In Case You’re Looking for Thanksgiving Ideas…

I’ve been in denial about winter holidays. I’m still reeling from skipping a whole season. It was fall when I left Texas. It’s winter here. Seriously. With cold and snow and everything. I even bought an ice scraper. I’d completely forgotten about such a necessity.

My sister offered to host Thanksgiving, so I don’t have to get the pile of paint cans out of the kitchen or prepare a meal that requires actual planning and baking. I do, however, like to take a few moments to teach my children why we celebrate.

So when I saw Frazzled LaShawn post about her plans on Twitter, I begged her to share the links. I know you are more prepared than me, but if you want to add a little something to your well-planned days here are two sites to explore and one craft to make:

• The First Thanksgiving- multi-media stories from Scholastic.com
• You are the Historian- investigate the first Thanksgiving
• Glowbird- only requires a few supplies

And here are a couple things to print from my bookmarks:

• 1st Thanksgiving Book- color, cut, and staple or cut, staple, and color
• Thanks and Giving Tree- capture gratitude on leaves

Because Thanksgiving is still a couple days away, right?

P.S. I did find an advent book. I purchased A Glorious Coming by Ann Voskamp. We will finally make a Jesse Tree this year!

Homestead

When I mentioned how much I like old farmhouses, my husband said, “Oh, that’s what we have!” He’s funny. Our new house doesn’t have the charm I referred to.

The Homestead

The jerry-built shed is nothing like an old barn. Very few items date back to the time the nearby canning kitchen was in operation: a couple of doors and the window over the kitchen sink. Those items are my favorite. They remind me of simpler times.

Times when people stored a harvest in the cellar for winter. Times when large closets weren’t a necessity. Times when families huddled indoors for long winters. Times like we are having right now.

Our tiny, ugly house is slowly being transformed from the inside out.

The cellar isn’t full, but boxes of potatoes are stored and green tomatoes are ripening. Our bedrooms don’t have closets, so we keep only the clothes we really wear. The kitchen and living room are now a fresh shade of yellow and new carpet was installed today.

After Dylan hacked out two walls in the bathroom, we hung a curtain for a door. It will be replaced and that space made more functional. Books will come out of boxes and our routine of learning will resume.

This 1920 house was beyond my vision. I walked through imagining. Ideas completely clouded over by the last room. The choke came and my silence said it all.

Falling asleep that night, I mourned and felt so foolish. The house we left in Texas wasn’t pretty when we bought it either. It was bigger, but not pretty.

Tears in the night evaporated in the morning. Friends came to help us. Lots of friends who unloaded our moving truck and tore off paneling and brought food. Laughter came with them and then I knew this little place would become home.

(Photos to come.)