Thanksgiving festivities in the works

Finally, everyone in the house is well and the Thanksgiving festivities are underway this week. Yesterday, we took a day trip to Tupelo to do a massive shopping trip in preparation for holiday guests. This is the first big Thanksgiving dinner that I will host. I feel a little nostalgic, thinking of the big holiday dinners that my grandmother hosted when I was kid. The house was filled with the noise of children and smells of fall. It's strange to think that now I am creating those same memories for my children and nieces and nephews. It will be their noise filling the air now. I'm excited.
Along with nostalgia comes the dread of how much work I need to get done this week. I have to at least try to contain the toy tornado that rips through our house daily, wreaking havoc on what could be a wonderful, clutter free house. The cedar chest is mere steps from being complete. A good buffing and new hardware are all we have left to do. We have components for a autumn inspired centerpiece, as well as, a place mat project that I promised the girls that they could create for the kids table. We will do this awesome project that a came across at domestifluff to create our place mats http://www.domestifluff.com/2009/02/how-to-make-a-stenciled-retro-utensils-print/

I'm not really sure what the centerpiece will develop into, but we have really cool candle holders that we found at the local Goodwill, some candles, gourds (also found at the Goodwill) and a few other odds and ends. So we shall see what happens.

Needless to say, there will be no traditional school for us this week. We will discuss family and do some writing and poetry about autumn and things that we are thankful for. We will discuss Native Americans and their culture and do some projects around that. Other than that, there will be lots of house cleaning and cooking. Family starts arriving on Wednesday. Let the festivities begin!