My Missing Pumpkin

This post has little to do with my grandchildren except that they all loved seeing the big pumpkin that sat on my kitchen counter through Halloween and Thanksgiving. I can't believe that I didn't get a photo of it because it  had a great shape, excellent color, and the cutest stem I had ever seen on a store bought pumpkin!

Well, one day following Thanksgiving I noticed that my pumpkin was missing from the counter. I had planned to somehow make a bird feeder out of it and place it outside my big kitchen window so that I could enjoy watching the birds helping themselves to the seeds and the flesh of the pumpkin.

Before I could ask anyone else in the house if they knew what had happened to my pumpkin I came across these photos on my computer.

Oh, my youngest daughter has taken it for a walk in the desert.

Not looking good, she has a gun!

Run, pumpkin, run!

Taking aim.

It looks like the local desert birds will still be able to 

enjoy the seeds and what is now the splattered pumpkin flesh.

Poor pumpkin.

I never thought my little girl would grow

up to love shooting guns.

A little grandma reminder:

Keep all guns securely locked up!

Giving Thanks for Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving gathering and feast was very nice again this year. Our family of six has grown to nineteen with our three in-law kids and our ten grands being added to the family tree.

My middle daughter opened her home for our Thanksgiving gathering and we each helped to prepare the feast in our own homes. I began cooking the day before baking pies, getting the dressing oven ready, and prepping an extra turkey for the oven.

My youngest daughter had returned home for a very short visit. She and my oldest granddaughter helped with the Thanksgiving eve preparations.

It was fun having them in the kitchen with me. Chopping, dicing, sautee-ing, measuring, mixing, scooping, stirring, scraping, nibbling, baking, washing and drying, and great conversation filled our shared time in the kitchen. My youngest was still a little girl when my first grand was born. They have always called themselves sister-friends. They have a very special relationship.

Once all of the day before preparations were done we loaded up in the car for our go out to dinner on Thanksgiving eve tradition. When all of the kids were young it was always out for pizza. This year it was mexican food.

On Thanksgiving morning I had to manage my oven precisely to get everything done on time and still hot for transport down the block. I first baked a cherry pie (a request from my son) and pulled it out just in time for the turkey to go in. I then mixed up my homemade dinner rolls. Four batches of them! I used the warm stove top to let the dough rise. My daughter had asked me to make a second turkey since our family has grown and we had some other guests joining our feast.  She was roasting a 20 pound bird and I another 15 pounds of  bird. We were going to have plenty of turkey! Within minutes the roasting turkey made the house smell like Thanksgiving!  My pans of rolls were now rising. When the turkey came out of the oven the big pan of dressing went in. All was going as planned. In the final minutes the rolls went into the oven as we loaded the car with the rest of my preparations. The rolls came out, smothered them with melted butter, threw a dish towel over them and headed out with freshly baked rolls!  MMMM they smelled good.

It was a steady stream of family members entering my daughters beautifully decorated home with arms filled with food. We entered to a beautiful bouquet of fall flowers on the entry table. A hall table that was adorned with a very handsome carved wood turkey, with tall pilgrims and indian figurines who were carrying their own offerings for a shared feast.

The large kitchen island was abundantly filled with Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, sweet carrots, fruit salad, two different jello salads, cranberry sauce, and hot rolls. Another counter was filled with pies and other goodies.

My daughter had set three tables.

One for the three toddlers (all boys)  that had a stickers activity and a coloring project. The table also had a toy Mayflower as the centerpiece with pilgrim and indian play pieces. So cute!

The older kids had a great table too. This table was for the six biggest cousins and a couple of dads who helped keep an eye on the little feasters. Thanksgiving stickers and a Thanksgiving coloring project were at each place setting. 

The adult table was like something out the pages of

Martha Stewart magazine!

Absolutely beautiful!

As it turns out. My son in law had made plans to have a third turkey smoked by a friend that my daughter did not know about. So, during our feast the call came in that the smoked turkey was done. He left for a few minutes and returned for dinner seconds that included smoked turkey! Many others followed his lead. We now had probably 55 pounds of turkey! I didn't mind taking home my untouched turkey one bit. 

And the kids table, even with the two dads there, there was a no hands jello slurping contest held! Great memories for the cousins.

As it turns out, I have raised some really good cooks. Everything was delicious.

This is our first time ever to not have all of our children living close by. It was wonderful having my youngest home and having our entire family unit together on this beautiful, abundant, and delicious day of thanksgiving.

So today, I am giving thanks for a very blessed Thanksgiving Day. And, my goal for the next year..... to live IN thanksgiving every day.

Our Thankful Tree Bursting with Color and Gratitude

The bare branches of our thankful tree was filled with hand cut leaves and hand written words of gratitude on Thanksgiving Day.

The kids had to climb up a step stool to reach the top branches.

I loved reading all of their leaves.

This picky little pre-schooler chose to add pizza (one of the few things he will eat well), Mini Bears (the name of his pre-school), and kisses!

Even the youngest of my grands wanted in on the activity.

My three year old grandson chose his words of gratitude.

He had his mom write them in pencil.

Then, he wrote over the letters with a marker.

Some of the words of gratitude that fill our tree are:

Flowers, friends, soap, cars, teachers, parents, school, church, family,

 house, power, doctors, hugs, television, grandkids, earth, apples,

body, Jesus, bananas, trees, grandmas, inhaler, papas, 

money, and the Dollar Tree Store!

I'm Thankful....2010

I have really enjoyed reading my blogger friends posts on being thankful this Thanksgiving season. Their posts of gratitude have given me a glimpse into the lives and the hearts of those I have never met yet I consider a friend. As I look back on my own year I have so much to be thankful for. So, I thought I would give it a shot too!

I am thankful:

To still feel of the love and support of my aging parents who raised me by both their example and words to be self reliant, hardworking, frugal, loving, and compassionate.

For my husband and sweetheart of 35 years, the hardworking father of my four children, and the loving and doting papa to our ten grands.

For my four adult children who have grown up to be productive and contributing members of society and of our family. Who unselfishly share of their talents, resources, and abilities with others.

That my children love and support one another.

For my ten happy, healthy, loved, and well cared for grandchildren.

For getting to meet my precious grand nephew Caden who was called back home to live with his Father in Heaven after just a few months with his earthly family.

Seeing my family fill the pews at church each Sunday. Knowing that my grandchildren are being taught to follow the perfect example of Jesus Christ and that they have a loving Heavenly Father who hears and answers their prayers.

That our empty nest is visited frequently by those we love.

For our youngest daughter who left the nest this year to pursue her own path in life. I am thankful that we taught her principles that she can now use to keep herself safe, to live within her means, and to keep herself on a course that will bring her eternal happiness.

For the opportunities I have had to express my creative side through teaching, events, parties, family gatherings and traditions, and blogging.

For my association with wonderful friends, neighbors, blogging friends, and family members.

For our home that is payed for, where I feel safe, protected, and loved.

For a skilled dentist who repaired what an unskilled dentist created!

That we have health insurance, a savings, and the physical ability to provide for ourselves.

For the children that I associate with. My ten grands and dozens and dozens more who keep me young and inspired to be the best I can be.

For ice packs, ibuprofen, and healing ointments that help to soothe and heal a hitch in my get-a-long when it decides to get all fired up.

That a broken washing machine just before the holidays is just an inconvenience and not a financial burden.

That we will enjoy abundance this Thanksgiving Day. Great food, comfortable homes, our entire family unit together, and love and laughter will abound.

 And as always..... Thanksgiving Day kicks off our family Ho...Ho...Ho...liday schedule!  One more thing (it is actually many things) that I am very thankful for too.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Very Simple Gratitude Activity

I recently posted a picture of our "Thankful Tree". It stands about 6-7 feet tall and it is taped to a wall in my house. We write things we are thankful for on fall color construction paper leaves and add them to the tree. All grands and their parents have been invited to add to the tree as well as any guests that drop by.

Yesterday, I thought of another idea for a gratitude activity. I tried it out with a group of ten year old girls and it was a hit! It would be a fun activity to do to keep the kids busy on Thanksgiving day.

All you need is:

Colored chalk/ regular or sidewalk chalk

A chalkboard, sidewalk, driveway, or patio.

I drew the shape of the tree on a large chalkboard but if weather permits doing it outside and really big would be way fun too,

I gave the girls colored chalk to add leaves to the tree and within each leaf they wrote something that they were thankful for.

Within minutes the tree was plastered in colorful leaves of gratitude. They all stood back and looked at the finished tree.... not because they ran out of things that they were thankful for ..... but because our time was gone. They each wished they had a picture of the finished tree and so did I. I did get a picture of it on my cell phone but I have no idea how to get it from there to here to share it with you today. But, thankfully I have grown and very gadget savvy children who help me with such things.

I was happy to see that "Grandma" made it on the tree! And, one of my favorites that I read was  "smiles".

Seeing the gratitude and thankfulness pour out of the hearts and minds of these girls brought a smile to my face. And yes, I am very thankful for that too!

Our Thankful Tree

Our Thankful Tree

I saw this idea on another blog this week. The author of the blog is a mother of five and it is a tradition in their home to have a "Thankful Tree" each year in November. Every morning at breakfast the family writes something that they are thankful for on a paper leaf and they add it to the tree. Their thankful tree is on a poster that hangs on their fridge door.

I tweaked the idea to make it an activity to do with my grandchildren and their families. I created a six foot tree using brown construction paper on my entry way wall. I made up a packet of fall colored papers and some leaf patterns to give to each family. I have invited them each to cut out leaves and write down some things that they are thankful for as a family and then come over and add them to "Our Thankful Tree".

Three of my grands came in this morning while waiting for the bus and checked out the tree. They read the first ten leaves I have added to the tree. They were excited to see their names on the tree as three of my ten grands being something that I am very thankful for!

I'm looking forward to seeing the branches filled with fall colored leaves and words of gratitude on Thanksgiving Day!

Why Not, A Fall Corsage?

I must start out by saying that I am not a floral designer but I am a willing volunteer for all kinds of creative tasks.

We wanted to do something to show our appreciation to our music people who had worked for months to prepare the children's organization for a special program. We decided that we would present them with corsages that they could wear during the performance.

I volunteered for the task. I went to Michael's Craft Store for inspiration. I decided to go with the season and create fall colored corsages using silk flowers.

Here is what I purchased... and all at 60% off!

A multiple flower, multi color fall bush with greenery

Fall colored bead garland (wired)

Wired Ribbon to match

Matching scrapbook papers (for packaging)

Floral Tape

I already had:

Raffia

Pearled corsage pins

I'm sure I did not have all of the floral supplies needed for a florist quality corsage but somehow it came together.

I cut the wired stems of the two flowers twice the length I wanted for the base of the corsage.

I then bent them in half and wired the stems of the flowers and a couple of leaves together.

I then covered all of the wires and stems with a thick layer of florist tape. (It is all hidden underneath, and it gives you a soft place to pin the corsage on.)

I then became a crafter and pulled out the glue gun.

I wired some pieces of raffia together and tucked them in here and there using hot glue for some fun fall texture.

I then added pieces of wired bead from the bead garland with hot glue to add some fall colored bling!

I finished it off by making a wired ribbon bow and attached it to the base of the corsage with wire.

Once the corsages were complete I packaged them

for a polished and festive presentation.

I tucked them inside a clear bag and created

a matching Thank-You tag using scrapbook paper.

Our music people loved their corsages and

they looked beautiful on 

their black and dark purple dress.

We see corsages on Mother's Day, Valentine's, Christmas, and Easter but, I don't know that I have ever seen corsages made for our Fall holidays. I'm thinking, why not? 

How about making one for great grandma for the family Thanksgiving Dinner gathering or for the widows that attend your church. I think they would be adorable with a printed ribbon or a pick that says something like "Blessed", "Be Grateful", or  "Giving Thanks".

Five Day Family Retreat in the Pines

I am happy to report that we have pulled off a very successful five day family retreat in the Pines. It all started with a well planned schedule and individual assignments that every family member had received well in advance. Some of the assignments included meal preparations and clean up, Thanksgiving Day food assignments, activities for the kids, evening activities for the entire group, evening treats, fire building assignments, quiet bedtime activities for the kids, and even household chores. Each adult was responsible for their household chores for the entire stay. It worked like a charm!

Some of the chores included: the trash, laundry, bathrooms, floors, keeping the water cooler filled with cold water, living room and kitchen pick up and cleaning, and the windows. With 18 little hands the windows needed frequent cleaning! We also had a couple of dads that arranged for our nighttime bedding needs and the morning bedding clean up for the kids. Our formal dining area served as a sleeping area for the older children by night and adult dining by day.

As the families began to roll in on Wednesday night our mountain home became filled with nine excited children and ten adults ready to share in some great family time. Bedrooms were assigned per family and space had been provided in the pantry and kitchen for their food and cooking supplies. I had a meal prepared for everyone and after dinner the kitchen became the hub for Thanksgiving baking.

To keep the children busy we had morning and afternoon activities scheduled each day. Each set of parents were assigned specific activity times. This gave the other parents 1 1/2 hours of kid free time both morning and afternoon. The adults did a wonderful job and they all arrived very prepared and very organized with projects and activities that the kids loved. (I will be posting pictures and sharing the projects and activities soon.)

On Thanksgiving day it was fun to all work together in the kitchen to prepare our Thanksgiving Feast. One of my daughters had the assignment to do the table decor. The adult table was beautiful and the kids table was fun and filled with fun activities for them to do before and after dinner. (I will post pics later.)

The next day we had a block of time scheduled for our individual families. Everyone left the cabin and went out to lunch and to do their own family activities. When one of the children was asked what they wanted to do during their family time he said; "Go out for a quick bite to eat and then back to the cabin!" It was very clear that we were doing something right!

A family activity was planned for each evening that both young and old could participate in. The kids loved playing games with the adults. On Friday evening after dinner a couple of the dads left with all of the kids on a car ride to go look for Elk. While they were gone the remaining adults worked to decorate the house for Christmas. When they returned we greeted them with a Ho...Ho....Ho....Merry Christmas. The inside of the house had been transformed to kick off our Lamont Family Ho....Ho....Ho...lidays. The house was lit up, and we had Christmas music playing. Papa and I had a small gift under the tree for each of the children. Each gift had a personal invitation to the "GrandKid's Christmas Day Camp" the next day.

Since they had arrived I had a sign on my bedroom door that read "Grandma's Christmas Workshop, No kids allowed" There imaginations were going crazy with what I might have going on in my workshop. Within my workshop were all of the activities and the supplies needed for the day camp and the Christmas decor that we used to decorate the house.

On Saturday, after breakfast the parents got ready to go have some adult time in town. The kids watched the clock. They were anxious for both the parents to leave and for our Christmas Day Camp to start. (I will post this years camp schedule and activities later.) The day camp went well and we even had a very welcome surprise for all of us that added to the fun.

The Saturday evening bedtime activities included a reading of the Polar Express book in a dark room using only a flashlight to shine on the book. The following morning there were more activities for the kids and after lunch we had a viewing of the Polar Express movie. We served the children Popcorn and m&m's during the movie in fun Christmas bags.

Whiles the kids watched the movie one of my daughters had the assignment to prepare sack lunches for dinner. Preparations and packing were done by those families who were leaving that night. Following the movie all of the kids put on their pajamas and got ready to go on the Polar Express Train Ride. Our sack lunches were eaten before boarding the train. (My daughter had done some fun things in the lunches which I will share later.) All nineteen of us boarded the Polar Express that evening. The children were delighted to see the North Pole and to see Santa when he boarded the train. For the adults....seeing the children's joy filled us with joy too!

Although we see one another all of the time this retreat served as a family reunion of sorts. We all worked together well and everyone did their part so that everyone enjoyed their time together. Most importantly, quality time was spent together as a family, family bonds were strengthened, and lasting memories were created for all four generations that shared this special time together!

Thanksgiving 2008 Adult Table

My daughter and her husband hosted Thanksgiving at their home this year. This nice big table sits all of the adults. The table was beautiful and the food was delicious!

The kids were very content at their own table. We all had a lot to be thankful for this year. Everyone is happy, healthy, and employed!

Kid Friendly Thanksgiving Table

This was the kids table at Thanksgiving this year. My daughter hosted it at her home. The place mats she created with a coloring project and crayons tied in a holiday napkin was a great idea for the kids.

Yummy Fall Dessert Recipe

I got this super easy recipe from a friend a few years ago. I have served them at some very large functions and the request for the recipe is huge after people try it. It is a really good Fall recipe and it competes very well with those difficult pumpkin rolls.

The texture and the flavor of these carrot bars is just delicious. I think the secret is the "baby food". My grandchildren love, love, love these carrot bars!

Carrot Bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, prepare large cookie sheet baking pan, spray with Pam

Mix together in a large bowl:
4 eggs
2 Cups Sugar
1 -1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
4 - 4 oz. bottles of strained baby food carrots
2-1/2 Cups Flour
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Cinnamon

Spread batter evenly in baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool then put in freezer. Make Frosting.

Frosting
3-1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/3 Cup Margarine
1 tsp. Vanilla
8 oz. Cream Cheese (softened)

Whip until smooth and creamy. Frost frozen carrot bars.

These bars can be made ahead of time if you like. They freeze very well. Cover the frozen bars with foil and keep in freezer until you are ready to use them. This makes a huge pan which is great for a large group. If you are making them for your family they freeze well after being frosted and cut too if you want to save some for later. They are also great to have in the freezer for unexpected holiday guests or to add to the plate of holiday goodies you make for your neighbors.

I will post a picture of these yummy treats when I make my next batch.