Happy Thanksgiving

From my family to yours... Happy Turkey Day!

Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

In honor of Thanksgiving, here is one of my favorite holiday side dishes.

Sweet Potato Rounds

1 stick of butter/marg, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup coconut
2 trays sweet potato rounds - found in the frozen food section, near the frozen meat

Combine the butter, brown sugar, pecans and coconut in small bowl to make crumbly mixture. Lightly spray an oven proof pan and place the sweet potato rounds in a single layer. Place a heaping spoonful of crumb mixture on top of each sweet potato round.

Bake in a 350 degree oven until the sweet potatoes are heated through. Approx. 20-25 minutes.

Blue Man Crew

Why do they always have to choose the blue sucker?

Wordless Wednesday

A Time for Giving

The Christmas season is upon us. Believe it or not, Thanksgiving is in just 9 days and soon to follow will be Christmas. Did the year just fly by or what? I truly love this time of year, all of the pretty lights, Christmas shows on TV, time spent with family, seeing the excitement in my girls eyes on Christmas morning and remembering the birth of Jesus. Now that the girls are getting older, Roy and I feel it is very important to teach them that giving is a very important part of life, especially at this time of year. Giving a gift is always more important than receiving, especially for those in need. Our charity of choice this year is Operation Christmas Child.

It is national drop off week at churchs and organizations all across the United States. My local Mops group that I belong to just completed 12 shoe boxes - 6 for boys and 6 for girls, ages 2 thru 14. It was such an awesome experience to see all of the toys, tolietries, candy, and school supplies all packed in those boxes. Mops is truly a wonderful organization and our group is always so giving. It is so nice to share God's love with others.

The girls and I spent the afternoon shopping for goodies for our shoe box we plan to drop off tomorrow. We purchased underwear, socks, hair clips, lip gloss, crayons, markers, a coloring book, glue, a slinkie (sp?), and a ton of candy. We also included a bunch of little toys and a pretty shirt.

We are preparing a shoe box for a girl, aged 2-4.

Caroline paking our box.
(Makenzie was taking a snooze.)

Our completed box ready to go.

All 13 boxes ready to be dropped off.
I wish we could be there when the children open their boxes.

Please go to http://www.samaritanspurse.org/ to find a drop off location near you.

Happy packing!!

Terrific Tuesday

I love Caroline's imagination - it's terrific.

Her great-grandpa Phil would be so proud, just like me.

Smokey the Bear

We had such a beautiful day yesterday. The weather was so nice, the sun was shining, and there wasn't a rain drop in sight. Roy and I took the girls to the local state park for a picnic, sight seeing and trail walking. All of the leaves have already fallen off of the trees but it was still so beautiful. I love taking in the sights the Lord created for us. All of His beauty surrounds us and we need to take time to enjoy it.

We took the girls on the "Friendly Trail" which is paved and has a little old house along the way that they love so much. Before you enter the trail there is a big sign with Smokey the Bear on it. I am sure you all remember who he is right? The forest fire bear. The last time we were there, I explained to Caroline what Smokey the Bear teaches about being the forest and preventing forest fires. When Roy asked her yesterday what Smokey the Bear teaches, her response was this... "He teaches you to smoke." I wish I could have seen the look on my face. We both replied with a chuckle and told her... "Smokey teaches you how not to start fires and that smoking is very, very bad". (Papaw are you reading this)

Wordless Wednesday

Fluff

Makenzie has really taken a desire to potty train these past few days. She is really doing a great job. She is still wearing diapers but tells me when she wants to go. Makenzie has developed quite a routine while in the bathroom. It goes a little something like this...

Put the potty seat on the potty. (we have a brand new pink "Princess" potty seat - she loves it.)

Pull down her pants.

Asks me to lift her up.

Hands on knees (so we don't touch the potty).

Concentrate, really, really hard.

Pee pee (or go yellow as we like to call it).

Clap her hands.

Give me a high-five.

Wipe.

And then.....Fluff.

Yes, I said fluff. She loves to fluff the potty.

I love these special moments, even if they revolve around the potty.