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!

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

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

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...

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

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!!!

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...

Snowy Night!!!

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

Vacation Slideshow

I love that smile!

Happy Fall!

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

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

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!

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.