August Fields

thanksgiving 2011.

November 26, 2011 August Fields

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

November 24, 2011 August Fields

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.

November 22, 2011 August Fields

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

our wedding verse from 12 years ago.

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.

Friday favorites: toys

November 18, 2011 August Fields

With Christmas quickly approaching I’ve decided to have couple of Friday favorites designated to toys. Look at previous friday favorites which include more toy reviews.

These are all toys that we have and really like! It’s got to be good to make it to Friday favorites.:)

Keva blocks
Boone just received these for his birthday and they are awesome! Great for ages 5 to adult. Possibly younger if there are older siblings or adults to play with. We have the 400 piece set that cam with a canvas storage bag. I recommend this size set to allow building the bigger structures and to share with siblings and friends.

We have other wooden blocks but it’s the uniform shape and weight of keva blocks that allow you to build amazing structures! Another bonus is that they’re made in the USA.

Perplexus epic
This is like the original perplexus but more difficult. A small metal bead is housed in a hard plastic ball that is filled with a numbered, maze-like track. I would say ages 7 and up. Adults even like picking this up and having their hand at it! A fun toy to play independently.

Dump trucks with a big bed to carry things. John Deere has a nice big plastic one but I’m not brand specific with this toy. Ages 2-6 for us. My little boys love to push a dump truck around the house or outside if it’s nice. They will fill the back bed up with little trucks or blocks and haul it around.