A Kim Family Thanksgiving

Some of my most fondest memories of growing up were the holidays that I spent with my dad's side of the family (the Kim side).

My mom's family all live in South Korea, and I spent many Summers visiting them in South Korea (the Moon side).

Just to give you a little background…

My grandfather is a pastor, and moved his entire family (grandma, my dad, my three uncles, and my aunt) to Houston from South Korea in the late 70's/early 80's because of a job.

My mom and dad were married in 1982, and moved here right after they were married.

Because they have lived here in the U.S. for over 30 years, I like to say that my dad's side of the family is an "Americanized Korean family".

While they still hold a lot of Korean traditions and customs, they have adopted most of the American customs and traditions along with some Texan ones as well!

Koreans don't celebrate Thanksgiving (because it's a purely American holiday), but my family does.

They spare nothing, and they go all out!

We do a traditional Thanksgiving turkey with all the fixins', and we also do a huge Korean feast of Korean BBQ and Korean style side dishes.

Every year, my dad, uncles, and aunt all take turns hosting holidays at their homes.

This year was my Uncle Mike and his girlfriend, Lori's turn to host.

They live in a gorgeous high rise, luxury condo right in the heart of Houston, and they reserved the party room TWO whole years in advance.

Here's the spread…

Turkey, ham, Korean kalbi, stuffing, mashed potatoes, kimchi, tempura shrimp, and all kinds of other deliciousness.

That's my grandpa…AKA…"the Rev"

A short sermon before dinner.

Dannika and my cousins Ashley and Sophie praying.

My mom (AKA Gigi) and Dannika

I'm so glad that my little family got to experience a "Kim Family Thanksgiving".

Being a military family, it's always hard to include ourselves with the rest of my family since we are always so far away.

However, when we do get a chance to make it down to the "Lone Star State", it's always a treat, and we always have a great time.

I hope everyone else enjoyed their Thanksgiving as much as we did!

I'll be posting about our trip soon!