What a whirlwind week it was! Full of memories, lots of food, and family. We drove to one of my sister’s house for Thanksgiving and another sister and her family made the 9 hour trip from her house. It was a blast and my daughter loved getting to play with her adorable cousins.

December is here and that means all things Christmas. We started Truth in the Tinsel (affiliate link) and I have a list of goodies I want to bake and am brainstorming gift ideas for my staff party. Here on From this Kitchen Table we are going to spend the next several weeks talking all things Christmas. Gift ideas, recipes, and thoughts on this time of year.

The menu this week is pretty simple. We might be gone a few days but we are playing it by ear with the rainy and snowy weather that is coming.

Breakfasts:

• Yogurt
• Apple Pancakes

Lunches:

• Apple Pancakes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Leftovers

Suppers:

• Slow Cooker Rice and Beans
• Scrambled Eggs
• Tomato Basil Soup in the Crock Pot

Goals:

• Finish the 7-Day Say Goodbye to Survival Mode Challenge
• Keep up with Truth in the Tinsel
• Get the house caught up from the post vacation mess
• 2 scripture pictures, gift post, and recipe post for the blog

Linking up to Menu Plan Monday

Here are the handful of links I have to share with you this month:

Learning How to Be Blessed – Allison Vesterfelt What does it mean to be blessed and what if I’m blessed and I don’t know it? Great post and reminder to keep my perspective in line.

There are Better Things to be than Rich – Becoming Minimalist (thanks to my sister for this and the previous link) There is nothing wrong with wealth and being rich doesn’t mean you don’t have these characters he talks about. For many of us, though, we’d live more fulfilled lives if we began chasing after these things that are better than being rich with as much intensity as we seek riches.

Your happiness… is not my responsibility – Renee Tougas Thoughts on whether other people’s happiness (even our children’s) is our responsibility

Slow Down Challenge – Jeff Goins This 5 day challenge won’t take much time out of your day but is a good one to take the time to do as we head into what might be the busiest month of the year. It’s hard to remember to savor and appreciate what we have in front of us when we have so many things to do..

Church for Men Did you know that the typical US congregation has an adult crowd that’s 61% female and 39% male? How about that over 70% of the boys being raised in the church will abandon it during their teens and twenties? Neither did I. This website is an interesting read. Their purpose is to help the local church reach more men and boys.

A Man Discovers He’s Sitting with ‘kids’ he saved from the Nazis – I had not heard of Nicholas Winton prior to this video and post. Even when everyone around him was saying there wasn’t going to be a war he did what he knew he should and made a plan to save the lives of the children around him.

What have been your favorite finds in November?

Linking up with Vanderbilt Wife,  Fellowship Fridays

Photo by Kara Bee Photography