Our Thanksgiving...

was one of the best that I can ever remember. There was just something different about it this year...hmm...maybe it is because I wasn't smack dab in the middle of a school year. That could be it...I am a year older? Maybe...or maybe I am just feeling more and more thankful these days.

So...it was an action packed week...my husband has been traveling (but home on the weekends) for about six weeks...so we were ready for him to be home. Brittany had to teach last Monday...so we did all of our shopping for our festivities on Tuesday...brought it all home, put it away and decided to decorate the outside of our house for Christmas while the weather was still fairly mild. White lights now adorn our bushes...do you know that I have never, not even as a child decorated the bushes in front of my home for Christmas? We have decorated our tree and our porch and our door but finally my bushes are big enough to decorate! Can you tell I am excited? A wreath along with picket fence Santa that we made one year ( I think Brittany was 4)when our money was a little tight adorn our front door.

Wednesday came and I was up and ready to do all the work I could in my kitchen so that I could just enjoy Thanksgiving. I even managed to learn a little bit...did you know if you find yourself one pie pan short you can use a cast iron skillet? I have to say...my pumpkin pie looked very pretty in that old skillet too. I figured that in my grandmother's day...she made use of what she had...so that is my new philosophy...another thing...I realized right in the middle of mixing my pumpkin pie that I forgot to buy the evaporated milk...much to my surprise I was pleasantly surprised that others on the internet have forgotten to buy it too...so I used my skim milk and it came out just fine. So, ladies...if your ever in a pinch...you can use regular milk in your pumpkin pie. I think that is pretty handy tip...you just never know.

All in all...I was so organized...that after dealing with the turkey I basically just had to load up the oven as need and everything came out perfect. I was able to sit and enjoy my family. We had a full table of 7 this year...which is a full table for us. My mom, us, my brother and my nephew (5) and niece (2). Have I mentioned just how much I love the sound of children in my home?

We spent the day just being together...playing wii, we watched Robin Hood...and Brittany had lots of play time with her little cousins. At one point we were all together in our living room...and I had to think that my dad just had to be smiling down from heaven at all of us as we have made it 4 years without him...never forgotten my dad. We miss him so.

Be Blessed!

Joyce Marie

It's that time of year again...

I just can't believe it...another Thanksgiving is literally right around the corner. Where did this past year go I wonder.

Anyway...my turkey is resting comfortably in my kitchen sink full of cold water. I have a couple of pies to bake, and some bread. A few things to tidy up before the big day...but I am so looking forward to spending it with my family.

So...off I go to get to work and make some "magic" happen in my little kitchen...

From my family to yours...I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Joyce Marie

Catching up...

I know, I know...I have been gone so long and my entries have been so thready that I fear that my bloggy friends have given up on me...but here I am. The week before Thanksgiving and so excited for that yummy turkey and all that goes with it. I am cooking again this year...my new role since my dad passed. I don't mind...it doesn't feel like such a big task to me and I am really trying to just keep it simple.

Lets see...since the last time I wrote...things have calmed down...my husband has been on the road non stop and Brittany is adjusted to her job and is really beginning to enjoy her classes. As for me? I am just enjoying life as it is. If you had asked me a year ago...what life after homeschooling would be like...I probably would have just looked at you with eyes brimming (just a bit) of tears, melancholy as I was and shrugged my shoulders. Today, I can assure you that for this house anyway...things are pretty much the same except that now I have this new found freedom that I am just beginning to embrace. Brittany has a slight schedule...Monday and Friday evenings and Saturdays until noon...so we have a wide gap of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to fill and I have to say...we are having so much fun! I am enjoying this season of my life immensely. During her graduation period...many asked me...what are you going to do now? Of course then, I was still shrugging my shoulders. Many people live their lives moving from one thing to another. Freeing up one activity only to fill it with something else. That is great for them...but that just isn't me. After being "tied down" with school for so long...I didn't want to jump into anything that would fill my time before I just had a chance to catch my breath, and relax a little. So, I guess this is where I am. I enjoy waking up in the morning just before dawn, taking my fur kids out, making coffee, praying and reading my Bible. Then I pick up the house or put some laundry in...and the rest of the day is mine. It is quite lovely, really.

And...this year, I am actually looking forward to the winter months as I plan on bringing out my sewing machine and maybe sewing a quilt. The possibilities are endless.

Our family began looking for a new church home in September...while we really liked our church there was a gap between high school and being a professional for Brittany. Maybe because the area is pretty affluent and all the kids go away to college? Not sure! We couldn't really figure it out and Brittany is mentally done with high school so we began looking for a church with a college age group that she could attend. We feel it is really important for her to have a place to plug into as she matures these next years. It is scary out in the real world...and she needs a place to be. We settled on the second church on our list and it has been an amazing change for all of us. The congregation is friendly, the teaching is wonderful and Brittany no longer feels like the "new" girl in her group. It has been a great move for us...and this church feels like home.

Today...I'll be making my shopping list and grocery shopping for the week and Thanksgiving...plus we want to put out our Christmas lights as it is a warm day today and we have a promise of cold weather by weeks end. So, I better get to it...


Joyful Blessings!

Joyce Marie