I am THANKFUL...

Last night we played "I am thankful for..." with the kids.

They had no interest in it until we said that whoever could name the blessings "wins."

Here are some things that we are thankful for:

Caitlin: My family.  Without question.  I am so grateful for my husband and my kids.  I have a husband who comes home after a long day at work to help me paint signs and take care of kids.  I have 3 gorgeous kids who I love to pieces and I am so grateful to be their mom!

Nate:  Having a job.  In a scary economy, I am grateful that Nate has a job too.  I have big dreams of one day getting a better job (LOL) but at least he has a job. 

Saxon:  Brothers and the whole world. :)

Bridger: Big Blue.  (Big blue is our minivan.  We are all soooo grateful to have Big Blue.  After squishing all three kids into a tiny car for almost a year, we were so grateful when we saved up enough to be able to afford a down payment on Big Blue.  The color wouldn't have been my first choice, but we it makes for a fun nickname).

Dalton:  I'm pretty sure he loves having big brothers.

As our game went on, our list of blessings became more and more obscure.

It was fun to remember things that we often forget to be thankful for.

Bridger told us that he is thankful that he can poop in the potty.

I am thankful that he can poop in the potty too LOL.

As the game ended, Saxon declared that "the boys team wins!!!"

Since I am the only girl in the house, I guess I didn't stand a chance :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

More Thanksgiving Ideas

Last year we had my husband's family over for Thanksgiving.

 Before I tell you about the decorations, let me explain our situation:

Nate and I live in a two-bedroom townhouse with three children.

There is barely enough room for us...much less company.

When it was proposed that we host Thanksgiving at our house, I was a little overwhelmed.

We had to move the furniture out of our family room to accommodate the tables and chairs that we had to rent.  It was a very tight squeeze.

I was responsible for all of the food, and my sister-in-law, Brooks, offered to bring all of the decorations and place settings.

When she showed up with the decorations, I was in awe...

It was beautiful beyond anything I could have come up with 

and I wanted to share her ideas with all of you because they are inspiring...

Each place setting was marked with a photo place card.

The kids had their own table, and their plates were those hard plastic plates that look like glass, but won't break if they are dropped.  Genius.  Because of course, a few were dropped.

Each table had a white table cloth with an organza overlay.

She brought all of her own dishes and silverware and place settings from Las Vegas.

Brooks and I both agree that Thanksgiving is a formal holiday, and we wanted to avoid paper products.  She even included on the invitations "smart casual dress requested" so that everyone would come prepared for a beautiful dinner.

For the center pieces, she cut the top off of a foam pumpkin.

She put the brown glitter candle, tied with a green ribbon, in the pumpkin.

Each pumpkin sat on a wreath of twigs and berries.

Each place setting had a chocolate truffle with a Thanksgiving quote.

She put a different quote on every single truffle.

After dinner we all read our quotes to each other.

The kids loved it because it was like getting a fortune cookie :)

Isn't she amazing?

I hope her creativity inspired you as much as it inspired me.

Thanks Brooks!

DIY Thanksgiving Decorations

Growing up, Thanksgiving was a formal holiday.

My Grandma's house was always decorated exquisitely, the food was gourmet, and we always dressed up in honor of the holiday.

Even though I live away from my family, I want to keep our traditions alive.

I make all of the food from scratch, I decorate, and we all dress up...even though it's just us...eating dinner together as a family.

I've been experimenting with some ideas for Thanksgiving Decorations that are simple, pretty, and affordable.  Money is always tight around here, so I try to use supplies that I already have.

1.  Burlap Table Runner

This one if very simple.  I cut a piece of burlap the length of the table.  Then I tied both ends with a ribbon.  I left the edges raw because I like the natural look of the burlap.

2.  Corn Kernel Tea Light

I saw this idea on pintrest and I loved it!  I used an ice cream dish that I already had, and filled it with popcorn kernels.  Then I put a tea light in it.  That's it.  Sometimes the simplest things are the prettiest.

3.  Painted Pumpkins

I still have several garden pumpkins that we didn't carve for Halloween.  I painted two of them white.  

For the small one, I just painted it white and then distressed it, so the orange pumpkin was showing through the white paint.

For the large one, I painted it white and then cut out the letters "Give Thanks" and some leaves and glued it on.  Until Thanksgiving, it's going to sit on my front porch :)

4.  Ribbon Napkin Ring

This was a last minute idea, but I like how it tuned out.  I don't have a matching set of napkin rings, so I just tied ribbon around the napkins.  It added a fun pop of color to the place settings.

5.  Thanksgiving Vinyl

I ordered this Thanksgiving vinyl off of Groopdealz a while back and finally decided to make something with it.  Vinyl is fun because it is so easy!

How do you celebrate Thanksgiving?