Thanksgiving Tablecloth

Are you up for another family tradition? We started a few new ones this year but this is an old tradition. I wish we'd begun this one YEARS and YEARS ago, but we started it in 2000. We've been doing it long enough now that our tablecloth is starting to look respectable.

Very simply, I bought the cheapest plain colored cloth I could fine. It WAS cheap - I probably should have bought better quality and splurged for a color....but then again it speaks of where we were when the tradition began. ::snort:: We have all our guests for Thanksgiving Dinner sign the tablecloth. BreAnne and Krista embroidered the names after the dinner for years. This worked well when they were still at home. Arielle pulled it out last night and we realized that she's not finished more than 2 names from 2006's celebration. She took this chore over. She wanted to do it because it had been the girls' job. Her stitching is MUCH nicer than mine, in fact I have no clue how to embroider or cross stitch...but I'm learning this year. ::snort:: We have 3 weeks to get all the names from last year done.
Oh yes, an important point to consider is how you will classify your names/years. The girls and I decided to pick one COLOR each year. We stitch the year and our location in the color and then stitch all names of visitors that year in that color. This works. Mike mentioned he'd like it better if we had areas sectioned off and had ALL the names from that year in that one box. Can you tell that he's more sequentially/organizationally gifted than I?

This is a fun tradition. We can watch the children's writing from year to year. We can track when a new family member entered our family. We can remember various friends fondly each year as we spread the cloth. I WISH we'd begun this when the kids were little...and Grams, Uncle Bill, and Mike's folks shared those holidays with us.....BUT I'm glad we began when we did.

It HAS become apparent that I have some children that will want this cloth when I'm finished setting Holiday tables. Because there are 9 children and I have one cloth, I've begun to think of other Holidays that need a special tablecloth. I have purchased a light gold cloth and will start a Christmas Cloth this year. I have NO IDEA how we'll get all the names stitched as well as a Thanksgiving cloth....makes me cringe to think of it....but we're going to give it a shot. 9 Holidays - Hmmmm.....
Jared and Arielle display our cloth - which needs laundering badly. The names will wash off, so we can't wash it until we are done stitching....oh the pressure!

Here's a shot of Arielle's signature in 2002 when she was 5 years old - it's HER first signature as the girls had signed for in earlier years.

Here's Arielle's signature from 2005 when she was 8 years old.

For the next few weeks Arielle and I will be sitting in the recliner and stitching names in all our spare moments.

TESTING

Well - I'm learning - that's about all we can say at this point. I tried to put the fall graphic with the wagon up in the title bar - but it won't go where it should..... I do think I got the link to country graphics and logo working....as well as the Operation Christmas Child...it should be clickable now.... I still am not totally happy with the graphics...but I'm happier...and some day when I have lots of time to play....I'll find the RIGHT graphics that say JOY.....Mike said that the bread and skillet could stand for "Joy in Work" ....though the pie seems to say "pleasure" so maybe it is better than the skillet.....

I need flowers or tea cups or candles or well I'll keep thinking......Enough playing time. I've caught some sniffles or something and don't feel like doing a single thing today.

Big problem - anyone else who has figured this out let me know....When I use the links from photobucket - any html link in the post box (even live signature) when I click "spell check" it messes up all the graphics. Does this mean that with the automatic signature and the cute graphics I will never be able to spell check?

I've worked through it with the photos from Photo Bucket by not adding them until I'm done writing an entry and spell checking. When all is checked, I add the PB links and insert photos. BUT now that the graphics and signature are html links in my posting box - I can't ever spell check or it messes up - shows a url and an empty box with an X in it. Any known work arounds?

End of the Day

What a great night we had! There's a new leaf on our Thankful Tree. It says "opportunity to share the gospel on Halloween".

We had a blast. We were overrun which was perplexing...but that's o.k. We usually have 10 - 15 visitors. We prepared for 30. We made an extra 30 bags, then we had to turn the light out. Next year, we'll prepare for more.

Zander has found his calling. He LOVES to greet people.


He was full of Zander comments and most took it well.

He did tell some older boys they were supposed to say "trick or treat" if they wanted candy. He also told Spiderman that he'd already been to our house before. ::snort:: Note that people don't care if you wear your clothes backwards (tag issues) if you smile big enough and give them bags of candy.

We played Ruckus.

We played Twister. The game begins with lots of tangles...

Then the field begins to narrow - this round ended up being a match between Jared and Michael.



They even talked me into giving up my role as spinner....I didn't win but I DID discover new ways to stretch muscles I'd forgotten I possesed.



We are discussing how to mount our twister on to some sort of foamboard....maybe double it too....They began to envision Grandma and Grandpa and the girls and Nicholas....but really the twister board is simply not big enough - someone will get seriously injured.

"Southern Blessing Mix?"

Remember that Blessing Mix? Some of the pieces are proving hard to find. For instance the bags, the candy corn...and well....the bugles. The Bugles are supposed to be a symbol of our nation's abundance. Nothing says blessing like a bag of pork rinds? I was convincing myself that I could change the tag to say "Pork Rinds are a symbol of our nations over indulgence - I mean abundance." This is the south - it could work. Pork Rind is a treat down here. I was about to go for it - when I FOUND the bugles. Shew.

I still need to find some fall bags...not sure where else to look.

We're Ready - for the night!

I never did FIND all the yard decor for fall. I'm sure I put it "somewhere" and I'm sure the "somewhere" is NOT where Mike stores our yard decor. I bet we'll find that we didn't pack things the same way last year at Christmas when we unpack those too. Ah well.

Hobby Lobby and Tractor supply had things 50% off yesterday so we bought a few things for the yard. I had a chuckle at BUYING fall colors. It does cheer me up to see red leaves in the yard. ::snort::






For years, we've either ignored today's "holiday", hid in the basement with the lights out, or tried to be GONE..... This year? We're staying home, we're trying to let our light shine in the middle of the goings on in the neighborhood.

Our Jesus pumpkin will be shining, our Lord of the Harvest flag flapping....




We've prepared tracts and goodie bags to give out.


Arielle has become my holiday buddy - and I'm thrilled! Those first holidays were lonely to plan after the girls left.


Our goodie bags:Christians like pumpkin paper, tract we downloaded and folded, 2 boxes of raisins, organic, juice-colored lollipop, play dough and a few pieces of cheap candy. Unfortunately, with Shop Natural not taking our order we weren't able to find the "good" candy. I'll plan better next year. I hope. ::snort::


Yeah - we know that most will toss the paper without reading....but then they'll remember that the house with the Jesus pumpkin gave out good gifts...maybe that will plant a seed? We're praying it does. After all, though we could argue the current church practice of trying to "sweeten the gospel", GOD DOES GIVE GOOD GIFTS! Maybe it won't plant any seeds - but we like shining better than hiding, that's for sure. ::snort::

WooHOO!

Trish showed me how to put my signature in the formatting of the blog so that I don't have to remember it EVERY time I write a post! YES! Next - a graphic or icon. LOL I'm learning.Just in case there are others pasting the code into EACH blog entry.....here's the simple instructions: Go to your blogger dashboard, click settings, click formatting, scroll down to post template box (bottom), copy and paste your code from My Live Signatures or whatever code you have in there....and BAM! It takes small victories to make my day!

OK - I loaded a graphic - not happy with the size or really the look - and I'll need to figure out how to do the linkware to the site that has free graphics...but I'm working on it.... for the time being I found the bread graphic here and when I figure out exactly which graphic I want and where I'll also learn how to do the link thing..... or someone tell me how to link to that ladies site in my sidebar so that it's all spiffy and legal while I figure out how to uncompress the country graphics I downloaded from another site to see if there is something there I like better. ::snort::Test, test, test.

OY VEY

Nine children and I've NEVER seen this. THIS is what met me when I got home from Curves this a.m.

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Um.....I think she needs to fine tune her technique.