Brad, Steph and Wes

It's Beginning to Look a Little Like Christmas

2011-12-02T10:56:00.001-06:00

I have been in love with and intimidated by the deco mesh trend that shows up every Christmas.

The vivid colors are right up my alley, but I envisioned a mess if *I* tried to recreate what I see...

Lucky for me, I have a friend who used to own her own florist shop :)

Last night, she taught me a few tricks of the trade.

First, we started with a wreath from Wal-Mart and fluffed it up.

Next, she added the green mesh in a circle around the outside, fluffing and stuffing as she went.
Then, the berry mesh was added in the middle...

We added some swirly sticks, then the pine cones and lastly, we added the Christmas ornaments.

Then I excitedly placed it above my mantle and added by new tealight holders. Isn't it just fabulous? I'm so thankful for talented friends :)

These are gorgeous and photos don't do them justice. I'm thinking of buying more next time I'm visiting my family :)

Trunk or Treat

2011-11-01T13:52:00.003-05:00

Last night our church hosted Trunk or Treat. I hear they have done this in the past, but it was a first for us.

Wesley was skeptical about whether or not it would be any fun.

The first order of business was to find an acceptably cool costume for him - this is always a challenge because we won't let him be anything evil or overly scary. I usually sum this up by telling him he can't be a "bad guy"

After perusing the Spirit Store, he found something he thought he liked: a gangster.

After adding a fedora from wal-mart, we both thought he looks dapper :)

After modelling for these pictures, a couple hours passed and Wesley finally asked what a gangster was. Ha! I explained as best I could and he seemed ok with it because he finally said, a little in awe of himself, "So, I'm like a bad guy?" yes. You are like a bad guy. This satisfied him.

Oh. and gangsters rarely smile:

Next up, I wanted Brad and I to wear matching costumes.
I approached the topic somewhat hesitantly because I just knew Brad would be far too serious to ever dress up.

So, I was utterly surprised when he agreed to dress up AND then chose his own costume!

I merely dressed to match.

At the Trunk or Treat, I told everyone he was out on good behavior and was serving 4 years into a life sentence :)

When it came to our trunk, Wesley was all too happy to decorate. I wanted to stick with things that would be ok for the church grounds so we opted for a spider theme (sorry, dad)

We stocked up on fake web and streamers, etc. Then I just turned Wesley loose:

It's hard to see, but check out that 5 o'clock shadow!

With a little help from adults, Wesley whipped our trunk into shape just before it got dark.

Didn't it turn out wonderfully?

Wesley used a snowflake technique to make those spider webs out of paper.

If you're really nice, he might teach you how next time you see him :)

I took a few pictures before the kids arrived ...

Here's our Youth Pastor as Linus and his wife as Sally from Peanuts.

Our Associate Pastor as ... well, basically himself plus a mask.

He already owned all the components to his costume except for the cape.

And, last but not least, our Pastor and his wife as Tacky Tourists!!

They handed out hot cocoa at their trunk and became a very popular stop once the sun set!

It was a great evening and a great opportunity to meet people from the community.

We had a huge turn out and are already looking forward to next year!

Marzipan Cookies

2011-10-18T15:59:00.001-05:00

Back in September I spotted an adorable cookie idea on my new favorite blog:

The Sweet Adventures of SugarBelle

She suggested giving these apple cookies as a Back to School treat for Wesley's teachers... Well, I was a little late discovering the recipe so I thought they might make cute pumpkins. I even went to comment about this idea only to find that other people had already had the same idea! The Sweet Sugar Belle even replied with a suggestion: "Use popsicle sticks to indent the sides, and add a few curly vines =)"

So, I printed off the recipe and headed to the kitchen!!

First step, where do I find Marzipan?? Well, that stumped me and Brad. I asked a baker friend and she bought some for me :)

When she handed it to me, I was a little surprised... I was thinking Almond Paste would be something akin to Peanut Butter... Nope.

The dough came together easy breezy and was easy to shape ...
We rolled a toothpick up the sides to make our dents. The first batch wasn't distinct enough so we made the 2nd batch with deeper indents.
Here they are, before baking:
(Aren't they CUTE?!)

Here they are after baking... a little spreading happened.

I even tried my hand at adding leaves and vines....
It didn't turn out quite how I had envisioned... So I left the greenery to the experts and told myself that pumpkins you buy never have vines and leaves :)

Here they are in their jar. I made the little labels and on the back it says, "Please do not eat the stems, they are just for decoration. If you have a nut allergy, be careful, these pumpkins contain almonds." :)

Wesley delivered these to two of his teachers. One was out on maternity leave so she missed out :( The cookies were a hit with the other 2 teachers though! Wesley said one almost ate her whole jar today!

Hearty Tortellini Soup

2011-10-12T17:06:00.000-05:00

It's time to talk about food again :)We had a briefly cool day so I took that as my cue to try out a new recipe: Hearty Tortellini Soup

I'll just be up front about this - it was awesome!
I didn't have all the ingredients it calls for so I was a little worried. Brad was sent with the shopping list 2 weeks ago. When he couldn't find some of the key components, he gave up.

I visited 2 grocery stores and found everything we needed (after some serious searching!)

The first problem was that it calls for Italian Sausage... Neither of us has bought that before so it was a mystery as to where to find it. (near the ground beef and brats, by the way)

Next, I had trouble finding the Broccoli Coleslaw Mix... I don't usually want cole slaw in the first place so I sure didn't know it could have broccoli in it... As it turns out, I couldn't find that kind so I just got the regular kind.

Neither Brad nor I could find a can of French Onion Soup so I used a packet / mix.

I went to the pantry and realized that we didn't have the right kind of tomatoes so I used Italian Diced Tomatoes instead... Well, after I had finished making the soup I found the Italian Stewed Tomatoes on the counter where Brad had, in fact, bought them. OOPS!

Once all the ingredients are in the pot... It looks very questionable how this whole thing is gonna turn out...

See:

Once it was all cooked, though, the doubts were gone!

After dishing it into the bowls, I sprinkled on the "optional" Parmesan Cheese...
No cheese is "optional" haha!

And doesn't that just look divine?

As usual, I'm all excited about a new meal and Wesley is
...
not.

After literally 20 minutes of begging him to take one bite, he finally explained that the only thing he doesn't like is the "potatoes".... so we let him pick those out.

See:

Soup = Gumbo?

2011-10-06T18:50:00.003-05:00

Remember a couple weeks ago when Kim and I made That Soup?Well, I needed something to make for dinner tonight so I pulled a ziploc baggie out of the freezer and set to work.

After it thawed, I added a bay leaf. I'm not really sure what it brought to the flavor, but it felt wrong to skip it...

Also, I seriously want to know why the leaves come in this container (see photo)... Why bother including the sprinkle-cap??

Next, I chopped up a chicken breast that we had boiled earlier in the week and half a package of turkey sausage. I didn't measure, but I'd say it was oh... about this much:

When I went to grab the okra I considered what the final product would be.
Tomato Soup (basically) with chicken, gumbo and okra... hmm what would Wesley think?
So, I grabbed this from the freezer AND the okra.

So I guess by adding all those other veggies (carrots, green beans, corn, more tomatoes, more okra... and a stray lima bean) it really made it more of a thick vegetable soup than a gumbo. I'm not sure what makes the difference between the two, except maybe if I added shrimp... (well, that's not gonna happen... GAG!)

In the end, I served it over rice and didn't give it a name.
Whatever you decide to call it, it was good!

Ok.
to be fair.
Brad and I thought it was good :)

Wesley?

Mayflower: Captain's Log

2011-09-28T17:20:00.001-05:00

The phrase "captain's log" in my mind is always followed by "star date..."
:)
ok, had to get the nerdiness out of the way.

This is Wesley's latest school project. Please notice how often these keep popping up!
This time he had to write a journal from the perspective of one of the explorers headed to the New World. He chose Columbus on the Mayflower which made research a whole lot easier :)

My first thought was that we would need some antiqued paper.

So I brewed some coffee and tea and soaked a ton of paper...

The drying rack added subtle lines that made it easier for Wesley to write in a straight line... most of the time :)

While our paper was aging several hundred years, Wesley researched in a modern way :)

As he drew his pictures for the journal, he got even more high tech. He looked up images and sketches of the Mayflower to draw from... on his iPod!

I have to say, I'm very impressed with the finished product!

The antiqued paper was well worth the effort... and smelled yummy, too!

A close-up shot of the binding...

The first entry (click the photo to enlarge)

A later entry:

(we found these dramatic facts HERE: )

Here is Wesley's rendering of the first meeting between the Taino Indians and Columbus :)

I am pleased with Wesley's work on this project, but I am praying we can take a break and maybe take tests or do vocab for a while :) We don't want any more craft projects for a while!!

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

2011-09-26T12:56:00.001-05:00

Well, it looks like I'm about to add another post about food...

What can I say? The changing weather makes me want to get into the kitchen!

Last week, our store didn't have any of my usual cinnamon raisin bagels in stock. Brad stepped in with his bread machine to rescue my breakfast!

He made our typical roll recipe and added 3 teaspoons of cinnamon and all the raisins we had in the house.

When they came out of the machine, the raisins weren't mixed in. They were sort of sprinkled all over the top so Brad rolled them in and kneaded the dough to spread them out.

The results were beautiful...

Needless to say, it was a little nicer getting my morning coffee and breakfast together last week. Every time I toasted my bread, I was reminded of my sweet hubby and all his hard work. :)

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Bisque

2011-09-20T10:22:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, I was graced with the presence of my Seester (sister, for those not in the know).

And anytime Kim and I get together there is one key aspect we have to plan... FOOD!

If we're camping, food is still the key component.

At our parents' house... food must be planned.

At my house... well, you get the idea.

So with the cooler weather, I wanted to try my hand at a new soup. I had this particular soup at Cup of Hope, but thought I'd give it a try.

So, I present: Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Bisque

It calls for 2 cans of Fire Roasted Tomatoes, which I had never seen before. As you can see on the label, these also include garlic - I'm already planning future uses for these tomatoes:

Another new discovery was the act of roasting my own pepper. I googled How to Roast a Bell Pepper and followed the directions. It worked like a charm... was icky, gooey, and messy... but easy :)

I even put Kim to work while I was on pepper patrol.

After the soup was ready, I pureed with my fabulous immersion blender. I will say, I was a little timid with it because I was worried about scratching my non-stick pot so we wound up with a chunkier version than I would have liked.

I made some fresh bread and topped it with cheese to go with our soup.

As you can see, it was a delicious meal:

If you are planning to try this recipe, I have a few suggestions (based on my personal preferences)

Puree the soup more thoroughly. The chunks of tomato and pepper were yummy... the pieces of celery were not. I would also recommend cutting up the celery into tinier pieces because of this.

The tomatoes come with garlic, so I would probably only add 2 cloves instead of 4 next time... unless you're worried about a vampire invasion.

The consistency was a lot thinner than what I would call a bisque so next time I might use 2 cups of chicken broth instead of 5... I didn't have chicken stock so maybe that was the problem??

Our next plan is to freeze the leftover soup. When Fall finally arrives, I'm gonna thaw the soup, add chicken, sausage and okra... and serve it over rice. The flavor will be a perfect base to build a gumbo around. I'll let you know how it turns out :)

(You can see how much fun we have, right?)

Christmas Tree - Cookie Press Cookies

2011-09-16T09:07:00.001-05:00

I know, I know...

It's only mid-September so there is NO reason to even mention Christmas cookies yet.

Except I am so ready for cooler weather!! Yesterday was a lovely 70 degrees and I just couldn't stand it any longer! I had to bake more cookies!

My mother-in-law and I actually talked about this urge to bake when Fall is approaching. Do you experience this? My mom and I do and Brad's mom does. Is it a mom thing or a woman thing?

We thought it might be related to a need to prepare for the winter. To stockpile food for the difficult months ahead. Since I am more interested in baking, I thought maybe it was a maternal need to fatten our kids up so they're ready for the leaner winter months.

Whatever the reason, I wanted to make cookies.

Specifically, CHRISTMAS cookies!

Good thing our church's choir is having a Christmas Musical preview party this Saturday so I don't seem completely loony.

I didn't feel like rolling dough and making frosting so I turned to my trusty Cookie Press (follow the link if you're unfamiliar with these.)

Normally, I use my mom's hand-me-down Betty Crocker recipe, but I thought I'd try the recipe on the box...

It starts with 2 1/2 sticks of butter!!

Somewhere out there, Paula Deen was having a very good day!

After I got my dough all mixed up, I was worried it was too stiff..

See what I mean:

I went ahead and filled my press, though, to see how it went and the texture was PERFECT. Not only that, it stayed the perfect texture through a 2 hour process of pressing, decorating, baking, refilling, pressing, decorating, baking, cooking dinner, eating dinner, pressing, giving up on ornaments and using sprinkles, baking, and so on. I was impressed!

Because I wanted to be all cute and festive, I used large circle-shaped sprinkles as ornaments on the trees.

My cookies wouldn't stick to the pan so I had to break them off {gently} and put them on the pan.
As such, I thought I'd bake a few upside down (see bottom right cookie in the next pic) to see which style turned out the best.

After pulling them from the oven, I decided the right-side-up cookies looked nicer... The one in the center on the left edge is an upside down cookie.

Using the ornament sprinkles was very time consuming so on the last batch I just whipped out the green sugar :) Even those turned out very festive. I loved how the sprinkles settled in the ridges created by the press. Sort of looks like garlands wrapped around each tree.

Normally, when I bake cookies I end up with far fewer than the recipe predicts it will yield.

With my usual sugar cookies I chalk it up to my large cookie cutters. With chocolate chip cookies I assume it's because I like big, cakey cookies.

With this recipe I was supposed to get 7 or 8 dozen cookies ... so around 90, right?

Oh no - I ended up with

144 cookies!

If the cookie press portions the dough for me, how on earth did I manage to make a GROSS of cookies?! Please explain this to me! I was so tired of being on my feet and babysitting the oven after the last pan, that I emptied my press of a small batch of dough and called it a night... So, technically I could have made 13 dozen cookies!!

Orange Danish Cookies

2011-09-12T16:09:00.000-05:00

I spotted a cookie recipe recently at... of all places, Stephanie's Kitchen

Normally, I love baking, but I haven't taken the time to do it in quite a while. This recipe made me want to get back in touch with my long-lost mixer!

Since he was grounded from the tv, Wesley agreed to help.

He lasted long enough to measure the flour and have his picture taken... then he was off to bigger and better things!

While he measured the flour, I zested my orange - This was my first zesting experience and it was everything I thought it would be :) I happily zested along enjoying the sweet, orangey smells :)

Then, I added it to my sugar:

Before combining the zest and sugar

After

The dough came together easily and beautifully. It did take about 5 minutes longer to bake than the recipe said. Even then, there was barely any browning on the bottoms.

The glaze also came together beautifully and made decorating a breeze :)

They turned out looking and tasting more like Orange Danishes than "orange-glazed cookies" so I think that Orange Danish Cookies would be a more fitting name!

Don't you think?

Of course, I showed you the photo from the original recipe...

And my little glamour shot of the cookies.

Now for the more accurate portrayal of what you're getting into with these cookies!

You can tell where I held the bowl over the pan and it kept drip- drip- dripping in ONE PLACE!

I must confess, those cookies in the puddle were the BEST ONES!

Allergies

2011-09-07T17:11:00.001-05:00

We had a doctor's appt this afternoon for Wesley to test him for allergies.

I've been looking forward to this test for a LONG time! Wes has always struggled with his allergies and he's on a bazillion medicines that aren't getting him any relief.

So. without further ado, his results:

In this picture you can see the grid pattern of all the yellow allergy goo they poked him with:

All the spots developed little bumps and redness similar to a mosquito bite. In order to know what a reaction looks like, they also did a control test with straight histamine on his shoulder:

After a long, itchy 15 minutes, the results were in:

Trees, grass, and weeds all came back negative.... ONE type of tree made a tiny reaction (see the green arrow), but since I've never heard of Black Willows, I think we're fine :)

Dust Mites and Cats had severe reactions.
(Baylor will be glad to know that dogs caused no reaction)

Seriously, dust mites? He might as well be allergic to "being indoors"!!

ONE type of dust mite had such a strong reaction that it spread across his back and towards his chest (see below)

Based on this testing, Wesley is eligible for allergy shots which we'll start in 2 weeks. SOOOO... for the next 9 months we will be getting weekly shots. After that, he'll get shots every other week for about 3-4 months... Then he'll get shots once a month for about a year... and after that we will re-evaluate!

Pray for us in the coming year since I'm sure there are some weeks that will be tougher than others. And pray he doesn't have any bad reactions...

On a side note, Wesley was unfazed at the idea of weekly shots. He even watched them administer his booster shots last month without flinching! I marvel that he is related to me, Mrs. Needle-a-Phobe!

Afterwards, at my office a co-worker said to Wesley, "I hear you were very brave today when they poked you at the doctor's office..." to which he replied, "It's not so much that I was brave. I just withstood pain and itchiness." haha so clearly it was no big deal :)

Pueblo

2011-09-06T14:03:00.002-05:00

It's that time again.

Time for School projects!

Wesley already completed a lovely poster about Vermont...

For his next project, he had to create an Indian dwelling.

Originally, he had his heart set on the Cliff-Dwelling Indians...

But that was a little more than we could handle...

So, next we suggested he build a pueblo:

After we convinced him it wasn't pronounced "pew-blow" he got on board :)

Brad remembered that his mom and sister built a pueblo out of floral foam so off to the craft store he went :)

This is the first stage:

While Brad prepared the outter coating for the foam, Wesley constructed the ladders:

I was so proud to watch him taking his time and being SO precise!

Brad painted the pueblo with his airbrush to create a nice, even coat... Here you can see Wesley happily supervising :)

I helped him coat the base with sand (from his sandbox!) and we added a sign to the front of the building.

I'd say it turned out well. What do you think?

The final step was to get Wesley prepared for his presentation.

After a few practice runs, I recorded this:

Spelling and Grammar

2011-08-29T16:01:00.000-05:00

I've always known I'd have to help Wesley on his spelling and grammar... I don't mind since those tend to be my strong areas.

Lately though, he's had a really hard time!

On his Vermont project he had this:

And today he had to write the plural forms of several words.

I have to say that his plural for "fox" kinda makes perfect sense:

What It Looks Like to do Homework

2011-08-25T15:53:00.002-05:00

You're probably picturing something like this:

A young man, seated at his desk with his book and pencil at the ready...

For us, it looks more like this!

Of course, I'm not complaining too much about his fidgety, standing-up method...

He's just ahead of the curve:

Click Here to see why

Sunday School

2011-08-11T14:55:00.001-05:00

August 2010

We have VERY MUCH enjoyed our 11th grade Sunday School class and we were sad to see them move on to the 12th grade class this month.

I feel like we've had a great time, we've learned alot and we grew pretty attached to our small group...

We averaged about 4 or 5 kids each week and were able to really get to know them.

We attempted to go on a Ski Trip with some of them and then actually MADE IT on a ski trip with one... We saw one rise up and accept the call to ministry... We saw one get baptised alongside his entire family when his little brother accepted Christ... We saw another baptised when she realized she had never taken that step in her walk...

We didn't know what to expect when our new batch of students arrived this past Sunday.

We were in for a surprise!

I knew we were getting a few really great kids because I knew some of our 10th graders and I was excited to see them coming...

What I didn't know was that we'd have SO MANY!

August 2011

Please pray for us this year as we try to reach and teach a larger group of kids. Pray we'll have the discernment to teach them the lessons they each need this year (even when we're not IN class).

Thanks for any and all prayers :)

Clever or Captured?

2011-08-11T14:06:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the rain, we've had roses once again this Summer :)

And the Black Spots are still on many of the leaves :( I keep clipping the bad leaves off, but they keep coming back. I am hoping it will clear up when I prune the bushes in the fall.

But this week, I spotted something new on one of the bushes...

Do you see it?

At first, I thought it was some sort of white fungal growth on that one leaf...

No...

It's a spider!

And all I could think is "Did he mean to be in there?"

WEEDS!

2011-08-01T10:38:00.000-05:00

It has been one hot summer and I haven't pulled weeds in ages....

I know that weeds will spread if not kep in check, but I've NEVER seen them like this!!!

Anyone know a good weed poison?

And if we can't kill them off, I guess it won't be all that bad.

They are kinda pretty :)

Chicken Tenders, take 2

2011-08-01T09:57:00.000-05:00

As promised, I tried the chicken fingers again and they were much tastier!

This time I marinated them in Italian Dressing... they ended up soaking all week because we weren't able to cook them on Monday... or Tuesday.... ok we didn't cook them til Saturday, but shhh I think it helped :) and I used garlic salt instead of plain salt so that helped, too :)

I also made the potato wedges again...

much to Wesley's delight:

While we were baking this weekend, Brad finally made some more bread! It has been forever since we've had any rolls... and he got kinda fancy with it :) They're still just as delicious as ever :)

Fun with Food

2011-07-25T13:08:00.001-05:00

I have been experimenting with new recipes over the summer. I know when school starts again I won't have time to go through all this trial and error so I am hoping to find a few keepers that I can add to our dinner time rotation. If you have any ideas, be sure to send me the recipe :)

In keeping with our current Chocolate and Peanut Butter theme, I made devil's food cupcakes and topped them with Peanut Butter Frosting.

I needed a big batch of bite-sized food for a church social and these were a big hit. I somehow managed to have leftovers to bring home, but they didn't last long!

This next one isn't really "new" but I thought it was sweet.

We were having a really full weekend recently and Brad said he'd make dinner. We didn't have a ton of options on hand so he whipped up one of my personal favorites: Chocolate Chip Pancakes! Yum!

And since we had Bisquick on hand, I thought I'd see what recipes the box had to offer. Sure enough, there was a recipe for Chicken Fingers :) Since I don't fry and don't intend to learn, this was right up my alley. I will say this first attempt was pretty bland, though, so when I try again I'll spruce it up. Right now I am marinating some chicken in Italian Dressing so I'll let you know if THAT turns out better :) Oh, and on the side we had Ranch Potato Wedges :) Easy Peezy and kinda pretty, too!

Now, for my last New-Thing-To-Attempt, I tackled Chicken Pot Pie. I've never made one myself so I consulted a few people with more experience :)

I should preface this experience by saying that all-told it took me about 3 hours!

First, I made a Martha Stewart pie crust because I'm a glutton for punishment...

I also made a Bechamel Sauce Base to cook my veggies in (and to add my cooked chicken to).

I've tried to make this sauce many times before...and my results usually look more like gravy, but this time I had tremendous success!! I was so proud of the sauce that I almost forgot it wasn't destined to be Alfredo this time :)

And when Brad saw it, he immediately declared, "We need to make pasta again!! That was so good!"

So, a fun side note about the vegetables. I put "frozen stew / soup veggies" on the grocery list thinking Brad would grab the mixed bag of potato chunks with carrots, etc from the freezer section. He couldn't find those so instead he grabbed one that is designed for soups and maybe even gumbo...

I've never had a chicken pot pie with tomatoes and ocra, but it was pretty good :)

We decided next time we'd just do crust on top because having it on the bottom ended up being too much... But if we do the same crust recipe we'll have half for the pot pie and half for a dessert pie :)

As for this first attempt at a pot pie, I'd say the end results turned out beautifully!

Reese's Pie!

2011-06-20T16:01:00.001-05:00

For Father's Day, Wesley picked out a delectable pie and dessert book (by Martha Stewart, no less!) So as part of that gift, I told Brad to pick any pie and I'd make it :)

He surprised me by flipping past all the fruit concoctions... and we almost settled on Coconut Cream Pie (Wesley's favorite)... then we spotted it and it was love at first sight.

Frozen Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie!

I had recently had delicious success making these peanut butter brownie cookies so I thought I could handle this :)

One look and you'll want to try it, too.

See what I mean?

Here you go, I'll save you a step:

RECIPE

First, I gathered my ingredients and made a Wal-Mart run.

Then, I donned the very flattering chef hat made by my adoring husband and set to work.

I knew I'd have no trouble with the chocolate crumb crust... We didn't have the exact type of cookies it called for, but I improvised with these. The substitution made beautiful crumbs in my food processor.

After baking and cooling the crust it was time to mix up the yummy filling.

The trouble started when I realized it really does matter if the cream cheese is at room temperature. It never would get what I'd call "fluffy".

After I got the cream cheese to an acceptable consistency, it was time to add the peanut butter. I called Brad in to help with that step so we could test out his other Father's Day gift (see photo). It worked like a charm and was easy to clean up, too!

My next problem occurred with the recipe being written by Martha Stewart :) The first part of the filling has to be mixed by a mixer... the second part also requires a mixer and a chilled bowl... Ug! I had to clean up the sticky peanut butter goo with hot water and then chill the bowl in order to whip my cream.

Somehow, I bypassed the "soft peaks" phase and went straight on to cool whip. If I knew that would happen I would have just bought a tub and skipped that step!

Just look at it!

After I made cool whip, I was supposed to whisk it in batches into the peanut butter mixture.... Well since my cream cheese wasn't warm, that mixture wasn't light and fluffy. It was like whisking into regular ole peanut butter! Not easy!

Not surprisingly, the end results looked nothing like it did in the book - but it sure did taste great!

And despite having to wash my mixing bowl in the middle of the process, I still wound up with a ton of dirty dishes after I was done.

I was going to write this whole process off and never make the pie again ...

Then, as I looked for images to use in the blog, I spotted these.

Hmmm...

Ah ~ Romance :)

2011-06-08T13:14:00.001-05:00

Wesley has been out of town visiting his grandparents so it seemed like the perfect time for a date with my hubby. And I must say we crammed a LOT into this past Saturday!

We tried on various glasses styles at the Wal-Mart vision center... And walked away empty-handed, unfortunately.

Then, to replace our rusted and broken fire pit, we picked out a beautiful new chiminea :)

Next, we headed to our little Thai restaurant. I had been eying their wonderfully ornate mirror and thought a self-portrait was a good excuse to get a picture of it :)

Sadly, the picture doesn't do it justice. In the daylight, it twinkles with tiny gems. It's really, really something to see!

After dinner, the one thing Brad has been longing to see was finally spotted along the highway.

The blueberry sign was out signifying that it was time to go get our first bucket of berries!

And even though I had tried to dress cute for our date and it was 95 degrees outside... we picked blueberries! Thank goodness I keep a hair band in the car for just such an emergency!

I have to say that's the weirdest thing I've ever done on a date, but Brad was so excited and we had a great time.

I'd love to hear from my 5 readers. What's the weirdest thing you've done on a date?

Awards Abound

2011-05-18T13:31:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again.

The end of another school year.

I have been very thankful for this year though, because in comparison to previous years, 4th grade has been a wonderful experience! Wesley is really coming into his own and making friends. He finally got to participate in the gifted program and was able to spread his wings through that avenue.

And this has been an excellent year in AWANA. Last year, you may recall, he received the Book One Award... which is the award given to kids who have completed the first book (huge surprise, right?)

This year, he received the Excellence Award... which is for children who have completed THREE Books!

He was so proud of himself! He puffed out his chest and told me his goal next year was to win the Timothy Award, which is the highest award reserved for kids who complete all of the books for the T&T program (3rd-6th grades)

I think he is on track to accomplish that goal!

Monday night, Wesley emptied out his book bag and discovered all sorts of things he had been meaning to give me (haha) Some of the forms had deadlines back in April... including the school photo order form! Another form was a permission slip for Fun Day this Friday (we barely got that turned in on time). And one other tiny little slip of paper was stuck in with the bunch. It was a paper I had never gotten from this school before.

It said, "Congratulations! Your child will be receiving an award on Wednesday at 10:30 AM." I jumped up and down and cheered! It has been a couple years since we've gone to an awards ceremony and it was just a tremendous confirmation that all the struggles with homework and assignments were worth it! Wes had no idea what the award was so we waited for the big reveal this morning.

Granny even came over for the big day :) ... and I didn't manage to get her picture :(

So, what award was it?

Wesley made the President's List! That is for the students who maintained all A's and B's for the year!!!

I couldn't be prouder! Granny and I spent a good 10 minutes taking turns hugging and bragging on him!

It must have made him stand a little prouder... and a little taller... because according to this picture he's almost up to my chin!!

I guess he's not my Little Man anymore!

Now that Wesley has finished elementary school (*sniff sniff*) I can see big things on the horizon. Wonderful times lay just around the corner!

Just like our back doors on a chilly May day... the future is wide open!

Birthday Party & Mother's Day

2011-05-09T15:46:00.000-05:00

We had a VERY busy week last week!

Tuesday, Brad went to the church to prepare for Wednesday.

I stayed home to clean for the weekend.

Wednesday was the Ice Cream Olympics (you can see in a previous post how that took over our evening!)

Thursday was May 5th. A pretty important day :)

~*~ WESLEY'S BIRTHDAY ~*~

After school, we stopped by Cup of Hope for a little treat. He didn't like the sound of any of the cupcakes (I did, but he didn't) so he opted to try a chocolate chip scone instead.

After the snack, we had to finish up a science project (only the 3rd this year...) We were making a model of a plant cell. Since it was assigned and due during his birthday week, I thought Wes would enjoy making it as a cake :)

And didn't he do an awesome job?

Then, Thursday night, we had a very special dinner! Pork filets with baked potatoes and the very last ears of corn from Wesley's crop. What a special treat! As you can see in the photo, he LOVED it!

Finally, after the project and dinner, it was time to open gifts!!
We gave him a Ripley's Believe It or Not book. ... and he couldn't believe it! :) In fact, he was so fascinated that he almost forgot about his other gifts! (almost)

The 2nd gift was a bit of a mystery.
What could it be?

Computer Parts!! Brad and Wesley had a wonderful time putting the pieces together to make Wesley's very first computer!

When Saturday arrived, it was another crazy day!

We started the day off icing a LOT of cupcakes. Then we headed to Collinsville Day for lunch :)

After that, it was...

~*~ PARTY TIME ~*~

All the usual fiesta supplies were on hand...

Sombreros for all the kids...

and some of the adults!

Even a pinata - from Mexico no less!

The newspaper stuffing was in Spanish!

I have to say the party was a complete success - everyone seemed to have a great time and the food was yummy.

After the party, we were all pretty exhausted. My parents stayed in town so I got to briefly see my mom on Mother's Day before they headed back to Birmingham.

~*~ MOTHER'S DAY ~*~

We had a good service Sunday morning and a wonderful breakfast for the ladies :) Then I headed home with my 2 favorite guys and was spoiled with relaxation, fun, and gifts.

Brad gave me 12 (!) petunias to plant in the front garden. I waited for it to cool off outside, but finally I couldn't wait any longer. I now have 11 bright pink accents and 1 purple / white plant. Can't wait for them to grow and grow :)

I logged some time playing video games with Wesley before I was presented with a beautiful purple flowery frame (custom-wrapped by Wesley himself)

I love the frame, don't get me wrong, but my favorite part was the card...

It says, "To a Mom who is terrific, fun, caring, a great cook, special, helpful and most of all.... very, very loved"

I certainly FELT very, very loved.

AWANA Ice Cream Olympics

2011-05-05T11:47:00.000-05:00

Every year, AWANA goes out in style by hosting the Ice Cream Olympics. It's basically field day with Ice Cream in every activity... Oh yeah, and the kids get to eat a Sundae with all the toppings they can stand :) After everyone is good and sticky, they get rinsed off on the Redneck Water Slide.

This year was just as much fun as last year, despite the chilly weather.

And we had a massive turn-out. Take a look at this crowd:

Here is Wesley trying to warm up after his umpteenth trip down the slide. He thought he'd warm up and eat some ice cream!

After grabbing some sundaes, Wesley found some friends to hang out with.

He looks like he's Up To Something, too!

Here is his pal from across the street, Clare :)

And, for a small taste of the fun, Check out this video of Wesley going down the slide for the first time.

Judging from his reaction at the end, I'd say he loved it!

Roses in bloom

2011-05-03T10:18:00.000-05:00

What could be more beautiful than these roses?

The "red" ones that Kim convinced to bloom in a dark shade of pink are from Valentine's Day 2010. The Peach ones are new for 2011 :)

I have to say the peach ones are positively gorgeous in person and they are more fragrant than the previous ones... and they remind me of my favorite Barbie from my younger years :) Anyone else remember Peaches n Cream Barbie? I wanted her dress SO badly when I was little... and you know what, I still kinda do :)

Easter 2011

2011-04-29T19:48:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, we got the chance to go to my parents' house for most of Easter weekend. It was wonderful because I got to spend time with everyone AND I got to shop :) (hey, I needed an Easter dress and new shoes, right?)

While there, Wes and Connor enjoyed lots of time together without a single argument!

Let's see, they dyed eggs, of course...

My parents cooked an awesome spread of shish ka bobs...

There were mushrooms...
and shrimp...
and onions...
and chicken...
and venison...
and corn...
and.... hmmm I think that's about it...

Connor got us all hooked on Battleship

After a fun-filled and delicious Thursday -Saturday, we headed back home.

Sunday arrived and Wesley followed the Easter Bunny's clues to find his basket.

I must say, the Life card game has been a huge hit. I think we played every night this week :)

After the basket was thoroughly scoped out, it was time to get ready for church. Sadly, the scavenger hunt ran a little long and we were too rushed to take a picture before church (aka while my hair was still cute) but the after church pictures turned out nicely.

After I got the picture *I* wanted, Wes had a few ideas of his own...

Cup of Hope

2011-04-29T18:57:00.001-05:00

There's a new hangout in Collinsville and it's serving up tasty treats for the much-needed afternoon pick-me-up!!

When they first opened I went for lunch and scored a Scrumptious Pepperoni Pizza Panini and a to-die-for Caramel Apple Cupcake! (yes it really did taste as amazing as it looks... maybe even better)

Wes has been realllly great all week - even his report card was almost all A's :)

If THAT doesn't warrant a treat, nothing does ;)

So we went back to our new favorite place and even hung out there to chat and munch :)

When we arrived, he went straight to the glass display case and gazed adoringly at all his options.

It was a tough call, but he finally settled on the Vanilla Marble Cupcake.

I opted for the Dark Chocolate Frappe.
(You can see Hope, the owner, in the background)

While we were hanging out, a large group came in and looked over the menu. I noticed them eying me and whispering... I began to wonder if I should feel self-conscious...

Finally, one leaned over to me and whispered, "What are you drinking?" and then the whole group had to have their own Frappes.

Judging by the crowds that are always there, I'd say that this new hot spot is here to stay :)

One way to sum up the idea of just how many people are going there is to say that I saw people I didn't know :) In THIS town, that's saying something!!

So the next time you come to see me, let's go grab a cup of hope :)

Take a Peak-O at our Pico

2011-04-29T18:23:00.000-05:00

It's almost time for Wesley's birthday party!! So I asked him what theme he wanted to have this year and waited to hear what time of tropical idea he'd come up with.... Boy was I surprised when he suggested a Cinco de Mayo Party!

Needless to say I had to rethink all the decorations... and the MENU!

The first thing I thought of was the amazing Pico de Gallo we had in Mexico after The Amzing Race :)

After consulting with the Food Network website... Brad and I set to work.

We peeled the skin off 6 tomatoes (6!) and then the dicing began...

1 pepper

1 onion

and 6(!) tomatoes!

A few more ingredients... and some secret herbs and spices...

and some stirring....

I have to say, for a first attempt this was pretty close to the Amazing Race Pico de Gallo.

Brad and Daddy think something is still missing though....

I think it tastes wonderful, but to figure out WHAT is missing is a challenge I am willing to accept :)

I only wish the cilantro I planted had been ready in time :(

A Rose by Any Other Name...

2011-04-29T17:22:00.001-05:00

It's finally rose season once again!
I've been looking forward to this ever since the first leaves started to appear on my bushes :)

Unfortunately, our rose bushes have developed a few problems :(

The leaves appear to have a bad case of blackspot (Well-named, huh?) and that sounds like it's gonna be a booger to get rid of :\

They also have this weed growing all over them. As weeds go, this one is kind of pretty. It has little pods and teeny tiny purple flowers -there is one almost in the center of this photo. I'm curious what this plant is and where it came from. anyone have any ideas?

Despite these two set-backs, the roses are growing beautifully. In fact, the white rose bush has a whopping 23 buds already!!!

Not to be outdone, the pink Tropicana bush has almost as many buds on it :)

It's like those two bushes are competing to be my favorite :) Even the red rose bush is trying to put out a handful of buds...

I love them all, of course, but if they want to be my favorite they'll have to step up their game because there's a new bloom in town :)

With such prolific roses I might need to add a flower arranging class or two to my Lifelong To DO List :)

Looks like I have a LOT to learn :)

AWANA Grand Prix

2011-04-19T11:38:00.000-05:00

Orange Lightning struck the Collinsville area yet again last Saturday!

Since he was racing the same car from last year, Wesley was running in the Unlimited Class instead of the general matches.

And, much like last year, he left a wide path of destruction in his wake...

I was the official photographer again this year, so I had a front row seat to all the action.

We had a new track this time and the cars were zooming so fast that a pillow had to be added to the end after a few cars went all the way off the table!!

As the matches went on, Wesley knocked other cars off the charts left and right!!

Even the car that beat him last year eventually fell by the wayside...

Soon, it was down to two cars.

Wesley's Orange Lightning and Payne's Maroon MSU Car...

It was a close race and everyone was on the edge of his seat!

Would Wesley achieve Victory this year after being edged out last year??

.....

Sadly, no.

In the final match, Payne beat Wesley by a full car-length :(

In the winner's circle, Wesley proudly received another 2nd place trophy and was just as happy for Payne as he could have been. He simply said he'd like to try again next year with Orange Lightning and maybe another car in the general races...

And THAT winning attitude made Wesley #1 with me :)

At the close of the afternoon, it was pointed out that next year LEADERS can submit a car to race among themselves....

I can see it now... zooming down the track faster than the human eye can follow ... it's ... Purple Passion!! Stay tuned Race Fans!!

Fun-Filled Weekend

2011-04-11T12:09:00.000-05:00

Wesley spent the weekend with Nana and Poppy this past weekend so Brad and I were left to our own devices. And unlike past weekends, we did not spend the whole time cleaning or resting at home.

The first order of business was an actual date! Thanks to some friends of ours, we have discovered a Thai restuarant near Collinsville. Neither one of us had had Thai food before so we tried it out a few weeks ago and have been trying hard to find a way to go back without our picky eater in tow.

I have to say, the first time I went was a little yummier and a whole lot spicier than this time.

I had chicken stir-fried with bell peppers, scallions, ginger and bamboo shoots. It was a unique blend to say the least.

You may not can tell in my photo, but my meal came served on a pig-shaped platter. Oh, and check out how they serve the rice in a flower shape:

Brad had a Red Curry and it came swimming in a fish-shaped bowl.

After dinner, we took a stroll through our brand new Tractor Supply Store. I had never been to one before so imagine my surprise and delight to discover baby chicks for sale!!

After visiting Tractor Supply. Brad had one more activity planned for Friday evening.

He was ready to teach me to drive his car..... I only killed it once, but it wasn't exactly smooth sailing either! Hahaha Brad was an excellent teacher, though, and very patient and encouraging! Too bad his seat won't scoot further forward. I could barely push the clutch all the way down! Look how far I am from the wheel!!

Saturday morning we had plans with some friends to go play Disc Golf. This was a first for 3/4 of the group and 1/4 had played once before. So we were definitely looking like a group of PROS!! Hahaha

I think we all spent an equal amount of time playing on the path and in the woods! We had a blast though and are already planning to play again - maybe with a bigger group!

Here we are before our first round:

And our friends, Joe and Jennifer.

The final scores on the first game were as follows:

Joe - 32
Me - 45
Brad - 46
Jennifer - 54

and the second round was a little closer... among the first-time players at least!

Joe - 27
Brad - 41
Me - 43
Jennifer - 46

We *might* not invite Joe next time ;)

Trying Something New

2011-03-21T15:10:00.001-05:00

I'm pretty excited :) I have started something that I have wanted to try for YEARS!

It may sound incredibly simple, but I've always wanted to grow my own herbs. I blame my mom for this (and if she reads this, I'm sure she's proud)

So, Mom Smith helped me pick out some pots... which was possibly the trickiest part! And she donated some seeds to the cause :)

I am now anxiously awaiting:

Sweet Basil, Cilantro / Coriander and two kinds of Parsley

How do you like my DIY labels?

Another Mom Smith addition is phlox. I spotted her pots of phlox and thought they were fun so she took me to see if I saw any varieties I might like....

At first, I admit, I was not sure I really needed any more flowers.... But then I discovered that these are perennials!! I like the idea that I won't have to replant these next year (sorry, pansies) So we got three batches of these sweet purple flowers:

In addition to the new flowers, I am really happy to see some returning from last year...

Let me rephrase that... I was "happy" to see the tulips again this spring because they were so beautiful last year.

But I can admit that bulbs are fairly reliable. My growing number of daffodils doesn't impress me...

What does impress me (and Wes) is that my ranunculus are back!! In fact, the one plant that bloomed last year is back and LARGER :) If you'll recall... It looked like THIS last year.

What's really cool is that I think I have figured out what conditions are needed to grow these flowers. I had one successful plant last year. Figuring out why that one worked, I planted 6 more in the fall.... So the 2 year old plant has about 6 or 7 buds / blooms... and the 1st year plants are all humming along with 1 or 2 buds (like the one last year)

SO - Just IMAGINE how beautiful all of the plants will be NEXT spring! I can't wait!!

And, there is one last new thing I've discovered.

Thanks to Wesley I have happily added a few orange accents in the flower bed... Such as the ranunculus.. and "his" pansies and snapdragons...

And you know what I've discovered?

Orange looks surprisingly good with purple :)

Wouldn't you agree?

Spring is Here!

2011-03-14T14:17:00.001-05:00

I am so thankful that Spring is making its annual debut! I have had enough Winter and cold / dreary weather!

And, with Spring comes a variety of flowers.

Our beautiful trees in the front yard are in full bloom making me and the birds very happy :)

All the pansies I planted in the cold months are blooming wonderfully with the sunshine beaming down on them!

The yellow and orange ones are Wesley's so we periodically go check on them so he can see that "his" pansies are doing well. I can't wait for him to get back from seeing his grandparents so he can see "his" snapdragons are putting on new buds!!

I have several tulips blooming, as well... And I won't even blame Kim. This time, I purposefully planted several pink varieties! Wouldn't you know they all came in first?

Seeing all the flowers smiling in the front yard looks much more impressive in person (you're welcome to come see for yourselves!)

And, just for fun, I would like to bring back everyone's favorite game:

Name that Plant!

I have noticed some of my tulips are on little short stalks the first year they bloom and then the 2nd year they are normal height....

But now I have these new flowers that aren't showing any stalks under the beautiful little flowers...

Any ideas what these might be:

Snow, Taco Soup, and a Sinking Feeling

2011-02-15T14:08:00.002-06:00

We've had some interesting weather here lately and more than our fair share of snow days (with and without snow)... Maybe we should call them Ice Days.

The most recent snow day was right before Valentine's Day, just like Last Year

It wasn't nearly as thick or as wonderful as last year's snow, but it was still beautiful.

Wesley tried to play in it, but declared it was "too shallow to even make a snowball" and came back in for hot cocoa instead.

Last Friday, I realized there was really only one way to warm up in such cold weather...

A big ole pot of soup ought to do the trick!

And what better soup is there than Paula Deen's Taco Soup?

It's what I'd call a Can Can Recipe. It calls for a can of this and a can of that... but, surprisingly, not one single stick of butter! The Dr. Pepper in the photo is an optional side, but not required for the recipe ;)

I browned the beef, dumped in all the cans, added my homemade taco seasoning and simmered away...

Ok, so it's not very pretty to look at, but the kitchen smelled divine by the time Brad came home!

When it finally came time to EAT the soup it was as delicious as I had hoped...

But what would my toughest critic think?

Oh well.

At least Brad and I were happy.

After dinner it was time to clean up. Then came something that made us all UNhappy.

I had drained the meat after I browned it just like I had done hundreds of times before...

Only THIS time, the drain got clogged. No big deal, right? Sweet Brad came to the rescue... But it wasn't a quick fix. He had to work under the sink which meant moving all our cleaning supplies out of the way. When the cabinet was cleared out, he discovered a leak had been going on for quite some time and part of the wood was actually rotting!

After a little trial and error the leak was traced back to our sprayer nozzle. So, Saturday afternoon we headed to Lowe's in search of a replacement. I thought we'd go, pick out a pretty new faucet set and be done with the problem.

Boy, was I mistaken!

First of all, the sink we had at home had 4 holes, but all the sets we liked needed fewer holes... SO we checked out a new sink. Despite the new styles of faucets, it seemed like the sink selections still came with 4 holes... So we went back and forth looking at faucets and sinks. Frustratingly enough, those two items AREN'T on the same aisle. Finally, we found a lovely Delta faucet that we both loved ... We went to pick out a sink only to find that none of the stainless options came with the right amount of holes... oh, and our faucet was out of stock. ug! So, starting the process over... We looked for a new faucet... and a new sink... and then back at the faucets.... 45 minutes must have passed when (finally) Brad found a winning combo! It was a sink and faucet set. Perfect! We loaded up in the car and headed home! (Wesley was at a birthday party, thank goodness, or he probably would have gone nuts at Lowe's!)

Back at home, it was like Christmas :) We opened all the million and one tiny plastic baggies full of parts and hoses, etc. Brad meticulously read the instructions and pieced together shiny new pipes under the sink.

I cleared the way for work space in the kitchen. By this point, dirty dishes are piling up with no way to clean them. The dishwasher was fully loaded and ready to go on Friday only to be unhooked when the leak was discovered....

Somewhere along the way it was discovered that a new part.. or connector? was needed for the disposal.

That was another trip into "town." Actually, this ended up taking two trips and we wound up with *surprise* a new garbage disposal.

Meanwhile, Saturday and Sunday, Brad works tirelessly on the new sink and faucet and getting them ready for their new home :) I even got to help apply plumber's putty all around the edge of the sink... and maybe a little in my hair for good measure.

Late Sunday night, everything is all set. The moment of truth arrives... I turn on the water while Brad scopes everything out under the counter.

And a new leak is discovered.

This time, it's coming from inside the faucet... and there's nothing we can do about it. It's a faulty faucet.

Oh, and we needed a new hose clamp in order to run the dishwasher...

Sunday night was not a good night.

Monday, Brad called Lowe's and they let him trade out the faucet without having to take the sink in, too. (Thank goodness!)

After both of us having a full day at work, we got started on our plumbing business after dinner (and that trip to Lowe's for the new faucet) Hooking everything up from the underside wasn't working so out the sink came once again... While Brad pulled hoses and connected everything, I reapplied Plumber's Putty around the perimeter...

Then it was time to put it back into place. Time for the moment of truth, again. We turn on the water and watch for leaks. Success! Everything seems to be working this time! Sighs of relief :) Brad doesn't trust it though.. So he laid out a layer of paper towels under the counter so he'll be able to see if anything leaks. We tidied up a little and then he peaked in to check the paper towels....

And there's a leak.

Seriously.

THIS time, it's coming from around the left side drain. :(

Turns out, we needed to apply dope around those threads before that drain is screwed into place. So... this morning Brad headed to the hardware store before work to stock up.

And a new hose clamp was put on the dishwasher hose last night, but we STILL couldn't run the washer because of the drain's leak :(

Tonight, we'll be fixing that leak and then I will gleefully (hopefully) wash dishes! I have never EVER looked forward to washing dishes, but after this week... after sharing a bowl with Brad and rinsing it out for the next use... I am very much looking forward to Clean Dishes!!

After ALL THAT... I have to say the new sink will be nice. I didn't say it will be "worth it" because we were perfectly content with the old sink ... But this new one sure will be nice :)

And maybe one day, the backsplash will all be one color... Oh well, one project at a time!

D Now 2011 ~ Wow!

2011-02-15T08:57:00.002-06:00

By now you may have heard that we were a host home for D Now this year :) We had 6 eleventh grade girls plus their college-aged leader staying with us for a whole weekend and we loved every minute of it! Even Wesley enjoyed having a captive audience and when he had performed all he wanted, he disappeared across the street with his friends :)

The weekend began Friday evening...While the youth were at another church taking part in the first worship session, we brought home all their supplies and luggage...

We should have known we were in for it when all their belongings slowly took over the house...

First it was the snacks:

Then the sleeping bags and pillows and blankets and the luggage were brought in... You can already see Baylor is alarmed:

But aside from the sheer amount of STUFF it takes to house 7 girls, we didn't have a single complaint.

We let the leader girl have the guest room. We had 3 girls on Wesley's futon mattress in the office floor. Two girls took the couch and love seat / ottoman and one girl slept on the living room floor.

Friday night they were up late, but they didn't bother us one bit. In fact, Baylor was more difficult to sleep through than the Giggle Fest in the living room! He whimpered in our room all night!

Saturday morning, the breakfast fairy (aka Joann Walker from our church) arrived to make scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, grits and biscuits for the whole gang! A dozen eggs and 24 biscuits later we were stuffed and happy :) Just in time to head to the 2nd worship session.

The music portion was lead by Scott England and our girls were Instantly Mesmerized to say the least. The band was alot of fun and had some pretty powerful songs to sing.

Then, the speaker got up and posed a series of eight questions centered on whether we are giving our whole heart to God or if there are parts we are holding back. The questions included things like "Do I have bitterness in my heart?" and then he would follow up with scripture that would explain why we ought to change that part of our heart... Then he'd move on to another question and a scriptural answer. It was really thought-provoking and if we were honest, we were answering YES to far too many of the questions :\ definitely gave us things to work on!

After that it was time for lunch and a little relaxation. The girls had a follow-up Bible study with our leader and then they watched a few movies and declared their love for Scott England, Justin Beiber... and Baylor!

All in all it was a WONDERFUL weekend and I know it's only because we had a GREAT group of young ladies! I can't wait to see how they internalize the lessons they learned and then to see how their bonds grown in the coming months! I am very thankful that my family got to be a part of the process!

Back Row L-R: Jessi, Lexi, Haley, Lauren, Kaitlin, Noel
Front Row L-R: Brad, Me, our college leader Meredith and Wesley!

Back at church on Sunday, the majority of our group sang in the worship service... I'd say it was an impressive group, wouldn't you?

Pasta

2011-01-02T18:42:00.000-06:00

For Christmas, my wonderful husband gave me a Pasta Machine! I have wanted one for as long as I can remember so I was thrilled to try it out tonight!

We started early in the afternoon because we had no idea what to expect... Thank goodness we did, too, because we didn't eat until 6!

The process was really easy (especially with some Smith Teamwork...) In no time, we were drying our first batch of fettuccine :)

Since that had gone so well I even gave Bechamel Sauce another try.... That still isn't coming completely naturally to me, but I won't give up :)

The results were .... beautiful!

But what would my toughest kitchen critic think?

I think the photo speaks for itself....

Success!

Christmas Cards

2010-12-07T15:52:00.003-06:00

So I was getting my weekly dose of Macy and Steven cuteness over on Jenn's Blog and she had posted a deal Shutterfly is running this year. Apparently, they are asking bloggers to get the word out about their Christmas Cards. So I cruised over to their site to check out the options. I currently have my legal team looking at the fine print ;)

I instantly found dozens of awesome cards in just my style! I will share my top 5 ... but I'm not sharing the one we chose HA! If you want to see that, keep an eye on your mailbox :)

Ok without further ado,

I liked the colors on this one, and the fun font.... But I can't send out a card that doesn't say "Christmas" You know and I know that's why we celebrate... I just want to make sure my cards don't lose sight of that.

Plus, this card would require that we take FOUR good Christmas pictures.... We're doing well to get ONE each year! HA!

I loved the red background and swirly frame around the text... But ultimately, I didn't love this one as much as the one we chose :)

On a side note... the baby picture is fun, but who wants to see your candles on the table when there are much better things you can put there?!

I liked this one because it has an adorable dog on it... A good option if Baylor doesn't cooperate in our photo session!

I really liked this one because the polar bear looks like one of Daddy's Coca-Cola bears... and I love the happy, smiley tree :) I can picture a whole cartoon based on these characters :) Wouldn't that be fun?

This one looks perfect for a certain someone in our house...

I can't let the orange take over though! Purple MUST prevail!!

Almost the Winner:

I actually had planned to take some family photos on the cruise just so we could use a beachy Christmas Card this year...

Guess what I forgot to do on the trip??

That's right - I didn't end up with any usable pictures!!

Now that you've seen all the wonderful options that we DIDN'T choose... I bet you can't wait to see which one we will send this year! I know I'm excited :)

Until then, enjoy the Christmas Season and take time to thank God for his indescribable gift (2 Corinthians 9:15)

Best Friends

2010-12-02T14:57:00.000-06:00

In case you were wondering how we were adjusting to Baylor and how he was taking to his new home... I thought I'd share this little video. This was taken right after we came home and it shows how excited Baylor was to see Wesley!

Green Woods Field Day 2010

2010-11-08T12:55:00.000-06:00

This weekend, we headed back to the Smiths' house for a fun-filled weekend! And for the first time, Baylor was along for the trip. He was an EXCELLENT dog and didn't get into much trouble... There was one incident where he glimpsed freedom and ran after it... Luckily, Wesley was there to save the day!

Saturday morning, we had a Green Woods Field Day. Many of the Oziers and Smiths were able to attend this informative meeting / tour.

There was also time to take in the scenery and enjoy each other's company...

Terry even took Wesley on a four-wheeler ride which, I'm sure, earned him massive cool points!

The scenery was gorgeous and so peaceful and the weather was perfect!

I'd say everyone had a wonderful time! Doug, Jenn, Sam, David, Brian and Steph C were all greatly missed!

I enjoyed getting to spend some time with this side of my family and to see a glimpse of Brad's grandparents through the woods they cared for and the legacy they left behind...

Some of us had a little too much fun!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T16:27:00.001-05:00

It's that time again! Halloween time! aka Wesley's favorite holiday :)

In keeping with a Smith tradition, Brad's parents joined us for a fun-filled, jam-packed day!

The first stop was the Fall Festival at church! (You know, home of the free bulbs!!)

I only have a handful of other photos so I thought I'd do a top 5 list from the day.

(Unfortunately, I managed to NOT get any pictures of mom and dad smith!)

I love this picture because it really shows how much Wes has grown lately!! He's gaining on me!!

2010

2009

Wesley was really good at all the games - I think we were most impressed when he played putt putt because he scored a hole in one on the first try!! Naturally, I didn't have a camera ready for that shot... SO, here is a photo of another game he played.

Wesley dressed as a vampire this year. My favorite part of the whole outfit is his shoe selection...

Really completes the look, don't you think??

I really do love this picture because it is Wesley completely in his element. He was more excited about setting up the lights and fog machine than he was about trick or treating. I snapped this picture because I think it will be one of his favorite halloween memories :)

This is MY favorite halloween memory :)

After the lights were unplugged and the candy was all given out... Brad and Wes sorted through the loot together and had a great time giggling at the weird ones ("Who gives out PRETZELS on Halloween??") and splitting up the "good" from the "bad" (Wesley still doesn't like Snickers??)

It's no trick, seeing my two guys getting along and being buddies is quite a treat for this Mom :)

Just Plane Fun

2010-10-25T11:47:00.000-05:00

This weekend was gorgeous with plenty of sunshine and lovely breezes. Just perfect for a flight on Smith Airways!!

Saturday, we were picked up in Philadelphia and we winged our way to Evergreen, AL for a fly-in! ( http://www.serfi.org/ )

As if that wasn't fun enough - It was also my first time to fly with Cheryl! Clearly, she was as excited as I was!

But we weren't there just to admire the scenery and bask in the sunshine....

We were on a mission!

Now that Smith Airways is up and running, it's high time for Brad to learn to fly.

We needed to track down an economical plane that was roomy enough for him AND his legs to fit in :)

There were plenty of options to check out...

Of course, Cheryl spotted a Stearman and we all know that's the plane SHE would choose...

And even *I* found one that I liked....

All in all, it was a beautiful day and I'd say a good time was had by all.

After it was all said and done, Herb informed me that as fly-ins go, this one was small potatoes... So I guess there will be more trips to come. All I know is, with this family, the sky's the limit :)

Baylor the Legal Beagle

2010-10-19T11:32:00.033-05:00

Recently a friend posted this picture with the caption:

Is anybody missing a beagle around the Collinsville beach area? I went walking this morning &; he hitched a ride back home with me & Snoopy &; has decided he kinda likes it around here.

Then, he made his way to their neighbors' house... At which point I remarked how cute he is... To which I was told:

Stephanie, I think you need this dog!! He is really friendly and is good with kids!!

Neither of the families was willing to take the dog into their homes since they already had pets...

So if the original owners didn't turn up and no new owners claimed him, he was headed to the pound.

And, well, that's really all I needed to hear :)

Brad and I talked about it over the weekend and agreed that this beagle needed a home - OUR Home!

So Monday morning a homeless beagle was delivered to the Collinsville vet for a thorough check-up. And Monday night, the beagle came home with us.

We took our time showing him around and letting him get to know each of us.

Here, Wesley acts as a sweet tour guide (who can't stop smiling!)

After we were all acquainted, we had to figure out what to call this new dog. Many names were considered and we held a vote - Baylor came out on top and so our beagle was named :)

At first, we weren't sure what to expect so we let him roam inside while we were home and outside when we were away. That wouldn't work for long with winter coming, so we let him stay indoors one evening while we were at church... and well, he's not quite ready for that yet... While we decided what to do, we let him sleep in the small area outside our bedroom.

Then, we researched crate training and how many dogs love having their own cozy retreat. We had seen Baylor in one area over and over and thought that might be "his spot." So off to PetCo we went :)

We came home with a shiny new crate and an assortment of toys... All of which were well-received.

Brad rubbed a bacon-flavored treat on one bone and it is now the FAVORITE as you can see here:

In fact, this cloth bone is so well-loved that Baylor often takes it to the back door and whimpers just waiting for the chance to bury it where it can be safe and sound!

We are still learning all the nuances of his personality and he's learning about being a Smith, but so far, I think we're all happy with how this new addition is turning out. And we're pretty sure he likes it here!

Baylor is a very good dog :)

Mystery Plant #2

2010-09-19T15:13:00.005-05:00

This new plant / vine appeared inteh front flower bed... Two characteristics worth noting:

1 - Heart-shaped leaves

2 - Tiny, white flowers

The floor is now open to guesses :) No prizes are available at this time... Except braggin rights ;)

Magic Painting Elves

2010-09-19T15:07:00.002-05:00

After two very long painting days this weekend, our project is 99.9% completed!!

It looks gorgeous and I will post the results as soon as the art is back on the walls :)

We Could NOT have had such an awesome final product if it weren't for the help of our two magical painting elves who came for a vist :) Thank ya'll both, for all your hard work!

Strange things are happening 'Round Here!

2010-09-12T13:17:00.003-05:00

We came home from Smith Airways last night and Brad was still feeling highly motivated.

So he cracked open our tinted primer and primed our walls - the whole kitchen and living area!! And as he primed, we both started to notice how NICE it all looked. We thought the primer must be the same as the final paint color and won't that look nice :)

Until he painted over the wall with all our paint swatches We noticed a HUGE difference between the primer and our first choice color, Macadamia! The macadamia looked SO dark next to the primer... and the lighter "putty" color we had vetoed before looked alot like the primer... In fact, it was exactly like the primer...

So we realized we had a problem on our hands...

Do we stick with the color we chose or go with the putty color that we swore we wouldn't like?

So, right after church today, Brad painted a piece of scrap with the putty color and held it up next to the wall... It was too light and NOT appealing... And now he's painting Macadamia over the primer ... and they are the exact same color.

Weird.

Stay tuned to see how this plays out!

In other news, Wesley got into some strange behavior today, as well.

We heard odd noises coming from his room and we *thought* we heard him announce that he was cleaning his room... It was confirmed when he fired up the vacuum cleaner!!!

A clean room, a made bed, AND a vacuumed floor?

He is up to something!

Hangar Time

2010-09-11T19:36:00.002-05:00

The hangar is nearing completion... In fact, it was one step away...
Until TODAY!
Herb and Brad got up early this morning and began to epoxy the floor.
It was a sticky, stinky, LONG job, but they managed to finish just in time for lunch!

I managed to stay out of the way most of the day, but I did snap a few pictures :)

Here is Herb mixing up the two parts:

Brad putting his Reach to the test:

Oh... and there had to be a pretty good treat at the end of all that, right?

Passion for Purple Plants

2010-09-09T18:02:00.003-05:00

I recently inherited three new plants that are right up my alley!

I've always loved Wandering Jew and now I have some!

And... some of this stuff:

And one of these :)

The back porch looks so happy whenever I go out to visit these guys :)

The new trouble I'm having is that last year's purple mums are struggling. Could it be that they're getting too much sun? heat? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Pumpkin Updates

2010-09-09T17:26:00.004-05:00

As you can see, the pumpkin is spreading its vines and taking over the garden!

Not only that...

It's producing Pumpkins!

And what do we have here?

Painting again

2010-08-31T17:57:00.006-05:00

When we moved in we knew we would have to invest in painting supplies because our home was quite the rainbow...

Let's see, we had

white
cream
yellow
pink
baby blue
sky blue
lavender

The first thing that had to go was the pepto pink bathroom....

A little spring green made a big difference...

Next up, we're tackling the yellow living and kitchen areas :)

We are considering a few options, but we had to try them out in various lighting conditions...

And we have to see how they look with the furniture...

The swatches are slowly taking over the whole area...

And, thankfully, we have a bit of inspiration to get us through the task... Brad gave me this beautiful painting for my birthday :)

Just try to picture this over the couch... on a wall of patchwork beige :)

Pumpkins

2010-08-12T17:58:00.003-05:00

The pumpkin vines just get bigger by the day!! This past week when I helped Brad mow the lawn, I had to mow around them!!! They're trying to escape the garden and we're powerless to stop them!! Ok... not entirely powerless, but still!

Check out this picture - See where the dirt ends and the grass begins? That's the garden border!

Just look at the size of the leaves!

Oh... and I did spot this little hidden treasure on one of the vines...

ANTS!!!

2010-08-12T17:26:00.004-05:00

I turned on our soaker hose to water my rose bushes and left it running for a while... Unbeknownst to me there was an ant bed built over the hose since it was laid out a month ago... So when i went back out to turn it off look at what I found! Chaos in Ant City! Don't worry I ran straight to our room to make sure no ants were coming inside!!

A few bit my feet while I was spraying them and I saw several carrying small white flecks which I assumed were baby ants... See what you think - This is a picture after the bug spray...

Here the Ant City lies in ruins... Yes, those are ant bodies!

Back to School

2010-08-09T17:06:00.006-05:00

It's time (already) to head back to school! For parents that means a return to packing lunches and buying school clothes...

For us that means stocking up on uniforms that will be outgrown before December....

And, for Wes it means getting to know a new teacher and a room full of new classmates :)

Which means - It's time for one of my favorite assignments: the "Get to Know Me" forms :) Wesley filled these ALL out at school and brought them home. I only will include the truly fun answers :)

* captions are beneath photos in case you can't quite read the text and you can click each photo to view it much larger ;)

1. I like to make things.
2. I do not get outside alot. (um, NOT because his parents don't try to get him to play outside, mind you)
3. "usuly peaple like piza But I don't"

I especially liked the international symbol for NO Pizza and NO Trees :)

Here he listed his teacher as Mrs. Fraesher and the members of his family as "Mom, Dad, me, grany, PaPaw, nana, papa, Grandmom, and Grandad" Mrs. Frazier must think we have ONE FULL HOUSE!

What do you like to do when you're at home? "Make 3D things only using paper, sicers, and tape"

What makes you happy? "Knowing I'm still alive when I wake up from a bad dream"

What makes you sad? "Leaving my grandparents house"

If you could have three wishes what would they be?

1. I wish I had a moving head. Make it 2. (moving heads = lights that move)

2. I wish you could have 3 more wishes.

3. I wish and 3 more wishes!

What makes you afraid? "This show on the science chanle"

What do you want to do when you grow up? "I want to do light shows for people and most of the mony gose to churches and mishonarys." :)

AND possibly the biggest eye-opener on the whole page:

What do you like about school? Everything.

Seems like it is shaping up to be one wonderful year!!!

The. Best. Husband. EVER!

2010-08-01T20:17:00.003-05:00

As you may know, Brad and I have taken up walking. It has been wonderful to spend an hour together just talking and walking. I look forward to it and am truly bummed when we have to skip a few days here and there. We see this as an investment in MORE years we can spend together, and in better health.

While Wesley was visiting his grandparents, we were able to hit a few of the walking trails in the area (that's where the above photo was taken)

So, I've been very blessed with a patient husband who stays at my pace and doesn't complain.. and who pushes me to try harder when I start to slack off. In light of all this, he bought something SO simple that really touched me :)

He bought gatorade!

Like I said, it's so simple, but the sentiment meant alot because it's just another small way that he takes care of me :)

Today, we thought we'd try an early afternoon walk - even though it was in the high 90 degrees outside. It started off well, but I had a headache that only got worse so we had to cut it short. In fact, I came home and had to lay down :( I ended up resting for two hours.

When I emerged, dinner was almost ready. He made a batch of delicious red beans and rice and even spiced it up with peppers from our garden! It was awesome!!

After church, we even had dessert. Brad made the BEST strawberry chiffon pie I've ever seen or eaten!! It had the perfect fluffy, sweet, creamy filling - and the perfect oreo crust.

It dawned on me that he made this while I slept so I had to ask how he created the oreo crumbs. He said he used the food processor... I said, "Wow!! I must have been out cold because I never heard that!!" He replied, "No, I didn't want to wake you so I took it to the guest room."

Honestly, what could be sweeter than my husband?

Oh - and he made rolls tonight, too! :D

Mystery Plant ~ Revealed!

2010-08-01T08:37:00.003-05:00

Thanks to our contest winner, Jenn, we now know the mystery plant is PUMPKINS!
Since our last post, they have grown exponentially!!

Here they are on July 26th:

And here they are four days later, July 30th:

And, in keeping with the Fun with Food theme- Here Brad displays a lovely flan he made while Mom Smith was in town :)

Mystery Plant

2010-07-09T21:02:00.004-05:00

Hmm

Something strange has popped up in our garden...

A special prize is available to the first person to guess correctly! Guesses can be submitted via email, text, or even as a comment on this post :)

Here are your only two hints:

July 4th, 2010

2010-07-09T20:37:00.005-05:00

Happy 4th of July (a little late...)

We headed to Mom and Dad Smith's house for the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

There was relaxation, fun, food, family, and many wonderful moments!

I may have mentioned this before, but I have the most precious niece ever...
Turns out, her new little brother is just as adorable! I was so glad I had the chance to snuggle and play over the weekend :)

I also took tons of pictures! SO, I thought it'd be kind of fun to share my top 6. I was going to do a top 5, but I just couldn't cut any of these from the list :)

Without further ado, I bring ....

#6 - Bradley, Muffin Baker

I *love* when my husband gets in the kitchen because I know good things are on the way! This time, it was blueberry muffins featuring OUR berries from last weekend :) They were DE-VINE! :)

#5 - Brad and Jenn, Roll Makers

I know this is very similar to the previous photo's theme, but I can't help it! Not only did I enjoy Brad's return to the kitchen, I *loved* seeing him and his sister bonding and enjoying time together :) With Jenn living so far away, I don't get enough opportunities like this one.

#4 - Macy, Splash Machine!

Well, you knew the Macy pics were coming, right? Here she is laughing out loud as her mom splashed in her pool! She's a big water fan, just like Wesley :)

#3 - Wesley, Giggle Maker

Speaking of Wesley, he was a complete ACE Cousin Extraordinaire! I was so proud of him and how he spent time with both Macy and Steven. Not many 9 year olds would be interested in a small baby or even a toddler, but Wes said he liked to "get to know little kids to figure out what makes them laugh!" Now he's a pro at entertaining both of his younger cousins :)

#2 - Macy, Heart Melter

This photo was dangerously close to being in the #1 spot as you can imagine. Macy was a complete doll in her patriotic dress and grinning ear to ear! I enjoyed the excuse to follow her around making her giggle :)

#1 -

This photo needs no title and no caption...

It was Grandmother Kay's birthday party and I think she enjoyed this gift.

I did, too.