Our Jesse Tree

In past years we have had an advent wreath leading up the Christmas.  This year I decided to do a Jesse Tree after coming across this resource from Ann Voskamp  It's nice to have some quiet & calm family time to reflect on the true meaning of the Christmas season.

We begin by having Aaron light our candle

Then Rachel gets the appropriate ornament from the basket and places it on the tree.

Then we read the scripture for the day and a short devotional.  At the end of the devotional there are suggestions for actions to apply what we've talked about to our life.

 It's so easy to get distracted with gifts, shopping, busy schedules, and activities.  We want our home to be peaceful and focused on God's love for us this month.

Turkey, pie, & Black Friday ads

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM THE HACKNEY 4

The day was kicked off around 8AM with pancakes and getting the turkey in the oven.  At 9:00 AM the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade is on.  Rachel was excited to see Santa!

At 10:30 AM I looked at the list of foods to make and noticed that we hadn't started the rolls!!  Time for a mad dash to get the bread machine going!

About that time we sent Dad and Dusty out to get what we had forgot!  There was not a single tub of cool whip to be found at the supermarket so we had to make do with making homemade whipped cream instead.  We were suffering indeed!

Daniel, Becky, and the kids arrived around noon.  Since we had started the rolls late dinner was pushed back until 1:00 PM.  In the meantime Becky had a special surprise present for Daniel...a Black Friday Survival kit - complete with a pin to jab at anyone who got in his way.

Molly was excited to be celebrating her 1st Thanksgiving!

The occupants of the "kids table"

Dessert time sometime leads to an invasion of personal space!

 And by 2:30 PM....it's time to crash!

And then there was the pilgrims and indians that ran crazy through the house

Molly's choice of entertainment....a Thanksgiving book

and perusing the Black Friday ads!



Kindergarten Feasting

Today was the Kindergarten feast at Rachel's school.  Her class was dressed as the indians and other classes came in as pilgrims.  The teachers were even in the spirit.

The feast consisted of milk, vegetable soup, cornbread, popcorn, and pumpkin pie.  I didn't have high hopes with the 5 year olds and veggie soup, but there were kids wanting seconds.

Rachel and her "indian" buddies Hailey, Anaya, and Katya

Rachel's teacher was in full indian gear and another teacher had the good fortune to be the Thanksgiving turkey! :)

Cooking Buddies

Rachel likes to help her mommy and likes to help in the kitchen, but sometimes I would just rather not deal with a potential mess.  Realizing the error of my ways tonight I said, "Rachel come help me make dinner."  She was so excited.  So we gathered our ingredients for lasagna.  (And yes, I realize my daughter is  in pajamas at 5:00 PM...It's Saturday!)

Rachel helped with grating and stirring up the cheeses

Time to put the layers together

Clean up!  Jars to the recycling bin.

Mmmmm.....cheesy!

There was really no more mess than usual and she was so proud of her lasagna.  Well worth a little extra time!

And this one....he did help by setting the table...we'll let him stay and eat. :)

Coffee, chocolate, friends, & prayer

What more do you need? This evening was a "Flavors of West Africa" prayer night. Hosted by my good friend Stacy, the evening got started with a West African tradition...hand washing.

Since West Africa produces coffee and cocoa there was dark chocolate brownies, coffee, chocolate covered espresso beans, a traditional african banana dish, and some pumpkin muffins thrown in for good measure.

 

Followed by a wonderful time of conversation and prayer for our missionaries and the people of West Africa.

It was a lovely evening...good food, good friends, meaningful conversation, and a great God! 

Did you Know....

...that Indianapolis is second only to Washington D.C. in the number of memorials and monuments dedicated to those who have served our country?  Several weeks ago I did a photo shoot at the Indiana War Memorial for a family.  I had never been inside the monument.  I had a few minutes to walk around before the family got there.  I will definitely be going back when I have more time....very interesting.

Turkey in a Tutu

Rachel's school project for this weekend was for the family to work together to "disguise" her turkey so he would escape from Thanksgiving dinner unharmed.  Our take on the turkey.  Make it into a ballerina. :)

Mmmmm

My daily afternoon treat....a hot beverage...enjoyed slowly.  Today is was Trader Joe's sipping chocolate with an obnoxious amount of whipped cream.  And I've taken to drinking out of my good china cups.  Why?  Because what good are they sitting on the shelf not being used.  Get out your good china and USE IT!   If anyone deserves the good china it's you and your family. :-) 

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today's Project

My maternal grandparents, who have both passed away, were very special to me.  I found a neat way to honor their memory in my home.  My grandfather played the harmonica and had enough of them that all of his grandkids were able to have one.  I also had a hankerchief that belonged to my grandmother.  So instead of letting them sit in a box up on a shelf I found this shadowbox to place them in along with a photo of them around the time they got married.  I don't like to keep a lot of stuff just for the sake of keeping things.  And to quote organizing guru Peter Walsh, "If something's important you should find a way to treat it with honor"  So here's the finished product.