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"Thanksgiving is the holiday of peace,
the celebration of work and the simple life...
a true folk-festival
that speaks the poetry of the turn of the seasons,
the beauty of seedtime and harvest,
the ripe product of the year -
and the deep, deep connection
of all these things with God. "
~Ray Stannard Baker (David Grayson)


In looking for a quote to start this post, I stumbled upon this one and thought it really resonated with me on many different levels. I love this time of year including the gloominess of the weather, believe it or not. I am thankful for so many different things this year~ from having a job and a home to live in with food on the table in these uncertain times to having a loving family to come home to and friends to share the laughter and the tears with.
Losing my mom last month was horrific, but yet I am thankful that I got to spend some time I might not have spent with her and I was also able to be there in her last moments.
As the seasons turn, I feel my life taking a new turn as well. This new season of my life is the first time I am alone without a parent close by- it's not a good feeling. New things to be worried about seem to crop up on a daily basis.
This Thanksgiving season, I need to find the peace I feel I may have lost along the way to today. I need to remember the beauty and simplicity of the harvest season and keep it close to me for those worrisome times.

I know it is somewhat shallow to be thankful for things, but the pictures below are of some special Thanksgiving decorations around my house that I love. I had picked the pictures below before I found the quote, and I feel that they reflect and celebrate some of the "seasons" of my life...


This is a little pinecone turkey Molly made in Sunday school when she was about 4 years old. Below the picture is the poem that goes along with.

The Pinecone Turkey

Once a little pinecone turkey,
With feathers stiff and hard,
Wished that he could gobble loudly
Like turkeys in the yard.
They gobbled high, they gobbled low,
They gobbled with a trill;
And the little pinecone turkey
Could only keep quite still.
But when he stood on the table

On last Thanksgiving Day,
And saw a big brown turkey there

His heart was light and gay.
His heart sang high, his heart sang low,
His heart sang with a trill;
And the little pinecone turkey
Was glad he'd kept quite still!
---Mabel Maurine Henderson

I love these vintage candles! These were from when I was growing up. They were purchased at Ben Franklin for 10 cents! I also have 2 matching blue and gray smaller pilgrim boy and girl candles. They always sat on a shelf in the dining room until Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving they were moved the the table and placed on a beautiful mirrored pedestal stand in the center of the table. Now they sit on my fireplace mantel and in the hutch presiding over new Thanksgiving traditions.





This fabric turkey was actually made by my dad the November before he died 18 years ago. He made my sister and I each one and he thought they were really goofy, but I adore it and can't wait to put it out each year.



What seasons of your life do your treasures reflect?