My son Gabriel devoured many of the Magic Tree House books but Holly became bored with them after one book.  I could not convince her to read Thanksgiving on Thursday even though it was one of our two books about the holiday.  She simply was not interested.  I tossed aside the fictional work and perused the internet for some ideas. 

I found this poem and many others for Holly’s copywork at Elaine’s Thanksgiving Page.

HOW TO OBSERVE THANKSGIVING

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself.

~~Author Unknown.~~

Did you know that you can grow popcorn?  I had never thought about it but it is a seed.  Holly planted some in a jar and she was thrilled to watch them grow.  They grew fairly tall and the cat decided she liked them too and shortened them for us.

Our most exciting project was making Plymouth Village.  Holly and I started gluing some craft sticks together and Gabe and Hannah decided they wanted to help too.  We used some old coconut – it’s finer and unsweetened here in Romania so it made great snow.  We found some “trees” in our yard and “planted” them with the help of some clay.  I really do not have any idea how historically accurate our village is but I do know that we had a great time.

Another activity I found online was at Christian Women Online.  Ann at Holy Experience suggested that during this season of list making that we make a list of our everyday gifts or blessings.  So I am on my way towards listing 1000 gifts.  I have found it to be an encouraging and uplifting endeavor.  While I would like to finish my list by the end of the year, it would be just fine with me if it takes me until next Thanksgiving.  After all, how should we really observe Thanksgiving?  By counting our blessings and counting on God every day of the year.