The kids had a blast as always playing on the wii, while my mom, sister and myself kept busy making dinner, and keeping up with the dishes (which is a lot of work when you don't have a diswasher)
There is so much to be thankful for. I am thankful that my husband has a stable secure job during the unstable crisis that our country's economy is in. I am thankful that both sides of our family are Christians and love the Lord with all of their hearts. I am thankful that God placed us at the Church Fellowship we are at. A fellowship that places God and family first, and strives to run a fellowship in a biblical way. I am thankful that I can stay home and teach my children.
There are so many things I could list. I could go on and on about all of the things that I am thankful for. God has truly blessed us beyond measure.
Another thing that I am thankful for, is my husbands skill at woodworking. He worked in a small cabinet shop for 4 years before getting the job he has now. He endured a lot at that job. But the one thing that he walked away with, was the knowledge of how to build quality things. And now I get to benefit from it! During the time he had off around the Thanksgiving holiday, by talented husband built me a brand new island for the kitchen. The picture turned out a little dark.
We are all looking forward to Christmas next! We decided to scale down the gifts quite a bit this year. We are getting each of the kids a meaningful gift that will get used often, and then get gifts that the whole family can enjoy together. The boys are each getting a wallet with a couple of dollars inside, and I am making each of my girls an apron. For the family gifts, we are hoping that we can buy the Drive Thru History series, a couple of Jonathan Park sets, and a set of speed stacks. Perhaps we can throw in a new wii game, but that all depends on the finances.
What are you planning on doing for Christmas presents this year? I'd love to hear about more creative present ideas.
Glad you had a good Thanksgiving! For Christmas this year, among my side of the family, we're sending money to Haiti instead of buying gifts for each other. (My friend Shelley and her husband are houseparents in an orphanage there, and in process of adopting two boys.) I'm so excited about this, and as much as I love giving gifts, it's really nice not to have to think about so many. We're still giving gifts to the kids and each other. I'm trying to keep things very simple this year, simple meals this month, as little shopping as possible, etc. to try to really focus our hearts on the coming of our Saviour. I'm hoping to write about this on my blog in the next day or two... or realistically, I should say this week. Or month!
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Beca
Sounds like you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a nice one too.
ReplyDeleteWe don't usually get the kids gifts during Christmas, just because we have 3 sets of grandparents who like to bless them and that makes for a lot of gifts with 6 kids! I do get the fun of helping shop though, and sometimes wrap ;-) Each side requests a "wish list" for the kids, so I come up with enough ideas for each child and then give sep. lists to each side (so there is no duplicates). Since my parents live out of state, my mom sends me the $ and I do the shopping (then she wraps it all when they get here for the holiday).
This year we've cut way back on actual toys. We only gave 1 toy idea per child to one side. The rest is all books. The children always have books they'd like to read for pleasure, but we don't always have the $ to buy them (and often can't find some of them at the library).... so we decided to give books this year. I'm hoping it will work out well, and the kids will be glad about it! They will end up with about 5 or 6 books each when its done. 1 toy each will make for a good holiday in my book! Oh, we are getting a game that the whole family can enjoy!
We're looking more at "family oriented" gifts, or personal reading collections to be expanded. Toys are usually too overrated and loose their appeal too soon for the price! That's what we're doing in our household this year.
p.s. Great job on the island Adam! Looking forward to seeing it in person, hopefully soon!
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI noticed you blogged about Jonathan Park and was going to tell you about the Vision Forum affiliate program, but I see you already have an affiliate banner in your sidebar!
I wrote up instructions on how to make an affiliate link so that if somebody clicks through your Jonathan Park link and makes a purchase you'll get a commission.
hey, ali! Glad you enjoyed Thanksgiving. To me, the turkey is the best and when it doesnt' turn out, then it is the worst...ha.
ReplyDeleteChristmas. I hope to do soemtihng as a family for the troops. matt has a good friend over in iraq right now. we might send him a box...or do soemthing with a local org that sends stuff out. I ran into a retired veteran the other day who was in desert storm and iraqi freedom. He expressed great sadness over how america has seemed to shun and not support them at all. i asked him how we coudl show support- what it would look like. He said sending them things- letters, cookies, stuff that would encourage them. I think it woudl be a lot of fun to send soemthing out as a family.
Money is tight this year, so i am knitting a lot of gifts-stuff for the babies/children. fingerless mitts- ysolda's laceup opera fingerless mitts...my sil wll love them. anyway, that is all the excitement here. I think with little money, it has become a fun challenge to find ways to be creative with gift giving.
loved the hat, btw .
h :)