The Tipton Family...

Thoughts on tithing...

2010-06-29T18:16:00.002-05:00

For Jonathan's 4th birthday earlier this month he received $4 from my grandmother. This has sparked an intense interest in money - more specifically what you can buy with money. So we've started to teach him about saving, working, wages and tithing. Jonathan is motivated to save his money, earn more and purchase Isabella (a character from Thomas the Train). This afternoon we explained to Jonathan that when we receive money, we tithe a portion of that back to God and that we can give this to God through the local church. Jonathan seemed excited about the prospect of giving back to God and we discussed this concept as best we could with our precious 4 year old son. A few minutes later Jonathan ran into the kitchen with his new Lightening McQueen sunglasses. He was clearly very excited and animated and he declared, "When I give God my money at church, then I'm going to show Him my Lightening McQueen sunglasses!!! And He's going to be so excited!!!"
So we have lots more teaching ahead of us and we're so excited too! Thanks be to our Lord for these precious moments in parenting!

Upcoming project

2010-04-30T21:50:00.004-05:00

I found my camera! Yay! But no pictures tonight - I just wanted to share my latest inspiration. I was on Purl Bee's website earlier and came across this project. I think maybe this weekend (it's supposed to rain) will be a great time to fix a few of these for under a couple of tables in the living room!

Most Amazing Pizza Dough Ever

2010-01-13T19:25:00.002-06:00

It's been a while! We've had a busy Fall and Christmas! I'd post pictures to prove all the fun we've had but I can't find my camera. If you've found a silver Olympus camera with lots of pictures of two boys (Jason and Jonathan) and a few of me, then feel free to return! Or let me know I left it at your house and I'll come pick it up!

So I wanted to share the most amazing pizza dough recipe ever with you. I've tried many pizza dough recipes over the years and this one is by far the most amazing that I've come across. I'm also posting in case I lose the recipe. I'm out of recipe cards and need a safe place to keep this one!

Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups bread flour (I used King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour)
1 1/2 cups water at 105 degrees F
3 TB powdered milk
1 TB sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp salt

Vague instructions - so if you are new to working with dough, then you may want to research further:
You just mix all that up until you make a pretty dough, then let it rise in a warm spot. I usually cover with cheese cloth so the top doesn't dry out. When it's doubled, then mash it out into a pizza crust as thick or as thin as you like. (At this point you can cover in plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge for overnight or until dinner time.) Put on your desired toppings and bake at 400 for like 15 minutes. I did brush the crust with olive oil about 1/2 way through the cooking time.

So I hope you enjoy the recipe if you make it. I will say that

It's Sew Cute!

2009-09-16T15:31:00.003-05:00

Last night I took a pillowcase dress sewing class at Sew Many Ideas, a local sewing store. As the night progressed I wonder how many times each of the girls exclaimed, "It's so cute!"? Our fantastic instructor, Cassie, showed us the simple steps to make this dress. The fabulous thing about this pattern is in a couple of years it will double as a shirt! Of course after an evening sewing with the girls I was motivated to finish Maddie's paisley dress.

Projects...

2009-09-05T11:05:00.005-05:00

I've wanted to make a simple A-line dress for my niece for some time now. Actually, I've dreamed of a knit dress (I'm in love with Coco's bobble dress http://www.purlbee.com/the-purl-bee/2008/8/29/whits-knits-cocos-bobble-dress.html), but I recently opted for the more economical amazing floral corduroy material that I found. (I also purchased a corduroy paisley print, but I haven't started that project yet!) Although I picked out a simple pattern my sewing expertise was put to the test! I've sewn pillows and curtains before (interpret: straight lines), but this was my first experience with interfacing, curves and button holes. I'm happy to announce that the process only required countless Internet searches, 3 trips to Hancock fabrics, 2 bandaids and one plea for help via Facebook. Happy Fall Maddie! I hope you love your dress!

Summer Vacation II....

2009-08-08T10:32:00.003-05:00

If it's true a picture is worth a thousand words, then I have several hundred thousand words to communicate the pictures we lost during our family vacation in North Carolina. One night as we transferred images to make room on the XD card we received the formidable warning to format the disc. And just like that the pictures were gone....
We had a couple days of vacation left so we captured a few shots before coming home! The week in the mountains was peaceful and fun. We went to the Aquarium in Gatlinburg, visited the Asheville Arboretum, hiked and sat looking at the mountains. Jason manned the grill most nights - Can I just say, if you haven't been over for dinner when Jason was grilling, then come join us! That man can do amazing things with meat, vegetables, hot fire, a little of this and a little of that!

Summer Vacation...

2009-08-08T10:15:00.006-05:00

This summer we had the chance to join Jason's parents in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Jonathan loved the hot summer sand and splashing is the not-so-cool water! Our only regret is we couldn't stay longer!

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

2009-07-08T21:27:00.002-05:00

I can't believe Jonathan turned 3 in the middle of June! We celebrated with friends and family at our house. The lunch menu consisted of Jonathan's favorite food: Hot dogs, corn, mac-n-cheese, green peas and of course birthday cake! Happy Birthday Jonathan! We love you!

Jan Karon Cooking I

2009-06-03T09:41:00.003-05:00

For Mother's Day I gave my mom a copy of Jan Karon's Kitchen Reader that accompanies the Mitford Series. I've never read the books, but Momma is a huge fan of Father Tim and his parishioners. So this summer we're cooking our way through some of the yummy recipes. Yesterday our first attempt was the Orange Marmalade cake. I have to admit I had my doubts - I'm not a huge fan of any cake and putting orange marmalade on a cake didn't sound appetizing - but I was happy to be proved wrong! It was wonderful! Even more enjoyable than the cake was the time we were able to spend together. We followed the recipe without any deviation and the end result was a light fluffy cake with the perfect sour cream icing (not too sweet/not too sour). It's a really pretty cake although I could use a tutorial in icing. Come have a piece!

Toe Jam...

2009-05-21T15:45:00.002-05:00

Today Jonathan rediscovered the dirt between his toes. When I told him it was called toe jam he refused to accept this conventional term and insisted, "Mom, it's not toe jam! It's toe boogers!"

Playdough Mountain

2009-04-04T20:40:00.003-05:00

Today Jonathan and Maddison painted our playdough mountain. We'll use the scene to teach this week about the life, death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Hoppy Friday!!!

2009-04-03T13:54:00.002-05:00

This morning I took Maddison and Jonathan to meet Taylor, a precious little black bunny our friends just adopted. Maddie gave Taylor kisses (which she calls "poppers"). I couldn't resist sharing!

More Snow Day Pictures...

2009-03-01T15:55:00.008-06:00

Snowy Night!!!

2009-03-01T00:35:00.003-06:00

We measured the snow from our patio table about 30 minutes ago and the snow has already exceeded 9 inches!!!

Vacation Slideshow

2008-10-26T18:11:00.000-05:00

I love that smile!

2008-10-17T15:18:00.002-05:00

Happy Fall!

2008-10-17T14:48:00.004-05:00

We took advantage of Jason's Fall Break and went to the Railroad Museum downtown. Jonathan loved watching the trains, especially Thomas. In a couple of the photos he's actually getting to operate the controls for the trains.

Decorating with Blackberry Jelly

2008-10-11T21:41:00.012-05:00

Anyone who knows me very well can testify that I have difficulty keeping up with small electronic devices. Cell phones and digital cameras have a way of disappearing just when I want them. It seems that Jonathan shares this knack (or shall I say ineptitude) and regardless of how many boxes, bins, hooks and organizing tricks I use, we're constantly looking for a lost Thomas the Train or my cell phone. About a month ago, we couldn't find the battery charger for the digital camera. Then we found it, but "oh, no!" the digital camera was gone. I'm happy to announce the camera and the charger have once again found their way back to the same basket, so we're now able to snap a couple of photos and share a little of our life with you.

Most Saturday mornings Jason will make his way to Latham's for bacon and biscuits. Today was no exception. But today was extra-special since last Sunday Papaw drove down to see us. He delivered delicious homemade Blackberry Jelly and green beans. Hannah's favorite jelly is blackberry and I think her nephew agrees that the jelly tastes better when Papaw picks the berries!

We've been debating for several months how to decorate the wall above the living room couch. I'm really pleased with the final result. Jonathan declared that it was, "Cool!".

The past few weeks have been exciting. Early in September Jason and I drove with Jonathan to Pinson Mounds State Park. We packed a lunch and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We were also able to spend a weekend camping at Natchez Trace State Park with our friends Will, Valerie and their dog Lucky. We ate lots of good food and sat by the campfire late into the night. Then Saturday we hiked for 4 hours. (I'm making another mental note to never do that again with a 2 year old!!!)

Hopefully, I'll keep up with the camera and charger so you'll receive an update sooner rather than later!

It Runs In The Family

2008-09-03T22:08:00.009-05:00

Basketball. I was born with one in my hands and have great memories of late nights watching my dad coach his teams in the old gym of Hernando High School where he himself played. I couldn't help but wonder how much Jonathan will enjoy the sport - hopefully he will have his Uncle Adam's and Grandfather "Coach's" talent!!

Look at the intensity in his eyes - with knees bent, J's already squared up to the basket and ready to drive down the lane...under complete control, of course.

Setting a textbook screen on the "post"

Sorry little man - you're a little small to be squaring up on the post!

(For those of you coaches out there...dad, adam, gary, etc...notice he has the ball in his fingertips, not in his palm! Fundamentals! Fundamentals!)

"No, No, No (Jonathan's favorite words lately, along with "sit") - you screen down while the 4 man comes off your screen and to the dead hole"

That's my boy. Directing traffic on the court!

Vacation! Vacation! Vacation!

2008-08-26T21:53:00.007-05:00

A few weekends back, the family packed up the X-Terra for a long weekend in Alabama at Gulf Shores Plantation. It was Jonathan's first time to dig in the sand and play in the surf. He love the beach! Although weather forecasts suggested rain, wind, and more rain, we enjoyed delightful weather. On Saturday we drove to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. The rest of the days were filled with good books, sun bathing, pools, naps and drinking coffee.

Here's to Seven Years!

2008-08-18T22:40:00.004-05:00

Happy Anniversary Jason and Mindy!

Wedding pics preview....

2008-07-10T19:25:00.012-05:00

Courtesy of our cousin Myra, here are a few quick pics from the weekend since MJ didn't have any available last night....

Adam and Meredith Tipton!

(don't you just love it when you smile so many times your cheeks start to hurt?)

It takes a whole family to chase that kid down!

...and after the wedding, a little Hi-Lo-Jack. When will those old guys ever learn? The young of the family still run the table. We'll count you young this time Jimmy :) - thanks for helping me put a Uncle Ancel stompin' on dad and Tippy. All in honor of you little bro!

Congratulations Adam and Meredith Tipton!

2008-07-09T22:08:00.004-05:00

Sorry, I don't have any cute photos from the wedding. I'll never figure out how to be a bridesmaid, daughter-in-law, wife of the minister/best man, mother of Jonathan and still remember to put a camera in the makeup bag. I'm sure our Crazy Aunt Ann will send some photos this way soon (hint, hint)!

It was so much fun to celebrate the beginning of Adam and Meredith's life together. The weekend was a whirlwind of dinners, lunches, brunches, hair, makeup, smiles, laughter, coffee, chocolate chip cookie dough, dresses and family. Can I even describe the joy of hanging out with Jason's cousins, aunts and uncles? Has anyone mentioned we should do that more often?

So here's to Adam and Meredith - Hope you all have a wonderful time on your honeymoon!

And here's to Charlie and Kay, proud parents of the groom - Wasn't the weekend wonderful? We hope you are able to rest and relax!

Look Who's Two!!! Happy Birthday Jonathan!

2008-06-21T22:43:00.006-05:00

Our little buddy turned 2 on June 14th! We celebrated today with friends and family. It was a ball (literally)!!!

We started the afternoon with some yummy food: chips and rotel, pinwheel wraps, fruit kabobs, veggies and Jonathan's favorite, Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets. The weather was perfect for dining on the deck. After Jonathan open gifts we played with the new John Deere E-Tractor in the front yard. The evening ended with delicious chocolate cake, ice cream, UNO and Thomas the Train. Jonathan loved being surrounded by his family. Thank you Valerie and Will for your expert command of the cameras! It was a blast to make this day special for Jonathan! What a blessing to have such wonderful family and friends.

Yummy Cake!

2008-06-07T12:37:00.004-05:00

This weekend our friends Jenny and Steven came to visit. We celebrated Jonathan's birthday a little early with a yummy cake from Shirley's Bakery! THANK YOU JENNY AND STEVEN!

Sunday in the South....

2008-04-20T17:24:00.007-05:00

Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

This photo was taken from a hammock in our backyard this afternoon.

Jonathan's friend Hunter

2008-04-11T11:07:00.006-05:00

Our cat Hunter has been a great addition to the Tipton family. He adopted us while we lived Louisville. It was the Fall of 2005 when he first started meowing at our back door. For a while we thought he belonged to our new neighbors Jason and Nancy Harris but after Tip gave him warm milk Hunter decided he belonged on our couch. Before we moved to Jackson Hunter was especially fond of Tristan who used to give him tuna and scrambled eggs..... rotten cat. Needless to say I've warned all our new neighbors that while Hunter is an excellent beggar he's not hungry.

Jonathan and Hunter have been excellent buddies. A few weeks ago I heard Hunter meowing pitifully, but I didn't hear anything out of Jonathan. After a quick search I found them "wrestling" in the floor. They were both laying down kicking each other. Crazy kids!

Ashleigh - Doesn't this make you miss Hunter???

Home Sweet Home

2008-04-11T09:48:00.005-05:00

Pictures of the house are are finally here! I couldn't resist going outside this morning after it rained. Everything is so beautiful now that the azaleas are blooming and the hostas are peeking through.

The photo with the tulips was taken a few weeks ago. You can tell how much the trees have changed since then.

Ta-Da!

2008-04-05T21:09:00.005-05:00

So let us know what you think about the new blog layout! Thank you so much Hilary of ScrapBlog Designs! We're really excited about the new look. You did a great job!

Also wanted to share another "Ta-Da" moment that the Tipton family shared today. This was in the form of a new recipe. I'm generally a fan of the break-n-bake cookies, but sometimes I like making a batch from scratch. If you have some free time then we all recommend the Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Holy Week

2008-03-16T19:56:00.003-05:00

As the Tipton family prepares to celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ we took the afternoon to paint a mountain that will serve as the backdrop for the stories we tell throughout the week. On Saturday I made a playdough mountain. You can check out the directions from Noel Piper at http://www.crosswalk.com/parenting/1317997/. Jonathan and Maddison had a fantastic time painting the mountain (and themselves)!

Pray for Nathan

2008-01-28T12:41:00.001-06:00

We have some seminary friends in Louisville, the McLean Family. Please take a minute to visit their website and to pray for their son Nathan.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/nathanmclean

Homeowners!

2008-01-27T20:12:00.000-06:00

The Tipton's are homeowners! We promise to post pictures as soon as we open the box that stashed the camera! We began working on the house at the end of December and moved in at the beginning of January. The major project we're working on right now is laying 17" tile in the kitchen. We can't wait to see the finished floor! More importantly, we can't wait to have our refrigerator, oven, stove top and dishwasher back in the kitchen. (Right now our appliances are enjoying an extended sleepover in the great room.) The last few weeks we've creatively cooked from the microwave, grill (yes it's been 12 degrees outside), and toaster oven. I think that at this point in the process I can agree with my college professor, Carrie Whaley, "The best thing I make is reservations."

In addition to visiting Lowe's and Do It Yourself websites, the last six weeks we've been recovering from a variety of common colds and flus that are rampant this time of year. Our illnesses have certainly caused a setback on the home improvement timeline. It's been the perfect opportunity to practice flexibility!

Christ is Born! Merry Christmas!

2007-12-23T10:39:00.000-06:00

After worship this morning we smiled for the camera. Jonathan has learned to say cheese when we snap photos! Last night we spent the evening at Dana and Ernie James' with Josh, Ashleigh, Ella and Jackson Stegall. It was very good to catch up with our sweet friends. Our Christmas plans are to celebrate Christmas eve with Mindy's mom and dad. We'll spend Christmas morning at home and drive to Mississippi for lunch with Jason's family. Merry Christmas everyone!

Why You Should Always Know Where Your Kids Are...

2007-11-22T23:36:00.001-06:00

Early this week I took advantage of a rainy day to clean out my car. As I worked I listened to the rain, but soon realized the noise I heard wasn't from falling raindrops. I peeked around the corner and caught a glimpse of Jonathan splashing in a mud puddle. I must have left the door open just enough for the "outdoor boy" of the family to escape. He was a fantastic mess and loving every piece of dirt! Although it's November the rain and temperature were surprisingly warm so we took a moment to splash and say cheese for the camera. Maybe there will be some rain boots under the Christmas tree near the end of December!

Enjoying the beautiful fall day in the backyard.... Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Pajama Party!

2007-11-03T22:48:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: No children were injured in the shooting of these pictures....

Happy Harvest!

2007-11-03T22:23:00.000-05:00

Happy Harvest Everyone!

Jonathan the Lion had a roaring good time at Englewood's Fall Festival. He didn't quite understand the concept of playing games for candy, but by the end of the night, he did understand that he should put candy in the bag. His favorite activities were the ball pit and splashing in the duck pond! Maybe next year he should be a duck...

Before we went to the Fall Festival Jonathan and Maddison smiled for the camera beside the pumpkin and the mum. We found this beautiful mum downtown at the farmers market one Saturday morning.

Maddison and Hannah look adorable, don't they?

I learned why candy is associated with Halloween. Sometimes it's the only why you can bribe kiddos into their costume!

Jonathan - What's the lion say?

2007-10-29T20:39:00.000-05:00

ROAR!!!!

This Fall Jonathan has learned what several animals say:

Lion - Roar!

Dog - Woof!

Cat - Meow!

Tractor, Motorcycles, Cars and Trucks - Varoom, varoom... oh wait that's not an animal!

Shutterfly Photo Book

2007-10-22T13:54:00.000-05:00

Here is an online scrapbook that I created of our vacation. This has some more photos for everyone to enjoy!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/project/0CZOWrJuxcMXKg/landing

Fall Fun

2007-10-20T05:17:00.000-05:00

Nana and Coach came to visit at the beginning of October. We drove to Green Acres Farm on Highway 45, just north of Jackson. Everyone enjoyed the pumpkins, but at 92 degrees the weather was not very "fallish"!

Jonathan - You look like you're getting sleepy...
Maddie Bug had a great time!

Excursion to Breckenridge, CO

2007-10-20T04:27:00.000-05:00

Here are the long awaited photos from vacation! We had a fantastic time and are already looking forward to when Jonathan can join us on skis! We hope that you enjoy the pictures.

This is taken at Twin Lakes Reservoir. Twin Lakes is a small town (population between Breckenridge and Aspen.

Boreas Pass from our Sunday afternoon drive.

Jonathan and Mommy had fun playing in the bear cave at the Children's Museum.
Aspen Tree Trivia: The Aspen tree forms large groups of genetically identical trees connected by a single underground root system. They form through root sprouts coming off an original parent tree,
Playing at Peek-A-Boo Toy Store

Jonathan discovered raisins and he's a fan!

This is one of my favorite photos from vacation. It's taken at the edge of Twin Lakes Reservoir.

This is the moose and her calf that we saw while hiking Georgia Pass.

Another favorite taken on the western mountain of Boreas Pass.

Hiking Laundry Mountain

2007-09-18T22:21:00.000-05:00

Well, it's official. The Tipton's are going on vacation in 3 days!
In preparation for Breckenridge, CO, I've been sorting clothes and washing laundry. Then it's time to dry the clothes and fold the laundry... It's really a never ending cycle. Actually, now that I think about it, there seems to be lot of work that goes into taking a vacation. As my "Vacation To Do List" grows and grows, I've wondered if the endless vacation preparation doesn't somehow defeat the purpose of the vacation itself.

Muddy Saturday....

2007-09-08T20:29:00.000-05:00

This summer the Tipton's planted a garden with squash, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers, cantalope, honeydew, tomatoes, flowers, basil and rosemary. We enjoyed working together to plant, weed and harvest the produce and we're already looking forward to improvements and expansions for next summer.

The delicious vegetables fed us many nights and we had enough to share with friends. Our favorite dish from the veggies quickly became homemade tomato sauce which we used for pizza, YUM!

Since, all good things must come to an end, today we cleaned out the squash, zucchini and cucumber (along with a few weeds). We replanted the rosemary and basil to bring indoors. Because of recent rain, we had several inches of mud in the garden. Of course, if there's mud - Jonathan must play in it! Here are a few photos of the garden clean up.

2007-09-04T22:23:00.000-05:00

Check out the following link for some updated photos of Jonathan and our family. Enjoy!

http://www.rockyou.com/show_my_gallery2.php?instanceid=82410108

Labor Day Weekend!

2007-09-04T14:27:00.000-05:00

Here's a recent photo of Jonathan with his friend Maddy. Everytime he threw down his sippy cup, Maddy would hand it back to him.

So full of possibilties...

2007-08-20T21:17:00.000-05:00

May I share an obscure truth about our family?
I must admit that we are enthusiastic readers of Calvin and Hobbes. We especially enjoy laughing at the 6 year old and his stuffed tiger near Christmas when the afternoons stretch before us. I was introduced to the dynamic duo first by my sister Hannah, then became reacquainted with them years later when I realized Tip also admired the work of Bill Watterson. Watterson's comics ended on December 31, 1995. The 3,160th and final strip (pictured) displays Calvin and Hobbes outside in freshly-fallen snow. I thought the closure of this family favorite would be a great way to open our blog.

So here's to our new blog... a fresh clean start! In many ways it is just like having a big white sheet of paper to draw on and it is so full of possibilities...