A boy and his grasshopper

I call Lukie my bug-boy. This little boy finds an insect of some sort everytime we go somewhere. It's just amazing. We find slugs, rollypollys, flies, butterflies, worms (inch worms are the coolest), and today was a green cricket who decided to cooperate.

So we were out on a walk when he found this little guy. I insisted that he ride his 3 wheeler home, and forget about the grasshopper. Lukie put it on his arm and it crawled right up to his shoulder. That little insect stayed there for a while, and rode all the way home on his head. Luke just loved that!
So here he is the boy and his grasshopper. Going home for our walk on this beautiful sunny day. Oh what it's like to be four again!

Seeing Old Friends

This past weekend, we were invited to hang
out with a number of friends that we knew in college.
It was great to see how our families have grown
and changed. Where does the time go?
We just laughed at the number of kids running
all over the place. Could it really be eight years since
college already??? It was a beautiful sunny day. The kids
had an inflatable water slide that they played on, and jumped on,
scared us on. I'm thinking...is that thing gonna tip over?
My kids were being so crazy in the water. I'm glad they had fun.

Projects at home

Bill took on a project of his own last week.
Doesn't this shelf look nice?
Now he has his own stash of snacks and such.
I think it looks great!

I've been making wool covers again for Dub. Yes...he is
trying to crawl right off that bed. I think his mission
was to give me a heart attack... :)
So there you have it...a warm longie for a cold winter. This
will be nice at night in a few months.

Looking back at this Week...

So this year, Bill signed me up to play Volleyball with his work team.
Our season was fun and I had such a great time getting back into
Volleyball. It was great exercise! I'm gonna miss it!
Tuesday was our last day of games. We had a tournament and cookout.
To my team (The Land Sharks): I had a great time, and can't wait
to play again next season!


See these black-eyed Susans around this tree???
I am very please to have finally figured out where to put
these monsters. As you can tell, my flower boxes really aren't
a great place for tall flowers, so they overwhelmed the rest of the
garden. Now the ones against the house (not shown) look great.
They can go crazy there! My friend, Kira, was so kind to come and watch the children while I moved flowers around. Yes...I know...I'm not suppose to transplant blooming flowers, but hey! time is limited! Gotta take the chance when it's here! :) So anyway, Thank you Kira!!!

Isn't Maggie so cute with her little pink purse? (Thank you Shana!)
The big leafy plant in the top right picture is called
Ligularia. I call it a Tim Burton flower. I'll have to post
a closer shot of the flowers. I think they are weird, but
I like the leaves on the plant.
So after playing out in the garden,
we put our babies on our backs to get to work in the kitchen.
I had put J-Dub in the carrier, and just a few minutes passed
to only find Maggie doing the same. She melts my heart.

My friend, Margaret (who just had a sweet little baby)

gave me a recipe for homemade tortillas.

Now let me warn you...if you make these tortillas, you might never go back

to the store bought ones... Maggie was gung-ho to help,

but after a while at the stove, I found her like this.

I was excited to see her wanting to wear her new apron...hee hee

Here's David & J-Dub goofin' around one night. Lukie didn't

make it into any of the pictures this time...He's being a little

camera shy...

Last night, I took a stab at making homemade yogurt. We go

through it sooooo fast, and I feel like I'm rationing it through

the week. It's suppose to be a very good food, so I'm very excited to

say that it turned out! The whole incubation period intimidated

me, but it really wasn't a big deal. Luke and Maggie loved it,

but David prefers a flavor in it. I'm sure we can work something out!

Cooking with the kids

Well, today I ran across a great recipe for Funnel cake on a blog that I read frequently. I thought it might be fun to make with the kids. They were so cute in the kitchen. We dressed up in our aprons, and got to work together. I didn't think to take pictures, but just as well, I'm sure you can imagine what they looked like. David had his black apron on and Luke had a green one. Maggie and I have our matching blue flowery ones wrapped around our waist, and before long, I was covered in flour, and Maggie had powdered sugar on her cheeks...YES...she tried to eat it by the handful. David stayed clean as a whistle, and Luke help taste test the food as it was ready. By the way, he's a great powdered sugar duster! We had fun. It was tastey...I look forward to doing it again sometime. Maybe next time we will make Aunty Anne's pretzels....

Flowers

I took pictures of our flowers today. They look so pretty!

I'm still learning how to place the flowers where they look nice next

to each other. This year, my flower beds are pretty random with flowers,

but hopefully over time, we will get it figured out.

In the meantime, I took the closeup pictures of different blooms.

The kids go out and help pick out different flowers for vases in

the house. I enjoy seeing what they pick.

So from left to right and top to bottom, here are the names

of each flower:

Gloriosa Daisy, Gazania, Zinnia, Gazania

Double bloom impatient, Gloriosa daisy, Gloriosa daisy, Shasta Daisy

Cosmo, Pink Geranium, Marigold, Trumpet Gaillardia

Sunset Gaillardia, Icicle Pansy, Zinnia, Painted Daisy

The Gloriosa were grown from seed, and were a variety mix. I believe

they are part of the Aster family and are Perennials.

The Gaillardia varieties are my all time favorite flowers. The Gazania flowers are pretty,

but the blooms close up when not in full sun.

I have been very happy with how well they are reseeding themselves to fill out.

I had wondered since they are an annual.

The painted daisies are teeny tiny

little things that close up when not in full sun.

Reminders while waiting for baby to come...

Ok, I'm totally not pregnant right now, but ran across this list that a Mother wrote. I found it to be encouraging words! I personally struggle through pregnancies with feelings of being overwhelmed and I hope these words will be encouraging to other pregnant women:

Things to do while you wait for baby to come.......
Pray without ceasing!
Hug and love on your children.
Stay busy!
Don't sit and dwell on things.
Do a project.
Get on a good schedule.
Take a nap everyday.
Don't think about what is not working unless you have a solution.
Smile and laugh.
Keep it simple.
Use the crock pot.
Go ahead and throw stuff out.
Sit and count your blessings.
Memorize a few verses.
Do something fun.
Remember you do better if you get out.
Relax, relax, relax.
Call a friend.
Eat what you want. Just less.
Don't worry.
Focus on this minute and this hour only.
Go to bed early.
Remember God is in charge and he is my refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms.
He always was, always is and always will be!
God has forgotten nothing, nor does he slumber or sleep.
He has never been out of control for one moment.
He holds all things together.
Lean on Him.
You don't have to do it all today.
Make a to do list but it is okay if it all doesn't get done.
Make a light schedule and stick to it.

The Beach

I ran across this photo from this past 4th of July.
It was a beautiful night out at the beach!
I hope that our family will get back out
to the beach at least once this summer.
Last year, I was pregnant with Dub, and showing
while we were there. I remember Bill convincing
me to go out into the big waves with him.
We had such a good time!
Isn't God's Creation just beautiful?

Boxer

Today we went out to the pet store and bought a little hamster

that my boys named boxer. Now you would think that

Boxer is named after their daddy's favorite sport, but actually,

this little guy managed to chew through his little box

before we could get home from the store.

David exclaimed, I know what to call him!

His name will be boxer!!! David and Lukie then giggled in

sheer delight that they had the coolest hamster

in the universe. I personally like his color and the fact that he is fuzzy!

Welcome to our crazy house, little Boxer. I'm sure you

will be held, squeezed and giggled at on a regular basis!

Chicken n' Biscuits

Being from this south, I feel the need to make

something a little southern on occasion.

This recipe was given to me by a friend, and

it's sooooo yummy!

Chicken & Gravy

In a saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter

Blend in 1/3 cup flour & 1/2 tsp Salt.

Add 1 cup of chicken broth and 1 cup milk.

Cook, stirring occasionally until sauce is thick and bubbly.

Add 2 cups of diced cooked chicken.

Serve over biscuits.

Biscuits

3 1/2 Cups self rising flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

4 Tblsp Shortening

2/3 cup heavy or whipping cream

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup bleached all-purpose flour for shaping

2 Tblsp butter, melted

Spray pan w/ non-stick cooking spray.

Combine self rising flour, salt & sugar.

Work shortening into mixture with fingers,

and stir in buttermilk & cream.

Let stand a couple of minutes.

Pour all purpose flour into plate or pie tin.

Flatten dough and cut into round biscuits in pan.

Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes.

Opt: brush with butter.

Today, Maggie took the stool over to the sink and played in the water for a while, and when I came over to check on her, she had "done the dishes!" Notice the are in the drying rack! She was so happy with herself that she wanted to even pose for a picture with her "clean" dishes. I just melted over this. Such a great helper!

Little Sewing Projects...

Sew here it is!!!! (Drum roll, please....)

I finally got around to making this apron for the kitchen.

I am always wiping flour on my pants, so now it will actually go on the apron!

I made a matching one for Maggie, but she's not quite into it yet.

I'm sure that will come later!

I also made a simple cover for my sewing machine.

It has a leather case that it fits into, but isn't practical for

using all the time. This cover is my second attempt since I have

not idea what I'm doing without using a pattern for

something like this. Notice the fabric matches my knitting needle case

found here.

Cheesy Potato Soup

If you like Potato Soup, you are going to enjoy this recipe!

Cheesy Potato Soup
4-5 potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
1 can cream of cheddar
1 can cream of chicken
1/2 cup Milk
1/2 cup Sour Cream
2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
4 slices of cooked bacon, chopped
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 Tblsp ground black pepper
1 Tblsp Salt
1/4 cup green onion

Place potatoes in crockpot. In a seperate bowl, mix cream of cheddar, cream of chicken, red pepper flakes, salt & ground black pepper. Pour mixture over potatoes, covering them well.
Cook on Low 8 hours.
For last 10 minutes of cooking, add Milk, Sour cream, cheddar cheese, and bacon. Cook on High for 10 minutes. Serve with fresh cut green onions sprinkled on top.

Enjoy!!!

A Sewing Kick...

I've been on a sewing kick for the last few weeks. It's been raining so much here, and welll, I just don't get to play in the flower beds as much. I just made a fun little Apron for little miss, and will be working on a matching one for me. I can't wait to share! I've got a list of little projects that involve sewing, so we will see what's to come!
This weekend, we've had a great time together as a family. I'm really enjoying the kids grow and change. They are each just so beautiful.