Happy Giving THANKS Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've really been trying to be grateful this year.  I know it sounds silly, but (despite my very recent promise to God that I would never ask for anything again), I spent the beginning of this year not feeling very grateful at all.  I threw myself one heck of a pity party.  It seemed like everyone around me was snapping their fingers and *poof* getting what they wanted immediately.  Not so in this girl's life. 

Yes, I was grateful for our family's health and all of the important things, but I wanted some FUN stuff and to have FUN sometimes, too, like EVERYONE else!

Well, I eventually made it out of that funk.  It wasn't a specific light bulb moment, but a couple of things helped get me back on track. 

One day, "You're not missing out" was posted on a daily thought Dayspring.com.  With that, I realized this--someone's NOW may be my LATER or it may be my NEVER.  That is up to God to decide.  Similarly, my NOW may be someone else's LATER or their NEVER.  God makes each of us equipped to handle what He has in store for us--the good and the bad.  I'm not missing out.  I'm not.  I put in on my fridge and it has been a good reminder when I start to slip slightly back into that attitude. 

It also didn't hurt that our Well-Read Mom book club has read The Good Earth and A Lantern in Her Hand, both of which portrayed farming families nearly dying of starvation and facing hard lives we can only imagine.  As we sipped our chai tea, we all realized we don't have one tiny thing to complain about.

So, I am thankful for both the big and small things that I so often take for granted.  (And I did receive plenty of FUN this year, too.  I just needed to put on my patience pants and wait a little bit.) 

"He has made everything beautiful in its time."  Yes, I KNOW that.

But, sometimes it's easy to forget. 

If you are reading this, I am thankful for YOU and how you have touched my life. :)

Big news

There's big news in our house.
Rachel has moved into her big girl bed!  In fact, Landen helped me dismantle and carry the crib out of the house this morning, so there is no turning back. 
(I have plenty of crib crafting options pinned from Pinterest, but crib renovation will have to wait until this house project is done.  I just can't bear to part with it, so it will wait in storage until I am ready!) 
There was a little trouble adjusting last night, for Rachel anyway.  She usually takes everything in stride, so the fact that she fussed about it for a whole half hour or so was pretty surprising.  But, after we got her to realize it was bed time and not play time, and big sister calmed down because little sister was TOO NOISY, all was well until morning.
She is napping peacefully in there right now.
David will be so excited to come home and see that the office is all his again.  (Didn't I post about David reclaiming his office once before?  Yes, I did.) :) 

Next up . . . seriously potty training.
But, let's just take it one big step at a time!

The circle of life

I love the cyclical nature of our lives.  For many years, my life followed the cycle of the school year.  Now, as our children are in school, it does once again, with the more dominant cycle of the seasons in farming.  I find comfort in that. 

I especially love it this time of year, as the traditions and recipes that create our lives around Thanksgiving and Christmas are predictable, comforting and fun!  I have our favorite pumpkin pies in the freezer waiting for Thanksgiving Day.  The Semi-Homemade Gingerbread Cookies will be making an appearance very soon. 

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of traveling back to my home church to experience the delectable angel food cake with butter sauce that has become a staple in the Christmas Bazaar menu since it was introduced many, many years ago.  I don't have that recipe to share . . . that may be top secret . . . and since it includes lots of butter and whole milk, it's best to only be eaten once a year anyway! 

What are your special once a year treats?  Please share!

Gingerbread houses

What else have we been doing?

We spent one of our evenings making gingerbread houses!  This time went much better than the first time we did it two years ago. 

This is mostly because the elves (obviously very intelligent women) at the Wilton company now make these PRE-ASSEMBLED!  All the fun and none of the frustration of walls falling in and having to wait for the mortar to dry. 

We did have one casualty as Rachel sat on her box and crushed her house, but we gave her a few broken pieces, frosting and candy and she didn't care one little bit!

These came with a great plenty of frosting and candy to decorate each house, and we filled in with some extra decorations, too. 

 

This mom just may be ready to bring this project into the tradition rotation. :)

 

 

Angels watching over us

Teresa is always creating a masterpiece.  She is hardly ever without a marker, crayon, scissors or glue in her hand.  She has been that way since she first started drawing her "people"--scribbles with sticks pointing down.  Her drawings have come a long way since then!

 

When she found out we were sending presents to babies like Rachel who are having surgery, she got to work right away making pictures for them.  She sent two angels and a present.