Snow on the Pumpkin

Good morning! We awoke to a couple of inches of snow today. A "smidgen" compared to counties east of here--some with 8 or more inches of snowfall. I'd love to show you the snow-capped pumpkin on our deck that Nathan and Kristen brought over for our lively resident squirrel family to feed on. I'd love to show you that, but the memory card failed in my camera last week and we haven't replaced it yet. So you will have to use your imagination today:)

We had a wonderful family gathering on Thanksgiving. All of our family was here except our son and daughter-in-law, Ben and Lisa who live in Pittsburgh. We look forward to seeing them at Christmas! They are about four months away from becoming first-time parents to our first grand-daughter Sophia. Yes, she is already named:) I'll save the rest of her beautiful name to share with you when she is born. Ben and Lisa hosted their first Thanksgiving in their home with friends from the university that Ben attends.

At our house on Thursday were Amanda (our high school senior), Jonathan-(home from college in Milwaukee),Daniel and Jess and little Sam (from Milwaukee), Nathan and Kristen (Sun Prairie), Tim (Madison), and three of Tim's friends from Madison- Rachel (Northern Ireland), Kierstie (whose parents are missionaries in Indonesia), and Chelsea (Michigan).

Our Thanksgiving meal was in the evening, which gave plenty of time for conversations in the living room, watching movies downstairs in the family room by fireplace, and working together in the kitchen. Nathan brought his, now famous, homemade pumpkin pies. Jess made a delicious veggie bake and a spinach and strawberry salad, and her great bean dip. Kristen brought cranberry sauce and also helped with various projects in the kitchen including putting the green bean casserole together. Rachel, Kierstie and Chelsea brought delicious pumpkin bread!

Daniel was a tremendous help with carrying things for me- and saving me lots of steps. He also peeled ten pounds of potatoes with his dad. The turkey turned out tender and juicy- and we had quite a feast!:) Almost ran out of room on the island for all the serving dishes. We are thankful for our blessings.

I have to add my love and appreciation for Tim, who spent several hours getting the house ready for Thursday. We had been working with purging storage and clothing for Goodwill and he helped clear that away and make the space in our family room livable again:) Thanks Tim!! Amanda and Jonathan also helped in sprucing up the place.

This was Sam's first time joining us at the table for a meal. I had the privilege of sitting by him and enjoying his ever-expanding vocabulary. I wish I had a picture of that:)

We have been pulling out the left-overs all weekend. I love cooking for one day and not cooking for three:) But we are ready to move on--although if you have a good turkey soup recipe, let me know--I froze the turkey bones and want to try it.

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving and as we prepare in this new month to celebrate our Savior coming to earth to give us eternal life-- I pray that we keep this gratitude in our hearts for our blessings, and what He did for us and does for us each day.

Merry Christmas

Giving Thanks- Thanksgiving Day Menu

I am joining the ~Giving Thanks~ celebration this week. Monday through Thursday we are sharing as we prepare for Thanksgiving. Stop by Kelli's and see what others are up to this week. Or join in the fun by signing onto Mr. Linky and share how you are preparing for this special holiday.

Here are some things you could share:

-What you are thankful for
-Thanksgiving traditions and memories
-Recipes
-Crafts
-Decorating ideas
-Your menu
-Cleaning/Organizing "before" and "after" pictures
-Anything having to do with Thanksgiving!



Here is my Thanksgiving Day Menu:


Appetizers:
Cheese ball and Crackers
Veggies and Dip



Dinner:
Turkey

Dressing

Mashed Potatoes/ Gravy

Rolls and Butter

Green Bean Casserole

Corn

Mandarin Orange Salad


Dessert:
Pumpkin Pie/Whipped Cream



This is my original menu and usually additional delicious side dishes are brought in by my beautiful daughters-in-law. I love that because it gives a taste of their favorite foods and we learn about traditions from their families, too. It is all about making and sharing memories with our families and friends during the holidays. The favorite foods become intertwined with our experiences with each other. It brings great comfort to us to remember the love and joy that we feel as we gather on this special occasion to thank God for supplying us with all that we have. Our family, homes, food,clothes, and all the extras that are our bounty.

Sunday With Lisa and Family

(Miranda, Jess, Daniel, Tim, Nathan- Lon (dark hair)& Jonathan (blonde hair)

We have had so much fun recently with Sunday get-togethers! Last Sunday we were so happy to have our daughter-in-law, Lisa, here - all the way from Pittsburgh. (Sorry- Lisa was cut out of lunch photo, but here she is holding Sam!) She had come home for a friend's wedding. It is the first time we have been together since Lisa and Ben gave us the wonderful news that they are expecting a baby in March! So exciting! Ben had to remain at home for this trip and we looking forward to seeing him at Christmas! Love you Ben!!


Lisa holding Sam

Lisa and Jess's good friend, Miranda, from Madison was able to join us also. This felt like old times of when Miranda would join us for those "KFC and Collier Tea" Sunday lunches. She was one of the UW-Whitewater students whom we met when Ben and Daniel would bring friends home after church. (See my "funky chicken" blog for details:) It was so good to see her again.

Also joining us was Daniel, Jess and little Sam from Milwaukee. Grand-dad and Grammy are happy with any time we can spend with Sam. He demonstrated his new skills at walking for us and of course we were amazed! He is also talking more -"hey buddy"! He is such a happy little boy, with the greatest smiles. Honestly, we love spending time with his mom and dad too!!

Jonathan, our son,who is a student at UW-Milwaukee, was able to put studying aside for a little while and ride along with Daniel and Jess for the day. We are always happy when he can break away for a weekend visit home! It was so nice to have the family together again.

Nathan and Kristen from here in Sun Prairie arrived also. Even though we live in the same town, seems like we see too little of them. Life gets so busy. We are going to have to remedy that:) Kristen is a manager at a local retail store and is also taking some classes. Nathan is an avid biker and bikes to work year round 5-6 miles each way. He also bikes into Madison just for fun.

Tim,rode his "new" bike from Madison to Sun Prairie. This was the maiden voyage on his bike and quite an undertaking. After some initial doubts on Tim's part (a call 20 minutes into the ride) of whether he could make it, Amanda and Nathan were sent out in the van to help. But Tim persevered and made the entire trip successfully (a 45 min. ride)! As Tim appeared at our front door, I hummed the "Rocky" theme song for him as he climbed the stairs to the living room:)




For lunch I served lasagna - one with meat and the other with zuccini squash. Also, with side dishes of corn, green salad and cantaloupe. For dessert, there was peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. And of course, iced tea and lemonade. To avoid elbows bumping, Lon had brought in an extra table. Kristen and Amanda graciously volunteered to sit at, what is commonly called the "kids' table", although, not kids at all-- they are two classy young ladies:)
Table for two...



As September was winding down, we were in awe of the beauty of this autumn day-- A great setting for making endearing memories with family and friends.