30 Days of Thanksgiving: Days Twenty-Seven Through Thirty

I haven't been a very good hostess, have I? Most of the other bloggers kept up their daily thanks through the holiday. I've been thankful, I just haven't been blogging. We packed a lot into this four-day weekend. I'm thankful for the many hiking trails in this area and the good weather we have - sun & rain! We hiked Borges Ranch Friday and Lime Ridge on Sunday.
I'm thankful for Glenn:
I'm thankful that he was able to get a new phone that gets email, texts, facebook updates, radio stations, takes pictures... and even makes phone calls! Now we can keep in touch with him all the time.
I'm also thankful for a church that teaches God's Word and reaches out to the community. Saturday afternoon Glenn & I were supposed to help serve a Thanksgiving meal at one of the local churches that we're helping. Turns out that the meals that the volunteers picked up from Safeway weren't hot so we got a call at around 12:30 asking us to help heat up 36 turkeys & all the trimmings by 3:00. Glenn & I deboned the turkeys & sliced them so they'd heat up faster. I think we had all the food there by 3:30.

I'm also thankful for the first Sunday in Advent. Seems like it's closer to Thanksgiving than usual. Saturday after deboning turkeys Glenn & I & another couple decorated the stage. We had a very nice Advent service yesterday. I always love seeing the families come down & light the Advent candles each week. I'm thankful for the new musicians that Glenn has had helping out in the services. Especially the young ones!

I'm also thankful for all the bloggers that have been following the 30 Days of Thanksgiving this year. It's been a blessing to me and I have heard that your posts have been blessing other readers as well. Thank you. Even though this is the last day of November, don't stop giving thanks! ~Talk to you next month!

We ought always to give thanks to God...

2 Thess. 1:3

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day Twenty-Six, An International Thanksgiving Day

Since our little girls were off visiting our new son-in-law's family in Canada this week we decided to invite some other kids over. Before dinner our neighbor brought over some Thai-American fusion food -- pumpkin curry. Maybe this was her version of a traditional American food? I forgot to take a picture of it. The kids that ate with us are students at the local college. They're all from Japan & celebrating their first Thanksgiving. All the foods were new to them. I was wondering if they were thinking the same things that I think when I eat my neighbor's food. lol... But they all cleaned their plates and some even went back for seconds. And they seemed very excited when I offered to pack up the leftovers for them.

Gotta have a pic of Glenn's turkey for his brother! After dinner we played some games. Glenn's trying out the camera on his new phone -- a Droid!And of course, had to play a little Rock Band.
I'm thankful for Mark's family taking in my girls on this holiday. And thankful for the opportunity to take in someone else who couldn't make it home.

They tried to teach us some Japanese and drew pictures of themselves on our chalkboard door.
And on the way home from dropping them off we noticed that K-Mart was open so we stopped & did a little shopping. Actually, we didn't buy anything. Glenn was going to buy some trees to fill in places at the church but they weren't on sale 'til tomorrow. I guess we will have to go out & do some shopping on Black Friday.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Day!

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day Twenty-Four, a Family That Loves to Cook

I'm wiped out tonight after work. I'm glad my coworker took her vacation on a short work week! Tomorrow's my last day of work for the week. I think I can make it. :-) Jenn told me that she has enjoyed this month of Thanksgiving & asked what I had planned next month. Last year (or was it the year before?) I hosted a virtual cookie exchange. I was thinking about doing that again next week. So, this is your warning. Get ready to bake some cookies -- or just find photos of cookies that you've baked in the past -- and share your photos & recipes with us next week. I'll have more info later.

This brings me to what I'm thankful for today: the family I grew up in was filled with good cooks. Glenn's family was filled with restaurant owners/managers/chefs. I think my sister & sister-in-law have turned out to be excellent cooks. And even my daughters can cook. Food is a great part of the holiday tradition around here. And the cooking starts around here tomorrow morning. Glenn's going in to work late so he can get his pumpkin pie done. He'll work late tomorrow -- we have a Thanksgiving Eve service. I've already made my cornbread for the dressing. When I get home tomorrow I'm making cranberry sauce. Mmmmmmmmmmm........

To God who gives our daily bread,

A thankful song we raise,

And pray that He who sends us food

May fill our hearts with praise.

~Thomas Tallie (1505-1585)

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day Twenty-Three, Family, Facebook, Freedom to Travel, Work

Here's one of my favorite old family photos. Anyone wanna guess which one is Grandpa (my dad)? And here's a collage I made with it:

I'm thankful for all my family -- immediate & extended. I've thankful for Facebook because it makes it so easy to keep up with everyone and reconnect with some I haven't talked to in a long time.

I'm thankful that we have the freedom to travel. My sister & bil went on an anniversary trip this week -- NO KIDS! (Haven't heard yet how Grandma is. She had the first day with the kids.) My youngest daughter flew by herself to spend the Thanksgiving holidays with her sister & new bil. They're all traveling to Canada to visit Mark's family while she's there.

Meanwhile, I'm back at home filling in for a coworker who went on vacation. I'm thankful to do something a little different & get to work a little extra. Then Glenn & I will both have Thursday - Saturday off. Hope to do a little hiking.

I also reopened my crochet shop on Etsy. Have a few crocheted items that I'm not going to be giving for gifts this year. I think my family is about "crocheted" out by now. Although, I did promise my nephews some crocheted wool underwear, right boys? lol... BTW, for those of you who live close & buy something from one of my shops you can either pick it up here or I'll meet you somewhere & deliver it so you won't have to pay shipping on it. :-) My sister created the Comfort and Joy Crochet banner for me. Thanks sis!

Also, those birds in the last post were wild turkeys. When I got home tonight there were even more. Lots of people have been out taking pictures of them. They were even on our roofs!

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day Twenty-Two, Turkeys & Other Holiday Guests

This is what I found in our yard when I got back from my walk this evening. Seven all together but Glenn said he scared a few more off when he went out. I guess they don't know about the holiday this week. I tried to tell them but they didn't seem too worried.
I bought my turkey at Safeway already. Jo is leaving EARLY in the morning to go to Michigan to spend Thanksgiving with her sister, brother-in-law, & his family in Canada. So we invited some international students from the local community college to come eat with us. Two are from Japan and one from Korea.

Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.

(Eph. 5:18-20 NASV)

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day Twenty-One, Pies & "The Great Pumpkin Shortage of 2009" Continues!

We had our first Thanksgiving dinner last night with our small group. Turkey, stuffing, mashed & sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, & all the extras. Even THREE kinds of pie! Jordann made an apple pie (and I forgot to take a picture of it!) and these little apple tarts with the leftovers. One of our friends said hers was the best apple pie she's ever eaten! The tarts were cute & she took them with her to the cross country meet today. Glenn made his "famous" pumpkin pie:
Not beautiful... but delicious anyway. Then, in today's paper, there was another article about the pumpkin shortage. Our Safeway still doesn't have any canned pumpkin. But I have found some at Lucky's and organic pumpkin at Trader Joe's. Is anyone else having trouble finding canned pumpkin? Here's a blog that says you can substitute butternut squash in your pumpkin recipes. Hmmmm..... I still want to try that recipe for Starbuck's pumpkin scones. Maybe I'll make butternut squash scones.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day Twenty, Something to Be Thankful For

We get to eat our first "Thanksgiving meal" tonight. Our small group decided to have turkey tonight. I'll share photos tomorrow. This post is going to be a little catch up on all the things we need to be thankful for... in poetic form. Enjoy & have a great weekend!

We Thank Thee

by Ralph Waldo Emerson

For flowers that bloom about our feet;

For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;

For song of bird, and hum of bee;

For all things fair we hear or see,

Father in heaven, we thank Thee!

For blue of stream and blue of sky;

For pleasant shade of branches high;

For fragrant air and cooling breeze;

For beatufy of the blooming trees,

Father in heaven, we thank Thee!

Something to Be Thankful For

by Clara J. Denton

I'm glad that I am not today

A chicken or a goose,

Or any other sort of bird

That is of any use.

I'd rather be a little girl,

Although 'tis very true,

The things I do not like at all,

I'm often made to do.

I'd rather eat some turkey than

To be one, thick and fat,

And so, with all my heart, today,

I'll thankful be for that.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day Nineteen, Books & Libraries

How d'ya like that picture? That was a few years ago when I was selling books on eBay. I think this was taken after the girls and I had returned from a HUGE book sale. The books on the wall where our personal home library and the ones in the boxes were the ones we bought to sell. We've always loved books around here. Don't have quite that many anymore! But I thought I'd share some of our favorite Thanksgiving books with you just in case you get to go to the library this weekend:

An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving, Louisa May Alcott

Turkeys, Pilgrims, and Indian Corn, Edna Barth

The Thanksgiving Story, Alice Dalgliesh

Cranberry Thanksgiving, Harry Devlin

1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving, Catherine O'Neill Grace

175 Easy-to-Do Thanksgiving Crafts, Sharon Dunn Umnik

If You Were At the First Thanksgiving, Anne Kamma

Squanto: Friend of the Pilgrims, Clyde Robert Bulla

John Billington, Clyde Robert Bulla

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day Eighteen, Home

Got distracted yesterday and missed posting. Talked to a homeless person. Made me thankful for my home, a husband who provides for us, and friends and family who would take us in if we lost our home!

We ought always to give thanks

to God for you, brethren,

as is only fitting,

because your faith is greatly enlarged...

2 Thess. 1:3 (NASV)

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day Seventeen, But What About the Bad Stuff?

“...always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.” Ephesians 5:20 (NASV)

“...in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I Thessalonians 5:18 (NASV)

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (NASV)

[The italics are all mine.]

OK... we’re supposed to give thanks for everything but does that really mean EVERYTHING? I thought about this several weeks ago when it rained and someone said we were going to have a few days of “bad weather.” I love rain and really miss big thunderstorms here in the the California summers. And we NEEDED rain. So... is rain “bad”?

This made me think about some friends going through “bad” times. Are they really bad or is that just how we perceive them?

And I have to tell you, I’ve shed a few tears this week just reading through some of your blogs and hearing what kind of things you’re facing: loss of job, loss of home, health problems, etc.

Do we thank God when we lose our job, get a cut in hours or pay, lose a loved one to death or sin, get sick, or have an accident? What about cancer? Do we thank God for that? I work in an oncology office and see everyday what cancer does to people and their families. That’s hard to be thankful for.

I had a friend who found out last year that she had breast cancer. I haven’t seen her as often as I once did but she’s kept us up to date on her treatment and she has been an inspiration to me. Even on her weakest days she sent emails asking how she could pray for us because praying was about the only thing she could do. Here’s a portion of one of her emails that I saved because it was such a blessing to me. I asked her if I could share a portion of it with you. I hope this can bless someone else, too.

Cancer’s Blessings

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2-4).

The gals at the Look Good…Feel Better seminar I attended were talking about how cancer had changed their lives, and I mentioned how cancer has been a huge blessing to me. All of a sudden the room got very quiet and everyone stared at me. I felt compelled to continue and said how it had taught me a lot about myself and my family, increased my faith, taught me what is important in life, and brought me greater clarity and focus. The room was still deadly quite, and then one of the cosmologists changed the subject.

Afterwards, I got to thinking about this awkward moment and the truth of what I blurted out. Cancer has blessed me tremendously. It’s not something I’ve enjoyed, suffering never is, and it’s definitely something I never want to go through again, Still, it’s taught me lessons that I don’t think I could have learned in any other way. The verse at the top says to “count it all joy when you fall into various trials”; not if, when. All of us will suffer at some point in our lives; it’s what we receive or take from the suffering that matters.

Apparently we commemorate John Calvin’s 500^th birthday this month, and I’ve read a couple of bios about him in various Christian magazines. I never realized how much the man suffered. His only child died at 22 days, his beloved wife died after only 8 1/2 years of marriage, he had malaria, migraine headaches (think—no aspirin), kidney stones (whoa!), hemorrhoids (in the days before cars—he had to ride a horse), stomach pains, insomnia, and the article says “and much besides.”

When people experience severe suffering, like my cancer or Calvin’s maladies, it’s tempting to ask Why? or Why me? Calvin said this is the wrong question, and a better one is What for? What lesson does the Lord want us to learn? What part of our selfish character does He wish to chip away? What kind of empathy does He want us to develop (2 Cor. 1:4)? Suffering builds character. Even the Perfect Man had to learn obedience through suffering (Heb. 5:8). Why should we expect anything less?

Suffering isn’t a punishment from God; it just is. It’s a result of a fallen world, a consequence of sin. Yes, God can relieve suffering, and yes, He never gives us more than we can handle (1 Cor 10:13), but He is not unjust to allow us to suffer.

Suffering is a great mystery and not a lot of fun. But it is our lot (Job 5:7). That being the case, let’s not waste it.

Ann again... This ought to give you something to think about at least today. What is the “worst” thing that happened to you this year? Did you write that in your Thanksgiving journal? I’ll leave you with a quote from Job,

“Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?”

Job 2:10

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day Sixteen, Etsy Street Teams

Today I want to be thankful for and promote some of the Etsy street teams I'm on. These have been fun ways for me to meet other ladies that like to craft and share ideas. One event that I'm really proud of is finally happening this week. I'm a member of the Etsy Cottage Style Street Team. Occasionally the team does craft swaps. Last year one of the team members wanted to start a pass around altered book - a project where each of us would decorate one page in a book and then pass it to the next member. Sounded like a lot of fun, so I joined. The problem was -- who would get to keep the book. So Jewel came up with the idea of selling the completed book on Ebay and donating the money to the National Children's Cancer Society. This made the project even more inspiring to work on. We ended up making our pages and sending them in to her to be bound. She had enough to make TWO book and their on Ebay this week along with some other donated items with proceeds going to NCCS. Please come by this week and make a bid on one of the books or other items! Here are the auctions. You can also check out the Etsy shops of these great ladies here.

I'm also a member of the Etsy Supplies Street Team. Supplies for just about any craft you can imagine. Check them out here.

And, one more team -- the Etsy Texas Street Team let me join even though I don't live in Texas right now. This team actually gets together from time to time since most of them live so close. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to join them. :-( Here are their listings. A little wider variety of things available in this team.

I'm thankful for these street teams & all the friends I've made through them!

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day Fifteen, the Harvest, Going to Worship, a Neighbor that Loves to Cook

Come, ye thankful people come,

Raise the song of Harvest home!

All is safely gathered in,

Ere the winter storms begin;

God, our Maker, doth provide

For our wants to be supplied;

Come to God's own temple, come;

Raise the song of Harvest home!

My lovely neighbor made another dessert for us. No beans this time. lol... This one tasted like coconut milk. I searched Google to see what I could find about Thai desserts. I think these are taro balls. She's still working on her English so I'm not sure exactly what I'm eating when she brings things over! The dessert is warm, creamy, & very sweet. The balls are like very soft pasta. A little chewy. Very pretty how they all sink down to the bottom.
Glenn still didn't eat it....

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day Fourteen, Food from our Gardens, Thanksgiving Journals

On my list of things to do today is to pull up the last tomato plant. Yes, it's still growing & still has some tomatoes on it but it's really slowing down & I'd like to get the garden cleaned up before Thanksgiving.

Claudia has photos of her beautiful Thanksgiving art journal over on her blog. Here's a close up of one page.

Here's an example of one of Lynda's gratitude booklets. See how simple it could be? She also made a 2010 gratitude journal and even has a free download for you on her blog.
OK, now for my Thanksgiving journal. I showed you this page already. This is actually from my regular Bible study journal. I don't even usually make the pages this fancy. Maybe a few little doodles every now & then. But I love the brown paper pages. I'm doing most of my writing in this book. But I wanted a journal to add more photos & "stuff" to.
So I made this little one. But immediately realized that it was too small. I never even wrote in it. Thought about adding it to my Etsy shop but thought it was too close to Thanksgiving. I made add it next year if I haven't used it by then.
But I found a really neat item from another Etsy seller. She sells "binder mechanisms". Those are the metal parts found inside a 3-ring binder. They allow you to turn any book cover into a notebook. I had this old book that the library was going to throw away. I loved the cover but didn't know what I would do with it. Turns out it was exactly the right size for the binder mechanism.
I've added a few pages already and have a few more pages in the works. These are all completely random. Just whatever I feel like making at the time. And I even added Jo's little post it notes!
Watch out... cuteness!!!
Looks like the Etsy seller I bought the binder mechanisms from is out of them. But here's her blog so you can see her examples.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day Thirteen, Casual Fridays, and the Other Little Things in Life

I have to say that I have enjoyed checking out everyone's blog entries about what you're thankful for. And the Facebook updates that I get, too. I am thankful that there are so many other people that are willing to concentrate on Thanksgiving this month instead of decorating & shopping for the next holiday. I love this cartoon my sil sent me.

Gotta go get ready for work but I want to show y'all some of the other blogs that are participating in the 30 Days of Thanksgiving. Check them out here. Make sure you add your link & visit all the others listed.

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I'm back from work now. I didn't get to finish my thought this morning. I didn't realize how late it was when I started & I needed to get ready for work.

Today I was thankful for blue jeans! It's casual Friday at work. Before children I worked in an office where I had to dress up all the time. No casual Fridays. No open toe shoes. No bare legs (had to wear hose - yuk). I dreamed of being able to wear jeans all the time. Then I was a SAHM for 13 years and really did get to wear jeans every day. It was great. Now I'm back to work with dress codes again but we do have casual Fridays!

I've been thanking God for other little things this week. And like reading the other blog's posts about the little things that we all usually overlook. Mimi is thankful for rubber bands, baby powder, straws, and lots of other little things.

Oh, and my sister posted a picture of the Thanksgiving banner that her son made from my kit last year. Don't forget to leave a comment here to enter a drawing for a free kit. I'll draw names Sunday evening. Jenn's thankful for her digital camera. (Me, too!!!) BTW, Jenn is Glenn's aunt for those of you wondering... Paula's thankful for Tylenol Cold & Sinus and Kleenex. Hope you are feeling better, Paula! Senkyoushi has been thankful for Costco, her Macbook, & hot soup. Lynette was thankful for trees.

More later... someone else needs the computer now. :-)

Thanksgiving Giveaway!

To thank all the people following our 30 Days of Thanksgiving I thought I'd have a giveaway. I still have a few of these banner kits that I list in my Etsy shop. Leave a comment here and I'll draw a random number Sunday night and send one to the winner. If you blog or Twitter about it, leave me another comment & you can have 2 (or 3) entries.

My little nephew made one last year. Do y'all have it up?