The markets

I'm typing this post with only one hand because my other one has been held captive by my beautiful new daughter, and I love it! It has been such an amazing two days here in Latvia with her, I'm going to go back to yesterday...Thanksgiving! What a day of thankfulness it was for us! We all slept in, way in! Lilia didn't get out of bed until noon! We had a great breakfast together of eggs, toast and sausages.Then we got ready to head to the markets to grab all the "fixings" for our Thanksgiving meal. What an amazing place the markets are! 4 huge hangars connected together and full of vendors!! It's unbelievable really, and we all loved it! We are finding that there are so many places here that Lilia has never seen, so many things that she has never experienced and we are thrilled to be able to experience them with her!
So, we headed home with all of our goodies to make dinner together. We decided to have our "Latvian chicken" with homemade cranberry sauce, cucumbers, mashed potatoes, pastries filled with cheese and spinach and some yummy desserts. Lilie was such a big help and we had so much fun working together in the kitchen.
Thanksgiving was full of laughter and joy for all of us. We were able to talk with our children back home in America and know that they are being well cared for and loved in our absence. We were able to be with our daughter here and watch her heal and find joy in being loved and cared for. We were able to celebrate our marriage and the life that we are sharing together which God has filled to overflowing with love, love for Him, for one another and for our 4 beautiful children that He has seen fit to bless us with. We are so thankful for this past year and all that He has brought us through together. There has been much joy, many sorrows, and tons of love!!! And as we shared these things with Lilia and taught her about this American holiday called Thanksgiving, I was overwhelmed by how great His love is!
Again this morning we slept in until 11 o'clock! It's crazy how late we can sleep here. At home Bob is up by 6 or 7 at the latest every morning and I am up by 7:30 or 8:00. However, once we're up our days are full of activity. There is so much to do here. Shop after shop, tourist attraction after tourist attraction, restaurant after restaurant...you get the picture?! Today, we walked up the street to a great little pancake place for lunch/breakfast and then headed over to St. Peter's to ride the lift to the top of the steeple to see the view of Riga. It was a fun experience and Lilia loved being able to do this. We walked around some small outdoor markets and enjoyed all of the beautiful handmade clothes, jewelry and other items. Lilia and I LOVE these little markets and vendors and shops!