Counting down to "Turkey Day!"

(Photo: Our "thankful tree")

Thanksgiving must be one of my favorite holidays! I love the history that surrounds it and what it stands for. Sadly, it's one of those holidays that retail stores skip over - seems we go from Halloween, straight to Christmas. Maybe we'd all enjoy our Christmases a little more if we could start with hearts full of THANKS.

Personally, I'm so thankful for our four wonderful children. Yes, they are sometimes trying and outright naughty, but that's to help me stretch and grow, right?! :-) I'm also so very thankful to be at home with them full time and to have the privilege to be able to home educate them. What fun it has been watching them light up with excitement when that little light bulb upstairs goes off! "By George, I think I've got it!!"

Another joy I'm rediscovering is my love for books. I was always a reader in school, but once becoming a mommy, I set my books aside to pick up books like "Mr. Brown Can Moo" and "I Love You As Much". Now that the kids are older and reading on their own, we're making frequent visits to the library. Here are some of our favorites for Thanksgiving:

1. The Thanksgiving Story, by Alice Dalgliesh
2. My America: Our Strange New Land, by Patricia Hermes (part of the Dear America book series)
3. On the Mayflower, by Kate Waters
4. A Day in the Life of Samuel Eaton, by Kate Waters
5. Cranberry Thanksgiving, by Harry Devlin
5. Thy Friend, Obadiah, by Brinton Turkle
6. Eating The Plates - a Pilgrim book of Food and Manners, by Lucille Penner
7. Pilgrim Voices, edited by Connie and Peter Roop
8. The Thanksgiving Primer (a guide to re-creating the first harvest festival), put out by Plimoth Plantation Publications

I'd love to hear what some of your favorites are!