Fall is my favorite season, and November is my favorite month. It could be because it’s my birthday month. It could be because I have a soft place in my heart for the story of the Pilgrims and Native Americans sitting down for that first Thanksgiving dinner. It could be the narrow slice of time between Halloween and the full-blown-hang-on-to-your-hat-Holiday season. It’s probably a combination of all these things. I love the bareness of the trees, the crunching leaves. I love a gray, lonely sky. I love quietness of stepping outside at night to find my star and planet friends shining brightly in the crisp air.

I love being Thankful.

I shouldn’t need to be reminded to give thanks. I am blessed beyond measure and I usually find a quiet time each day to express my gratitude to the One who is the Giver of all things. But I do find that Gratitude is closer to the surface this time of year for me and it seems also for others. I look forward to reading friends’ 30 Days of Thankfulness on Facebook. I know they, too, are thankful every day, but it’s nice to see it all written down for everyone to share. I love pretty pictures and artwork expressing thanks.

I also love hand print turkeys, construction paper Pilgrim hats, and all foods made with pumpkin. I love family gathering together and yummy aromas from the kitchen and playing board games or dominoes after dinner.

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside.

A very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from me and mine!

The Kuklenski Family is one of those families that stay in one’s heart. Good people who love each other and everyone else, too. People who care, who help, who work hard, and thus make life a little better for those of us around them. Delightful, funny, and simply awesome.

June (Baba), her children Monte, Jill, and Julie, and their families…and even with two sons who couldn’t be in the pictures that day, quite an impressive group! As we all know, every year presents a bigger challenge in getting everyone together. Traveling, scheduling, jobs, and an ever-expanding group with marriages and babies…and so exciting when it works out that most can be in one place at one time. As Julie said, “In my happy place.” And what could be nicer than that?

Here is a little glimpse into just a few minutes of their really great week. A very happy place.

Thank you for being so special to me.

If you follow me on Pinterest (and I hope you do), you may have seen my board called Special Words. I love the popular trend of combining bits of inspiration, meaningful quotes with pretty colors and designs. It’s fun to use them digitally on Facebook and as wallpaper for your computers, phones, or iPads. It’s also fun to print them out. You can use them to make a pretty card for someone special. You can pin them to your bulletin board. You can attach them to magnets for the fridge. I like the idea putting them in pretty frames and mainge them part of the artwork for your home. You can get new frames, or spray paint garage sale finds. Use bright colors, or paint them all one color to unify a display of photos, child’s paintings, and a quote or two. It’s fast and easy to create an eye-pleasing shelf, mantel, or wall in any room, plus everything can be changed out as often as you like! A baby’s nursery, a child’s room, a family room, your office…personalized and special without breaking the bank!

Here are some bright and fun printable special words for you:

Leave me a comment below with your email address here or visit my Facebook photography page and leave me a message, and I’ll send you an 8×10 digital file to print at home. I’d love to see how you use your printables…send me a picture so I can share with others. We all love a little inspiration, don’t we?