Thanksgiving With The "Gang!"

Allie had a hair appointment the next morning after we arrived, so we decided to tag along and take pictures.
She had a lot of hair cut off--and it looks gorgeous--but then, she always does!
Zack made his "famous" bagel sandwiches for us our first night there--one of my most favorite things--yummy!
This is Sophie's goofy little dog, Tigger, and this is how he lies in his bed while the family is eating dinner--well, sort of in his bed. . . .
Jacob was playing while he was eating--sort of eating! Good thing he gets a bath every night.

Sophie made the very most delicious ginger snaps and "Grampa" supervised--that's his most favorite cookie! And she's a super-duper cookie maker.
Cutie patootie!
Post-dinner clean-up. . . .
Whoops! Joshua's hair is getting way too long--must get it cut!!!
Our turkey stuffers. I know--you thought I was going to say, "our turkeys!!!"
The whole Gang and Grampa talking to Luna and Aunt Kate in Germany. What fun!
What a miracle is the internet and e-mail and e-photos and blogging and facebook and skype. What did we ever do without it. . . . Just don't know how Walt and I lived in Europe for four years with nothing but snail-mail and occasional extremely expensive phone calls. Seriously.
Allie is busy with a computer project. Our cute little fashionista.
And here's another of our cooks. Emily always makes the filling for our pumpkin pies and here she is preparing a pre-dinner snack tray.
She and Sophie collaborated on this little work of art!!!
They look pretty proud of themselves! And it was good besides--there wasn't much left.
Early stages of table-setting.
I'd say Jenny did a pretty darn good job. (She takes after her mother!!)
Our fashionista again.
We went out this evening to Bass Pro Shop to see Santa so some of the Gang decided to write letters to Santa.
Noah and Sophie are hard at work--I'm sure they've been very good so Santa will bring them everything on their list--maybe?? I think so!
This is Joshua's letter to Santa. Wonder where he got the idea for this???!!!!!!

The handsome Gang Guys with Santa.

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to all!

A Story

I've had a comment about my weird (fun) approach to jewelry fashion, so I have to tell a story here.

Here's a picture. Visualize this. It is the middle of winter and we got 8 inches of snow overnight (can hardly wait). I have to go to town and the snow plow hasn't been out yet. Obviously, there's a bunch of people that have ventured out ahead of me, but there is only one set of tracks in this new snow. Every person who has been over this road has driven it in exactly the same place that every one has taken who has gone before. Here's where the fun begins. There is absolutely no way that I can even force myself to drive in that set of tracks. I will either go to the right or to the left of that set of tracks and drive there, but I simply cannot drive where they have driven. The truth is that I will usually drive to the right of those tracks--on the edge(!), of course.

And that is how I try to live my life--my philosophy. Don't live in the rut. You know the old saw about a "rut" being an open-ended grave!!! Yup. I love picture stories.

Pile It On!!

The latest fad in jewelry fashion! It's called "layering." You can see some of that here.I know I'm a little wacky and weird--that's nothing new!!! I have always said that "getting dressed should be fun." That's my philosophy on fashion. I love getting dressed and putting together outfits. Sometimes I actually put together an outfit to go to the Post Office--now that's pure desperation (probably in the dead of winter)!!!
And now along comes jewelry layering! Yea! Something else to play with when getting ready to go out. This was one of my favorite layerings above. It's all crystal and pearls. Yes, some of it is real and some of it is pure junk! In this grouping I've added a strand of antique Swarovski crystal beads that I got at a flea market in Belgium. It's a favorite piece, but sometimes hard to find just the right thing to wear it with--so this works perfectly!
I love wearing jewelry and the problem always is what to choose, but with this I can just pile it on as much as I want! (As long it sort of goes together and has a theme--color or type.)
(Remember you can click on the images to enlarge them if you want to see the pieces up close.)
Now this is one of my favorite things--being able to wear jewelry AND scarves--that's best of all. Works pretty good, doncha think?!!

Here Comes The Blushing Bride!

And there she is! Cindy's the one that is smiling--really smiling!!! She's sitting with Ellen and her future mother-in-law, Mary. She does look happy--and excited. (And what was that about being warm in January???) And yes, I know the rule about lighting candles before 6:00 p.m. . . .
Here's the rest of the celebrators--Drin, Colleen and Joan. They were working on coffee after a huge slice of cheesecake. Yummy. I'm sure everyone went home and took a nap even though they all said they were going to go home and go for a walk. . . .
I love group photos. Here we have Linda, Colleen, Drin, Cindy, Joan, Ellen and Mary. They're always so gracious to let me take pictures--even when they know they're going out to the world!
And here we have my favorite thing about entertaining--the table. I like to joke about the real reason I love to entertain is so I can set the table. Love it. Very fun and very creative. Considering how many sets of dishes I have (I'll NEVER tell), I have to say that!
I told Dee at Stephens Floral my colors and I wanted a lunch table centerpiece and this is what they did for me. It was so lovely. Worked perfectly with everything. Beautiful. I love flowers.
Bird's eye view of the arrangement.
I call these my lady dishes. They're probably my favorite of all. Each plate has a different fashion design on it--called "Design 1900." I got them when we lived in Germany. They are Villeroy and Boch and we would take daytrips to the factory in Luxembourg. It was a beautiful drive and the shopping at the factory was amazing.
And this stemware is without a doubt my favorite set. I love the color and the shape is just gorgeous. I got them somewhere over on the Czech border--can't remember exactly where. (We did a lot of shopping while we lived in Europe! What an opportunity.)

"Unser taglich Brot. . .

This little bread plate has been in our kitchen ever since we lived in Germany in the mid-80's. It's been a favorite of Katie's and when she moved to Germany she said she wanted to look for something similar.
Today I went to the post office and picked up a package from Germany! Inside was this delightful bread "bowl." There was also a birthday card from Katie! In the card was a note saying that she had also purchased one for herself! What a great gift. I'm so pleased.
And the best part is that it says, "Unser taglich Brot gib uns eute." Give us this day our daily bread. Just like our little bread plate. Great find, Katie.
It was made in Rothenburg and that makes it even more special. Rothenburg has always been one of our favorite villages to visit. I love it, Katie! Thanks.

IN MEMORY

Of our fallen heroes at Fort Hood and many prayers and tears for their families and their loved ones. And prayers that every wounded soldier will completely recover and heal quickly. And prayers of support for every one that has been impacted by this horrific event. The Army is family.

Show Us Your Life: Thanksgiving Traditions

Well, I was inspired to add a recipe to Jenny's contribution to Kelly's Korner "Thanksgiving Traditions" carnival. Jenny did a pretty good job of describing our traditional family dinner (you can see that here) but she forgot one of the most important items on our Thanksgiving table and that is a dish of Scalloped Oysters. This dish has been a tradition in her dad's family for many years and we have added it to our family tradition. She forgot. . . . Of course, the fact that not one bite has ever passed her lips has nothing to do with that!

SCALLOPED OYSTERS

1 1/2 pints fresh oysters (3 -8oz containers), chopped small

2 cups saltine cracker crumbs medium coarse

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced

3/4 cup light cream

1/4 tsp worcestershire sauce

Drain oysters, reserving 1/4 cup liquor. Combine crumbs and melted butter. Set aside 1/2 cup buttered crumbs. Combine remaining crumbs with drained oysters, the 1/4 cup liquor, mushrooms, cream, and the worcestershire. Turn into 8 inch round baking dish. Top with reserved crumbs. Bake in 350 oven for 40 minutes. Garnish top with pimiento and green pepper, if desired.

It's delicious. Try it--you'll like it!!!

Like Mother--Like Daughter

The links between the generations--what fun! I could really get into this. Finding pictures of the moms (Jenny and Katie) that imitate what their daughters are doing! Can you tell which is the mom and which is the daughter????

GIANTS

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of David and Goliath. It is a wonderful story for children especially as they delight in stories of the little guy (children!) beating the giant. But it has so much more significance for us today than just a story for children.

David was a shepherd--the lowest of the low in Israeli culture--who went to the battle to take provisions to his brothers. When he arrived it was apparent to him that the army of Israel was standing in fear of the giant, Goliath, and the Philistine army arrayed against them. And he wanted to know: "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (1 Samuel 17:26) That is one of my favorite verses in all the Bible: "How dare you defy the armies of the living God?"

That is where we are today. We have a giant in our land "hellbent" on total destruction of the nation that God established for HIS purposes--to be the city on the hill--to be a light to the nations of the world. The light of America to the nations is becoming dim. This White House and the leadership of this Congress are an offense to the God of this nation. But this is not a battle against Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid--it is a battle against "the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."

I believe that Congresswoman Michelle Bachman (Minnesota) is a mighty warrior God is using against the evil intentions of this government. She has declared a "House Call on Washington" to stand against the healthcare bill proposed by Nancy Pelosi and is calling Americans to meet her on the steps of the Capitol's east entrance at noon on Thursday, 5 November, that the voice of "we the people" will be heard loud and clear in the halls of government to those who have declared war on this, our beloved America.

I believe absolutely that God still has a purpose for this nation and it's time to take it back--to go out and "slay the giant." We are not grasshoppers to cower in fear at the giants we see in the land. We are warriors--"the armies of the living God."

"If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

If you are unable (as I am unable) to join Michelle Bachman on the steps of the Capitol of the United States of America at noon on Thursday, 5 November 2009, then I would encourage you to join me in a day of prayer and fasting to stand with her in spirit to take back this land. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12) We, as believers, must stand and fight when the Lord calls us to do so, but the real battle will be won on our knees.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! DRIN!

We had a fabulous dinner at the Inn. . . . (Don't tell anyone, but Drin had a hamburger--shocking! She could have had prime rib. . . .)
Drin got some really special birthday gifts. . . .
Colleen really knows what makes her happy . . . .
Drin had a birthday cake and blew out all the candles. . . .
She licked the frosting off every one . . . .
She finally figured out how to cut the cake. . . .
And a good time was had by all!!!! Thanks, Colleen.