{Pumpkin Pie} Milkshakes

I love pumpkin pie. Frankly, Thanksgiving wouldn't be the same without it! A few weeks ago a friend of mine told me about this cute little blog, that had a pumpkin pie milkshake recipe. It seemed simple enough, so today I decided to make them!!! They turned out delicious, and they were definitely better than any store bought pumpkin shake. If you're in need of a last minute, simple dessert for Thanksgiving, this will work just fine, its yummy and comes together in about 15 minutes :)

enjoy!!!

INGREDIENTS:

~ 1/3 cup canned pumpkin

~ 1/4-1/2 cup milk

~ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

~ 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

~ 1/16 teaspoon cloves

~ 1/6 teaspoon nutmeg

~ 2 tablespoons brown sugar

~ 2 cups vanilla ice cream

~ 1-2 graham crackers 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put everything in the blender except ice cream and graham crackers; blend well

2. pour mixture into a large bowl, and mash together with ice cream

3. pour evenly into glasses.

4. Crumble graham crackers and top each shake with about a tablespoon.

tips&&tricks:

     ~start with 1/4 cup milk and add more if your blender needs it to process everything.

     ~leave ice cream in freezer until you're ready to add it to the pumpkin mixture. The colder it is, the thicker the milkshake. Also when mashing it into mixture, add ice cream as needed in order to make the mix a thick creamy consistency.

XO

B

{Thankfulness}

You know that saying "count your blessings?" Well, honestly I don't think I can count that high!!! The past few weeks I have come to realize so much more, just how incredibly blessed I am, and how much I have to be thankful for!! Before this summer when I got saved, Thanksgiving was just a day to look at all the things I had that helped me, and eat lots of food. But this year the true meaning of Thanksgiving has been made clear to me!!! It shouldn't just be the one day of the year we say 'thank you,' but should really be a picture of our attitude and lifestyle; one of gratitude and thankfulness. Grace and blessings definitely do abound in my life, and here are just a few of the things I and especially thankful for :)

I. My Family:

I am so glad to have a family who loves me and cares for me. I definitely don't deserve them, and no matter how hard things get, the Lord provided them for me, because he cares for me!!! WOW.

II. My Friends

I am SO overly thankful for these girls in my life. The Lord has graciously places many other brothers and sisters in Christ into my life that are a blessing to me. They love the Lord and pursue him, AND encourage me to do so as well. Again, I don't deserve them at all, but still grace abounds. 

III. My Salvation

Last, but definitely the most important thing on this list is Jesus Christ, and our relationship! He looked upon my sinful, sad condition and extended his great love to ME. Because he sent his Son to die on the cross, and bear the punishment for my sin, I can be made alive in Christ, and am no longer enslaved to sin. I can not begin to explain how thankful I am for this. No words can describe. I love my Savior, and his blood has washed me clean. Thats all that matters. 

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." ~ Ephesians 2: 4-10

This year for Thanksgiving my family and I are going to Arizona for 5 days. I am very excited to get out of California, give thanks to the Lord, see my uncle, visit with friends, and eat TURKEY! I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family or friends!! See you when i get back :)

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." 

Psalm 100:4

xo

B