Thankful

I realize I posting this the day after Thanksgiving, but better late than never right?

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  I truly enjoy getting together with family.  This year, was probably one of the best.  Randall and I both went to bed talking about the great day we had.  We enjoyed a great meal with my MIL, SIL, BIL, and niece on Wed night.  We just had a laid back Thanksgiving and I think that was exactly what we all needed.  Yesterday, we celebrated with a total of 50 people on my side.  We were even missing quite a few people!  We enjoyed conversation with family we rarely see.  It was just a very blessed day.

I have so much to be thankful for.
I have a Savior- Jesus Christ who died for me.
I will have eternal life through my Savior.
I have a wonderful husband who is a man of God and leads our family the way God intended him to.
I have two precious babies.  They inspire me to be a better person.
I have a wonderful family on both sides.
I have parents who raised me to know and love the Lord.
I have sisters and brothers who will help me in times of need.
I have nieces and nephews who always know how to make me smile.
I have Grandparents who are sold out for Jesus.
I have friends who will stand beside me through thick and thin.
I have a church family who has helped me in ways I couldn't even imagine!
I have a home that keeps me warm, cool, and dry.
I have vehicles to get me where I need to go.
I have a job that I love and allows me to be off during the Holidays so I can spend it with family.
I have more than I could ever ask for.

I owe it all to God, not money, not luck, but God.  I am blessed.

Sharing a loved recipe

I am by NO means a great cook.  I don't make my own recipes.  I try to find EASY recipes out there to cook b/c I am not fond of cooking.  I don't mind to bake though.  Growing up, we always had Pumpkin Bread.  Everyone who tries it, loves it, especially Randall's side of the family, especially Granddad.  He always gets his own loaf!  Since I am making a million loaves today (well, actually just 9) I thought I would share the recipe.  The secret is the coffee cans.  Most people bake it in bread loaf pans. This recipes calls for metal coffee cans.  I think it holds the flavor in just a bit better!

Yummy Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:
3 cups of all purpose flour
1tsp of cinn
2 tsps of baking soda
1.5 tsp salt
2/3 cup water
3 cups of sugar
1 cup veg oil
4 eggs
2/3 can of pumpkin

Steps:
Cream sugar and oil with mixer in a large bowl.  Beat eggs in another med bowl.  Add pumpkin and water- whip with eggs.  In sugar and oil mixture, add egg mixture and other ingredients.  Mix well.  Grease and flour 3 coffee cans.  Evenly fill the 3 coffee cans with the mix.  (about 2/3 of the way full)  Bake for one hour @ 350.

I am a huge fan of this pumpkin bread and so are my kiddos.  Ruthie especially loves it!  Give it a try and let me know what you think!  By the way....I am not a huge fan of pumpkin, nor flavored bread, so if you are picky like me, please, still give it a try!  I love how they make perfect round slices!

A weekend of thanks

What a great holiday weekend we had! I hope everyone enjoyed family time, eating, and just relaxing inside where it was warm! It was sooooo cold over our break, but it was the right weather for the holiday!

Thursday, my side of the family celebrated Thanksgiving together. It was nice to see everyone again. I only get to see that side of my family during Thanksgiving, weddings, or funerals. It's sad, but true. It's so hard to get us all together. There was about 50 of us I think. Randall had to work, so the kids and I loaded up and enjoyed some good food and company!

Saturday, we celebrated with Randall's side of the family. We had everyone at our house. Randall's side of the family is a lot smaller. Thank goodness b/c I could never fit 50 people in my house! It was just our family for four, his sister, brother-in-law, 2 daughters, and Randall's mom. We had so much fun just sitting around chatting. Afterwards, Ruthie mentioned that we should play charades! Boy was that funny! All of us adults had more fun than the kiddos! It was a blast!

Having Thanksgiving at my place meant I had to clean.... I didn't have a choice, which was actually pretty nice. It felt soooooo good to have a clean house. Randall even said so. I wanted to do a little decorating. I have never purchased any Thanksgiving decorations, so I decided to make my own. The Scrabble idea was in this month's Country Living. I took my own idea and painted them red and added things we were thankful for. The jars have scrapbook paper inside, and vinyl sayings and cut-outs from my Cricut.

Here's a couple of photos: