Tag: FoodThanks

30 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 27: Thanksgiving

CarolynCares Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day will be here before we know it. The next 24 hours will pass in a whirlwind of cooking, cleaning, and greeting guests. Even though the day can be a little stressful with food preparations and dealing with family dynamics, I think it is important to enjoy the chaos. There are so many people in our communities who will be spending Thanksgiving alone, and many who cannot afford to prepare a full meal.

This year, I was able to donate a bag of food to our school for a program that was started this year. There are about 9 homeless families in our school district. All of the food donated gets sent home to students in need on the last day of school for the week. The food is put in their lockers discretely, to save them from embarrassment or ridicule. This weekend, extra food was sent home to make sure these children would have something to eat over the holiday weekend. This program is helped out by our local Wal-Mart, but in December, our local school families will be encouraged to donate as well. I applaud the teacher who started this program, and I really hope the community will support it by donating money or food to the school. As the prayer says in the graphic above, “For food and raiment Thou dost give, That we in comfort here may live.” I really believe that God works through communities to be his cheerful givers. I am thankful that I was prompted to donate through #FoodThanks. I never would have found out about this program otherwise. I plan on donating at other times during the school year as well.

As for our Thanksgiving plans? We’ll be hosting Thanksgiving this year. All of the family (my side and Jonathan’s side) that live in Minnesota will be there. We’ll have one nervous person at the table this year. Anna is bringing home her boyfriend. He’ll be meeting most of the family on Thursday. He might appreciate a few prayers! We’ll be thinking and praying for family members who are living too far away to join us this year. I am so thankful for all of the members of our family!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

 

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30 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 18: Social Media

CarolynCares Social Media

Facebook. Twitter. Blogging. Instagram. Pinterest. Snap Chat. Skype. These are all platforms I use to keep in contact with family and friends all over the world. I am thankful that I can share Facebook messages with family members who live in Mongolia, Italy, and Malaysia. They don’t seem quite so far away when you can communicate almost instantaneously.

Through Twitter, I have met many farmers from the United States, Canada, and Australia. Some I have met in person, some I will meet eventually, and others will only be an online friendship. I have also learned about opportunities to give back, like #foodthanks, where we are encouraged to give Food Thanks this Thanksgiving season. Follow the link to see how you can get involved. I plan on donating a bag of food to our school. They distribute food to needy children every Friday so the kids will have something to eat over the weekend.

You all know how I feel about blogging… 🙂 As much as I love to talk, and to write, this challenge has been…challenging. It really makes me think about why I am thankful for everything I am focusing on. Truth be told, there have been a few things that I had on my list that moved way down on the importance list. After contemplating them, I realized those things were just little things. I may still be thankful for them, but I didn’t want to focus on them this month.

I’m not a super regular Pinner on Pinterest, and I mainly have recipes or food related things there. It is a handy place to keep my online recipes when I’m making larger dinners. I hope to add a few more non-food boards this winter, some photography related, and some farm related.

Snap Chat is reserved for communicating with my daughters. Sometimes it is a series of goofy faces, or it may be a “does this look okay together” question. Yes, I ask my youngest daughter clothes questions all the time. She has a great eye, and she knows my style better than I do.

I really haven’t used Skype much in the last year. When Jonathan and Laura were in Tanzania, we would communicate through Skype, but it was voice only. Skype is nice to see family members in real time at Christmas. I’m hoping we’ll be able to see my brother’s family in Italy, and our German exchange daughter over the holidays.

I am a horrible letter writer, and I’m really bad at sending birthday cards, so I am thankful for the ability to keep in contact with family and friends so easily through social media!

 

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30 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 12: AgChat

AgChatFoundationLogo_RGB

Some of you may be thinking “what in the world is AgChat, and why is Carolyn thankful for that?” AgChat is the reason I joined Twitter. I have made many friends from all over the world by participating in Twitter #AgChat conversations on Tuesday evenings.

There is much more to the AgChat Foundation than just the weekly Twitter chats. In February, I attended a regional conference where I was able to meet some of the people I had been communicating with over social media. You could choose from different presentations on improving your blogging, photography, Facebook fan pages, Twitter, and more. The networking and learning sessions were great for encouraging us to tell our stories using more than one social media platform. The Portland Regional Conference is coming up, so if you live in the Pacific Northwest, I encourage you to check it out!

The AgChat Foundation also encourages us to give back when possible. Next week starts the annual #FoodThanks celebration. This year, we have been asked to show our appreciation for good food, and to those who grow it, by using the #FoodThanks hashtag while sharing photos of food or recipes online. I plan on pledging to donate a bag of food this holiday season. For more ideas on how to share your Food Thanks this holiday season, check out the #FoodThanks website.

I am really thankful that my friend, Emily, introduced me to the AgChat Foundation. I am thankful for all of the people I have met while participating in the AgChats on Tuesdays (and #FoodChat on the 3rd Tuesday). Thanks to you all for putting up with me!

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