Through the month of November, many of my friends have kept track of things they’re grateful for through daily Facebook posts. It’s been rather amusing to see how the deep gratitude for spouses, children and siblings mentioned at the first of the month trickled down into meager appreciation for things like coffee and rainbows last week.

I can’t wait to see what people are listing on November 30^th—I fully suspect that some will be reaching for straws and I’ll see things like septic tanks and egg salad listed.

Not that those things aren’t worthy of gratitude.

Anyway, it made me start thinking about some of the odd, random things that I’m thankful for. I doubt any of these things will come to mind when we’re praying over our turkey dinner tomorrow, but I’m grateful for them just the same.

1. By the time he starts college, my son Jonah will be sleeping in his own bed. Granted, he’s not given me any concrete reason to hope for this in the two years he’s hogged my bed—sideways—but friends tell me I can be fairly confident that by college, this co-sleeping stage will, indeed, come to an end.

2. No one in this family has vomited in almost two years. Chalk it up to an odd form of OCD or emetophobia, but yes, I do take note of the time between puking spells. Now, we have been positively inundated with snot over the past week, but it’s been a record-setting while since a bonafide stomach virus wreaked havoc on our home. I probably just jinxed myself by writing those words, but I hope not.

3. There aren’t any new dents in my minivan! I haven’t backed into another concrete column, haven’t had any shopping carts ping the trunk, haven’t had any more children crash their bikes into the rear fender. All those marks are still there, mind you, but I find they coordinate nicely with the hole in the carpeting, the sagging headliner and the steering column that honks like a dehydrated goose every time I turn left.

4. I’m truly grateful for the geographical distance between myself and a few certain crazy people because it has kept me out of prison. And staying on this side of the jailhouse is a good thing indeed.

5. Feeling ever so thankful that it’s 14 more months until my oldest can get his learner’s permit. It’s going to take every one of those 613,606 minutes to build up the courage I’ll need to climb into that passenger’s seat. Why? Because I’ve seen that boy drive on the Xbox—and it’s not pretty, y’all. Not pretty at all.

6. I can still afford cheese. As grocery prices have risen, I’ve noticed cheese really shooting up in price. My family eats a lot of cheese, because, let’s face it—just about anything is better with cheese. Except coffee, of course. I can’t imagine the mutiny in this household if we ever ran out of cheese. Even the little guy loves his string cheese and Kraft singles—if we don’t unwrap them quickly enough, he tries to bite through the plastic.

7. I’m thankful for the smooth, chocolaty, nutty goodness that is Nutella, and that sometimes, I actually get to eat a whole tablespoonful before the kids devour the entire jar.

8. Tomorrow, at approximately 3:55 p.m., my house will be clean. It’ll be over by 4:01 p.m, but I will have enjoyed a full five minutes in a clean environment—if Jonah doesn’t drag out his puzzles in that time frame—and I will be reminded of what I have to look forward to around 4:00 on December 24^th, the next time the entire house will be clean all at once.

9. I’m glad that the Hair Club for Men now includes women, because I should start trying to potty train Jonah soon. Between that, and acquiring a newly-driving teen, my already-thinning hair will definitely need some surgical intervention in the near future.

10. And finally, I’m thankful for all the horrible people who’ve thrown stones at me throughout my lifetime, because I used them to build a pretty strong foundation for one really awesome life.

They serve toast, popcorn, pretzels, jellybeans and ice cream sundaes.

My dinner plate with slightly burned cheese toast — just as I like it — on a fun, turkey-printed paper plate. They only had plain buttered toast in the Charlie Brown special, but I figured we could use a little protein!

I’m always busy cooking the night before Turkey Day, so having something so simple and fun for dinner is ideal to me! And the kids just love this little tradition. This was the first year that Jonah really knew what was going on. When he first saw his dinner plate, he did a double-take, as if he couldn’t believe his good fortune to climb into his chair and find a plate heaped with popcorn, pretzels AND candy! I couldn’t even get him to sit down for a while — he just stood there, happily shoveling popcorn into his mouth.

I love my family! And I love Thanksgiving!

And yes, I love my crazy husband with his totally goofy expressions!

In other Thanksgiving news, just for fun, I had the boys fill in a turkey poem prompt as part of their schoolwork this week. (Each sentence began with phrases to describe the turkey, such as, “It needs….” “It moves….” and they filled in the rest.)

What they came up with just cracked me up! Disturbing? Maybe if you aren’t accustomed to the ways of boys. And these sons of mine are utterly, totally, testosterone-charged BOYS!

Here is Zach’s:

It sees the gun in its face.

It hears the pump cock.

It feels the shiver down its spine.

It understands that it’s going to become dinner.

It moves left to right.

It needs to get out of sight!

It likes to get an adrenaline rush.

It wants a chase through the woods.

It eats one last berry, for good.

It dreams, asleep forever. It’s dead.

And Eli’s, with a rather humorous twist:

It sees the bazooka from far away.

It hears the bazooka fire.

It feels scared.

It understands its death.

It moves out of the way.

It needs pie.

It likes man.

It wants the man.

It eats the man.

It dreams good.

The end.

A few friends have asked for my soft gingerbread cake recipe, so I thought it would be easiest to share it here. I first baked it to use in this amazing Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle, but it was so great by itself that I’ll have to make it again.

And again.

Oh, and you should try that pumpkin trifle recipe this Thanksgiving— it’s fabulous. It’s good using the gingerbread mix called for in the recipe. But it is positively awesome using half a pan of this gingerbread.

Happy Baking!

Old Fashioned Gingerbread Recipe

• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/4 Tablespoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup solid shortening
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/3 cup molasses
• 1 cup room temperature water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Spray a 9″ X 13″ baking pan with vegetable spray.
3. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat together the shortening and sugar until fluffy.
5. Scrape sides of bowl. Add the egg and mix again, then the molasses, scraping if necessary.
6. On low speed, add dry ingredients, alternating with water until the batter is smooth. Scrape sides of bowl one more time.
7. Pour into prepared pan and bake for approximately 45 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack, and serve warm, by itself or topped with whipped cream and caramel sauce.

**Note: This is not the kind of gingerbread that can be rolled out for cookies. It’s a fluid batter that results in soft cake.

1. In November, I most look forward to Thanksgiving.

2. Halloween is over…phew!

3. It’s right there, in the place you left it. Where it doesn’t belong. (Guess how many times a day I say THIS?)

4. Money doesn’t buy happiness, but having enough of it might purchase a little peace of mind.

5. Water is my favorite beverage.

6. “Well, hang fire!” is what my grandmother used to say!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to family pizza and a movie night featuring Donnie’s homemade pizza, tomorrow my plans include taking Eli to a birthday party and Sunday, I want to relax. I won’t have time to, but I’ll want to just the same! LOL!

For more Friday Fill-ins, click here.

November might just be this tired mom’s favorite month of the year. I used to think it was October, what with the arrival of autumn and all the fun family events surrounding Halloween. And my October was truly delightful—I finally made good on a two-year promise to my kids that we’d host a Halloween party, and we all had an awesome time enjoying friends, food and fellowship.

Halloween night, we met up with friends who combined trick-or-treating with a hayride, and I’m convinced that riding around, snuggled in a blanket on a warm bale of hay, is the only way to go.

It was such fun to see my little two-year-old Jonah running around dressed as a perfectly-sized Yoda from “Star Wars,” thrilled to discover the joy that is trick-or-treating. At the first house, he wasn’t sure about the whole thing, but then he realized he’d been given rare, precious candy. When the people at the second house gave him a pack of M&Ms, he clutched it in his little fist and said, “Eat snack! Eat snack!” all the way back to the car. And then he was hooked!

But even though it was a blast and worth every minute of work that went into it, I’m kind of glad that the Halloween madness is over.

November feels like pure peace after all the hurrying and scurrying to accomplish everything on our October calendar. The weather is still perfect, the leaves are at their beautiful peak of fall color, and the Christmas craziness has not yet begun—no matter how hard the retailers try to prematurely shove it down our throats. I refuse to accept it, as stubbornly as a toddler clamps her mouth shut against a spoon heaped with boiled spinach.

This month is a gift I look forward to every year, a blessed lull in an overscheduled calendar, a time for Thanksgiving and family, a time of peace. I want to relax and enjoy the downtime, not turn November into an extended December, no matter how wonderful the holidays might be. As the book of Ecclesiastes says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” For me anyway, the purpose of November is to rest and focus on gratitude.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could bring a little November into every day? My friend Tiffany Hendra is one of the most inspirational people I know. She posted something on Facebook the other day that resonated with my soul and reflects this concept of finding a bit of gratitude and peace in every day.

She suggested that each night, just as we take a good, hot shower to wash away the dirt, sweat and grime from the day, we should also take an internal bath before going to bed, to cleanse away the cares of life.

Unclench your jaw, let out a long exhale, loosen your shoulders and clear your mind. Let go of any drama or irritations that plagued you that day, forgive those who offended you, and give thanks for the gift of life and the comfortable bed you sleep on.

November is the perfect time to do this on a larger scale. Instead of fretting over what December might bring, instead of starting the Christmas planning and shopping, just release all the stress and enjoy the gifts hidden in today. That steaming mug of coffee, the brilliant red cardinal hopping among the orange and golden leaves, the cool breeze refreshing your lungs, the soft flannel enveloping your shoulders, the calmness in knowing there is nowhere else you have to be but enjoying life in this very moment—all those simple things are the gifts of November.

Take the time to enjoy them, won’t you?

This column ran in the October 12th edition of “The Covington News.”

It’s no secret that autumn is my favorite season, but there are five things about it that stir up a “Jekyll-and-Hyde” love-and-hate style response in me.

1. Having the windows open. I love it because the cool, fresh air circulating through the house feels so amazing. Nothing beats sleeping with the windows cracked open and hearing the leaves stirring outside as the crisp night air sneaks in and curls over my bed. I love snuggling under the blankets, waking up in the morning with a cold nose, and warming up again over a steaming cup of coffee.

However…

…thanks to neighbors who are too unmotivated to haul their trash to the dump, I frequently have to close the windows to my beloved autumn breeze because it carries with it the revolting smoke from their burning garbage. I’m all for individual freedom and the right to do what you want on your own property. But when you’re in a neighborhood, with houses on all four sides of yours, there’s no way to burn without making other people miserable. If you live on 20 acres and want to burn some trash, fine—have at it. But I’d support any local candidate that promises to create a permanent ban on outdoor burning in residential areas.

2. The foliage. I love driving along I-20 and witnessing the tree-covered rolling hills gently fade from all-green into a mixed palette of red, orange, yellow and brown. I eagerly await the time when the color reaches its peak. When that happens, I could spend every moment of every day outdoors and never tire of looking at the beauty of God’s artistry. That is, if my allergies would let me. I don’t know about you, but my fall allergies are always worse than spring. I hate that my favorite season is marred by itchy eyes, sniffles, raging sinus headaches and antihistamine-induced drowsiness. But as living in Orlando taught me, I’d rather sneeze my way through the glory of the season’s change than have no autumn at all.

3. The clothing. Oh, I get so excited when it’s time to get out the sweaters, long sleeves and boots! I love the darker, richer colors, bundling up in warm, soft, cuddly clothes, wearing long blue jeans and my favorite sweatshirt again. But I am always dismayed to find that my boys outgrew nearly all of last winter’s clothes—it just never seems like they should’ve grown that much, so quickly. So this has been that awkward week that they’re running around in long-sleeve shirts and shorts, because they no longer have any pants that fit and I have to wait until payday to outfit them all again.

4. Halloween. I just finished decorating my house for Halloween and it is so festive! I love the pumpkins, the scarecrows, the planning for costumes and parties. Our new favorite tradition started last year when a friend invited us to ride along on their hay-covered trailer for trick-or-treating—we cannot wait to do that again. I always feel like a big kid again on Halloween, in some ways, even more than at Christmastime. Making Christmas for the family is so much work, but Halloween is just simple fun.

So what’s there to hate about the holiday? It really bothers me how dark it’s become. I hate when I’ve got little kids out trick-or-treating and someone walks by in a terrifyingly realistic, gory costume. It makes me miss my childhood, when evil things weren’t so glorified, when vampires weren’t considered the ultimate in cool and Halloween offered more fun treats than wicked tricks.

5. Finally, the weather. Sunshine, bright blue skies and cotton-candy clouds, low humidity and cool breezes—utter perfection. I feel like I come alive again every year when October chases off the last remnants of summer. So what could possibly be hate-worthy about fall weather? Only the fact that it doesn’t last forever. As novelist George Eliot said, “Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”

1. If you could put a spell on someone, who would it be and why?

I would cast a cleaning spell over every member of my household–starting with ME!

2. If you could go back in time and relive one moment, what would it be?

I can’t even begin to narrow this down to one. My life has been full of beautiful moments I’d love to relive.

3.If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would it be?

This one, however, is easy. I would have started having children earlier, so that I could have perhaps had all four of the children I longed to have. Now I will always feel like someone is missing.

4. What movie/TV character do you most resemble in personality?

Bugs Bunny. Or maybe Squidward.

5. If you could push one person off a cliff and get away with it, who would it be?

Though ten different people from various political and familial backgrounds immediately raced through my mind, I shall not name one. LOL

6. Name one habit you want to change in yourself.

Procrastination.

7. Describe yourself in one word.

Creative!

8. List your top three memes that you like to respond to.

This one, Top Ten Tuesday and Friday Fill-ins

9. Why do you blog?

It started as a way to share my writing; now it’s extended to sharing all kinds of stuff. It’s fun!

Samantha’s Saturday Nine meme can be found here.

I love fall. Everyone knows that I love fall. It’s still hot down here, but I had to get a jump on the season by making this yummy cake last night. My house smelled SO good. Yours will, too!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Cake

1 box Duncan Hines French Vanilla cake mix (if you can’t find this flavor, just use white or yellow)

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 cup vegetable oil (yes, that’s a full cup—this ain’t diet food)

4 eggs

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 to 1 cup miniature dark chocolate chips (I only used half a cup—I think it needed a little more)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan and set aside. Put the cake mix, pumpkin, oil, eggs and pumpkin pie spice into the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix on low for a minute to moisten all ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then beat on medium for a good ten minutes or so, scraping sides as needed.

(I realize that length of time goes against all conventional knowledge on cake-baking, but my grandmother shared that was one of her secrets for transforming cake mix into something really special.)

Stir in chocolate chips with your spatula or a wooden spoon. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for one hour. Let cool in pan a few minutes before flipping it out onto a cake rack to cool another ten minutes or so before slicing.

If you can wait that long….

Oh, and by the way—this is a great recipe for using up jars of baby food. Just substitute two 4-oz. jars of baby food carrots, sweet potatoes or squash for the pumpkin.

1. Three things I must have on my Thanksgiving table: turkey (duh), my homemade dressing, and my homemade cranberry sauce.

2. Last night, Jonah and I sacked out on the couch. (Unfortunately, he slept til 11, even after I passed him off to Donnie, and then was up running around again til nearly 2:00 a.m!)

3. This is National Elastic Waistband Day! (Not really. But it should be.)

4. This weekend, it is time to decorate anything that will stand still for Christmas! YAY!!!

5. Oh, man, thankfully it’s getting close to payday.

6. I wish I could perfect the art of biscuit baking and pie crust making.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to making a birthday cake for a friend, tomorrow my plans include taking down my fall decorations, taking Eli to a birthday party, and beginning to put up our Christmas decor,  and Sunday, I want to go to church, then finish decorating the house for Christmas!

Make your own Friday Fill-ins list here!

Note: I apologize for neglecting my blog for a week! I guess I got too caught up in all the Turkey Day preparations and that, coupled with a few writing assignments, left me little time for blogging. Here is my column that was published on Thanksgiving Eve. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!  Ours was great—I even got to enjoy the parade with my cuppa joe.

Military strategists could learn a thing or two from watching a mother organize a big Thanksgiving dinner. It seems simple enough—after all, it’s just cooking, right? Paula Deen and friends on the Food Network make it look deceptively easy as they prepare a giant spread in just 30 minutes. When I was a kid, my grandmother Honey made it all seem so effortless that I truly believed it was.

Then I grew up and the torch was passed to me. And now, every holiday, I’m in charge of hosting the big family meal. I don’t mind admitting that it usually wears me out. Sometimes I wonder how Honey always seemed so happy on Thanksgiving now that I realize how hard she worked. She’d appear at the table with her makeup and jewelry on, looking so pretty and put-together, you’d never know that she’d been slaving over the stove for days.

And I haven’t even touched on the cleaning.

I’ve been watching that new TLC show, “Sister Wives” with a sort of doubtful curiosity. It’s about a Utah man with four wives and a gob of children. One of the wives is totally devoted to housekeeping and cooking. Now, I’m not saying that polygamy is OK, but I’m envious of the other three wives having someone to take care of the domestic stuff. If I had a sister wife, maybe I could show up at the Thanksgiving table looking more like June Cleaver and less like a sweaty old ox who’s plowed a few too many fields.

When I shared that thought with my husband, Donnie just mumbled, “Yeah—another wife. That’s exactly what I need….” I didn’t know whether to laugh or to smack him. I’d only want a sister wife for the holidays, though. Then she’d have to go.

So without another woman to carry the burden, the holiday meal planning has kept me hopping this week. The easiest part has been the turkey. My mom ordered a smoked bird from Shane’s Rib Shack and Donnie will pick it up today. I’m sure it’s going to be delicious. But I have never found store-bought side dishes that come anything close to the family recipes we’ve enjoyed for generations.

Honey taught me that a feast comes together only after dozens of carefully planned technical maneuvers over the days preceding the holiday. So I hard-boiled my eggs on Monday and will devil them today. I baked the cornbread and biscuits for my homemade dressing, and cooked the sweet potatoes on Tuesday; both will be finished tomorrow. I also made the cranberry sauce yesterday, and wrapped up most of the cleaning. The pies and casseroles will be assembled today and baked tomorrow.

It’s a true labor of love, all those hours chopping, stirring and sweating in the kitchen.

My husband Donnie is rather in awe of the process, as he gets overwhelmed if he has to boil pasta and heat spaghetti sauce simultaneously. But having a house full of hungry, appreciative boys makes cooking at the holidays fun. They all love to eat and it’s a pleasure to watch them enjoy the fruits of my labor.

I just hope they honor me back with an hour or so off in the morning, so I can snuggle under a blanket with a cup of pumpkin spice coffee and enjoy the Macy’s parade. I look forward to that as much as any other Thanksgiving tradition.

Perhaps my grandmother was so happy on Thanksgiving because she was born during the Great Depression and raised her children through WWII. That dear lady knew what it was like to do without, and she never took abundance for granted. Sometimes I think that those of us who came after her don’t comprehend how good we have it.

I’m going to miss Honey terribly tomorrow, when we sit down to the first Thanksgiving meal we’ve ever had without her. But I’m going to remember what she always said mattered most—that her family was together, sharing a good meal and spending time with people we love. May your Thanksgiving Day be full of the same simple blessings.