Here’s my Lydia in her first Thanksgiving play at our awesome hybrid-school. Wearing her grandmother’s velvet dress, cuffs and collar and bonnet made by moi and that adorable, sweet smile is all her own!

The best part of the play is that they let all the siblings who were in school (older brothers and sisters in different grades) miss class to see the play, too. Is that a school that loves family or what?! The room was filled to the brim with moms, dads, siblings, grandmothers, grandfathers and more. It was the sweetest.

Thankful, indeed!

Things That Wouldn’t Happen if We Exclusively Homeschooled is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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After Thanksachristmas yesterday, the kids slept late. After we officially woke up, Lydia and I made pumpkin muffins from Trader Joe’s, played with her new barnyard playdough, Les is reading Asa a story before his first nap and we’re about to watch the parade!

I hope your Thanksgiving is beginning as wonderfully as mine!

Happy Thanksgiving! is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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Les’ sister and family are in town for Thanksgiving. But since they are missionaries to Mexico, they are only in the states for a short time. They won’t be here for Christmas. So guess what that means? Christmas AT Thanksgiving! Yahoo! Tomorrow we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving AND Christmas with Les’ family. I’m so excited!

Les’ mom is making turkey, dressing and gravy…which is like the best southern thing you’ve ever had in your life. I’m bringing green bean casserole and some yummy corn. Plus, a cheeseball and some peppermint Oreo cookies. (I know, it’s bad when you think Oroes is a real dessert. But they are ridiculously good.)

Last Sunday after church, we hit up Toys R US, Old Navy and the used CD store (Les’ fave) for Christmas presents. I’m one of those week of Christmas kinda shoppers, so it’s fun to have some little presents hidden around our house already.

Les is off today and we’re going to stay home to cook and wrap presents. (Oh, and I might go get my haircut. Not Christmasy, but oh! will it feel good!) Merry Happy Christmas Thanksgiving!

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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Why I Didn’t Have Time To Post Today is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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When we were Children’s Pastors in Birmingham, I wrote a two week lesson about Thanksgiving. It was entitled, “Thanks and Giving”. I have no idea what it entailed. But the title always stuck with me. (Did I make that title up? Or did I steal it? I hope I made it up. It’s catchy.) I want my Thanksgiving season to be filled with THANKS and GIVING.

So, this year, I am trying to do the same with Lydia. Last week we did GIVING. Our church collected 12 tons of canned food for a local charity. We gave about 8 of those cans. We made a very big deal about collecting and giving those cans to the people that needed it. (You can see the pics here.) Lydia was so excited and proud to bring her canned veggies to church!

This week is THANKS. So, to help Lydia focus on being thankful, we made a Thankful Countdown Turkey. Creative title, huh? And it just so happens to be a great craft to link up with the Fall Impressions carnival Leigh and I are hosting over at our blog, Impress Your Kids! (Was that a great commercial or what?!)

First I cut a huge piece of brown craft paper. (That was the best purchase ever. It’s like 300 yards long. I’m going to have it forever!) Then a little bowling pin shaped turkey body.  I let Lydia cut out the beak and I cut out the gobble. We glued on some wiggly eyes and our turkey was ready!

Then, I cut out fourteen feathers from assorted colored construction paper.

But we didn’t glue ANY of the feathers to our turkey. We chose one feather and I asked Lydia, “What are you thankful for? What do you really like that you could say thank you for?” She said, “I like flowers.”

So, I wrote flowers. She drew some great flowers..er, uhm some colored lines.

Then we attached it to our turkey and then hung the whole thing up on the wall.

Over the next 13 days, we’re going to pick a feather each day and write down something we’re thankful for on each one. By the time Thanksgiving arrives, our little turkey will be sporting some beautful feathers and we’ll have documented everything we’re thankful for!

Hopefully, Lydia gets the gist of it. I’m excited to see our little turkey and it’s thankful feathers grow!

(To see more fun Thanksgiving-ish crafts, visit Impress Your Kids. And if you’ve got a cool craft to share, link up!)

***

don’t forget about my giveaways: tummy time safari, $50 to bn.com, anthropologie s&p shakers and a shutterfly print pack.
I’m going to announce the winners on Saturday…or Sunday…soon.

Thanks & Giving is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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We’re having our Thanksgiving celebration with my family today. So, Lydia and I got up nice and early to make Green Bean Casserole. She was pretty happy about it.

Hope your holiday was yummy!

Happy Day After Thanksgiving is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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