My Baby

I use that term loosely. I know he's 6, but he's the youngest, and every milestone with him will be the last for all of our kids. So, don't laugh when I tell you I found myself with tears in my eyes today. 'Why?' you may ask. Eli, our monster, was playing football with Javen, and lost his first tooth. Granted, it had been so loose, any little thing would've knocked it out, but he was so proud he lost it in a "manly" fashion. And my heart broke just a little for time that moves so quickly. Everyone tells you to enjoy the little moments, and I believe I try, but little, seemingly insignificant moments like this remind me to try harder.

May His blessings be abundant for you all.

Uh-Oh, Here Comes Trouble

Look at this face...for one second, ignore the finger about to go digging, and just look at that face. What a ham! Sam, Tarrah and the three kiddos came on Sunday to spend most of the week with us. It has been amazingly fun and exhausting, and I wish we could be together almost all of the time. The kids have been wonderful, all of them playing well together. Lena enjoyed a little quiet time with Ethan on the floor. The dogs have been pretty good not stepping on him.

Ugh...look at this kid! Ethan is the HAPPIEST baby EVER. Laughing and smiling at everything. I fell in love immediately.

Sam (under the pile) and the kids (all trying to kick his butt) thought it would be a good idea to wrestle the other night. All went well until...
Thankfully my kids have really hard heads. No damage done, just a little pain. I hope you all have a wonderful, blessed Christmas.

Lady

Hey everyone. I know it's been a while, but if you've noticed, I keep adding to my Facebook page. God bless Facebook!

Yesterday we got our new puppy. I know she may not look like a puppy, but she's only three months old. Jim and I looked for a couple of months, and found Lady in a rescue down in Tennessee.

She was driven here yesterday, filthy from the long trip, a little timid, and smelly smelly smelly. Jim and I gave her a bath, the kids played with her, and she slept great last night. We are very excited with our "new edition" to the family.

Have a great weekend! If you could, keep my dad in your prayers. He's having minor knee surgery later today. Thanks.

Watch Out Oscar!

The Oscar I'm referring to is the grouch in the garbage can. My kids decided, on their own, to make a difference on our road. In turn it touched more people than we can know.

On Thanksgiving, while taking a walk with Mom, they decided that there was just too much garbage on the side of the road. Unfortunately, with the college around the bend, the kids who go there litter often.

While Jim and I went to the gym (haha--Jim/gym) my parents took the kids up and down Stony Fort Road collecting garbage, and recycling.

The kids did an amazing job. A woman stopped to tell them that they inspired her to do the same with her children. I was so proud of them. They are becoming more conscious of the choices we make, and how they can affect others.

I think they were pretty proud of themselves as well :)

Thanksgiving

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Lots to be thankful for this year. New life, God's gifts, family and friends.

Jim, Dad and the boys went to a football game in the morning. During that time Mom vacuumed.

Lena watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. She finally had control of the remote!

When the guys got home they were super hungry. They snacked for a while...

then snacked some more...

I made a huge loaf of braided bread for dinner. Javen wanted his picture taken with it :)

Stay tuned. More to come!

Best Seat in the Hizz-ouse

Need I say more?

Hummus - Mediterranean Style

Okay ladies and gents. Strap on your aprons and get in the kitchen. This is officially my new favorite hummus recipe. I found one on the Weight Watchers website, then tweaked it to make it my own. I notice when I cook, music makes a great accompaniment. Jack Johnson is on in the background, and I'm feeling really chill (and old...groovy!).

Remember, it's okay to follow the recipe loosely. Really, the only necessity are the beans, which is the base of hummus. So, these are the culprits. Quite the lineup.

To break it down for you, I used both garbanzo beans (chick peas) and cannellini beans. The cannellinis are a little lower in calories/fat, and add a slightly different texture to the hummus. Add two cans of the beans of your choice, drained first.

Nest is the spices. Dash of salt and pepper. Be as liberal with the cumin and curry as you want. Cumin is bitter, curry spicy. They taste amazingly earthy together. Don't worry, not earthy like dirt.

Next add about 1/4 cup of lemon juice. I used 4 cloves of garlic, which makes it super stinky. Add more or less depending on the taste you're looking for. Wait on the olive oil until everything is blended. If you use it only as a liquid to smooth the hummus, you'll end up using less than if you measure it out.

I found these neat jarred peppers at Shaws. You could always add sun-dried tomatoes if you want a different taste. I love peppers, so this worked well. I added a bunch, about 1/2 cup, then drizzled a little of the oil they are packed in.

This is what it looks like all jumbled into the food processor.
And this is what it looks like after 2 minutes of processing, on a carrot :)

Notice the mess on the counter. Because I am who I am, I'll clean up most, but leave a hint of what I did for Jim to clean up. He always appreciates my cooking messes.

That's it. Simple, to the point, and delicious. If any of you make it, be sure to let me know what you think.
I know I'm a dork...get over it!

Three Week Re-cap

I know; you don't need to say it. It's about time! Things are going well. The kids are all doing great in school. Another year of soccer is over, thankfully, and Javen is now playing basketball. This will be his first year, and he is super excited.
We may put Lena into ballet, or a ballet/tap class this winter so she can have something to do. We're still trying to convince her that reading isn't a sport :)
Meaghin came down with Addison and Owen for a week at the end of October. We had a lot of fun. Addison, as you can see, is growing up so quick. She is such a good baby. Towards the end of the trip, she finally decided I wasn't so bad.
Owen preferred to chase chickens and hang with the kids. He had no use for us old people.

Then came Halloween. We don't actually celebrate Halloween, but do have a gross dinner to look forward to. It was our third annual dinner. We had fun, and dad got waaayyy more creative this time.

Jim decided that he made a better witch than mom, which is still up in the air!

Keith and Rita came with their kids. It's nice to have friends who know, love, and expect that you are crazy, and they actually enjoy it! (No comment needed baldy.)

This is my dad's concoction. It is guacamole under half an avocado to look like a turtle. He then prompted the kids to squish it so it's "guts" came out.

Yes, these are real mouse traps. And the ants are pomegranate seeds. I'm telling you, he outdid himself.

The chickens are going crazy, laying up to 8 eggs a day. It's becoming difficult to keep up with them. I really don't like eggs that much. And I'm not baking as much so the temptation isn't in the house. Eggs anyone?
I've also been cooking applesauce. That's one of my favorite things to do in the fall. There is nothing quite like homemade applesauce. As you can see, I have a lot of work set before me. So off I go to peel and chop, and I pray that you are well.

Six

This is it. Another year down. But this is a momentous year. Our baby, our little Eli, is turning six today. Our youngest is six...and we are officially old.

This past year held some amazing things for Eli. He started full day kindergarten, and really loves learning.

He is learning how to look cool without overdoing it. Jim and Javen are giving him tips, but he is becoming his own fashion statement.He was also able to eat poolside with his sister this summer, in Tennessee. Going on an airplane, to a different state, and meeting tons of new people...this kid took it all in stride.So this is for you Eli. You wonderful kid. What a spirit you have. You have added so much to this family, laughter, love, and lots of snuggles!

Happy Birthday old fart!

The Weekend

Busy, busy weekend. Two soccer games, two photo shoots for soccer, church, Immersion (bible study), and friends over on Saturday night. And I still found time to take pictures! I hear the applause right now...thank you, thank you. You're too kind.
Saturday was a chilly, beautiful fall day. Eli's game was amazing! He scored seven out of the twelve goals his team made. Yeah, I know. I'm bragging about my kids athletic ability, which he CLEARLY gets from me. Him and I...super athletes!
He's the goober in the white headband. Jim had a great idea to get the boys the headbands so they could look "cool".
Javen was very proud of Eli, cheering him on. He has given Eli every opportunity a big brother can give to play soccer and excel. I was so proud of both of them.
OK - I haven't posted a pic of myself yet on this blog, and this is a goober picture, but I knew you (especially you Big Poppa) missed my gorge face.

The kids raced to do their homework Sunday night after bible study. Notice Javen, the studious one. I think Jim and I raised jellyfish. Lena and Eli will be found kneeling/leaning on the couch or chairs reading. I'm not entirely sure why they don't sit. They just DON'T.
This is after I told Lena to sit, two seconds after I took her picture. Notice, she's enthralled in the book that quickly. Eli was annoyed I interrupted him, but he got over it.

Slacker

Yes, I am a slacker. I know, confess, repent, and beg for forgiveness. It's not that I don't want to blog, or have time...I have LOTS of time, but things are settled into a rhythm, and life seems pretty "normal". I wouldn't want to bore you. But today, I figured boring is better than nothing, right?

The boys had simultaneous games this past Saturday. Unfortunately, I was needed at Eli's game, which was 15 minutes away from Javen's. Not unfortunately that I saw his game, just that I was unable to watch both games. It's tough being a mom.

Child labor laws, beware! We cut down the tree that is parked in the middle of our yard. Jim and I chopped, the kids stacked. And stacked, and stacked. I was proud of them. Mild whining, but nothing big. They did a great job. Even had a little fun!

Javen had a Dr's appointment this past Wednesday at Hasbro, with the endocrinologist. In three months he has put on 3 lbs and grown 3/4 of an inch. Which is great. The doctor is really pleased with his progress, and feels he has a lot of growing left to do. Just to give you a hint, he was under the charts 6 months ago, in the 1st percentile 3 months ago, and now is in the 10th percentile for growth. Praise God!

I'll try to stay more current, but you know how that goes.