Friday Favorites & MercyMe Christmas Album Giveaway

No way is it Friday! Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for the weekend, but I can't believe it's already here! We will be hanging out at home and making our very first turkey for our church Thanksgiving celebration on Sunday. Wish us luck!

Let's take a look back on this week's favorites:

 

My favorite part of this week was going to Indiana to celebrate my Grandpa Dan's 80th birthday! I wrote about his party here. My Grandpa has such a special place in my heart. He spent the last few months of his 79th year undergoing radiation for prostate cancer. His doctor tells him he should be fine now, but we still have him in our thoughts and prayers, and we are grateful for all of the time we get to spend with him. :)

 

A look back on old photos-- he was ADORABLE! (Still is.)

Nolan and Ephraim loved playing with the balloons long after the party was over :)

Hitting the road to Indiana meant that we got to stop at some of our favorite places that we don't have in our small town! On the list. . . Target, Panera, Starbucks.

Have you seen Target's Christmas section yet? I couldn't even begin to choose what to put on my wishlist since everything is so gorgeous!

And Panera and Starbucks are in several locations on the Ohio Turnpike. If you've ever been on the Ohio Turnpike, you know that you basically have no choice but to stop at their special rest stops. And they have Starbucks brewing right in between the door and the bathrooms :)

And once in Indiana, we got to visit our favorite cupcake store, Designer Desserts! I wrote all about that in Wednesday's post.  I tried Pink Champagne and Key Lime Pie, and they were both winners!

Yesterday, I shared two of our favorite food-related Thanksgiving traditions. One is making Norwegian lefse with my dad's side of the family on the day after Thanksgiving, using leftover mashed potatoes.

The other is a recipe for the best blackberry pie! My husband and his brothers go crazy over this pie, made by my mother-in-law, Alice. It's the most delicious fruit pie I've ever had.

 

Speaking of Norwegians, I caught an article this week. It's called, "The Norwegian Secret to Enjoying a Long Winter." (If this photo was my everyday view, I think I'd enjoy it too!) There are so many good points in this article. I love that Norwegians have a word, koselig, that means "a sense of coziness". They light candles and fires, sip hot drinks, and curl up under blankets. They spend time outside--skiing and admiring the beauty of the season. And Norwegians have close-knit communities with many social events to keep them busy. They say that it's a mindset change from enduring winter, to enjoying it. I for sure want to make this mindset change. . . we are definitely starting to get the chilly and gray weather!

I'm really excited to share MercyMe's new It's Christmas CD! I was able to listen to it this week, and it's fantastic! I haven't listened to any Christmas music yet this year, but this is making me want to decorate the Christmas tree and bake some sugar cookies!

The song, Newborn is a GORGEOUS upbeat mix of "Away in a Manger" and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing"

Some of their songs, like A Holly Jolly Christmas are in a blues style-- very jazzy. I loved their version of Joy (Joy to the World). There are so many good classics!

This CD is available at Pizza Ranch restaurants through the end of December! It has 4 exclusive songs that are only on the Pizza Ranch version. And Pizza Ranch is selling them for FIVE DOLLARS(!), so you can pick up a copy for gifts for your friends and family members! (There are 200 Pizza Ranch restaurants in the Midwest.)

Lead singer of MercyMe, Bart Millard, says, "Pizza Ranch is a fantastic restaurant with a great mission to glorify God. It's the perfect gift to give this Christmas season, and the perfect CD to get you in the Christmas spirit."

 Take a listen to their audio tracks that they just added to YouTube a couple of days ago!

Enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win a free copy of the album!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Do you follow our family on Instagram? @floralandfudge

Linking up with Andrea and Erika.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”