30 Days of Thanksgiving - Days 1-4

I've been asked/challenged to do 30 days of Thanksgiving again this year.  With having my surgery in September, I still have not gotten in the swing of things.  It was a 6 weeks recovery, and who knows how long it is going to take to adjust!  With that said, I am going to quit giving excuses of my lack of posts, lol, and accept the challenge!

Day 1:
- Hot tea
- Family Time
- Kids' Workshops
- Coupons for 30% off entire order!
- Warm fuzzy fabric
- A functioning washer
- A deer to butcher
- A delicious deer roast!

Day 2:
- Warm blankets
- A functioning dryer so I didn't have to go out in the cold to use the clothesline
- A cover for my garden so my plants don't die!
- A clean garage (yes, you read that right!  the garage is clean!)
- LOTS of clothing to bring to Goodwill
- Family nap time
- Lots of baby clothes that have been passed down
- A store close by, since I forgot to pull meat out to thaw ;)

Day 3:
- Therapists who understand cancelling that day due to illness
- Being able to bring pillows and blankets into the living room to be together, though sick
- Not having to miss a day from school though sick
- Having time to craft
- Chance to create a new recipe for dinner - Buffalo Chicken Pasta!
- A hubby that works hard to provide for the family
- A baby girl who laughs at her older siblings, bringing a smile to everyone's faces!
- Families to share clothing with

Day 4:
- Being able to open my windows back up
- The right to vote
- Leftovers in the fridge so I didn't have to cook dinner
- A pressure canner to can dry beans
- A sweet boy who scrubbed my bathroom without being asked to!
- The news that one of my best friends is getting a set of baby goat twins!
- The joy of seeing my kids write their penpals
- Fresh organic vegetables and fruit delivered to my door!

Ornaments - April - June

As I wrote in the first post regarding ornaments, here, I exchange homemade ornaments every month.  Here are the ones from April through June.

April: The theme for this month was to make a snowman ribbon doll.  This was the first one I had ever made... Not too shabby ;)

April:

May:

June: The theme for this month was ATC or artist trading cards.  It was my first attempt at this, but overall was relatively pleased.  Here is a picture of both of the ones I made, and then the one I sent :)

BFIAR - Corduroy

In an effort to keep B3 busy, I decided to start Before Five in a Row back up with him and his older sister, S5.  Due to personal fond memories, and B3's obsession with bears, we started with Corduroy by Don Freeman.  With lots of help from the internet, we found lots of activities to keep us busy.

Our extra books to go along with the book included The Button Box and Bears: Polar Bears, Black Bears, and Grizzly Bears.  Activities included sorting buttons by color, size, and shape, puzzles, threading large buttons, a button snake, sewing buttons onto plastic canvas, buttons on number cards, buttons in patterns, bear sorting by size and color, playing hide and seek a button, examine black bears, and working with coins.  We also had teddy bear shaped pizza with salad and applesauce, along with button shaped peanut butter cookies. Here are pictures of some of our activities :)

Blog to Check Out

Hey y'all!  I know I've been a little quiet around here... sorry life is chaotic.  Cannot imagine why ;)

Anyways, I wanted to share a blog with you that you might want to check out.  The messages are "the thought-provoking, let me analyze my own life" type posts.

To top it off, it is my mother :D

Soooooooo go check out her newest blog - http://www.margieharding.com/

Learning Traditional Cooking and Health

Our family has been on a journey to relearn the cooking arts of years ago, primarily for our health.  So much of our foods today are GMO, hybrids, chemicals, and overall, harmful to our bodies!  It is not how God created us!  There are quite a few resources that we enjoy, to help us through the "common" thoughts on food.

One of the greatest ones we have found is a website called GNOWFGLINS, which stands for "God's Natural, Organic, Whole Foods, Grown Locally, In Season."   They are offering 5 free videos if you sign up  for a free mini-membership. You can check it out here.

Another great source of information is Sally Fallon's book "Nourishing Tradition." This book is as much of an education as it a cookbook!!!

What resources have YOU found beneficial?  I'd love to hear about them!

Ornaments - January - March

I am part of an incredible group of ladies that encourage each other, help and support one another, and have fun :)  Each month some of us exchange homemade ornaments.  Some months we have themes, and other months we exchange whatever our heart desires.  This has been a great way for me to work on Christmas ornaments throughout the year, rather than trying to do lots of things all at once.  Here are the ornaments I have made thus far.

January:

February:

March:

I was also in a Spring exchange, where I made this set of 6 coasters and case:

Geography - India

We only spent a week on India, but what a yummy time :)

Day 1:
Stamped our passports
Found India on the wall map
Colored pictures of the map and flag
Read about children in India from Children Just Like Me
Looked at some different words

Day 2:
Learned about monsoons, including reading Monsoon and Monsoon Afternoon and watching this video and this video and this video

Day 3:
Learned about the Taj Mahal

http://www.thehistoryhub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Taj-Mahal.jpg

Completed this Taj Mahal puzzle

Day 4:
Learned about the Pongal Festival, including watching this video 
Made Inlay Jewel Mosiacs

Food: Lassi, Ahm Phul, Tandoori Chicken Legs with Raita, Cauliflower and Pea Curry, Masala Chai, Murgh Kari (Chicken Curry), Basmati Rice