Thanksgiving will be here before we know it! If you're like us, you have an extra pumpkin around the house right now. I'd like to challenge you to Thirty Days of Thankfulness for the month of November. By the end of the month, you'll have one thankful pumpkin on display to kick off the holidays! You'll also have a family that realizes they have much to be thankful for! I thought of this idea one year when I was visiting family. I was trying to think of a way to use a little pumpkin that my niece and nephew had for decoration. So we sat around the table and tried to list everything we were thankful for. As they contributed, I wrote keywords with a marker all over the pumpkin. Even when we were done with our brainstorming activity, they would think of things to add to our thankful pumpkin. It's a simple yet meaningful activity that encourages children (and adults) to find things they are grateful for in their lives. When you're not writing on it, place the pumpkin in a spot where everyone can see it every day. It serves as a reminder, not only for all the good things in life, but also to continue the challenge with quality family discussions. If you made these decorative pumpkins, and don't want to save them, you could paint them a neutral color and write or paint all over them too. We're going to use a regular picked-from-the-patch pumpkin in our house. The following document gives brief instructions for this activity. You can clip it to the fridge for this year and/or file it away for next year if you'd like. Or, you can make the conversation more interesting by cutting out the prompt strips from the document and placing them in a jar or container. Each day when you sit down to write on your thankful pumpkin, you can have your child choose a strip to start the discussion. According to the above context, answer the following question. The author is probably happy that"
OPTIONS:
- not enough information
- He/She took the time to encourage people to think of what they have
- He/She saved the pumpkins
- He/She improved the quality of family discussions

Answer: He/She took the time to encourage people to think of what they have

Question: I've often been asked, "What is a blog?" This is my attempt to answer that question in a simple way. The word blog is short for web log and although the quick answer for me would be "a web journal" or "online diary," I think blogs encompass more than that. Blogs are platforms for people to write about pretty much anything and everything. I was first introduced to the concept when a few friends starting writing family blogs as a way to keep in touch with distant friends and relatives or keep up with documenting their lives for themselves or their children. Sort of like a modern day scrapbook or baby book. Then, I followed a couple friends as they blogged about traveling around America. One's purpose was to find a small town to settle in and the other's purpose was to kill time while unemployed and waiting for a call to serve as a minister. Now I follow all sorts of blogs. There are blogs about dogs, traveling, kids, cooking, religion, fitness, politics, crafts, parenting, writing, educating, interior design, you name it! There are even blogs about blogging! Individuals run blogs. Groups of friends run blogs. Businesses run blogs. Religious institutions run blogs. Blogs are a way for people to connect over certain topics and interests, socializing in the ever-growing blogosphere. Chances are, you've read blog posts without even realizing it. Most look like an article you'd find on any website. But blog posts typically have a personal touch. They're a wonderful way for people to share tips, tricks, tutorials, inspiration, and more with others. If you want a more thorough definition of the term blog, this one is from Wikipedia. Blogs are also a way for businesses to advertise through honest reviews and giveaways. They partner up with bloggers to spread the word about their products or services. So, some bloggers are also advertisers. According to the above context, answer the following question. Who was first introduced to blogs when friends started writing them?
OPTIONS:
- the author
- not enough information
- the author's daughter
- the author's wife
Answer: the author

Question: That fall came and I went back to Michigan and the school year went by and summer came and I never really thought about it. I'm not even sure if I was officially asked, I just wound up heading back to New Jersey when school was out. I think my parents thought it was a good enough deal. They were already having some problems and without Nonna there anymore to take care of me I think my cousin's house on the coast seemed like as good a spot as any to stick me for the summer. It certainly wasn't because of any great love between me and my cousin. We weren't really very good friends at that point. I think she saw me as sort of foisted off on her and getting in the way of her summers. Which was a fair enough judgment. But she could have been nicer. It's pretty amazing that she wound up as my Maid of Honor. Time does strange things. Your lovable jack-ass of a father would mention something about magic in here. You know if you took a group of fifty strangers, had them chat with your father for half an hour then with me for half an hour, then told them that one of us was an English Professor and one of us was head of distribution in the northeast for a large soft drink manufacturing concern, I'm pretty sure all fifty would peg your father as the English Professor and me as the head of distribution. He's honestly so good at what he does that I can almost allow him to claim it's magic except that it'd be nice if he took credit for some of the things he's done with his life. Of course he has this idea that he deserves credit for all sorts of things that he had no control over. Like our first kiss. According to the above context, answer the following question. What did their father always say about the place?
OPTIONS:
- it was borring
- there was magic there
- not enough information
- there was too many people to talk to
Answer:
there was magic there