Thoughts on tithing...

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

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

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!

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...

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....

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...

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!