thanks.

With all of my talk about Christmas I want to assure you, dear readers that I am not jumping the gun 

and skipping over Thanksgiving. Oh no, not me! In fact, Thanksgiving might be 

my husband's favorite holiday if you ask him. I do so love this time of year though... 

the anticipation, preparation and spirit of the entire holiday season. It totally captivates me 

and I absolutely want to make the most of it for my family. 

Last year we made a Blessing Tree in the month of November to sort of display what we are thankful for as a centerpiece in our home. It was so much fun to listen to (then) 3-year old Carson tell us what he was most thankful for. Last year, when I asked him what he was thankful for, he said, "Jesus, Daddy and concrete mixers." This year, he had much more to say... and I let him dictate what went on the tree almost entirely. I added a few for our family, a few for Slade, and a few of my own. 

 The Tichenor Family Blessing Tree circa 2011

 And some close-ups of what made the leaves this year...  

 Here's the back of the leaves... I should have used my brain and written the words on the green side. 

 My sweet Carson ALWAYS wants to help... whether it's cooking, projects... he's hands on!

It's sitting in the middle of our kitchen table and we love it so much already. Last year's tree branches got crushed in the garage and somewhere along the way the whole thing got tossed out. This year's isn't as cute as the one from 2010, but we are still THANKFUL for it and all that it represents. Speaking of kitchen table... I rolled our other table outside today and moved the table that I made a tablecloth for into the kitchen. It's much smaller than our other table, but it allows for so much more "space" in the area. I am really loving it for now. I like to change things up and this striped tablecloth just makes my day!

I had some requests to give a few ideas to mamas who are preparing Mini Mail packages this week.

Here's the November assignment again for your reference.

• As an alternative to the traditional book for "something to read"-- you might consider a magazine subscription for your pen pal. Zulily has some great choices on sale this week! What fun to keep receiving mail from your first pen pal all year long. There's several kid-friendly choices ranging from $5-$10 for the subscription. Checkout Mailbox Must Haves on zulily!
• Something in your favorite color... oh the possibilities are endless! A package of blue balloons, green mittens, red candy, pink socks... child too young for a favorite color? Send something CLEAR like bubbles!
• Something you are VERY thankful for... this can vary greatly... as our Blessing Tree indicates. My Carson is thankful for firetrucks, chicken nuggets, Jesus, and his sweet friends. Hopefully not in that particular order. You could send a small toy that is your child's favorite thing. A treat they just cannot live without. Remember, these are little ones, not grown adults with "priorities"... it's perfectly okay to send a package of yogurt melts. Slade thinks they are the very best thing on the planet. If he could tell me himself, I think he'd shout with glee over his thankfulness for yogurt melts! Ha.

A local bakery, The Sweet Boutique, posted this picture this evening. 

It's soft, fresh-from-the-oven Gingerbread cookies and 

I CANNOT STOP THINKING ABOUT THEM. I have to have some. 

Honey, if you're reading this... feel free to make a pit stop on your way home!

 

 Thank you all SO very much for your interest in the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Pillows.

I will continue to take orders over the coming weeks. Email me if you'd like one! Details HERE.

Old Navy just debuted some super sweet things for winter. I am in love with this sock monkey hat 

for baby Miles! Have to swing by there this week to scoop one up for him. 

Hope that your week has been wonderful thus far...