It is my favorite time of year and Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.

Sometimes, we are in danger of losing the celebratory nature of this holiday in the there-are-only-SIX-weeks-until-Christmas madness that accompanies this time of year.

I fight that temptation hard in our home.  A posture of gratitude is crucial to living a happy and fulfilled life. What better place to start than the holiday named Thanksgiving?

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For his mercy endures forever. ~Psalm 136:1

Here are some things we do to commemorate this holiday and make it a special time for our family:

• Decorate the house. Yes, I bring out the Thanksgiving decorations for a week and then put them away until the next year {every year my husband thinks I’m crazy when I tell him it’s time for the Thanksgiving decor. I think he hopes I will forget}.  A lot of work but a tradition we enjoy.  Some of the decorations are homemade each year, like oranges with cloves in a glass vase and painted gourds and little pumpkins.  Indian corn and raffia can make for cute door decor as well.
• Create together.  Every year, we make turkey cookies {this year I found a new idea on Pinterest that I want to try}


Source: ourbestbites.com via Toni on Pinterest

Even now that my boys are older they still enjoy making little Thanksgiving treats with mom.  We sit up late into the night, watching home movies and assembling turkey cookies.  I hope it is a memory they will treasure as much as I do.

• Share gratitude.  One year, we made a thankful tree with leaves made out of the boys hand prints.  Another year, we made a journal with wax paper and dried leaves, yarn and a sharpie.  However we choose to list the things we are thankful for, there is power in the list.  There is joy and laughter and even tears in sharing the things that make the thankful list each year.
• Eat well and eat together.  I just finalized the Thanksgiving menu for this year and drug my hubby through the grocery store, painstakingly checking my list to make sure I didn’t forget anything.  Some recipes are the same each year {hello sweet potato casserole} and some I switch up {trying pumpkin chocolate chip bread this year}. But, getting around the table, filling our bellies and our hearts is one of my favorite times of the year.

My friend, Teri Lynne, posted about a wonderful tradition she includes in her Thanksgiving festivities.  It is such a cute idea! I may even steal the idea for our celebration this year!

What are some ways you prepare for and celebrate Thanksgiving?  I would love to hear!

Cover via Amazon

I have never considered myself indecisive.

When I looked at this prompt {part of Toni’s 30 Day challenge} to share my favorite movie with you, the answer came to my mind immediately.

Fried Green Tomatoes

All-time-favorite-could-watch-it-several-times-in-a-row-favorite-movie.

And, I was all set to hit publish on this post and call it a day.

Then, I started thinking of other movies that I love and wanted to share them with you too…

~Anne of Green Gables {this is my favorite fiction book, by the way}

~Thoroughly Modern Millie {an old musical starring Julie Andrews}

and in case you think I never watch current movies….

~Soul Surfer really touched my heart in the theaters this year.

Did I mention I love Shrek?  And Rio?

I better stop.

There you have it, my favorite movie(s).

What are yours?

This post is linked to

Miss S. graduated last week, yesterday was Jared and Matt’s last day of school for the year and Jason finishes up on June 15th.

I will have four teenagers and a nine month old Sweet Pea to entertain this summer and the concept was daunting to me.

I was inspired by Amy from The Finer Things in Life to tweak her concept of “The Summer List of Fun” for my kids and their ages {19, 18, 15 and 13}.  When I broke out the markers and poster board this weekend, they looked at me a little funny but soon the ideas started flowing.  Now, we have a pretty good idea of the things we want to do this summer.  Here are a few highlights:

• go swimming at the lake
• biking on the C & O Canal
• see a movie together {with popcorn from the theater, a special request from Matt}
• plant an herb garden
• decorate the game room with yard sale finds {which will require going to yard sales, another fun summer activity}
• make homemade ice cream
• go strawberry picking
• take water bottles to the homeless on a sweltering day

You get the idea!  It was fun just to sit and watch the kids come up with things they would like to do *with their mama* this summer.

We came up with more than 40 ideas and we will continue to add to the list as the summer goes on.  Combine the list of summer fun with our two week vacation to Florida to celebrate Miss S and Jason graduating high school, their jobs, the two younger boys staying in Florida to visit my family for an extra two weeks and I think summer will go by quicker than we want it to!

What do you plan to do with your kids this summer?

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I am fairly certain I hear God chuckle on nights like this:

with girls and their babes gathered in to “hang out” and watch movies.

I know my heart sings when I watch my boy growing into a young man making a sweet baby giggle.

and when a cherub faced little girl gets her hair braided and walks around our tiny space saying “I pretty”.

Yes, sweet girl, you are very pretty indeed!

We make room on the floor to play dress-up…

and room on the couch for those that need to rest their eyes…

There is something that feels right in this small space filled with laughter and the noise of teenagers…

and I chuckle back to God, and thank Him for filling my heart AND my house on a Friday night.

and the counting of gifts continues {41-50}

~pumpkin pie with whipped cream

~the anticipation of a trip to see family

~chubby baby legs

~good reports at parent teacher conferences

~fuzzy, warm socks

~Bible study with good friends

~hug from the hubby after a bad day

~a new {hot pink with my name on it} study Bible

~friends that know me well enough to give me a {hot pink with my name on it} study Bible

~vehicle that fits lots of mama’s and babies and car seats and diaper bags

What are you thankful for?

It was relaxing.

Time spent reveling in the uniqueness of my children and the sheer handsomeness of my husband.

Time spent laughing with friends and playing board games.

Roasting marshmallows, making smores and chatting by the fire. 

Watching my boys stoke the fire, enthralled by every spark and ember.

I unplugged this weekend and it was a gift I intend to unwrap more often.

This post is linked to Tuesdays Unwrapped.

Do those two words even go together?  They should!  But sometimes with the busyness of life, the chaos of raising children and the monotony of the daily grind we can lose sight of the fact that we should be enjoying life with our spouse.  That is a dangerous place to be as fun is a great intimacy builder and can remind you why you were drawn to each other in the first place.

How can you make sure you and your hubby are still having fun together?  Here are a few ideas:

• Enjoy those inside jokes.  You know the ones that are just between you and your husband.  Wink at each other from across the room when you are reminded of such a joke.  Even when you aren’t physically close to each other you can both still be enjoying the memory or the hilarity of a shared inside joke.
• Watch a comedy.  Instead of dragging your hubby to the latest chick flick go see a local comedian or watch a funny movie. Some of our favorite side splitters are any of the National Lampoon movies and my hubby enjoys Monty Python as well.
• Step out of your comfort zone.  A few years ago Mike and I visited the batting cages for a date night.  We were both so rusty at hitting a baseball it ended up being a hilarious adventure.  We still laugh about my inability to hit a curve ball.  Do something you wouldn’t normally do together and be willing to laugh at yourself.
• Appreciate your spouse’s sense of humor.  Let’s face it.  Guys have a special kind of humor (and as a mom of boys, I can tell you that is apparently something they are born with).  Every once in a while, instead of rolling your eyes at your husband’s juvenile sense of humor, go with it.  Laugh with him.  Show him that you think he is funny.

Anything you do can be fun if you choose to make it that way.  Often times it just requires a change of attitude.  We enjoy cooking together and even cleaning together (we make it a race to see who gets done first).  Look for ways to insert fun in your marriage and you will find another way to bring you and your spouse together.

This post is linked to Wifey Wednesday.

This week I would like to expand on a post I wrote earlier in the week.  When parenting teens/tweens quality family time can be difficult.  Our kids don’t necessarily want to spend time with us. Let’s face it: we are not cool (at least to our kids ) This week I recognized the importance of focusing on my sons interests in order to engage his attention.

So, how can we make sure that we are available to our kids?  What are some things that we can do with them to maintain a bond?  Here are some of my ideas and I would love to hear yours as well!

• Eat dinner together. This is so important!  Many studies have touted the value of eating as a family. It is a great time for discussion, questions and family time.  I am always amused listening to the things that my boys think are discussion worthy.  And, be sure to take some pressure off of yourself.  What you serve as the meal is less important than the fact that you are all sitting down together to eat and talk.
• Avoid overscheduling.  If your child is involved in too many activities there will not be any time left over to spend together as a family.  We limit the kids to one extra-curricular activity a semester (not including church related activities).  We treat our family time as sacred, it goes on the calendar just like anything else.  Making time together a priority sends a strong message to your kids that you value them and want to spend time with them.
• Take advantage of a captive audience.  Even without overscheduling we spend a lot of time in the mom taxi.  Use this time to engage your kids in conversation.  Middle school boys can tend toward monosyllabic answers so I end up asking a lot of open ended questions to solicit some feedback.  Play a game in the car. Crank up the worship music and sing together.  Enjoy your kids.
• Volunteer together.  Serving others together is a great way to bond and spend time with your kids.  And, it is something that will hopefully inspire your kids to develop a servants heart for others and take that passion into adulthood.

What are some of the ways that you spend quality time with your teen/tween? Leave your answer in the comments.  And, as always, if you have a post that deals with teen/tween issues please link the permalink to that post on our MckLinky below.

I have never been a big basketball fan- football, yes!  Basketball, not so much.

That was before I had kids- boys, to be specific.  My two oldest have been playing some type of sport since they were in kindergarten.  Jason settled on soccer and Jared has settled on basketball.

ESPN is on in our home most of the time unless by some undercover mission I have managed to get control of the remote.  Six in the morning while the boys are getting ready for school they are listening to the ESPN guys drone on and on discuss the stats from the night before.

I never thought I would be thankful for such a thing but today I am unwrapping the gift of passive listening.

You see, every morning I can’t help but hear the details and I halfway listen because my kids are listening.

Last night that paid off.  Our church is doing a just for fun March Madness competition thingy where you sign up on ESPN.com and choose a bracket [more on that in a minute].

I sat with my hubby and boys while we chose our bracket.  The boys were so excited to forecast who they think will win, who will be a surprise team that does well, etc.

And I could give input.

My input wasn’t always on target but my kids were SO impressed that I knew the names of some of the players and had a favorite team.

Let me just tell you that when you are a mama raising adolescent boys the chances to connect can seem few and far between.

So today I am unwrapping the gift of choosing to insert myself in their lives, in their interests and making our relationship relevant.

Now I am actually excited about watching college basketball tonight!  Who would’ve thunk it?

This post is linked here.

You know you love your testosterone driven hubby and boys when:

• the cries of “doorknob” and subsequent running through (your much smaller than before, mind you) house doesn’t irritate you any more.
• you can tune out the noise of video games playing throughout the house 22 out of the 24 hours in a given day because the blowing snow and blizzard conditions have kept them indoors ALL DAY
• you go to make dinner and realize that the ingredients for the dish (that is on the menu that takes time for you to plan) have been eaten as an experiment for “what tastes good on Ritz crackers” so you just make omelets and move on
• you willingly put snow pants, gloves, hats and a bazillion pairs of socks in the dryer 20 times a day so that the boys can play in the snow (and go in and out and in and out and in and out) as many times a day as they want
• you lovingly prepare hot cocoa with mini marshmallows EVERY time they come in from going in and out and in and out of the snow.
• you put on your snow boots and get out your camera so they can show off igloos, snow tunnels and forts (that all really look the same but who am I to critique snow architecture?) most every time they go in and out and in and out to play in the snow
• you stop cringing when the doorbell rings, knowing that it is the neighborhood kids who will now join your boys in going in and out and in and out which just means more clothes in the dryer and more hot cocoa to serve

I love them, that is for sure, but if school gets canceled tomorrow I may very well lose my mind. 

As time goes by so quickly, I find that I have to be purposeful about finding activities and things to do with the boys for quality “mama/son” time.  There are so many external things vying for their attention at this age (friends, sports, technology and more).

So, today (and Monday) the boys are off of school for some type of EXTENDED Columbus day celebration…all week I have been thinking of things we could do together that would be fun.

Here is what is on the agenda (as well as prepare for Matt’s birthday party tomorrow, let Jared go on a haunted trail tour with his “girlfriend” and her family and visit with Jason on Sunday after church):

• Decorate the house for fall/Halloween
• Decorate pumpkins and gourds (carving, painting, crafting on the cute pumpkins- I will have to show after photos later)
• Baking some fall yummies (pumpkin bread, butterscotch cookies, apple crumb cake and whatever else we feel like baking up)
• Writing our Christmas wish lists
• Walking the doggies while taking pictures of the gorgeous West Virginia fall foliage

What do you do with your kids for fun?  How do you stay connected as a family?  Join us for Family Fridays at Home Ever After.