Thanksgiving recap!

Thanksgiving was spent at my cousin Trisha's house again this year. She has a great set-up for a large group of people (35 of us to be exact!) It was a great day spent sharing and laughing, eating and drinking, playing games and laughing some more!

This is a great picture of my grandma with Maggie! (I'm sure I will treasure this for a long time!)

our little family.....

we even got to celebrate birthdays for these too cute girls!


Then over the weekend....Andy and his brother, along with our friend Tim ("hi" Tim!) were able to attend a 25th anniversary of high school soccer in our town! All three guys got out and played...Aaron even scored a few goals!

And while the guys where playing a fun game of soccer...

I got this super cute shot of the Sullivan cousins!

The plan for later on Saturday night was to attend the Festival of Lights parade, however, once we got home and all warm and cozy we all decided to stay in, start a fire in the fireplace, eat s'mores and play games. It was a perfect evening just hanging out with all the Sullivans.

We did a brunch on Sunday as our Sullivan thanksgiving before Aaron and Janelle headed home!
It was a great Thanksgiving and sharing it with our family made it even more special!

Work in Progress!

Sorry for all the changes today....still working on things!

My little Native American!

Paper bag vest and noodle necklace....what could be better! Well, maybe a few feathers!

Crazy!

My crazy husband is outside right this very second mowing the yard.

What's so crazy about that you ask?

Well...first of all, it's pitch black outside (it's 6:50 p.m. here) and second of all, it's all of 32 degrees out there!

Want proof...

He's got his tunes....which makes it all good!

Guess he's getting some good use out of that several-hundred-dollar mountain bike head lamp!

Fall family pictures!

I posted these on Facebook a few weeks back, but I forget that most of my family doesn't do Facebook, but I know that several of them read this little blog of mine. So I thought, before I get in trouble with them, I better post a few.

Here are a few of my favorites:

She's growing up so fast!

Handsome boy!

I ♥ Max's expression in this one!

Their true smiles!

so sweet!

my most favorite people in the whole wide world!

Spreading the word!

**Update - A friend of mine checked the South Side Mission website today and apparently, they received 400 turkeys yesterday and cannot store anymore!!! However, they are behind financially and are accepting monetary donations.**


My cousin ("hi" Tina!) works at Peoria Journal Star which is our big city newspaper for those of you not in our area.

She sent me an email yesterday asking me to spread the word....on Facebook and on this blog. (She is one of the ten people who reads this blog on a regular basis!) So that is exactly what I am going to do....spread the word.

There are so many people in the world (and right in our own neighborhoods) that are in need. And we can help!

Every year the South Side Mission serves a turkey dinner on Thanksgiving, and this year they are planning to feed over 3,000 people. The problem is that they only have 8 turkeys. There is no way to feed that many people with so few turkeys.

Tina even said that they called to ask what else they needed and basically they said they need EVERYTHING.

Please read the full story here.

Tina and I talked last night at dinner about getting a few turkeys and taking them there....but then last night I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about how much money Andy and I spent on our dinner last night ($70 with tip)

which let me just add, it was a special occasion....it's not everyday that your dad and grandma have a birthday...(Happy Birthday today! Love you both very much!)

But, I woke up thinking about how much food that $70 could have bought and how many people that $70 could feed.

So today I'm on a mission. A mission to find $70. Which being toward the end of the month, an extra $70 isn't really in my budget. But I'm going to try to find at least $70 and then go buy as many turkeys and the fixin's that I can get. My plan is to take my goodies to the South Side Mission tomorrow afternoon.

Just think, while we are all enjoying a nice hot dinner (with entirely too much food) with family and friends on Thanksgiving Day in a nice, warm, welcoming home, there are people out there who are tired, hungry and alone.

So while you are out doing your Thanksgiving shopping this weekend....pick up a few extra things and drop them off at the South Side Mission. The little bit of extra time it takes you will mean the world to someone in need!

If you want to help . . .

Bring a turkey to South Side Mission, 1127 S. Laramie Street or Benevolence Center, 2919 W. Garden Street.

Thankful Thursday!

Just a few things I'm thankful for today!

• Having a bible study group who I was able to share with today....be open and NOT be judged! It's a good thing!

• Dinner out tonight to celebrate with my dad and grandma, who are both having birthdays tomorrow.

• A sister-in-law who is willing to keep the kiddos so that Andy and I can go to the above said dinner and only cut up our own food.

• My new GAP thermal shirts! I love them! I think I have worn one everyday this week (in a different color!)

• A kiss from a sweet boy leaving for an afternoon of kindergarten. And it wasn't just any kiss, it was a Oreo cookie mouth kiss! The very best kind!

• And lastly, I'm thankful for a dog who brings in all kinds of leaf pieces for me to vacuum up - EVERY SINGLE TIME HE GOES OUT.....what's the thankful part you ask? I'm thankful that it's leaves and not snow that I'm cleaning up!

Hope you can be thankful on this Thursday!

Project #1

Okay, before we go any further, you have to promise not to laugh....

and remember, I don't have that nifty little machine and makes this project so stinkin cute, so I had to improvise.

And use Word....

But, I think it's kinda cute...

Ready for the reveal....



I went ahead and did a Christmas theme, since I'm chompin at the bit to get my Christmas stuff out...next week...that will be next week!

Oh, and the white paper is going to make it easier for my old, very poor eyes to read...and hopefully the others in this house too!

More projects!

So I have discovered that in order to do all these wonderful projects that are floating around in my head, I really need this!

The silhouette machine! Isn't she pretty!

I think I could maybe even justify the price as I think about all the awesome things I could make for family, friends and even the church craft sale.

Or maybe this would be a great Christmas gift idea....just maybe!

So, do you have one? Want one? What would you make? I'd love to hear from someone who has one, maybe they could share with me all their tips and tricks!

Projects!

There are so many awesome blogs out there, and so many to inspire the creative side of me. One that I have been following lately is Little Birdie Secrets. They are so talented over there, and if I only had a tad bit of the talent these girls have, I'd be thrilled. But since they shared their super-cute-ideas, I guess it's okay for me to copy them. Right?!

This is the one I'm working on right now.

I love it! Our weekly meals are scribbled on a scrap piece of paper, and hung on the fridge...and that drives me crazy.

Take a look over there...let me know what you love....and I'll keep you posted on my menu board.

Classic

Max got these Lincoln Logs for his birthday from Aunt Janelle and Uncle Aaron. They have been a huge hit! Just a reminder for all of you out Christmas shopping, sometimes the classic toys that we all played with are the best!

Veteran's Day!

Remembering all who have and all who are serving our country! God bless you and thank you for all that you do!

I've been...

a bad, bad blogger......because it's been so unseasonably nice here. I just had to take advantage of the beautiful weather. Got a few great shots of the kiddos and their friends.







Tomorrow is the start of more typical November weather, so we should be back to our regular scheduled program.

Books!

Welcome to Max's library, "Would you like to check out a book?"

50 days of school!

Max's teacher is so fun and to celebrate the 50th day of school, she decided to have 50's day. Along with bringing in 50 of their favorite items, they got to dress up in 50's style clothes and have a super fun day and count to the number 50 a lot!

Here are just a few pictures:

lookin' pretty stylin' in his outfit! (The Star Wars tattoo played it's role perfectly!)

We tried to slick back the hair, but it worked out better to try to do a flat top style! Either way, Max loved how hard the gel made his hair! And it looked pretty cute, we might have to wear it that way more often!

This little sweetie was all decked out!

Ms. Shields and Max (don't they look like they could be in Grease 3...so cute!)

Oh, and when all the parents got there to help, Ms. Shields asked the kids a question. She asked, "Okay kindergarten, who is the King of Rock?".....they all yelled, "Elvis!"
Ms. Shields is a big fan of Elvis and had his music playing all afternoon!
(Max asked me later who Elvis was....I just laughed!)

Such a fun day, so glad I was asked to come and help!

The Chalk Guy!

What an amazing gift this guy has...all these pictures are drawn with chalk on a FLAT surface!

AMAZING!