It's the first day of Thanksgiving holidays and I am as giddy as a school girl! :0) I absolutely LOVE having Caleb home, having him NOT go to school, having a change in our routine where everyone seems happier. I don't know what it is...maybe because two years ago I was working part time and it made the time off more hectic (much more I had to do during the time off that had been building up) or last year when I worked FULL TIME and wasn't home at all really! If there is anything to have come out of that year, that year of working WAY too many hours, then maybe this is it (well, and a better wardrobe and shoe collection!)....that I CHERISH and truly ENJOY my time with my kids.
It's not a conscious thing...I don't think "Ah, Caleb is home and a year ago I was working. I need to make the most of it and realize that it is time to make special and enjoy". That's not it (although that's GREAT!). It's truly inside of me and just sorta' there... it's a happiness and joy that I'm not trying to have. It's a giddiness that makes me grin all day long. Yes, I am also planning some great activities and crafts to do together this week. Mainly though, I am just plain happy. So happy it brings tears to my eyes to think about. A deep, resounding, pure happiness.
I love being home with Georgia. This is the FIRST time we've EVER had it... this year. When she was a baby either Caleb was here or when he went to preschool I started keeping a little girl in our home full time. So I never had EVEN ONE DAY alone with Georgia. Now I do. And I love it. I love it every day.
BUT having Caleb home makes both of us happy. All of us happy.
They love playing together.
Making things together.
just being together.

and i love it too.
So, I pray that you are enjoying this time...if you have more of it than you're used to. If you find yourself with more kids home during the day than usual.
If you find yourself with time off of work.
Whatever it may be, I pray you enjoy it.
That it doesn't fray your nerves but instead finds you giving extra hugs and cuddles, extra time of watching your kiddos just be themselves, or time of all curling up together to listen to a good book or watch a good movie.

i love this day
i will love every day we have together
i thank the Lord for each minute of it.

:0)

I love a challenge...and I should do ones like this more often! My friend and I try to scrapbook every Friday together. For a while we were doing a good job...but lately we get together on Fridays but hang out instead...without doing any scrapping. SO, last week we challenged each other. At first we were just telling each other what our goal was and then try to hold one another accountable BUT I upped it a notch. I threw out "what about whoever does the most layouts wins and the other person buys them a large iced tea?" (we are both sweet tea lovers). She agreed and the challenge was made. It wasn't spoken of again for a week..until I reminded her today. Our deadline is midnight tonight so I still have time to do more.... this is what I have so far though....













Technically I have 11 pages done BUT some of those are super easy...I just put a few different photos in and change the journaling, then it becomes a page for the other child. For example the Halloween ones....4 different pages but only had to make 2 from scratch. All of them are like that. So only 6 from scratch and 5 other "pop-ins". :0)

Hope she doesn't see this and see how much I have so far!
:0)

I love Fall.
It's my all time favorite time of year.
It actually gets cool here in Texas (for at least part of Fall).
I LOVE football.
and I love the food that I can enjoy.
MMMMM MMMMMM...my mouth is watering just thinking of it all!

I love homemade chili when the nights get cool.
Homemade Tortilla soup too!
Smores are also a tradition in this house...starts on the Sunday after Thanksgiving~we make some after decorating the tree. Then I pretty much eat them almost every night until Christmas! We enjoy them earlier in the Fall as well (have already made them twice so far, over the fire pit in the backyard, but the tradition is for after decorating the tree).
I have a new apple crisp recipe I love so that will be made a few times this fall.
I have also already made one batch of my favorite PUMPKIN DUMP CAKE.
That is what I will share with you today.

Now first off, it's not really a cake. If you are familiar with "Dump Cakes" then you know the basic idea...you pick a pie filling of some type, pour it on the bottom of a pan then pour DRY cake mix on top. You just sort of DUMP everything in, giving it the name. :0) This pumpkin one though, if you've never tried it, you are going to be delightfully surprised with how good it is. I have shared it with many people and they all LOVE it and ask for the recipe.
So, here ya' go:

One LARGE can of Pumpkin Pie Mix (I use Libby's 30 oz easy pie mix)
2 eggs
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 stick of butter~melted...maybe even 1 and a half sticks
2 cups of finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Spray the bottom of a 9x13 dish with butter flavored nonstick spray. In a large bowl, mix together the pie mix, eggs, and evaporated milk (it's just the directions on the back of the pie mix). Pour it evenly into the dish. Then simply pour the DRY cake mix on top of that, spreading it out (gently) evenly and breaking up any large clumps. Next sprinkle the nuts on top all over evenly. I've made one side without nuts in case some people don't like pecans. It works just fine. :0) Last, pour the melted butter on top as evenly as possible. You want most areas to have melted butter on it but some won't.... depends on how much butter you're willing to use.
I let that sit for about 5 minutes just to let the butter soak in a bit.
Then bake for 35-45 min, until it starts to turn golden brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean...don't let the nuts burn. :0)

UNBELIEVABLY YUMMY!
There won't be leftovers! (well, if you're sharing this with others)
:0)

P.S. You can make a "dump cake" with almost anything! Cherry pie filling is another one of my favorites and many people like apple too. Simply dump in the pie filling, the cake mix on top, and the butter on top of that! :0)