A Blessed Thanksgiving to You All

Dear Readers,

I just wanted to write and wish you all a happy Thanksgiving.  I hope it is blessed and can be a special time of remembering the Lord's goodness to you and your family, even during trials.  The Lord is good always, and worthy of our praise.

We will be celebrating Thanksgiving this week and have invited a few people to join our family.  The children very much want to dress up as pilgrims and indians, so they've been deciding what to wear and making special pilgrim hats and indian headdresses for the occasion.  Today we will be busy in the kitchen preparing food.  The older girls will be preparing many dishes, which is so different from when I had to make everything!   We will be having turkey, stuffing, gravy, homemade dinner rolls & popovers, garlicky bacon green beans, loaded fauxtato casserole, sauteed brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, apple crisp, and pumpkin cream cake.  Everything will be homemade from scratch, as that's the only way I do things (smiles).  My husband was surprised to see all the cream cheese in the refrigerator.

Here are some neat ideas that you may find useful for celebrating Thanksgiving.  I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving, and thank you to all of you who take the time to leave comments here, as it is a great encouragement to me.

O Lord, who clothes the lilies
And feeds the birds of the sky,
Who leads the lambs to pasture
And the deer to the waterside,
Who has multiplied loaves and fishes
And converted water to wine,
O Lord, come to our table,
As guest and giver, to dine.

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Professional Homemaking for Only $7

I am always on the lookout for tools to help me be a better homemaker.  Managing a home is a full-time job, and one that often calls for a higher level of commitment and dedication than any career. This week's bundle offers the resources that every homemaker needs to get things done. Discover tools for simplifying your life, organizing your day, showing hospitality to those around you and more. Whether you're looking to climb Mount Laundry, declutter the toy room or organize your storage area, this bundle is for you!

This week only, get all five of the ebooks below plus a bonus app for more than 85% off their regular price:

Professional Homemaking

GTD for Homemakers by Mystie Winckler
GTD is an acronym referring to David Allen’s books and system, Getting Things Done. And if anybody needs to get things done, it’s mothers managing a home. GTD for Homemakers shows home managers how to streamline routines, alleviate stress, and increase productivity. GTD for Homemakers is all about putting into place effective habits so that the routine administrative details of life do not cause undo stress and we, as mothers, can peacefully and intentionally make good choices about what to do without feeling like we have a million details pulling us in a million directions at once. GTD for Homemakers will help you reclaim calm self-control and self-possession, so that you can fulfill your roles and responsibilities to the best of your ability.

31 Days to a Heart of Hospitality by Edie Wadsworth
In her hospitality manifesto, Edie shares the role that her faith plays in hospitality and leads you into more meaningful relationships with all the people in your life, not just your occasional guests! She shares the secrets she's learned about welcoming people into her life, after many years and much trial and error, as well as a few of her favorite recipes and loads of photos. This is hospitality, on purpose. On the practical side, this ebook explores everything from how to set up a baking center in your kitchen to how to set up your guest spaces, and even some tips on what to wear to be a well-appointed hostess.

Sweet Life Organizer by Laura Smith
This is not your mother’s organizer. Forget drab and boring! Part of having a sweet life is feeling inspired, motivated, and excited for the challenges ahead. Why expect anything less from the one thing designed to keep you on track? The Sweet Life Organizer is your all-in-one, everything-in-its-place planner to help you plan ahead, identify your top goals, develop rock-solid habits and have more fun!

{The Busy Mom's Guide} Taming the Laundry Monster by Angi Schneider
If you are regularly overwhelmed and frustrated with laundry, there's hope. Maybe your family has changed and your system needs to change with it. Or maybe you are looking at too many online photos of magazine quality laundry rooms and you have a skewed sense of what "laundry" is all about. Whatever the reason for your frustration, this book will help you think through your schedule and systems and develop a plan that is unique for your unique family.

101 Ways to Simplify Your Life by Laura Aridgides
In 101 Ways to Simplify Your Life, Laura shares 101 of her best tips for simplifying your home, family and work life, starting today. These strategies range from practical tips that can be used immediately to thought-provoking strategies that can lead to lifelong change. In this book, you will learn: ▪ How to use technology for your advantage, and not be sucked into wasting time
▪ One simple step that can save you hundreds of hours
▪ A quick and easy way to start simplifying your life
▪ The most important question to ask yourself about simplifying
▪ How to simplify your finances
▪ Why decluttering your home is important, and what you can do today to start
▪ The number one reason why our complicated lives need simplification, and an easy solution
▪ And MUCH MORE!

Bonus: BinZ Organizing App (iOS)
The first 100 customers to purchase this bundle this week will also receive the BinZ app as a FREE bonus! This app makes it easy keep track of the items you put in storage -- things like seasonal clothing, holiday decorations, family mementos and more -- and where the storage bins are located. Easily capture bin contents via text and/or photos, search and sort your lists to easily locate items, and email and print your lists for backup.

BinZ is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch devices. Because of iTunes store limitations, this bonus offer is available to U.S. customers only. To claim your app, please look for the instructions in Part 6 of your download links. Limited to the first 100 requests.

Get this week's bundle here!


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Beautifying and Improving Your Home

We all know that our homes here are temporary.  We will one day go to the most beautiful home of all when we go to our heavenly home.  But for now, we can make our homes more "heavenly" by how we clean them, decorate them, and otherwise care for them.  Perhaps with our husbands' help, we can even make some home improvements.

When you decorate or make improvements to your home, think of ways you can make it more comfortable for your family, and also more welcoming to guests.  Do you have chairs or couches for guests to sit on?  Anything will do as long as it is pretty clean and isn't piled high with laundry (but you could even remove that if you had unexpected visitors). 

It is nice to add special touches or decorations for the different seasons throughout the year.  They don't have to be expensive, but for autumn it could be as simple as bringing in some fallen leaves from outside and attaching them to a picture frame. When you take time to maintain and upkeep your home, it will help your family to feel more loved and your home to be more inviting to your guests.

Would you like some ideas for improving your home?  You have probably all heard of Pinterest, but another place to get great ideas for your home is BuildDirect.  They post tips on home decor, home improvement, cleaning your home, and more.  They also supply renovation and improvement materials.

What things are you doing to improve your surroundings at home?  Remember, perfection isn't necessary to bless your family.

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Entrance Passage...
Richard Goulburn...
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