Fall colors

I loved these
Aunt Ruth's driveway
and her yard
Marty was thrilled to find these "little" pinecones

I wish

for all of you a .......

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I'll just say I'm sorry first....

This is what our part of the world looks like today, the day before Thanksgiving.

I heard it's snowing in Iowa.

It's also blowing in Iowa.

It's also very cold in Iowa.

I wish I was there.

Today, I have an ache inside my heart. I truly didn't think I would be sad here at the holidays, and this has caught me off guard. I keep thinking of that cozy feeling of watching the snow and knowing your family was all going to be together tomorrow, safe and warm inside. I know, we would worry if everyone could make it, and we would worry that the roads would get bad. We would be complaining about the cold, the snow, the mess.

Natives to this climate are feeling happy and thankful, and are preparing for the holiday. I know this because I was just at Wal Mart...they are preparing, I can assure you! Tomorrow, we will travel north to Matt's aunt's house where we will have a great day, and a lot of good food and fun, I'm sure. I just wish it was cold......and snowy......and.....

Iowa.

Remember, I apologized first.

Something pretty and something funny

Here's the pretty:

We received this beautiful bouquet yesterday from my favorite sister. Thank you Le-Le--it's so pretty! Click on the picture to read the poem we are memorizing for November.

Here's the funny:

But Mama, we DID put the clip on the popcorn!

Craft of the week

Over at the 4 Real board, members are hosting the craft of the week every Monday. Guess what? It's my turn! I am so grateful for the ladies at the 4 Real board and all the support and inspiration they have given me this last year. So in the spirit of gratefulness, here we go.....

You will need: big paper, paper plates, scissors, pencil, fall colored paints, paintbrush, sponges, clothespins, and some sort of leaf template. I made mine from leaf rubbings glued to cardboard. Not pictured, but needed, is fall colored paper (red, yellow, orange).

First, draw a rough tree trunk shape and paint it brown. Then, clip a clothespin onto a piece of sponge, and use that to stamp "leaves" onto your tree. Just be random about it. (You can click on the picture to see the "sponge brushes" better).
Trace and cut out lots of leaves. We used 3 per person.
Lay out the leaves on a towel and spray them with water, front and back. Don't soak them, just a spritz will do. While they are wet,crumple them up in your hand, then carefully smooth them out again. This gives them a realistic look, and the kids think it's cool, too! Let them dry.
Have each person write something they are thankful for on a leaf, and glue them to the tree. We hung ours on the wall to enjoy. Other years, I have given a leaf to each guest to write on, them clipped them to a twine garland strung across a doorway in the dining room. Either way, they are fun to make and pretty to look at.

I hope you all have fun with this craft, and I hope you all have a Blessed and

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jacket factory

Finally I have finished all the jackets. Actually, I have made 5, but one child, (whose identity will remain secret), didn't like the original color choices. There is a happy little girl out there wearing a pink and orange version of the aboove jacket, and there are 4 happy and warm kidlets here.

Also, please note the denim jumpers the girls are wearing. I made those last night, and they found them hanging in their closet this morning before mass.

Lap book information

AfterI posted those pictures, I thought maybe I should have been more explicit. All the little books inside the lap books open to reveal the information we learned. Later I'll take more pictures and you can see what I mean. Anyway, there's a lot of stuff in each one!

More lapbook photos

Amy's, completely opened.
This shows Marty's and Theo's at the first opening. TBird's, completely open.
Marty's, completely open.

We had a lot of fun with these, and learned a lot. The kids are putting on a play on Thanksgiving, using some of what they learned. With a little math everyday, we cover it all.

We love this kind of school!