Today's Reminders . . .

Happy belated Thanksgiving to those that celebrated yesterday!!  We had a wonderful day.  It was laid back and full of laughter and great food.  I didn't take any photos.  Mainly because I didn't feel like arguing with my kids and nieces and nephews while trying to get a photo of them.  They're all at THAT age.  You probably know what I'm talking about.  : )

This year's Thanksgiving mantle.

As we enter this season of hustle and bustle, I thought I'd share something that I came across recently.  I'm pinning it up next to my computer so that I can remind myself every day.

Today's Reminders:

1)  Be kind

2)  Be grateful

3)  Listen to your intuition

4)  Be productive but calm

5)  Trust the timing of your life

6)  Let go of what you can't control

I'm going to start by letting go of the fact that I can't get the numbers to line up and still be centered.  GRRRRR!!!!  : )

We're going to be taking it easy today.  I'd like to start some Christmas decorating and I'd like to focus on number 4 above as best as I can with a six year old that's being just a wee bit (when I say "just a wee bit" I mean OBNOXIOUSLY) moody this morning.  I'll let you know how it goes.  : )

Wishing you a happy and peaceful weekend ~ Wendy

A {mostly} Wordless Wednesday and My Thanksgiving Wish for You . . .

Congregating crows.

The sunset of three nights ago.  This photo doesn't come close to capturing how incredibly beautiful it was!!!

My heart is broken for the people of France.  Time will now be measured by days before 11/13 and days after 11/13 just as it is here for us with 9/11.  It truly is beyond words.

This is the other half of the beautiful chalk drawing from above.  I stumbled upon it while picking Megan up from school the other day.

My wish for you is a safe, healthy and happy Thanksgiving filled with lots of good food, family and friends.

 
With that being said, I wanted to leave you with this quote . . .

. . . because not everybody has a Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving.  : )


Many blessings ~ Wendy

Last Glimpses . . .

Those precious weeks of fall foliage that I look forward to every year have come and gone and Thanksgiving is now just a fond memory as well.  Mother Nature is starting to ease us into the coming cold and dark days.

A foggy early morning sun thru the pine trees.

Frost on the roof of our backyard shed.

Ice on the pool.

Frost on our hydrangea.

What our hydrangea bushes looked like in August!!  They line our property on both sides and turn different shades of pink as the nights get colder.

A heart-shaped hydrangea.  : )

A squirrel's nest thru the trees.

Although the calendar says it's approximately three weeks until winter solstice arrives I'm bidding a fond farewell and, little by little, replacing fall with winter/Christmas touches around our little cottage.  I thought I'd share some last glimpses of autumnal (one of my favorite words!!) goodness before they're packed up until next year!!

I found this pretty little votive holder on Etsy in a shop called Paper Planet.  I have several for every season.  They're made with real leaves.  Check out her shop here .  She has some pretty things for winter also and they make great teachers' gifts!!

Another one from Paper Planet.  I decorate the windows in my dining room with them and I put the battery operated tealight candles in them so they're lit up at night. They look so pretty flickering at night!!

The centerpiece on my dining room table is made with hydrangea from my yard and placed in blue vintage mason jars.  Soon they'll be replaced with something more Christmasy but will definitely be back in January.  : )

This autumn leaf banner was another Etsy purchase from last year. 

My front door decorated for Thanksgiving.

Having a young daughter gives me an excuse to buy adorable things like this!!  She sits on the stairs in the living room.

You can never have too many candles.  Especially this time of the year!!

Megan made this for Thanksgiving this year.  Handmades by the littles are by far the best decor of all!!

This sign that sits on my kitchen counter top really helped me a lot when I was trying to coordinate Thanksgiving dinner this year after not having it at my house for the last couple of years!!  : )

More of Megan's artwork hanging in the kitchen.  And I just noticed my niece wrote on the calendar when she was here for Thanksgiving dinner!!  LOL!!

My kitchen witch that I purchased during a visit to Jones' Farm in Cornwall, NY this fall.  I've decided to keep it up all year 'round.  My mother had a kitchen witch hanging up when we were kids.  Do you remember those or was it just a New York kinda thing??  : )

We're going to attempt to (probably, depending on our schedule) cut our own Christmas tree this year.  It's something that I've always wanted to do but never have.  I'm hoping that our oldest son will join us because it's December and I haven't gotten a single good photo of him this year for our Christmas card.  He gets an attitude when he sees my camera pointing in his direction and, quite frankly, I don't want to deal with a twenty one year old with an attitude.  : )  Oh well . . .   I'll figure something out!!  : )


Many blessings for a beautiful day ~ Wendy

A Day of Giving Thanks . . .

Whether you're celebrating Thanksgiving today, as we are here in the states, or just celebrating another day of life, may you always keep an "attitude of gratitude!!!"  That's when the magic happens!!!  : )


Many blessings for a beautiful day of giving thanks ~ Wendy

This Moment . . .

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Many blessings for a wonderful weekend ~ Wendy

On This Day of Giving Thanks . . .

. . . may we all say thank you for our blessings ~ both big and small.


Happy and peaceful Thanksgiving blessings to you all ~ Wendy

The Love of a Family . . .

. . . is life's greatest blessing.


Megan with Daddy and Mimi.


Hanging with Grandpop at the fall fair we attend every year.


Beeping cousin Andre's nose!!


Andre adores his cousin. It's the sweetest thing to see them together. : )

Mimi and Aunt Michelle.


Getting lots of lovin' from Mimi!!


Cousins Jason, Megan and Andre when Aunt Wendy (me!!) decides to take a picture at 9:00 at night when Megan is done for the day!! : )


I'm sticking with the family and friends theme this week because that is what I'm most grateful for during this season of gratitude.


Many blessings for a happy Tuesday ~ Wendy

Some Random Thoughts and Photos on a Soon-to-be Snowy Afternoon . . .

We're anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first glimpse of snow this season. It's not supposed to be here until after sundown and is supposed to start as rain. We're also not supposed to get more than an inch or two but it's still so exciting nonetheless!! We have plans to go into the city tonite. There is a wonderful train show at The Botanical Gardens and my hubby, thru his job, was able to get free passes. Of course, son number one doesn't want to join us so the other two guys each get to bring along a friend. We're going into the city a little earlier to see if we can get in to see another exhibit before the train show. I don't know much about it other then it's for kids and is supposed to be interactive and has something to do with gingerbread. I will certainly take lots of pictures and share them with you all.

It's definitely the kind of day to stay in your jammies and make a pot of soup but this time of the year is all about the kiddies!! Besides, I told my husband the other day that I can't believe how lazy I have felt these last couple of weeks. I thought my energy would kick back in once I made it thru my first trimester but I'm still waiting for the surge. I'm not a big television watcher but I feel like I've been doing nothing but sit in the recliner and watch the boob tube. I haven't gone grocery shopping since Thanksgiving and my cupboards are certainly getting to the bare stage. If I hear my kids say "I need socks" one more time I'm going to scream!! I need to snap out of this. UGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

I did manage to muster up enough energy to cook dinner for fifteen on Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful time. Hubby had to go to work but he got to take a big plate of food with him and a large slice of pumpkin pie that my mother made just for him. Who has it better than my man?!!? : ) I had to take pictures of our two youngest dinner/dessert guests, Jason and Antonio.

This is my nephew, Jason. He just turned three months old and my heart melts every time I look at him. I can't believe how fast the time is going. I blogged about his birth back in September. It was a dream come true for me to be in the delivery room when he was born and something that I will never forget as long as I live!!!!!!!!!

I don't know how my sister-in-law, Michelle (aka Mommy), doesn't bite him all the time!!

And this is Antonio. He just turned five months old. He is my cousin's baby and is absolutely beautiful. He has the biggest eyes and all he does is smile. He also loves to watch football and won't take his eyes off of the television until halftime. I'm not kidding!! : )

I was also able to attend the Thanksgiving Feast at son number three's school. It was so adorable to see all of the kids in the hats that they had each made. It also happened to be pajama day so it was super cute to see all the pilgrims and Native Americans in their jammies!! They sang and ate and ate some more. That's Brendan's picture at the top of this post. I just love that shot of him. What a little hunk!! : )

Brendan and his best bud, Tye.

These are the kind of photos you cherish forever when you think about how quickly the time passes.

Happy Saturday to you all!! : )

Many Blessings ~ Wendy

A Little Bit of a Saturday Rant . . .

Since the middle of October, whenever I look out my front window, my view has been a Christmas wreath hanging on my neighbor's garage door. At first I thought he put it there because it was new and he wanted to see how it looked. As each day passed and it was still hanging there I realized that it was there to stay. My neighbor also put up his icicle lights at the same time. He hasn't had them lit and I know plenty of people that keep their unlit Christmas lights up all year round so that was okay. We are in New York and it gets pretty cold by December. I truly understand the whole light thing but it takes two seconds to put up a wreath. Why would anyone want to decorate for Christmas before Halloween?!!?

I thought about how I would feel about this if he was a kind and friendly neighbor. Would it bother me as much or would I be able to tolerate it more? I can honestly say it would bother me just as much. Did he put out any Halloween decorations? Nope. Not even a pumpkin. Is he skipping Thanksgiving this year? Not sure about that. Odds are he's not.

We have another neighbor who has his entire house decorated to the nines, including Santa and his sleigh on his roof, before Thanksgiving. I haven't noticed any decorations there yet but his next door neighbor already has faux greens and a big red bow around their lamp post.

Yesterday, while driving home from a wonderful new thrift shop that I found (pictures of findings will be forthcoming) I saw a very large house decorated from top to bottom with greens, red bows, Christmas lawn ornaments and lights. I couldn't believe my eyes!!

Is it just me or is anyone else greatly disturbed by people decorating for Christmas in October and early November? I offered some of the neighborhood kids $10.00 if they would take my neighbor's wreath off of his garage and then thought better of it when they all jumped at the chance. I guess that wouldn't have made me a very good role model, huh? : ) I was actually quite serious about it but then "mature and responsible" Wendy (oh, how I hate her sometimes!!) popped into my head and I had to tell the kids I was only kidding even though I really wasn't.

On the grand scale of things, this really is no big deal and I understand that. I've been thinking about why this bothers me so much and I think I've figured it out. I guess I think of decorating your home for Christmas as part of the celebration of the season of lights. There's something special and sacred about winter solstice and what many people believe to be the time of the birth of Jesus. No matter what your beliefs, lots of us have rituals and traditions that are a big part of our families this time of year. I just don't understand how you can put up a wreath in the middle of October and have it feel the same way as if you hung it closer to the holidays. Am I being judgemental? I think I probably am and that's why I needed to write about this. Now I can let it go.

Thanks for "listening" to me. : ) Happy Saturday to you all!!

Many blessings ~ Wendy