Happy December!

Well, it's obvious by the pumpkins that "fall" is over and "Christmastime" is at hand!  But first, I wanted to show our completed Thanksgiving Turkey.  And maybe I'll try to get a better picture today.  Hard to take a photo on the window during the day and be able to read it!  I was happy with the results.  We'll probably do this again.

One of my favorite things about Christmastime is our Little People Nativity - you never know who's gonna show up to worship Baby Jesus.  This year, we also had some excitement at the Thanksgiving Feast when someone showed up with this prize-winning tomato!

I think we are now all ready for Christmastime.  The decorations are scaled back a bit this year as (almost) everything that is breakable was left in the attic.  It was just too risky with Rebekah and the bouncy ball that's not supposed to be bounced in the house.  I didn't want my nativity scene that Grandmama gave me to fall victim or the blown glass fire truck ornaments...

We put the Christmas tree up on a little table to keep it more out of little hands' reach.  The star scrapes the ceiling, but so far little hands are staying in check.

Kinda looks like Santa's already been here and dumped his bag out all over the floor.  Don't be jealous.  And the kids think our Christmas tree is ginormous!

Our snowman family is on the mantle and we added another snowman this year to represent the one that's not here yet.

I still didn't get the stockings finished.  : (  So I gave in & hung the old ones.  I still have my sewing machine set up to work on them, though, so as/if they get finished I'll switch them out.

I have a little tree in the kitchen decorated with cookie cutters and one in the bathroom decorated with old toothbrushes (but I forgot to take a picture of that one).  And yes, I saved the kids' old toothbrushes one year just for this purpose.

My little poinsettia is out of reach also.  (This year is more challenging that keeping stuff cat-proof ever was!)

And I only had to return the kitchen rugs to the kitchen once... so far.

We're going to try doing "advent activities" in coordination with the countdown to Christmas this year.  In the past we've just done a countdown chain.  That was fun, but I wanted to try something different and I didn't want to have to provide a present every day, so the activity countdown seemed like the way to go.  I've seen some good examples of really cute countdowns here and here.  I'll post pictures of ours some day.

Yesterday's activity was putting lights on the playhouse!  Sounds fun, right?  We bundled up and headed out for the excitement!  After about 10 minutes of whining, complaining, getting Rebekah out of the barn, crying, wiping noses, keeping Rebekah away from the cat poo and the ant pile, and still not a single light on the playhouse, I brought them back inside.  Then I did it myself.  I know, I should have made it work

Anyway... here are the 2 versions of the picture for those who just won't believe that it's the playhouse unless they see it.  : )

Rebekah loved looking out and seeing it all lit up last night.  She kept saying, "Play!  House!"  Used last year's LED lights since Dad said I couldn't put them up on the rain gutter this year.  Tried 5 different strings of last year's LED lights before I found one that worked!  Is that common for new-last-year LED lights???  It was almost as annoying as all the crying and wining and chasing.  Hopefully the rest of our "fun Christmas activities" will go better.  Or we're going back to a simple paper chain!

How to Make a Pumpkin Pie

Tiny Talk on Thankfulness

While we haven't been posting what we're thankful for daily this year, we've still remembering the season with our Thankful Turkey!


You can tell what's most important around here.  These are the first ones they came up with:

The kids are enjoying adding to our turkey's feathers and coming up with something unique each day.  The rules are that they can't say the same thing as someone else on the same day.  So Elizabeth could be thankful for her family, but not on the day that David already said it.  Hopefully by Thanksgiving, we'll have a very full Tom!

My sister is hosting her 30 Days of Thanksgiving again this year.  Check her out.  She's cool.  : )

P.S. - It's  46 days 'till Christmas... 6.5 weeks... and I'm almost ready to skip straight to the Christmas decorations.  I finished my Christmas shopping for one kid today!

...for MawMaw

I am thankful for a number of people who are helping take care of my kids this week. Today, I say thank you, MawMaw, for spending your Thanksgiving vacation with the kids!


"Happy Thanksgiving" written by David, age 5. The only letter I helped with was the s.

David is thankful for...

Every day I've been asking David for one thing he's thankful for. This is his list so far.

I am thankful for all the time I've been able to spend with him this year.

Below are a few of the projects he's worked on lately.

While I read about the Mayflower, David colored one, complete with gray storm clouds, exploding cannons, and even a blue shark in the water.

We also made a booklet about the first Thanksgiving and have done a few pumpkin activities this fall.

His small pumpkin had 403 seeds inside!!! I thought we never were going to be done counting! (and it became a counting-by-10's exercise)

The work above is amazing to me because he has never liked to color before and only recently started doing it. Now he's drawing pictures of robots & sharks.

Black Friday

OK, here's the deal - the outlet mall opened at 11pm Thanksgiving night!

Carter's had already sent me an email about their sale starting at midnight - 50% or more off every item in the store. Shoppers arriving between midnight-10AM got a coupon for another 10% off your entire purchase... while the coupon supply lasted. And on top of that, I found a coupon from the Star-Telegram for a $10 gift card to any store in the outlet mall, while supplies lasted. So...

MawMaw, Aunt Jana & I headed to the outlet mall at about 11pm while Dad stayed home with the sleeping kids. I found a green jacket marked 70% off and a thick green vest for 50% off. (then add another 10% off!) Put them together and we have a versatile coat for a little boy who loves green!

The jacket & vest, two little shirts for Elizabeth, a dirt cheap skirt for next summer, a pack of truck underwear, and an adorable pair of tights = about $20 after all discounts.

My first midnight sale & keeping MawMaw out way past her bedtime = priceless.

So then I came home & napped... because now I didn't need to be at WM at 5am fighting the crowds to get a cheap WM brand coat that may or may not have lasted. But because I love my husband, and we saw that Target had the game he wanted for half the usual price, I got up again at 4:45 and headed to the Wax store.

I arrived in the parking lot at 5:30. They opened at 6am. The line waiting to get into the store was down to the garden center doors at the Lowe's next door. So, I parked over there & got in line. Everyone seemed to be chipper. As people started pouring in behind me, I heard them talking about how awful their experiences were at WM earlier.

Then a guy came down the line giving everyone in line a coupon for a free chicken biscuit from Chick-fil-a. Don't you just love them!??!? Then some Lowe's employees came out into the garden center getting ready for their opening at 6am. One of them hollered out, "You know, some of y'all could come over to our store!" The other hollered, "Hey, one of you guys pull me out a TV & save it for me, OK?"

5:55am - The frigid air becomes filled with drizzle. A crowd starts to form close to the doors of the store. People who've been waiting in line start to get agitated. The lone security guard is loosing.

6am - The doors open. The line starts filing inside and a pack of about 30 people who were not in line bolt toward the door. People are more agitated & start hollering things I won't repeat. People from the back of the line started sprinting, passing people who've been waiting longer. I got in as quickly as I could. No, I did not run. I went straight to electronics.

The game was all gone. The game system was all gone. I left empty handed.

My sleep-deprived, pregnant self was about to start crying when I remembered the free chicken biscuit. I was starting to feel better with some chicken & Diet Coke in my system. Then Silent Night came on the radio, I sang along & enjoyed the rest of my morning - I sang Christmas carols with the radio all the way home, I thought about how blessed we are and how I know I am more blessed than the people who ran & pushed & shoved & grabbed up what my husband wanted. I enjoyed the beauty of a deserted county road with fall colors and falling leaves, and the fact that I was going home to my own house. I moved all the boxes that were still stacked where the Christmas tree will go.

A couple of hours later, when everyone else got up, Dad & I decided to try another Target for his game. They were also out, but I was able to get a rain check, so even when the game goes back up to full price, I can still get it for half-off. The checker at that store mentioned that another store that was just 4 miles up the road was rumored to still have the game system. So we went on.

I'm happy to report that after Dad had saved for the game system for 2 years now, I got the last one they had at the 3rd Target of the morning! And that it came with a free $60 Target card... which I can now use when I go back with my rain check... making Dad's game absolutely free, with gift card to spare!

So overall, Black Friday was a success for me! And guess what - the system came with Pac-Man! And 2 kid games that I've already listed on eBay!

Tiny Talk Tuesday: Thanksgiving Edition

OK, so the only 'Thanksgiving-y' song I could actually remember when we were in the car was to sing "If you're thankful and you know it, clap your hands!" It's now one of Elizabeth's favorite songs. As she requests songs:
"ABC!!" and we sing the ABC song
"Clap Clap!!!" and we sing If You're Happy/Thankful

I told Aunt Sissy last night that Elizabeth is amazing - I have another genius on my hands! ; ) She knows her colors pretty good, she can count to 10, she can recognize many of her ABC's and gets about half of the song in the correct order!

In between verses of If You're Thankful and You Know It I always ask, "What are we thankful for today, David?" Here are some of the answers I've gotten in the last 2 weeks:

songs,
monster trucks,
animals,
good food to eat,
our family,
Mom & Dad,
guns,
cars,
sticks,
the moon,
our cats,
my game,
our church,
my backpack,
our new house,
paints

For more Tiny Talk, visit Not Before 7!

Thanksgiving Songs - Know Any?

In the car this evening we were trying to stay awake by singing songs. With the Thanksgiving season now upon us, we sang the Elmo song with the word "Thanks" and then everyone hollered out something they were thankful for.

Mom: I'm thankful for David & Elizabeth! What are you thankful for?
David: Songs!
Elizabeth: Moon!
David: Monster Trucks! Animals!
Elizabeth: Moon!
Mom: Sonic!
David: Good food to eat!
Elizabeth: Moon!

Yes, she could see the moon on her side of the car. So then we called Aunt Sissy, thinking that surely the author of Give Thanks! Thanksgiving Readings for the Family, would know of some good Thanksgiving songs that I could sing with the kiddos. Wrong! ; ) Jordann suggested Turkey in the Straw.

Now I'm in search of Thanksgiving songs that are suitable to sing with toddlers & preschoolers. Know any?

I'm thinking that I'll gather them into an e-book & hope to have it available by Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving In Review

For those in my family who remember taking Grandmama out for her birthday lunch, you will see the humor in this...

Today's Thanksgiving dinner was to take place at Grandma's favorite Chinese restaurant. Grandma & Grandpa had gone there last Thanksgiving & it sounded like a good idea... until we pulled into the parking lot and saw it was closed!!! We all had a good laugh over that.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'll not go into details of the lunch we actually ate. Moving on... Grandma & Grandpa went to the Supercenter after lunch & we dropped in on Thanksgiving at Grana & Papa's house where they were just sitting down to their Thanksgiving feast:

After a short visit there, we headed back home to the post-Thanksgiving-Day-lunch-activities.

Elizabeth helped me comb through the sales circulars. She had fun! David helped make the Countdown to Christmas Chain.

Then David helped me set up Grandma's new fiber optic tree. I'm sure I'll get a picture of it before the season is over.

To my brother and sister: With the addition of Elizabeth to this year's Christmas, our stockings no longer fit on the shelves around the wood stove. Upon discussing the problem with Grandma, we're going to try hanging all of the stockings together along the top of the bookshelves. Update later; comment if you have a problem with that.

Now I've got to get to bed for our exciting, early shopping trip tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Yes, I used this picture yesterday, but here it is again anyway! : ) Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Grandpa saved that wire spool from the church remodeling project. Then I saw a large version of the spool turkey on this Thanksgiving blog & decided to give it a try. I thought it was really cute.

We picked up pecans on Tuesday. Grandpa didn't tell us that he was at the good tree until we were leaving! Visit Grandpa's blog for a cute picture of Elizabeth!

Today I am thankful that I didn't have to drive on I-20, I-35, or any other Interstate to spend this holiday with our families!

Wordless Wednesday Thanksgiving Edition

You turned my wailing into dancing;

You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

that my heart may sing to You and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give You thanks forever.

- Psalm 30:11-12

See more Wordless Wednesday
Here or at 5 Minutes for Mom

Thanksgiving Festivities Begin

I forgot to take my camera today... : \ David made this turkey in Sunday School. After church, we went to my great-aunt Marie's 85th birthday party. There was a pretty good turn out & it was fun to see a new generation of kids & babies filling the room!

This afternoon, I tried to get David to rest, but it didn't happen. So this evening, we took 2 sleepy kids to Aunt Laurie's house for Thanksgiving on Grandpappy's (Dad's dad) side of the family. David & Elizabeth both eventually warmed up to everyone & did really well. We drew names for the Christmas gift exchange. Now I have to figure out what to do for them! Both kids fell asleep on the way home.

I am thankful that we are able to do all this family stuff this year instead of driving 5 hours to get here & still not being able to attend everything. I am thankful that my children are learning the names of their cousins, aunts & other relatives and are comfortable with them.

Gobble, Gobble

These old Thanksgiving postcards where they're riding turkeys crack me up!

Today we went to Grana's birthday party and I forgot my camera.

Once again, I am thankful for family, and seeing my children interact with cousins, aunts & uncles, and grandparents.

Looking for Thanksgiving...

Yes, looking for Thanksgiving! If you don't look for it, you'll miss it! Thanksgiving seems to have been engulfed by it's surrounding holidays. Halloween costumes & candy have been out for a while now, but now that it's October, all the extra spaces in stores seems to be devoted to spook you! If you're a crafter, you've seen the Christmas craft supplies out for months. Last week the garden center at the Big Box was being cleared out & stocked with Christmas... and it was still September! Thanksgiving seems to get skimmed over every year.

But Thanksgiving is a big holiday in my family. Thanksgiving & Christmas were the 2 big holidays we got together around. Those are the holidays we rotate with the in-laws. It doesn't seem right to just skip over Thanksgiving so nonchalantly.

My sister apparently felt the same way, and has written a wonderful e-book to help your family get back to Thanksgiving! Her book, Give Thanks! Thanksgiving Readings for the Family, is a wonderful resource to guide your family through the Thanksgiving season. She has broken it down into 30 daily readings leading up to Thanksgiving Day. You will be blessed by hymns, scriptures, poems, stories, recipes, craft ideas and more.

I think my favorite part of Give Thanks! Thanksgiving Readings for the Family is that she starts each day with a scripture passage. What better way to focus in on being thankful.

Take some time to get back to Thanksgiving this year and pick up your copy of Give Thanks! Thanksgiving Readings for the Family at the Homeschool eStore today! And drop in on my sister's blog to see some great fall pictures & tell her how wonderful you think her book is!