Prayer Quilts

I think I've mentioned that I'm a part of a quilting group at my church. We make prayer quilts for those in need. I love the fellowship with the ladies as well as being THRILLED to learn such an awesome craft. I completed my first quilt that went to a gentleman from our church named David who has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. I'm sure he would love your prayers! I've now started on a new quilt and don't know who the recipient will be but I'm already praying over the quilt and hoping it will bring comfort to someone special.

Family night: The un-Camp-out

We decided to try having a camp out in the back yard. We had a fire with hot dogs and smores. So yummy! We pitched the tent, blew up the air mattress and were all set to have the boys sleep outside. EXCEPT.... Joshua thought it was much too noisy to sleep outside. So in came the boys. We still had an absolute blast pretending we were on a camp out and enjoying some time as a family and with our good friends who are like family.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

We have TONS of Zucchini so what better than to make muffins! Soooo good!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

(modified from this recipe)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS
In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Combine the egg, oil, milk, lemon juice and vanilla; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in zucchini, chocolate chips and walnuts. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done. Makes 12 muffins.

Peaches!

This is our peach tree...we had no idea it produced fruit till this year. SO...I looked up how to care for the peaches and it said to take some off to help the others grow. I took well over 200 off and still probably have 200 more. The tree is desperately sagging to the ground. We are hoping to have a good yield of peaches come September. So stay tuned.

Aren't they beautiful!

O is for Owl

Another fun letter of the day from No Time for Flashcards.

Happy Homemaker Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods: Cool & drizzly morning.

One of my simple pleasures: Sitting on the swing on my back porch in the cool morning air.

On my bedside table: My chronological bible which I'm way behind on and Lysa TerKeurst's What Happens When Women Say Yes to God

On my TV: The Bacherlorette tonight.

On the menu for tonight: Steak (that's been marinating for 2 days- yum) & sweet potatoes.

On my To Do List: Storytime at the library, laundry, some crafts

New Recipe I tried last week: Nothing new last week.

In the craft basket: Valances for Joshua's room and quilt for church.

Looking forward to: Going to the pool tomorrow

Homemaking Tip for this week: I keep those stay fresh trash bags for my diaper pail and I keep them in the baby's top drawer so I can easily change the pail.

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other): This cool 32-minute messanger bag pattern isn't from last week - but it's when I found it and I can't wait to try it.

Favorite photo from last week: On my Prayer List: My church, my husband & children, and a friends challenging situation.

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
"…for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth." Psalm 26:3

Go here to see more!

Moo!

Cow Appreciation

Don't forget that Chick-fil-a's Cow Appreciation is today! Free combo if you dress like a cow. Chick-fil-a even supplies a cow costume on their website HERE!

Garden Goodness

One of my biggest pleasures this summer has been our garden. It has brought both Joshua & me so much joy to go out and see what we have grown. We put newspaper down this year and have really been on top of the weeds so the garden is in great shape and is producing like crazy! We have corn, peppers, squash, zucchini, cucumbers & tomatoes.

I've decided to double the size of our garden next year as well as plant some fall crops. I'll be planting carrots this week for fall followed by cauliflower, lettuce, and spinach at the beginning of August. I've also been trying to freeze extra crops for use later and might even can some stuff!

B is for Bumble Bee

One of my favorite things to do with Joshua is the letter of the day. I have found so many wonderful websites that give me all the information I need to create a fun letter. No Time for Flash Cards is one of my favorite sites as she provides great letters of the days, book ideas, and even some great songs! The B for Bumble Bee is from her site. Joshua LOVES doing these and these are such a great learning tool.

Kids Bowl Free

Check out Kids Bowl Free at AMF bowling alleys around the country. Each kid gets 2 free games a day all summer long! All you have to do is sign up.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Whole Wheat Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole-wheat flour
2 tbsp flaxseed
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup applesauce
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grind oats in a blender or food processor. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in flour, baking soda and salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add applesauce, granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg and vanilla; beat until smooth and creamy. With the mixer running, add the dry ingredients, beating on low speed until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop the dough by heaping teaspoonfuls, at least 1 inch apart, onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies, until firm around the edges and golden on top, about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies for 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

J's first fireworks!

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

A great new recipe I recently tried from Allrecipes.com

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
2 pounds tilapia fillets

DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celery salt. Mix well and set aside.
Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

Summer Activities

Amy at Momadvice.com had a great post about coming up with a list of fun summer activities which I kind of already had but I thought it was a good way to have an active go-to list of fun stuff to do. So here's my list:

1. Try bowling
2. Campfire night w/ smores
3. Go to a local baseball game
4. FREE movies - at several of the theatres in town
5. Go to several Sunday Evenings in the park - another wonderful local treasure
6. Sprinkler parties
7. Plenty of pool days
8. Attend & volunteer at VBS
9. Dinosaur camp
10. Have a picnic
11. Go to Grammy & Papa's
12. Make homemade ice cream
13. Play in a warm summer rain
14. Go to the zoo
15. Park, park and more park!

March of Dimes/Babies

I was proud to walk this morning in the March of Dimes/Babies. It was a lot of fun and very special!

Happy Homemaker Monday

On my bedside table:

2 bibles - My chronological then my life application to explain my chronological one

On my TV:

Wonder pets

On the menu for tonight:

Chicken Parmesan

On my To Do list:

Clean toilets

Laundry

Find activities to keep Joshua occupied.

New recipe I tried last week:

Nothing

In the craft basket:

My prayer quilt for church...I have to finish it before monday!

Homemaking Tip for this week:

Put extra garbage bags at the bottom of your garbage can for ease of use.

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):

All the fun easter crafts at The Crafty Crow

Favorite photo of the week:

Lesson learned the past few days:

Flying a kite in grass that needs to be cut is more fun then cutting the grass.

On my Prayer List:

my church, the economy, a potential opportunity for my husband

Devotional, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Tim 1:7

Hosted by Sandra @ Diary of a SAHM - stop by and check her out!

He is Risen!

Happy Easter!

Last weekend our church had an easter egg hunt...but alas, I got us there too late and the eggs were all gone. Luckily some kids shared their eggs...but it made me sad that Joshua didn't get to hunt. (I won't tell you about the emotional melt down I had about it.) They did have a kids band and cook-out which we enjoyed and some other kids were very nice to share their eggs w/ Joshua.

Today we went to a different church so Joshua would get the opportunity to hunt eggs...and to relieve some of my guilt. We had lots of fun! There were TONS of eggs and very few kids so the kids actually got tired of hunting eggs and left a lot there. Then they had the easter bunny there. So I said to Joshua, "look the easter bunny"...in which he replied,"That's not the easter bunny that's a guy in a bunny costume."

Then this evening we dyed easter eggs. Joshua had an absolute BLAST!! The tips of his fingers are probably permantely colored but it was lots of fun! Now I wonder what the easter bunny will bring...

And in case I haven't told you this story...I was trying to explain easter to Joshua in which he replied, "I want Chechee (our old deceased dog) to rise next time."

I am humbled by the incredible sacrifice that was made for our sins and rejoicing in the resurrection! It's really special to try to explain this amazing story to a child because it really brings to light just how uttering amazing Jesus is! I hope you have a blessed Easter!

Dueling Pianos

Happy Birthday Joshua!

This day 3 years ago, I woke up like it was any other morning and went about my day. Around 2pm I was in the Chick-fil-a drive-through when our adoption agency called to tell me that our baby boy was born that morning and we needed to get on a plane immediately to fly to California to pick him up. At 11pm that night we held our sweet boy for the first time! We are so thankful to his birthfamily for all the joy he has brought us over the last 3 years. Happy Birthday Joshua!!

2nd Annual Easter Egg Playdate

Last year I started a tradition of getting some of our friends together for an Easter egg hunt playdate...so this year we did it again but another friend hosted. It was lots of fun and the weather was perfect. The funniest thing was watching our boys wrestle for a good 30-45 minutes. It amazes me how inate the wrestling characteristic is in boys. We also made the milk carton easter baskets!

Milk Carton Easter Basket

Here is a cute little easter basket I made out of a milk carton. The ears are made with card stock paper and hot glued onto the container. You can unwind a cotton ball for the ears and glue one on the back for a tale.

Caleb Laughing Video

Snow Day

We got about 6 inches of snow last night and had a blast playing in it today. I was especially thrilled that John got to stay home today to enjoy the snow with us.

We made snow angels.

We went sledding.

We learned about the letter 'S' and played with snow. We also did snow experiments like melting snow in hot water.

We warmed up in the bath.
Then we went back outside and made a snowman

Prayer Quilt

Here is a picture of the prayer quilt I have been making. I'm absolutely LOVING quilting and freezer paper applique particularly. I especially love the fellowship I've been enjoying while making the quilt since I joined a quilting group at our church. We meet twice a month and give our quilts to someone in our church in need...after finishing our quilts we include a prayer block on the back and pray over the quilt. It feels very much like I imagine Mitford would! I hope to have this done in the next month. I'm also working on a dinosaur quilt for Joshua that I hope to give him for his birthday.

Farm Chicks Giveaway

The Farm Chicks are hosting a giveaway...go check it out!

Pictures

Smiley!

Me trying to get the boys to take one decent picture with all of us.

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling!

Jumping, Jumping, Jumping!

Free Quizno Sub

Go to the following website and print out a free Quizno sub coupon! Hurry they are only giving out a million!
http://www.millionsubs.com/

The Park