Our Thanksgiving

I trust each of you had a happy Thanksgiving! We had a very enjoyable time with Mark's family. His dad had lots of family in for the holiday, and we enjoyed visiting with all of them. I thought I would share a few pictures. (For some strange reason, we didn't take very many pictures. These pictures are mainly taken by Mark's sister Lauren.)

Cousin fun!


Enjoying a yummy Thanksgiving meal!


The kids had a blast picking up pecans. I loved this picture that Lauren took!


A skirt full!


Enjoying the fire


Fun times!


I love playing games! Anyone up for Mexican Train?


or Uno?


Friday we did some shopping - Antique shopping and a thrift store mostly. (We avoided all that mall stuff for the most part.) :) On Saturday, Mark's mom, Lauren, Mary (Mark's brother's wife) and I played Santa's elves - we decorated Mark's grandmothers' homes for Christmas!


So now we are back at home and in the process of putting up all our Christmas decor. (the tree lights have been a process this year.) Speaking of Christmas decor, if you are reading this in a blog reader, you may want to hop over and see my festive blog decor! :) Tomorrow begins the Days of Christmas!

Sunday Blessing

Lo, how a Rose e'er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse's lineage coming, as men of old have sung.
It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.

Isaiah 'twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind;
Mary we behold it, the Virgin Mother kind.
To show God's love aright, she bore to us a Savior,
When half spent was the night.

This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere;
True man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us,
And lightens every load.

from Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming
by Theodore Baker and Harriet Krauth Spaeth (Stanza 3)

Thanks to my sister, Angie, for letting me use her picture!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope each of you has a very special day with friends and family!! May we all remember Who we need to thank for all our many blessings! I know I have been exceedingly blessed!

What I'm enjoying today...

The last rose of fall. It's so pretty and smells wonderful too!!

Chari Tree Chat

I just wanted to share a little about my weekend... it was a busy one!! Recently, a very special little girl turned one! They grow so fast!! (Just a year ago...)

It was a joint party for all three girls. They all have birthdays in the fall. We had a fun time!!

Faithie will be three in Dec!

and as you remember, Gracie turned five a couple of months ago. (She didn't seem to mind waiting for her party.)

Of course, this one was the star of the show!! :)


I'm so thankful to have these sweet little girls in my life, and for their mommy, my friend, who shares their hugs with me! :)

(Little One was napping when this picture was taken.)

And yes, I did decorate all three cakes. (whew) It wasn't too bad, except I dropped the first one on my glass stove top. What didn't break was the 97 cent plate. (sniff) My stovetop is not the same!!

Wow, Thanksgiving is just two days away!! It seems like it should still be May! Next up is Christmas time! Such a special time of year!

(because of the Holiday, there will be no FOF this week. We will just put it off until next week... and have I got something cute to share!) :)

Sunday Blessing

Thanks to God for my Redeemer,
Thanks for all Thou dost provide!
Thanks for times now but a memory,
Thanks for Jesus by my side!
Thanks for pleasant, balmy springtime,
Thanks for dark and stormy fall!
Thanks for tears by now forgotten,
Thanks for peace within my soul!

Thanks for prayers that Thou hast answered,
Thanks for what Thou dost deny!
Thanks for storms that I have weathered,
Thanks for all Thou dost supply!
Thanks for pain, and thanks for pleasure,
Thanks for comfort in despair!
Thanks for grace that none can measure,
Thanks for love beyond compare!

Thanks for roses by the wayside,
Thanks for thorns their stems contain!
Thanks for home and thanks for fireside,
Thanks for hope, that sweet refrain!
Thanks for joy and thanks for sorrow,
Thanks for heav’nly peace with Thee!
Thanks for hope in the tomorrow,
Thanks through all eternity!

Thanks to God
by August L. Storm


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One thing that has stood out to me in this season of Thanksgiving is that we need to be thankful in all things. It is hard to be thankful for the thorns that life brings. It is so much easier to be thankful for the roses. But it is the hard times that help us grow and that help us reach out to others who are facing hardships. Yes, I have some thorns, one in particular that is ever so poignant - waiting for a child - but I choose not to dwell on sadness and during Thanksgiving and on through the holiday season I want to choose joy.


PS~ This is a new song for me, as it may be for many of you. I first found it while watching this sweet little film.

Fearless by Max Lucado

Many times in battling fear, we feel like we are the only ones facing certain things. In his book Fearless, Max Lucado helps us to face those fears and reassures us that with Christ there is no need to live in constant fear of man or events. Lucado points out that fear can be paralyzing, keeping us from accomplishing what God has for us. He gives Biblical foundations for combating fears.

This is a book I will definitely be revisiting. I really enjoy Lucado's style of writing. It is as if he is sitting in your living room, sharing and encouraging. He is also a master storyteller. The book was such an encouragement to me. It’s seems today’s society is so fearful, we hear so much about all the troubling things that are happening in the world. One of his main points was that as Christians we have a happy ending no matter what events may come our way in life. I loved this quote: "Everything will work out in the end. If it's not working out, it's not the end."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a blogger book review for Thomas Nelson publishers. (I have not received any monetary compensation for reviewing it. I have only received a copy of the book.) Has anyone else read this? I would love to hear your thoughts on the book!

Fall Tour - Mother-in-law Style!

Mark's mom has decorating down to an art form. Her home speaks hospitality from every corner. It's all so homey! She does a lot of seasonal decorating, and it's always so much fun to have a look around. I thought you all would enjoy a little tour as well! :)

First stop, the living room:
The cozy mantle.

Don't you love the message in the floral frogs? What a fun idea!

On to the dining room/kitchen:
Just an example of how a few little touches here and there make things look so festive! I love all the little pumpkins, and they are fake! :)

This is the coffee area (the coffee maker is at the left of the picture). The big pumkin holds the coffee and filters, and the cream and sugar containers hold... well.. cream and sugar of course! :)

Fun little decorations are stuck here and there and are so much fun to find!

Over the sink:

Going back to the living room to show just a fraction of her tea collection!

She loves teacups and pots!!

I hope you enjoyed the little tour! I have a wonderful Mother-in-law! My hubby's parents did a great job raising a wonderful man!! :)

Sunday Blessing

Wonderful, merciful Savior
Precious Redeemer and Friend
Who would have thought that a Lamb
Could rescue the souls of men.
Oh, you rescue the souls of men.

Counselor, Comforter, Keeper
Spirit we long to embrace.
You offer hope when our hearts have
Hopelessly lost the way.
Oh, we've hopelessly lost the way.

You are the One that we praise!
You are the One we adore!
You give the healing and grace
Our hearts always hunger for.
Oh, our hearts always hunger for.

Almighty, infinite Father.
Faithfully loving Your own.
Here in our weakness You find us
Falling before Your throne.
Oh, we're falling before Your throne.

from Wonderful, Merciful Savior
by Dawn Rodgers and Eric Wyse

(If your reading this in a blog reader be sure to click over to hear Selah's version of this in my Playlist!) :)

Little Pumpkins

I've done a little baking yesterday and today. I thought you might like a little "taste" of these pumpkin cookies! :) They are my Great Grandmother's basic sugar cookie recipe, with yummy homemade frosting. I've also made some of these yummy cookies. (They didn't all stay here, some of the cookies were for my Mom's piano teacher meeting. I like having a few cookies around, but we sure don't need tooo many!!) :)

Finished Object Friday

Time for another Finished Object Friday! :) I do enjoy seeing all your projects! But mine first, right?

I guess I did tease you a bit on my last post... I only showed this picture:

and didn't tell you what I made! :) Here is the next picture in the series:

Mark's mom has been wanting a Christmas apron for a while, so I decided to make her one for her birthday. She'll have plenty of time to use it. (and I am already imagining those tasty goodies right now!! YUM!) :)

I also made an apron for Mark's lovely sister. She just turned 19 (hard to believe) the last of October. Here she is opening her apron:

And Angie got a picture of her modeling it after noticing how perfectly it matched her sweater! :)

Maybe the fabric looks a little familiar? :)

Now for the fun part... time to share your projects! :) If you are just discovering FOF, click here for more info. Happy Friday, everyone!!

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The Fogleman Family - A very JOY - ful FOF Merry Christmas Canvas Pretty Papers

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Chari Tree Chat

I trust all of you had a good weekend! Ours was very good, though very busy.... Mark's mom turned 50 on Friday... (Happy Birthday, Mom!) :) We went up to help her celebrate and to help with the party Friday night.

The intent was to surprise her, but that is impossible. She just pretended she didn't know anything about it, and just went with the flow. :)
Here's the room all decorated:


The real surprise was a friend that drove up to see her. I love the look of joy! :)

The table was LOADED with yummy food!


Mom and her cake. (No, I didn't make this one. We went the easier way and ordered it from someone local to them.) :)


Opening gifts. (That's something I made her! Can you guess what it is?) :)


We had lots of fun! Then on Saturday more fun again. We did some shopping and went for "Grand Tea" in a downtown restaurant.


So much fun for us gals!! :)


Stay tuned for a fall home tour... Mark's mom does some beautiful decorating and I took some pictures to share with you all! :)

Sunday Blessing

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen.

The Littlest Knitter

You may remember Gracie's birthday present. I told you about when she opened it and saw the bag, but I didn't tell you her reaction to the other part of her gift! :)

"I didn't know you were giving me knitting stuff!!" :) (this little girl has the funniest expressions!)

As soon as I gave it to her, she wanted to start learning! (She's one smart little kid - with great coordination. That's why I thought she could handle knitting even at five.) So we set out to learn.

I ended up teaching her the English method. (You knitters know that I prefer Continental, but it was MUCH easier for her to see what she was doing.) It didn't take her long to get the hang of it, and by her second short lesson, she was pretty much on her own. (I do stay pretty close by, she gets frustrated really quickly.)

We did have a few motivational discussions. She wants everything to look just perfect from the first. Once she said, "Look, it has a bump!!" (Bigger loop than all the others.) I told her that it's ok for it to have some bumps, she is just learning. Besides that it is special because SHE made it, if a machine made it, it would be BORING! She liked that. :)

She started out making a blanket for her dolls. She likes to knit in church (a nice quiet project to keep kids occupied!) She'll come in to church and ask me "Did you bring that knitting?" Then sit beside me and knit. :) Monday she and Faithie stayed with me, and she decided she wanted to finish her project. We decided it was a scarf for her dolls.

She was tickled with finishing her first little project. She even helped me sew the ends together. (I did the casting off while she watched.)

I'm glad she enjoyed it, and I enjoyed teaching her! I hope she wants to do "that knitting" again soon! :)

Sunday Blessing

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

from A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
by Martin Luther

It's been almost 500 years since Martin Luther changed history... yesterday was Reformation Day!