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Hello, Reader.

Daylight savings has ended, the weather's getting cooler, and the year will be over before we know it! Things really begin to pick up steam in November, don't you think?

I'll be doing a dedicated link list for Thanksgiving in another week or two, but in the meantime, here are a few other November holidays that deserve some attention:

Free resources for you this week:

• Nov. 8 - Try a New Recipe Day – you'll find lots of our family’s favorites here​
• Nov. 11 - Veteran’s Day – check out these military-honoring printables & coloring pages
• Nov. 15 - America Recycles Day – tin cans, paper bags, & TP tubes = free craft supplies!
• Nov. 19 - Dedication Day – When President Lincoln first delivered the Gettysburg Address​
• Nov. 24 - Celebrate Your Unique Talent Day – a reminder to bloom where you’re planted​
• Nov 29 - International Day of the Bible - We've got great tips for memorizing God's Word
• Nov 30 - Mason Jar Day - a great way to store (or gift) our friendship soup mix​
• Nov. 27 - Advent Season Begins – choose a fun Advent Calendar to count down the days

What I'm reading this week:

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I think The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha is one of the best tales Lloyd Alexander ever wrote, so it makes me sad to see it is no longer in print. I've been reading it aloud (again) to my younger kids and older grandkids this fall. We should finish it tomorrow. A traveling magician sends Lukas on the adventure of a lifetime by dunking him headfirst into a bowlful of water as part of his side show. Lukas resurfaces to find himself flailing in the sea in a foreign land surrounded by strangers hailing him as king.

This week's reader request:

One of my readers asked for some updated holiday games and trivia tests, as her family has been subjected to the old ones long enough to memorize most of the answers. Ha! So I will do my best to publish some new ones, both for Thankgiving and Christmas, starting with this new matching game:

On the podcast this week:

I missed taping my podcast again this week, so here's another episode from the archives for you:

Loving Life at Home: Episode 63 ​SAY HELLO TO STRESS-FREE HOLIDAYS​ Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. Does getting ready for the holidays feel burdensome or overwhelming to you? In Episode 63 of Loving Life at Home, we’re discussing strategies to steer clear of stress, side-step the hustle-bustle, and enjoy a merry, meaningful, and blissfully peaceful advent season. Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

I got almost everything marked off last week's to-do list: I ✅ voted (early), ✅ took my students to the Nicea anniversary conference at LeTourneau, ✅ shopped for wedding dress, ✅ finished and mailed wedding invitations, ✅ hosted an outdoor movie night, ✅ recorded a song for our next family competition, ✅ finished 6 more pages of my thanksgiving journal, ✅ showed up for pottery lessons only to learn ❌ class was cancelled. The only thing I didn't do was ❌ making paper gingerbread houses with my co-op craft class, because the supplies didn't arrive on time. 😕

Personal goals for this week:

• prepare gingerbread craft
• hem daughter's wedding dress
• write rough draft of my annual Christmas update​
• attend a bonfire at my married son's house
• attend a Thanksgiving dance with younger kids
• figure out matching outfits for "Twins Day" at co-op
• drive to Dallas
• visit the Arboretum
• help my mom put up her Christmas tree

A new poll for you this week:

I normally would've started decorating for Christmas by now, but since we'll be hosting a wedding at our house the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I'm doing my best to resist the urge to begin decking the halls now for the yuletide season. So tell me... when do you put up your Christmas decor?

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Thanks so much for reading to the end! I'll be back next week with more links, reviews, and resources. If you have any special requests, please let me know. 😊