A New Advent

Every year I jump on the most recent Advent band wagon.  Sometimes it's good.  Sometimes our best intentions fizzle.  But, I think we've covered them all!  This year, knowing the kids aren't here every night, I wasn't sure what to do.  All afternoon Sunday (1st official day of Advent) I was silently wondering...

I went to my bookshelf, as a book-lover/hoarder is known to do on occasion, and chewed my lower lip for about ten seconds.  I touched the Christmas books, running my fingers across the shelf full and found myself pulling out this book:

Though I've never read this, I've had it for years and have heard wonderful things about it.  It seems to me, there is no better time to read a classic family story than now!  

Advent, as a preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ, is worth celebrating, no matter the method.  We'll also follow along with some Advent scripture readings, lighting our Advent candle ring, singing and praying together. 

What are your plans for celebrating Advent?

Thanksgiving

I'm so thankful to report that our family Thanksgiving, with house full of loved ones and thankful hearts abounding, was all I could hope for!

Apart from the wonderful family time, and blessed hearts and lives, this large gathering and all it's logistics has taught me much.  For instance, basic and easy recipes are often the best.  Every recipe I took from a certain magazine I love, was less than great.  Learned my lesson.

The big cooking success was two-fold:  First, turkey in a bag!!!  Let me say it again:  "Turkey in a bag!"  So yummy.  And secondly, having a dear friend by my side to help me keep from losing my mind while minding the last concoctions and timing, to get it all on the table before everyone went to Taco Bell.  Thank you, Colette!

So I've never seen mashed potatoes disappear that fast in my life!  And I've never seen this large family eat dessert 5 minutes after dinner, but they did.  And it wasn't because of lack of dinner, either! 

The truth of the matter is that the long, long (yet wonderful!) Thanksgiving Days of my childhood are no more.  Everyone is older, and everyone had to drive a lot to get here, and to go home.  People are tired and lingering is more difficult.  But, every minute was precious!  We fit it in.  We hugged, laughed, shared...all that good stuff. 

I wonder if each person there was thinking of Thanksgivings past, like I was.  Missing my mom.  Seeing my Aunt in one of her shirts.  Smelling my mother's perfume.  Seeing my brother, whom I couldn't help but hug more than anyone.  Seeing my children soak in the family goodness.  Realizing how everyone is growing older.


So thankful!  Thankful for every detail.  Thankful!  Thankful! 

Preparing for Thanksgiving Guests

You may remember that I am having my family for Thanksgiving this year.  I haven't done this in a long time and there is a lot to do!  I've learned a lot about myself through the process of preparing for the day.  While my homeschool mom eyes have been ever-watchful over my sweet daughter and her newly revealed to me learning style, as I've mentioned before, I'm realizing that I share the visual learner brain.  Translation:  lists!  And lots of them.  Piles, pictures from magazines, recipe cards, craft supplies, serving dishes; all where I can but my googly little eyes on them!

This has its good points.  And its bad.  I've realized multiple fancy, shmancy planning printouts are not my friend.  One good ole' blank sheet of paper with columns by category makes me sigh with contentment.  All (on one page) or nothing, people! 

So here's my list(s):

Paint living room and kitchen.
Hang new light fixtures.
Re-install curtain rod and curtains.
 And yes.  I know it was crazy to start a home-improvement project right before a holiday, but I couldn't help myself!  
Clean carpet high-traffic area.
Cleaning the dining chairs (Hello!  Milk spills!)
Thanksgiving/Fall decorations.
Confirm guest list & send directions to our new home.
Finalize menu.
Grocery list.
Grocery shop.

Locate and pull serving dishes.
Get kids' haircuts.

Table service for 21.
Food prep schedule.
Make note of when to pull 24lb turkey from freezer.
Choose outfits for the day.
Empty and charge camera.
Make Thanksgiving napkin rings.
Make centerpieces.
Last minute home cleaning. (Saving till the last minute! ;))

There's probably more.  

Here's my menu, which I'm very excited about and will make you wish you were coming here for Thanksgving too!  (And you'd be welcome!)


24lbs of golden Turkey goodness, cooked to perfection (a girl can dream!) and carved by (hopefully!) my unflappable Uncle Dan. (with dressing by Aunt Janie.)
Sweet Potato Spoon Bread
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Glorious Rolls (Think buttery melt in your mouth, can't eat just two!)
Cranberry Relish
Baked Corn Pudding
Beet, Carrot, and Apple Salad
Lemon Herb Green Beans
Herb Gravy
Pumpkin Pie
Pear Pie
Molasses Bourbon Pecan Pie (unless I can't find bourbon from a friend in which case the optional bourbon will be bourbon.)

Whatdaya think?  Hungry yet?

The things that throw me (list, list list!) are things like remembering to set butter out to soften; getting the turkey outta the freezer on time;  remembering you need serving spoons for all those dishes.  Since I'm not a practiced large crowd, meal provider, filling the salt and pepper shakers is off my typical radar! 

I'm so excited!  Even though we're having our big meal the day after Thanksgiving (That would be Black Friday to some of you!), I will be sharing heaps and oodles of thankfulness with, and for my family!

Getting Home Ready for the Holidays

I'm in!  I'm excited to follow Aby's 28 day challenge to get my home (and hopefully myself!) pulled together for the holidays.  With my large family coming for Thanksgiving, every bit will help. 

So what about you?  Are you in?

Un-Halloween

We're just not into Halloween.  Many reasons.  Allergies, beliefs, stuff...  But, we love an excuse to have a special night!  So this year for our Un-Halloween we got us a "can't be beat" frozen pizza, "plop it on the pan" cookie dough, caramel dip and apples, and our favorite Halloweenish movie:  "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken", with Don Knotts.  It doesn't get much better than that, unless you consider that we also...

...turned off the lights, whispered when the doorbell rang (only once!), ate  by the light of the TV and then had a serious (is there any other kind?) Super Mario Kart race.  My two loves and me.  Perfect night!

One Parent Home: When the Math of a Countdown Won't Work

I'm am a total sucker for holiday traditions.  Love them!  Some of my favorite have always been countdowns.  You know...countdown to Christmas, countdown to Resurrection Day, countdown to whatever you feel like counting down to.  I'm seeing lots of countdowns lately.

Problem comes when many of those very important, countable days, that usually involve a specific something (to count the day as part of the countdown), are missing the kids.  When it first happened, my brain couldn't figure out what to do!  It seemed like this giant, insurmountable, horrible (and believe me, it is horrible!) loss.  How could we possibly celebrate Advent with holes in it?!

Here's the thing.  I still don't have the perfect answer, but I have managed to figure out a few things:  that it's not the end of the world; some is always better than none; and most importantly, that God is bigger than all of it.  That about covers it!  Oh.  And amazingly, new traditions are just as fun as old ones!

Giving Thanks for Thanksgiving

We're about a month away from Thanksgiving, and I'm sick as a dog (day 2) and while soaking my head in the shower this morning (Yes! It's that kind of sick!), I had a wild hair to have Thanksgiving at my house this year.

It won't be the first time, but it's the first time in a long time.  It's also the first time since the divorce.  I had to think as to whether I'd ever even made a turkey before!  Ummm, I think so.  But it must not have been very memorable.  Or it could have been that I've blocked out the horrible memory of destroying a perfectly good chunk of bird.  Not sure which.

Anyhow, I'm in THAT time of life where everything seems to be changing.  All of my family that has cooked hundreds of holiday and reunion meals, are a wee bit older and not so anxious to do all that work again.  Those things are being passed on to the next generation, as they should be, but it's just so sad that THIS part of the next generation can't cook!

But, where there's a will, there's a way.  I'm pretty sure the last time I cooked a Thanksgiving meal, I didn't have the advantage of the internet and all the fabulous recipes that my bloggety friends have to offer.

Deep breath.  I can do this!  My kids are excited.  I warned them before I committed, that this would be a lot of work and I'd need they're help.  They were overjoyed.  Overjoyed at the prospect of lots of work!!!  Now we're talking!  Okay.  So, I'm thinking lots of thankfulness to our big God, good food (there's always hope!), awesome family, of course, some crafty goodness, decorations out the ears...  Oh yeah!  Now we're talking.  I'll keep you posted on all the details.  But for now, I'm printing out this free Thanksgiving planner from The Project Girl.

Are you excited?!  I am!  Any tips on cooking turkeys?  Be sure to share!