Pass Around the Coffee and the Pumpkin Pie



What a joy this holiday season has been, and it's just getting started! We delighted in spending time with loved ones as we celebrated Thanksgiving, though there were still many who I missed dearly and would have loved to have seen on that special day! We have been so blessed to be able to savor the scrumptious dishes that the holidays have to offer, but among our favorites, as it nearly goes without saying, are the pies. From chocolate pecan to traditional pecan and then to pumpkin, we have enjoyed these sweet pastries beyond words. Perhaps among our favorite memories so far this holiday season is simply grabbing a slice of pie in the afternoon and sitting in our living room, basking in the light of our twinkling tree and Christmas garland. What a joy, what a comfort the sweetness of holiday traditions brings as we cherish the memories of times past and delight in the making of new ones. So it is with the fondness of recollections that I think of our girls and I, as we sit together in our family room, cherishing the last bites of our pie, listening to Christmas music selections a little too loud, playing with our stable horses and brushing their riders' hair, lingering a bit too long before we need to continue on with our afternoon tasks, that I say,"Pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie."

There's a happy feeling
Nothing in the world can buy
When they pass around the coffee
And the pumpkin pie
It'll nearly be like a picture print
By Courier and Ives
These wonderful things are the things
We'll remember all through our lives
These wonderful things are the things
We'll remember all through our lives

-Sleigh Ride 

A Scentsible Indulgence

Our girls and I enjoyed an afternoon of shopping at one of my favorite stores today, and I was delighted to pick up these new Scented Envelope Sachets from Greenleaf! I am so in love with these that I could not help but share the news of them with you! And I must add that I am not recommending these lightly because I am oh-so-choosy when it comes to fragrances. Just the wrong scent and I can think of almost nothing else but fresh air, but just the right scent, and I am trying to find out just how to purchase it! And to top it all off, these were only about three dollars per packet. Merry Memories and Velvet Woods are a definite must-have!

Thanksgiving with Little Ones

What a beautiful holiday this is! What a time for thanksgiving it is as we remember those who, long ago, made that courageous journey across the Atlantic to begin a new life in this wonderful land. There are some things that I just simply want our children to know as they grow older, things that they can't remember learning, really, just things that they have always known. This is one of those things. I want them to know about the first Thanksgiving and how it came to be. So here's a look at what we've been doing of late...

Playing with Our Little People Thanksgiving Celebration Set

 We love this new Little People Thanksgiving Celebration set! We found a great price on it through Fisher-Price, and, combined with their free shipping offer, we were able to tack this purchase on to some Christmas finds for very little. This was worth every penny!

Enjoying a Cornucopia Filled with Play Food

 We found this one at Michaels, which, when combined with our coupon that we downloaded ahead of time from their website, made this a reasonably-priced purchase.

Having Fun with Crafts

We found the idea for this pinecone turkey at Enchanted Learning. The food collage was also a fun activity for our three-year-old. 

Snuggling up with Good Books

An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott, Illustrated by Jody Wheeler

The Pilgrims' First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern, Illustrated by Elroy Freem

This First Thanksgiving Day: A Counting Story by Laura Krauss Melmed, Illustrated by Mark Buehner

and Eating!

We have enjoyed a number of festive treats, including a snack of popcorn with goldfish, since both popcorn and fish were served at the first Thanksgiving! We've also enjoyed eating our pumpkin and pecan pies. What a delight it is to indulge in just a small piece (and small is relative I might add!) of pumpkin pie with our three-year-old in the middle of the afternoon! Even our 9-month old enjoyed the teeniest of tastes of this beloved holiday treat!

At her request...

I am jotting down the sweetness of our three-year-old's kiss upon my ear. How sweet and tender are her "soft" kisses on my ear. I love just how her chubby little cheeks feel, so rosy and so sweet. How she loves a few extra moments with Mommy and Daddy just to herself. How she loves to "hide" with Daddy just before bedtime, just so her little sister and I can find her. What tenderness, joy, love, and sweetness fill your precious soul, my little sweetheart!

Sweet are the days

Loving this weekend filled with the delights of

Saturday morning French toast and Sunday afternoon lunches,

 princess dresses, princess songs, and princess shoes,

baby giggles and big sister hugs, 

cuddling with my hubby and snuggling with our little ones as they drift off to sleep.

Loving these days...

Betsy Ross in the Fall

 This is why I love homeschooling... because it was not Flag Day, President's Day, or Independence Day. It was, on this truly special day with our precious little girls, just in all actuality, an ordinary day. Learning about Betsy Ross was the occasion on this seemingly typical day.

I love to browse through the children's section at our local library, sometimes searching for something in particular, but more often just trying to uncover those special literary treasures that might make their way into the little hands that work and play here. Recently, then, I selected Betsy Ross by Alexandra Wallner (I am in love with this collection of historical books, by the way! A Picture Book of Helen Keller, written by David A. Adler and illustrated by John & Alexandra Wallner, was also a recent favorite.).

So Betsy Ross was, on this particular day, a welcome guest in our home. And it was, much to my delight, that our concidental afternoon of beginning a sewing project further illuminated the life of this notable woman. Our oldest enjoyed cutting out her stars for a lovely flag (and there are only four, instead of 13, as you may note, since there are only four people in our family... that is why I love this little girl!).

She delighted in the patriotic festivities that surrounded this most ordinary day as she learned a bit of our nation's history. What a joy it is to begin teaching these little ones of the rich history surrounding this wonderful country. And how fulfilling it will be to learn more and more of this over the years, Lord willing. But for now, I will let these little tidbits of our country's past rest upon their hearts and in their minds as they develop an appreciation for the happenings of long ago, learning, as we would have it, these events in light of God's power over all things.

I was just thinking...