Giving thanks...for Thanksgiving Day...do people do that?

After the wonderful holiday I have had...I am feeling that a second Thanksgiving is probably necessary. I feel so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family....First, of all I want to thank my husband who ran around like a crazy man last week...did all the shopping...which entailed three grocery store trips, two trips to the liquor store and several trips to our "clubhouse" to find things for me, on three different days...one with all three kids in tow...cleaned the entire house and somehow made it to work...amazing!

Then there is my amazing family, who arrived with there own gifts to share. My sister with four pies and the most amazing lemon curd I have ever had (I am still dreaming about those tarts), my mother with the BEST stuffing I have ever had (we all agreed on this one) and a pecan pie...and then she brought me this:Tell me this isn't the most beautiful cornucopia you have ever seen! My table looked amazing...(pay no attention to my paper napkins...totally forgot...hey its my first time hosting...cut me some slack).

After Thanksgiving my mother stayed for two days after everyone else left and we crafted and decorated our hearts out... We actually mounted an antique mantle to the wall all by ourselves (we are so proud). We laughed that if any man saw us using that jigsaw we would never live it down...but we did it and it came out perfect...



Eh? right...check that out...I purchase the mantle at an antique store for $100 and spent the summer stripping the many layers of paint off the poor thing...and much to my delight there was beautiful tiger oak underneath! Yeah! But I deserved it...I worked so hard.

After the day of hanging it...my mom and I needed a rest, but the next day we set to work making my Christmas wreath. My inspiration came from Kate at Centsational Girl, she posted about this wreath:Don't you just love it? Well anyways, I had a lot of the materials at home in my craft room, but I did make a trip to the dollar store for some fake snow and pine cones...and voila... Here is my wreath! And here it is with the mantle... My mom and I had an amazing time...I missed her the second she pulled out of the driveway!

AND IF ALL THAT WASN'T more than enough to be extra thankful, when I got to work today, I was surprised with the MOST BEAUTIFUL gift I have ever received for my wonderful friend Karen. About a week ago while surfing my Google Reader, I came across a post by Becca at Blue Cricket Design where she shared a tutorial on how to make this advent project:So I emailed the post to my friend Karen who is a paper crafter and GUESS WHAT I found on my desk today!

YEP! She made them for me...Not only did she make them for me, but she spent her precious time over the holiday to make me this wonderful Christmas gift (and I got to open it early...bonus). I told her today, "You know how when you are making something for someone, you envision them loving it when you give it to them...well I love it ten times more than that." She not only gave me a gift, but gave my family a new tradition. Karen is a amazing person, teacher, instructional leader and friend and I am so lucky to have her! I will treasure this gift always!

In summary...I am calling for a second Thanksgiving...any takers?