The Mary Poppins of our Christian Home

I love this time of year~the decorating, the cooking, the baking, the smells of the season; but most of all the family time. Keeping to my schedule is important this time of year so that it doesn't become overwhelming. November is filled with decorations of Pumpkins, Scarecrows, fall leaves, pinecones, & Sunflowers; not to mention fall scented candles. Time to get the fireplace ready for the cool nights to enjoy home-made hot chocolate with marshmellows while having family night. The kids will have a week off for Thanksgiving which means that we will have time set aside to keep up with their reading level but most of the time home will be spent preparing for Thanksgiving & out of town family arriving. The house will be filled with smells of fall, football, men hunting, & children laughing. Many times Thanksgiving is the only time of year that many think about what they are Thankful for. I try to emphisis to our kids that Thanksgiving is everyday of the year. So

Yea! I love this time of year. Leaves changing colors, smell of pumpkin pies, cool mornings with sunny afternoons. November is often known to the men as No Shave November & to the Women as Thankful Month were you take each day and say what you are Thankful for. There are so many God Winks that we can be Thankful for. Everday that God awakens us is a day of Thanksgiving. Don't you agree? Let's get in the kitchen for some fun... here are some great recipes that you can do as a family event. STREUSEL PEAR TART Makes 8 servings. 4 tbs unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" pieces 3/4 tsp apple pie spice 3/4 cup light brown sugar 1/2 pkg 14 oz refrigerated piecrust, 1 crust 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 cup + 2 tbs flour 6 pears Unroll piecrust into a 10" fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press crust against the bottom and sides of pan, trimming top as needed so it is even with rim. Refrigerate. Heat oven to 425°. Peel, core and cut pears into 1/2&

It seems like this month has been a blur. Busy all month with activities in the school with the PTO, Homecoming, football games, dance, piano lessons, Fall Festival at school & one coming up Saturday at church; just a few things that has been keeping me busy. So I am so sorry for not keeping up with this blog. It did get me thinking about a practice that I have gotten out of that I need to put back in place. So I am reimplementing my "tackle box"! I have a file box that has file folders for every day of the month. It is a monthly "To Do" list. So let's say that you want to start one for November. You will have all your file folders in the "Tackle Box", put all bills that are due on their due date that can be paid locally and those that need to be mailed; 5 days before due date. On November 1 go pull the 1st folder and do everything in that folder first. This will help keep you on track of all the things you need/want to do and won't g