BLT

-Day 210- Decided I'd take a picture of my sandwich today. We've got tomatoes coming in & so we've been eating quite a few BLTs here lately. They sure are yummy!

LU Monogram Hike

Forever I've been wanting to hike up to the big LU monogram, but it's just one of those things that ya never seem to find time to do. We had planned to go on Wed. this week(today), but yesterday morning we decided that the weather wasn't going to co-operate with us on Wed.....so spur-of-the-moment we decided to pile in the van & go yesterday. Our first stop was the new LU Barnes & Noble bookstore. So glad I had my camera with me & didn't miss this shot of Jon....just being Jon. ;-) Guess he's the #1 LU fan! LOL After a 1.8 mile hike......ALMOST to the top, I stopped & took this pic looking down on the North Campus of LU/Thomas Road Baptist Church.

Looking north just a tad with Chris in the foreground.

The kids resting at the gazebo above the monogram....looking down on Candler's Mt. Road

Again, Jon just being Jon. David Bennett would be proud.....he found those sunglasses along the trail & thought they were mighty fine. Hey...you can't beat FREE! ;-)

On our way back down.

The kids thouroughly enjoyed this....well, I don't think Alli enjoyed it as much as the others, but she was a trooper. Ashley says we need to get into shape & do some more hiking come Fall this year.

Summer Scrapping

Pics of the girls that I took on one of our evening walks......when I saw these pics, I immediately thought of this Rascal Flatts song & knew I needed to use it as my title....'Summer Nights' Just some pics of the girls being goofy. Used my new Michael's clearance specials for this LO. ;-)

Alli being 'Cousin It'

And last but not least....little Midnight....whom the kids have nicknamed 'Black Sunshine'

Corn-on-the-cob

-Day 207-

From the garden....
....to the table

We picked a few the other night, but they just weren't quite ready really. So, we waited a few days & I picked some more last night to go with our burgers & it was just right! Nothing beats fresh corn-on-the-cob. Yum! Yum!

Happy 12th Michael

-Day 205- My little 'Mikey Moo-Moo' (don't tell him I said that) turned 12 yesterday! Gosh, I know we say it every time someone has a BD....but where does the time go? Yesterday morning he opened his presents.....a new Bible, pocket knife, Tomb Raider game, $20 & a Tshirt that says 'Give me snacks & no one gets hurt'. I found that shirt at Old Navy & HAD to get it for him....it's a joke around here that Michael is the 'Snack' king. Jon has even dubbed him 'The Junk Food Jockey' LOL! After presents, we had our traditional cinnamon buns & coffee for BD breakfast. Then, I headed off to town to get groceries. We were going to do Vitos pizza for supper, but it ended up that Clay & Chris both had to work & I hated for them to miss out, so Michael was a good sport & agreed that we'd put Vitos off until tonight.
When I got home....Michael got a nice little surprise.....a Goodie Bag from me. The others had helped think this up. They thought it would be perfect to go along with the idea of his shirt & his title of 'Junk Food Jockey'. He got stuff like this big bottle of Green Tea (his fave), beef jerky, Crunch N Munch, gummi worms, peanuts, Twizzlers, Bubble gum.....

Then after supper, we had BD cake (chocolate with chocolate frosting of course) & ice cream!

-Day 206-

I've gotten to where I take my coffee out on the porch each morning & have my quiet time out there. I don't know what I'm gonna do when it gets too cold to do this....I love it. Just thought I'd snap a pic of my book & coffe & also the view I have. ;-)

Trucks, cards, Pepsi, cartoons & granola

Oh my....I'm sitting here eating left-over spoon bread for my breakfast & it sure is yummy!! Reminds me so much of my college days.....when Maw would fix it for supper & then I'd pull it out the next morning & eat the left-overs for breakfast as I headed out the door to class.

-Day 204-

Wow....I'm already 200+ pictures into this project....how cool is that?! I ran out this morning & snapped this pic of Pop's truck sporting it's new green doors. ;-) The boys worked hard the other day getting the doors & seats replaced.

-Day 203-

I was in a card-making mood yesterday & these are a few of my creations. They will go in my stash ready to be sent out to someone special.

-Day 202-

Sarah, this is what we do when you're not around......TWO cans of Pepsi! LOL I am just kidding, you know.......he had the littlest smidge in each can & thought he was something else with one for each hand. He's such a little buddy!

-Day 200-

This was late the other night.....not sure why the orange hunting cap....I guess maybe it was for inspiration ;-).....but Jon had his tunes plugged in & he was drawing some of his famous cartoons.

-Day 199-

This was our home-made granola from over the weekend. It was so easy & so good....like I said....it sure didn't last long.

Randomness & Ramblings

*Saturday Ashley & I tried our hand at home-made granola. Oh my goodness...it was so yummy! I told her next time we need to make a double batch. It was gone by yesterday afternoon. Here's the recipe if anyone wants to give it a try.

2c. old-fashioned rolled oats
1c. slivered almonds
1/2c. honey
1 Tbs. butter
1/2c. raisins
1 Tbs. light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. almond or vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease an 8-or 9-inch baking pan & line with parchment. Lightly grease parchment & set aside. (We didn't use parchment)

Place oats & almonds on a lrg. baking sheet & bake, stirring occassionally, for 15 mins. Remove from oven & reduce temp. to 300 degrees.

While the oats & almonds are toasting, combine honey & butter in a small saucepan & heat until butter is melted & honey is hot.

When oats come out of oven, transfer to a large bowl & add hot honey, raisins, brown sugar, salt & almond/vanilla extract & stir to thoroughly combine. Transfer mixture to baking pan.

Using your hands, press the granola mixture very firmly into the pan. Bake granola for 20 mins. or until lightly golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven & set aside to cool completely. Remove from pan by pulling up the edges of parchment. (I just flipped it out onto a plate) Using a sharp knife, cut into 10 even bars. (We just broke ours) Store in zip loc bag......it won't last long. LOL



**Yesterday in church Jerry Martin preached on John 10:10 & having the 'Abundant Life'. He used Michael Jackson as an example. According to the world's standards he had 'abundant life'......wealth, fame,etc.....but in all truth he was a sad & lonely man. Stuff does not make us happy or give us this abundant life. It comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ & being content & at peace through him. I thought about that yesterday afternoon as I sat outside under my favorite Dogwood tree, in my favorite green chair just soaking in the late afternoon.....quiet voices of my kids at play, the neighbor's horses, birds twittering around, bees buzzing, a kitty curled up beside me snoozing, a good book to read.......Aaaaaahhhh......THIS is an abundant life. John 10:10 says, '....I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly(in it's fullest measure!)'



***I've shared quotes & excerpts from some of my favorite books before & I just needed to share this little tid-bit from 'The Love Dare'.....the companion book to the movie 'Fireproof'. This day was centering on showing honor which means to give respect & high esteem. The word honor comes from a word that forms the basis for honor....the word is HOLY. Holiness means being set apart for a higher purpose. Love honors even when it's rejected. Love treats its beloved as special & sacred even when an ungrateful attitude is all you get in return. Even when your attempts at honor go unreciprocated, you are to give honor just the same. That's what love dares to do--- to say, "Of all the relationships I have, I will value ours the most. Of all the things I am willing to sacrifice, I will sacrifice the most for you. With all your failures, sins, mistakes & faults--past & present-- I still choose to love & honor you." That's how you create an atmosphere for love to be rekindled. That's how you LEAD your heart to truly love your mate again. And that's the beauty of honor.

Mark 10:9- 'What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put assunder.'

We got a new frige!!

Jon crashed on the couch last night while I was fixing supper. This is what happens after pulling an all-nighter. ;-P -Day 196-

Our new/used KitchenAid side-by-side frige! Clay got it at an auction over in Stuart's Draft yesterday for a little over $200...PTL

-Day 195-
Clay bought this old green Ford truck from a buddy at work just to have for parts. He & Jon have already replaced the seats & the doors. Will post more pics when they get it all done.


-Day 194-

Love this pic of Ashley....almost in front of Mari's house....the way the sun is on it's way down & casting shadows.....so cool!

Alli just had to stop & take a peek at all the cows.




-Day 193-

It was late & I was in need of a pic of the day.....So, I decided to photograph my favorite drinking glass.....a wide-mouthed pint jar. You might be a redneck if.................

Crazy Kids

My crazy hubby took the 3 oldest kids last night to go see the premier of Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince. They have been looking forward to this forever & were all totally excited last night. They had also been wanting to pull an all-nighter one night here soon before Chris has to go back to school & so last night just seemed like the perfect night. They said it was totally unorganized at the theater & the movie was at least 30 mins. late in starting, so that put them even later getting home this morning. BUT....they said the movie was awesome.....the best one yet! That made up for the chaos at the theater. ;-) When they got home close to 4 this morning....they fixed coffee, watched cartoons, went outside to watch the sun come up & then decided around 6ish or so that they wanted to go swimming! What memories they made......& Chris even videoed much of this, so that's cool. I'm so thankful for the good realtionship between them....how they enjoy one another's company....spending time together & even hanging out with good ole dad!! And thanks, Clay for being such a cool dad....we all love you bunches!

Let's all compare feet.....

-Day 192- Can you guess whose foot is whose? This is what our family does for fun.....LOL

'Cousin It'

-Day 191-Alli brushed all her hair down in her face & put my sun galsses on.....I told her she looked like 'Cousin It' from the Adam's Family...LOL
-Day 190-
I was in the kitchen cooking supper the other night...had just taken a sip of pepsi when I turned around & saw this on the dining room table. I 'bout spit pepsi evrywhere!! Nothing like a nekkid Barbie doing push-ups on your dining room table. Ha! Ha!

NC

Wed. we went to NC for the day to visit with Clay's folks. On the way down we got tickled about this truck.....first of all, the little sign above the license plate says 'Beware of Attack Cow' & then if you look closer......dangling below....cow bell & balls. LOLAll the cousins...Chris, Christie, Caitlin, Jon, Hunter, Ashley, Michael, Brittany & Alli



Just the girlies... Ashley, Brittany, Caitlin, Alli & Christie. Look how tall Alli has gotten! You don't seem to notice day to day....but we pulled out pics of the girls from last year & Alli was only as tall as Ashley & Brittany's shoulders....& look at her now!

Papaw & Chris

Amy & Brian........the 'other' Amy Bunner...LOL

Ashley, Christie & Alli with their dog, Jax. He was SO cute & sweet....the kids loved playing with him & of course he ate up all the extra attention.

Witty Title goes here!

-Day 188-

'And they heard the voice the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day...' ~Genesis 3:8
-Day 187-
We just noticed this sunflower out in the edge of the garden the other day. Love it....so bright & cheerful!

-Day 186-

Clay had the step ladder out by the kitchen window fixing the screen the other day & next thing I know, I heard Bunny.....he had climbed up on it & was peeking in at me....begging to come in!

Happy 4th!!

-Day 185-

Although today was a holiday, we just hung out here at home & my day mainly centered around....what else, but.....BEANS! I snapped a whole big bowl full after breakfast.....took a shower & went outside under my tree to snap some more until the kids were hollering for lunch. Came in & fed everyone...baked our cake....did 2 canners of beans & then treated myself to a little scrappy time. ;-) After that, I went back outside to finish up snapping the beans before supper. We grilled hodogs & had chili/cheese dogs, baked beans, fries & ronis for supper.....which was a picnic out on the front porch. The kids then went to play hide & seek outside while I cleaned up the kitchen & did the last canner full of beans....for a total of 18 qts. yesterday......my grand total is now at 116 qts! Here's our first attempt at a flag cake. I marked off the sections & let the girls decorate it. Alli did the blueberries & Ashley did the strawberries. It was really yummy!
After I was done with the beans, we came back outside for some smores. More Yumminess!

I love this shot of the four of them on the quilt just hanging out enjoying their time together!!

When it got dark enough we watched all the fireworks around....across the RR tracks, out toward Oakridge & back over toward Mari & David's house. Then the kids did their sparklers. And to round off our evening....after Michael & Alli went up to bed....the rest of us watched Rocky III. The kids remember several years ago on the 4th they did an all-day Rocky marathon on TV.....it was a terribly rainy day that year & so the movie marathon was perfect. Anyway....in their minds the 4th of July = Rocky movies. So, over the past few nights we've watched the first & second ones & last night was the third one. Perfect ending to a really nice day! I totally enjoyed it.