Mission Accomplished...

I finished the table runners I was making to sell at the tearoom. And a few wonderwallets. And while we were at it, we made some tree ornaments. And some earrings and bracelets... and my Mom made these adorable little pinafore aprons, and tons of napkins. I even made some redhat postcards! Imagine that. I dropped everything off this afternoon and the owner of the gift shop couldn't have been happier. And now it's back to everyday life. ahhh....

I love this time of year. Winter is waiting to drop it's white mantle upon the fields- we had our first "stick" last night. The children were ecstatic- so much fun to see it falling down and covering the ground and frosting the trees- makes the winter worthwhile. We moved into our house 7 years ago, today. We spent our first night here, on the kitchen floor- all the children on pallets on the floor around us. We had so much to be thankful for. Our Thanksgiving table was some plywood on a couple 50 gallon drums. It was really lovely. Such sweet memories. Thursday is my favorite day of the week- I can't say why, but the fact that Thanksgiving comes on a Thursday, every year, makes it a near perfect holiday in my book. It will be a quiet holiday. Dh Bill will bring his mom over and we'll have a turkey with all the trimmings. Last year I must have cooked 7 desserts. This year, we'll cook 4 pumpkin pies- keeping it simple. A quiet day at home surrounded by my favorite 9 people.

I am planning a surprise breakfast for the children on Wednesday- all of their favorite foods. Pancakes and bacon and creamed tomatoes and biscuits, applebutter(thank you Grandmother) and orange juice with gingerale. Scrambled eggs and fried potatoes. Sausages and croissants and coffee cake. And strawberries. I am so excited. Joe(16) is going to help me keep the little ones out of the kitchen while I cook. I want to set the table with my best china and linens(thanks Grandmother!) Yes, I'll be up early, but seeing as I get up at 3:30 am anyway... and I have something else to celebrate. Bill is changing his work schedule so we will be able to sleep in until 5:30, after this week! Who would have thought there would ever be a day when I would be thankful for the chance to sleep in until 5:30am? See? Life has a way of changing your perspective. Even when things seem a little dismal and bleak... I am just so amazed at the riches of His grace. Another year of happy memories of precious family and loved friends- even some new friends, here.