Two Guest Posts & Two Thanksgiving Printables

I'm in three places at once today, sort of.  I'm here, then I'm over at Or So She Says, and I'm with Angela at A Typical English Home.  A tad bit crazy, but fun.  I love blogging for so many reasons, but meeting ladies like Mariel and Angela are definitely top on my list!

I'm sharing our fun family tradition of hosting a first Thanksgiving dinner over at Or So She Says (click here to see my post).  Stop by to see how the dinner works, and to print your dinner invitation.

Then, over at A Typical English Home, I have a chalkboard printable to share.  I love this quote because it's perfect for this time of year, and always!  You can click here to see my post and get your printable.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Thankful For You @ Twelveoeight {Fun Family Tradition & DIY Cards}

Happy Friday to you!  I'm over at twelveOeight today sharing one of our family's favorite Thanksgiving traditions.  It's a simple way to show your gratitude to those you love.  

Click here to see my entire post for today.  I'll tell you what we do every day in November for this tradition, and I also have a printable  card you can download that can be painted with cute little fingerprint leaves.

Many of you have sent kind wishes to my nephew (he was diagnosed with leukemia on Monday) and his family.  Thank you so very much for your thoughtfulness!  It's hard to experience trials in life, but the love and support of people is more evident during these hardships than any other time.  Our family has been buoyed up and amazed by the goodness of others!   

On Wednesday they learned the cancer has spread to his spinal fluid.  To treat the cancerous cells in his spinal fluid, he needed spinal taps in addition to his chemo.  Yesterday he responded very well to the spinal tap treatment, so hopefully he won't need too much more of that, just his chemo.  It will be a long, tough road to recovery, but he's in very good hands, and our faith is strong. 

My husband set up a site to help Ben and his family during this difficult time.  You can click here to see more.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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Favorite Thanksgiving Books & Songs For Kids

I posted these books and songs last year, but I thought they were worth sharing again.  I love nothing more than curling up with my boys at the end of a day with a good holiday book! 

I found all of these books at Barnes and Noble.  You can click on each book to find more information and pricing.  You can also find the majority of these books from  Scholastic Book Clubs.  They always have great prices and fun holiday books.  Check your child's book orders if they bring them home from school.

(I'm not quite sure what happened to the poor "Plump and Perky Turkey" book.  It's a bit tiny- sorry.  Tiny, but with a huge price!  The listing price at Barnes and Noble is only $349.89!  What a deal!)

And here are three of our favorite songs for Thanksgiving.

  My twins are seven now, and at times I wonder if they've out grown the songs or find them a bit silly, but just last night I was singing "Five Fat Turkeys" (without even realizing it- my husband just loves it when I do things like that).  I guess I stopped before the song was over because one of my twins said, "Mom!  Aren't you going to finish the song?"  Yep, he still loves them!

Five Fat Turkeys

Five fat turkeys are we

We slept all night in a tree

When the cook came around

We couldn't be found 

And that's why we're here you see!

(Click here to listen to the tune.  The video is a bit crazy, but at least you can hear how the song goes.)

Turkey Dinner

(Sung to the tune of Frère Jacques)

Turkey dinner, turkey dinner

Gather round, gather round

Who will get the drumstick

Yummy, yummy yum-stick

All sit down, all sit down.

Cornbread muffins, chestnut stuffin'

Pumpkin pie, one foot high

All of us were thinner 

'Till we came to dinner

Me oh my, me oh my!

The Pilgrims and the Indians

The Pilgrims and the Indians
Had a pow-wow a long time ago.
The Pilgrims and the Indians
Felt like having a party and so,
The Pilgrims and the Indians
Cooked a turkey and Indian corn.
Sat down and ate together,
And that is how Thanksgiving was born!
(Amy at Sunlitpages has a link where you can listen to a bit of this song or purchase it on CD.  It is extremely catchy!)

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Old Grist Mill Pumpkin Bread

I've talked about my love for Kate and Sarah over at Our Best Bites before.  I've never met either one of them, but I totally feel like Kate and I are bosom buddies.  She grew up in Logan, Utah.  I grew up there as well.  So that makes us friends, right? 

 Okay, so maybe we aren't friends, but I do feel a close connection with her whenever she talks about skiing at Beaver Mountain, or enjoying the food at  Old Grist Mill.  I think she (or Sarah) even mentioned this recipe once on Our Best Bites.  

I'm not exactly sure where I got this recipe.  I believe it was one of my college roommates, and maybe even my best friend.  My memory's failing me.  I'm not even exactly sure if this really is the Old Grist Mill recipe, but it sure tastes like it to me, and that's what I have written on my recipe card. 

Click to Print

 You have to promise me you'll try this recipe at least once, even if you have a favorite one already.  If you don't LOVE it, then you can go back to your old recipe.  I have tried many pumpkin bread recipes over the years, but I keep coming back to this one.  The flavor, the density, the chocolate chips, everything about this bread is exactly what I'm looking for when I'm craving pumpkin bread.    

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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Gather Printable

I do have a printable for today, but a bit of personal news first.  My sweet little three-year-old nephew went to the hospital Sunday, and was diagnosed with leukemia (AML to be exact) yesterday.  He's had a blood transfusion already, and a spinal tap and chemo begin today. So much for a three-year-old to go through, but he's in great hands and we're very optimistic.  It still isn't easy, but these trying times can provide great learning, growing, and bonding experiences.  My four-year-old put Ben's name in his thankful journal Sunday night.  It warmed my heart!

Click to Print

Anyway, today's printable.  I once saw a sign with the word 'gather' on it in a kitchen.  I immediately fell in love with the word.  The kitchen really is the gathering spot in the home, isn't it?  I would keep this word up year-round in my kitchen, but it's especially fitting for this time of year.  Gathering is what makes Thanksgiving such a special time.  I love all of the food associated with this holiday, but the essence of Thanksgiving is having your loved ones gathered with you to enjoy the meal.  The meal would be pretty lonely at a table for one.  Yes, gather is one of my new favorite words.  I want my family to gather not only at Thanksgiving time, but always!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Thanksgiving Playlist

One year ago on the 12th of this month, I posted my very first post here at Blissful Roots.  I cannot believe I've been doing this for a year now (more on that to come)!  Well, this is that first post (with a few updates).  I love my Thanksgiving mix so much that I thought it was worth reposting.  Besides, I think it might reach a few more of you today than it did the nine people it did back then.

 Long ago in my high school days I would get together with my three best friends and make mixed tapes.  Anyone else do that?  It would take us a whole night to do, but we'd snack, visit, and listen to our favorite music to pass the time.  For some reason Reba's Fancy is the song I remember most from those nights.  I still love that song!

  When iTunes came along, my mixed taped days became  much easier.  I still love making a good mix of music.  I have a mix for just about every holiday, and I have to say my Thanksgiving mix has become one of my very favorites.  I honestly get excited for November 1st just because it means I can start listening to my Thanksgiving music.  

So, here are the songs on my Thanksgiving mix.  I love how these songs immediately bring the feelings of Thanksgiving into my surroundings.  Isn't music powerful?  I hope you find one or two you like, and let me know if you have any other favorites I should add to my list. 

Thanksgiving Playlist

1. We Gather Together by Paul Mccandless, Philip Aaberg & Michael Manring
2. Simple Gifts by Barry Phillips & William Coulter
3. (There's No Place Like) Home For The Holidays by The Carpenters
4. Thanksgiving by Jim Brickman
5. Over the River and Through the Woods by Julia Lane or Michael Silverman
6. Thanksgiving Theme by Vince Guaraldi Trio (Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits)
7. Come Ye Thankful People Come by David Shelley Ensemble
8. All Creatures of Our God and King by Mark Magnuson
9. I've Got Plenty to Be Thankful For by Bing Crosby
10. Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep) by Bing Crosby

A few songs on my list may seem like Christmas songs, but Over the River and Through the Woods is actually a Thanksgiving song, and Home for the Holidays doesn't mention Christmas once, so they made my list.

In my original post, I just had the songs and artists typed up.  This time I've added a Spotify playlist.  It's not perfect (two of the songs are missing on this list), but if you've ever used Spotify, you can click on the songs in my playlist, log into Spotify, and then my Thanksgiving mix will appear in Spotify. You can listen to all 10 songs from there.  You won't be able to listen to the songs from my blog here (sorry, they need to fix that), but Spotify is free (for your desktop/laptop), so you can sign up and then listen.  Let me know if you have any questions or problems with this.  You can also find all of my songs in iTunes if you'd like to go that route.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

UPDATE
Shannon left a comment to add Josh Groban's Thankful to the list.  So glad she's so smart!  How did I forget that one?!

 Thank you to The Graphics Fairy for the wonder Thanksgiving clip art!  Love her!


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November Pinterest Board

I love holidays in general.  Don't you?  Halloween is just about my favorite, but now that it's over I'm thinking about how much I LOVE Thanksgiving!  I love the simplicity of the holiday- food, family, and giving thanks.  I also love that Thanksgiving ushers in the magical time of Christmas!

Follow November by Brooke @ blissfulroots.com on Pinterest

As I've said before, my creative mind works in months/holidays.  So, with a new month comes a new Pinterest board.  Here's my November board.  I've pinned a lot of fun ideas for Thanksgiving, and have more than enough pumpkin recipes to fill the entire month.  November is pumpkin month for me when it comes to baking.  

The Boys of Autumn by Robert Duncan

I have one more fun thing so share with you today.  In September, I shared some of my father-in-law's fall art.  I mentioned my favorite one, but didn't have an image to share.  Well, now I do.  My father-in-law posted this on his Facebook page a few weeks ago.  This painting was done from a picture he took last fall.  My boys and I were helping (some more than others, notice one of my twins playing with a toy on the steps) rake leaves in my in-law's yard.  This is pretty much exactly what the picture looked like.  He even captured my boys' jack-o-lanterns' faces perfectly!  Not everyone gets to see their children in an original piece of artwork.  It's a special thing.  My favorite boys and my favorite time of year.  Thank you, Robert!  It's priceless!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.
P.S.  To see my other Pinterest boards, you can click here.

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