Thanksgiving...then Christmas.

Hello blogging friends. First of all I want to thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read my little blog. If you leave a comment I thank you for that too.  Sometimes I am amazed that anyone would actually come here and read what I have shared, it is even more special to have gotten to know some of you and being able to call you friends.

Well on my last post I said I was going to start decorating for Christmas...well......still working on that. I put away all of my fall decor and did some major cleaning so now I am ready to get things out for Christmas. I still had the Christmas spirit so I changed up my blog. I sure wish it was as easy to re-decorate our homes as it is our blogs. Just a few clicks and ta da...you are done. I guess that would not be nearly as fun as putting things in just the right place...maybe a better way to clean things up!

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and it is one of my favorite holidays. The best part is that most of the family is together and it is a very laid back holiday...says the girl that doesn't do any of the cooking. LOL  My brother Jon, SIL Judy, Ian, Ivan and Isaiah will be coming Thursday morning and stay overnight at Grandpa and Grandma's house. Isaiah hasn't been at Grandpa and Grandma's since Easter so Grandma is so excited to have him there. I am sure he will entertain all of us. Friday the shoppers will go shopping (nope I am not one of those) and my oldest nephew will come to my apartment and help me set up my tree and hang up my garland. They will go home on Saturday morning.

There are so many things that I am thankful for...
I am thankful that I have a God that loves me, accepts me and forgives me.
I am thankful for my family. They are my strength, my love and my joy
I am thankful that I get to babysit my nephew Isaiah
I am thankful for my friends that stick by me both in my life and my online friends.
I am thankful that I am pretty healthy and getting even healthier.
I am thankful for all the little things that touch my heart and make me smile every day.

Wishing you all a very blessed Thanksgiving. Again, thanks for stopping by.

Oh no...it hit me....

Well it hit us, we have snow...a nice white blanket of snow. I love the snow but boy oh boy is it ever cold here in Minnesota. That isn't what I meant that hit oh no it is....my Christmas spirit! I am so ready for it and the snow topped off the nagging feeling I have been having. My sister and I have gone to a few Christmas craft shows, we went to Tomah and they all had Christmas things out and of course I have bought new things. Now I want to start decorating...actually I AM going to start decorating. Tomorrow we have a HUGE craft show that we are going to but then this weekend I am going to start.  I am excited because I have new things to try this year. So out come my Christmas cd's and I am going to go wild.....hopefully! LOL

So about the craft show tomorrow. It is at the racetrack in Shakopee MN, it is a suburb of Minneapolis. There are like 500 booths and it is a little overwhelming but we just take our time. There are a lot of booths we don't stop at but then again there are our favorites where we spend a lot of time.  I am very excited not only for the show but it is always fun to spend the day with my sister.

Well that is about it. I will be back when I have some decorating done and share some pictures.

Happy November everyone!  It certainly feels like November, I was hoping to not turn my furnace on until November but ended up turning it on Oct. 30th, not too bad. Last night we ended daylight savings time. Most people don't like that it gets dark earlier now but I love it!  I love having my battery operated candles flickering, I love my scented candles burning, I love the twinkle lights on that stay up all winter and I love the feeling of warmth and safeness in my haven while it is dark and cold outside. Yes I am a little weird! LOL

I have my house decorated for fall but didn't put out as much as I usually do here are a few pictures.

My sweet little nephew did not go out trick or treating, too cold but he wore his costume and helped daddy give out candy . Also had his own Kit Kat! LOL

That is about all I have to share now.... have a wonderful grateful month!

Harvest Blessings Swap

Happy October everyone! Fall is certainly here in Minnesota. The trees are almost all colored and the weather is downright chilly. I love it though. Nothing better than cozy candles burning and being wrapped in warm quilts. I try not to use the furnace until it is absolutely necessary.  The smell of the candles and the flickering always make me feel so cozy.

I was blessed on this first day of October to receive my swap package from Jessica Blessings in the Country. This is the first swap ever that I held off opening everything until I took a picture of the wrapped things....see I am getting better. I just loved the black filling paper she had in the box.

 I got some neat tags, a bag with a pumpkin on it and a fall bottle tree and the cutest little turkey cookie cutter.

I got a great painted sign that I love because it is Thanksgiving and fall, I got pumpkin spice soap that smells wonderful, and a delish candle and two pumpkins.

I also got all of these beautifully stitched things. I am so in awe of all the work that went into these and how beautiful they are.

Thank you so much Jessica, you really spoiled me! Also another special thanks to Amy Bumblebee Lane for being a great hostess with the mostest!

Have a great fall everyone!

Getting Ready...

Hello friends...fall is in the air and I am so happy!  It is suppose to be even cooler this coming week but this weekend has been in the 70's and just perfect. My hometown is getting all "dressed-up" to celebrate our annual SeptOberfest. Here are some of the decorations around town...

Every weekend there are fun things to do but I think the best part is just enjoying the decorations.  I have a scarecrow and mums for a fall display but my flowers still look so pretty I am not going to change it yet. 

I noticed I finally hit 100 followers! I am excited! I will have to get going on a giveaway...I will let you know. Thanks to all of you, my  friends...Have a great week!

                                               

A Look Back.....Part 1

Hello there friends...the stranger is back!  Well it is Labor Day weekend and that is the unofficial end of summer. It is really hard to believe that the summer went so fast!  I am looking forward to fall though as I love decorating with all my fall things...I got the boxes out today.  I will work on it little by little.

I had a very nice and family filled summer. Right after school was out for my nephew in June my parents, sister and I all took him to South Dakota for a week.  First we stopped at a fantastic park in Sioux Falls called Falls Park, it was beautiful and lots of fun.

Then we went to a Native American school and museum in Chamberlain  SD. It was so interesting and really touched all of our hearts. 

Then it was on to the Badlands...again just beautiful and Ivan loved hiking all over them.

Dinosaur Park...

Crazy Horse

Lake Sylvan

The Needles Highway

Then of course we went to Mount Rushmore

We went through Custer State Park and saw a lot of wild life...a donkey even visited my mom...she was feeding him.

And last but not least we went to Wall Drug

It was a fantastic trip and my nephew loved that he got all of our attention...he has had a little of the middle child miseries since Isaiah was born. 

Thanks for sharing our trip with me...I know there were a lot of pictures.