Hi dear blogging friends – I covet your prayers this weekend as I am doing a booth at our city’s Holiday Market. This is one of those huge holiday shopping extravaganza’s where 20,000 people pack in like sardines for a full three day event. It is exhausting, even when I feel terrific, but I have been sick for the last few days, and I can barely get out of bed…..and it just started yesterday. The thought of being on my feet again for 14 hours/ 3 days in a row is a little overwhelming. Pray for the legs of a 16 year old…not the 86 year old ones that are numb under my chair as I type.
As you sit sipping your coffee, drink a little on me, and oh…go to the bathroom for me too. Today I only had time to go once.
Ahhhh…..anyone care to join me? (not in the bathroom silly, at the extravaganza…I have some great breads and dips for you to sample.)
Well, on to my previously scheduled post, and then off to make some more bread, and then on to bed….it’s only midnight. 🙂

Did I hear you you got off the hook for hosting the big Thanksgiving event? You feel slightly relieved, but you still desire to make a monumental impact on your family’s story this year? You’ve decided that the idea Jen gave in her last post was fine, but it felt a little too “in your face” for your nutty clan. And realistically, the holidays would come and go and no one would ever get out the video camera.
Well, why don’t you put a fun little twist on the former idea, and become an editor for the day. Organize your own Thanksgiving Gazette (or wait till Christmas for a bigger crowd) .
This tradition involves turning your family into a news crew, and is especially fun with a large crowd. Assign everyone in your family a “task” to be responsible for throughout the day. The older children can serve as photographers and newspaper reporters while the adults can be the interviewees. You could even buy fake microphones for the younger kids and they will have a blast hamming it up. Make sure they ask the “don’t you dare” questions, like “what’s your most most embarrassing moment, and “who was your first kiss?” The kids can get away with those, much better than we can.
Then, every year choose one of the eldest members of the family and make their life history the front page feature.
The youngest children can help by creating the “art” section of the gazette. Don’t forget to include the menu and some of your inside family jokes or “quotes” of the day.
(You know how we bloggers love those).
Someone in the family has got to be skilled on the computer, so you could put this together by the end of the day and then pass it out over late night coffee. No true editing allowed. Let the children’s sentence structure stay “as is” – it makes it that much more memorable (unless you are a home school mom, and then it’s just plain ‘ole embarrassing :).
Be sure and send extra copies to those family members that weren’t able to make it.

For minimal effort, you family will be rewarded with times of laughter and comradery. Remember, the zanier the better….
(and coming from the Queen of Best Intentions…don’t even worry if the “newspaper” doesn’t get distributed. The process will be priceless. 🙂