A Thanksgiving Baby!

I've been quiet the past few days...because we've been busy growing our family! My first grandbaby was born at 8:30pm on Thanksgiving Day - beautiful, healthy, alert, and such a sweet-natured little boy (smile).

This wee babe is a beautiful reason for gratitude and thanksgiving! His name is Tommy, for my brother, and he is the apple of my eye. He is also an excuse for singing folk songs, bringing out the old wooden toys and board books, and for planning all sorts of fun adventures to come.

I am so blessed - WE are so blessed!

Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt

I have prepared a little scavenger hunt for the wee nieces...feel free to share mine, or make your own...and ENJOY THE DAY!

I am Grateful for... Nov 27 '13

As the Thanksgiving holiday draws near, I am reminded to pause and reflect - to count my blessings - to recognize the goodness in my life.  This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for by:

Grandbaby-to-be - my first grandson is due any day now...

A glorious Thanksgiving feast, shared once again with aunts and uncles and cousins and brothers and sisters-in-law and children and lots of wee ones - so many families in our culture are fractured...by distance, by disagreements or misunderstandings, and sometimes, sadly, by death or real misfortune. My family is so very blessed to be together for Thanksgiving!

Turkey I - I love a good roasted turkey...the savory aroma, the golden crispy skin, the tender meat, the leftovers, turkey pie and turkey soup and all sorts of turkey dishes afterwards. How fortunate we are to have a local supply of inexpensive turkeys, when for some a turkey is an insurmountable cost...

Turkey  II - I earned a free turkey this year and gave it away to younger couple who were dumbfounded by the cost of a bird and were discussing they might stretch a chicken...they have no clue who gave them the free bird, the cashier helped me to pass along the kindness...(big smile)

Turkey III - There were years that the "free earned turkey" was the only way my famiy was going to have turkey at Thanksgiving, so I am grateful to the shops that offered this bonus. Yes, its a way to ensure sending loyalty...but if I am going to buy my groceries there anyway, why not toss in a turkey now and then?

Wee nieces and cousins to share Thanksgiving fun with - tomorrow, I will be happily gluing red and orange and yellow construction paper "feathers" onto brown "turkeys"...glue sticks will be glorified...crayons and paper will keep the grumpies at bay...and how lucky am I to have beautiful wee ones to share all the fun with?

Each year at Thanksgiving dinner, we go around the table and take turns sharing what we are grateful for. What are you grateful for?

Upcoming Series: Advent 2013

Advent begins on December 1 this year...and I am ready...maybe! 

My first Grandbaby is due during the first week of Advent, so I have a special, personal focus on anticipating a December birth...and on the promises God has made to us!

Please join me on December 1 - and all throughout December - as we make our way to Christmas!

I am Grateful for... Nov 18 '13

As the Thanksgiving holiday draws near, I am reminded to pause and reflect - to count my blessings - to recognize the goodness in my life.  This weekend, I was blessed by:

Time with my mother - chatting and sharing household chores at her home...

Wee nieces -  chats and hugs and emails and Dr. Who excitement...

Time with my niece, Autumn - more chatting, and renewing bonds...

Time with my sweetie - watching great films I would never have chosen on my own, listening to the wonderful music he makes, sitting before a fire he tends...

A warm and cozy home - it may not be a fancy mansion, but our home is warm and cozy and suits our needs beautifully! We are converting our spare room into a nursery/crafts room so that grandbaby-to-be has his own special place here...

Plentiful food - we are blessed with plenty! Foods I grew and canned or froze myself, foods I buy at the farmers market, foods I buy at the safe and clean local supermarkets and grocery shops. This is a blessing that is easy to take for granted...it is easy to assume everyone has access to a safe and healthy food supply...even in our own wealthy nation there are folks living in food deserts, where there is nary an accessible grocery store to buy reasonably priced produce, much less bargains!

A pantry and facilities for cooking - in addition to being blessed with plentiful food and a varied and easily accessible food supply, we are blessed with facilities for storing and preparing these foods. So many people do not have the blessing of their own kitchen - they do not have the means to make a simple pot of soup or to store less-costly summer produce for winter, or to buy staples in bulk and save them in a pantry...

I will continue to reflect and count my blessings between now and Thanksgiving - and scribble them in the blog here and there. 

What are you grateful for?

Weekend Reading, Nov 15 '13

I hope you enjoy this week's Weekend Reading round-up! I plan to spend my weekend nesting a bit more - in preparation for grandbaby-to-be and the holidays...so the weekend will include a lot of knitting and quilting along with the normal cleaning and cookery chores!


Meredith from Like Merchant Ships is in "semi-retirement" mode at the moment, but her blog is packed with beautiful, frugal ideas - and lovely inspiration photos. This post from 2007, on creating a Thanksgiving Centerpiece, is always timely!

Deep Roots at Home has a lovely fall decorating post using natural element here, Jacqueline's photos are stunning and the crafts ideas are do-able and run from sweet to glam.

 A wee craft tutorial here, from five brothers one sister - how to make a Spice Angel from a clothes peg, cinnamon stick and bay leaves!

Rhonda of Down to Earth wrote a fabulous and inspiring post on the work of a homemaker here.

An absolutely beautiful embroidery site here - Tracey Franklin is a specialty embroiderer, and her work is stunning...you must see it to believe it!

Book Review: The Beauty of Broken by Eliza Morgan

The Beauty of Broken is the very personal story of Elisa Morgan, former CEO of MOPS and her family - lumps and all. The Morgan family stood its trials, and generously shares their story of brokenness with us, sharing so that we do not feel alone in our own brokenness. From teen pregnancy to rebellion to addiction to  divorce, Morgan spares nothing - and shares God's Grace all along the way. Filled with laughter and tears and God's love, I found Morgan's tale to be an inspiring one - filled with, yes, beauty.

God uses brokenness - broken people, broken vessels - often. He sanctifies brokenness and uses those broken places - the cracks and the holes, the mess and the pain - to share His Love, to share His Plan for us, to allow us to submit to His Grace. Morgan's story shows us the beauty in this - the beauty in submitting to God's Will when all else seems futile. I consider it a must-read for any Christian parent.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson through BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trace Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Weekend Reading, Nov 1 13

As promised, I am sharing some of the blogs I discovered during 2013's 31 Days Series... I hope you enjoy browsing them - perhaps you will discover a new favorite among mine?

Organizing Made Fun

Love Where you Live

Always, Amanda

Super Sweet Life

In God's Economy

Technically Organized Mama

Dani Schnackenberg

Organize and Decorate Everything

LoveFeast Table

Slightly Overcaffeinated

Holli Ronquillo - The Writer's Life

Loving and Living