Turkey Day; Elf Culture

Well, our Thanksgiving Day was such a blessing, even though we were under the weather. Daughter, son and I had walking pneumonia. Son's was not as bad a case.

Our church family blessed us with "fixin's" and hubby cooked a magnificent turkey!

We are so thankful and appreciative for the delicious sides and pies that were delivered to us. It was such an amazing feast! It was such a beautiful time for our little family. There is so much to be thankful for!!!

Before we ate, we prayed, and then we went around the table and each of us spoke of what we were thankful for this year. It was a such a sweet time. God has brought us through so much as a little family. We are coming full circle with a lot of healing in our lives.

Here are a few snaps from our Thanksgiving Day:

The beautiful bird, cooked to perfection! Honestly, the juiciest and most tender turkey we've ever had! It was a Butterball.



Yummy!


So tender the bones came right out of the legs when he went to pick them up!



My pomegranates that I LOVE!! Also, in the background are delicious pies. I was so enthralled by my yummy poms, forgot to take the foil off of the pies to show them off! However, I assure you, the pies were spectacular!! In appearance and taste! Our friend Teresa made a sweet potato with meringue, pumpkin, pecan, and apple/pear pie. We had to put two of them in the freezer. Seriously, so much food, no way we could eat it all even in a week! Thanks T! Thank you everyone who contributed.



Our table...





...and of course, after the Macy's parade...ball games were on our TV. ;) Take a good look at this one...it is our living room before Elf Culture struck our home. :D



Turkey time, and giving of Thanks...

Sweet baby girl. My mini me and beautiful sweetheart.


Next up, handsomeness. Our awesome and thoughtful son.


The man behind the bird. I have the best husband in the world! He's so caring and loving. And he can cook too!!



Ok...so several weeks ago when all had the beginning of our crud, with sore throats and congestion, etc...we were all totally in need of a pick me up. So, we watched the movie ELF. Which is our very fave!! It always makes us laugh.

Well, this movie gave us a great idea!! We decided to invent a tradition for our little family called Elf Culture. haha. We pulled out the arts and crafts box, and began cutting out snow flakes...LOTs and LOTS of snowflakes. Then, we made paper chains, and garland by stringing together cotton balls. hehehe. You'd have to watch the movie to "get" all of this.

Sooooo, we saved everything up. Today we pulled out our Christmas decor, and our home made items to begin decorating.

Below are a few pics. This is only the beginning. We still have tons of snowflakes to hang from the ceiling and such. I'm trying to figure out how I am going to hang them without putting a bunch of pinholes in the ceiling. We are using 3M command hooks for the garland and things hanging around the window. But the ceiling is very high, and I'm not sure yet how we will handle this part. I'm fairly inventive, so I'll figure something out. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to comment.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...the beginnings of our family's Elf Culture.



I elfed this lighting fixture, and daughter elfed the next one...





J's elf work. Love it!



While my daughter and I were being little elves in the living room and dining rooms. Son was trimming his bedroom Christmas tree. :)



Christmas is my favorite time of year. Not only because of the beautiful decorations, and lights, but because it represents when Jesus Christ was born. He lived, he died, and he rose to break the bonds of sin. If we confess our sinfulness, confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and Saviour, and receive Him into our hearts and lives, we will have everlasting life. We have a relationship with Jesus, as with a friend. Talk with Him, pray to him. He hears our every heart's concern; cries with us, and rejoices with us. He is our truest friend. While man/woman will fail us, Jesus never fails us.

Click Here for The Story of Jesus' Birth

Crisp Air; Holiday Faves

There is such a crisp feeling in the air here!

Our family has been so ready for fall, and for the weather to cool off! This morning we woke up to mid 40 degree weather. So gorgeous outside; beautiful sunshiny day!

Personally, I love everything about fall. The pumpkins, the spices, the sights and scents! There is just something so invigorating about this time of year. We know when fall arrives, that Thanksgiving and Christmas are not that much further away! Our family LOVES Thanksgiving and Christmas! :D

Thanksgiving is my very favorite! Well, my birthday is very close to Thanksgiving, but that is not why I love it. The whole story of Thanksgiving is why I so love it! It is such a reminder of how blessed we truly are as a family, and how thankful I am for everything God has entrusted me with on this earth. My prayer is to live with such gratitude, and that this would always be my first thought! Not only on Thanksgiving, but all year, every year!

Thanksgiving is a beautiful time of sharing and being together as a family. Another favorite part of Thanksgiving is sharing a meal together as family. Turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, casseroles...and pumpkin pie are among the YUMMY parts of it! The smells of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg...ahhhh!! Mix those with the cool crisp feeling outside, and the beautiful fallen leaves. Amazing! It sets the tone and paves the way for Christmas.

Christmas is my second favorite holiday. It is also about giving and sharing, and most of all, about Jesus Christ giving His life so I can live eternally with God. John 3:16

What Christmas is all about


Also, I do love the lights and the smells of evergreen! I love to give. This year I told myself that I'd get started much earlier with buying Christmas gifts. I'm hoping to be finished up by the end of November. This is the goal. ;)

The other day, I met a gal who had EVERY bit of her shopping completed and wrapped! Wow!! She inspired me to get on with it!

So this week, I am making my list, and checking it twice. haha. ;)

Have any of you began Christmas shopping yet? What is your favorite holiday, and why?

ThankFULL...

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our family. I STILL FEEL SO FULL!!!

It is nice to be back home, and hanging with f & f!

Not only was Thanksgiving great, but my birthday (on black Fri) was AWESOME as well!

My family took me to our local Country Club for a nice luncheon. Then later I met up with my dear friend Cindy. She wanted my advise on an upgrade camera. She has been shooting with a Sony for years (not dslr) and was thinking about giving Canon a try.

It was between two cameras. She wanted to know if she should get the Canon 40D or the Xs. I was like...um, no brainer here...go for the 40D.

I say this because she has taken photos for quite some time, and she was more than ready for the semi-pro upgrade! She will grow with the 40D much better. Cindy has been a photographer for years...doing photos and graphics for our church newsletter back home, special events, and youth events. She also has shot some weddings, graduation pics, and family portraits. She has quite an eye. =)

Speaking of eyes...here is a fun shot we did while camping out at her house. After we got back from window shopping, camera shopping, dinner at The Olive Garden...more window shopping...We went back to her home and played with the new cam with GIMP and PSE 7. She has PSE 7 and I have GIMP, so we were comparing tools and such.

Here is a fun shot of us that was taken with the 40D and edited on GIMP. Keep in mind, this was taken in Auto...we did not have a lot of time to work with manual...it was like 2 am!! We were just shooting fun and silly pics to practice editing on. =)



The night before I had stayed up late with my sweet niece KayKay. She wanted to learn some GIMP, so we did this one together. This photo was taken with my Kodak P850...so are the following pics that I am posting. Actually, all of these following photos were taken with my Kodak, and edited on GIMP.

(my lips needed chapstick on this on Drea...hehe)


Can't believe I got a pic of David, HA! Everyone has always thought that our niece looks like David. Thank she could be our child. We claim her. :)


Our nieces...who are also sisters...




and last but not least...one fun shot of kaykay...

Un-amused...Turkey anyone?

This is my "un-amused" look. Trying to learn Gimp 2, and so this is a product of me goofing around with layers, and smudge tool...and stuff I rly don't know all that much about...yet...

Anywho...I'll get there eventually!

On a fun note. We are headed home for Thanksgiving! So all you friends and family...get ready cuz here we come!!! ;)

The kids are totally excited about this. David and I, with our darling children, will be leaving on Wed to head home. Then David will come back Sunday while the children and I stay an additional week. This will give us extra visiting time. YAY!

I get to celebrate my 41st birthday with f & f. I just realized how old I am, lol, j/k. Seriously though, I can't believe I'm over 40! Dude, that is just wrong because I'm totally feelin' like 20 something! haha.

So what are your plans for Thanksgiving Day? We are having a big ol' family get together in the early afternoon about 1:30ish....traditional turkey and dressing and all the side dishes to boot. =)

Pumkin pie is my FAVORITE (hint hint CindyLu!!! You do make the best p.p. ever!!! ;)

Our family loves to reflect on so many things we can be thankful for. It is one more reminder of God's goodness bestowed upon us.

Here's a little early in the week throwback. Cindy if you are reading my blog, this one's for you and Ken! (catch the bunny ears behind Cindy...which is my hubby's fingers haha)

Our wild and crazy friends from back home!


Our table setting from last yr...