I love being home for the holidays…
the aroma of turkey roasting…
the warmth of the kitchen…
a delicious array of all those wonderful treats
that bring back memories
of grandma’s recipes,
of mom and our delightful aunts
chattering in the kitchen,
stirring, chopping,
and spicing things up with cinnamon,
sugar and the latest family news.
My husband surprised me by flying my daughter
Ashley and son J.J.
out from
California for Thanksgiving!
Yay!!!
I love my girls! Here is Ashley and Summer Rose
taking a hug-break
while helping to whip fresh roasted sweet potatoes,
which they later topped with lots of brown sugar,
chopped pecans and melted butter.

My college boy J.J.
( I am so proud of him!)with sweet Summer.
(we are missing his darling girlfriend Tiffany!)

Dusty and Kimmy, married one year.
Oh, the weather outside is frightful…
but the fire is so delightful!

Playing games on Thanksgiving morn.

Ahh…

I was one happy mama to hear the laughter

of all of my kids once again.

Kimmy and Ashley would want you to know they don’t have their make-up on yet!

They just may get back at me for this photo!

But I think they are adorable, make-up or no make-up

(now as for me… gotta have my lipstick on at all times,

along with my blush and eyeliner and mascara.

My husband calls it my “hobby”

when I put my make-up on every morning.

I have to, or I’ll scare people! ) Seriously.

I love cooking in the kitchen with Peggi!

(she is my daughter-in-law’s mom)

She is so fun and joyful, I wish you all could meet her!
We had a few mishaps that morning…
we giggled a lot,
I felt like we were Lucy and Ethel!
Here we are ready to roast that bird!
 Ashley wanted a peach pie…. so Ashley got her peach pie!
 It’s best when you can use fresh summer peaches,
but in the winter, frozen is better than none!

One of my favorite quotes about pie

comes from Nigella Lawson’s book,

How To Be A Domestic Goddess
“…like the first kiss, it’s the first pie that counts:
as soon as I whipped it out of the oven
and sprinkled sugar all over it,
I felt suffused with heady satisfaction.
This was a real pie:

the sort that I thought
only women with sensible hands
habitually wiped briskly on aprons could make.

It changed my culinary self-image instantly.

And that is why I am so evangelical now.”

It may sound silly, but for years I was so afraid to make a pie.
So when I finally made my mind up to do so,
and I pulled that hot apple pie out of the oven,
juices bubbling thick, crust golden crisp,
aroma so heavenly…

I thought…

I Am A Real Woman Now!
Now, with dozens of pies under my belt,
making pie is …well…easy as pie!
Practice being the person you want to be.
With practice I am now a pie maker.
Imagine that!

Okay…do you see the snowballs resting peacefully around Baby Jesus?

Well, boys will be boys……

my sons saw those and couldn’t resist a snowball fight.

They are made from Styrofoam…so have at it!


um…J.J. is that your shoe on the sofa? Here is Dusty waiting for the perfect moment to blast his brother…
and my hubby Gary leisurely enjoying his pumpkin pie.

J.J. is giving it all he’s got!

As he has said before,
“Go big, or stay home!”
Meaning, whatever you do, pour your heart into it.

Peggi and Jim, Kimmy’s parents. What fun to have them join us
for Thanksgiving! We love them! They are starting up a new Christian Church in
Naples, Florida called The Journey.
Check out their web site that my son Dusty designed!!
(just click on The Journey)
We had a variety of non-alcoholic sparking juices
along with our meal.
Peach, grape,white grape and blush grape.
They looked like liquid jewels in crystal goblets.

Funny thing is, I looked for sparking cider,
but couldn’t find any.

It worked out even better!

Do you all know about the Apples to Apples game?

If you don’t, stop reading this blog and go get it right now!
ummm…….you’re still reading!
Okay you can get it later!
It is such a fun game, easy to play and creates a lot of laughter!
I thank my Lord Jesus for all of His blessings!
He loves us all so lavishly.
You are the apple of His eye.
You are adorable to Him!
When He looks at you,
I’m sure He says “Oh, Honey!”

Thanks for stopping by for pie!

Hugs to you all!

Ruthann

P.S. To answer a few questions left for me on my comments….

1. I bought the large Baby Jesus at HomeGoods last year. There aren’t any manufacturing markings on it.

2. My wall color is Burnt Almond from Home Depot, Behr paint. It’s sort of the color of a brown paper bag.

3. My home accessories come from a variety of places, antique stores, gift shops, ebay etc. I also used to be in the retail business and would find unique things at the gift shows. I have been married 29 years, and things accumulate!

Thank you all again for such nice comments! You know how to make a girls day!

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