Can it Be??

Can it be eleven years since I went to the hospital at 6 in the morning to deliver my first baby??

Could it have possibly been that long??

Eleven years???

Really??

Jake is such a blessing to me.
He is honest,
full of integrity,
loyal to his friends/family,
dedicated to his schoolwork and his sports,
friendly to the friendless,
compassionate to those who are less fortunate,
sympathetic with the broken hearted,
and, most importantly, deeply in love with his Savior.

I am truly so proud to be his mother and I do not take any credit for how amazing he is.

God has a purpose for this young man and I am so privileged to be a part of his life.Happy Eleventh Birthday to my sweet, sweet Jake.

"For you created my inmost being: you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

Ps. 139:13-14

Williams Sonoma Pumpkin Dessert Squares

I was totally sad the other day when I went to buy pecan pumpkin butter at Williams Sonoma.  It was closed . . . like as in closed forever.
:(

I have a pumpkin bar recipe (maybe you've tried it??) and it calls for WS pecan pumpkin butter. 

I was going to buck up and just buy "any old" pumpkin butter, but I couldn't find any anywhere else. I was on the phone calling grocery stores.

Nope, no pumpkin butter.

(I should have bought some at the orchard when I saw some.)

This is the best recipe for Fall (besides pumpkin pie, of course)and they will disappear very quickly . . . I guarantee it.



Williams Sonoma Pumpkin Dessert Squares

source

1 package yellow cake mix
½ cup butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 jar Muirhead pumpkin butter (This is the Williams Sonoma brand, but I think any will do. The jar was 13.5 oz.)
½ cup milk
1 tablespoon flour
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon cinnamon.


Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Measure one cup of cake mix. Set aside. Stir remaining cake mix with the butter and one egg. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch pan. Mix the jar of pumpkin butter with the remaining two eggs and milk. Pour mixture over layer in the pan. Stir the reserved cake mix with the flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon. Mix until crumbly. Sprinkle over the top of the pumpkin layer. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into two-inch squares. Serves 24.


Enjoy!!! (I hope you can find some good pumpkin butter!)
 
p.s.  We do have two more WS stores in the area, but they are about a half an hour away . . trying to decide if it is worth the drive.
:)

Baby, Baby

I came across these pictures of a baby shower that I threw for my sister a few years ago and I wanted to share these ideas with you.  It was so much fun doing this!! 
We knew she was having a boy (our cutie little Caleb) so I knew what colors to use.  Diane is a very classy lady, so I decided to try to make the shower as "classy" as I could.

Here is the dessert table.  I put white Christmas lights under light blue tulle, then added height with various sized boxes wrapped in coordinating paper.

A little blurry, but here is the dessert table with all of the desserts on it. 

I decided to use the favors as a decoration.  I bought 30 identical vases at my favorite little shop and put light blue and white flowers in them.  (I had to order the flowers ahead of time since I wanted them to be blue)
Can you see the mantle in the background??

I had fun decorating the mantle.  I used the same theme as the dessert table.

The food table also had the same theme.  We ordered a ton of food from one of my sister's favorite restaurants and filled all the platters with it.  I labeled each platter so everyone could know what everything was.  (lots of different pastas)

(I don't have any pics of the yummy food since I was so busy during the party.)

I absolutely loved planning this shower!



Shine

One of my favorite blogs, Joy's Hope, posted this video today and I wanted to share it with you.
The kids and I enjoyed watching it several times.
I love the music and the message, and of course, the Lite Brites.
:)
Enjoy.
p.s. click on the lower right button to see it full screen . . . oh, and you may need some tissues nearby (sniff, sniff)

Sweet Caroline

Sweet Caroline eats her peas with honey,

loves unique things like "Siamese twin cherries",

takes every opportunity she can to ride her bike,

adores her friends,

looks up to her big brother,

loves nature,

and has discovered accessories.

She makes my days a little brighter, my smile a little wider, and my life a little richer.  I am so blessed to have her in my life.

Ruth 3:10 (The Message)

 "God bless you, my dear daughter!"

Not So Happy Meal

Like most moms in the United States of America, I occasionally fall into a trap where I need to feed my kids a Happy Meal. 
It's fast, it's relatively cheap, it's convenient, and it's . . . happy. 

:)

What kid doesn't like getting a cheeseburger, fries, and a cute little toy??

Well . . . after viewing this video, I have decided that packing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches will be the better way to go. 

http://gizmodo.com/5662271/watch-six-months-of-a-happy-meals-eternal-life?ref=nf

Check it out . . . 
I'm not really liking the idea of eating something that doesn't ever decompose.

What I've Been Up To

I haven't posted lately.

I try not to blog when it seems like a chore or when it interferes with "life".
I want it to be something that I love to do, not something I have to do. :)

Here's a quick summary of what I have been up to since I last posted. . .

PAINTING
John and I have been painting up a storm.  Two bedrooms and a bathroom . . . don't you just love picking out paint colors??  Whoever has the job of naming all of those colors is the luckiest person ever.  (I'll post pics of the rooms . . . soon)
Let me just say that Restoration Hardware's Silver Sage is my new favorite color.

HOMEWORK

BASEBALL
Jake's team has made it to the championship.  They will play on Saturday to see who the champs are. 
Hopefully the White Sox!!

HOMEWORK

PIANO LESSONS
The kids are loving learning how to play fun songs.  I was delighted to hear them practicing a duet together tonight. Music to my ears (and heart).
:)

FAMILY
Last weekend, the cousins got together. 
What fun!!

We celebrated my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary.  Isn't the cake pretty?? It looks like a Christmas gift since their anniversary is really in December. My cousin, Julie, is responsible for this cake . . . I love it.

HOMEWORK

Seriously, I don't remember doing this much homework when I was in the fifth grade. 
It's all good, though. (just time consuming)
:)

BIBLE STUDY

John and I are in a small group and we are studying the book Radical, by David Platt.

Very convicting.

Life is busy . . .  

:)

Priorities

I have been feeling a little "down" lately because I just can't seem to keep "up" with everything. 

I think that I need to re-think my priorities and try to leave out some of the "not-so-necessary" things and focus on the really, truly important things.

And eat some of these.
:)

Our days on this earth are so very short and I want to live them being happy. . . not rushed, frustrated, and stressed. 

Today, Jake had a 3-on-3 basketball tournament.  I was going to send him off with John and the kids so I could get some of my "work" (painting Luke's room) done.  Just as they were leaving, I grabbed my purse and hopped in the car to go with them. 
Jake was so pleased. 
I'm glad I went . . . painting Luke's room was definitely not as important as watching Jake play basketball with his buddies.

I am going to try to get the things that I "must" get done, done. (like the bills)  But I am going to be very flexible with a lot of the "other" things. (like painting every room in the house three times before I like the color) 

I am going to read my Bible more, ride my bike with my kids more, talk with my husband more, take long walks in the woods more, and really bend down to look at my kids in the eyes and have a heart to heart conversation with them more. 

I am going to keep my house neat and organized (ummm . . . for the most part), but I am not going to worry so much about having it exactly the way I want it to.

Psalm 90:12 says, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." 

I really like this verse because I really do think that when we realize how short of a time we have here in this world, we become wiser with how we spend that time.

Lord, help me to be wise with the minutes and the days you have given me. 

p.s. . .  John painted Luke's room tonight anyway :) So now I am really glad I went to Jake's tournament. 
:)

Typical Saturday

John's mom is here to visit.

I had been trying to think of things we could do while she is here, (downtown Chicago, the Arboretum, etc.)but we decided to just "be" while she is here.  You know, just live out a typical Saturday with her.

Our "typical" Saturday starts with some sort of sporting event, usually baseball.

Jake did a great job pitching and hitting today!  He was pleased that Grandma was there to witness it. :)

(Words cannot express how beautiful this day was. . . so I won't even try. 
Look at this tree.
Gorgeousness.)

Another typical thing we do on Saturdays is try to actually get something accomplished since it is our only day when we are all home. 
Today, John wanted to finally say "good-bye" to the rest of the run-down playhouse that he has been tearing down bit by bit ever since we moved here.

While we were waiting for the fire to go out, the kids measured up against Grandma . . . they are always excited to see how close they are to passing her up in height.

almost!!

Just a few more years, Luke.

Of course, a typical day any day for Caroline is catching something in the grass. 

Today it was a moth.

Typical Saturdays are the best. 

Some other "typical" things we did today were:
playing in the sprinkler (in our clothes?)
eating orange chicken outside
playing four square
taking a tour of our new school
playing mancala
making homemade popcorn
watching a movie in our jammies

A Favorite Book and a Birthday

Caroline discovered a book she LOVES at the library. 
It is called Actual Size by Steve Jenkins.  As the title describes, all of the pictures of the animals in the book are actual size.  They show some parts of animals, like their nose or hand.  Some show the entire animal, like this giant frog (or toad?) in this picture below.  Caroline kept trying to pretend that she was coming in the house with this frog (or toad?) and asking me if she could keep it in our bathtub.  She got a kick out of the thought of that.

She kept asking Luke if he wanted her to read him the book.  She was happy that he was so eager to listen.  It really is quite interesting!

Tonight, we celebrated my husband's birthday.  His mom came in from Michigan and cutie Caleb joined in on the fun. We made him a brownie cake with lots of sprinkles (sorry, no pictures).  I always love to see the cards and presents the kids make for us.  They are sooooo sweet. Happy Birthday, John!!

Pumpkin Bread and Pancakes . . . the Easy Way

Trader Joe's has the best pumpkin bread and pumpkin pancakes mixes.  They seriously taste like homemade and they are just so easy to make.  I like to add chocolate chips to the bread mix and make muffins out of them. I also sprinkle a little cinnamon and sugar mixture on the tops before I put them in the oven. Oh yum.

During the Fall, I like to keep a few boxes of each on hand for when company drops in.

Okay . . . maybe more than a few.

:)

Excuse me . . . I have a little "baking" to do.

"Simple" Memo Board

I have been wanting to make a memo board for the wall right next to my laundry room for the longest time.  I've seen numerous tutorials on them and they seem rather simple to make. (unless, of course, you follow Martha Stewart's tutorial . . . ummm, not so simple) But . . . the other day when I was at Hobby Lobby, I saw this board and it was 50% off, which made it only $9.99.  It was the right colors and it was already made.  It would have cost me more than that to make it and a whole lot of my time. 
I decided to put my "Keep It Simple" sign above it to remind me to keep looking for other ways to save time.

 

:)