This is our cat Bailey. There really are no words for this picture. This is how she sleeps when she's on the porch. It cracks me up every time.

Dress Up -

While Mitch and I were working in our bedroom this weekend the kids were entertaining themselves in our closet. They were giggling and babbling on. They came out looking like this. I still can't believe the both managed to walk all the way down the hall wearing Mitch's size 14 shoes!

Sharing at it's Finest

For some reason I have never made cobbler. Mitch has asked me to for years, but I just never have...
Until this weekend. I made this recipe and my hubby was a very happy man! It was so fabulous and so easy. We made it for company on Saturday evening and it was so good that I made more last night for Mitch to take with him to work. Instead of blackberries I chose to make it with blueberries. I think it will try it again soon with peaches or apples.
I wanted to post this great picture of the cobbler in a cute little cup donned with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but Mitch ate it all before I could take the picture! So, instead of showing you a picture of an empty cup, here is one of what was left after we "tried" the cobbler again last night. As you can tell, we sure tried it a lot!

My Little Sleeping Beauty

Oh, how precious they are when they sleep!

Oh the woes of being two...
Jake is getting his 2 year molars and i must say that we are ALL ready for this short season to pass. We have had lots of long days with a very whiny little boy. Oh, it can be so hard sometimes. Short naps. Long afternoons. But then I look at this picture and it truly takes the frustration away. Hmmm, maybe I should tape this picture to his forehead for the rest of the day?

Sunflowers

I tell you what. These sunflowers are so tall! I just can't get over how much they have grown. Here is a picture of Neily on Mitch's shoulders. It's hard to tell from the angle, but the tallest sunflower is still at least a foot taller than the two of them together.
I love the other picture of the orange color sunflower. I have never seen one like that and I think it's so beautiful. I hope more grow so I can cut them and put them in my kitchen.

Some of my favorite things:

-We discovered this yummy seasoning while shopping a Publix last month. A lady who was also shopping in the spice isle told my friend Kathleen that this was the best seasoning she has ever had. So, my next trip to publix I bought some. We have had it on Grilled Chicken tried it Tuesday on some veggies. best chicken and veggies we've had in a long, long time. And there's no bad stuff in it which makes it that much better. So next time you're at Publix (they don't have it at Walmart or Kroger), pick up a bottle!


-Some girls from my church are reading this together this summer. It has been a great book for me and has really moved me to deal with heart issues that affect my communication. "From the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."


-No TV during the week. I thought this was going to be really hard, but after the first week I didn't miss it at all! Mitch and I have enjoyed our evenings talking, reading, and going to bed early. Wednesday night we actually got in bed before the sun went down! Just call us Mamaw and Papaw:)

-This little guy. Although he is cutting his 2 year molars and sometimes gets a spanking every 10 minutes, he sure can be sweet. On the days I put him down at night, he has started asking me to dance. So I sing a little song and hold him and we dance around the room before I put him in the crib. He's so funny because I can't just sing anything. He will keep saying "No" to whatever I sing until I start singing Norah Jones. His favorite? "Come Away With Me." My boy's got good taste!

About a month ago the kids and I got a sunflower kit from the $1 bin at Target. I don't know why, but for some reason I didn't thing that they would grow to be like real sunflowers. The picture above is what the sunflowers look like today. They are taller than Mitch and we are so proud of how much they have grown. I can't wait until they all bloom!

The Fourth.

We had an enjoyable fourth this year. My parents came to visit and we enjoyed some yummy BBQ, a trip to downtown Franklin for their 4th of July celebration, and some good napping. When we went downtown, they had a few games like what you would see at a fair. One that Neily was most interested in was where you pick up a floating duck and you get a prize that matches the number on the bottom of the duck. Number 10 was THE one to win because you got to pick out a stuffed animal. After a few tries of picking up ducks that got her a plastic star and a plastic frog, Neily finally got #10 (well, with a little help from mommy who watched the little boy next to us pick up a number 10 and then followed the duck around after he put it back down. I then told Neily which one to pick. i know...horrible!). On Saturday, Gigi and Granddaddy took Neily and Jake on a treasure hunt - pirate hats, eye patches, treasure map and all. The kids had a blast and were thrilled to find their treasures - bubbles and pennies for the piggy bank.
It was a nice weekend for everyone. here are some pictures.

Our Favorite Summertime Treat



And, as they do with everything else, here are the kids doing "cheers!" with their watermelon slices

A visit with friends

We had a great visit with some good friends form Birmingham. Kenneth, Kathleen, and little jay came to Franklin this weekend to hang with the Stephens. We had great conversation, drank a few too many margaritas, and enjoyed a fun game of Phase 10. Over the course of the weekend I only took 3 pictures...wish I had taken more! Kenneth took more than me, so maybe he will send me some so I came post them (hint hint!)

Also, I made another tasty dessert from Picky Palate. They were so yummy! I used milk chocolate morsels for the top insead of semi-sweet 'cause we are definitely milk chocolate people around here. To see the Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars go here. Amanda, I thought of you since you share the love of peanut butter and chocolate:)

Below is an e-mail I would ask all of you to read. Stephanie and Samuel Rainey are good friends of ours and Samuel's sister, Rebecca, gave birth to a little girl named Molly Ann earlier this week. Molly was born with brain and heart issues and, as you can imagine, these past few days have been extremely difficult. Please pray for Rebecca, her husband Jacob, and their sweet little girl (who is their first child). The e-mail was written yesterday by Rebecca's father, Dennis Rainey:

Molly’s condition remains the same, critical. Multiple meetings with neonatologists, pediatric cardiologists (from here to Little Rock, to Indiana to Mayo Clinic), neurologists, and interventional radiologists, have confirmed:
Much of her blood is going to the brain.
Because of the abnormal vein and aneurism, the blood that’s going there is ineffective, since it’s not going to her lungs, and the rest of her body…as a result 60-80% of her blood is going to her brain, normally it should be 10-15%. And because of this she is in congestive heart failure.
Damage is substantial to both halves of the brain and permanent.
As a result they have two options:
Brain surgery, very dangerous and at best a questionable procedure, since she’ll never function normally without a miracle. If the surgery is successful, the congestive heart failure could be slowed and with a couple more surgeries, perhaps eliminated. Leaving Molly with a damaged brain and many more dangerous surgeries.
Second option is to withdraw life support and enjoy what hours or days God may give Rebecca and Jake with her. It is likely she’ll only live a few hours.
I have to tell you that listening and watching Rebecca and Jake (with Molly in Jake’s arms) grapple over what God wants them to do in terms of treatment of their daughter has been THE most difficult thing I’ve ever watched. It’s been holy. Worshipful. Heart rending. It is beyond imagination and words. I know that some of you have been through this, but oh how tough to watch two people you love enter into this deep valley. I marvel at how honest and real they’ve continued to be. Their faith and trust in God is remarkable.
They have decided not to operate. And in the coming days, Rebecca and Jake have decided to remove the life support.
What has been unimaginatively tough has just become a lot tougher. Please pray for Jake and Rebecca’s broken hearts. Scriptures tell us our days are numbered. Molly’s little life may be comprised of less than 7 days.
I am grateful for your prayers and sustaining love.
God is God. We are surrendering to Him and His ways. Blessed be the Name of our God. There is NO hope in any other.

Dennis

One of my new favorite blogs to visit is picky palate. she always posts great ideas of fun things to cook and bake. On Sunday, I needed something quick and easy that the kids and I could bake for Daddy on Father's Day and I remembered seeing this on her blog. The kids had fun helping with the cookie dough and we all had fun eating the finished product!

simplicity

several of you have heard me mention lately that Mitch and I are in the process of simplifying our life. Simplifying our home (i.e. getting rid of the clutter), simplifying our time/schedule (little tv watching, being very mindful of what we commit to - big or small) simplify our spending...we are just pretty much evaluating and simplifying our lifestyle. Why you ask? Well, I am delighted to share that answer with you.
It all started back in early April when we went to hear John Eldridge speak at a local church. He shared his experiences of being quiet and listening to God, of being still and hearing the Lord speak to him. Mitch and I both walked away that night longing for that type of intimacy, both wanting to cultivate that quiet spirit that waits to hear His voice. A week or so after that, Mitch picked up a small book from our bookshelf titled "Intimacy with the Almighty" by Charles Swindoll. It's a very small book that has had a huge impact. It only affirmed what our hearts desired after walking away from John's message. I will not be able to do the book justice in my few comments, but I strongly suggest to add it to your reading list. In general, he shares how to cultivate an intimate relationship with the Lord. He shares 4 decision and 4 disciples that can move us in that direction. I will just share about the first decision which is "to reorder one's private world." The accompanying discipline to this is simplicity.

"To reorder one's private world, the need to simplify is imperitive. Otherwise, we will find ourselved unable to rest
within, unable to enter the deep, silent recesses of our hearts, where God's best messages are communicated.
And if we live very long in that condition, our hearts grow cold towards Christ and we become objects of
seduction in a wayward world."

"To get rid of clutter, simplicity isn't just nice - it's essential. But neither is automatic; it will call forth intense
determination."

In the past 2 months we have really sought after simplicity. For us, it has brought so much freedom. We feel a passion for knowing God that we haven't felt in a long time. We are still not done in terms of simplifying our home, but with each room and each closet our load gets a little lighter. And just in case you were wondering, the next decisions/disciplines are:
To be still/silence
to cultivate serenity/solitude
to trust the Lord completely/surrender

Good stuff, i tell ya. Good stuff.

In the next few days I will share some thoughts on 1Timothy 6 and how living simply is closely tied to living green. I would love to write more now, but I don't want to bore you!

Testing...

Due to some much needed computer software upgrades, I am finally able to blog again! We were having an issue where I was able to write an entry, but unable to post it. So, this is my test post. Here is a recent picture of my precious little girl.

A Whole Bunch of Nothing

You would think that I was so busy because I haven't blogged in 10 days. But, I am happy to say that I have not been too busy. A lot has been going on in this ole head of mine, but we have been laying low this month. It's been quite refreshing. Here's what we have been up to:
-We had a quick visit to Birmingham over Mother's Day weekend. We were abe to see all the mom's in the family and got to have Sunday dinner with our friends, the Merwins. They are some of our favorite people.
-Hubby was off last week, so we enjoyed lots of family time with no agenda. The only thing that was on our agenda was to toss the old computer because we got a new one! Well, it's not brand new, but it's certainly new to us. The Merwin's were so generous to give us their iMac that they bought a few years ago. It has been such a blessing to us and I am absolutely thrilled to have a computer that has sound, all if it's keys, and can hold pics of the kids. Thanks, Stephen and Kellie!
-We got to visit with my friend Allison who I haven't seen since 2003. She has been in Afganistan for the past 2 years and is now back and living in Louisville, KY. She came down for a few days to hang with the family. We had great conversations and enjoyed hearing about life in Afganistan.
-Allergies. Allergies have attacked our family this season. Neily had them last year, but we all have been troubled with the pesky runny nose/itchy throat thing. SO not fun and I empathize with those of you who have battled allergies for years.
-In return for feeding her cat, a friend gave us a new cuisinart food processor. I have never had one and I am so excited. I can't wait to make homemade basil and salsa. Thanks, meredith, for the generous gift!

So, that's about all that's new with us. I will hopefully have some more exciting posts now that I have a really cool computer!

My little artist

Rainy Days

We love the rain. We love to jump in puddles. We love to play in the mud. And we love to wear our sister's coat and shoes. At least he's pushing a truck though, right?

TWO.
I can't believe my little guy is two. Like I have heard others say, the days have been long but the years short.

My family came in town to celebrate Jake's birthday as well as Uncle Chris' birthday (which is the day before Jake's). We had a great time and enjoyed cake, taking walks, and the Main Street Festival in downtown Franklin.

Here is Jake with his new baby cousin, Anne Thomas:

The Birthday Boys:

Here's Jake who is thrilled that we are all singing to him:

Gigi and Grandaddy with the kiddos:

The cutest cousins:

Lastly, here is Jake at 2 months (doesn't he look like a little old man?):

And my big boy at 2 years (with his aunt Jen):