We managed to throw together a pumpkin chiffon pie, stuffing, and sweet potato cassarole to heat up later for dinner. Once we had everything pre-made we wrapped up and headed down to Millenium Park. Every year the city sets up a temporary ice skating rink. We were both a little nervous but I'm proud to report we skated for 1 hour with absolutely no falls and for a grand finale we skated the last lap all while holding hands. It was a sight to be seen.

We made it back to the house and put the final touches of our Thanksgiving feast:
Turkey Tenderloin, Corn, Ligonberries, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Stuffing, and to top it off we had Pumpkin Chiffon pie. To share in the feast we invited my roommate Adam. I think he was surprised and full at the end.

Thanksgiving 08 was a unique experience. Serving the homeless of the great city of Chicago opened our eyes to the love we have from friends and family and we praise God that we have the ability to provide our own feast. Thanks so much to all of you and we hope your Thanksgiving was as cheerful and rewarding as ours. 

Check out the links below:

This is where we served: Pacific Garden Mission


See our pics from Thanksgiving '08: Click ME

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm coming to Chicago next year for Thanksgiving!! Looks like you two did it up right. God bless you! We love you bunches! Mom and Dad

Anonymous said...

WOW, Jessica, I as so proud of you and David for preparing such a nice looking meal, and ever more proud of your hearts for wanting to help those less fortunate than you.
LOVE YOU,
Mom Pegs