10 Things I'm Thankful For These Days

1.  Healthy children

2. Chocolate Chip Cookies

 3. Make-your-nose-red weather.

 4. Good memories

honeymoon :-)

 Shiloh's reaction when we brought baby Keller home from the hospital.

5. Being able to work with my hands to create things I love.

6. A husband who likes to try new things.

Steven made these sushi rolls...don't they look professional? 

{Thanks for the inspiration, Britni!}

7. Blue eyes

8. Jenny 

 Don't be jealous, but that girl is 22 wks preggers in that picture.  

9. That Gywneth Paltrow is singing now.  

Keller and I dance to this all. the. time.



I sing this just a little too loud these days.  


10. The WORD.


My favorite verse lately...

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us." 1 John 3:16 NIV

It's A Cold Front

 White Chili - recipe passed on to me from my friend and neighbor. {Thanks Tammy!} Recipe posted below.

I turned our heat on today. {Yay!!!} Although it's hard to say this, it was officially too cold for me in the house.  I like it knippy.  I like to wear sweaters and turtlenecks and heap a lot of blankets on our bed at night.  Why I've lived where I've lived the past few years is a good question.  One I've asked God only a few times. :-)

I am relishing these crisp days while we have them and celebrating by cooping up in my house with my kids, 

...eating creamy fattening soups and chilis, baking whenever we have a worthy occasion that calls for it {which means whenever I'm in the mood for cookie dough}...

 Shiloh's idea of "2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet". :-)

...watching movies at night with Steven after the kids have gone to bed, dates with my man at Starbucks on Wednesday nights {and maybe we do window shop at TJ Maxx for fun...he's a good man I tell ya}, 

 

...walks around Wal Mart just for fun and walks in our neighborhood with the kids all bundled up tight, sewing and painting in my new favorite room {Should I post a reveal date to make sure I get it complete?}, and wiping runny noses...

Keller eating grass outside - pre haircut and nose wipe.  My husband says this is a gross photo, but you moms know what real mothering is like and I just wanted you to know we've got it going on over here too. :-)  Embrace it!

But right now it's naptime.  The laundry's going, I've got wheat bread in my new-to-me bread machine {and it's all I can do not to rip that loaf out and get a bite before it's done}, and Keller's climbing up on my lap, because he thinks he's too good to sleep when the girls sleep. ;-)  Life is calm and good.

My friend passed this recipe on to me last winter when we first moved here.   It was so good, that I froze several batches ahead for easy postpartum meals.  So nice to pull this out of the freezer, warm on the stove, add the dairy products, and have a warm and hearty meal within minutes. 

~ White Chili ~

ingredients:

1 lb. chicken cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tablespoon vegetable oil {or you can substitute olive or canola for a healthier option}

2 cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained

1 can chicken broth

1 can chopped green chiles

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup whipping cream (or milk)

Directions:

Sautee` chicken, onion,, and garlic powder in oil until not pink.  Add everything but creams.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.  

{This is where you can freeze the chili.  Simply cool it a little, pour into a gallon zip lock and store in the freezer.}  

Remove from heat, stir in creams.  Serve immediately.

I normally do not buy chips...EVER...we could get addicted...but I passed these in the grocery store and they called my name. Corn chips + white chili = amazing!!!

Happy Fall!!!

I know I keep saying that, but seriously.  I'm so glad it's here. :-)

P.S. And my friend won second place at her church chili cook-off with this recipe.  Woot Woot!!!!!!

Setting a Fall Table

Hello friends!  I thought I would share some fall table setting inspiration with you this morning.  We held a dinner party at our house outside on the covered patio a few nights ago and it was just lovely.  Wonderful fellowship + eating outside in nice weather + beautiful lighting is a passionate belief of mine. ;-)

I've come to realize how much I don't invite people into my home and how much the Bible does talk about hospitality.  So, hosting more and becoming a more welcoming person is sort of a mid-year resolution I've made.

All of the following decor was used from every cotton pickin' thing I already had around my house.  

{I'm working on that too!}  

I used the following:

Mailing paper {you can get at the dollar store}, clearance pears from Target, Raffia {you can find in floral sections}, green ink pad, dollar alphabet stamps from Target, big sewing needle, fabric scraps, scissors, baker's twine, and hole puncher.
These items are my staples when it comes to wrapping gifts, creating tags, and general decor.  And most of it lasts me for a long time!

Here's the table setting I came up with...

Candles are so nice at dinner and instantly add ambience...

I turned a bucket from Ikea upside down, and placed the candle on top.  It fit perfectly!

I also embellished the candle holder by adding a ribbon using a strip of fabric from my scrap fabric basket.

Burlap strip I had in my stash of fabric that I used as a table runner.

Burlap will cost you mere pennies and it's all the rage, so even if you don't sew,
pick up a strip and you'll find good use for it this fall with a little creativity.

Using the silver dish I picked up at Goodwill several months back as a silverware holder for the buffet line.

Canning jars used for drinking glasses.

Canning jars are great for many things all year round, but I love them especially during the fall.  Maybe it's because I'm a canning-wanna-be, I don't know, but I adore them!  If your grandmother doesn't have extras lying around, you can pick them up for cheap at Wal Mart and I guarantee you'll find uses for them all the time.

I used mailing paper as a tag, punched with a hole puncher, and stamped "GIVE THANKS" on it with my little stamps.  Tied the tag and a fabric leaf around the drinking glass with baker's twine and some raffia.  Instant dress-up!

Canning jar used as a flower vase - also pretty for a fall table setting!

Now this next idea kind of cracks me up, but I loved how it turned out so I had to share.  I've had this wrought iron candle holder {pictured below} drifting about my house, but didn't want to fork out about $20 for 5 chunky candles to go on it.  On a whim I placed some ivory mugs {I thrifted for about 2$ for 8 of them} on top. It worked like a charm and made the perfect cozy centerpiece!

I dolloped the mugs with a pear on top...

I adore!!!
I only had 1 of these West Elm napkins since I snatched it from a clearance bin at Pottery Barn.  However,  I thought I would show an easy way to make a napkin ring and personalize the place setting.  

Simply fold your napkin in half and gather in a bunch as shown above.  Gather 3 or 4 strands of raffia and wrap around and around the napkin, then tie in a bow.  You can add a personalized tag like I did by hole punching some mail paper {or any other heavier weight paper} and stamping it. 

 And I couldn't not share these 2 photos from this morning's breakfast with you...

Good grief!  The girl is crazy even in her sleep! :-)

If any of you all put together a Fall table setting, please link up in the comments below.  I would love to see your ideas!!!

Fall Apple Cake

What is fall without a little fall baking?!  

I couldn't justify making this cake, in all its sweet-tasting glory, without having someone to share it with.   I decided a dessert night with friends was waaay past due.  I doubled the original recipe and it fit nicely into a 9x13-inch pan.  I also doubled it for you below in case you're thinking a dessert night spent with friends sounds as appealing to you as it did to me.  

The cake turned out super moist and the glazy top was just spectacular!   

So here's to cooler weather and to friendship!

.....................................................................................................................................................

Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

For the Cake:

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 eggs

1 cup canola oil - I used vegetable

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups finely chopped apples

1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional) - I didn't use any

Brown Sugar Glaze:

1 cup packed light brown sugar

6 Tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoons heavy cream

For the Cake:  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13-inch pan with butter and set aside.  In a large bowl, mix the eggs with a hand mixer til light in color and foamy.  Add the oil and vanilla and beat well. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Stir with a whisk to mix everything together.  Stir in the flour mixture with a spoon and continue stirring the batter til the flour disappears.  Add the apples and nuts (if using) and stir to mix them into the batter.  Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Place the hot cake on a wire cooling rack. While it's still hot, prepare the glaze.

For the glaze: Combine all the ingredients into a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Cook for 3-5 minutes.  

Spoon the hot glaze over the still hot-from-the-oven cake. Let the glazed cake cool completely before serving straight from the pan.

Weekend in Missouri: Part 2

Sunday morning we headed to the Wright's 500 acre farm. They raise cattle and sheep and have chickens, dogs, and horses on top of it all. They have a gorgeous home with spectacular views. You can't take in the view from their deck and not know that there is a Creator.

We enjoyed a delicious Sunday lunch with the whole family. The large amounts of food for the crowd reminded me of dinner at my families' house. Thank you for all your hard work, Miss Heather! Everything was wonderful!

Kaitie and Clayton drove over and spent the afternoon with us, for which I was so grateful.

We were in each others weddings...seems like an eternity ago.


*My wedding photographs courtesy of OH Photography*

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Mr. Ron graciously took us all on a ride around the farm before heading back to work.

We rode in the back of their pickup truck...

I knew the girls would love it, but I wasn't prepared for how much they would love it...

They were pretty much ecstatic from beginning to end. Makes me smile just remembering it.

This is Joel, the youngest of the Wright bunch. He was so good with my girls that I'm thinking about hiring him to babysit. It would totally be worth the drive. He would take Emma all around the property introducing all the animals to her and explaining things. He helped her gather fresh eggs, let her borrow his hat, held on to her when the drive got a little rough...

Miss Heather and I took a walk with Emma later on in the evening and she showed me all the sheep and their babies.

Mamma sheep with her tiny twins....absolutely precious!

We then went down to the creek and Emma dipped her feet in...

We enjoyed every minute of our trip and we're thankful for the chance to see true friends again.
The girls had an absolute blast and we stayed too late. But, the trip was well worth it. We'll be making this trek again soon I'm sure. =) Thank you, friends, for having us this weekend and making us feel right at home out her in the mid-west.

One of my goals this year was/is to be a more thoughtful friend, not taking the people I care about for granted. I want to be intentional about keeping in touch with every one and investing more time in relationships. While I believe fervently that my relationship with God, my husband, and my children, (in that order) comes before any other relationships, (and the reason why it takes me multiple sittings to get a post cranked out) I do not want to get lost in this big old world and forget the people who mean something to me. That is very much one of the reasons I started this blog. I'm thankful for new friends and old. There's something special about each. But this past Sunday, I was reminded again how great the old ones are! They just get better with age...as all friendships should get.


I'm so thankful for you, Kaitie! I'm thankful for memories that go so far back I can't remember a time in my life before you were in it. I am thankful for the ability to see and celebrate all the changes that life has brought our way. I am thankful for a friend who I can go way back with who remembers me before I was a wife and a mother, who wore no makeup, had missing teeth, scraggly hair, and ran bare footed. A friend I shared secrets with, discussed my dream wedding with, made cheesy movies with, sang country songs with, and ate chocolate icing in the creek with...(wish I had a picture of that!)

This past Sunday, I was just so grateful to the Lord for the richness of the past.

And because I didn't get a picture up of Aeryn and I at my wedding in the last post...here's her gorgeous self!...

Love you all!!!