November 27, 2023

Monday Morning Coffee

Good Monday morning, my friends. Thanksgiving is tucked away in our memory now, and the fridge is empty of turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. People sometimes comment on how much work a Thanksgiving meal takes to prepare, and I cannot disagree! However, in this house, we reap the benefits of all that planning, cooking, organizing, and cleaning for several days afterward. This year was no different. For many, many years, our Thanksgiving weekend has followed a familiar and cozy pattern. Steve and the guys head to hunting camp, and the girls and I enjoy cold turkey sandwiches and hot turkey soup. We celebrate Madison's birthday, and the Christmas season begins. I hope your Thanksgiving weekend was exactly what you hoped and planned it would be!


Father and Son waiting for the big one ~


The same delicious meal every year...turkey, mayonnaise, and salt and pepper with provolone cheese on good old white bread and homemade turkey soup ~





And celebrating the one who made me a mother. Nicolas prepared a fantastic meal of smoked salmon appetizers, Brie and Gouda cheeses with crackers and olives, puffed pastries, and butternut squash pasta with prosciutto. Peyton made the cake, which speaks for itself; we watched a movie and played a new Christmas game. It was a wonderful evening celebrating my Madison, who has grown from a little girl who loved to be in fresh pajamas, enjoying Christmas music and movies, to a lovely twenty-seven-year-old woman who still loves those same things ~

Today is a day I use for organizing both my mind and my pile. For the past week, as we prepared for Thanksgiving, I have created a pile of things I need to address, like bills, Christmas lists, to-do lists, and anything I need to review. If it came in and didn't need my immediate attention, into the pile it went! Today, I will focus on that and let Flynn enjoy her last day of Thanksgiving break. Which reminds me to add my lesson plan book to the pile!

Have a wonderful Monday, my friends.
Thanks for visiting.
It makes my day!


Billie Jo



( The game we played is called Santa, Cookie, Elf, Candy, Snowman. It is also available on Amazon! )














24 comments:

  1. Happy to hear you had a lovely Thanksgiving. I also enjoyed two cold turkey and mayo sandwiches. SO delicious. Instead of turkey soup I made Brunswick stew yesterday and it was amazing. Wishing you a lovely week!!

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  2. Happy Birthday Madison! What a fantastic birthday cake! I think you're right about all those sides after Thanksgiving, Billie Jo. I've been eating the turkey with salt and rolls, and nibbling on those leftovers, and it's so good. Your homemade turkey soup sounds delicious. How wonderful that the guys took a hunting trip. It reminds me of all the times my dad and brothers took their hunting trip in the Fall season. Your Christmas cup is delightful, and I LOVE the snowflake side bars. Everything about this post was wonderful, Billie Jo, and thank you for your prayer for my health. My muscles have been tightening up, and I've been doing many things to relax them. Have been feeling very bad with allergies, so I appreciate your prayer so much, my friend.

    ~Sheri

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  3. Sounds like a perfect Thanksgiving weekend. Happy Birthday to Madison! And thank you for the game recommendation, definitely going to check that out. Hope you have a fantastic week!

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  4. My husband is a deer hunter as well, so he is out all day on Thanksgiving hunting. I don't mind because it gives me a leisurely day to prepare our Thanksgiving meal which we enjoy once he gets in. And I totally agree...all of the planning and prepping is definetly worth the effort for all of the leftovers! We finished up our turkey in soup today at lunch.

    Happy belated Birthday to Madison. She's as beautiful as ever.

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  5. Dearest Billie Jo,
    Sounds like you indeed rounded it off perfect once more.
    And a Birthday to top it off!
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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  6. Now that's a gorgeous birthday cake for your Madison! So lovely. Your whole family is gifted with great cooks! Good luck attacking the pile, my friend.

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  7. I really enjoyed hearing about your Thanksgiving weekend. It sounds both fun and relaxing with everyone doing what they enjoy. That cake is beautiful and looks delicious. Happy Birthday Madison! I ordered the last two gifts yesterday online. Everything else is wrapped and the deorating is mostly done too. Just the tree to decorate. This morning I spent 3 hours baby-sitting for a group of ladies doing a Bible study at a church not far from me. We had 10 toddlers and everyone of them had icky noses and now I'm waiting for that to strike! Yikes.
    Take care and enjoy your list day. :-)
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  8. Belated best wishes to your eldest!

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  9. That cake!! Peyton is so talented - she could probably have an amazing side business if she wanted to! I've been reading your blog so long I remember the photo of Rhett's first deer :)

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  10. Sounds like a lovely Thanksgiving with family.
    Wow that is some fantastic looking cake!!!

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  11. Your Thanksgiving looks like it was wonderful! And Happy Birthday to sweet Madison! 🎉 Love the long cozy weekend after too. Same here - homemade turkey soup and leftover turkey sandwiches and sides. Yum! I hope your work pile goes down quickly dear Friend. Blessings for the week - and holiday prep - ahead. xoxo

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  12. Oh gosh. Peyton's cake!!! Looks like Madison had the happiest birthday!

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  13. Sounds like THE BEST way to spend the after-Thanksgiving days! Happy Birthday to Madison. That CAKE!! Oh my goodness, it looks amazing!! So glad you could enjoy your girls!

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  14. Sounds like you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving and post Thanksgiving. That Cake with the triple layer is amazing!~!!

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  15. Happy birthday to Madison! Looks like you enjoyed the weekend after Thanksgiving. Hope you get everything in your accumulating chore pile done . I have been doing some Cyber Monday Christmas shopping tonight. I hope you have a cozy week. See you again soon!

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  16. Birthday, Thanksgiving, Deer Hunt, Games and Family time. It sounds perfect!

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  17. Hi Billie Jo :) I so enjoy coming here to see what your family is doing each week. It sounds like it was a wonderful holiday! I love the look of your blog :) It's so festive!! Have a great week, my friend :)

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  18. Sounds like a wonderful weekend. And happy birthday to Madison!

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  19. Happy birthday Madison! What a beautiful young woman!!!!!!

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  20. So special to continue the Thanksgiving traditions in your home, such a soothing, wonderful thing! Your turkey soup and sandwich looked so good - hopefully the guys brought home the meat they were looking for! We did get a deer this Thanksgiving, our son got it. So thankful. Happy birthday to Madison! A sweet birthday celebration with an amazing cake! Blessings to you on this week after Thanksgiving!

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  21. Happy birthday to your beautiful daughter. Everything looks so cozy at your home. I love how you and your family make memories together. Hugs my friend.

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  22. Yes too true! All that work and prep and it is scoffed down in an hour lol. Your Thanksgiving routine sound excellent and that Birthday cake looked really good!

    Allie of
    www.allienyc.com

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  23. Im with you with planning cutting down the stress.. this was the most relaxed Thanksgiving I have ever had! All that work for a plateful ... but leftovers are a blessing.
    What a lovely family you have! Happy Birthday Madison!

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  24. What a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! I love this time of year because of the family time. I know you feel the same!

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Thanks so much for saying hello!

Billie Jo