Blessed and Thankful

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we started the month of November with having the kids write down (or tell us to write down for them) something for which they were thankful on little leaves that we had cut out from scrapbook paper.  The intention was to hang them on a "tree" each day so that by the time Thanksgiving came around, we would see all of our blessings tangibly represented before our eyes.  They were good intentions, but they never came to pass.  Instead, my "tree" that was to be made from lovely and delicate twisting branches from trees from the backyard turned out to be three large sticks, upon which nothing could hang (and the appearance of which too closely resembled swords or light sabers or bludgeoning devices to be left out safely within the reach of a five-year-old boy).  While Caleb seemed to get the jist of this practice in thankfulness, I think the little ones didn't quite get the concept, and after three days of Wren telling me she was thankful for princesses and that Judson was thankful for Lightening McQueen, I scrapped the whole plan.  Maybe next year...
Nonetheless, we had a lovely Thanksgiving, complete with this beaut of a turkey, proudly made by Grandpa.

As usual, the array of sides and desserts were delectable, including this apple pie by Madalyn.  As you can see Papaw Charlie couldn't wait to get the first slice, which was so good that he continued talking about it well into the next day.

The dressing was prepared by yours truly and RaRa and Mamaw Ollie, and I think it turned out pretty well.

Mamaw and Papaw were also a huge help in occupying the kids while I cooked and got everything set up for our feast.  While I was in the kitchen, I could overhear all sorts of conversations and games going on in the living room.  My favorite was when Mamaw pretended to tuck them into bed and proceeded to tell them mesmerizing bed-time stories.  I don't know who was happier, Mamaw or the kids.

On the day of Thanksgiving, Caleb reported that he was thankful for pie (of which he refused to eat any - go figure), Wren for mermaids, and Judson for dinosaurs.  I was thankful for Caleb (who had starred as a pilgrim in his Thanksgiving play at school the week before)...

Wren (who has finally let me braid her hair)…

and Judson (who still loves riding his Towmater, especially while adorned with a crown and cape).

Any way you look at it, we are certainly blessed and have so much for which to be thankful - mermaids and all.

Festive Fall

It seems like Caleb just started school, and now all of a sudden it's November!  It's been a whirlwind of fun activities since the beginning of fall:  birthday parties, apple-picking, pumpkin-carving, and more birthday parties.
We started off the season with planting our fall annuals.  I had a few helpers with me to pick out the best pansies.

 Then we started the weekend birthday party circuit. A lot of our friends share fall birthdays, and we're so grateful that they invited us to celebrate with them.  Face painting and balloon artists were a big hit at the parties.

We also celebrated PeePaw's birthday at his house, which, of course, must include riding on his lawn mower.

Last weekend we went to an apple-picking farm in Ellijay.  They may have been all out of apples, but between the wagon ride, cow-milking, tricycle park, and other fun activities, the kids never noticed.

We don't make a big deal of Santa Clause in our house, but apparently the kids already knew there was something special about these two visitors to the apple farm.

The adults had some fun too.

Of course Wren had to do what Mommy was doing.

 It was a fun afternoon!

No festive fall would be complete without pumpkin carving.  This was a first for us (with kids), and they actually turned out pretty good...and the mess wasn't too bad.

And to think that we're only halfway into fall...