Well, one of my least favorite months has arrived.
I think I dislike November because it's still autumn but it's more drab than the late September and month of October colors bring us. There are still some pretty orange and red leaves on the trees, but with November around here, the wind picks up quite often, and the temperature does start to drop to the low 40s all day so it just feels drabbier (is that a word??) to me. Plus, we always have to travel for Thanksgiving back to Plymouth County to be with Dave's folks. It has its pluses and minuses. Sometimes, I just want to stay home! This will be our 24th year having Thanksgiving away from home. It's starting to get old. I'd much rather have it be just the 4 of us. But.. the positive side to things is that this month brings a few days off in the middle of the work week and we will see our oldest daughter in just a couple of weeks when she drives down the coast from college to her grandparents where we will all stay for a few days.
For now, I'm trying to find the faves in this past week. It's been another busy one.......and I'm also participating in Jerralea's Praise Posts for this month so this is going to count as that exercise as well. We are posting FIVE FAVES for Susanne's FFF and 5 things we're thankful for. You can join in by going to Living to Tell the Story or by going to Jerralea's Journey
 |
| Claire on the left as Captain America and her Avenger friends |
- SAFE HALLOWEEN Claire and a few of her school friends dressed up as the Avengers and went trick or treating in our neighborhood. This photo of them was taken at her friend Carly's house down the street. They had fun, a sleepover party, and everyone stayed safe and made good choices. A true blessing. I love seeing the teens having a great time. And Dave and I didn't have many children come to the door this year so we watched this movie together for our "in home" date night.
- FAVORS DONE! It's my husband's turn to cook Thanksgiving dinner this year for his family (him and his 3 siblings take turns) so we are having it in the fellowship hall of my in-laws' church in Plymouth County, MA and since whomever is cooking, also provides little favors, I had this chore looming over my head. I actually like doing stuff like this...it's just finding the extra time to do it that's the challenge! So...I had Tuesday off due to Election day (our school district closes due to voting done right in the school buildings) and managed to get all the favors done and set aside for when we travel. (all the adult women are getting a votive candle and gourmet candy and the teens and adult men are getting gourmet candies and pumpkin spice M&M's) I even got a few food items stored away to bring with us. It felt great to have this checked off the "to do for Thanksgiving" list!
- COZY CANDLE: Yesterday afternoon was a free one for me. There was only a half day of school for elementary children in our district (due to teacher meetings) so I was able to leave work at noon. I ran an errand and then enjoyed some quiet time in my living room with this pretty honeysuckle candle. It was a grey, chilly, and rainy afternoon so the candle glow was especially lovely.
 |
| image courtesy of redeemer.tv |
- STUDENT LEADER CONFERENCE: Claire, our 15 yr old, and 3 other 10th grade youth group student leaders, along with a couple of high school guys and 3 of the youth group volunteer leaders (and one staff member) headed to central NY yesterday afternoon for the Encounter Conference. She was asked to go, along with some of the other student leaders and we are very excited at what God is going to do in their lives. I miss her, but I know she is doing what God wants her to do. It is a huge blessing to be in a church that allows for these kinds of experiences for our teens!
 |
| image courtesy of DD website |
- GIFT: my primary love language is "gifts" and a co-worker surprised me with a bag of DD Blueberry Muffin coffee...one of my fave flavors. It is for me doing her a favor...I told her she did NOT have to get me something but she did anyways....so...I'm guessing her love language is gifts as well. Either way, it was a pleasant surprise! There's nothing like a fresh, hot, steaming mug of this on a chilly afternoon.
That wraps up my faves/blessings for the week/day. Do you have some faves you'd like to share? what's something you're thankful for this week.....this day?
Please share in the comment section or write your post and then link up!
Have a blessed weekend and a restful Sabbath day!
9 comments:
Nice to have a break in the middle of the week. It helps to get things done when you don't have something on your calendar. I remember last year you sharing about your trip to the coast during the holidays. SOunds like a great time! BUT, I too long to have a holiday with just our immediate family. Which I managed to get done this year.
Your Favors sound great! Who wouldn't adore gourmet candy!? mmm!
Hope you have a great weekend and some time to rest!
Your TG get together sounds wonderful, though I think the favors should be optional!
Coffee is always a nice gift. And, I love candles. I had a little honey suckle candle that my son gave me and it spelled wonderful! I hope when Thanksgiving comes, that you do enjoy the time. November is one of my favorites because of the beginning of holidays and because the temps finally feel like fall here in Florida. Have a great day!
Thanksgiving at the in-laws sounds fun with the dear Husband's turn to cook, but I hope you get a Thanksgiving just the way you like it some time. Gift as love language reminds me of a special friend; a bittersweet memory. Blessed faves!
I understand about wanting to do holidays with just the immediate family. We started doing that a few years back and love it. However, I will say that I miss the big family get togethers too, because the truth is, if you don't do it on holidays you are a lot less likely to see everyone.
That coffee sounds amazing and having the afternoon off to savor it and a honeysuckle candle sounds like heaven to me!
We've compromised by having Thanksgiving with just our family (which now includes dils and grandchildren!) and Christmas (actually Boxing Day) with my husband's extended family. We're a big crowd! And it's a noisy time but wonderful to see everyone.
Love a nice scented candle - green apple is my favourite.
Nov is a bit of a dreary month in the NE but we have a woodstove and it can be cosy. I prefer when the snow comes though - it's so much brighter. And according to the weather forecast the whole Northeast may be seeing it sooner rather than later!
Happy weekend Faith
Faith, I so enjoyed being here today, reading about your week. Even though it was a busy week for you, you still seemed to accomplish much!
The Thanksgiving celebration sounds nice, but 24 years of being away from home at that time ...I can understand why you'd enjoy a year at home. We used to travel to grandparent's homes for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but when the kids got to a certain age, we declared staying home was going to be our way.
Hope you have a chance to rest up a bit over the weekend!
We traveled for Thanksgiving and Christmas the first few years, but then stopped. We like Thanksgiving at home - but we did miss the big family get-togethers then. But it worked out better to visit in the summer.
Neat idea to have the siblings take turns each year. And the favors sound fun!
I often feel the same way about November - it does get drabber, it gets dark earlier, and we start to have some winter-like temperatures. Thankfully our leaves have hung around a long time this year.
We're Avengers fans here - how neat to dress up as a group!
My husband likes the Old Fashioned flavored DD coffee - has just a hint of cinnamon.
Cute idea on the halloween costumes. How did you like that movie? We sometimes wish we could travel for a holiday as all our immediate family are right here. LOL. But I can't imagine travelling and cooking away from home. Yikes.
Post a Comment