Thankful Trees and Suzy Homemaker's Visit

I began a new tradition this year. We made a Thankful Tree for Thanksgiving. I cut out a bunch of leaves from cardstock, punched holes in them, and tied strings through. Hannah found a branch in the yard, and I filled a jar with packed dirt, and stuck in the branch. Everyone wrote things they are thankful for on the leaves and hung them on the tree. What are we thankful for here? Puppies, parties, Skype, Teepees for toys, global warming, children, turkeys, team members, Hands On Gals (I didn't write that one...), houses and homes, friends who make it feel like home, nature, bugs, the HS, holidays, fast internet in the morning, songs of Pr**se, smiles, Facebook, family, this place, opportunities to serve, grace, functional kitchen faucets, hot water, and many other things. I think it was a great exercise. I found that being away from a place makes you more thankful for the things you left behind. And not having things makes you more thankful for the things you do have.

So what am I personally thankful for? Partners. Hot Water. Books. Mommys. Daddys. Mentors. Children. Faith. Real Coffee (freshly ground!). French Presses. Skype. Blogger. Canon. Neices. Ziplocs. Cereal. Karo Syrup. Google Search Engine. Internet Connection. Borrowed Laptops. Pictures. Emily Jochim. Jennifer Jones. Amanda Hughes. Brittney Jones. My team. Christmas movies. Mail Service. MP3 Players. The Written Word. Creativity. Learning. Opportunities to learn. Pr*y*r. Mops. Crock Pots. Big Ones (Wet Wipes). Ankle Braces. Good Ankles. Tears. Electric Heaters. Gas Burners. Recipe books. Thermal Underwear. Rain Boots. Markers. Washers and Dryers. Tide Detergent. Soft Beds. DVDs. Assignments. Unexpected Friends. Cardstock. Pickles. Ground Beef (the pre-ground kind, not the slab of beef you take to get ground...if the grinder is still at the market...). Portable Speakers. Fruit, particularly Apples and Oranges. Coffee Mugs. Cats. Ok, Dogs too. Layers of Clothes. Thumb Drives.

The list could go on for pages...

As I was saying, last night, we hosted the weekly meeting and decorated our Thankful Tree. I think we all had a lot of fun.

But the best part of the evening came when it was grading time for our latest assignment--prepare a meal for the team. Normally no big deal, but we also had an overlapping assignment--prepare a week's worth of meals for the L family to enjoy upon their return from the States. We made them Sausage Pizza, Spaghetti, Taco Soup, Pork BBQ sandwiches, Chicken Scampi, Quiche, and Monkey Bread. But we also had to make a delicious meal to serve our team. We chose Chicken Parmigiana (sounds fancy, right?). We made it in the Crock Pot (I love those things!). Served it over noodles. Oh, it was amazing. AND, we made caramel...from scratch! Yeah, I got a little Suzy Homemaker in me...

I used some of the Karo syrup my dear Mommy sent me for Pecan Pies and started the caramel. I made a few mistakes along the way (like not dissolving all the sugar and not heating it high enough...) but it was my first try and it sure TASTED like caramel! We dipped apples in the caramel and watched the mess grow. Chins and noses took the brunt of the attack, and stickyness left its gooey residue. But everyone liked them. So I'm a little pround of myself this morning. Our boss gave us two thumbs up, so I'd say it was a job well done.


And you thought I was just a pretty face...