I know everybody is ready for Spring but..

BE STILL

AND KNOW THAT
I AM GOD (Ps. 46:10)

These are pictures from my Mother and Daddy's back yard in Kansas. I thought they looked so serene and peaceful. I'm wishing you that kind of a day!

Grass man gets a...

hairbow!!

AND

a haircut.

I love turtle neck sweaters...

And from the looks of things from the fashion show in Paris I think they are coming back in a big way. What do you think?

Okay, I had a great laugh when I saw this and many other way out there outfits, hats and whatever some of that was. In my attempts to crop off bare legs it made the picture small and lots of space around it.

Update on...

Grass man is growing great and I'm thinking it's time for a trim. What do you think?

The handiest gift...

When Dad was here last he brought me this trash basket for my kitchen. The tall kitchen trash bags fit perfectly in it. Because it is beautiful and I decorate with baskets I have it out in the kitchen and not tucked away in my pantry. I tell you it has been the handiest thing ever. Have you purchased something handy lately or been given a handy gift? Let me hear your story.

Here's the recipe for Homemade whole wheat bread

A slightly sweet, healthy half-whole-wheat bread

Yield:
1 loaf
Ingredients:
1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons dry yeast

Instructions:
1. *Combine first 6 ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir.

2. Add flours and yeast, and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10-15 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.

3. Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth and then form into a loaf. Place in greased loaf pan and cover. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. If loaf starts browning too soon, lightly lay a piece of foil on top of the loaf to prevent too much darkening.

5. Remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan for a few minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cover with a cloth. Slice and enjoy while still warm! Leftover bread can be stored in an airtight bag or frozen until needed.

I found this recipe on Tammy's original recipe is here
I split the dough into two loafs and cut the baking time down. I wish I could pass out sample slices. It is delicous!

Does it get better than this?....

Fresh homemade wheat bread. I saw this recipe online and thought I would give it a try. Over Christmas my brother took the "fear" out of bread making. It smelled so good baking and it tastes delicious. Now before you go thinking- she has turned whole grain on us I must admit that I served this with fish sticks (cringing and hoping Tamra isn't reading this post :) fried potatoes and mixed vegetables. A girl has to do what a girl has to do.

I have a green thumb!!

David went to a conference last week and picked up this freebie from one of the vendors. It started out as the clear container (one side has the vendor logo) these crystal type rocks and seeds. I had to put the millennium rocks in water until they swelled up then I was to poke the seeds down in there and wait several days. This little guy has grown so fast and our family has enjoyed watching the process.

What makes you happy?

The other day when Cameron asked me if I knew what made him happy it got me to thinking. He said opening the cabinet and seeing it full of clean cups to pick from made him happy.

I would have to say Happiness for David is having ironed shirts to pick from in his closet. Happiness for the girls is having all the toys out and setting up the next pretend play area. Happiness for me is needing an ingredient that I thought I had for supper and finally finding it in the back of the cupboard. What makes you happy?

A day late...

and a dollar short usually but I wanted to say Happy Valentine's Day! I've been living my own love story for 22 yrs. Been married to my love for 16 of those yrs. You see our love story started when I was 14. Well most of you all know my story so I want to recommend another genuine, make you cry, swell with joy, love story. It's the Feb. 11 radio broadcast on http://www.family.org/ You will be glad you checked it out.

Over the weekend we had some special guests..

Mother and Daddy came clear from Kansas to help us celebrate Ashley's birthday.And since they were going to be storing their guest bed for awhile in the garage we offered to store it for them :) (how generous of me) Now the girls have a "new" BIG bed. It was getting time to get Ashley out of the toddler bed. God supplied a bed when it was time to get Sarah Brooke out of the toddler bed a couple years ago and now He has done it again for us. We are very thankful to Him and to Mother and Daddy. The bonus is Daddy made the bed. I'm more than a little proud of it. Mom and Dad you came and filled our hearts with your presence and the moment you left we got a big hole. Cameron even said it takes him awhile to get used to being without family after being together for a few days.

Ashley's birthday party

She is four years old now! My attempt at another birthday cake. Her birthday theme was teddy bears and hearts. Thank you, Janet, for another cake pan that I could borrow. I hope you can tell what it is. My disclaimer is I get a one time shot at the cake :) By the time I get done I don't want to do another one for a long time :)
Party decorations The gang! The England children and our kiddos. Cousin Tiffany was shy and not ready for her picture to be taken. Ashley sure had a great time and felt very special. Ashley and her best "boy" friend. They are a hoot together. I will show this to her when she starts thinking that he has cooties. ha

Happy Birthday to our Miss Ashley

Ashley turns 4 today. She sure has been the delight of our family. She completed us :) Our good friend was razzing us about not letting too much time come between Ashley and the next one. I said Ashley's middle name is caboose and he laughed and said "I've heard that one before". Ashley was a hard baby to learn (who knew babies could be on a poop once a week schedule) and it was a real adjustment from 2 to 3 but we got the hang of it. They grow up really fast. She tends to play alone in a crowd and is connected at the hip with Sarah Brooke. She plays right along with whatever Sarah Brooke has decided. Cameron is the big brother/punching bag/horse to ride/big scary dinosaur. She is into Polly pockets and her doll house and babies. I sure do love her!!

Grandma Going made the girls matching dresses. They don't get alot of closet time --meaning I wash them and they put them on from the dryer. Thank you, Grandma, from the girls (& Mommy too)!!!

Here's the deal, CVS deal that is...

This is a fun new challenge to me. This may not look like alot of stuff but how would you like to get it all for just $1.67. I was thrilled. I didn't quite reach a dollar amount needed in order to earn an extra $5 bucks so I went back today and picked up some hand soap. Now I have $10.99 in extra bucks to spend the next time I go in.