A B C’s of Thanksgiving ~ 2011

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” Psalm 107:1


Tomorrow is Thanksgiving for those of us who live in the United States! Yippee! I absolutely LOVE Thanksgiving, it’s a great day to just connect with family and enjoy each other’s company while reflecting on how very blessed we all are. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas too, but Thanksgiving is like Christmas without having to worry about all the shopping and decorating and wrapping. ;)

Today I’m sharing my A,B,C’s of Thanks along with http://rachelmariemartin.blogspot.com/. Wanna share yours too? Click over to Rachel’s blog to find out more.

Here we go!

A – ALMIGHTY God our AWESOME Creator

B – BOB, my amazing husband, the BIBLE and great BOOKS

C – COFFEE – you didn’t really think I could get through this whole list without saying coffee, did you? And our awesome CHURCH and church family {this isn’t our church pictured, but it sure is pretty!}

D – DIFFICULT times, that help me to trust God more

E – EVERY morning, His mercies are new, I’m so glad they are!

F – FAMILY & FAITH

G – GRACE of GOD … and GRACIE our crazy pup

H – HOPE, our incredible firstborn & HOMESCHOOLING, having the freedom to do it

I – IN LAWS – I could not have asked for more wonderful in laws – love them so much!

J – JOY, our amazing youngest daughter & JESUS, where would I be without Him?

K – KINDRED SPIRITS {aka: amazing friends!}

L – LAUGHTER – those silly girls of ours bring many hours of laughter to our home!

M – My MOM, love her SO much & MUSIC

N – NATURE

O – OPPORTUNITIES to use our creative talents

P – PHOTOGRAPHY, I may not be a professional, but I absolutely love taking photos everywhere I go

Q – QWIRKLE – one of my fave games, and what else can you write for Q?

R – RELATIONSHIP, with the God of the Universe

S – SISTERS IN CHRIST – I adore my girlfriends!

T – TREES, I love my big maple trees, they bring such beauty to our yard in every season

U – UNDERWEAR … sorry! Corny, I know, but what else starts with U?!

V – VEHICLES – that get us where we need to go!

W – WORSHIP

X – eXtremely fun and blessed life – I am blessed and grateful!

Y – YOU! Yes, you, my friends, my family, I am thankful for each of you this year!

Z – ZIPPERS … yep, how else would you keep your jeans up?!

Have a BLESSED Thanksgiving my friends!!

Week of Thanksgiving

So, this may come across as totally random, but that's okay. First, every week I read lots and lots of amazing blogs, things that encourage and inspire me and every week I think to myself 'I should share the wealth! I should let others know about some of my favorite posts for the week!' {And every week I forget!} Anyhow, here are a few I came across this week that I especially loved or found encouraging.

First, there is THIS POST from Rachel at Finding Joy. I simply love her honesty and I admire her desire to choose joy in all things. This post spoke to my heart in particular because I can so easily fall in the trap of comparing myself or my home or my life to others. I promise you will be blessed by reading it.
I especially loved when she said:
I want to live inspired by others.
I want to live encouraged by others.
I want to live grateful for my life.
I want to live thankful.
I want to live getting my worth from the Lord.
YES, YES, I do too!!



Next, but also along the same lines, is THIS POST from Amy at The Blessed Mom. No, I am certainly not enough, but HE is!

Next is THIS POST from Edie at Life in Grace. She talks about the mundane things of life becoming sacred when we realize our high calling. Below is one of my favorite parts of her post:

Perhaps this thing I’ve come to dread—-this daily drudgery—-is in fact my greatest teacher, in disguise.
Teaching me to live in this moment. With these children. And this sacred work. It’s really all there is.
Today is the day of salvation.
So, I hold on tightly to little hands. And I stir the soup. And I fold the towels.
And I say thank you for this work, this calling.
And for this blessed ordinary day—where grace and mercy rain down and turn water into wine, drudgery into vocation, and curse into blessing.
Ahhhh, those blessed, ordinary days! If only I can learn to see them as the gift that they are!

And then there is THIS POST by Ann at A Holy Experience. I have come to love her 'Weekends are For' posts so much. She always gives a few different ideas for the weekend, including a way to worship, an activity to do with the kids, sometimes a recipe to make or thought to ponder. But every weekend these posts encourage me and inspire me to make the most of my weekends.




And now ... two BEAUTIFUL homeschool 'school rooms' ... Alicia from LaFamille just moved into a rental but still did a wonderful job of making their school stylish and vintage and drool worthy. Also, my bloggy friend Lora at My Blessed Life and her family just recently moved into a new home and she finally got around to posting their learning room pictures - the built ins her hubby made are gorgeous and make the room look amazing. {Insert pep talk ... OK Kathy, you CAN be content with your dining room/school space ... remember those posts above about not comparing!? ;) }

Now that you've seen some lovely links for the week, I wanted to share a way that I am trying to challenge myself. See I have this terrible trouble with being addicted to Facebook. A friend of mine was challenging herself about a month ago to go for a whole week without Facebook, and to learn to turn to God throughout her day, not to turn to FB every time she was happy, sad, had news to share, etc.
I was so challenged by her words and thoughts that I decided to try it too. When I started out, I didn't say I would stay off it for a whole week, but I simply made myself stay away for a few days ... which turned into more days, which turned into a whole week! And get this, it was one of the best weeks I've had in a long time! We accomplished so much stuff that week!

So with this week being Thanksgiving {which I'm hosting} and with much to do, and wanting to turn my heart towards God for this time as I prepare for the holidays I've decided to challenge myself again and stay off FB for this week. Will I stay off for a whole week? Not sure yet. But I know that I need to make myself take this break.

I am planning to have a little fun with the girls in our homeschool this week. We'll be doing our basic math and language arts lessons, but we'll be adding in some fun lessons on Thanksgiving and maybe some crafts and stuff too. And maybe taking a small break from the other subjects .... we'll see how it goes!

Hope you all have a great week!

It's the Little Things {11/18/11}

It has been a funky week around here ... as in - *I* have been in a funk. There are several reasons of course ...

1. I went to Women of Faith this past weekend - got myself on this amazing spiritual high, then came home to normal life, where I know without a doubt the devil tries to bring me down after seeing where I've been for the weekend!

2. The weather stinks. Rain, rain and more rain. And this week I've realized just how much I am a sunny day kinda girl. I really thrive on sunny days and I definitely feel the funk coming on during endless rainy days.

3. I am sore. Did some gardening/yard clean up on Monday and have been back to exercising again so my back and body have been really sore this week. It's never fun when you don't feel good.

4. I've been sad. Sad for good friends in the end of their marriage and having to say goodbye this week to them. Sad for a family member who is also going through a rough time in their marriage. Y'all I KNOW that marriage is hard work, but I can't stand it when people treat each other so poorly! Many tears have been shed {by me} this week. I am more and more burdened to pray for the marriages of our friends and family members {and my own}.

So yeah - those are my funk reasons. Maybe they seem silly or petty but oh well, that's just me.




Having said all that ... I made a choice today. I chose to FIND something to be thankful for and focus on that. I also chose to get my butt up and get moving, whether I wanted to or not. So here are my little things for the week:

* my awesome husband, Bob. I am so blessed to be married to him. We don't have a perfect marriage, but we do treat one another with love and respect and we work together as a team and I am soooo blessed by him.

* my Green Mountain coffee order that arrived yesterday ... AND a free k-cup carousel from a friend who didn't need it!

* the ability to walk/run and do my exercise videos, even when I'm sore I can still move and try and do my best. Maybe I'm not a skinny minny or an all star athlete but I'm also not a paraplegic sitting in a wheel chair, so I will be thankful.

* the girls have an amazing piano teacher who I also consider a great friend. She does a great job with the girls and I'm impressed with how much they learn each time.

* finding a really great new recipe this week that was to die for! {White Chicken Enchiladas, will post recipe soon!}

* the anticipation of my first Blessings Unlimited gatherings this weekend {Fri and Sat}.

* little chats with my Mom and my friend

* big hugs, kisses and 'I love yous' from my girls.

Thanksgiving is only a week away ... after that we set up our Christmas tree ... is it just me or does that all seem a little crazy?! Didn't summer JUST end?

OH YEAH, one last thing I wanted to share ... at Women of Faith they had this great comedian on Friday night. I laughed SO hard I had a splitting headache when he was done. He kept saying over and over how good joy and laughter is for us. He used the verse 'The Joy of the Lord is your strength' {Neh. 8:10} many times. I have been playing that verse in my mind all week. Because really, when you're in a funk, there is no better way to shake it off than to remind yourself 'the Joy of the Lord is your strength!'

Have a great weekend!

RaNdOm ThuRsdAY

Random thoughts on this rainy Thursday ...

* Tomorrow I'm going to Women of Faith with my girlfriends and I CANNOT wait! I am most excited to hear Angie Smith from Bring the Rain speak! Woot Woot!

* I started exercising again this week. I know you probably think I'm crazy but I get so busy sometimes and often go for weeks without making time for it! So this week I'm back at it and gosh am I ever SORE! Why do I do this to myself?! Why don't I just keep at it consistently so I won't be torturing myself whenever I get back at it?

* I ordered my Christmas card pictures this week! Yep, getting a jump on things early this year!

* I am also planning {hoping} to get most of my shopping done in the next few weeks. I would LOVE to have all my shopping done before December ... is it possible?! We shall see!

* For those of you who don't know me personally, or are not my Facebook friend ... I had BIG news this week ... I am now officially an Independent Consultant for BLESSINGS UNLIMITED! It's an amazing company and I am SO super excited to be a part of it. I first heard about it through the blog The Nesting Place. I am already planning a couple of announcement gatherings and hoping to set up my own webpage soon so people can order online if they wish. I will keep y'all posted!

* This time change thing is a blessing and a curse for me. I never used to be a morning person but the older I get I find that I definitely thrive most in the mornings and fade quickly in the evenings. So the positives of the time change are that I'm getting up earlier - but at least it's BRIGHT and sunny when I get up and not pitch black. And I'm going to bed earlier - but the bad thing is I'm simply EXHAUSTED every evening lately! One night the girls went to bed at 9:15, I went to bed RIGHT after them at 9:30 cause I couldn't keep my eyes open and I literally had lights out before it was even 10:00 yet! For me, that's early! I just could NOT stay awake. And my poor hubby is a night person, so I try so hard to stay up and spend time with him in the evening, but lately I just can't cause I'm way too tired. haha!

* Do any of you follow Ann Voskamp or Kelly Stamps' blogs? They are in Ecuador this week serving with Compassion International and I am almost in tears seeing every post. SO many children living in poverty in the world. It's so easy to take all we have for granted or even at times complain and become discontent. When really, we are RICH compared to many people in the world! One thing we are trying to teach our girls is the importance of helping others and giving generously of all that we're blessed with. Two fantastic ways you can do this are: Supporting a child or children through Compassion International or World Vision. Through World Vision we also have the ability to purchase extra gifts at this time of year like providing a chicken or a goat for a family. Seems like such a simple thing but it can be life changing for these families and the cost is VERY minimal to us. The other thing we love to do this time of year is putting together a shoe box through Operation Christmas Child. My girls love to go to the store and pick out items for a girl who is about the same age as them, fill up the shoe box and send it out. If you go to their webpage and see the absolute JOY on these children's faces you can't help but wanting to provide such a simple gift for them! I think it's SO good for our kids to see that Christmas isn't all about gimme, gimme, gimme. It's about sharing our love and resources with those less fortunate than us. If we can afford to spend hundreds of dollars on our kids at Christmastime, we can certainly give to others as well.

* And lastly, I have been suckered back in to my flavored coffee creamer addiction ... I just can't help it at this time of year when they offer such yummy flavors for the holidays. Well, if that's my worst addiction I guess it's not so bad!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Scarier than Halloween

I rarely read the newspaper. We don’t subscribe to it and so I only see it on rare occasions when we pick one up. Today hubby bought one and I read a very scary and interesting article about sexual harassment in our schools.

The article stated that in a recent study of the 2010-2011 school year 48% of students in grades 7-12 have experienced some form of sexual harassment in person or electronically via texting, email and social media. Now for those that might say ‘well that’s less than half!’ – I disagree! I say,  ‘FORTY EIGHT PERCENT??!! Are you kidding me?! Not only is it ALMOST half of the kids … that’s an extremely high number if you ask me!’

The article also states that the harassment made them feel sick to their stomach, affected their study habits or fueled reluctance to go to school at all. And that it has ‘reached a level where it’s almost a normal part of the school day.’ Some of the things included having someone make unwelcome sexual comments about them, being called gay or lesbian in a negative way, being touched in an unwelcome sexual way, being shown sexual pictures they didn’t want to see, and being the subject of unwelcome sexual rumors. It angers me that kids have to face these things – of course they wouldn’t want to go to school or felt distracted! How could anyone hope to learn properly under those types of circumstances?!

I just can’t tell you how sick to my stomach this makes me feel. It’s really sad that so many of our kids have to face this kind of crap every day just to get an education. {These were public AND private schools by the way.} 

I can remember as a child being made fun of or picked on. Not in a sexual way, but still, mean words or insults certainly stick with you … long into adulthood! I can only imagine the emotional scars these young people will carry with them after having dealt with this stuff throughout their school years.

Reading this article made me SO thankful that we homeschool. My children will never face this type of harassment while in our ‘school’. However, I’m not naive enough to think that it couldn’t happen elsewhere. We are not a family that completely shelters our girls. They play sports, attend activities, etc. So obviously they interact with many other children {and coaches/leaders}. I also know that homeschooling isn’t the answer for many people. This isn’t a debate about homeschooling, OR a way for me to insult anyone who doesn’t homeschool.

My purpose in sharing this is to ask parents to BE AWARE. This poll was given to 7-12th graders … but we have friends who have experienced inappropriate things even as young as the THIRD grade! You have got to be talking with your kids. You have got to make sure your kids know that they can come to you and share with you and be honest about things they hear or see. They have to know that home is the place where they feel safe and can trust their parents to be on their side.

One of the scarier things about the article was that the majority of the kids who were harassed were too scared or embarrassed to tell anyone, so it just kept on happening. The only reason they admitted to it for the poll was because it was done anonymously online, rather than in person, so the kids would feel free to answer candidly.

It’s unfortunate that our kids are growing up in a very scary time. Sex pervades our culture at every turn … the pictures and photos in the magazines in the checkout line are increasingly inappropriate, sexual offenders are popping up more and more all around us, social media has allowed kids to bully and harass and say or do things they would never do in person. It’s rampant and we’ve got to protect our kids. No, we don’t have to live naive lives and keep them locked up in glass bubbles – but we do have to protect and prepare them and most of all PRAY for them!

An Ordinary Week {sort of}

I have FINALLY learned that when you’re a homeschooling family there really is no such thing as a typical week. I would say that pretty much every single week looks a little different for us. So to call this post an ordinary week is somewhat true … yet, with no week looking exactly like the last there really is no ordinary for us!

As far as getting school work done, it was a challenge, with lots of interruptions, events and distractions it was tough to get much done – but I’m also learning not to stress over weeks like that. We always get the work done, we always get caught up – there is no sense getting all freaked out and stressed because that doesn’t help anyone!

I thought it might be fun though to document in pictures what our week was like – even if it seems very ordinary and boring to others, I want to document these days for myself. =)

Last Saturday we got SNOW! Crazy! Here are some pics from Sunday morning as we left for church …

This picture shows just how very unprepared I was for snow … I still have {dying} summer flowers on my porch, pumpkins and MUMS, and I haven’t even had a chance to get out and clean out the flower beds, get rid of dead stuff, etc. I was NOT expecting snow in October!!

Last weekend my brother and my niece were visiting. The girls LOVE seeing their cousin {she’s the same age as Joy.}

We had Sunday dinner at my Mom’s house after church, it was SO good to be together and have Sunday dinner! Here is my Mom with her granddaughters.

Monday morning french toast – YUM! Why don’t I make this more often, it’s sooo good!

Wednesday morning the girls are mixing up salt dough to make some fossils for science class.

Some regular school stuff … Hope’s spelling test and her reading her book for Language Arts.

My mini rose bush keeps growing and growing but it won’t flower anymore … anyone have any advice?

Piles of folded laundry, this seems to be a daily occurrence around here!

Joy working on her language arts.

She sometimes struggles with spelling and was THRILLED to get all her words correct this week!

Both girls are taking piano this year … Hope is practicing hard.

After baking them in the oven, here are the fossil prints they made …

Clean dishes drying on the counter, another daily occurrence around here!

An afternoon coffee break on Friday while reading my book {The Help} … the girls were outside playing in the beautiful weather!

{My coffee break companion!}

On Friday night our church had a Grand Prix race for our Awana program. The kids {and some adults!} all made cars from blocks of wood and raced them. It was so much fun and everyone goes home with a trophy.

Joy got a participation trophy {on the left}, Bob got 3rd place for speed in the adults category {middle}, and Hope got 2nd place for design and 4th place for speed {right}.

Saturday morning Hope had a soccer tournament to end the season --- 3 games in 31 degrees!! It was FREEZING out there! They played great though and it’s been a wonderful season.

Then they had a pizza party with their team and they all got trophies. Here she is with 2 of her friends that are on her team. {I can’t get over how different she looks with her braces off!}

I guess you could say our ordinary week was really a ‘trophy’ week!

Ate Eight Challenge

So I mentioned in my 'November' post that I'm doing a challenge with my mother in law where you have to eat these 8 super foods every day. At first I was a little intimidated and not totally sure I'd be able to squeeze all 8 in every day! But it's been 4 days now and I'm finding it's really not that tough, you just need a little creativity! I figured I'd post what I've had the the past 4 days and maybe it would encourage others who might want to take on this challenge but were nervous about it.

I will also say that I'm SURE I will really need to start mixing it up soon as I'm confident that I'll begin to get bored with the same 'ol stuff. But for now certain things are my go-to items and I have them every day. Also, I HAVE eaten some snacky kinda things that I SHOULDN'T have this week - I am SO not a perfect, healthy eater but I'm working on it. So please forgive those things when you see them. =)

Just to review, here are the items on the list {and their substitutions in brackets, you will notice I use MANY of the subs}

1. Spinach {kale, bok choy, romaine}
2. Yogurt {kefir, soy yogurt}
3. Tomatoes {tomato juice, watermelon, pink grapefruit, papaya, guava}
4. Carrots {sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, yellow pepper, mango}
5. Blueberries {purple grapes, prunes, raisins, strawberries}
6. Black Beans {peas, lentils, pinto, kidney, fava, lima}
7. Walnuts {almonds, peanuts, pistachios, macadamia, hazelnuts}
8. Oats {quinoa, flax seed, wild rice}



Tuesday
Breakfast -
1. Oats cooked in the microwave with
2. Raisins,
3. Walnuts
and Blueberry Agave syrup

Snack -
4. Pumpkin smoothie made with ice, milk, sugar, spices, pumpkin &
5. yogurt

Lunch -
Margarita Grilled Chicken {at Chili's w/ family} with
6. Black beans

{5 mini swedish fish while waiting for dinner - it's HARD with all this Halloween candy in the house!}

Supper -
Baked Fresh fish {that hubby caught!}
Fries and a
7. Spinach salad with
8. Tomatoes

In the evening - a cup of tea

Wednesday
Breakfast -
1. Oats w/ Agave
2. Raisins &
3. Walnuts

Lunch -
4. Spinach salad w/
5. Garbanzo beans, apples, feta cheese
6. V8 juice

Snack -
7. Pumpkin smoothie w/ milk, ice, sugar &
8. Yogurt

{2 mini candy bars - one Almond Joy, one 3 Muskateers - I'm really trying hard to avoid the candy, most years I would be gobbling a TON of it up but this year I'm trying so hard to stay away from it, so a piece here or there I'm not gonna beat myself up over}

Supper -
{Chili's again! Crazy, I know, but it was Awana night and I went with friends!}
Grilled Chicken Tacos w/
Black beans {so double beans for the day!}

No snack in the evening

Thursday
Breakfast -
1. Oats {are you seeing a pattern here?!} w/ cinnamon sugar
2. raisins &
3. walnuts

Snack -
4. Pumpkin Smoothie {same ingredients as the other days} w/
5. Yogurt

2 Ritz crackers and a slice of Amer. cheese cause I was starving before I got home for lunch!

Lunch -
Sandwich made with 9 grain bread, ham, meunster cheese and
6. 1 cup spinach piled on the sandwich

Snack -
1 cup smart food popcorn
coffee

Supper-
7./8. Taco soup {beans and tomatoes}
Organic shredded cheddar cheese
bagel chips {needed something crunchy, should have just skipped these but oh well!}

Dessert-
Baked Pear dessert w/
Yogurt and {2nd serv. for the day}
Almonds {2nd serv of nuts for the day}

Friday
Breakfast-
1. Oats w/ Agave
2. Raisins
3. Walnuts

At our MOMS program-
2 mini lemon poppyseed muffins
cup of apple cider

Lunch-
4./5. Taco soup {tomatoes and beans}
Organic cheddar cheese

Snack-
Single serve pack of Lorna Doone cookies
coffee
2 pretzels {just had the terrible munchies this afternoon!!}
THEN, cause I still wasn't satisfied an hour later ...
Decided to make myself a
6. Pumpkin smoothie {cause at least if I'm gonna keep eating, it should be good for me!}
7. with yogurt in it
8. and I threw in a cup of spinach too cause I didn't feel like having salad today but that way I still got my spinach in. TRUST me, you could NOT even taste the spinach in the pumpkin smoothie.

And that's it ... we haven't had dinner yet today.
Sorry for those who find this incredibly BORING ... but I always like to hear what other people are eating to get ideas of how to be healthier. So I figured I'd share. Again, I am NOT a perfect eater by any means ... totally a work in progress here! The two big things I need to work on are choosing GOOD, healthy snacks when I'm hungry instead of useless stuff like cookies and pretzels ... AND kicking my sugar habit {I just can't seem to have my coffee, oatmeal or smoothies without sweetener in them - any advice on this??}

And if you actually read this whole post and are even remotely interested I will continue to post some of my daily meals ... if not, feel free to stop me by saying 'no one cares Kathy!' in the comments. =)

Have a great weekend!!!!!

"Baked" Bosc Pear Dessert

I made the yummiest "baked" pear dessert tonight so of course I have to share how to make it!

*Take one Bosc Pear and slice it up {leave the skin on}
*Put it in a microwave safe bowl
*Sprinkle some cinnamon sugar over the top
*Cook in the microwave for 2 minutes, take the bowl out carefully in case it's hot
*Spoon a little Vanilla Yogurt over the top
*Sprinkle a few slivered almonds over it

EAT! ENJOY!

Jesus Calling

I am reading a fantastic little devotional called Jesus Calling. It's written as if Jesus is speaking to you each day. There have been SO many days when I open it up and it's exactly what I needed to hear that day. This morning it was so good, I wanted to share what it says:

"Everytime something thwarts your plans or desires, use that as a reminder to communicate with Me. This practice has several benefits. The first is obvious: Talking with Me blesses you and strengthens our relationship. Another benefit is that disappointments, instead of dragging you down, are transformed into opportunities for good. This transformation removes the sting from difficult circumstances, making it possible to be joyful in the midst of adversity.
Begin by practicing this discipline in all the little disappointments of daily life. It is often these minor setbacks that draw you away from My presence. When you reframe setbacks as opportunities, you find that you gain much more than you have lost. It is only after much training that you can accept major losses in this positive way. But it is possible to attain the perspective of the apostle Paul, who wrote: Compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, I consider everything I once treasured to be as insignificant as rubbish."

Then they give you a couple of references below the devotional.
Col. 4:2 and Phil. 3:7-8

Devote yourselves to prayer being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3:7-8

Have a blessed day friends!!

November!

Is anyone else out there saying ‘whoa! How can it be November already??’ Well I sure am! This year has FLOWN!

November for me is a time to remember all we have to be thankful for. Of course, that is something we should do all year long, but when November comes around we tend to practice the habit of giving thanks even more. I feel like choosing to see all that we have is a good time in leading up to the Christmas season. So by choosing to see how very blessed we are all month long in November, hopefully we can eliminate some of the ‘I gotta have that!!’ of December. It also helps us remember those less fortunate than us and find ways to give to others during the holiday season.

We have been very busy lately. We took last week off as a fall vacation and spent some time in the mountains in New Hampshire. We did A LOT of hiking and saw so much of God’s beautiful creation. It was truly a time of being refreshed and we are so grateful for the time.

{don’t you love how this tree is smiling at you?!}

We then had SNOW in OCTOBER this past weekend – craziness, I tell ya! It was SO weird last night to Trick or Treat with snow on the ground! At our house we don’t have much, but many others in our state are still without power. Not a good time to lose power with it being so cold – and once again we are ever grateful that we never lost power and have a warm home to sleep in every night.

We had a blast at our friend’s house last night – first gathering for a fun potluck / Halloween party, then heading out to trick or treat. I’m pretty sure there were about 40 of us in all and it was a great time. I’m thankful that we have the freedom to choose what we feel is best for our children as I saw many things on Facebook making it seem like those who celebrate Halloween are ‘less holy’ than those who avoid it. I chose to keep my mouth shut on there, but this is my blog and I will say what I wish on here. My only comments on this topic is that we ALL choose things for our kids and we ALL have opinions on what is OK or not. Thankfully the Lord gives wisdom and allows us freedom to make those choices. So I guess what I’m saying is ‘to each his own’.

For the next several weeks I’m going to join with my mother in law and a group of her friends in a ‘gut-melting’ challenge. Sounds interesting, right? LOL Well, here are the particulars: Each day you are to consume ALL 8 of these foods listed below. {Substitutes are listed in the brackets}

1. Spinach {kale, bok choy, romaine}

2. Yogurt {kefir, soy yogurt}

3. Tomatoes {tomato juice, watermelon, pink grapefruit, papaya, guava}

4. Carrots {sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, yellow pepper, mango}

5. Blueberries {purple grapes, prunes, raisins, strawberries}

6. Black Beans {peas, lentils, pinto, kidney, fava, lima}

7. Walnuts {almonds, peanuts, pistachios, macadamia, hazelnuts}

8. Oats {quinoa, flax seed, wild rice}

Doesn’t sound too hard, right? Right now I’m eating my morning oatmeal with some walnuts and raisins in it {and a bit of Blueberry Agave}. So right there I’ve tackled 3 of the items on the list for the day! The point is to learn to eat the whole rainbow of foods every single day. And since it takes 21 days to cultivate a habit, this challenge will go on for the first 21 days of November. I always LOVE the holiday season but I cannot afford to gain any more weight this season, so this will be a good kick start for me in choosing good habits.

And the LAST thing I want to mention today is this … Thanksgiving and Christmas are almost upon us. It can be a stressful time for many people. I want to encourage you to plan NOW and even prepare NOW as much as you can so that the holidays can be filled with JOY and PEACE. It’s not too early to begin shopping, baking, getting Christmas cards ready. My goal has always been to have all my tasks done by the 2nd week of December so that I can enjoy the last 2 full weeks with my family just enjoying the season. This year I feel like we will be busier than usual so I am going to start planning even now and hope to have most stuff done even earlier.

{and now enjoy some fall pictures from our recent adventures…}

Have a wonderful week friends!!!