Great Ideas

I'm all for great ideas and crafty projects that others so generously share!  I was excited to be able to use some great Thanksgiving ideas collected on Pinterest for our Harvest Table last week and some little "happy" treats to send home with our guests. 

Here are pictures of the reproductions and links to the original posters ~

The leaves and tiny clothespins we already had ~ the Give Thanks banner came from

http://www.thetomkatstudio.com/2012/10/thanksgivingprintables

Love the silverware holders ~ mine are printed on heavy cardstock ~ link to printable is ~

http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/thanksgiving-free-printable

Every family got these scripture cards ~
http://secondchancetodream.com/2013/11/free-printable-give-thanks-scripture-cards.html  

https://ihavenogreaterjoy.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/blessing-mix-printable/

The cute turkeys below are a Jackson Family Farm Original ~ I had the concept ~ my daughter in law Amy Kate made it a reality.  The base of the turkeys is pumpkin foam sheets (80% off at Hobby Lobby!), feathers are 2 bags of fall leaves from Walmart, leaves are glued on with E6000 glue and the drawings are with sharpie markers.  She did an awesome job!

This is a Jackson original

One More Week!

One more week till Thanksgiving!  We are excited to be hosting the family for our first Thanksgiving in our new home.  The menu is planned and the shopping list is written & some of the stuff if purchased.

Our menu will be ~

Turkey (Greg's job)
Honey Baked Ham (thanks Mom)
Green Beans
Sweet Potato Casserole
Macaroni & Cheese
Dressing & Gravy (cooked in a pan, not in the bird)
Cranberry Sauce
Rolls (Sister Shubert makes some really good ones!)
Tea/Coffee
Soft Drinks

Desserts ~
Spice Cupcakes (Amys yummy recipe)
Pies (Mrs. Edwards is making these!)

Afternoon munchies ~
provided by my sister

I am praying for sunny weather, so folks can wander outside if they choose.  Greg's got 1/2 his garage set up for tv watching and the wii game system.  We've got the pool table set up for games.  And loads of toys on the backporch for our grandsons to play with.  I am sure the living room tv will be showing football all day & into the weekend. 

And Amy is just a tad bit excited that Austin and his parents are coming on Wed. and staying through the weekend. 

Thankful for ~

a new home to enjoy
hospitality
laughter
excitement
secrets
a new oven and cooktop for our Thanksgiving preparations
good sales for groceries
black Friday ads that are leaked early
help with the meal

Thankful ~

 

I am thankful for ~

*the Lords guidance, protection, love, care, & blessings for the past 19 years
*for the men & women who stepped in & helped with my children
*for the Scout leaders the boys had from Tiger Cubs to Eagle Scouts
*for the many expressions of love toward my family through the years
*for the blessing of our homeschooling journey & the completion of the journey
*for the joy of the "next" generation with the birth of Bitty Buddy (Aiden)
*for friends that stayed friends through difficult trials
*for refining fire & strengthen faith through those trials
*for the blessing of a man who married a childhood friend & became an awesome Daddy to her children
*for my Mom
*for James
*for Allen
*for Amy Lynn




19 years ago, I had no idea how just the next day would work, let alone the next week, or month, or year or decade.  The Lord was faithful, always provided, always loving.

Thankful for the "Next" Generation!

We are to the wonderful stage of grandparent-hood!  Lots of loving and spoiling when we are around the babies.  And I am blessed to be the great aunt of 4 awesome kids! 

The header picture was taken at Katie's baby shower in October ~ this is the only decent one out of about 20!  Decent as in ~ no fingers in mouths, eyes open, all in one frame, etc. I will show y'all the wiggly pictures later in the post.

L-R are: Grandson Aiden, Great Niece Hailey holding Great Nephew Daniel, then Grandsons Thomas, Alvin & Robert (brothers). 

Thankful for ~
family time
4 grandsons
1 great niece
3 great nephews (Haileys older brothers aren't in the picture above)
being closer to family
digital cameras ~ so you can pick & choose pictures
an automatic flash!  (who remembers those little Kodak cube flashbulbs?)
special occasions
cousins
in laws & out laws
laughter
excitement
playtime

Now more pictures ~

love the way Aiden is checking out Daniel!

I think Daniel poked him in the eye ~ guess its payback for Aiden poking him earlier.
 

6 bundles of Joy
or
1 princess & her little princes

Aunt Jennifer meets Alvin

Mommy ~ Alvin looks like he's had enough excitement

Great Granny & great grandson #4

Auntie Amys old doll stroller is getting a workout!

Aiden grudgingly stopped playing for a picture!

Amy's awesome Minion cupcakes for the shower!

2 generations of cousins! my niece Megan, son Allen, & her son Daniel

l-r my cousin Mandy (sitting), Megan holding Daniel, Hailey, niece Becky (Megans sister & Haileys mom), & Granny

best box of the day!

Minion hats from Aunt Mamie, my sister in law Lorrie is to the right of Robert

Mamie did good with this gift ~ this boy loves minions!

Daniel loved playing with cousin Allen ~ Aiden wasn't too excited to share his daddy

Aunt Donna & Hailey ~ this girl loved Amys bunnys and the chickens!

sketti faces at dinner!

Its That Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Its SHOEBOX time!  We've collected goodies all year long.  We've planned.  We crammed, stuffed our boxes full ~ well actually, crammed is a better word!  And we still got to the days to pack and ended up with some necessities not purchased ~ specifically, toothbrushes and soap.

All our boxes or any boxes that we help with have soap/washcloth (Ivory soap, it floats!), toothbrush and toothpaste, spiral notebook/pencils/a sharpener, crayons, comb. At Dollar Tree, we found some awesome things ~ t shirts, packs of socks (marked down to .25), lg. packs of combs, and family packs of toothbrushes.  We found full size tubes of toothpaste at Walmart for .88 each.  We found crayon packs for .10-.30 at back to school sales.  We took full advantage of our freebie coupons from Harbor Freight and ended up with screwdrivers, flashlights, batteries for older boys for FREE!  We collected free cups and tote bags at nascar and added them to our boxes.

Our childrens group at church collected/earned money and packed their shoeboxes all together last Wednesday night.  Amy will be going to work at the relay center for accepting shoeboxes from area churches to pack in the crates to send to Atlanta.  I will be there too, if work permits. 

There are some incredible ideas on Pinterest, including boards from Operation Christmas Child. 

There are many testimonials from adults that received shoeboxes as gifts when they were children and the impact that this gift had on their lives.  Many are now carrying on the tradition with their own children.

A simple shoebox gift has a lasting, lifelong impact on a child ~ who could be receiving their first gift EVER. 

Here are some links for more information & inspiration ~

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/ 

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/pack-a-shoe-box/


http://www.pinterest.com/missmomof7/operation-christmas-child/ (my pinterest board for ideas)

http://www.pinterest.com/occshoeboxes/

A Surprise & lots of Thankfulness

 

James was finally able to make it home this weekend ~

between Friday about noon & Sat. about noon ~ his kidney stones decided to

exit his body ~ 1 large & 5 or 6 small ~~~~

He was very Thankful!

 

Last night, after choir ~ he was sitting at home and he saw something out of the corner of his eye ~

one of the rings he thought was stolen!  It was the gold signet ring with his dads initials engraved on it ~ they shared the same initials.  He was so excited when he called to tell me.  We had looked under the bed, behind & under the dresser and he had vacuumed and never saw it.  Then he started searching for the Marine Corp ring & FOUND IT!  Across the room under/behind the bedside table!

Talk about excited & Thankful! 

 

We don't know if the robbers picked them up to get later, or tossed them across the room to get them off the tv or what happened.  I do know that stuff can be replaced ~ but that family heirlooms that mean a lot have a priceless value.  I am so thrilled that his treasures were not lost.

 

I am thankful his health has been restored & that his treasures were located!



Thankful to be a Grandma!

 

crunchy leaves

Hi Grandma~

it was a long day!

"helping" Grandpa

exploring Uncle Robs pickup

Mmmmmmm...Auntie Amy makes great cupcakes

watchin' the wabbit

HI wabbit!

shhhh, don't tell Grandpa I swiped his phone!

 

And in Feb. we get another little buddy to enjoy and play with!

Thankful Eve

 

I am thankful that ~~~~

 

Greg took the day off work

 

for laughter & fun

 

for gloves

 

for sunshine

 

for not getting the snow that was predicted for Mississippi

 

for a helpful daughter

 

for a loving husband & daddy to our children

 

for healing that is allowing 2 of our children to travel home for the holiday

 

for 48 pounds gone with the wind

 

for a lab that is slowly but surely learning

 

for a computer that "brightens" pictures!

 

for yummy smells

 

for the anticipation of Dressing (not stuffing here in the south)

 

for AmyKates job even if it doesn't allow them to come for Thanksgiving dinner

 

for painkillers (James has a kidney stone this week ~ argh!  Like he needed something else to deal with after last week...)

 

for the hospital being right around the corner from our house ~ makes it handy to visit him ~ he was released today

 

for sales & a little $$ to take advantage of them

 

for not having to cook the turkey ~ that's Gregs job now ~ we do fried turkey

 

for the 1st sandwich I've had in 5 months ~ Grilled Cheese on low carb bread ~ awesome!

 

For that same low carb bread going into our breakfast casserole so Greg and I can eat it too!

 

 



The Thankful Season

 

The Thankful Season

Elisabeth Weaver Winstead

 

 

thanksgiving is the splendor

Of our treasured autumn scenes,

Golden corn and waving wheat

with fruitful fields swept clean.

 

It's the memory of the fertile earth

Turned for planting in the spring

And praise for the abundance

That bright harvest days now bring.

 

Thanksgiving sends sweet messages

That reach from heart to heart,

Uniting friends with loved ones

Although they're miles apart.

 

It's an old but joyous feeling

As our cheerful spirits mount,

For past efforts are rewarded

With rich blessings left to count.

 

Thanksgiving Day is cherished

In this great land where we live,

reflected in our happy hearts

and the grateful praise we give.



Thankful for ~

 

And the list continues ~

(and I pray it never ends)

 

Travel Mercies

Cracker Barrel for lunch

lots of sewing time

gifted preachers/teachers to listen to while we ride

 

current favorites are

Todd Friel (Wretched Radio)

Jim McClarty

Steve Lawson

John McArthur

RW Glenn

Kevin Swanson

 

The ability to download these talks/sermons & travel with them

warm clothing

new shoes

reading to my grandson

sugar free Spice Tea

Stevia ~ my sweetener of choice

books on the Kindle

relaxing hours with Amy

coming home to a clean house (thanks Will & James)

the scale dropping below my "next" goal (now to set another one)

laughter at choir

sweet hugs from my twin friends

planning menus for Thanksgiving weekend

time to serve

 

More thankfulness to come!

 

 

 

 



Different Blog Titles ~~~~~

 

Wow, look what happened!

 

What Idiots!

 

This is a mess!

 

Did they steal anything?

 

Is my camera still in the car?

 

Somebody call the police!

 

 

 

So, we are in St. Louis ~ got here and checked into our hotel & headed to Katies house.

 

We got there, ate dinner, played with the baby, and headed out to go bowling.

 

Katie, Bryant, and Amy bowled ~ Greg and I played with Robert.

 

Walked out to the car to find our passenger window SMASHED in. (Don't know why the car alarm did not go off)

 

Called the police, realized the gps was gone, the idiots left the camera in the back (praise the Lord), and stood out in the parking lot for 1 1/2 hours while the police & detective wrote up the report, dusted for prints, did mine & Gregs fingerprints to eliminate us, etc.

 

 

A bowling alley employee swept out a lot of the car and cleaned up the parking lot.  Bryant went to walmart and bought us plastic & duct tape......duct tape doesn't fix everything ~ a shocker, I know!

 

yep, I got fingerprinted!

Thankful for ~

no one being injured
an appt. to get our window fixed tomorrow
pretty low deductible
the ability to laugh at bad situations
my camera being left I the back of the van
a warm snuggy coat and gloves

 



Burlap ~

 

I've wondered what the fascination with burlap was ~ seemed to happen overnight.

 

JoAnns & Hobby Lobby have a great variety of it ~ either by the bolt or sold in ribbon spools.

 

And lots of people are posting pictures of their loopy wreaths made with the burlap ribbon.

 

I decided to tackle one and see if I liked it.

 

Greg & I went to Hobby Lobby armed with our coupons ~ since I would have needed 2 spools to do my large front door wreath ~ we went with the option of buying a couple of yards & I cut and serged the edges myself....made my own "ribbon".  And since the fabric was 1 cut ~ I could still use a 40% off coupon....so much cheaper to make than buying the ribbon spools.

 

I also remembered burlap being VERY hard to work with and it shedding everywhere ~ it must have improved some since the old days because it wasn't terrible.

 

It took 1 1/3 yards of 4 inch wide serged strips to do this wreath ~

 

 

It was kinda difficult to figure out how to loop the ribbon through the wire wreath frame so that it stayed but I finally got it.

 

Since I liked that one ~ I went and bought some brown burlap & orange serger thread and made these for Thanksgiving centerpieces...

 

I made 2!

I cut 3 inch strips of the burlap & serged ~ it takes 4 strips to make the small centerpiece wreaths.  I got the little jars & orange candles at Dollar Tree ... mason jars would have worked well too but mine were a little too tall for what I wanted. 

You do have to stop every 2 strips or so and brush out the serger but at least the burlap didn't shred & flake all over the sewing room!

It was lots easier to do the smaller ones than the larger one!  It came together quickly! 

Today I am Thankful for crafts that are easy to figure out!