our thanksgiving week

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving week so much....it was very sad to be away from our families and we miss them so much...but we are so blessed to have so many great friends here in Philly. 

We started the week off with a beautiful pie party at our friends house

The weather was absolutely perfect this week...and it's still fall here.

On Thanksgiving we started the morning off by attending the Philadelphia Thanksgiving parade. I was wanting to go to the Macy's day parade but i'm kind of glad we didn't. This parade was so much fun and full of so many cool things. Philly is seriously the coolest city ever! 

We even got to see Santa to start the Christmas season off..

For Thanksgiving dinner our friends the Gandara's hosted us for dinner. I got to cook a lot of food this year which made me feel like I had officially made the jump into adulthood...

I made my great-grandma's rolls. They are the most holiday thing to me. My mom has been the one in the family making them for years and this year I finally made them! 

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The crew we ate dinner with...starting from left to right we have the following countries represented...Lebanon, Philippines, 2 from Mexico and 2 from the USA.

On Black Friday we went out at 10 am. I was a little disappointing in not joining all of the crazies but I actually ended up with everything I wanted surprisingly. After shopping we tried out one of Philly's amazing restaurants called Continental. If you notice on the second floor the chairs are hanging from the ceiling! So cool! 

Then on Saturday we were able to help with one of the neatest things. We were able to drive to Seaside Heights in New Jersey to assist with some of the clean-up from the hurricane. This city is actually a narrow island. If you've seen pictures from the hurricane of the roller coaster in water that's where we were. It was so neat to be able to wear the yellow Mormon helping hands jersey's and to be the Lord's "helping hands". The island has just recently opened up. There is still no electricity and no one is really back to living in their homes. I was told the fire chief was living in a room with his wife at a small retirement home. The island was a ghost town, minus the remnants of their lives before, sadly piled in the streets.

Coming across pile after pile of people's belonging really puts things in perspective. I can't even imagine losing so much. But then I am reminded of the Savior's teaching in Matthew 6:19 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where theives break through and steal. But lay up for yourself treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is there will your heart be also."   

One man we were helping said "this morning i came thinking this was never going to end. There was no way out. There is just too much work to do and then your group showed up (we had 8 men + me) and I felt that it was possible. I felt things could get better." To me that is the message of Jesus Christ. This life is hard. Some days we feel as if there is no way out. I am reminded of Sis. Burton talk from last Relief Society broadcast where she gave the example of a woman being stuck in a pit with no way to get out herself, but after yelling for help someone come and brings a ladder. This is the Savior. He is the way out. Through Him and His Atonement we can get through this earth life and return to him.

Our Savior is there for us. He often comes when we feel as if we can't go any further. But he will always come if we put our faith and trust in Him.