Xapa to the World

Tag: Thanksgiving

  • FIAR Vol. 1 – Cranberry Thanksgiving

    FIAR Vol. 1 – Cranberry Thanksgiving

    This book is a sweet lesson in judging others and community. We timed this right before Thanksgiving so we were well in the mindset of gratitude and inclusion and extending kindness to others. The kids loved the character of Mr. Whiskers – isn’t that just the way with kids? They often gravitate to those who adults might write-off and can see a bit of goodness in them when others just see bristle.

    I found a great video on YouTube, showing how cranberries are grown and harvested these days. We talk a lot about how different foods we eat grow – things that grow in the dirt, on top the grown (leaves and stems), from shrubs or bushes, and from trees. But cranberries defy all these! The plants need to be waterlogged and that definitely makes it easier to harvest because these plants naturally grow by boggy waterways where the berries can fall off the plant and float downstream to find new places to take root and grow. The way seeds spread is so fascinating!

    Social Studies

    This book was handy to learn more about the state of Massachusetts. When we get into the United States part of our historical studies, I plan to go through each state in order of admission. Years ago, I invested in a series of activity books Highlights published of each US state and I’ve managed to keep them pristine up to this point. I’m just as surprised as you are.

    There are many options for picture books on Thanksgiving and some day I will create a list of books I recommend for children. This one seemed to match up well with the main picture book. I include some others in the full list below.

    Math

    Baking is an excellent way to learn about volume and measurements. My kiddos were still too young to be much help, but as an introductory lesson, this book was enough.

    Science

    We see their shells and have collected our share when at the beach, but the creatures that build and live inside them are fascinating! I also found some YouTube videos of clamdiggers. One by Saltyhead right at 19 minutes. And another by The Fisherman Magazine, just over 7 minutes long. It’s neat to see the specialized tools made for certain tasks and jobs.

    Other Books

    Disclaimer: This site uses some affiliate links. This costs you nothing, but helps supplement our homeschooling costs.

    Find the complete list on and .

  • Getting Married: 27 Weeks – Thankful

    This was my first year having two places to go to for Thanksgiving. I wasn’t sure how it would work out, but everything went very smoothly. The only thing I regret was that I skimped out on turkey for fear of over-eating at either place, but Mom and I had got a roast, so we made up for that.

    I’m going to apologize now that I have no pictures to accompany this post. I’m a bit disappointed in myself. No fear. The next post will have plenty of photos for you to enjoy.

    We started the day with sleeping in. This was glorious, or would have been much more glorious had I been able to sleep in passed 8 am. Mom used to complain about not being able to sleep in after some time, and I would balk at her. I completely understand now. Darn body clock. I had baked my goodies for the meals the night before, so I was free to lounge around in the morning, play Lego Lord of the Rings on our Wii, until we headed out to my sister’s for lunch.

    We’ve been having Thanksgiving lunch at either my mom’s place or my sister’s house for several years now. It’s a great time, and very low-key. And when we’re all tired of each other, we pack up leftovers and head to our respective homes to munch on turkey sandwiches for the rest of the evening – usually put up the tree, watch Christmas movies, get into the spirit of the next holiday.

    This year was a bit different since I have a fiance and his family to include. Late afternoon, I hopped in my car and drove on up to Matt’s parents’ house for some more grubbing. It’s been great to be able to spend more time with Matt’s family and to get to know them. My biggest concern was that I don’t really know what everyone’s regular “dish” is. At our family Thanksgiving, we have it pretty well established who brings what. But this is a new group of people. I decided to play it safe this year and bring cornbread and the World Famous chocolate chip cookies. Those went over famously (haha!) but the cornbread didn’t do so well. I think I’m going to try to perfect a twice-baked potatoes recipe and make that my regular dish. I told Matt, and he loves potatoes, so of course he was on board.

    Throughout the day, I updated my Facebook status with things I am thankful for. Here they are:

    • I’m thankful for brekkie. It’s my favorite meal of the day. I will frequently have it for lunch and for dinner…and sometimes elevensies, 2nd breakfast, afternoon tea, or a midnight snack (but I’ve been really good about not eating anything late in the day.)
    • I’m thankful for coffee. Also for getting paid a day early, and for the overtime I accrued this pay period.
    • I am thankful for technology. For the internet and phones where I can keep track of all my friends and family scattered across the globe. It is such a blessing!
    • I’m thankful for games. I love playing sudoku, Farmville (yes….yes I do) and all the Lego games for our Nintendo Wii. Thanks to my cousin Tessa and her family for first introducing me to them while in Tokyo. You created a Lego Wii playing monster…and I’m totally talking about Mom and not myself *cough* *cough*
    • I am thankful for creativity and being able to make things. I love that God gave us His passion to create and grow. 🙂
    • I’m thankful for lazy mornings and the smell of things baking.
    • I’m thankful for my car. He’s such a good little machine.
    • I’m grateful for holiday lunches with my family that my car drives me to. They are few and far between.
    • Thankful for adding future in-laws to the holidays 🙂
    • I’m so thankful for an amazing man who I will get to call Hubby in just over 6 months. Love you so much Matt!

    There are so many other things that I’m thankful for; I can’t even list them all. God has been so good to me this year (every year, but this year I feel the blessings especially well.) I am so thankful for my church family and the cherished memories with believers all over the globe. There have been so many people in my life who were there for a season and yet so valuable to me and my walk.

    What are you particularly thankful for this year? What special time did you have this year for Thanksgiving?

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    I’m getting married to my, you guessed it, best friend on June 1st, 2013! Matt and I are super-excited and since we have quite a bit of time to plan this thing, I decided it’d be fun to blog about it. Well, maybe not always fun, but at least informative and it might give me a welcome distraction. You can find all the posts by clicking the “Getting Married” tab on the right of this page, or by clicking here. Thanks for stopping by!

    My Pinterest Wedding Board

    Our Wedding Website on WeddingWire.com

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  • Getting Married: 29 Weeks – Engagement Photos #2

    If you are friends with Matt and I on Facebook, then you will know that we got the rest of our engagement photos. (Yay!) You can read the first post about the experience and our photographer here. But we finally got around to getting the proofs developed. They turned out so good. Matt and I visited Michael’s for a frame for a gift and picked up this pretty little album to show them off in and to add our wedding photos to when we get them done.

    I took the CD-Rom to The Darkroom in Fairfield, OH. They are really good and I’ve had pictures developed there before. The quality of their prints with the sharpness of the photos – great combination! I will be using them to get more prints in the future and one of the best parts is that they are local! Just like my florist and just like our cake people (yes, we got our cake place! More info to come in the future.) Also, my mom picked up the pictures and the woman told her that she just loved our pictures and that we looked so incredibly happy. She thought we were a beautiful couple. I thought that was sweet.

    We had a lot of fun posing and getting the pictures done. It’s so good to finally have some photos of the two of us and I can’t wait to add to them with our wedding photos.

    Matt and I really love our cars. We call Matt’s car The Cube, or Cubie, or when I’m feelin’ rather fond and silly about it, Cubester. My boy’s Christian name is Mephibosheth, but his street name is Gravy – both because of his color and he’s a smooth ride. This picture might also have been my idea.

    Also, you should check out this website. The shop supports survivors and rescues for people of Human Trafficking. It’s pretty amazing.

    —————————–

    I’m getting married to my, you guessed it, best friend on June 1st, 2013! Matt and I are super-excited and since we have quite a bit of time to plan this thing, I decided it’d be fun to blog about it. Well, maybe not always fun, but at least informative and it might give me a welcome distraction. You can find all the posts by clicking the “Getting Married” tab on the right of this page, or by clicking here. Thanks for stopping by!

    My Pinterest Wedding Board

    Our Wedding Website on WeddingWire.com

    Related articles