InstaFriday: August Recap

Nothing frilly or complicated.

Just a look into our simple but oh-so-fun summer days:

 First golf lesson

August rain showers are for splashing in puddles 

{& rain boots! Thank you Hutcheson Family!}

Hot days are for sprinklers 

{even in your clothes}

Used bookstores make for epic date nights

{McKay's Used Books in Nashville} 

We traded in and received enough dough to pay for gas, dinner, and books!

Of course we found L's favorite 

And our last outing of August was "Incredible!"

Linking up:

Things I Learned in August

One of my favorite people in the world is my grandmother, the one I was named after, Jennie. She loves the Lord, is a life-long student of His Word, and is beautiful inside and out. Several weeks ago I traveled to Knoxville to see her, and my favorite part of our times together is staying up really late with a cup of coffee and talking. She has a lot of wisdom and knowledge to share from her eighty-six years on this earth. The best things I learned this month are from my sweet Gran:

• Submit to your husband's leading. It is a joy to feel the safety and comfort of a husband that makes decisions by seeking the Lord and acts obediently in simple faith.
• Respond to and don't take for granted each time your husband displays his affections for you. You will miss them when he is gone (my Papa passed away two years ago this October). Show your love and admiration of him to him.
• Don't allow stolen luggage to ruin your honeymoon and memories! (All of her clothes actually got stolen from their trunk the night after their wedding!) These things can be replaced eventually, but your time and memories with your husband cannot. Wear that one dress all week confidently!! 
• When it comes to your children, don't assume anything. Communicate with them and get to know what is going on in his or her life. Be very involved in their life and schooling.
• God is Provider, Jehovah-Jireh. And He is unchanging. 
• Exercise your mind. Don't become addicted to "The Box" (the t.v.).

{Linking up with Emily at Chatting at the Sky}

Our Soundtrack

For the past few months, the most common song you will hear us sing or play in our family is "Love Lifted Me." It was one of Will's favorite hymns as a child, and it is now Liam's as well. Whenever we finish singing a verse, Liam says "more, more" until we begin again. My grandfather being a music minister, and coming from a musically talented family, hymns were a large part of my childhood. I had forgotten what great truth is expressed in this one:

"Love Lifted Me" by James Rowe, 1912
{Based off of Matthew 14:29-31}

1. I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore,
   Very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more,
   But the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry,
   From the waters lifted me, now safe am I.
   • Refrain:
     Love lifted me!
     Love lifted me!
     When nothing else could help,
     Love lifted me!
2. All my heart to Him I give, ever to Him I’ll cling,
   In His blessed presence live, ever His praises sing,
   Love so mighty and so true, merits my soul’s best songs,
   Faithful, loving service, too, to Him belongs.
3. Souls in danger, look above, Jesus completely saves,
   He will lift you by His love, out of the angry waves.
   He’s the Master of the sea, billows His will obey,
   He your Savior wants to be, be saved today.

Because It's Wednesday

For your Wednesday, folks:

I keep watching it over & over and laugh every time! That camel!

Some more corny humor for ya:

"How do you make a tissue dance?" 

Put a little boogie in it!

Happy Wednesday!

Art by Liam

"All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." Pablo Picasso

My little guy loves to create. It's become a daily thing now to grab his box of art supplies (for now it contains crayons, washable markers, stickers, and the coolest gel sticks) and color at the art table. Of course I am thrilled about this having studied art throughout middle and high school (and regrettably only one class in college). It's always been something I enjoyed and sometimes feels therapeutic. 

Recently a friend asked if I would do an art project with her kiddos, and I had a fun time putting it all together and teaching my first art "class" (there were 4 students, so that counts, right?). To add meaning to our project, we read "A Color of His Own" which tells a story of a chameleon who tries so very hard to remain just one color so he could have his own just like the other animals. He eventually learns, with the help of a friend, to be as he was created. Not a Christian book, but at the end I add that God made us unique (Psalm 139) and for a purpose. We should live as He made us and not try to be something we are not. 

Then we made our own chameleons with poster board and water colors. 

To start out, trace your chameleon onto the poster board, but do not cut out until the very end.

After tracing, take a medium-sized paint brush, fill with only water, and spread the water all over the chameleon. Then take a color from you water color tray and dab onto the watered surface. By doing the water first, this allows all of your colors to blend well together and have a tie-dyed effect like this:

Even my 22 month old was able to water color his chameleon - so easy! After drying, cut the chameleon out then draw his facial features with a sharpie. 

I am looking forward to our next art project and fostering my little guy's creativity!

Pastels, oil pastels, acrylics, charcoal, colored pencils...there are so many ways to create!

Homemade Popsicles

We've been celebrating summer and warm temps with popsicles! To cool off and replenish electrolytes, we started Liam out on the Pedialyte pops, and he was immediately a fan of these "cold" (his word) treats. I've always wanted to try making my own, so I took a stab at it the other night. Liam was my guinea pig (he just learned how to say "pig" this week too) and tried out the first one. 

After his first bite of the homemade pop, I was so proud when he handed me the store-bought one and said "no" while shaking his head. Then he took another bite of mine and said "yummmm." Homemade popsicle success!! 

I bought very basic and inexpensive molds off of Amazon and then experimented with different fruits and juices. These are great because they are not too large and little hands can hold them.

Banana-orange, pineapple, strawberry-blueberry, and strawberry-apple Popsicles are some of the flavors I made.

Recipe for Banana-orange:

1 whole banana

1/2 cup orange juice (NOT concentrate)

Puree the banana until well blended, then add the orange juice and stir. Fill mold to the fill line and place handle on top. Freeze for 4-5 hours. Makes 2 popsicles. 

The banana has a creamy texture to it and was Liam's favorite (and he doesn't even like bananas). 

Recipe for Strawberry-Blueberry:

1 cup fresh strawberries

1 cup fresh blueberries

Slice strawberries. Puree strawberries and blueberries together until smooth. Pour into mold to the fill line and place handle on top. Freeze 4-5 hours. Makes 4 popsicles.

You could also try other fruits such as apples, mangos, peaches, and raspberries. Foods like yogurt, applesauce, or pudding would be tasty as well. What combinations would you want to taste?

Enjoy! 

Friday's Fav Finds

Four things that I find helpful or delightful in our lives...

1. Almost everyday I find myself using the Evernote app. Within the app I have folders for recipes, books, travel, sermon notes, and things I don't want to forget. What I love about it is you can type in one word and it will search through your notes to find what you are looking for. No more clipping recipes or magazine pages or saving sticky notes. Less clutter. It is making life more simple.

2. Llama, Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney. The first time I heard about this book was from my eighth grade campers when I was a winter-camp counselor in 2011. We had to pick a team name, and although I had no idea at the time that it was referencing the book, this is what we went with:

Obviously it made an impression on those sweet middle-schoolers when they were little bitties, so I thought it was worth trying out with my little guy. It has proven to be one of the most fun books to read now with Liam. I really get into the loud voices and motions...and lots of toddler giggles erupt.

3. My favorite blog the past few years to read is Mabel's House. Her writing is open, honest, and speaks to the stage of life I am in. Her perspective on life is really a delight to see, and so is that super cute daughter of hers. You can find her here. 

4. When it comes to gifts for Will, this is one that has become a tradition (Will insists that he get one every birthday/Father's Day/Christmas/Valentines now) - the classic photo mug. The pictures are sweet and chronicle are favorite memories together. Two of the companies I have used and are pleased with the quality are York Photo and Shutterfly. Shhhh!...they often send emails with $10 off coupons and free shipping, so don't tell Will I end up paying only $2 or $3 with tax and everything included. Just put yourself on their email list and you can get free mugs too.