Weekly Wrap-Up: Thanksgiving

Update: I'm back up and blogging!  Jackie from It's Elementary informed me about resizing my pictures before uploading.  After resizing, I was able to upload pictures without paying the monthly fee!!  Thanks, Jackie!

We had a super short school week, but was able to squeeze in a few crafts and a lot of traveling! 

At our weekly Coop, Izzie made this very creative candle holder!  They placed Elmer's glue in the bottom and on the sides of the plastic cup, then added dry beans and a candle.  After several days, we removed the cup and discovered this beautiful candle holder!  

 

The girls received some special Thanksgiving goodies from their Great Aunt.  They are always so excited to receive mail! 

 The girls made several simple Thanksgiving crafts.

Finally, we traveled 4 hours to spend Thanksgiving with the in-laws!   The girls always have a great time visiting with Nana and Popi. 

Helping Popi with the fire and Nana with Thanksgiving dinner. 

We have so much to be thankful for! 

HELP!!

I was in the process of writing a few new posts and adding pictures to those posts, when this pops up...

Whoops! You're out of space. You are currently using 100% of your 1 GB quota for photos.

Photos are stored in your Picasa Web Albums account and are included in your 1 GB free quota for photos. Additional storage you purchase is shared between several Google products and is in addition to your free quota.

WHAT??

Does this mean that I have to "purchase" more space?  Is Blogger no longer "free"?

Has this happened to any of you? 

 Any information is greatly appreciated!  

Thanks!! 

Messy Class: Bean Turkey

Last week at our weekly Coop's Preschool Messy Class, we created hand-print turkeys out of a variety of dry beans! 

 I loved the way each turkey was created uniquely different! 

Mac traced her own hand and drew an adorable face and legs!  

Afterward, they had time to explore the bean sensory tub.  

 

The beans were a HUGE hit! 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Give Thanks Party!

 Izzie and Mac had a fabulous time at the American Heritage Girls' 
 Give Thanks party!  

While there, they created three of the cutest Thanksgiving crafts!! 

Paint Sample Turkey 

 

On each feather, they wrote something that they are thankful for.  

Thanksgiving Story Bracelet

 

Indian Corn Magnet

In addition, they had fun playing games and winning prizes! 

      

 

It was a great afternoon of giving thanks for friends! 

Izzie was surprised that she received a special Thanksgiving badge for her vest! 

Community Service Stars

Izzie spent the morning participating in community service projects around town. 

 

The first destination was a local grocery store, where she helped scout for food.

  All food collected was donated to the local food bank.  

Yes!  An entire truck load was collected from the generosity of our community! 

Afterward, she headed to a second location to help with a bake sale.   All leftover bake sale items were donated to our local homeless shelter. 

  

She was beaming with pride in her vest...check out those 11 badges that she earned from a lot of dedication and hard work! 

What an AWESOME way to bless our community on a rainy, chilly Saturday!

AHG Joining Ceremony

A few weeks back, Izzie had her official American Heritage Girls Joining Ceremony! 

She was so excited! 

 She was beyond thrilled to receive her 11 badges that she worked so hard to earn over the summer! 

Our little Tenderheart...we are so very proud of you! 

Operation Christmas Child

 

I am so thankful for everyone who participates in Operation Christmas Child!   Last year, more than 8 million shoe boxes were collected and distributed worldwide to share the love of Jesus Christ and the joy of Christmas. National Collection Week is November 12 – 19.   So, if you have the resources, go pack a shoe box or two this weekend.

 

   We had a really nice discussion before heading out to shop about all the children in the world who have very little, receive nothing for Christmas, and who have never heard of Jesus.  They're still a little young to fully understand the concept, but I do believe that by participating in Operation Christmas Child, they are becoming aware of the needs of others and can understand that they are truly blessed and can make a difference in the world. 

 This year, we decided to use plastic containers, so the families could reuse them.

I saw somewhere on another blog about "wrapping" the goodies inside with something reusable, so we decided to use washcloths.  

A peek inside Izzie's container...

        

Panties and Socks

  Toiletries

  

Books and Photo Album

   Jewelry  

Toys

 Izzie's completed container!

 A peek inside Mac's container...

Panties and Socks

Toiletries

 Toys

Jewelry and Hair Accessories

Books and Photo Album

 Mac's completed container!

We placed another washcloth on top to cover all the goodies inside. 

Praying that these simple containers can make a HUGE difference in the lives of the two little girls receiving them and the ones who packed them!