HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2010 !

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! We had a really nice time with our family and our friend Will. This was actually the first time that we had ever really managed an entire Thanksgiving on our own. I think we did quite well. I tried to make cookies ahead of time, and gather ingredients every time I went for groceries. This was our menu...

Turkey with Gravy

Mashed Potatoes

Whole Wheat Stuffing

Green Beans

Field Green Salad with Apples and Walnuts....Compliments of Will

Homemade Applesauce

Rolls/Butter

Sweet Potato Casserole

Cranberry Sauce

Dessert:

Chunky Chocolate Pecan Bars

Lemon Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Pie/ whipped Cream

Wow!!! That was a lot...but it was so good! We tried to do most of the prep the night before so that we could relax and enjoy ourselves. Did you know I had never made a pumpkin pie before? Im just not a baker...but they came out fabulous! Everything worked perfectly...except one thing. Have you ever seen National Lampoons Christmas Vacation? Well...the scene where they cut into the Turkey and it bursts apart and hisses steam? This reminded me of that. I asked Cory to help me get the 17-18# turkey out of the roaster and onto the giant Turkey plate...he did...but it looked like he took it and threw it on the plate as hard as he could. It made a loud banging sound and then the meat fell right off the bone...we looked at each other in horror...and knew what the other was thinking...National Lampoons...then we laughed. We are glad that we were not planning on carving it at the table. The meat was very tasty...and we had a good laugh! The following is some shots of our Thanksgiving celebration. I hope yours was just as wonderful!

THANKSGIVING CONT'D...

These are sort of out of order...Asher is polishing off the applesauce here...

Nicely set table with a smarty pants in the background.

This table cloth was regularly 32.00...marked down to $5.99....I got it for $2.99.....Oh yeah!

Oh, I forgot to mention that Will was kind enough to bring a bottle of wine! Thanks Will! My Mother in Law loaned me these plates since I didnt really want to set the table with my blue ones! Thanks Mom!....Plus a few decorations...everything looked nice.

THANKSGIVING ALSO...

Gayle wanted to dress up...as usual...now that I see this photo...I wish I had trimmed her hair. No matter...she felt beautiful...and she is!

This was staged. I made them take a nice one afterwards.

Esther is apparently enjoying her dessert.

MORE THANKSGIVING...

chunky...chocolate...pecan bars. I only make these during the holidays because they are so rich...(and also because pecans are expensive.) You cant begin to know the power of these bars...they are SO good.

Babies enjoy pumpkin pie...with lots of whipped cream too!

THANKSGIVING DAY ...TIRED YET?

This was an interesting shot. Asher is usually not a "let someone else besides mom and dad hold me" kind of kid. He stayed here with Will for quite some time...I think it may have had something to do with Will doing the monotonous for him...it was his job to close the mail box...over and over again...and he obliged.

The boys hanging out together like ....brothers. ha.

The girls...playing together in the other room...look! They are working together!

I dont want to lose sight of Thanksgiving and make it all about food...I am very Thankful that God has seen fit to bless our family. I am thankful for a husband who works so hard for his family, and takes on more just to provide down the road. I am thankful to be able to stay home and raise my children, and that God continues to provide for us even when times seem lean. I am thankful for all of my 5 children...and the joy that each one brings to our lives in their own special way. Very thankful that God answered my prayer long ago when I prayed while holding Elijah..."God...please don't let him be the last one!" Thankful that even when I thought we were done...that God was not! I am thankful for good friends and family. I am .............Thankful!

BECAUSE...BECAUSE...BECAUSE...

I like to think that I am a thrifty...frugal person. I am really happy that we have been able to stop "eating out" frequently. I think the last time I ate out was when my mom was visiting, and our grocery trip went longer than planned. Cory had to eat out when he went to Ohio...(well, I could have packed something...) anyhow... I am really pleased at our attempts.

I have also been trying to pay more attention to our food choices. Cory has IBS, and Acid Reflux, so there are certain foods that trigger him...one is High Fructose Corn Syrup. I thought ridding ourselves of this would turn our world upside down or something. You would be surprised how easy it is. We eat all the normal foods, I just read labels...I have lost 8# (which could also be because I stopped nursing)...I know Cory has lost some...and I took Isaac to the Dr and he told me that Isaac lost 9#...I was wowed. This also contributes to us not eating out since I dont know what is in the foods. We feel so different too. When my mom came, she bought the kids those chocolate cupcakes with the white swirlys on them. I took a bite, and could not eat it...it made me sick. When you rid your body of that junk, you dont crave it.

Thanksgiving, and other holidays we have decided to just be flexible. When you eat at someones house..dont sweat it...you can get back to it next meal. It is life changing...and it wasnt hard. Did you know Reese Cups dont have HF CS in it? Anyways...I always tell people...you have your whole life to lose weight...develop healthy habits...dont sweat it...just do what you can.

A GOOD CAUSE...

The other day Isaac complained that he was starving...REALLY starving...he could not make it through without something to eat. So I decided to "show" him what starving people really look like. With the help of my computer...I did not hear another complaint. This has apparently been upsetting Esther a lot. She made a list of all the things that she would donate to these families. I told her we could look into Compassion International and sponsor a child as a family...we shall see. We also discussed something else she could do to help the needy in our own area.


Esther will be making and collecting homemade blankets to donate to the organization Project Linus. She plans to collect them in January. Would you consider making a blanket? The organization asks that it come from a smoke free home. Let me know if you would like to help Esther make someones world a little warmer.

FOR THE GIFTED....(HEHEHE)

The following post is a Christmas Present for some ladies of the family.....If that could be you....please skip over it.....thanks!

*Christmas Gift Below......No Peeking!*

CHRISTMAS IN THE MAKING...NO PEEKING!

I had all of these items on hand so this was no cost to me....at least not this year :-)

Paint your mini clothes pin and your heart...and glue on your magnet....and....

Voila!!! A handy dandy fridge magnet!

Gayle made these for some certain "someones".... use it to hold your pictures...memos...whatever! Well done Gayle!

CUTE LITTLE BOYS...

Here are two things I love....

Tubby Pictures....

And little boys in "Feety Jammies"......

Aren't they so cute?

MAKING COOKIES...

These are SUPER SUPER EASY...and FAST ! DELICIOUS....CHEWY...EAT A CLOUD Lemon Cookies. And while I am not a real fan of lemon...these were so good...so I made two batches...freezing one for Thanksgiving...and the other for Christmas...oh yeah!

These are chocolate chip cookies that are my mother in laws recipe....TO DIE FOR!!! They are so good...I only made one batch because I ran out of shortening....but they make a ton...that is if you can keep your kids away from the dough!

Want one?

BECAUSE SHE IS SO CUTE!

I had to put a more recent photo on of Ella...she is just as cute as can be! Her eyes are just so big and bright! What a pretty little girl!

SHHHHH...CHRISTMAS IN THE MAKING...

I love this material. I made a little dress for my niece Ella a while back with the very same. I wish I had enough to make curtains with it...but I don't. I decided to make a cute little "shoulder bag" with it. I am going to give this to Esther for Christmas. I think it will be a really nice bag for her to carry her Bible in. I had all of the fabric and notions already...soooo...it cost me $0.00....and it is full of love and thoughtfulness :-)

Does anyone else out there love ric rac like I do? I can't get enough of the stuff...it makes everything look more fun!

I hope she likes it!

Gayle did a cute project with me the other day...I can't post it because it is a gift and the recipients might see it...I will post it at some point :-) I have lots more to put together...lets hope I will find the time :-)

GET A DEAL SITES...

Some folks have been asking me about my sites that I have been using to find my deals lately. Well...some are craft sites so that I can get ideas for cool inexpensive things to make...but here are some others.



http://freebies4mom.com/



http://northerncheapskate.com/



http://dealseekingmom.com/



www.1saleaday.com

http://news.cnet.com/ This one is actually where I found the cheapskate one.



http://slickdeals.com/ or maybe it is .net



http://www.fatwallet.com/



Hope some of these help any of you trying to be frugal.

I would love it if you come across a deal for you to let me know too! Feel free to let me know any other good sites...I love to be thrifty!

BECAUSE I'M A ROCK STAR...THATS WHY!

I am really super excited! I have been working really hard at finding good deals for gifts...and I uncovered a good one! Today I went to Toys R Us and got 6 games and virtually spent $3.74. Yes...you read that correctly. They are having a promotion where you buy $35 worth of Hasbro/Milton Bradley games and they give you a $10 gift card. So....I have some older kids so I ended spending more money because their games are more expensive. Like I said, I got 6 games...spent $50.74(...ouch...on board games?)...wait for it! I got my $10 Toys are us gift card(...score!)...and then...this is the big one....(drum roll please...)...I get to send my receipt to Hasbro...where they will rebate me $36.98....oh yeah!

So...$50.74-($36.98+$10.00Gift Card)=$3.74 =Wendy is a ROCK STAR!

CHRISTMAS????

While I don't want to take away from the Thanksgiving Holiday...I enjoy this time of year especially...since I get to practice being more thoughtful. I have been researching some really cool ideas for Christmas gifts that wont cost an arm or a leg :-) I have to start now so that I can get everything in! I am hoping to make *at least one* handmade item for each member of the family. I actually crocheted a really cute little pink hat for my niece Ella, only to find that it was not going to fit...but look on the bright side...someone will need a little pink hat...*somewhere!* I can't really give out my ideas all at once since the receivers will be watching...so I will try to have an unvieling at another time...or just ask me about it if you really want to know!

Time to get the craft room cleaned up!!!!

BOY SCOUT WILDFLOWERS...

Remember last year I was telling you how I kept picking flowers ...and they refused to die? Well...My crop was not fabulous this year...My moms was...but I did get some. Here are some photos of some this morning. It was so frosty and beautiful!

I am looking at them out the window right now...with no frost...and they look perfect! These crazy flowers don't know when to give up...they sure are pretty!

BECAUSE I CAN...

I VOTED IN THE 2010 ELECTION.

LITTLE BOYS...

I love sleeping pictures...this one I think is especially precious :-)

I like awake pictures too...He is also very precious!