August Fields

dancy’s 10th birthday party. confetti.

so i totally forgot to post dancy’s birthday party last month!  not only that, but i really didn’t even take very many pictures.  you’d think i have a new baby or something 🙂 🙂
dancy is very outgoing, endlessly loving to others, artistic, loves to dance and sing, and for the past year her joys have included gymnastics.
she asked for a colorful birthday party and wanted confetti.  to which i had to explain that unfortunately there was no way i was going to have fistfuls of actual confetti be thrown around the house to celebrate.
*side note*  when i was little MY mom and dad actually let my sisters and i cut up newspaper into a bazillion pieces and throw it all over the family room on new years eve.  my mom found newspaper pieces in the registers and stuck into crevices for months! i’m too chicken.
we decorated with a confetti motif instead.  we found colorful cupcake holders, big round sprinkles and from etsy, some fun printables.

her big gift was an ipod nano that we’ve been filling up with some of her favorite tunes.

francesca battistelli, casting crowns, jamie grace, kari jobe, mandisa, toby mac and yes, a little one direction. 🙂

i love you dance.  your heart is full of love for the Lord and creativity.  you are determined and steadfast.  you fill our home with music and laughter, singing and awesome art. your little brothers and big sisters all love to be where you are.

i pray that i can continue to be the best mom i can be to you and continue to encourage you in the ways that you need it most.  i am so glad that God gave me you.

6 months. chi-chi.

6 months.  little A has slept through the night 3 times now!  from 10pm-7am.  
this is a big deal as all the other kiddos were sleeping through the night waaaay earlier.  on the plus side though, i’ve been using the late night feeding frenzies to read through the Bible on my phone.
look at those eyes.  

little A is not so little anymore.  he’s filling right out and has also acquired quite the arsenal of nicknames!  is this normal?  do you all have nicknames for your kiddos?

so the one that seems to be sticking is chi-chi.  (pronounced chee chee).  like chi-chi rodriquez, professional golfer.  but that’s not where it came from.

have you ever seen the movie chitty chitty bang bang?  its a dick van dyke classic.  we were watching it with the kids (again) when little A was still little…. there is a song called chu-chi face and

 i. think. its. hilarous.  

i was calling him chu-chi face and well….it evolved into chi-chi.

so there you have it.  our little chi-chi.

40 bags in 40 days 2013.

today is ash wednesday.  the beginning of lent.  what is lent?  it is a 40 day period that starts today, ash wednesday, and leads up to maundy thursday.  the next day is good friday (crucifixion of Jesus Christ). three days later is EASTER! 
are you confused?  
pastor bill crawford of waters edge church puts it this way:

Ash Wednesday is a day to stare death in the face, to acknowledge our mortality. All of us will die. Christians who observe this day get ashes “imposed” on their foreheads, while a minister says, “You have come from dust, and to dust you will return.” In other words, “You are going to die. And here are some ashes to remind you, just in case you’ve forgotten.”

Are we Christians gloomy? Do we have some peculiar fascination with dying? I don’t think so. Rather, what allows us to stare death in the face is the assurance of life, real life, eternal life. When we know our lives are safe in the hands of God, and that this physical life is just the beginning of eternity, then we’re free to be honest about what lies ahead for us. We can face death without fear or pretending, because we know the One who defeated death. 
on to lent.  its not a mandatory observance but one that prepares our hearts and minds for the days ahead. our family has been doing 40 bags in 40 days for a few years.  
here is our list for this year.  this is a very tangible way for everyone to get involved!
we also spent time in prayer this morning and came up with what each of us was going to “give up”.  again, this is a period of self-denial to commemorate the 40 days that Jesus spent fasting in the desert.  these are things that in today’s world should be SO easy to go without right?  
its just GOOD for us to (all ages) to have to FEEL the pangs of going without something, making us look UP and remember:
“I can do ALL things through HIM who gives me STRENGTH”  Phillipians 4:13.  
It’s a time of humility.  i can’t do it on my own. 
 if i tried to homeschool, be a good mom, be a good wife, be a good friend…etc.  all in my own strength i would have burned out LOOOOONG ago!

another fun thing that we pulled out was this countdown poster that we made with my friend amy and her kiddos when they still lived by us……

do you see  the little paper Jesus on the first day? we move him one spot each day.   🙂  again, just a tangible way for the kids to see what is happening.  and just throw it up with tape on your cupboard.  its all good.

here is a closer look at our 2013 list.  i mostly do this on my own during the day.  if there is an area that its more helpful for the kiddos to join me then they do.

will you make more room for Jesus this Lent?  you’ll be glad you did.

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Bible in A Year peeps…..how’s it going????  i’ve had a couple times where I fell a few days behind and had to catch up.  it’s been a HUGE blessing.  you can do it!  if you want to join here is my blog post about it and follow the hashtag #afbibleinayear over on instagram (@augustfields)
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baby stuff

this little man is growing so quickly.  chubby legs and big smiles….what a life.
here are some of little A’s latest adventures:

playing so hard he just crashed.  he slept like this for 25 minutes.  so funny.

 umm….yeah…so i stuck my tongue out at him and this is what he did back.  smart little bugger.

first try at rice cereal.  i caved and gave it to him before 6 months (JUST our personal choice), its still only given sporadically…  of course he eats it right up.

he has calmed down tremendously!  sweet little boy cried for his first two months.  now at 5 months he is lively but not in a screaming-aaaahhh way…know what i mean?  he is so much more content!!