Thanksgiving at the Cottage Homestead

Can you believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving already? It seems to happen quicker every year. Today I thought I would share what we are doing to prepare and share some tips and suggestions with you!

Let’s talk Thanksgiving prep!
Make all of your casserole dishes, cover and pop in the fridge! Bake tomorrow. Saves a lot of prep time tomorrow!

Make and bake your pies today. Stick the pumpkin pie in the fridge and take it out tomorrow morning-ish.

Do whatever you can do today to save yourself the time tomorrow. The more you can do today, the more you can enjoy tomorrow!

I have 7/10 dozen rolls rising for customers to pick up this afternoon.

Two of the ten are staying frozen as requested by the customer. And the final one will be picked up on Saturday.

After these are picked up I will be making our traditional fudge and Krispies treats and making my pies. Usually I will just do two pumpkin pies, but decided to switch it up and make one pumpkin and one pecan. I’ve never had a pecan pie, so I’m super excited!

I’ll be picking up some local homemade cranberry sauce that a local homestead made. Sure, I can do it, but I wanted to support our local farmers and homesteads. It’s super important to keep them running!

I’ll also be preparing our cinnamon rolls for the morning. As is tradition for us, we like to have our cinnamon rolls, coffee, and orange juice while we watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. I look forward to that every year.

Then tomorrow we will go to my mom’s and have dinner there.

We look forward to all the deliciousness that comes with tomorrow and the days after.

We have so much to be thankful for. We need to remember these things on the daily. We take so much for granted. I hope tomorrow you take the time to stop and reflect on all the blessings the LORD has bestowed upon you. His mercy and grace for starters! Thank Him for not giving you what you deserve. 🥴😬🫠

“And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.” 1 Chronicles 29:13

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! May you all have a blessed holiday with friends and loved ones. 🦃

A Simple Saturday

I thought today would be more like, ahhh yes, crochet and TV.

It ended up being more like, AHHH, fidgeting with printing things, a little bit of crochet, slow cooking a chicken for the week, making chili for dinner, visiting with a lovely friend & talking all things homesteading, running to the store, eating dinner, cutting up said chicken, saving bones for chicken stock, baking a cake, making frosting, frosting said cake, and making pie dough for tomorrow’s birthday dinner for my dad. AND doing all the dishes.

I am exhausted and my back hurts. But I’m happy. I got to do ALL the things I love to do. Except dishes. Those I don’t love to do. But, it gives me time to think on things, say little prayers, and just be thankful that I had a reason to dirty those dishes in the first place.

All in all, today turned out just like I’d hoped it would. Feeling accomplished and thankful.

Birthday cake for my daddy. 😊

Thoughtful Thursday

Just a few thoughts this Thursday:

•I am too blessed to be stressed. Repeat.

•I get to bake cupcakes today. Something I LOVE to do.

•The Lord is my Great Provider and will provide ALL my NEEDS according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (and some of my wants, too!)

•I have some of the best and sweetest friends in the world.

•I want a dog. And a cow. And a donkey. And chickens. And ducks. And 20 acres.

•I have a new dream on my heart and mind. More research is needed. And prayer. It may help get the previous bullet point.

•I have a good life. It’s far from perfect, it can be messy, but it’s mine. And I’m thankful for it.

Blessed Thursday, friends. I want to hear what’s on your mind. Share with me in the comments below!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving

It’s not even 2:00 and I have all of my sides prepped for Friday’s Thanksgiving dinner. 🙌🏻

Yesterday I made our fudge and Rice Krispies treats and pie dough.

I have yet to do my pies, dinner rolls, and cinnamon rolls. The rolls I will make up to the point where they would need to rest and rise and then I will stick them in the fridge until tomorrow morning and complete the process.

I made our stuffing from scratch this year and I am convinced I will never do it any other way from here on out. It’s all ready for the bird on Friday morning. The only shortcut I took was buying a loaf of French bread. I’ll attempt the French bread for Christmas.

I’m killing myself now so that I can enjoy the next two days instead of driving myself crazy with all the things. I want to be able to relax and watch the Thanksgiving Day parade and eat my cinnamon rolls and drink my coffee and orange juice.

Tomorrow we will have dinner at mom’s and on Friday I will host dinner at my house for my dad and Other Mother.

I’m so looking forward to all the things. Especially the stuffing and pumpkin pie. 😋🥰

May you all have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving! 🦃🍁

The Sweetest Gift

You know how you love your Bible but know you probably need a new one, one with larger font…🤓🧐 but you have such a hard time giving up your old, comfortable, worn, marked Bible? This has been me for a few years now. I LOVE my Bible. All the notes, underlinings, circled scripture, marks, dog eared pages, coffee stains, tear stains, maybe even some Cheetos dust (don’t you judge me).

But then you’ve had your eye on this one particular Bible for a couple years. One that’s in one of your favorite colors, larger print, preferred translation. You saw it on sale one time and kicked yourself for not getting it then and haven’t seen it on sale since.

Then this new couple comes and joins your church. The lovely wife of the couple is in your Thursday night ladies’ Bible study. You noticed that she has the very Bible that you’ve had your eye on and you make a comment about it. You show this Bible to your mom because you have a birthday coming up wink wink.
Fast forward to Sunday morning and you hadn’t given it another thought.

But she did. She comes up to you with Bible in hand and tells you that she has thought about you since Thursday and would you please accept this as a gift and hands you said Bible. You tell her that she is so sweet and kind and she doesn’t have to do that. She tells you that it’s just her ’church Bible’ and that it’s nothing and she would love for you to have it if you would accept it. I graciously accepted it and hugged her big. What a sweet, precious gesture and gift from a sweet, sweet, gracious and Christ loving sister. 🥰

I just feel so humbled and blessed.

Holy, holy, holy

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD God Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Holy crow. This passage below left me undone.

This is just after Isaiah has come face to face with God in the temple. The seraphim is about to touch his lips with a white hot coal. (Isaiah 6:6-7)

Put yourself in Isaiah’s sandals for a moment. I did. 😳 And it tore me to shreds.

Even though I know I am forgiven by His mercy and grace thanks to His One and Only Son, I can’t help but think I would behave as Isaiah did. To know that I am a sinner in the presence of the Holy Trinity? I am so not worthy!

We are used to being able to hide our shame and unworthiness from one another, but there is NO hiding it from the LORD God Almighty!

LORD, thank You for sending Your Son to die for my sins! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul, Tyndale Publishing

Holy Week Continues…

I had done a post on Facebook about Maundy Thursday. I just didn’t get it posted here. Click over to my socials and feel free to take a look! But do read on!

Today is Good Friday. The day Jesus was arrested, beaten and flogged until he was unrecognizable. Made to carry his cross up the hill to where he would later be crucified and die for crimes he didn’t commit. He was blameless. Guiltless. He paid the ultimate sacrifice for you and me.

Why? What’s so good about Good Friday?
Jesus died, taking on God’s COMPLETE wrath, so that WE wouldn’t have to. He died so that we would be forgiven for our many sins. He died so that we may have a direct relationship with the Father. He died a sacrificial death so that we could have the Holy Spirit dwell within us! All the time!

And you know what else? All we have to do is just ask! We don’t have to obey 600+ rules and sacrifice oxen. 🥴 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

And even while on the cross, with last dying breaths, he forgives the thief on the cross. Why? Because the thief ASKED.

“And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭23:42-43‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for paying the ULTIMATE sacrifice for little ole me. I am not worthy and don’t deserve it! But I thank You and love You!

“…who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” Mark 10:34

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. – 1 Peter 2:24

Blessed Good Friday, friends!

It’s Raining Gratitude

I love a rainy day. Especially thunderstorms.

This morning I woke up to the sound of the rain through an open window. There’s nothing quite like it. Currently, it’s raining its butt off, the thunder is rolling, and the birds are still singing their songs. My neighbor behind me has an aluminum overhang and it makes the most comforting sound.

I am thankful I have the opportunity to be home, sip my coffee, and take it all in. I am thankful I don’t have to be out in it, on the roads with people who can’t handle it.

I am thankful I have a roof over my head and my family is warm and dry. Not that it’s cold, it’s like 65 degrees. But the temps are expected to drop like a rock by this afternoon. By 20 degrees. Welcome to the Midwest!

I am thankful for spring, as it is becoming time to start sowing seeds. The itch to dig in the dirt is strong! I can’t wait to see what the Lord does with our garden this year.

I am thankful for the opportunity to reach and connect with a lot of people through socials and this blog.

I am thankful for the many opportunities and blessings the Lord has and will bestow upon me. And conversely, I am thankful for the trials and tribulations. Without them, the blessings wouldn’t be so great.

Mostly, I’m just thankful for the rain.