Happy Thanksgiving

The countdown is on.  How are things coming along for you?  I just finished up a list of everything I'm going to make today (Wednesday).  I want as little to do as possible tomorrow.  I also just finished having the paper plate debate with myself.  I've decided to use the "good" dishes but I know how much it would simplify things if we used paper plates - especially since we just grew to a party of 13.  :)

Here's a hint that goes back 20 years for me.  I read this in my very first Gooseberry Patch cookbook when I was a new wife (and Thanksgiving cook).  We tried this on our first turkey and we've been doing it ever since.  

• Before you put your turkey in the oven, cover it with breakfast link sausages stuck on with toothpicks...the bird will look more like a porcupine than a turkey!  Cover with foil and place in oven to roast.  About 2 hours before serving, take off the foil and 30 minutes later take off the sausages (which are almost dried, and no longer greasy) and serve them as an appetizer.  The bird will now get a beautiful golden brown and everyone will dive into the sausages.

This has become a tradition for us and it really does make the turkey extra juicy!

Here's my menu plan.  One of my friends is bringing some other dishes, this is just my part.  

Turkey

Dressing 

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Green Beans

Macaroni and Cheese

Broccoli Casserole

Yeast Rolls

Pumpkin Pie

Coffee, Tea, Lemonade

Everyone has their way of making pumpkin pies.  Here's mine...

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

2 eggs

1 can (15 oz) 100 % pure pumpkin

1 can (12 fl oz) Evaporated Milk

1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust

Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in a small bowl.  Beat eggs in large bowl.  Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture.  Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

Pour into pie crust.

Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 350 degrees, bake 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack for 2 hours.  Serve immediately or refrigerate.  Makes 8 servings.

Do you need a side dish for your Thanksgiving meal?  Here are two of my favorites.

Macaroni and Cheese

Put in crock-pot:

2 cups evaporated milk

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

2 tablespoons mined onion

1 egg, beaten

2 cups cubed cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons butter

Stir well.  Cover and cook on high for one hour, stirring occasionally.  Add 3 or 4 cups cooked macaroni, drained.  Cover and cook on low for 3 - 5 hours. 

Broccoli Casserole

1 cup mayo

1 box chopped broccoli - thawed

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar

1/2 cup Pepperidge Farm stuffing

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion salt

Mix soup, eggs and mayo.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Pour into baking dish.  Sprinkle stuffing on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.   

   

Lastly, here's a simple and inexpensive table.  Do you want to know my number one tip for making a beautiful table?  Iron your tablecloth.  This one little chore will make your table look ten times better.  It only takes a few minutes and if you don't have time ask one of the kids to do it, an older child who knows how to use the iron without getting burned.  You don't want an injury on Thanksgiving day - ain't nobody got time for that!

I ironed mine early this morning before anyone else was up.  

You do not need to spend loads of money on things to make your table pretty.  I found everything I needed at Hobby Lobby and the Dollar Tree.  I was in and out of the Dollar Tree in five minutes flat.  All I needed were two candlesticks and two candlestick holders.  Total spent: $3.00

I made a quick run into Hobby Lobby where most of their fall stuff is 80 percent off.  I bought these three pumpkins for pennies.  They were floral picks and had long stems on them but I used wire cutters and trimmed those right off so they would sit flat on my table.  

I picked up one more little bush while I was there and it was only a few cents as well.  I added it to my vase in the middle of the table for a little more umph.  

 

Now the grown up table is all set and it's time to start working on the kid table.  Oh, and the cooking...who's doing that?  Oh yeah, it's me.  I better get to work!

Don't be fooled here.  Things aren't perfect at this table.  The silverware doesn't match and those dining room windows need to be cleaned, but it's warm and inviting and the kids think it's special.  Soon the house will smell delicious and be full of people and that's what it's really about.  Things don't have to be perfect to be lovely.  An imperfect table will still bless your family.  Don't let perfection get in the way of a really wonderful holiday.  Enjoy your family and make memories.

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope your day is extra warm and cozy. 

Raising Thankful Kids

You've probably noticed.  I can't keep my blog up like I used to.  

I'm in a very full season of life and I don't have to tell you how that is.  You've been through one too, I'm sure.  I get what I can get done each day and the things I can't get to just have to wait.  

I've got a new little motto - {if you will} - People before projects.  

There's a lot of peopleness going on here.  

I promised you a post on raising thankful kids.  We all want thankful children, right?  I know I do.  I not only want to increase gratitude in my own life but I'd like to see that in my children also.  

Here are some simple and fun ways to raise kids who are thankful:

• Have your children write thank you notes (or decorate them if younger). This small act of gratitude goes a long way in helping children to recognize and remember the gift they've been given, and the giver.   

• Make sure your kids are helping out around the house and doing chores. It's a fact - children who work are more thankful than those who have everything done for them.  

• Look for opportunities to include your children in buying and giving to others.  Instead of putting your child's name on a gift tag to say a present is "from" them, have them help shop for a gift, maybe even pay for the gift with their own money, and wrap the gift.  Thankful children know what it is to give to others.

• Train the children to always say please and thank you.  Always.  To the waitress, to the mom who hosted them for a play date, to their siblings, neighbors, the librarian, family members and friends.  

• See to it that you are setting the gratitude example.  Our children are great imitators of everything we do - the good, the bad, and the ugly.  BE THANKFUL!

• Every night at dinner have each family member share one thing they are thankful for.  This is a fun one we like to do each night at suppertime or Bible time.  It helps everyone to remember we have so much to be thankful for.

• Don't buy them everything they want.  Really, don't.  A child who gets everything they want, when they want it, is rarely a thankful child.  Waiting for something is good -it increases thankfulness.

Those are some of my ideas.  What are yours?  How do you help your kids to be thankful?  

Here are a couple of little projects we've done in the past.

The Giving Thanks Tree

Thankful Pumpkins  (You will have to scroll down a bit on the post to find the pumpkins.)  

The Last of the Thanksgiving Decorations

Well, this is it.  I have two last things to show you.  I still can't believe Thanksgiving is almost here and the Autumn season is coming to a close.  As I may have mentioned, this is my favorite time of year and I'm a tad forlorn it has passed by so quickly.

Saturday night I made a wreath for our front door.  You might remember the rag wreath I made most recently.  It was a little too Halloween to leave up during the month of November.  I had planned to get my November wreath done sooner but like a lot of other things, it didn't get done.  My son's knee surgery kicked quite a few of my plans to the curb, but that's okay.  He's on the mend and on his way to having a normal knee again.

If you should decide to make one yourself, it really is quite simple.  Other than a wire wreath form you need pipe cleaners and Deco Mesh.

I found these two rolls of Deco Mesh at Hobby Lobby 80 percent off!

I found  a wreath form in the closet that I had used for a birthday wreath.  Yes, it's pink ( I sprayed it for the birthday wreath).  That doesn't matter though.  The wreath form is really not visible once your wreath is finished.  I space pipe cleaners all the way around the wreath about every 2 inches.  Then I bunch up the deco mesh and twist it up.  I go once around with one color then back around with the other.

Deco Mesh wreaths are really quick and really easy.

I finished mine off with a little scarecrow but I think an initial would be cute also.  I was using what I had on hand.  This would also be a cute winter wreath with blue and white deco mesh and maybe a snowman in the middle.  In fact, I may do that for January.

Lastly, our thankful pumpkins...
I had planned to hang them on our clothesline in the hallway but quickly realized we were going to have way too many for that.  We decided to hang them on our backdoor instead.

My honey, the kids, and I have been writing down things we are thankful for over the last few weeks.  Every time we write something down we stick our pumpkin on the door.  We are still adding some things today.  It's been good for us to stop and think about all the ways God has blessed us and how much we have to be thankful for.

Here's one my husband did that is a personal favorite.  He's so sweet!

We do have so much to be thankful for.  I am thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and I hope that you know Him too.  He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!  If you want to talk about what it means to know Him please contact me.

Many blessings to you and your family.  Have a very cozy Thanksgiving!

Pilgrim Hats

Our seven year old gal saw these cute little snacks on Pinterest and decided to make them.  They are fun to do and would make an adorable addition to any Thanksgiving table.

You only need three things - some chocolate cookies, miniature Reese's cups and icing.  

Easy peasy and fun!

One week from today we will be celebrating Thanksgiving!

I can hardly believe the time is here, can you?

Just this morning I was making a mental list of all I want to get accomplished before next Thursday.

Let's see...
Clean the house, catch up the laundry, mail a package to grandparents, finish the Pilgrim unit study with the kids, shampoo the carpets, change all the bed sheets, make some turkey day crafts with the kids, finish our thankful pumpkins, clean up the yard, and the garage, clean the windows...I can get a little crazy with to-do lists sometimes.  As in literally I bite off way more than I can chew.

Speaking of chewing...what's on your menu?  I have a Thanksgiving Day menu plan that I use every year. Only a few times during the 20 years we've been married have we ever eaten Thanksgiving Dinner away from our own home.  I think we've done that three times.  We have almost always cooked the big dinner ourselves and we really enjoy it.  My honey and kiddos LOVE traditions.  I mean LOVE.  They like for me to make their favorite dishes each and every year.  I like that too.  Although this year, just for fun, I am thinking about adding a new recipe or two just for my own cooking/baking pleasure.  Notice I said adding.  I'm not taking anything out of the lineup.  I wouldn't dare.

So, here's my Thanksgiving menu plan.

Every year for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning we eat Cranberry Bread.
Later in the day we have Turkey, Dressing, Mashed Potatoes and gravy, Green Beans, Broccoli Casserole, Macaroni and Cheese, Yeast Rolls, and Pumpkin Pie with whipped cream.

Please tell us what's on your Thanksgiving Day menu.  I'm looking for some type of cranberry salad to add this year.  If you have a great recipe would you please send it my way?  Thanks!  I cannot remember if I have posted my Broccoli Casserole recipe previously.  Actually, it's not my recipe it was given to me by my sister-in-law some 20 + years ago and it is goooood!  If you want the recipe let me know and I will post it here for you.

November - The Thanking Month

Ahh...November, you're here my friend.  I love your crisp mornings and your cool nights.  I love your bold colors and your scent.  I love you most for reminding us all how much we have to be thankful for.  It isn't that we aren't thankful all year long.  It's that November draws our hearts and minds to a place of remembering.  We remember our blessings and our gifts in a special way.

How does your family give thanks?  Over the years we have made posters and lists, a Thankfulness Tree, and we've filled jars with slips of paper.  This year I decided we would hang pumpkins on our clothesline in the hallway.  We'll write the things we are thankful for on our pumpkins and display them for reminding.

 I also picked up some place cards for our Thanksgiving dinner table where we can write our thankfuls down.

I'd be so very grateful if you would share with me what you do with your kiddos in November to encourage their thankfulness.  Send me an email or leave it in the comment section.

I know I'm super late to the fall decorating party but I finally have some pictures to share.  The month of October was crazy busy around our house - much busier than I thought it would be.  I intended to get a fall decor post up before now but it just wasn't happening.

Want to see something funny?

This was the first picture I took of my scarecrow on the porch.

Notice the window.  

Crazy boy.

I can't guarantee you will hear from me again this week.  One of my sons is having surgery tomorrow so we will have to see how everything goes.  I will be back when things are calm around our house again.  Oh, maybe I shouldn't have put that.  That might be never.  I'll be back soon!

The Giving Thanks Tree

Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples.  1Chronicles 16:8

Our tree is sitting in the middle of the table where we can see it and be reminded of all we have to be thankful for.  We want to be thankful all year of course but we put an extra emphasis on thankfulness this week.   

Our giving thanks tree was a fun and simple family project.  The children cut leaves out of construction paper and one of the older boys used the hole punch on each one.  I put some jute cord through the hole and tied.  Ethan hunted down a big branch in our backyard to serve as our tree.  All of us took a few minutes to write down on the leaves what we are thankful for.  We waited until a time when Daddy was home from work to do this so he could join in.  Everyone hung their leaves on the branches and we talked about being thankful to God.

Being thankful doesn't mean things are perfect.  I spoke with a dear friend yesterday and her husband's cancer might be back.  Many are discouraged about the direction our country is headed in.  Our family has been hurt recently.  But...in all circumstances give thanks!   God is a great and mighty God and His love is powerful.  We should be thankful every minute for each breath we take.  Look around at all you have to be thankful for even when life is not perfect.  We have been richly blessed, and knowing Jesus is the richest most wonderful blessing of all.  If we have relationship with Him our hope and our future is secure.  Nothing can take our eternal security from us.  We are here on earth but for a time, our true home is with Him.  Thank God today for your family, your friends, your home, your food, and all the many, many other blessings in your life.  

Happy Thanksgiving to You and Your Family!