joy

:: laying with jacob
having him layer his leg
on top of mine
would keep me there all night
i feel the love

:: ben insisting on dicing the onion
for our corn dip
he was so thrilled w/ the dicer/chopper thingie
and concerned that i would cry
sweet little helper

:: the sense of smell
can't wait to taste our brownies
and summer corn dip tomorrow

Five Friday Favs

very berry tea

made at home

with blueberries & strawberries

that were almost bad

so i brewed the tea over the berries

since that first pitcher

i've made several more

frozen berries, almost bad berries, fresh berries

they all work

* * * * * 

reliving my beverly cleary days

reading with ben

* * * * * 

reading galations 5:22-23
with the boys
and breaking down the fruit of the spirit
discussing each attribute
and the importance of Godly character
each of us stating which "fruit"
we felt we needed to work harder on
and asking God's guidance in
j picked exactly what i was thinking
b picked 3!!
i chose patience

* * * * *

owls owls owls
now that i've switched my prek theme
i'm seeing them everywhere
hope i don't get sick of them to quickly

* * * * *

strawberry twizzlers
always thought i hated them
until a friend had them
and got me hooked on them

five friday favs

if i hurry i can still make it a friday posting!

sleeping in

it's a rare thing

but i go for it when i can

* * * * * 

meeting up with my parents for dinner

it was a great "break" for us all

mama got out for a bit

and we got away for a little while

* * * * *

spray bottles

a great idea for an outdoor movie night

in 100 + degree weather

* * * * * 

ben's tan lines

are adorable

* * * * * 

jacob's freckles

are spectacular

too many to count kiss

home sweet home

there's nothing like . . .  

being gone from your babes for 4 days

talking to one of them on the phone

and hearing an over tired one cry

when you are 9 hours away

short & sweet conversations

while separated from each other

being greeted at the door

by both of them hanging on me

for so long the person dropping me off

unloads my stuff 

and just drives off

(she did say she was going to "drop" me off)

them going out to play with their friends shortly after

but they did come in easy & with out complaining

sleeping in your own bed

sleeping in

in your own bed

taking a long hot shower

at HOME

staying up late

laughing, giggling, & tickling

catching up

and hearing about their adventures

i love our cozy home & precious boys

treasures

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; 

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

Psalm 16:6

five friday favs

air conditioning

* * * * * 

hcp&r free & next to free camps

both boys were on the wait list

for basketball camp

we got word this week they are both in!!

* * * * * 

girlfriends that call & text

and call & text

until they get a response

* * * * * 

pool nights with friends

* * * * * 

favorite things

w favorite girls

w favorite foods

make them wanna kiss their mama

last night we had a sweet tooth like no other . . .
nothing was just working for any of us
so i went scrounging through the fridge to come up with something different

i found some cresent rolls
peanut butter
cream cheese
&
chocolate chips

little b said mama what in the world are you doing
i gave him a hint that it involved chocolate chips

i spread cream cheese on a few cresent triangles
i spread pb on the others
i sprinkled chocolate chips on all of them
rolled them all up
and baked

the house smelled good

when i popped open the oven
i exclaimed
oh my . . . these treats are gonna make you wanna kiss your mama

they were delicious
they had one of each

best of all i got lots of kisses & noseys

everything is better with cream cheese right steph & liz?!

these are a few of my favorite things

you may or may not know

that 13 years ago today 

i married the most amazing man in my world

sadly, things are different now

so i celebrate today differently 

last year a few girlfriends came over 

sort of unplanned

b/c they didn't want me to go the first year alone

this year i've been seeing

favorite things parties

all over blog land

so i merged one of my favorite days

with lots of my favorite friends

with tons of our favorite things

munchies, drinks, give aways, etc.

enter *brown paper packages*

i think it's a new tradition

a  couple of weeks ago 

i sent out simple invites

with directions

i made a few of my favorite desserts
lemon bars, chocolate chip cheesecake bars, & strawberry puffs

other gals brought the yummy selection of appetizers
crab dip & crackers, mexi dip & chips
hummus & pita chips,
pizza roll & sauce, fruit salsa & cinnamon chips

as the girls arrived
i told them to write their name on 5 pieces of paper
and place in a bucket
that is how it was determined who got each fun item

then as ladies shared their fav

she pulled 5 names from the bucket

those five gals took home that item

and so on

best of all the party was on a huge budget

i'm very proud of the little money that i spent
i used things i would find around the house/garage
greens & yellows
glass
brown paper
buckets
string
you get the idea

i used jars from the garage

(my father in law will be thrilled ~

i think he is concerned that i may be a hoarder)

i created chalk panels on a few 

and put tea in those

etched "water" on another

those were the drinks i provided

a few others made their way over as well

  

i used scrapbook paper & grocery bags 

to create the scallops for the garland

also to make sign sign in cards for each guest

last minute i cut open a few other trader joes bags 

to serve as table covering

so i know what you most want to hear about . . .
the *uninvited* guest

just kidding i know you want to see some of the favorites

Kim brought egg timers

and she did NOT draw my name


Anne brought ketchup from Chik Fil A
in those cutsie little dispensers
AND
wonderful BPA free water cups with lids & straws

like the one in the left of the picture
that's mine

Michelle & Maggie
both have a thing for Bath & Body Works Soap

Jennifer brought
Homemade Cajun Rub in cutsie jars
(can't wait to try it!)

Lisa the make-up lovely
brought everyone the best mascara
Kelly Ripa agrees

i forgot to tell you that lisa ~ 

i remember when she would rave about that stuff

Liz brought magazines

Jennie brought Angel Bells
made by Angel Bell

Mandy brought Berts Bees Chap stick

Stephanie brought Venus Razors
and tips from her couponing expeditions

Jenn brought
Hollywood Fashion Tape

I had my fav EOS lip love

this would be fun to do seasonally
that was an idea floating around
i'll host again next summer

Be joyful always;
pray continuously;
give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God's will for you
in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16

finding joy each day

i've been longing to create something similar to this 

i found the perfect frame in the garage

i took out the pics and added some papers

turned it into our own little joy board.

 the boys can reach it too

(hardly)

so they can add to it as well

the dry erase pen rests with the chalk on the tray

i walked through later on in the day

and j had added "family"

i also FINALLY hung the old serving tray turned chalkboard

i think i like the placement

it's amazing the amount of stuff i can get accomplished

with space in my craft area

and some forgotten stuff in the garage

five friday favs

i thought this time i would focus

on five things i can't live without during the summer

~ besides flip flops ~

so i bring to you my five friday SUMMER favs

* * * * * 

i know it's way more expensive

but spray sun block is worth it

* * * * * 

the boys have very sensitive skin

right under their eyes

we've had no more rashes or reactions sense using

* * * * * 

love to have my toes painted

i've used all my pedi gift cards

so it's back to my stash i go

my favs are 

i like some wet & wilds too 

but they're so cheap 

that the name isn't even written on them!

* * * * * 

can't find an image

of our favorite after sun moisturizer

it's the target brand

after sun aloe lotion

i bet they don't make it anymore

our  big ole pump bottle of it is from last year

* * * * * 

and if i don't use this

my lips are in trouble for a week or more

it's already happened once this summer

hopefully not again!

* * * * * 

HAPPY SUMMER

more favs this week include

fireworks w/ friends

after dinner swims

a clean creation station

which means more space & time to create

time for reading

ok . . . off to get our cow costumes ready

how far will you go for free chik fil a

i only have to figure a way to get jacob dressed like a cow

bribery isn't working!

lynchburg lovin

late night chats w/ my parents
a yummy treat at the amazing reopened chestnut hill bakery

painting mama's toe nails . . . she was needing a pedi bad

observing our boys be gentlemen

a bojangles breakfast w family & friends

meant a huge tea for the ride home

church in the car on the way home

deep thoughts on the church . . . *our church*

no hand held devices in the car . . . that alone is delightful!

lots of cuddles & chats w/ my boys before bed

picture taking

rides through the country

a sweet visit with this sweet man

not sure who is cutest!!

hot fun in the summer time

these fun summer to do lists are all over blog land
i LOVE meg's . . . isn't that chalkboard amazing
my girl jenn's is adorable too
then there's the clothesline to do so cute i just don't have the right spot for that
the jars are cute
and how about this one
in the end i copied jenn

i was on a roll 

so this trash

became this treasure

any idea what my plan is for this

(hint: i have to find a sturdy branch)

so that's part of the fun i had in our garage yesterday

while the boys played so sweetly

Five Friday Favs

fruit kabobs

may sound silly

but put fruit on a stick 

and my boys eat more of it

even the fruits 

they say they don't like

rainbow ones are my favorite!

strawberries

cantaloupe

pineapple

kiwi

blueberries

grapes

i'll be making some 

strawberry, banana, & blueberry 

ones this weekend

* * * * * 

worship sunday has had me thinking on 

JOB this week

this stuck out for me

My ears had heard of you

but now my eyes have seen you.

Job 42:5

* * * * * 

cute little 4th jars 

made by a friend for me

can't wait to put a little light down inside

* * * * * 

singing along with the radio

at the top of our lungs

with my boys

* * * * * 

free

FREE

ice cream cones

from the CHIK

for signing up with the library for summer reading

and i LOVE

free kids meal tuesday nights!!