Thankfulness Breakfast

Every family has traditions that are special to them.  Special breakfasts have become important traditions in our family.  I think it is refreshing to share breakfast with someone...maybe because it isn't typically the meal that we share.  There is something unique about beginning the day together, especially at home with a beautifully set table and celebration.  It starts the day off in a wonderful way! 

The past several years I have prepared a Thankfulness Breakfast for our family during the month of November.  It is a time for food and togetherness, and also to intentionally give thanks for how God has blessed us.  

The Saturday before last we began the day with our Thankfulness Breakfast and it was a sweet time together.  We laughed and ate and lingered around the table.  We gave thanks.  God was honored.  A memory was made.

This year, Madi helped me the night before with some of the decorations.  She colored and decorated "Thanks" cards with each person in mind, thoughtfully adding colors and details that would be special to each person.  She also helped me make little foam turkeys to set at each place.  It is neat to involve her in these preparations!  Children feel important when they can contribute and help!

On the menu was Sparkling Grape Juice, Orange Juice, Pumpkin Bread, S'mores Pancakes, Rotel Grits, Blueberry Peach Crisp, and Sausage Squares.

I set out a Thankfulness Tree with tag ornaments I made a couple years ago.

As I placed these tags on the tree, I couldn't help but give thanks for what the Lord has done in our lives.  He is so faithful and generous!

"Together is my favorite place to be."

When I plan special breakfasts I try to set the table the night before, after the kids go to bed.  It is always a treat for me to see the excitement and joy in my children's eyes when they see it for the first time in the morning!

I am so grateful for my parents.  God uses them on a daily basis to bless and enrich our lives.  They help us so much, and add to the family fun!

After we ate, I had everyone write down specific things they are thankful for on little strips of paper.  Then Madi and Trev took turns reading them outloud.  This time was filled with laughter and smiles and also pure tenderness.  God, I pray you will give our children thankful hearts.  Help us to live out gratitude.

I am grateful for this sweet time of thanksgiving we had as a family.  Intentional thanks is vitally important.  We so easily forget.  Remind us, God.  And thank You for all Your gifts!  May we gratefully acknowledge them each day!

Enter His gates with thanksgiving

and His courts with praise;

give thanks to Him and praise His name.

For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;

His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100:4-5

Ribbon Runner And Ribbon Scrap Wreath

I have been wanting to learn how to sew for a long time now, but I have to be honest - when I see a sewing machine there is something about that little contraption that intimidates me!  Knowing that I had been wanting to learn, my mom bought me a sewing machine the Christmas before last.  I finally opened it this May.  I still have to have Jimmy thread the bobbin and help me when something goes awry, but I've done a few simple projects and am slowly teaching myself to sew!  My last project was a ribbon runner which turned out very cheerful and fun!

I saw the idea for this in one of my mom's magazines when we were at the beach.  It was so pretty and looked easy enough, so I gave it a try.

I picked out a variety of colorful ribbons when they were 50% at Hobby Lobby, cut them to the length I wanted, and followed the instructions in the magazine to first glue the ribbons together with Liquid Stitch glue, then sew them together.

The magazine article gave instructions to cut a fabric backing and sew it to the runner wrong sides together, then turn out and finish off. I tried that and let's just say it didn't go well...at all!  I had to rip out every.single.seam. but I was determined to save the project.  Instead of backing it with fabric, I just pinned down the edges and used a double seam to finish it off.  It worked out fine and was tons easier!

The colorful ribbons looked very cheerful in my kitchen!

And since I had just enough ribbon left, I made a coordinating wreath by wrapping a styrofoam wreath form and pinning the ribbon with floral pins.  A lace flower, two homemade flowers, and some baker's twine later, I had a matching wreath and loved how it turned out!

If you like simple, easy projects, give these a try!  You could use seasonal ribbon for the upcoming holidays for some pretty, homemade additions to your home!

Olympic Lunch Celebration!

On Saturday, the kids and I did a fun project of putting together an Olympic Themed Lunch Celebration!  Madi was my main helper, but Trev was just bursting with excitement over this whole event.  We put together a simple "international menu" of sorts.  One of my inspirations was this little box of Fortune Cupcakes that our friend Caroline had brought back for us from Seattle.  

These Chinese themed wrappers came with cute little messages to put around the bottom of each cupcake, just like a fortune cookie!

I thought this one was perfect for the Olympics!

Madi and I used a Georgetown Cupcake recipe from our book to bake Irish Cream Cupcakes to go in our Chinese wrappers.  They were topped with Irish Cream Cheese Frosting.

We put out a few decorations...

Proudly American with a touch of London to celebrate the Olympic host!

You already know I can't resist an ice cold bottled Coca-Cola.  When I saw these commemorative bottles, there was just no way to pass them up!  This classic drink was our American contribution to the meal!  Best little 100 calorie treat around.

We made Italian Ravioli served with a big loaf of French bread for a nice hot lunch...

And then enjoyed our Irish Cream Cupcakes, which Jimmy later said were the best cupcakes he had ever eaten.  If you love cupcakes, you have got to get the Cupcake Diaries cookbook.  The recipes are cupcake perfection.  I'm not exaggerating.

I am not sure exactly how this happened, but somehow this was Jimmy's cupcake fortune.        ;)

We enjoyed our lunch and tuned in to the Olympic games.  What fun this is every four years!  I know we all hold our own special Olympic memories.  Somewhere there is a photo of me in a Mary Lou Retton leotard with the Mary Lou Retton haircut. I have got to dig that up, it is classic 80's!  I remember going to see her perform live at a gymnastic showcase in DC, and watching her perform on the television while I did the "balance beam" on the back of our old brown and orange plaid couches!  The Olympics let us unite, cheer on, and dream big.  They are a cause for celebration.

Go, USA!  And thank you London for your hospitality!

Madi's 7th Birthday Cupcake Celebration!

Madi decided months ago that she wanted to have a cupcake birthday party when she turned seven.  That girl loves a good party, and loves baking cupcakes...so we had the best time planning this one!  

We kept the guest list small - just four little friends - and my mom started collecting aprons and chefs hats with her Hobby Lobby coupons.  She had them monogrammed, then she and my sister-in-law embellished them for each little guest.  They turned out to be absolutely precious!

To make the flower embellishments, they used graduated cookie cutters to trace and cut different sized flowers out of fabric, then hand stitched them together.  The one on the top was attached by a small hair clip, so the girls can wear it in their hair later if they would like.

The one on the pocket was safety pinned on, and a touch of tulle added extra flair.

The aprons were a welcoming touch and hung on my apron rack, looking cheerful and inviting as the little bakers arrived!

I used three different sized cupcake wrappers, cupcake buttons, and hot glue to make paper flowers.

Then pinned each flower to the chefs hats!  These were also just darling, especially on the girls!

When Madi first mentioned the idea of a cupcake party, my mom saw an idea to make a garland out of cupcake wrappers.  At Christmas, she stuffed my stocking with cupcake wrappers to be used when the party rolled around!  I used a shoelace type string (on sale for $1 in the ribbon section of Hobby Lobby) and we simply put holes in the center of the wrappers and some small doilies (also from Hobby Lobby).   I strung the cupcake wrappers and doilies to make the most cheerful garland I have ever seen!  We all just loved it!  Surrounded by paper lanterns, it turned our kitchen into a dreamy area for our chefs to create.

I set out some sanding sugars and decorative icing on a tray.

Then set up a decorating station for each guest!  Madi really wanted each girl to have a giant cupcake to decorate.  My sister-in-law helped out so much and baked them for me as I was caring for a very sick Trevor!  They were made from a Funfetti cake mix.  I gave each girl their own can of frosting, but with a last minute idea took off the wrapper and wrapped each can with chalkboard paper marked with a chalk monogram. We found the pink spatulas for 40% off at Hobby Lobby.

A little tulle tied to each chair added some sparkle.

I set out a few other festive decorations that went with our theme.

And our kitchen was transformed into a cupcake wonderland and workspace!

For food I served the girls turkey sandwiches cut with a cupcake shaped cookie cutter that Madi's teacher (who shares her love of cupcakes) had sweetly given her.

I placed cupcake wrappers in a clear plastic punch cups and filled them with grapes.

I also mixed a little sugar with some grapes and froze them - I saw this recipe online as "spa grapes" and they were absolutely delicious.  Both the girls and moms went crazy over them!

Apple slices, caramel dip, and Cheez-Its completed our fare!

When deciding what to serve the girls to drink, I settled on miniature cans of Sprite.  Sprite is rare treat for Madi so I figured she would enjoy it.  Well, she opened the refrigerator the night before the party, saw those cans, and exclaimed, "Sprite??!! This is going to be the best party ever!!"  I had to laugh.  Never mind the garland that took forever to make, or the handmade embellishments we had all worked so hard on.  

We had Sprite.  This party was going to be amazing.  :)

For dessert I made cupcakes, of course!!

The cupcake candle we found at Hobby Lobby (where else?) was an unexpected, fun find!

The girls were receiving the aprons, chef hats, and spatulas as favors.  We also found cute little cupcake necklaces for 40% off at Hobby Lobby for them.  Then a wonderful lady in our church called me one day from Michael's saying she had run into a bunch of cute cupcake trinkets on major clearance and would we mind if she picked them up for us.  So we had more unexpected treats for our guests!  What a find and such a blessing - thank you Miss Debbie!!

Madi helped me assemble the gift bags.

And we set them next to a pillow from Justice that my mom found on super clearance weeks ago.  It plays Happy Birthday and came with a marker so everyone could sign it.  Along with the Sprite, this was also the best thing about the party in Madi's eyes!!  It really was a great find.  I remember signing pillowcases at a sleepover when I was little and thinking it was amazing, so I understood Madi's enthusiasm.

As the girls arrived they did a foam cupcake craft, ate their meal, and signed the cupcake pillow.

Then it was time to decorate some cupcakes!  The girls were sweet as could be in their aprons and hats, and really got into the decorating, taking time to add their own special touches.  We all enjoyed watching them having such fun together in the kitchen.

The end results were beautiful!

We hung the aprons and hats back up...

Then I straightened up the kitchen and got the cupcakes ready for serving.

Meanwhile, the girls enjoyed some American Girl time.

And the moms had a few minutes to visit.

Then Madi opened her fun presents.

And it was time to blow out her cupcake candle!

We all enjoyed eating the cupcakes, then Madi gave out the gift bags to her guests.  The girls all put on their necklaces right away, and loved all the little trinkets!

 At last we said goodbye to our guests, sat down, and Madi said (and I quote)...

"All riiight, that was fun, now let's start planning next year's party!!"

I am telling you.  She is a party looking for a place to happen.

Though the party was over, the next morning the kitchen looked so magical as the morning sunlight streamed through the windows that I had to take a few photos...

And I reflected on another special celebration of a very special little girl.


Linking to...

Tabletop Tuesday


Wow Us Wednesdays