It's the most wonderful time...

Okay, so it is nearly Christmas, but here it is just getting to my big charity crop planning time. The crop is January 12th, so I am in full swing planning mode and I really do enjoy it. This is what it looked like last year:

this year, I am hoping that we will have to beg, borrow and nearly steal to have enough seats for everyone that wants to come. So, if you are a scrapper and you are close to me-just email me for more information! There was a lot of creative energy in that room and such a sweet spirit. I am hoping to have another presentation this year of what our work-crew did last year in Mississppi.

So, as I continue to give thanks for all my many blessings, I am also grateful for the opportunity to host this crop! Hope to see you there!

every good and perfect gift..

 
This year has changed the life of my whole family. 6 months ago today, we bought our first house, this house that now feels like home. Before we bought the house, I was so weary from living at our old, rented place. Couldn't wait to get out after living there for 6 long years. I was so glad when we finally closed the door on that house and that part of our lives; that was certainly a literal ending to what was figuratively a long and exhausting wait and struggle to get to this point.
Now that we are here, in this home that I love, I can hardly remember living anywhere else. I was so unhappy being there and am now completely content and often, still, thrilled with our house. Sometimes, especially when I am walking in the upstairs hallway, I remember when I first came to look at this house and I could immediately picture us living here. I feel so blessed to have this home, so grateful for this amazing gift. There are so many beautiful moments in this home, I am constantly reminded to be humble and grateful for being here.
So, my concrete things in this home that I am grateful for:
a really big sink with the cool faucet
the front porch
high ceilings
the pretty walk along the side of the house
21 windows and 3 skylights
wood floors
the dining room I worked so hard on and now is so cozy
a finished basement for all the kids' stuff
the kids having their own rooms
being close enough for the girls to walk to school
the bay window in the living room
the woodwork, especially the staircase
the feeling of coming home to ourveryownhome every single day

it's november

So, I am celebrating this November, apparently, by scrapping photos from last November. This is one of the layouts I made on Saturday when I spent the day with some great friends, just talking, laughing, snacking, and scrapbooking. It had been so long since I had even pulled out my supplies, but it was such a fun day and it felt so good to create a little. Being in the company of that group of women is always rejuvenating for me.
I just realized this morning that next week is Thanksgiving and I haven't even begun my Thanksgiving list. We hold this tradition near and dear in our home. Our pastor started it, handing the kids a cute piece of paper a few years ago, simply title "Thanksgiving List" and instructing them to complete that list before they even beging their Christmas list. My kids are always amazed when they hear about other kids making their wish lists well before Thanksgiving!
In the spirit of gratitude, I will begin my list here.
I am thankful for:
my home
my mother's improving health
my family, big and small
answered prayer
my husband who drags me out of bed much too early to have coffee with him before he goes to work
Gabe having such cute manners, like holding doors for me
Julianna being able to read chapter books and feeling so good about it
Cecilia's talent with clarinet and the joy she finds in playing it
the love my parents have for each other
coffee
friends
my new slipper socks
learning to knit
creativity
heat on a cold morning
our wood floors

There's a start, I will keep adding.