November 5, 2013 by Allison Hendrix

Our Thanksgiving Advent

There’s just something about November.

I need it. I crave it. It begins the day after Halloween, where make-believe is at its peak; and although I love an evening of gluttonous candy and costumes, there’s just something dark and unsettling about the night. I wake up November 1st thankful it’s over and ready to re-align my heart for the coming months.

November challenges us to go deeper. To be thankful. To have hearts of gratitude.

November is a blessing.

I need November because I REALLY love December. Without November, December would exhaust me. I would decorate, impulse spend, and wrap til even the elves were impressed. But November grounds me. It gives me time to reflect and re-prioritize on what I truly care about, not on what advertising campaigns and catalogs try to lure me with.

November allows me to enter the holiday season with a heart of gratitude not desire.

So this month, I’m going to write about what that looks like in our home, and how I am preparing my heart and my family’s heart for Thanksgiving. One way we do this is through a Thanksgiving Advent.

Our Thanksgiving Advent Calendar

Each evening in November, we each write on a card something we are thankful for.

Sometimes it’s a list. Sometimes a drawing.

We place the card into the corresponding day on our felt advent calendar.

On Thanksgiving night, we read each of the cards.

I save these cards to remember. They reveal so much about the heart of our family…particularly those cards written when life was not easy. I cling to the cards of years past, cherish them, and am thankful to God for carrying us through the rough patches. I am thankful for His faithful goodness. I remember… and my faith is strengthened.

I made YOU a set of Thanksgiving cards. Click here to chose your style and print.

I’m thankful for you and hope your hearts are filled with gratitude and joy this November. Allison

For more festive ideas and activities, I just started a Thanksgiving board on Pinterest that you can follow.

I’m grateful for my readers and would love to have you follow The House of Hendrix below. If you would like to connect further, please join my FACEBOOK COMMUNITY

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October 25, 2013 by Allison Hendrix

Happy Halloween Printables

Today is our first chilly morning in Florida. The town is filled with boots and jackets as we all have an extra kick to our step. It got me feeling festive, so I made some fun little things for Halloween.

You are welcome to take these templates and personalize them with your name, or print them as it.

You can print them on sticker paper and attach them to jars.

You can print them on cardstock and fold over ziplock bags for a great school giveaway.

You can hole punch and use them as tags.

Click here to view and print templates.

Need a Halloween costume, check out our board of Costume Ideas here.

For some Fun Fall Decorating and activities, check out our Fabulous Fall board.

May 22, 2013 by Allison Hendrix

10 ways to Show Respect on Memorial Day

10 Ways to say thank you on Memorial Day

I am naive to think I understand the meaning of the word sacrifice. It means “a giving up of something for something else”. I have often sacrificed my time, my money, and many a desire, but I have never risked my life for your rights or my own? I have never seen death on the battlefield nor the loss of a loved one serving our country, yet I reap the benefits on a daily basis.

Freedom is my norm and I take it for granted. I open my Bible without fear of persecution. I speak my mind with no concern for punishment. I do not fear living my life. No words can express the depth of our gratitude towards those who have risked their life or lost loved ones to protect our own, but I think it is important we try.

Teach your kids how to show respect through these simple ideas (the House of Hendrix)

Here are 10 simple ways children and adults can show respect to those who have sacrificed to protect our freedom:

Use your phone – If you know a veteran or family of a fallen soldier, call them and say thank you. Let them know you appreciate what they have done for you as an individual and for our country.
Tweet! If you use the #wearegrateful hashtag, comments are screened, printed out on postcards, and distributed to troops worldwide.
Fly a flag half-staff until noon. Memorial Day is a national day of mourning. Great way to show the United States of America some respect and pride.
If you know somebody who is actively serving, write them a letter or send an email. Younger children can draw a picture of a flag.
Attend a parade to pay tribute to those who have sacrificed their life. They are our heroes and should be treated as such.
Make patriotic cookies for a service family. Many retirement facilities have large numbers of both veterans and widows living there.
Pray for the families who have lost a child, spouse, or parents protecting our rights. The grieving doesn’t stop. The “National Moment of Remembrance” is at 3:00pm.
If you own a business, give a discount to veterans.
Visit a cemetery or grave of our fallen heroes. Leave flowers or a flag.
If you live near a family of one who is serving, take your kids over and offer to do yard work, repaint a fence, or plant some flowers.
Do something. We so often, don’t know what to do or say, the opportunity passes. Even fumbled words and messed up gifts show the gratitude of our hearts.

Have you endured the ultimate sacrifice of losing a loved one in service? I would love to read your story and honor them in the comment section below.