Thanksgiving 2010

We were blessed enough to have Thanksgiving at our house again this year.  Since we are up at the crack of dawn around here anyway, I like to have the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade playing in the background while I'm cooking--until football comes on!

I LOVE this picture of my babies.  

Here is the turkey.  It looked so pretty until we had to slice it up.  If you'd like the recipe, check out my food blog HERE for the recipe.

Our kid table was full this year.  My niece and nephew, Ali and Aidan, were here along with my great niece, Kenzie, from Chicago.  We were just missing my great nephews, Ben and Ian.

We are not a formal family but for Thanksgiving I like to set a table and have everyone sit down to eat; otherwise, it ends up with some people in one room and some in another.  I like us all being together.  I think this is the last year, though, that I will put all of the food on the table.  I think I'm just going to put it in the other room and have a buffet and then everyone come and sit down. 

Aren't these cute?  My niece, Alissa, made them for all of the kids.

After dessert, it was time to read Elf on the Shelf.

We ended the day by playing Scattergories.  Some of us played while others watched the football game.  It was a great day!

12 Day of Christmas Blog Challenge-Favorite Holiday Show/TV Movie Special-Day 5

Today's challenge over at Aly and Molly's place is Favorite Holiday Show/TV Movie. 

 My all-time favorite Christmas movie is It's a Wonderful Life.   

This is my favorite part:



There are others that I really like a lot, though:



12 Days of Christmas-Tips/Tricks to a Budget Friendly Holiday Season-Day 4

Today is Day 4 of the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge.  Today I am focusing on tips and tricks for a budget friendly holiday season.  

 I don't really have any tips, yet, because my children are still young enough to appreciate dollar store toys.  I am really big into looking on the clearance section of every website I peruse and I always go through the dollar bins at Target and every other store that I go to. This year we are going to make more ornaments and decorations just because I think the kids will really think it is cool to help decorate the house.   Homemade and heartfelt gifts are always appreciated!   

Look Who's Back in Town

He's back.

Our Elf on the Shelf made his way back from the North Pole tonight.  He decided to land on top of the cabinets. 

He will come back every night until Christmas Eve.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope each of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Eat lots of turkey, laugh lots of laughs, make lots of memories.

I am thankful to God who sent his son so that we may all be saved.

I am thankful to God that he chose to send me the best husband and father that I never deserved.

I am thankful to God that he gave me the gift of three healthy children.

I am thankful to God that he has allowed me to still have both of my parents and that they live a lot closer now.

I am thankful to God that he has given me a sister, brother-in-law and a niece and nephew that I love very much.

I am thankful to God that he has given me "outlaws" (inside joke) that love me with all of my faults. I am grateful that they have taken me in and treat me like I am theirs.

I am thankful to God for the friendships that I have made. Each of them serve a different purpose and role in making my life a happy one.

I am thankful to God for my health.

I am thankful that God allowed me to born into an American family.

I am thankful to God for Scott's job that not only puts food on our table and a roof above our head but gives me the opportunity to stay home with my children.

I am thankful to God for the food that I will eat today, the farmers who grew that food and the truck drivers who drove that food to the store so that I can buy it.

I am thankful to God that their are people who have chosen to be in the military to protect our freedoms.

For all of these things, I am thankful.

What are you thankful for?

Chair Landmine

No, this isn't a chair landmine that you are looking at.  My sweet little Caleb is a climber.  Every chair in the house has to be turned over or he is on top of the table!

Truly Thankful

On the eve of this Thanksgiving I am all of a sudden overwhelmed with a sense of thankfulness.  If you read my post from yesterday, you know that I had a stressful day.  After my project was finished, I plopped down on my couch to relax a bit and my sweet baby Caleb climbed up on lap.  He sat there for quite a few minutes and just let me soak him up.  Sitting there in the quietness and peacefulness of the moment, a Bible verse came to my mind.  It was 1Thessalonians 5:18 came, "In all things give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  After my long, hard day, I was still to give thanks.

On a "whim" I put this out as my FB status. 

Today I received a FB message from my very best church camp friend.  She told me how much she appreciated me posting that Bible verse because she really needed to hear it.  She and her husband just found out that he is going to be deployed for a year in February . . . he just got home in August.  They have two little boys.  I'm not quite sure of the ages but I would say around 3 and 1.  This will be his 6th deployment.

My heart just broke for her.  I cannot imagine what she must be going through.  It would be bad enough to go through one deployment but SIX?  It is almost more than a person can handle.

Reading her story has really made me stop and think of everything that I have to be thankful for.  I know that no day is promised to any of us but I think the knowing that your loved one is for sure going to be gone on a certain date would make it that much harder.

If you have the time and think about it, please send up a prayer for my friend, Jacquie.