The Month of the Hand Turkey

Every month has a name... well in my book anyway. For example:

February: The Month of Amanda's Birthday
March: The Month of Starting to Exercise
July: The Month of the Wedding
August: The Month of Dan Leaving me for Football
October: The Month of Stressing About Halloween Costumes
December: The Month Of Christmas Carols

You get the picture... but November is my favorite month:
The Month of The Hand Turkey

I love making hand turkeys, I don't know if it's because I really can't draw and my hand makes a good stencil, or if it's because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. But come November 1st I'm making all kinds of turkeys. I started the tradition my senior year of high school when I made it a point to do a team building exercise once a month in yearbook class. For the month of November I decided that everybody needed to make a hand turkey and write what they are thankful for on the feathers. The first year brought one of my favorite hand turkey stories.

Everybody was working diligently on their turkeys, tracing their hands, gluing on feathers, and writing down what they were thankful for. The list of things people wrote down was pretty amusing. Of course there was the typical... friends, family, a few days break from school, Matt Jared was thankful for tryptophan, and Jesika... she really had a screwed up turkey. It was a disaster. She was upset and I told her, "Jesika, just make a new one, it's okay... and you know what you can put that you are thankful for second chances on a feather." And that's what she did. And I think every year since then she's told me that she's thankful for second chances.

Last year I started making hand turkeys with Dillon, and I'll make sure we do it again this year. I just think it's such a wonderful tradition and I'm glad that I've kept doing it. Maybe I'll even get Dan to make a turkey this year!

So for now, I'll leave you with our turkeys from last year, as well as what will be on my feathers this year.



1. First Time Home Buyer's Loans
2. Public Transportation
3. The Greatest Family, and Soon to be Family in the World
4. The Five Friends

Happy November. Happy Hand Turkey Month