Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

A Psalm For Giving Thanks

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Proclamation of Thanksgiving

As President, on October 3, 1789, George Washington made the following proclamation and created the first Thanksgiving Day designated by the national government of the United States of America:

“ Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Source: wikipedia

Thanksgiving Recipes

We are headed to my MIL for the Family Thanksgiving dinner this year. Here's what Im bringing to the party.


Pioneer Woman's Peach Crisp. This was my husband's request. I told him good luck finding fresh peaches this time of year. But he is determined!


Libby's Pumpkin Pie. Because its really the best! Especially when you add freshly made whipped cream!


And my favorite...Apple Pie. Which I don't have a recipe to share. Its all in my head, every time I make it I tell myself to write it down, and then the apples and cinnamon and sugar and dough all over take me and I forget!


Sweet Potato Casserole. I use this recipe with some of the changes that are mentioned in the reviews, like reducing the sugar a bit and I also still add the marshmallow along side the pecan topping like the picture above shows.


Im also bringing a basic salad and some potato skins as a appitizer. I hope to be eating around noon. We are going to try to visit some other family that afternoon, but we will see how things go. My MIL just had major surgery last week so Im not sure how much she will be up for. Having 6 grand kids running around all under the age of 7, 3 under the age of 3 will were on her Im sure.

Well I do hope everyone has a wonderful week and may your hearts and home be full of divine blessings on this Thanksgiving!

Frugal Friday- Being a One Income Family

We have been a one income family for over 3 years now. Before that I had a part time child care position at our church and prior to that I worked retail. I was happy when my husband and I decided that I would exclusively stay at home with the kids. At the time I was 5 months pregnant with Madi and picking up the kiddos at the church was getting increasingly difficult. A short time after Madi was born I toyed with the idea of getting a part time job again. But the LORD lead me to continue to devote 100% to my family and my home.
And its one of the best decision we have ever made.
I think every family can do it given the right set of tools.
What tools are needed to not only survive but thrive on one income you ask? Well here's my thoughts.

Let me preface this by saying the method of living on one income when you are a family of more then two, so a Dad, a Mom and child(ren) works best when you are following Jesus, and by following Jesus you are living or trying to live biblical. So you accept and embrace the roles GOD has defined for us. Real Men and Real woman are the ones who do best and thrive on one income (aside from the wealthy of course). So the tools that have worked for us-

1. Humility. You must humble yourself to let go of all the things that you think life should look like and hand it over to God. Be humble and ask for HIS help. You can't do it on your own. Staying at home day in and out with your children is trying at the very least and you can't do it without HIS help, period.

2. Get Organized. Not just financially, but through out your home. Recently we made about $900 on EBay from selling stuff that we discovered by simple organization of our stuff! There are tons and tons of great advice and help online to get you organized. If you need links let me know!

3. You have to be Disciplined! We could have very easily taken the earnings off EBay and bought any number of things we wanted. But instead we are saving it for things we need. And you have to be disciplined enough to say no to the things you want and smart enough to know the difference between things your need and things you want.

4. Wise. You have to be prudent and seek wise counsel not only from GOD but from others who you know have their stuff together when it comes to finances. Don't seek advice about how to structure your budget from a working parent of a two income household who is drowning in credit card debt! Go to someone who's been there where you are now, perhaps a fellow member of your church, or perhaps it your own Mom!

5. You must be deliberate, not hasty. When it comes to living on one income this is important. You cannot make hasty decisions when it comes to your money or your time. Talk it over before you buy anything or schedule anything. Once you work on a budget, your not just done with it. Its a continued process, just like your schedule. Your time must be handled carefully also. You may make the mistake of thinking because you will now be staying home, you'll have more time..trust me that couldn't be farthest from the truth. So consider your time spent carefully. Before you schedule that dance class for your daughter on a whim look carefully at what time of the day it falls...is it right around dinner time? Husband decides on a dime to have appetizers with the buddies after work without talking it over with you first? Things like that can really through a wrench in your schedule.

6. Full disclosure. Talk about everything with your spouse, everything. Even the lunch date you have with your girlfriends or the cute shirt you saw and thought about buying. Full and open disclosure of every cent spent is necessary when you are first starting out. Because see most people who have two incomes sometimes spend extra without really talking about it with their spouse simply because they think they can cover it with their income.

7. Stop being a consumer! Start being a producer! You must turn away from the old ways of figuring out how to get more stuff and start figuring out how to produce a meaningful and lasting legacy for your children and YES it can be done on ONE income. There are so many frugal ways to buy the stuff you need and even the occasional thing you want in a frugal manner where you don't have to break the budget and you will actually get ahead more so on one income then when there was two!

8. And this may be the most important yet the hardest one to do. Be CONTENT. Stop comparing your house to the one down the street. Stop wishing your had a newer car, or nicer clothes or a new pair of shoes. Just be content in whatever situation you have and live and make the most of it. Once you start doing that and maybe even trying to give some of it away you'll find that living on one income is so easy!

Oh and since you will be staying at home now...consider homeschooling those kiddos of yours huh?:) Okay did I go to far?? :)

Okay next Friday Im posting more about transitioning from a two income to a one income household. Come back y'all!

The Incredible Edible Egg!

Im so excited! My hens have finally started laying eggs! I went to close the coop door tonight and to my complete surprise there was a perfect light brown egg sitting in the nest! I didn't think I could be so happy over an egg! But I am:)

Husband is in Dallas tonight, so I made homemade Mac & cheese for dinner and we have chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven as I type. Once the girls go to bed Ill be finishing a peasant top that Im sewing for Madi. Its a wonderful cool evening:)

Happy Thursday everyone!

Works For Me Wednesday- Clothes pins

I have alot of clothes pins around my house and have found many ways that they come in handy.
There's a list here.

But my favorite uses are as a chip clip and to hold a towel around my kids for when they eat messy foods like spaghetti, works for me and my laundry!

Oh and if you want to get fancy, Iv seen people paint them with cool little flowers and bright colors! Neat, but I don't have time for that:)

Christmas Cards?

Done!

Happy Veterans Day!

Thank a Veteran today! And please keep our Soldiers in your prayers and thoughts each and everyday!
Rather they are abroad or at a base here in the states. Their everyday life is difficult and trying in many ways that the average American has no idea. And also pray for and thank those families who support our troops. Its not easy being a military spouse, I know this to be true.
So a big THANK YOU from our family to all our military and Veterans. I'd hug ya if I could!

Works For Me Wednesday

I recently read a post about the struggle to make Sunday the day of rest. The Sabbath day. Keeping that day Holy is difficult. Especially for Mom.
Between cleaning, cooking and caring for your family were does a loving Mom get her rest in?
Well here is what works for me.

1. Make Sunday meals simple. One pot meal for the big meal, rather that be Lunch or Supper. Also known as Dinner and supper 'round these parts:)
The crock pot is my best friend on Sundays. Chili is the one thing that seems to work the best. You can throw in in the morning, it will be ready by the time you get home from Church and you can do a variety of things with it. Chili dogs, Frito pie, or just keep it simple and serve it with some crackers.

2. To reduce dishes...use paper. I know not very fancy,but we are looking to reduce our work load here!

3. Dress simply. Keep you clothes and your kids clothes easy. Casual dress but no jeans is usually the rule for me and my kids. And I stay away from things that need to be ironed, and if it does I do it the night before. Plus lay the clothes out the night before so your not searching through the closets that morning. Oh and let the kids dress themselves if at all possible!

4. Because we are a home school family and get to do whatever makes us happy:) LOL
We do a 4 day school week and leave Mondays as our chill day. Another words Monday is the day mommy catches up on the things that didn't get done on Sundays. The girls usually do crafts and art, watch movies and play on Mondays.

5. Keep things in perspective. I know for me I can look around the house by Sunday afternoon and just be disgusted at the amount of mess there is. I mean I just cleaned yesterday! But really its because my house gets lived in, the kids play, we eat, we hang out together and focus on our family and the Lord on Sundays not rather or not the kitchen is clean.

And it works for me!

Run the Earth, Watch the Sky...: Homeschooling: Part Two - Radical discipleship

I read this today and it really sums up why we homeschool-

This is reason #1 why we are planning to homeschool: I believe that God has given us a job that takes 24 hours a day. Will my children have the whole Bible memorized? Probably not. But making learning and living the Scripture a centerpiece of their years in our home is something I believe wholeheartedly that we must do - and it will take tremendous effort and time.runwatchplaywait.blogspot.com, Run the Earth, Watch the Sky...: Homeschooling: Part Two - Radical discipleship, Aug 2009

You should read the whole article.

My Favorite time of the year!

Hands down this is my Favorite time of the year! November and December are glorious months for me:) It didn't always use to be like that. I use to not be such a fan. But once my first child was born something clicked. Its like "gee these are the memories Im making for my children". Me being a scrooge or just letting all the commercialism control me, that is what my kids will remember. Its taken me a few seasons to get my holiday attitude under control, but its a work in process. This year we will have a country handmade Christmas for the most part. I made my husband promise me that he would not under any circumstances let me go out on black Friday! We are doing the "want, need, wear, read" idea this year for the kiddos. Each of them will get something that falls into each of those categories plus a Santa gift:) Im going to make PJ's for them as the "wear" item. And Im thinking a kids cookbook for Cheyenne as her "read" gift.
I have my BFF taken care of and Im going to make and mail her cookies too:)
Last year I made these and they shipped and kept very well!
What about y'all, do you have any great ideas for simple yet lovely Christmas gifts?

Oh goodness, I just realized I made a Christmas post and its not even Thanksgiving yet!