Thankful mish-mash

I spent my afternoon yesterday coloring. Haven was napping and so I borrowed her crayons. I have to say, it was quite relaxing and instantly transformed me into a six year very intent on staying in the lines. I color with Haven on a regular basis, but she's messy and definitely does not stay in the lines so it was nice to not have to share my picture with her.

Lest you think I've finally lost it, there really was a good reason for my afternoon of coloring. I was trying to finish up the last of the ornaments for my Jesse Trees. I needed to get the trees done that are for my brother's families before we leave this afternoon. I only had one more ornament to finish (hence the coloring) and then Cale and I had to assemble the devotional books that we made. I am so happy with the way everything has come together for this project. It has been a ton of work, but I know it's something we will do for years to come and will hopefully be a tool to keep us focused on Christ in the midst of the busy Christmas season. I can't wait to start with Haven and Cale on December 1.

We are headed northeast tonight to spend the holiday with my family. Lots of turkey is going to be consumed in the next few days as we have a couple different Thanksgiving dinners. Tomorrow night we are going to my uncle's house to have a small, intimate dinner with 37 of my closest family members. We have to bring our own silverware from my mom's if we don't want to have to eat with our hands. I am really excited to see cousins that I haven't laid eyes on in over a year and to catch up with people I don't do a very good job of staying in touch with. It should be crazy, chaotic, delicious (my uncle is a fantastic cook), and loud. Sounds like the perfect family function!

We will have dinner with my immediate family (only 13 of us!) Thursday afternoon. I am going to be a good daughter and cook many of the sides ahead of time tomorrow so my mom can just focus on the turkey and stuffing. I am looking forward to making this, this and this. Yum! Maybe throw in a pumpkin cheesecake and a loaf or two of pumpkin bread and I have a busy day in the kitchen. But worth every second!

This has nothing to do with Thanksgiving, except that I am very thankful for them, but these are my new favorite sheets. Cheap, cute and cozy- what more do you need from your sheets??!! And while we are talking about cute and cheap, check out Haven's new friend that she procured last week during our displacement. The "zeebee" now sleeps with her and her bunny. I'm not sure if I bought it because I wanted her to have it, or if I felt guilty about our crazy week, or she was sick, or if I really thought she would love it. But whatever the reason, it's adorable and at 50% off, quite a steal.

Since I some how turned this into a favorite things post, let me just tell you about my new love for all things Etsy. I have spent an hour or two or ten perusing all the pretties. I would love to link to some of my faves, but since they are going to be Christmas presents for a few of the five people reading this, I will have to wait. Etsy is not a new discovery, but it's only just recently that I have really looked around the site at all the wonderful things to be found. If you are looking for some different, unique Christmas gifts then do yourself a favor and check it out.

And this concludes my post. I have a ton to do before we leave tonight so I better get to work and quit my rambling. We are headed over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house!