a little tour of our "thankful" home

Thanksgiving is in full swing around here!

We have had fall decor up for a few months now, but I added a little Thanksgiving touch about a week ago, to remind us to count our blessings!

We leave for Texas in a few days, to spend the holiday with my family at our ranch, so I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to celebrate as a little family of 4 here in our home before we head out. Because as soon as we return, it will be time to "deck the halls" for Christmas!

I had  to dig a little to find everything, since this is our first holiday season in our new home, but I think it was worth it!

Our little "thankful" banner made for us by 517 Creations. It hangs in our home this time of year to remind us of a loving God who pours out His mercy and grace, love and many blessings upon us. A God who watches over and protects us.

Our table of thanks. The perfect size for our little family.

To create a similar look, purchase DaySpring's Ever Grateful Collection, now 50% off. The tall centerpiece is a Pinterest find from last fall. You simply put a candle in a clear vase and surround it with corn kernels. So easy and inexpensive!

In this shot you can see the window clings that the boys decorated our back door with. I found them in the $1 bins at Target. So fun!

Here is a closer look.

This cute little owl banner hangs over the bar where the boys usually eat, do homework, etc. It is another Target $1 bin find. So cute!

Just a cute little wooden pumpkin, to remind us of God's provision.

I am in love with this little owl candle that I got at Target a few years ago! Adorable!

Little E decided to "help" with the decorating. :)

Our little "thankful" turkey, also made by 517 Creations. Every year we fill it with blessings, together as a family, sometime during the Thanksgiving season.

My little turkeys! :)

And just for fun...my little Indian. We got to eat lunch with him today at school for his class Thanksgiving feast. He is called "Green Grass." :)

Our Thanksgiving scripture. It sits in our kitchen to remind us where our blessings come from! The memo board is a piece of DaySpring's Ever Grateful Collection. I love changing out the message every season!

Go here for 10 more ways to a thankful home and here to see my favorite Thanksgiving pins. Check out some of our favorite Thanksgiving ideas here and our Thanksgiving pin board here.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! May you have a blessed holiday, surrounded by loved ones, remembering all that God has done for you!

About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.

Favorite Pins Friday...and a Flash Sale!

Don't miss DaySpring's Flash Sale -- ends 3 pm (CST) today! 3 items 50% off, including the fabulous antiqued, gold finished Redeemed Necklace. Click here to shop, all items would make great stocking stuffers and Christmas gifts. You can also still receive 25% off of their beautiful wrapped canvases and 50% off of the Ever Grateful Collection, just in time for Thanksgiving, even after the flash sale ends!

I am in a Thanksgiving mood, as I prepare for the upcoming holiday. In fact, I created a Thanksgiving Pin Board this week and have spent some time filling it with ways to make November a joy-filled month. We will actually be spending the week of Thanksgiving in Texas with my family, so I figured if I was going to make Thanksgiving come alive in our home, I better get going before we are outta here...because as soon as we return, we will be preparing our home for Christmas!

Source: aholyexperience.com via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest

I absolutely love, love, love this thankful tree, complete with free scripture leaf printables, so that you can make your own tree of blessings, together with your family. What a beautiful way to bring warmth and beauty to your home this holiday season. For 10 (more) ways to a thankful home, go here.

Source: tatertotsandjello.com via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest

I was excited to find out that Tatertots and Jello featured our pumpkin pie croissants in her 20 Pumpkin Recipes post! Check it out for some great Thanksgiving dinner ideas. If you are watching your weight this holiday season, be sure to read our Thanksgiving Desserts Without The Regret post.

Source: shanty-2-chic.com via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest 

 This pine cone and pumpkin decoration is so simply, yet elegant. It would be very easy to recreate and would make a perfect centerpiece for your holiday table!

Source: blogs.babble.com via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest

This post has some fantastic ideas on how to get your children to count their blessings this Thanksgiving season. I just love the thankful (yarn ball) turkey...so cute and easy to make!

Source: flamingotoes.com via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest  

I am loving this retro "give thanks" print! It would make a cute display in any home!

Source: positivelysplendid.com via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest

Washi tape is all the rage these days and this is such a cute, easy craft for the kiddos -- and another easy way to count blessings!

What about you? Have you seen any fun Thanksgiving ideas floating around the web these days? Or do you have any ideas of your own? Feel free to leave comments with links and I will pin them to my Thanksgiving board as well!

Happy Friday, friends!

About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.

Thanksgiving Desserts Without The Regret

As we get closer to Thanksgiving and each person starts to make plans for Turkey Day I know that each person is thinking of the food that will ordain each table and will inevitably be leftovers for the next week :) I may be the only person who actually does not like Thanksgiving food. Gasp! I know, its almost like its unAmerican :) To top if off, this year my birthday falls on Thanksgiving day. So I get to celebrate the big 2-9 with a large bird and fixins that I do not particularly like. BUT the thing that saves Thanksgiving food in my book are the desserts. Now almost every other day at the year I have no problem saying no to desserts but there is something about the made-from-scratch pies and cakes and the aroma of each of these filling the room that makes it very hard to pass them up.  So, I thought I might pass on a couple guilt free recipes that can be either for dessert on Thanksgiving or even snacks during the day. They will keep you full, fuel your body and let you enjoy that second helping with a little less guilt and shame ;)

I hope you enjoy


Protein PB Balls

-1 cup of AdvoCare Muscle Gain ( vanilla or chocolate) - you can use other forms of protein. I chose this one because it is one of the highest quality proteins on the market.
-1 cup of Peanut Butter ( natural or organic)- Walmart has "Natural Skippy" that you dont need to stir
-1 cup of Honey (try for locally made or organic)
- 3 cups of nuts (optional) and rolled whole oats

Chop or put the nuts in a food processor; keep the oats whole, mix it all up and roll into small balls. Keep in the fridge. Can be frozen. ENJOY :)


Banana Pudding

- 2 large boxes of sugar free instant vanilla pudding 
-5 cups of low fat milk 
- 5-6 oz of low fat sour cream 
-2 cups of lite Cool Whip 
-2-3 bananas 
- Low Fat Nilla Wafers 

Pour the dry vanilla pudding mix into the cold milk. ( Pouring it into the milk prevents it from being lumpy when stirring). Mix well. Add the sour cream and Cool Whip. Let the pudding set for a few minutes. When it is set, line the bottom of the bowl with Nilla Wafers. ( If preparing this ahead of time, you may want to skip this step and just add the wafers to the top before serving so they do not become soggy). Pour the pudding into the bowl covering the wafers. Garnish the top of the pudding with more wafers. 

I know a couple of you may be freaking out about the sour cream. I PROMISE you will not taste it and it actually helps give the pudding a little bit of thickness. 

I hope you enjoy Thanksgiving and get to try out these recipes! :)

LB

About the Author: Lauren Barksdale is the founder of Soul Fitness. She has a BA and Masters in Kinesiology from Dallas Baptist University . She coached volleyball at Birdville High School in North Richland Hills for the last 5 years. In college she played volleyball for Baylor's club team and at Dallas Baptist University. She has been married to Ben Barksdale for 5 years and has two children; Evie Grace who is 3 and Hudson who is 10 months old. Lauren has a passion for health and fitness and incorporating that into everyday life as a Christ follower

{Hope for the Home}: (Gluten Free) Pumpkin Donuts

When Ben and I adopted our little Judd man, we had no clue how to deal with, navigate through, or 

prepare in any way for food intolerances. In fact, we really didn't know anything about them. We were adopting a 7 year old boy from a mental institution in Eastern Europe with the diagnosis of Down Syndrome. That was pretty much the extent of our knowledge.

Neither of us were experienced in special needs. None of our children had ever had so much as a learning disability or allergies to foods (that we knew of). And when you adopt a child that you know has not received anywhere near what he or his little body has needed to grow and heal properly and who seems desperately hungry at all times, you just want to feed them. Anything, everything. Watching him eat, and smile, and get full brings you immense joy.

But after months of tummy issues, and many doctors, and many tests for parasites, we were still no where near finding a solution. He also had many skin issues. We had treated him twice to get rid of the scabies he had, but his poor face and bottom were constantly breaking out and itching. Refusing steroids and treating with lavender oil did help alot, but was not the cure!

One day I just woke up and made a decision, which I attribute to God. I decided to go dairy and gluten free for Judd. Overnight. Here we go. No clue how to do it, but we were off to see the Wizard!

Although I had read that children with DS can be much more 

apt to have Celiac's, Judd had tested negative. And I know I had a blog reader mention to me months prior that the testing for Celiac's can be tricky, but I really paid no mind to any of it. Until that morning!

Judd had a routine doctor's appointment that same week and I informed the Doctor of what I was in the process of doing. He laughed at me! He said that Judd's tests for Celia'cs were negative and that removing both items was not wise. He then laughed and said his gut feeling was that if there was any issue at all it was the dairy. Laughing at me makes me more determined!

Within 2 weeks of removing these items Judd had his first solid (if you know what I mean)

in 8 months! Within 6 weeks he was completely toilet trained, a HUGE issue resolved. HUGE!

And after about 4 solid months on this diet, I added back in a few things to see the reaction. He can handle a little Yogurt and cheese causes IBS type symptoms, so we keep mostly to our non-dairy diet. And gluten causes his skin to go haywire, not to mention the tummy issues and the most-likely behavior issues as well. Those can be hard to determine because we have so many things going on and Judd for the most part is non-verbal. 

I could go on and on. And many of you reading may be very familiar with gluten sensitivities,

and food allergies and issues. But since our decision we have met many parents that ask us questions like...

- How did you get Judd's skin so clear? 
- How did you get him toilet trained?

I tell them, beg them practically, to remove these items from their children's diets to see if it helps.

Usually their response is "Oh that would be too hard!" But if I can do it, anyone can do it! I'm not the most organized, goal-oriented or disciplined person around. Just do it. The results could be life changing! 

Your child may not have DS, but gluten especially, can cause many negative reactions in children and adults alike....behavioral, skin, health, learning, etc. Not everyone will test positive for Celiac's, but gluten sensitivity is just as real.

Now, on to the good stuff! Here is our new, favorite recipe for Gluten Free Pumpkin Donuts!

These are delicious and EASY, and the ingredients are some of the easier ones to find.

1 Cup Sorghum Flour

1 Cup Potato Starch

1/2 Cup Almond Flour

1 Cup brown sugar

1/4 Cup cane sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. xanthan gum

1 tsp. Sea salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Mix all above ingredients, sifting flours.

3 eggs beaten

2 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 cup expellar pressed canola oil

Beat together and add to dry ingredients.Then add 1 14oz can of Pumpkin.

Fill a donut pan 2/3 full and bake on 350 for approx 18 minutes. Make sure to spray pan with non-stick cooking spray.

(I found my donut pan at Bed Bath and Beyond for less than ten bucks!)

Original Recipe from Gluten Free Goddess.

We frosted half of the donuts with our favorite cream cheese frosting!

4oz cream cheese

4 oz butter

2 tbs Vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Beat with hand mixer until nice and creamy.

Random Houshold Tip: 

I just read in one of my favorite Magazines (Mary Jane's Farm) to store a sheet set in one of it's pillow cases! Brilliant!

Go here for more ways to make God apart of your everyday life and home!

Linking up with:

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About the Author: Melanie Hartman blogs about her life on the farm and her family's rescue adoption over at Happy Hartman Farm. Her, her husband Ben, and their 5 children are just an average American (Military) family trying to serve Our Lord and Risen Savior, hoping not to live their lives in vain, with hearts that are burdened for the orphan crisis in this world.

{Gratitude Leads to Joy}: 10 Ways to a Thankful Home

As you know, I have been on a quest for joy this year. Joy is my 2012 word and this quest has led to the idea for our upcoming "find joy in the journey" ebook, which I am excited to report is finished!

I sent it off to my designer, Mary Jo Smith at 517 Creations, over the weekend so that she can format it to look like a book and get it ready for purchase. When she is finished, I will proof it one last time and then it will be available for download. Woohoo! 

Along the way I have come to realize that one major key to a joy-filled life is living a life of gratitude, being thankful for all of God's blessings, not taking the little things for granted, learning to embrace and cherish the special moments along the way.

With that in mind, I want to create an attitude of gratitude within our home this Thanksgiving season and I have come up with a few ways to do that!

1. Decorate your front door with some sort of Thanksgiving wreath, so that everyone enters with Thanksgiving on their mind.

Source: livinglocurto.com via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest

2. Make "give thanks" pumpkins as a reminder of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Rejoice always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 

Source: incourage.me via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest

3. Hang this free printable "thankful" banner in a prominent place in your home, a visual reminder to have a thankful heart this season.

Source: shanty-2-chic.com via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest

4. Make "give thanks" dry erase boards to record God's many blessings. You could set it on a little table in a high traffic area and encourage family members to write something down every time they walk by.

Source: brownpaper--packages.com via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest

6. Print this free "harvest" printable as a visual reminder of God's provision.

Source: tipjunkie.com via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest

7. Make an autumn chalkboard display in your home with the statement or scripture verse that you want to focus on during this season of thanks.

Source: inspired-design.tumblr.com via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest

8. Download this print as a reminder of how to survive the busy, sometimes stressful, holiday season.

Source: tinywhitedaisies.tumblr.com via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest

9. Create a "thankful tree" (together as a family) and have each member write their blessings on the leaves. Add new leaves every day.

Source: simplyvintagegirl.com via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest

10. Display DaySpring's Ever Grateful Collection  on your holiday table. It is an absolutely stunning collection and happens to be 50% off right now, just in time for Thanksgiving! It would make a beautiful display and would be a great reminder of God's goodness for all who enter to see.

It comes in two gorgeous colors, taupe and wasabi, and can be purchased either as separate pieces or as a place setting.

Use this free printable as the centerpiece for your table, to remind your guests how to gather for dinner.

Source: craftily-ever-after.blogspot.com via Worthy of the Prize on Pinterest

Go here to shop DaySpring's Ever Grateful Collection! Go here for more of our favorite Thanksgiving ideas and here for 50 ways to make Fall fabulous!

Check out our Thanksgiving Pinterest Board for even more ideas. Leave comments with your own Thanksgiving posts and I will pin them to my board as well.

Feel free to follow along with me on Facebook and/or twitter as I count down #30daysofblessings!

May you and yours enjoy a beautiful season of Thanksgiving, remembering all that God has done for you!

Let there be thankfulness to God! {Ephesians 5:4}

Linking up with:

About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.

Black Bean Dip...my all-time favorite (go to) party appetizer + tailgate party game ideas!

I cannot believe our 31 day series has come to an end! And I cannot believe I blogged about 1 topic for 31 consecutive days, without missing a day!!! It was so much fun! :)

I have saved the best for last! Today I am sharing my absolute favorite party appetizer...Black Bean Dip! I'm sure you will love it too, assuming you love all things Mexican like I do! It is SO easy to make and would be the perfect dish to kick-off your tailgate party!

When I was in college, my mom used to make this every Sunday for me and my volleyball team! We would go to her house to do laundry, study and just get caught up from a long weekend of games and being on the road. She made us all kinds of treats but this was always my favorite!

Ingredients:

-1 8 ounce package cream cheese
-1 15 ounce can black beans with jalapenos (or without, but I think they give it more flavor)
-1 can Rotel tomatoes
-shredded Mexican blend cheese

Directions:

Spread softened cream cheese in bottom of pan. Drain and rinse beans and layer on top of cream cheese. Drain juice from Rotel tomatoes and spread on top of black beans. Sprinkle layer of shredded cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

While your guests are munching on this yummy appetizer, have them fill out game sheets with their predictions of the game (winner, final score, player who scores first touchdown, quarters when touchdowns are scored, etc) and have prizes for who gets the closest!

What about you? Do you have any fun ideas for "dressing up a tailgate" or any other fabulous fall ideas that you would like to share? Leave a comment!

Go here for more ways to make your game day parties a hit! And be sure to join us every Friday as we continue our "Dress Up Your Tailgate" series, now that our "31 Days to Dressing Up Your Tailgate" series is over!

Linking up with:

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About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.

Boo! Teacher Halloween Treat...plus a few ways to make Halloween about God!

Some Christians choose to avoid all things Halloween and I totally "get" that and completely support their decision.

We don't "celebrate" Halloween either...but we do participate in cute, fun fall activities such as carving pumpkins, dressing up in (non-scary) costumes and going trick-or-treating!

Check out the following links for a few ways we have tried to make Fall and Halloween about God:

The Pumpkin Patch Parable
Fall Focus on God
How a Christian is Like a Pumpkin
Raising Biblical Superheroes

I happen to agree with this article from Focus on the Family, challenging families to pursue light instead of darkness during the Halloween season.

Tonight, my boys are dressing up as Transformer Bumblebee and Wolverine to attend our annual church fall festival. Should be a good time...will post pics afterwards!

For now, I wanted to pop in real quick and share this cute and easy "treat" I made for Little A's teacher today...

I simply dipped Milano cookies (Little A's and my favorite) into a bowl of melted white chocolate baking bars (followed instructions on package), let them sit for a few minutes, put mini chocolate chip "eyes" on them, let them sit for about 30 minutes and then packaged them up with this cute and free Boo Printable from Anders Ruff with a sweet note written on it.

We'll see if he actually gives it to her...he is super-shy when it comes to those types of things! :)

I hope you and yours have a safe and fun day, whatever you choose to do!

Happy Fall, friends! :)

Linking up with:

About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.

Pumpkin Bread Play Dough Recipe...keeps the kiddos entertained, while you enjoy the game!

I absolutely LOVE homemade play dough! I made my first batch this summer for VBS, and I will never do store bought again!

My little chef loves it too! He cooks up all kinds of things with his homemade dough! So cute! :)

My friend Helen recently shared with me several different "flavors" of homemade play dough and her Pumpkin Bread Play Dough would be perfect for your tailgate party, or any fall party! It keeps the kids entertained while you enjoy the game!

Ingredients:

-1 package pumpkin bread mix
-2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cups salt
-6 tablespoons oil
-6 teaspoons cream of tartar
-3 cups water

Directions:

Mix and cook over medium heat, until ball forms. Remove from heat and knead.

Just make sure not to turn the heat on until you have mixed ingredients and placed them inside the pan, so you don't burn it up...it will cook fast!

It smells yummy, filling the room, and even if the kiddos accidentally eat it, at least it is all natural! :)

Don't forget to have some play dough utensils (cookie cutters, rolling pins, play dough scissors, stamps, etc) on hand for the kids to play with!

Helen actually made little containers of it for all the kids in our preschool class (as a fall party favor) and attached the cutest little poem...

"It's not a trick, just a treat! But don't forget, it's not to eat! It's Pumpkin Bread Play Dough, so play away! Happy Fall to you today!"

How cute would it be to send the kids home from your tailgate party with Pumpkin Bread Play Dough favors!

What about you? Do you have any fun ideas for "dressing up a tailgate" or any other fabulous fall ideas that you would like to share? Leave a comment!

Go here for more ways to make your game day parties a hit!

Linking up with:

About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.