August Fields

happy 2013. let’s read through the Bible!

2013.  time to read the most popular book ever!  
i’ve read the Bible my whole life.  yet i’ve not read the Bible in its entirety. 
over on instagram i started posting pics of what i’d been doing and others wanted to join in.
AWESOME!
———————> join me on instagram over on the right 
or download the free instagram app on your phone and find me (augustfields)
yay!  so here’s the plan:
  • download the app i have shown in the second picture below.  its called  Bible in One Year by Alpha International.
  • join me on instagram and use the hashtag #afbibleinayear  (don’t forget the “f”)  is stands for august fields Bible in a Year.  you can search by that hashtag on instagram and see how it’s going for others and share and encourage eachother.
  • i am personally using my journal and Bible (you can read the Bible verses on the app itself) along with the app

here is the app to download (it’s free)

i also like to doodle and draw in my journal. 
i’m a homeschool mom so of course i get super excited when i find THE perfect office supply.  enter the paper mate flair pens.  go get these pens.  they make me happy.  fine point.  don’t bleed through the page.  and lots of fun colors!  no one touches these but me in our house 🙂 (i call them my teacher pens….)
i’m excited to connect with more people and work through this together.  my husband is on board as well and i even set a daily reminder on my phone for 10pm.  this is when we share a favorite/standout/meaningful part of our study that day.  
*amazon links are affiliate but are products i have tried and love!

christmas 2012.

first things first.  this little man is 4 months old already.  he just started picking things up with his hands, he laughs out loud, and has started talking in church.  not crying just talking….  i still have not cut his hair and have to answer to mr. daddy at least twice a week as to when this will happen.  but he knows that i just crave this baby stage and really is good with it.  its more of an ongoing joke/tease.  
here are little A’s past pictures:  1 month,  2 months,  3 months

christmas eve.  we spent the day at my parents house then came home that evening and the kids exchanged their gifts to each other.  the kids did this last year too, but honestly it was a long process as we had to go to different stores, talk through practical choices etc.

so this year i set up some guidelines.  actually just one.  the gift had to come from walgreens.  isn’t that funny??   but it worked!  it wasn’t out of my way, so if i was running errands i would take a couple kiddos with me.  and since there is a walgreens every 5 miles, we just picked one and stayed on course for the rest of the errands.

they used their own money and i guided the decisions.  they have a ball with it.

dancy had little dubs name.  she bought him a little dog that walks with an attached remote.  he. loves. it. he named it ‘doggy’.

i love this picture!  he jumped on his sister and hugged her so hard….we were just all so happy for him.  his happiness is contagious.

the kiddos also open one gift from us.  the traditional gift of pajamas.

they all rushed upstairs and put on their christmas jams.

then, the girls surprised me with a special gift they had made.  a coffee mug cozy (that deanie made all by herself) and an awesome table mat.  they cut and sewed all of this!  my mother in law guided and quilted it.  they also wrote me a special note.

that gets me every time.  i treasure their written notes of admiration, encouragement and love.  blessed.  i am so so so blessed.

christmas morning!!!!  dancy asked me repeatedly the night before, ‘what time are we getting up?’, ‘when can we go downstairs?’ etc. etc.

i really needed to be showered and ready first so we said 8:00am we can go down.  this was at 8:01am.

strained necks all around from smiling so hard!

so to disguise who’s gift was who’s this year i came up with something super fun for the kids!  i gave them each a character from narnia.  they didn’t know who they were though.

so presents started to appear under the tree for susan, peter, the professor, lucy, mr. tumnus and edmund.  they were not allowed to touch the presents so it was hilarious to listen to them trying to sort out the logic behind who was who.

they didn’t know before hand but i did not include little A in the gift exchange and instead included mr. daddy.

so this picture is the kids picking up a present that they thought was theirs.

this bundle of cuteness just soaked it all in.

and finally this is the fun that settled in as the sun came up.

you can see our christmas pasts here.  2011,  2010

merry christmas. you are loved.

From my family to yours.

what a wonderful year it has been.  so much to be thankful for.  so much to look forward to.

God continues to show Himself through good times and hard times.  i look back on this past year and honestly, if i didn’t have a relationship with Jesus and assurance that I am HIS, certain “bumps” in the road would have been waaay less manageable.

a few of the things in my life that i will choose to be thankful for and dwell on:

saving grace.  my hardworking husband.  growing family.  my children.  health.  parents and inlaws. the Bible.  sisters and sisters in law.  praise and worship music.  church and our smallgroup. air conditioning during my pregnancy.  laughter.  forgiveness.  date nights.  homeschooling.  hugs.

God’s love and the fact that He has never moved away from me…  when i feel unloved it is always me shutting Him out.  being stubborn.  thinking my way is better.  but it always leaves me feeling blah.  when i embrace prayer, worship, the word and HIM its like i went on an amazing run and feel energized and LOVED!!  (some will even say i’m more lovable!)  He never moves.  He is always there with His arms waiting to embrace me and my messiness, my repentance, and my sin.  That is the saving grace that I’m talking about!  I’m a better wife, mom, daughter, sister and friend when I believe I am loved.  and I am.  I am very very loved.  and so are you. God loves you dearly…will you love Him?

MERRY CHRISTMAS