One more easy idea for Turkey Day... and this one takes no prep! Just print it off, put on your sneakers, leave Dad on the couch watching football, and go! ---thanks to one of my all time fave magazines - Family Fun.
A Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt....
Walk off that turkey dinner while going on a fun scavenger hunt in the neighborhood. ....You could even split your fam into teams, make it a race... Or add a digital camera and document your finds with photos to share when you get back home.
I'm on a crusade.... Save Thanksgiving! Anyone want to join me?
It is almost completely gone.... one tiny section of an aisle with a few little decorations... one pack of fall cocktail napkins... the obligiatory pilgrim couple adorning a platter.... but for the most part the turkeys have all disappeared. I have been on a search over the past week... and I hate to tell you, but Thanksgiving has been skipped.
In an attempt to reclaim what has been lost in the retail world, here are some ideas and traditions that you might want to "adopt" as your own... this coming week... or maybe tuck them away and pull them out again in the years to come... But please, Help Me Save Thanksgiving!
Have a Pie Party! We planned a picnic and pie eating party at a park last weekend. Invite your friends, family, and neighbors to come and bring their favorite pie. This is a nice change from the normal "potluck" event. Our pie all ended up a bit wet as we encountered an unexpected storm... But we made great memories!
Hope your coming week is sweet and full of Thanksgiving happys!!!
There is a blank page in my college scrapbook... just one. For some reason it was always too hard to go back and relive. Thanks for humoring me as I go there again. Here in my life of cheerios, dirty diapers, and playdates its seems odd to go back there - to me as the bright eyed 21 year old co-ed...Here it is... a recap of the most memorable event of my senior year...
Ten years ago today Texas A&M University experienced a sadness that can not be explained. I remember that morning vividly...
My alarm clock woke me with my favorite radio station Aggie 96. As a senior, I was doing a teaching internship, getting up pretty early. This morning was different... instead of the usual upbeat country music gently waking me, I heard concerned voices...
"To those of you just joining us this morning.... Aggie Bonfire has fallen... at 2:00 am this morning, stack fell and as of now we have no idea how many Ags are trapped under the logs."
Unbelief... Until I saw it for my own eyes- KBTX, the hometown tv station had live footage.... the horrible scene that still sends shivers down my body. Where is my little brother, John? As a freshman in the Corps of Cadets, he should be working on stack tonight.
The phone began to ring.... in a sea of confusion and unanswered questions... some were answered. John was okay. His outfit had traded their duty that night with another group of guys...
But the search to find beloved friends and buddies seemed never ending... Do you know if so and so was working tonight.... What about his outfit - were they out there? Have you talked to him yet?...
I remember feeling as if I was glued to the television and yet if I watched one more moment of this horror story, I would become sick. Knowing that there were fellow classmates and friends stuck under this mess.... Just a feeling of utter helplessness BUT with hope.
I remember a lot of praying going on that day...Jen and Beth and I huddled on our living room floor just crying and pleading with the Lord to save lives.
I remember going through the motions to go to school that morning and just feeling numb.... My mentor teacher took one look at me and said ,"Go home." Heading back home I changed my route so that I wouldn't have to go past the polo fields, and see the sadness in reality.
I remember the day unfolding in slow motion... all the phone calls .... all the details slowly coming together.... all the elation as Aggies emerged from the stack -injured - but alive.. and all the mourning as 12 Aggies lost their lives that morning. Just a brokenness... deep down that can't be explained.
I remember having a bridal shower the following weekend... thinking How can we just go on with life .. as if life is normal... as if everything is okay? How can we celebrate when sadness is just flooding this town?
I remember church that Sunday.. the tears...the sanctuary filled with hurting people. I remember vividly falling apart in the midst of worshiping as a body of believers... standing next to my family - all of us weeping in a way we have never cried before... Thinking, "this hurts..." And when I felt like I would just have to be mopped up from under the pew, someone behind me just put their hand on my back. I do not know who that was that touched me during that dark moment... But I remember feeling His presence there.... knowing that He was with each one of us - with His arms around us... saying "You'll be okay. I'll get you through this. I'm right here."
I remember refusing to drive by the main entrance of the university for over a month... I just couldn't bring myself to see it... the empty space where Bonfire once stood...an empty space where life ended for so many...an emptiness that held decades of memories and tradition that can't be experienced anywhere else.... an emptiness that seemed to scream "It's over."
So, here we are 10 years later. We picked up and kept moving through life. Lots has happened over the past 10 years. Lots of celebrating but there has also been hurt and sadness... we can't escape it. Through it all, it has been a comfort to remember that He is with us - in the middle of the mess we feel.. saying "You'll be okay. I'll get you through this. I'm right here."
Have a favorite children's book that I put out every November....about the first Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims. While reading it this year, I noticed it says that the first feast spanned 3 days. And I loved the words that the author chose "In celebration of this plenty, plans were made to hold a Harvest Festival."
We are great at the feast part of our annual Thanksgivings - aren't we? And many times the feasting spans for 3 days (leftovers, leftovers, leftovers!!!). BUT, are we good at being in celebration of plenty?
Plenty is a great word... more than enough... over abundance... overflowing...Why is it so easy to focus on the things we want more of and not be grateful for the many blessings we have?
How can we celebrate our plenty this month? Because we do have plenty of a lot...
Here is one way we are giving thanks all month long... not just at our Thanksgiving Day feast.
My friend, Angela, and I made these banners last fall. (we were copying Pottery Barn's version!).
Ok, so PB's is pretty but our version is UNIQUE and not $70! ha!The possibilities are endless with this "countdown" idea. Treats could be put in each pocket, a special activity for each day, pics of things we are grateful for, or a blank card to list a thanksgiving every night.
This year I have tucked pictures of our family into each day....no particular order... Just all mixed up. At dinner, the kids get to pull out the pic for that day and we talk about why we are thankful for that person. Then we put the photo in a little album. It has been fun so far to think of special things about each family member and thank God for them....
"I'm thankful for Momo because she always wants a hug from me."
"I'm thankful for Uncle John because he makes me laugh."
Celebrating the plenty in our life....
Hope that your Candy Day is sweet...
Our Buzz Lightyear has defended the galaxy so well, while his sister, our Fairy, has spread garden cheer like no one else! We have flown through October and we are excited to welcome November tomorrow!
Today we carved our pumpkin... Connor named him "Couch Potato Pumpkin... cause he just sits there." Love the thought process of a 4 year old!
So long Jack-o-Lanterns... Hello turkeys....
Today, we made a ghost tree. My mom used to make there lollypop ghosts with my brother and me as kids.... (cover suckers with a tissue, attach with a rubber band, and make eyes and mouths with a black marker - We attached ours to a branch we picked up on a walk.). Connor enjoyed eating the ghosts the most... of course!
Our annual Pumpkin Patch Playdate was great this year. Our kids all had a blast just being kids and playing ... getting muddy, jumping in hay, feeding the farm animals, and picking pumpkins. Even MissPaige joined in .. It is hard to slow her down.
My girlfriends and I discussed how quick these days are flying by... How it won't be long before the kids say, "Aww, do we really have to go to the Pumpkin Patch again? That is for babies!" We just stood there, and tried to soak up the memories.
Only have about a month left of "fall" before the Christmas season hits us. How much of this great season can I squeeze into a month? Hmmm.... We'll see!
A few things that make me happy today... Snapshots in our little life just today...
Created by Connor - Affectionately named "Pepaw Pumpkin"
Our little Punkin Paige in her pink chair
My little man who loves to change the toliet paper roll... Makes me chuckle everytime he gets so excited to reload the t.p.!
On our way to our annual pumpkin patch playdate with our old friends... Crossing my fingers that my little "punkins" will be in smiling moods and we'll get some good pictures. If not, that is okay too - we will have fun no matter what!
So long summer and HELLO FALL!!!
It is official, Fall 2009 is here! I have had my first pumpkin spiced latte and my first pot of soup is on the stove. I love fall.
This past week, we welcomed the season by visiting Sean's dad and step-mom in Missouri. What a beautiful time we had! We spent a gorgeous day at Silver Dollar City, another day on the lake, and an afternoon picking out pumpkins. (Yes, those are green pumpkins in my hands... my sweet Sean agreed to transporting them home across 4 states! I just had to have these beauties!)
Miss Paige loved the kiddie rides. She was very impatient when we had to sit and wait for the ride to begin. Connor was quite the dare-devil - riding all the roller coasters (he was just the right height this year).. More than I was even willing to ride!
Grandkids have an incredible power over grandparents! Connor somehow talked his Popa into swimming in the cold lake. Great memories!
Hello cooler weather
Hello pumpkins
Hello scarecrows
Hello changing colors
Hello Fall! We've been waiting for you!
Here is our "White Shirt Day" family pic. This was Mom's birthday present... we gave her a card on her b-day in June with an old "white shirt day" pic and told her we needed to update it since we have several new family members.
We have been taking these since before little ones... From 6 family members to 10! Which means it is near impossible to get everyone smiling! Can you tell who our unhappy camper was this year? (Hint: he is too big of a boy to be held by his mama like this! Ha! A good story to torture him with later when he is all grown up - right?)
The kids had a blast playing in the sand and the water. Paige took to the beach right away! We all did alot of sitting around, fishing with Uncle John, eating good seafood, playing with grandparents, and just old fashioned laughing.... Just what we all needed after a long hot summer.
So long hot days.
So long sunscreen.
So long swim suits.
So long mosquitoes.
So long summer...
Hello Fall!
Had a Romanian breakfast this morning.... kind of... We ate breakfast while talking to Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jenny on Skype! One of those moments when I thought "I am living in the future! Where is George Jetson?"
We got to catch up with them, hear how they are settling in, and even show them Paige's Halloween costume! Technology is so cool!
What a great start to our vacation today... Soon, we head out to our "So Long Summer" beach weekend with my family! We are packed and ready for some sunshine and sand.
