November has been such a good month for us as a family -- we celebrated countless birthdays, hosted our first Thanksgiving (and there were only a cool 45 people here), welcomed out of town family, watched Ella dance in our first parade of the holiday season, picked up our Christmas tree, and loved on the sweetest new Sister Cousin ever. I can't believe we're only two days away from the busiest and best season of the year, so I'm stuffing this post full of all of our favorite November moments, iPhone style. Now it's officially time for Christmas! ...
thanksgiving
Ruby’s Famous Cornbread Dressing
In hindsight, I should have shared this recipe with you a month ago. The real story, though, is that I've been perfecting my recipe skills and I only just got this right on the morning of Thanksgiving. The good news is, you can cook this for Christmas and Easter and any other Tuesday you've got a craving! I've been enjoying this particular cornbread dressing for the last nineteen years. First, Josh's grandmother Ruby made it for us and, later, his mom took over the responsibility. I borrowed the recipe pretty early in our marriage, but Josh is quick to point out when his mom has me beat in the kitchen. This is one that I could always get close, but never quite right. It turns out, I made a few critical errors when transcribing the recipe. Since my recipe box is still in storage, I asked ...
Weekend Update | Thanksgiving
We have so been looking forward to a few days at home together as a family and the holiday weekend did not disappoint. On Wednesday night, Sophie said something about being nervous because it was her first time to host a family holiday! It was the sweetest thing. Made slightly humorous because my parents host Thanksgiving every year, so the venue didn't actually change, just the inhabitants of the house. I still haven't shared too many details about our current living situation (coming soon, I promise), but my parents own an amazing party party and pool area that will be their new front yard (at some point in the near future). Last year, they hosted Thanksgiving in the barn and it was a huge hit. We decided that, weather permitting, outdoor Thanksgiving should always be a thing. This was ...
Thanksgiving Craft Time | Recipe Cards
Would it surprise you at all if I told you I found these photographs from last November that never made it onto the blog. No? Well, me either. The girls and I spent a wonderful fall afternoon baking cookies for our Thanksgiving guests and they were delicious! Baked goodies are always a big hit and we love adding sweet packaging and personal details to make them the perfect gift. Try sending these home with your holiday guests, having your kids take them as teacher treats, or handing them out to your mailman and garbage delivery guy. Everybody loves cookies, especially during the holiday season! You can grab the free printable recipe cards here. Just print them on white cardstock and trim along the edges for cards that will fit perfectly in your recipe box. Still looking for ...
November Rewind
Here we are a week into December and I have a hundred photos from Thanksgiving weekend that I still haven't shared. Let's just rewind a few weeks and recap all the fun things we had going on over here! The weekend before Thanksgiving, my parents hosted a rehearsal dinner for my cousin in the barn. It was seriously gorgeous (I'll share some photos at some point) and since it was still festive with tables everywhere, my mom decided that Thanksgiving dinner should be in the barn, too. We were blessed with amazing weather for the holiday weekend with highs in the mid-seventies and all the sunshine. We had about fifty people for lunch and stayed until well after dark. My dad even had the forethought to move the television out to the barn so the men could stand around and watch football... ...
Thanksgiving
I always thank God for you because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in Him you have been enriched in every way - in all your speaking and in all your knowledge. 1 Corinthians 1:4-5 ...
Holiday Hop: Printable Placemats
I am so excited to be linking up with these lovely ladies today to bring you all sorts of Thanksgiving goodness. If you're looking for menu ideas, tablescapes or just a simple activity to keep your little ones entertained, then you've come to the right place! My parents are hosting Thanksgiving in the barn this year and I can't wait to see the beautiful tables my mom manages to pull together. She is the quintessential hostess and the barn is always the perfect place for a fun family get together (try saying that three times fast!). Since we're leaning towards a more rustic, buffet style meal this year, I wanted to come up with something beautiful for the table that would also be fun for the little ones joining the meal. My girls love nothing more than a good coloring session and ...
Thankful Jar DIY
As much fun as September and October were, I'm excited about getting back to our normal posts and projects around here. In case you missed it, I'll be writing over at Oh My! Creative a few times a month and sharing some simple seasonal printables and fun kid crafts for your family. The girls and I were brainstorming a few ways to share what we are thankful for this season and this jar was one of our favorite ideas! I don't know about you, but in our home we are constantly talking about gratitude and how much we have to be thankful for. I know we are just wrapping up Halloween, but I wanted to get a head start on helping my girls recognize these things during the upcoming holiday season. Enter our Thankful Jar. Instead of having blank cards or strips of paper to write on like we have ...