Currently - Thanksgiving Edition

Drinking...hot chocolate, in my freshly decorated house, twinkly lights sparkling. 

Excited about...telling you all about the big event of the week...we got a puppy!  I thought we would wait a while after Harvey before getting another dog, but as I mentioned, I found it particularly sad to come home to a quiet house.  I just like having something living at home waiting for us. I was ready for another dog quicker than I thought, but I still thought it would be a while because I wanted to get a dachshund, and whenever we looked at breeders, the prices were $2500 or more.  I'm sorry, but that's a little absurd to pay that much for a dog.  I'm still a bit flabbergasted that they can actually charge that much.

My mom suggested we look on Craig's List, and despite my general suspicion of Craig's List, we checked it out. We found a dachshund puppy that was ready to be adopted within a week, and for MUCH less than $2500 dollars, I'll tell you that!  

We decided to name her Cindy Lou Who, Lulu for short, and she is completely adorable.  We got her right around the 9 week mark.  It's brought alot of freshness and fun to the house to have her trotting around, climbing on our laps, and yes, chewing on things throughout the day.  She's our little Christmas puppy, and we are enjoying our new furry family member.

So, fair warning, all the pictures in this post are pretty much going to be of Lulu.

Relieved to...be done with Christmas decorating.  We got everything set up in stages last weekend, and now we can sit back and enjoy it!  I don't know why, but Christmas decorating was stressing me out this year.  There is just so much to set out, and so much to have to put away again later.  But now that it's done, I'm loving the lights and I'm in a festive mood. Thanksgiving should have it's time, but we've always decorated the weekend before Thanksgiving, and Thanksgiving advocate though I am, I prefer decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving.  That way we can move right into the Christmas season without too much stress!

Working on...figuring out what Thanksgiving pie I want to bring to my mom's house.  I think I might try a lemon meringue.  

The notorious lemon meringue. I've written alot about it before, so I won't get into it again.  

Speaking of pies, I watched this video of Irish people trying Thanksgiving pies for the very first time, and it just made me feel happy!  (Warning, there is some bad language in this video.)  Plus, the cherry pie they used was weird, no wonder they didn't like it. And they did NOT try a lemon meringue, which I feel is very much a Thanksgiving pie.  There was some debate in the comments about whether a cherry pie actually is a Thanksgiving pie, and now I'm wondering if people eat lemon meringue on Thanksgiving, or if that's just a thing in my family.  Do you eat cherry or lemon meringue on Thanksgiving?  Or just pumpkin and pecan all the way?

Planning to...wrap Christmas presents within the next week or so.  Wrapping presents is one of those tasks that Derek and I often leave until it's Christmas Eve, when we suddenly remember that there is still a present stash under our bed.  It's just not satisfying to wrap presents when you know all that hard work is going to be undone within 24 hours.  I've decided that early is actually way better than late in this instance, and I'm going to get them done sooner this year.

Watching...the PBS version of Little Women that came out a couple years ago - Little Women seems like such a Thanksgiving movie to me, in every version.  This version is pretty good so far - I like the guy they got to play John much better than the one in the 1994 movie.

Buying...I'm actually trying to abstain from most of the Black Friday shopping this year - I already bought Christmas presents, and I need to try not to blow the budget.  We are strongly considering buying this theology curriculum to do with the kids though, because it's supposed to be 25% off on Monday.  And I did succumb and buy more of my favorite foundation.  I was going to need to buy some more in a month or two anyway, and this kind lasts me for 4-5 months easily, so it's a pretty good deal even when it's not 30% off.  I feel like it looks very natural and skin-like, and it covers really well, but don't get the matte product!  It's not nearly as good, and I learned that the hard way. What sales are you eyeing for the coming week?

Listening to...this playlist of rather obscure Christmas hymns that I put together using the list from this book from G3 ministries as a reference.  Some of these I had never heard before, and some I only have a vague memory of.  The kids and I became attached to "Good Christian Men, Rejoice", and we've been humming and singing it all over the house.  It's fun to add good, Christ-centered songs to our Christmas repertoire! Note: There are multiple versions of some hymns on the playlist because I'm still trying to decide which one I like best.

Thankful for...so many things, as I'm sure I say every year.  

I'm thankful for Jesus, for His death to pay for my sin and His resurrection to blot them away forevermore.  

I'm thankful for my family always, I'm thankful to live in America.  I'm thankful for our new little dog.  I'm thankful for the crisp cold weather, and I'm thankful for a cozy home to snuggle into as winter sets in.  

I think I'm particularly thankful for home this year, and everything that entails - good food, warm blankets, children laughing from the other room and running through the house, a dog to sit at my feet, stacks of books, songs sung all throughout the day, hot drinks, the clicking of laptop keys as Derek works in the loft, kids sounding out words and math books spread all over the tables, craft projects and masterpieces and messes to pick up, five heads of hair to cut and fix, cold cheeks to kiss, and snowy boots on the floor. 

 I don't always love every bit of that, I don't feel as thankful as I should, but when it comes down to it, I am grateful for all of it. Even the messes that I get to pick up, because the Lord gives me that chance to do even a small task for Him.  All of it is a gift from God, tiny little blessings and evidences of His grace to sinners, reminders that He loves us and gave us the ultimate gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, and a perfect Home to come with Him.  

There is always more to be thankful for than you think there is, and thanksgiving is a beautiful form of praise.  Maybe even more beautiful when you find yourself in a season when it's hard to offer.  So I hope you all are overwhelmed with the abundance of blessings He gives you every day, but even if the blessings are harder to see for whatever reason, know that thanking God for what you have is just as beautiful a sacrifice of praise when it's bittersweet. 

 But I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high! I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 69:29-30

 

I will bless the Lord at all times;
    his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
    let the humble hear and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
    and let us exalt his name together!  Psalm 34:1-3

  

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!