Every week I like to take a moment to showcase the moments that brought me the most joy. Sometimes they are awesome activities and other times it’s a sweet moment between the kids. There are always moments that can fill us with joy if we choose to see them with a thankful heart.
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What a week! It’s always a little extra crazy around here when our schedules get thrown off but this week was because of such a great reason – Thanksgiving!
The kids and Micah had Wednesday-Friday off from work and we really soaked up the vacation time. We rarely changed out of pjs, did a lot of snacking, and played lots of games. Micah’s parents arrived Wednesday night and stayed until mid morning on Saturday. We ate sooo much food for Thanksgiving. We did a small amount of Christmas shopping on Black Friday and plan on doing a bit more online for Cyber Monday. (Have you checked out the sales and deals page?)
I’m looking forward to a normal week though. We have no “out of the normal” plans this week and the kids definitely need some time to reset. After so many days off they are hitting their limits earlier and earlier and we need to get back on track.
1. Beautiful weather
We hit 50* on Monday – plus some really mild temps the rest of the week – so we got outside and decorated the driveway after school. It was still cool enough that we needed coats but compared to many Thanksgivings around here that include snow pants and eighteen layers, we will take it!
2. YouTube Live with Messy Tired Love
On Monday night I joined Kristina of Messy Tired Love for her monthly Mom Talk on YouTube Live. We chatted about my gratitude challenge, what it means to really be grateful, and issued each other a challenge to keep track of what we are grateful for on our bathroom mirror. You can watch the full video by clicking on it.
3. Cinnamon Pie
It doesn’t look like much but this cinnamon pie is nearly the perfect fall dessert. I say nearly because I really love apple crisp. But this pie has a super creamy texture and tastes like a cinnamon cheesecake – without the effort of a water bath for baking it. We topped it with caramel sauce and whipped cream, because obviously 😉
4. Sibling sleepover
Over the break we let all five kids have a sleepover in the little boys’ room from Tuesday night to Friday night. It was crazy, there were lots of arguments, but they genuinely do like this special time together.
5. Thanksgiving
Ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, gravy, buns, cranberry sauce, jello salad, pumpkin pie, cinnamon pie, apple crisp, and I don’t even know what else. We were stuffed! But we had such a nice day because while we waited for the turkey to cook we colored, played games, watched movies, and stayed in our pjs all day. We are so thankful for so many things.
Where did you find joy in the chaos this week?
