It Wasn't What I Had In Mind, Thanksgiving 2020

Thanksgiving wasn't what I thought it was going to be this year, but isn't that true for all of 2020? 😆Still, in my head, I had this vision of how we were going to celebrate, who we were going to celebrate with, and where, but, to make a long story short, things didn't work out. So, I had a choice: feel left out and be miserable the whole day OR make new plans and make the most of it.

After checking in with the Hubster we decided to host Thanksgiving at our home and invited three couples that we knew didn't have anyone else to celebrate the holiday with. We had a ridiculously huge feast, great company, fun, and WAY too much pie! Thanksgiving plans that started out as a bummer, turned into something even better.

Our guests included some of our dearest and longest friends on Maui who have invited us to their holiday get-togethers in the past. We invited some neighbors from down the road who hold a very special place in our hearts, as well as new neighbors that just moved into the house above us.

Looking back over the day, I realized that I never had any sense of trying to make a "Pinterest perfect" Thanksgiving. Normally I would've been Instagramming every plate of food, pie, recipe, centerpiece, and turkey feather, but filling up my phone with pictures for social media never crossed my mind. I attribute this to the 40-day fast I recently took from social media. The weight of comparison and documenting my every move with pictures and posts completely left me and I soaked up this Thanksgiving day with fresh eyes and appreciation.

And you know what? I didn't spend a dime! Jake and I have been trying to spend less these days, and so I had already budgeted our Thanksgiving food into my last grocery shopping

trip. Our 10lb turkey managed to feed us all, and our guests brought lots of sides to share. So I didn't need to buy anything else. Combine that with my freedom from social media and the need to buy that special dish or decoration or napkin set or scented candle or whatever just because so-and-so Instagrammed her beautiful table arrangement and made me jealous, and I was golden! The boys and I made handprint turkey place cards and Toby and I made centerpieces out of glass vases, silk autumn leaves, corn kernels, and pinecones that we had gathered from the forest. The table may not have been "Instagram-able," but it was memorable!

It was all such a good reminder that it isn't about what the table looks like. It's not about having the biggest turkey or having the most Pinterest-worthy setup. It's about being present, having fun, thinking of others, and getting creative with what you already have.

As we head into a month of parties, dinners, and celebrations I hope I, and you, remember what it's really about. The greatest gift of all, the gift of a Son and eternal life! And while I know my kiddos are getting lots of gifts from all those who love them dearly, I hope to use this weird year to really slow down and talk about the only gift that matters this season through advent and purposeful conversation.

How was your Thanksgiving? Who did you get to celebrate with? What was your favorite dish?

Filled with Hope,

Friendsgiving and Mini Pie Chacuterie Recipe Round Up

I've been a member of MOPS (Mothers of Pre Schoolers) for five years now since Toby was just 3 months old. It has been such a blessing to have other mamas to do life with. I'm so thankful for my friends who invited me to join because I thought it was for moms of kiddos that were in preschool as in 3-to-4-year-olds haha 

Generally, we meet twice a month during the school year. We have a speaker who shares on things like motherhood, marriage, friendship, and spiritual growth, discussion time, fellowship, and—pre-COVID—a wonderful potluck! We also get together for monthly playdates and a "mom's night out." This past weekend was my favorite moms night out event: Friendsgiving!

Not long after having kids, a mom will realize that mealtimes will never be the same. Whether it's balancing an infant on one arm while eating with the other, or learning the fine art of cooking THEIR food first so yours is—hopefully—still hot when you actually get around to eating it. Chances are that by the time you sit down they'll be ready for seconds and you'll have to get back up anyway. And that's not counting all the messes you'll have to deal with.

Bottom line: sit-down meals kinda go out the window.

So, that's why I love Friendsgiving with MOPS. We get to eat a meal in peace, enjoying uninterrupted conversations over still-hot plates of food. It's kind of magical.

This year I got the idea to make a pie charcuterie board after seeing one on Pinterest. Of course, I later realized the one I saw had used those 50 cent pies for Walmart on theirs, while I had painstakingly made all of mine completely from scratch - but it was worth it of course.

Here's a roundup of the recipes I used!

Easy Pie Crust - I quadrupled this recipe to make enough dough for all three types of pies I made.

Mini Pumpkin Pies - I used a snowflake cookie cutter to make these pies even cuter. I also discovered that I had to cook them 8-10 minutes longer than the recipe called for. I just kept checking every 2-3 minutes until a knife inserted came out clean.

Mini Apple Pies - These came together quickly! The only trouble I had was moving the lattice onto the pies, so enlisted the help of a spatula which made it much easier.

Reese's Pie - I messaged my mom for this recipe from an old cookbook she has. It's been a family favorite holiday pie for most of my life!

Reese's Pie

Ingredients
1 baked pie shell
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 large box chocolate pudding, made according to directions.
Cool Whip

Directions
Mix peanut butter and powdered sugar. Put 3/4 of the mixture into the pie shell. Pour prepared pudding on top. Sprinkle the remaining peanut butter mixture over the pudding. Then top with Cool Whip. Cool and serve.

For the mini pies, I cut out 20 (because that was more than enough for what I needed) three-inch circles of dough and pressed them into greased muffin pans, making sure the dough reached the top of the pan. Pierce the dough several times with a fork. Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes or until cooked through. You can use the flat side of a spoon to press the pie shells down on the bottom and sides as they may puff up while baking. Allow to cool completely before sprinkling a little of the peanut butter mixture into the bottom, spreading prepared pudding on top, sprinkling more of the peanut butter mixture on, and topping off with Cool Whip. I did have leftover filling, even with making 20 mini pies, so I just put them in cups and the boys were happy to have a special snack.

With Thanksgiving this week I'd love to hear your favorite dish or family recipe!! Another must-have at our gatherings is sweet potato casserole (not the marshmallow kind) I also brought that to Friendgiving and returned with a completely empty dish! Let me know if you want that family recipe! 

Filled with Hope,

Don't Be Scared Of Halloween

Teddy has recently gotten hooked on the YouTube show Steve and Maggie (Jake and I find it completely obnoxious, but there could be worse things he wants to watch I suppose.) There are several Halloween specials that Teddy just adores; in fact, it's kinda funny how he is so enthralled with Halloween and yet Toby loves all things Christmas. Anyway, Teddy sings, in the cutest little voice, "don't be scared of Halloween, when witches and ghosts come out to play..." And, folks, lemme tell ya, it's adorable 😍

Halloween looked different for us this year with there being so many restrictions due to the pandemic. Our church normally hosts a Trunk or Treat event, and we have participated every year we've lived here, but they made the hard decision to not have it due to regulations here on Maui. Thankfully some friends invited us to a Halloween party and the boys had a blast—donut eating contest, pinata smashing, ziplines, and way too much candy! 

Originally our family was planning to coordinate Halloween costumes, but when I went to the store to get a few things for our Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf outfits—Teddy was going to be the wolf 😂—the boys weren't having it. Teddy didn't want to be a wolf or a pig, so I asked him what he would like to be. He found a fireman's hat and declared "FIREMAN SAM!" After much debate, Toby decided to be the same thing. Sigh. Ok, fine. I'd rather them have fun with it then force them into something they don't want to do.

So that left me and Jake. We haven't really done many "couple costumes," but I settled on a magician and his rabbit. 

It was a fantastic night, lots of laughs, so many friends, and something that felt truly normal. Now we are into November and Christmas lists are on my mind, Christmas cards have been ordered, and we are working on decorating the house 😆

Many of the traditions we have made around the holidays in years past will not be happening this year, so I'd love to hear some of your favorite traditions that you have done that we could still do. Please share them below! One of our favorite traditions is a walk through a neighborhood to admire the Christmas lights while chowing down on—don't judge us—McDonald's. 

Filled with Hope,

Reverse Trick-or-Treating

Everything is weird. That could be the real theme of 2020 😆

As the holidays approach, I've been wondering how many of our usual traditions won't happen because events and activities will be cancelled or modified. I'm trying to stay two steps ahead by coming up with different things we can do this year, and "reverse trick-or-treating" was one of the first ones we tried out.

First, we made pumpkin whoopie pies. As you can see in the photo, Toby likes to help (long enough to lay claim to a mixing spoon for licking 😏). Here's the recipe we followed, and would definitely make again!

Fall Inspired Whoopi Pies

•  3 
  cups
   
  all-purpose flour
•  2 
  tablespoons
   
  cinnamon
• 
   1 
  teaspoon
   
  baking powder
•  1 
  teaspoon
   
  baking soda
•  1 
  teaspoon
   
  salt
•  2 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
•  1 
  cup
   
  granulated sugar
•  1 
  cup
   
  dark brown sugar
•  1 
  cup
   
  canola or vegetable oil
•  3 
  cups
   
  chilled pumpkin puree
   
  (canned pumpkin)
•  2 
  eggs
•  1 
  teaspoon
   
  vanilla extract

FOR THE MAPLE-CREAM CHEESE FILLING:

•  3 
  cups
   
  powdered sugar
•  8 
  ounces
   
  cream cheese
   
  (at room temperature)
•  1/2 cup 
  unsalted butter, at room temperature
•  3 
  tablespoons
   
  maple syrup
•  1 
  teaspoon
   
  vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. 2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. 3. In a separate bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, the dark brown sugar, and the oil together. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.
4. 4. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined and no flour streaks remain.
5. 5. Use a small cookie scoop or a large spoon to drop a rounded, heaping tablespoon of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.
6. 6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. The cookies should be firm when touched. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack.
7. 7. To make the filling, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth with no visible lumps, about 3 minutes. Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth and combined, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, then add the maple syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth.
8. 8. To assemble the whoopie pies: Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down. Pipe or spoon the filling (about a tablespoon) onto that half. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spread to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoopie pies in the refrigerator for an hour to firm before serving.
9. 

After they were good and solid the boys donned their costumes and delivered a few to some neighbors. This might have to become a new tradition, as not only was it fun, but it was a good way to bless friends and spread some smiles.

Are you thinking of ways to celebrate the upcoming holidays differently? I'd love to hear your ideas, so leave a comment below!

Filled with Hope,

Redeeming The Time

It's been a week without social media, and, honestly, the longer I go the more I wonder if I'll ever go back. Sure, sometimes I wonder what people are up to or if I'm missing out on something, and sometimes I miss being able to share with friends and family what the boys are up to, BUT I don't miss the noise, the time wasted scrolling, the frustration it can evoke, the comparison, the jealousy, the "highlight reel" of people's lives.

At the beginning of every year I pick a word that represents some area of self-improvement I want to focus on. I can't remember what I picked this year—and I suppose if I was on social media I could scroll back and find it—so instead I'll pick a word based on what I think God wants me to focus on right now: redeem. Specifically, redeeming the way I use my time.

It started in March after attending a local If: Gathering, a national women's conference. I felt God tugging at my heart to wake up earlier to spend time in my Bible and prayer, prioritizing Him before anything else in my day.

Then in September, I felt like I needed to redeem my afternoon time, that downtime during the boys' naps when I'd fall asleep or scroll my feed for two hours or watch shows—nothing wrong with any of that, by the way, but I knew for me I could be using my time better.

Around this same time a friend was looking for part-time help at her t-shirt shop, which just so happened to fill that afternoon time. And so, naptime redeemed! Instead of wasting away 2-3 hours of my afternoon, I get to spend 4 hours helping friends, visiting with customers, being active, and earning some extra money that I hope to squirrel away for an epic 10-year anniversary trip (I've got another year and a half to save for it ;-) ).

Finally, at our local MOPS meeting at the beginning of October, we touched upon the theme of: Decide To Rise. During the discussion, the Lord convicted me to delete from my phone a silly game called Township—my competitive side had lead me to waste way more hours than I should have in that game and it was time for it to go. Goodbye my little town!

And BINGO! More time redeemed!

That was the chain of events that lead me toward this idea of stepping away from social media. And as hard as it was to cut the cord, it's surprisingly been so rewarding and much easier than I thought it would be. My desire to be more present with my kids has happened naturally. You know what they say: phone down, eyes up!

Speaking of the boys, we are headed to the beach with friends before a much-needed rain comes for a few days, so I'll sign off for now and touch base soon.

Oh, and I'm working on family Halloween costumes. Do you dress as a family theme or every member for themselves? Any ideas for family themes you've done or seen? Or, if it's not a secret, what are your kiddos dressing up as this year? Share in the comments, please!

Filled with Hope,

The Most Beautiful Pumpkin Patch

If any year has made it challenging to keep up with traditions this would be the one! Whether it's parties, holidays, parades, theme parks, trips, annual activities, or something else, most of them have been canceled, closed, postponed, or been so needlessly hampered by regulations that they're just not fun anymore.

It was the same for our annual trip to the pumpkin patch, the most beautiful pumpkin patch in the world if you ask me ;-) It's one of the few things Toby has done every year of his life. The boys love it and they talk about it for weeks afterward.

But this year I almost didn't take them. New regulations, masks required for adults in the hot sun, time limits, and no corn maze, it almost didn't seem worth it. Thankfully both of our boys are still under five and are not required to wear a mask so for them it wasn't quite as bad. So I put my own annoyance aside and decided to take them. They had a blast! Though they were disappointed there was no corn maze, they had no issue turning the sunflower patch into one of their own. Sort of. LOL!

So here's my photo dump, all the photos I would normally share on stories or my feed :-)

What are some of your favorite fall traditions? Here on Maui, this pumpkin patch is mine, but when we are in New England I love getting my dad's side of the family together for an afternoon of apple cider making :-)

PS. The more days that go by on my social media fast the less I think about it. I find myself enjoying the moments for myself instead of trying to capture them to share with the world. Learning to store up these moments as treasures in my heart and mind.

Filled with Hope,