August Fields

thanksgiving 2011.

thanksgiving 2011.  what a wonderful day it was!
we hosted my husband’s side of the family.
i made a few dishes using recipes i found on pinterest (check out my thanksgiving board).  including this a.maz.ing. pumpkin pie!
boone requested it.  i wasn’t a fan of pumpkin pie….until now.  this one won me over.

 the kid’s table was super simple 🙂  i did pick up some cute pilgrim hats from hobby lobby that they enjoyed coloring.

the adult beverage table.

 i shamelessly had deanie snap a picture of me and my cute husband.   🙂

a few more pictures of the yummy food.

rye bread appetizers.
*recipe*
one loaf of mini rye bread (found by the deli counter)
mix chopped onion (i use sweet vidalia), mayo, and parmesan cheese.  broil for 2-4 minutes.

oreo turkeys.  the kids LOVED these!  but please note….i had planned on making them with the kids.  so glad i didn’t as these are pretty laborious.  my kids were disappointed at first, but when they saw how long it was taking me they were fine to go play and leave me with the turkeys.

oh, these were good!  marinated mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto, topped with sun dried tomato and basil.
check my pinterest thanksgiving board for the pie, oreo turkeys and mozzarella appetizer.

the official turkey carver!  this is my father in law slicing up the turkey that my mother in law prepared and brought over.

and here is my favorite Bible passage to read for thanksgiving.  psalm 100.

the four big kids read this for part of our dinner devotions (hank was cut out of the picture…sorry buddy.)

mr. daddy followed this up with a reading from c.s. lewis called ‘the necessity of tribulation’.  it is a daily reading from “The Business of Heaven”.

this was the only picture i took that shows all the food. 🙂  that’s moz, my super stylish sister in law and on the left is my dashing, smarty pants brother in law.

games galore.  euchre, pictionary, scategories, chess and speed scrabble.

we settled down and pulled the computer monitor into the family room and streamed in a movie from netflix.

and when everyone had gone home just me, moz and susie put hair styles on pinterst to the test.  this braid is super cute no?
at 1am i finally gave them a hug and went to bed.  happy thanksgiving!

thanksgiving eve

thanksgiving eve proves to be a favorite day of the year…. prepping, cleaning, baking, the anticipation of delicious pies that will be arriving to my home shortly…..
this year i’m contributing mashed potatoes (pioneer woman recipe)
classic green bean casserole
vidalia onion dip
onion cheese on rye bread appetizer
mozzarella ball appetizer
pumpkin pie 
and little oreo turkeys for the kids.
earlier today this was going on in the kitchen……

 the turkeys are almost done….

and the table is set

i’ll have a more detailed post this weekend.  but now i’m ready to hit the hay.

happy thanksgiving!

giving thanks – always and corrie ten boom’s strength.

as i begin to busily prepare for thanksgiving i feel the Lord preparing my heart.

lately, i am being reminded in various circumstances to be thankful.  always.
and not just for the good stuff.

many lists and prayers of gratitude (including my own) go something like this:

thank you for my family, for a warm home and clothes.  
thank you Lord, for all you have given us.

how often am i thankful in ALL circumstances?  for ALL things?  even the mundane or bad?
 a recent reminder #1
1 Thessalonians 5:15-16
Be joyful always; Pray Continually.  
Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
oh how these precious words have carried me through.  when i can open my eyes and heart and receive the truth that God loves me….plain, ordinary, me….i realize that HE WILL work ALL things to HIS glory.
i have seen this in my life over and over and over.  finding the strength to be thankful (through continuous prayer), brings me joy.
a recent reminder #2
the true story of corrie ten boom and her sister betsie.  revealed in the book “the hiding place”
please find time to read this book.  it will soften your heart and strengthen your soul.  
in this book corrie unravels the story of her family hiding a jewish family in her home, being sent to scheveningen (a dutch prison) then on to vught (a dutch concentration camp) and finally to ravensbruck (a women’s concentration camp).
throughout her life corrie struggled honest struggles of “why?” 
from the book the hiding place, corrie writes:
    
“It grew harder and harder.  Even within these four walls there was too much misery, too much seemingly pointless suffering.  Every day something else failed to make sense, something else grew too heavy.”  
such raw, vulnerable truth into her soul.  corrie does not sugar coat her struggles and the strength God gave her to see them through.  she continues to share how the Holy Spirit gave her strength to be thankful in ALL circumstances.  hardly comprehensible to even think about amongst such cruelty.  
as thanksgiving draws near i am praying, earnestly, to give thanks in ALL circumstances.

thanksgiving. so much to be thankful for.

i’m posting a little backwards…..christmas and now thanksgiving…but i wanted to share thanksgiving!  ðŸ™‚
the girls were super helpful preparing the feast….some people snap their beans.  we cut.  you can also see the ingredients for grandma great’s famous creamed corn, which i will be sharing at the end of this post.

wisking…..

mashing……

 checking PW’s amazing sweet potato recipe…making sure i’ve got it right.

dubs.  he’s just cute. 🙂

oh glory.  look at that tom.  perfectly glazed and stuffed.  mmmmmm.  my mom and dad prepared this bird and brought it over.

really.  this is what its all about.  always.

oh let the carving begin…. i think my dad has worn that same apron for every thanksgiving i can remember!

ah…the table is set!  we added one fold away table to the end of our main table.

hank and his little cousin sat at this little table.  they are such best little friends 🙂

almost ready!

nana and dancy led devotions before we ate.

moving right along and skipping over the cleaning of dishes…. game time!  one of many rounds of blokus.

after dinner wine and games as we move on through the day…..

round two!  you know…pull out all the leftovers.  make turkey buns.  the other side of the family came over to join us and catch phrase followed…. with speed scrabble to round out the evening..

it was so fun to laugh with family.  meet new friends.  share traditions.  
give thanks to the Lord for He is good.  His love endures forever.  Psalm 136:1
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grandma great’s famous creamed corn
2 cans creamed corn
1 can regular corn (drained)
2 eggs
1/4 C. milk
1 1/4 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed
mix all ingredients, reserving 1/4 sleeve of crackers.  bake, covered at 275 (yes 275) for 2 hours in a round casserole dish.  add a mixture of 1/4 sleeve crushed crackers and melted butter to the top the last 15 minutes.
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