A Thankful Tree and A Project Teaser~

Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite holidays. And I feel like it is often overlooked. I want my children to know the meaning behind the turkey and mashed potatoes. I want them to celebrate with a grateful heart. So today I wanted to share with you all a fun tradition that puts the focus on gratitude....the Thankful Tree.

Our family takes an evening at the beginning of the month of November to talk about what it means to be thankful. Then we write some of the things we are grateful for on leaves cut from cardstock and hang them from a "tree" made of branches collected in our backyard. (These pics are from last year, however, since our house is in the staged-to-sell mode.)

Just thought I'd share with you a couple of the things my little ones are thankful for...


Oh, yes, Mr. Two and Mr. Three are very grateful for Spongebob (and, to be honest, during the "witching" hour around dinner time, I am very grateful for Spongebob as well!)

Mr. One is grateful for hot cocoa on snowy days. And yes, I must admit, that is one thing I am very grateful for as well. Well, as long as I'm being honest, I'm grateful for hot chocolate pretty much any day. ;-)




And because I promised a project teaser...here's a photo of the "lovely" closet in our library. Any guesses what this is going to become? Hint: my pretty new pinboards will find a home here. I'll show you all next week.



Don't forget, tomorrow is the Frugal Friday Linky Party here at the Shabby Nest. For all of you night owls, MckLinky will go up tonight at 12:01 am EST. Can't wait to see what you all have up your sleeves this time!



Have a great Thursday~

I'm gonna party like it's 1999 or something like that~

Okay, so I realize the title of this post dates me. And actually, I have a wicked cold, and a kiddo with the stomach flu, so we're not really going to party at all. Just hang out at home and snuggle up in front of the TV. But we do have a little tradition here at the Shabby Nest that I thought it would be fun to share with you.

Every New Year's Eve, the New Year's fairy comes to visit. She just drops off a few goodies (food goodies, not presents) as a wish of prosperity and plenty in the new year. That's why I decided to make the little pixie above holding a banner with 2009 on it. She's this year's New Year's fairy!

So, what do you all have planned? Parties? or Watching the ball drop on TV? Whatever it is...I hope you have a safe and wonderful time ringing in the New Year!

Just for Fun~

Kendra made this fun button for me to share with all of my lovely readers out there in blogland! Isn't it cute? If you'd like one...it's up for grabs on my sidebar. Just in case you'd like one.

Because I can't post without a photo here's a cute little card by Mary Engelbreit that I framed up...it sits on my kitchen window sill...it's so festive it always makes me smile.

And now on to my weekend plans...

Our extended family has a tradition of all going together to cut down our Christmas trees. We drive to my in-laws house about 45 minutes away, where we meet up with the Hubby's brother and his family as well. And then we all caravan to a Christmas tree farm about another 45 minutes away. The Hubby and his family have been going to the same farm since he was a kid, so that's just what we do. It's a lot of fun...and that is the way we are spending this Saturday. So by Sunday we should have our tree up and decorated. You know what that means don't you? Join me on Monday for a lot more Christmas decorating fun! (I sound like a TV show or something).

Until then...have a lovely weekend~