Thankful + Blessed

{We took our own family photos this year! More to come next month.}

So, so thankful for my amazing husband and beautiful daughter. They are such a blessing in my life. I don't know what I would do without them! Kaelyn is so creative and great at making us laugh daily.

Here are just a couple of her Thanksgiving drawings that I got a kick out of. I was busy cooking when she was working on them and was so surprised to see what she came up with...

{Drawings by Kaelyn ~ age 6}

 The second one made me laugh! I thought it was awesome and had to share. :)

Looking forward to getting together with lots of family, eating good food and relaxing.

I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Shop Unglued Now for Creative Gifts! { two locations! }

Unglued is open today in Sioux Falls, South Dakota! They will only be open at this location through Christmas Eve so be sure to stop by the shop as soon as possible to find unique holiday gifts for your family and friends.

If you are unable to make it to Unglued's pop-up shop in Sioux Falls, check out their year round location in Fargo, ND. David and I were able to getaway a couple months ago to check out their Fargo shop and take part in one of their fun events. We had a blast! Here are just a few photos from our shop visit...

{Ashley (the redhead above) owns the shop along with her husband}

 It is so fun seeing our handmade items in an actual shop! Like a dream come true. :)

{Love necklace holder built my husband from Wisp Woods, how perfect that a bicycle necklace is hanging from it!}

The whole Unglued crew has done such an amazing job at putting the shop together and running everything smoothly. So many fun, creative treasures!

Hopefully soon we can make it to their Sioux Falls shop! Can't wait to check it out!

Lately { Art & Snow }

Here is a glimpse of just a few things going on around here...

{drawing in progress ~ hoping to get this finished at the next painting group day}

A custom request came in for this prayer and I thought it was pretty cute, so changed up the colors and made it into an art block for my Godson's baptismal birthday. It was a fun project!

Loving my extended work space! Unglued is opening a pop-up shop on November 20 in Sioux Falls SD! I can't wait to check it out. I am sure it will be just as amazing as their Fargo shop which is filled with lots of amazing and unique handmade gifts! More info to come.

In other news, the weather has changed significantly. A few flakes came this past Sunday,

more came Monday. This photo was taken before K headed to school Monday morning. School was dismissed at noon since it started getting nasty out and we had blizzard conditions. What kid doesn't like a snow day especially when friends get to come over? :)

 Little B didn't want to leave and instead of putting on his snow gear, put on David's shoes. Such a cutie!

While I was waiting for K to get done with Holy COW yesterday, I was watching the most beautiful snowflakes fall on our vehicle. When I arrived home I had to try to capture the detail.

Aren't snowflakes amazing!?! The intricate details in each one... love it! God did so good! :)

A Beautiful Fall

We have been blessed with beautiful fall weather here in South Dakota. I don't remember a time when we haven't had snow before Halloween, but this year it hasn't arrived yet and we are now well into November! We have been enjoying the fall colors, fallen leaves and Halloween festivities...

 The simple natural beauty surrounding me makes me happy. Love the bursts of color! :)

Every year before the temps get too cool, dragonflies fly all around our house. There are two days where you can literally see hundreds of them in flight. It is quite a sight!

 K LOVES the annual pumpkin carving party!

She's not big on the pumpkin guts though, she prefers to stick with drawing faces and painting. :)

What we ate Wednesday { for Health }

{gluten, dairy, egg, nut and yeast free pizza}

I have so much I would love to share on here... just need more hours in the day.
Since I didn't get our menu up last week, I'll share what we ate the last two weeks. With pheasant season going on we had a new option available in our menu planning. Sorry vegans, we totally live off the land. I tried the vegetarian diet for a short time when I was real sick and oh my goodness I thought I was going to starve to death. I could eat a whole 9x13 pan of a bunch of veggies, quinoa, coconut oil, avocado and sauerkraut and still not be full! My body requires meat to feel full and just better overall. I also enjoy clean meats from the wild. I know everyone's body is different and our requirements are all different, so I just encourage everyone to eat what works for them and what makes them feel good. :)

Anyway, here is our food list that works well for our fight against Candida, Celiac Disease, Leaky Gut*, multiple food allergies and intolerances:

Tuesday: walleye, asparagus
Wednesday: Lunch-walleye, green beans, Supper-goose, sauteed brussel sprouts in garlic
Thursday: 100% grass fed beef roast, creamed spinach
Friday: roast leftovers
Saturday: Breakfast-pancakes, Lunch-liver with onions, sauerkraut and avocado, Supper-creamed veggie broccoli soup
Sunday: Breakfast-leftover pancakes, Lunch-hubby grilled turkey and 100% grass fed hamburgers, Supper-Soup leftovers and homemade bread
Monday: ground turkey in zucchini/broccoli/onions/kale/garlic
Tuesday: homemade pizza (like pictured above topped with lettuce)
Wednesday: pheasant, creamed spinach and swiss chard
Thursday: Lunch-homemade chicken sausage with sauerkraut and avocado, Supper-chicken breast and asparagus
Friday: beef roast, candied green beans
Saturday: Breakfast-teff porridge, Lunch-liver with onions, sauerkraut and avocado, Supper-leftover roast & beans
Sunday: Breakfast-teff porridge, Lunch-hubby grilled hamburgers and turkey like previous Sunday, Supper-turkey with sauteed beet greens, zucchini, onion and garlic
Monday: "cheese"burger soup (to create a fake cheese I use blended cauliflower, nutritional yeast, turmeric and a bit of fresh squeezed lemon juice)
Tuesday: ground chicken sausage with sauerkraut, candied green beans

Like the previous What we ate Wednesday posts our breakfast usually consisted of goat kefir or goat yogurt, homemade chicken sausage and veggies, or meat/veggie leftovers. K likes to have certified gluten free oatmeal a few mornings out of the week. Lunch for Kaelyn and I consists of leftovers reheated on the stove. I heat Kaelyns before school and she takes it in a thermos. The days after we have pheasant and turkey, Kaelyn often enjoys the meat in a lettuce salad for her school lunch.

*I have to say teff porridge (which is a newly added food to our diet, original friendly food list found HERE) doesn't seem like the best option for us yet. Our body is still struggling with digesting the tiny grains. So if you are struggling with several health issues I would suggest leaving it out. I don't believe your body will get any benefit from it if it can't be digested properly.

Hope this list inspires you in the kitchen for the remainder of the week!