Dinning Room & Cranberry Sauce

Finally, we hung something on the walls in our dinning room. The fact that my mother-in-law is coming for Thanksgiving was the push I needed to get things done. I love the peg rack look and it only cost $12. Now I can even change things out for holidays or seasons, fun!

For my centerpiece I have a small quilt I made with an antique dough bowl I got from a flea market in Germany. I remember the older women I bought it from said it belonged to her mother-in-law. After the Berlin Wall fell the family went over to the Dresden area to clean out the house and bring it all closer to Wiesbaden/Frankfurt. I have my German treasure filled with white pumpkins, crows and one of my stitcheries.

This is my first time ever making my own cranberry sauce. LOVE IT! Not only is it the prettiest thing I've seen jarred but it tastes so good.

Aunt Bonnie's Cranberry Sauce

Wash 3 cups fresh cranberries removing stems

Sir together 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar in deep saucepan

Heat to boiling; boil 5 minutes

Stir in cranberries

Bring to boil and boil rapidly 5 minutes.

Cool and place in jars-refrigerate 8 hours

The other day was my cousin Michelle's birthday. Bonnie sent out these fun throw backs to start the celebration that morning. Here I am with Michelle and our stunning Aunt Bonnie.

This was the same day. We were going to a wedding. This is my cousin Michelle and I with our Great Grandma. Ha I am the one with the hat and purse...oh my. Next I need to make some of my Grandma's mustard pickles!

Ben 1/112!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I knew Ben was getting all A's. Almost everyday we look online at both kids graded work that the teacher's are constantly uploading. I also knew most of the A's Ben was getting were like 99% type A's. But I did not know until 2 days ago that Ben was ranked NUMBER ONE of the whole 6th grade. We are so proud.

Tomorrow is the last day of school before Thanksgiving. We are handing out these gobbley treats. I loved the M&M's this year with those beautiful fall colors.

Madi's Turkey

I just finished making Madi a turkey shirt to strut around in this month. The pattern in over here, you can copy it right off your computer screen. To me, it's the cutest thing ever. I have it hanging by the TV in the family room so I can look at it. Now, I must go cook dinner because my own little turkey's are getting hungry.

Season Of Thankfulness

Maybe it's because I am getting older but I enjoy everyday in November. Celebrating Thanksgiving was just on that day. Now I like having the whole month to contemplate on all the things I am thankful for. Today I had the chance to set some Thanksgiving decorations around the house. That tree on the bottom of the fireplace is our Thankful tree we made a few years ago. I love reading the ornaments: our cat, caprisuns, football, our dad being safe, soccer, food... I am thankful we made that a few years back.

I am thankful my dad was able to come spend Halloween with us.

I am thankful for good memories. Look at them, they are separating the candy. They made lines of twix, butterfinger... We had a great time trick-or-treating. All our neighbors went together so the kids were with all the friends. And holy cow our neighborhood was lite up in orange lights, so festive.

Steve had to work late Halloween, until after 8pm...he missed all the fun. But we are thakful he is here with us rather than being deployed.

The kids are thankful for their dodgeball teams, they have a lot of fun. I must say it's very entertaining to watch. There must be 50 boys and 5 girls and look at Madi, she is still in the game after that line of boys had already gotten out.

I am thankful for Madi and her new little boots too.

Thanksgiving weekend

Our Thanksgiving weekend has come to it's end. We have had such a nice time being all together. We stayed home most of the past 4 days. Thanksgiving dinner with the Squadron was fun. Madi just got the new movie Santa Paws and tonight we all enjoyed watching it together. Over the last 4 days most of my time was spent making this small hexagon quilt. I love these fabrics...I believe it's Figgy Pudding by Basic Grey. I got it last year and never used it until now. I think I am one of those hexagon finatics. I LOVE making them. I love hand quilting.

Our Thanksgiving tablerunner. I saw this on a blog last year and started this tradition too. We each write what we are thankful for that year. This will be one of those things that gets better with time!

The Air Force allowed us to only ship 3,000 pounds of our household goods here to Korea. Since we brought beds, toys, kitchen items and a few pieces of furniture my holiday decorations didn't make it on the ship here. I did bring a Christmas tree and ornaments but as far as anything else...that's it. So instead of moping too much about not being able to decorate the kids and I decided we can make some of our own. Friday night we made cinnamon applesauce ornaments.

Ben and Madi had so much fun...they are begging to make more. I might just let them...look how good Madi's came out.

And Ben's. Of course...a football ornament.

Madi was serious about getting her letter in the mail early. We are always talking about the mail here...things take a bit longer than usual.

What a beautiful surprise Saturday morning...snowflakes. They look beautiful from way up here on the 17th floor!

It's Thanksgiving already here in Korea.

Ben got the award for being on the Principle's Honor Roll. He got all A's.

Knowing we are going to be moving to Northern California and the Giants are the World Champs he now sports a Buster Posey jersey...something other than a Georgia team, wow.

It's 0800 Thanksgiving morning here in Korea. This morning Steve is going to go play football with the Weather Squadron. And for Thanksgiving dinner all the weather people and their families are gathering at the squadron to celebrate and eat together. Last night when Steve walked in the door from work Madi and I were breaking the bread for our homemade stuffing. Steve joined in.

Korea: After N. Korea attacked S. Korea on Tuesday things got tense. Thankfully nothing has escalated since. Of course the S. Korean army and our military are on edge. We live 45 miles from the N. Korean border, so of course I was worried. When we moved here our family was issued gas masks we keep here at home as a precaution. But yesterday life went on as usual. All the military folks fall under Genral Order #1 this long holiday weekend...NO ALCOHOL. Everyone needs to be very alert. We don't drink anyway but for some this has changed their holiday plans.

We are going to miss having Thanksgiving with Steve's family this year. Every year we were stationed in Georgia we would eat and enjoy the day with his family. We got use to that. I am thankful to at least be together with Steve and the kids.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving treats

2010 Thanksgiving cards. Look at the adorable fork charms I found at the Dongdaemun market.

Small gifts to give our friends here in Korea. They are little pumpkin scrubbers for dishes. To use after the big day in the kitchen.

We have a Thanksgiving feast at school tomorrow. We are contributing yummy chocolate Pilgrim hats.

You don't want this recipe.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Enjoying November

With Madi home yesterday, we enjoyed together setting out the few Thanksgiving decorations we brought with us to Korea. Remember our thankful tree from last year...I do love it even more this year.

During my last few days in Georgia I found the most wonderful cross-stitch store. 2 or 3 days before flying out Steve's mom had taken Ben and Madi to the movies or to play and I went and spent like 2 hours daydreaming in that cute store. I did buy a few patterns and discovered all these new (new to me) dyed threads. Look at my pumpkin at the colors...it's a dyed orange and so is the brown. This little cross-stitch took hours...it was how I kept enjoying 4 nights a week of soccer and football practices.

Madi is home again today. She is even more stuffy. I feel so sad for her...the tissue stays held up to her nose. Our house smells like my pumpkin spice candle and Vicks.

Enchilada Soup

2 cups chicken broth

2 cans enchilada sauce

1 can chopped green chilies

4 chicken breasts

mix in crock-pot and cook on low 7 to 8 hours

Remove chicken and shred with fork then retun to cooker.

Stir in:

1 can black beans

12 oz frozen corn thawed

Cook on high for another 10 min.

We had this last night for dinner topped with shredded cheddar and served with blue tostitos that Ben and Madi think are funny. It was warm and really good.

Plymouth or Jamestown?

As sad as I was to put my Halloween decorations away, I sure am enjoying my Pilgrims and Indians.

Crosstitching use to be my love and daily habit. But ever since having kids I have not done any until now. It took me forever to do this harvest pattern last month...but think it's so pretty I have already started a new Christmas one.

There is Ben...author of the title of this post.

Legend of the Indian Corn

Just finished making 'Legend of the Indian Corn' treats to hand out for Thanksgiving. I have spent the last month substitute teaching in Kindergarten. Last week we made placemats for their Thanksgiving Feast coming up. This is the poem we used on them...I thought I could use it in a scrapbooking way and it worked.

Gobble Gobble

Madi wore her new turkey shirt to school yesterday. She of course helped me make it. She picked out the fall fabrics and traced her hand.













This picture of Ben and Madi was quickly snapped this morning before heading out for school. Madi was dressed up in her new Georgia skirt with lots of polka-dots all the way down to her toes and Ben in the same colors but showing spirit for our Atlanta Falcons. Steve sure is missing out on these two, they are so fun. But not too much longer....only a few more weeks!!! My kids have been so wonderful this whole time Steve has been gone. I am lucky to have such good Air Force kids.

Our Thankful For Tree

Ben and Madi were out of school today. So this morning we took these cool tags and the kids wrote some things down they were thankful for. I stapled them into circles and hung them on my silver tree strung with brown ribbon. I LOVE it and love their sweet handwriting....I will love it even more as the years go by.

Thanksgiving in Macon

Here is Steve with his Grandma and Mom. Of course Chad fried the turkey. After having fried turkey there is no going back!

These girls are so crazy and cute.

Here are Madi and Great Grandma. Great Grandma Marcella is so fun...she just got a new car last week....a fire engine red PT Cruiser. Go granny! As a matter of fact Teresa (Steve's mom) got a new gorgeous Dodge Charger. Now something is not right when you are jealous of Nana's and Great Grandma's cars.

Madi and Deedee playing on the keyboard. While the girls where doing this, the boys were in Hunter's room with the guitar and AMPLIFIER.

A story and a shirt

I love thinking about the story of mine and Steve's first Thanksgiving. I was so ready to cook my new hubby the best of the best of Thanksgiving dinners. Well it was the night before Thanksgiving and I was right on schedule with this and that. Of course my hubby deserved only the best...homemade everything. My homemade pumpkin pies looked beautiful when I put them in the oven to bake. I left the kitchen for the dinning room to sit and break the loaves of bread for my homemade dressing, when I was interrupted by the over active fire alarm. There was some smoke in the kitchen, but when I open the oven, there were huge flames just licking at the bottom of my pies. (Those flames started because the week before I made my new hubby an over layered and stuffed pan of lasagna that spilled over.) Steve ran in to the rescue and RIPPED the cookie sheet holding my two pies out of the oven. That hot uncooked pumpkin had been flung ALL over my beautiful clean kitchen. We had such a mess...I bet there are still spots in that house that have a touch of pumpkin on them. Steve and I laugh so hard it hurts when we talk about our first Thanksgiving.

My oh my, this morning I was surfing a few blogs and found the cutest idea for a Turkey day shirt over here. Rachael was right it only took about 30 minutes to make. I traced Madi's hand for the turkey body. She is so excited to wear it. With a long sleeve tee under it and a cute bow in her hair,she will be so festive.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Georgia turkey tradition

Every November my kids are given the task at school to take home a paper turkey and to disguise it so it can escape it's Thanksgiving fate. Every year we end up with some funky looking Georgia football players. I would expect nothing else coming from my kids!