He's got a point!

Today was a regular school / workday here in Germany so we had an abbreviated version of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

Thursday is kids' cooking day lately, so B and I spent the afternoon preparing spicy sweet potatoes, turkey breasts with sage dressing, salad, and mini pecan-pies. The latter was a real treat-- pecans are scarce here, and once I'd finally scored a couple of bags I realized I had no way to shell them.

We actually had a lot of fun massacring them with a pair of M's pliers-- sometimes they exploded and spread shell and pecan shrapnel across the livingroom floor. Which is no problem when one owns a Labrador.

(Yet another thing for which I am thankful...)

Once we'd eaten I retold the story of Thanksgiving and M asked the kids what they are thankful for.

S nodded sagely and said: "you, Mama, D, our health, our family and our friends."

Then we turned to B, who was wiggling on his chair: "I'm thankful that my bed isn't made of nails..."