Preparing for Thanksgiving

Is it really going to be Thanksgiving in 12 days? I feel like the first day of Kindergarten was just a couple weeks ago. I guess that’s why I have that infamous quote from the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” posted on the top of my blog. Because if you don’t stop every once and a while and take in all of the goodness and blessings in your life, it could easily pass by without you even noticing.

With that being said, don’t let the “Marketing Giants of the Retail World” convince you that Thanksgiving isn’t a real holiday and that you should just skip forward to Christmas. Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday to teach your kids about the history of our country and talk to them about the intangible things they are truly grateful for. This may take a little explaining of course, as I know my little one would initially probably say he’s thankful for his Wii.

Our family has so much to be thankful for this year. We will be spending the holiday with both sets of our parents (plus more extended family), which is special for us, but even more incredible for Payton. We have our miracle baby on the way in less than 3 months. We have so many wonderful friends that love and support us, and we have our faith in God which grounds us each and every day and is the glue that holds us together. We are truly grateful.

Of course with as much as I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving (and believe me, I can almost taste the pie, turkey and cranberry sauce) I am not putting my head in the sand and ignoring the fact that Christmas will be here before I know it.

I started designing our Christmas card this week. I got the idea from another blog I follow where the family is highlighting a bunch of their family “adventures” from the year instead of a staged family portrait. I hope it comes out as good as I envision it in my head. I’m using Shutterfly this year for our card. They have so many great designs – many of which I would love to use next year when our Christmas card budget is a bit bigger. They even have Thanksgiving cards if you're feeling ambitious. I’ve included a few links below where you can view their templates.

• Holiday cards linked to http://www.shutterfly.com/
• Photo cards linked to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery
• Christmas photo cards linked to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-station ... hoto-cards
• Thanksgiving cards linked to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-station ... ving-cards

I think you may be as surprised as I was when you see just how many options there are and how so many of them look like the expensive custom cards that cost twice or three times as much. Plus, as my sis-in-law pointed out, with so many options, it’s rare that you will receive 10 of the same card design you choose.

Also, I printed off this adorable “Countdown to Thanksgiving” calendar on the Family Fun web site. It’s really cute and gives great ideas to start discussions about being thankful.

Okay, I’m off to bake some pumpkin bread! Happy Thanksgiving!