Our Week In The Woods

We had a wonderful week! The weather was crisp and cool (and downright cold at times) but as you can see, we constantly had a fire going thanks to my two resident pyromaniacs campfire attendants. We had a few rainshowers, but that didn't stop the fun. There is another family that camps there every year with whom we have become friends, and our kids all had fun spending time together playing tennis, playing Cranium and Catch Phrase, riding bikes, throwing the football and making s'mores. We enjoyed lots of time together as a family talking around the campfire, walking the dogs, listening to Christmas music and... being thankful. We didn't have a fancy Thanksgiving table, but each of us made a placemat using clear Contact paper, some of the fall leaves and some "thankfulness" scriptures that I printed.


Here's our table (we ate inside- it was a bit nippy!) set with our placemats and our five kernels of corn.
We used those placemats all weekend, it was great to sit down to a constant reminder of God's faithfulness, and to keep us focused on being thankful each time we came out of the cold and gathered in the warmth around the little table in the camper. And now we have some fun souvenirs from our "week in the woods!"

The past two years I have decorated for Christmas before we left for Thanksgiving so we came home to "decked halls", but this year Thanksgiving was so early I just didn't get to it. Right about now, I'm wishing I would have! Once I get all of our camping laundry sorted and put away I'll be dragging down Christmas boxes. Joy, joy, joy!

Which makes me think of Advent... which begins this weekend! This year we will be using the book, The Handel's Messiah Family Advent Reader. I found it and ordered it this summer, and it looks really good. We have also enjoyed the Jotham's Journey trilogy for the past several years. They are currently out of print, but they are *so* good- if you come across any of the three titles (Jotham's Journey, Bartholomew's Passage, and Tabitha's Travels) you should snatch them up. We began reading these when our kids reached upper-elementary age, and they really hold their attention. We all have loved them. My son has already asked if we will be reading through those this year. (Amazon has some great reviews on them if you're interested.) I just love well-written stories and books that keep us focused on the true meaning of the season and cause us to s-l-o-w down, light candles and read together.

I hope your family had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving holiday. Once I get my laundry finished (and before I fall headlong into the Christmas tubs) I'll take some time to visit blogs and get caught up on everyone. :) I'm so glad you stopped by!

And now, back to the laundry room......