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