The happiest of days!

Did you have a wonderful Thanksgiving?  We sure did!  Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t perfect nor stressless but I went to bed exhausted and FULL of thanks! We are so blessed!  Here’s a few pictures from our day of Thankfulness.

Our day started out with Laffy Taffy getting up at 4:45.  Yes, that would be in the morning.  He was so excited to EAT apparently.  I held off our morning appetizers to a “late” time of 7:30.  They basically inhaled all this food.  After appetizers and cleaning up we set up our family photo shoot.  You will see pictures of that fun time in my header up top. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was on while our photo shoot was happening too.

At 1:00 our first round of company arrived!

I offered to take a  few photos for them too.  This is Mr. Taffy’s sister and her daughters, our nieces.  Such lovely ladies!

Then I got a picture of all the cousins.  We thought this would be a nice gift for the kid’s great-grandma.  The children don’t have grandparents on my husband’s side, besides Great-Grandma, so she is pretty cherished by this whole group.

After photos, we ate!  (2pm)

See my empty spot there by Mr. Taffy.  (smile)   Everything was delicious and I have lots of leftovers!

After lunch I sent the older kids on a Scavenger Hunt around the neighborhood.

It was a very exciting time.  Mr. Taffy gave them a 45 minute limit.  They each had a cell phone with them to take pictures of the things they found.  Team 3 won!  I gave the winners each a $5 gift card to Target.  The excitement came in when the temperature started dropping and then it started sleeting.  By the time they got home, it had started snowing!  That wasn’t even in the forecast!  I made them hot chocolate and they warmed up playing games until our second round of company came. (6pm)

I didn’t even get a picture of that…but our dear friends came over with their 4 children, we all had dessert together, the kids played spoons and other LOUD games, the grown-ups just talked and talked and talked.  Everybody left around 10.  The roads were nasty, but everybody got home safe and sound.

It was a wonderful day!  I’ve just got so much to be thankful for!  One of them that comes to mind is today (the day after Thanksgiving) I don’t have anything that I HAVE to do!  I’m going to take to day to rest after all that work.  I’m sitting by the warm fire listening to the girls do crafts and the boys watching Cars 2, the snow is blowing around outside and the Peppermint Jo-Jo’s are divine!

Joyfully,

Mrs. Taffy

Preparing to be Thankful

I feel like I am on some kind of speed train or something.  Life is going by so fast. I never have a moment to long for the next moment to come because each moment goes whizzing by so fast I almost miss it.  I’m afraid if turn my back or close my eyes for a minute, I’m going to miss something, anything.  I remember a time when I would be so anxious for the next event to come, the next day, the next celebration.  I just don’t ever feel like that anymore.  My children still feel that way, like time isn’t moving fast enough.  I hear them all the time, “I just can’t wait…” “I’m so excited!”  “Only 35 more days until…”  35 days might as well be tomorrow as far as my train ride is concerned.

I’m trying to slow this train down, trying to enjoy moments and make them last longer.  Truly our life is but a vapor.  But I want to enjoy and experience each little droplet in that vapor.

Thanksgiving is next week.  Next week?  I still feel like 2012 just started, wasn’t it just January?  Do you see  the struggle I’m having?

I’ve made myself many a list.  A menu.  A shopping list.  A task list.  But I almost don’t want to start checking things off because as soon as I do it’s all going to be over with.  Oh what to do?!  I guess I’ll just hold on tight, treat each fleeting moment with joy.  Allow my heart to swell with thankfulness.  Ignore the annoyances.  Demand peace.

All my rambling thoughts aside, here is my menu for Thanksgiving Day, in case you are curious.

Appetizers:

Deviled Eggs (Mr. Taffy’s favorite)

Cranberry and Pumpkin Bread

Cheese and crackers with Summer Sausage (Laffy Taffy’s favorite)

Apple Orchard Punch

Thanksgiving Dinner:

Turkey (I make ours in a roasting pan)

Pumpkin Rolls (Recipe here)

Twice Baked Smashed Potatoes

Butternut Squash with Thyme

Gravy

Stuffing (From Trader Joe’s)

Green Beans ( I just steam frozen organic green beans)

Cranberry Sauce (From Trader Joe’s)

Dessert:

I’ve got so many things I could make...

Blueberry Pie (in freezer already)

Apple Pie

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

Frog Legs (Chocolate Taffy’s Specialty)

I’m sure I’ll make something else too, just because I can.

I have a couple special things planned for Thanksgiving Day.  Mr. Taffy’s sister and daughters will be here to have dinner and dessert with us.  I found a Thanksgiving Day Scavenger Hunt on the Family Fun website and I’m going to send the kids on that at some point during the day.  We’ll do family photos, watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  I have a gift for all my children collectively and a “it’s the beginning of the Christmas Season”  gift for the girls, my nieces included.  Our dearest friends are joining us for dessert with their 4 children.  I’m making up baskets of food to share with our guests.  I know the day will be wonderful!  I’m really looking forward to it, but not too anxiously because I know how quickly it will be over with.  I want to savor the moments, like I’m going to savor that Cranberry Upside Down Cake!

My life is overflowing with joy and thankfulness and blessing.  To spend a day to remember all of ways that the Lord has provided is such a delight.  We look forward to this day all year long.  If we are thankful, we are content.  Praying that the hearts of my children will find a way to be thankful in every situation.  Praying that I can be a good example of doing that.  There’s just so much to be thankful for!

Thankfully content,

Mrs. Taffy

Beach Day

We have had a tradition for a few years now where on Tuesday’s we meet our friends at the beach.  It’s not really a beach, it’s a man-made lake in a Park Reserve.  It’s a pretty long drive for me, but it’s worth it.  The children have so much fun and I get to spend time with my friends, visiting.  Here’s how I get ready for a day away.

Pack a LOT of food!

Being outside and swimming makes for hungry children.  I actually dread this part of getting ready, but I’m always happy when I’m done!  For this trip I made about 12 sandwiches of the turkey, cheese and pea shoot variety.  We had peanut butter balls that Blue-Raspberry made especially for our trip.  Carrots, sugar snap peas, cherries, and potato chips.  I brought a slice of cheese, graham crackers and a peach for marshmallow.  She’ll also eat the cherries.

All the food goes into the cooler, I have the kind with wheels and a handle.  I also pack paper plates, napkins, plastic wear, cups, a target bag for trash and our picnic table cloth.  And I’m always thankful when I remember to add a knife and a little cutting board.

I try to pack light, because it’s hard to keep track of everything once we get there.  In the white and pink bag are the kid’s beach towels.  The teenagers have their own stuff that they are responsible for, so I just have stuff for 4 of the children in here.  There is also goggles and sun hats in that bag.  The Trader Joe’s bag has a change of clothes for all my little people.  I actually have them change before we leave the beach.  I just do right there in the grass, I keep them covered up with their big beach towel.  It’s so much nicer than waiting until we get home, then all the sand falls out at the beach, not in the truck or at home.  The bag then becomes the wet bag and holds everybodies wet suits for the drive home.  The little bag there is my beach diaper bag.  I normally use cloth diaper, except on beach day.  So this bag has a couple diapers, some wet wipes, the sunscreen, and some Bee Spray (for owies).

When the kids get up in the morning they put on their swimsuits right away. And we try to put on a layer of sunscreen then too, but we don’t always remember to do that.

One of my older sons loads the truck up for us.  See our big water cooler?  That butterfly bag holds the sand toys.  I have two chairs that I bring, one for in the water and one for out.  The stroller is a life saver when Marshmallow is eating lunch or needs a break from the water, plus it’s a good place to stash my purse and her diaper bag and the sunscreen.

The Park Reserve has lots of nice grass to play in, the kids love to play baseball and ultimate frisbee and other things…

But their favorite place is definitely the water!

When we get home, the whole process is reversed.  Everybody helps unload.  Everybody has a job whether it’s starting the laundry, unloading the cooler or putting away the beach stuff.  We have a pretty good system which makes it so we can keep going back.  Being organized keeps all the effort it takes to get there a joy instead of a burden.

I hope you are enjoying your summer too!

Joyfully,

Mrs. Taffy

Mother’s Day 2012

I’m a little behind, but I had such a nice Mother’s Day and got so many lovely photos, I just have to share!  The best part of the day was that my Mom was here!  The second best part of the day was the weather:  Totally perfect!

My husband got us breakfast from Panera!  So fun!  Bagels all around a special breakfast sandwich and pastry for my mom and I.  Oh and a COFFEE!!  YUM!

The children gave me some lovely heart felt gifts, including an album full of lovely words, their own words and how they felt about me.  Tears!  Such a great gift!

I asked the children to indulge me in a few well-planned photos.  I wanted: one of me and my mom, me with my children and all the girls together.  They happily agreed!

3 Generations.  Strawberry isn’t really that much taller than me, we were standing on a group of tree roots!

After breakfast and pictures we loaded up, minus one son who had to work (sniff!) and went to the Zoo!

The older I get, the more I appreciate my mom!  She is such a stable and encouraging voice in my life.  She never meddles but always shares her wisdom if asked for it.  She loves each one of my children and NEVER criticizes my family size.  She even told me she would love any children that could one day be adopted into our family.  I’m so blessed!

Did I mention what a gorgeous day it was?  Perfect!

After the zoo Mr. Taffy took us to our favorite Chinese Food restaurant.  Would you believe we bumped into my best friend and her family there?  They were just finishing up!  It was such a blessing to see her and see her mom and her children, it was a totally random surprise but it made me happy anyway! 

I can’t remember what we did for the rest of the evening?  Mom?  I think we came home and watched a movie or something but I can’t remember.  It was such a great day, it doesn’t really matter what we did that night!

I think Mother’s Day is less about being honored as mom’s and more about enjoying our role, our position.  Delighting in those precious lives the Lord has entrusted in our care, it’s not about being pampered and appreciated, it’s a day to recognize the power in Mothering and to be thankful for the one’s we have and the one we are! 

Joyfully,

Mrs. Taffy

After Christmas Catch-Up!

Just like you I have been super busy, busier than normal it seems!  We’ve celebrated Christmas, we’ve cleaned up from Christmas, we’ve started a new project, visited some friends and spent a lot of time talking about the weather!

Here’s some highlights…pictures are better than words in most cases.

These are the kids gifts to each other.  They draw a name to see which sibling they are buying for.  They opened these presents on Christmas Eve, right after we ate a lunch of frosted sugar cookies!  Ahhhh…traditions!

This is Mr. Taffy’s creation, it’s him and me…so funny and disgustingly sweet, just like the two of us!  hahaha!

Waiting patiently to open gifts!

Laffy Taffy and Blue-Raspberry drew each other’s names.           

He looks pretty happy huh?  It’s a watch if you can’t tell.

Banana and Bubble Gum drew each other’s names.  See the paper on his head?  That’s how she unwrapped everything, paper was flying EVERYWHERE!

Get ready Banana….she’s about to smother you with JOY!

I hope you took a deep breath before that squeeeeze!

Strawberry and Chocolate drew each other names.  Isn’t it funny how they paired up?  She gave him a book and a watch, he gave her an all-purpose pocket knife tool, in hot pink!

Our dessert table.  Everything is soy-free except the chocolate things.  Though I did make some special soy-free chocolate treats for Chocolate Taffy, I just didn’t put them out for everybody.

Christmas morning.  It’s our tradition to hide the kid’s stockings so they go looking for them whilst I make the coffee!  Then they all have to wait until Mr. Taffy and I are settled in with coffee cup in hand, then they can start digging!  It’s loud and messy and really fun!

Another tradition we have…I can’t exactly remember when it started, is to give the children 3 gifts each.  We open them one at a time, youngest to oldest. It helps make the morning last longer and helps with growing and nurturing patience and joy for others.  I bought most of those gifts for Mr. Taffy.  He’s lost so much weight he needs new clothes, especially under garments!  He stocking was full of socks and underwear.  Not that exciting, but socks for his king size feet are expensive!

This was the gift I was most excited about!  Are you ready for the reveal?

He blogged all about it here! 

Here’s the gift run-down if you are interested in that sort of thing:

Banana-Cowboy hat, 2 Missionary books and Cross Necklace.

Chocolate-A complicated Tank Model with Marines to build, Lego Book and Remote Control Helicopter.

Strawberry-My old Kindle  (Yipee) and 2 CD’s that she REALLY wanted and a wedge book light.

Blue-Raspberry-An indoor scooter, legos and another set of legos.

Bubble Gum-3 different Melissa and Doug Horse toys, one was a stamp set.

Laffy Taffy-A Lightening McQueen sleeping bag, a stuffed sword and a learning toy that uses a “real” drill.

Marshmallow-We didn’t really buy her anything.  She got a few things from other people but not us.

And me…I got a Kindle Fire!  Sweet!  I got to open it a little early though.  It wasn’t supposed to be here until Christmas Eve, but it came early!  I love it!  Mr. Taffy actually bought me a few things for it, like a digital magazine subscription and a book about the evils of soy.  Did I mention I’m having a little fun playing Angry Birds?  What a waste of time!  Fun though!  It’s a nice distraction from the mess that is my house…ugh.

I took down all our Christmas decorations yesterday…they started to crowd me!  It was a wonderful celebration, all but the weather, which makes us long to dig in the garden, not hunker down by the fire with our gifts!  I’ll tell you about our “project” soon! 

I pray your Christmas was wonderful and memorable and full of joy! 

Joyfully,

Mrs. Taffy

Abundant Living

When I reflect back on the past few days this is what comes to mind…abundant living.  At the close of yesterday I was overwhelmed with all the blessings that abound in my life, from the visit from my mom to the barn dance, from loving and like-minded friends to the joy the rebirth.

Dead to sin…alive to Christ.

We had an awesome day on Sunday, being witness to the baptism of two young people eager and heartfelt in their desires to worship and follow the One True God.

A private tucked away beach on a gorgeous lake in the east metro.  Look at all those amazing children!

The lovely young ladies who led us in worship.

Before the actually “drowning” our friends brother did some teaching about baptism and how they did them during the time of the early church.  He then asked the kids a series of questions about their faith and the step they were about to take.   Following the questions, each young person shared their personal testimony as to how they came to this moment.  It was so amazing!

Out into the chilly water they go!  The weather couldn’t have been any better, the fellowship couldn’t have been any sweeter and the hearts of these young people couldn’t have been any more tender towards the Lord.

This was Banana Taffy’s second baptism.  Weeks ago he came to Mr. Taffy telling him that needed to be baptized again.  How could we refuse!  It’s not a reflection of poor parenting or of bad choices, but it’s a reflection of a young boy becoming a man and learning to hear the voice of the Lord for himself.  This is our strongest desire!

Afterward they were anointed and prayed for!  We all rejoiced in their decision, in their rebirth, in the significance that this day will hold for them for the rest of their lives.

Thank you Lord for Abundant Life!  And that you give it so fully!

Joyfully,

Mrs. Taffy