First Fruits

make that first foods...rice cereal to be specific.

And she loved it. She was so proud of herself. 

Oh how I love her expressive little face.

Every little milestone is a reminder of how quickly time passes.

How quickly they turn from tiny to toddler. 

{tear}

As parents we have precious little time to pour into these ones. 

It is vitally important to give them healthy food to nourish their little growing bodies, but what we feed their spirits is of even greater importance. 

I pray the Lord will give us the wisdom, strength, and grace to raise these babies to know Him,

to know how precious and dearly loved they are [by Him & us],

and to honor and obey Him.

In the midst of a society that will want to feed them lies and convince them that worldly gain and pleasure is all that matters; 

We must show them the light, the freedom, the joy, 

the peace, 

and the life

that comes from walking in obedience to God.  

It is a lofty responsibility we parents have.  These are lives being molded, minds being shaped, and ultimately, futures being determined, one lesson after another.

Be mindful of what you are feeding your little ones.

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3boys&3girls

I love these little people. And their mamas.

 Boys, bubbles & baseball.

Swinging, playing, laughing..

Two of my best friends, Tawny & Nichole, both have sons that are Jack's age and daughters close to Claire's age.

We all have so much fun together, and it is such a blessing to have such sweet friends along side us in this journey of parenting

and motherhood.

My friendships with these girls are priceless.

Watching our babies grow up together is priceless.

So blessed.

Birthday Cake Card

With all of the birthdays last month, I decided to try my hand at card making.  I've been itching to get back into crafting and/or scraping, so it was a fun [and cost effective] way to be creative.. for a purpose.

I saw the idea on this adorable girls blog. Love Star! She is so cute and so creative! Loved her version of this card, and decided it looked simple and yet not homemade :-)

Here are mine (don't laugh)..ok..go ahead and laugh.

Robot Whimsy:

These were for my brother and father-in-law.  Have I mentioned that Jack likes to talk in a robot voice? Its the cutest thing ever. He puts his hands up by his face and in a perfect robot monotone he says, "I am a robot- bleh" (sounds like a beep) He ends every sentence with "bleh"...hence the "Happy Birthday Bleh." 

            
This one was for my sister:

I also made another one for my Nana, but forgot to take a pic!
They were a little cheesy, but I had fun doing it.

Watch out Hallmark...[haha]

Mmm D'Licious: Texas Sheet Cake

Here is the recipe for the only chocolate cake that I will eat. 

{I'm much more of a cheesecake/pie kind of girl}

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter
1 Cup water
4 Tbs cocoa

2 C sugar
2 C flour

2 eggs
1 C Knudsen light sour cream
1 tsp baking soda

Directions:

Bring butter, water, and cocoa to boil in a large pan.
Remove from heat
Add sugar and flour to mixture.
Mix well.
Add eggs, sour cream, baking soda.
Beat into mixture.
Pour batter into greased jelly roll pan
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes

Frosting Ingredients:

1/2 C butter
1/4 C cocoa
6 Tbs milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond
3 1/2 C powdered sugar

Directions:
Bring butter, cocoa, and milk to boil.
Remove from heat
Add remaining ingredients
Mix well
Spread on cake as soon as it is out of the oven
Allow to cool

Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla (or mint chip) ice cream!

Goodbye July!

If you want to be in my family you basically have 2 choices for your birthday month: July or December.  Birthdays in clusters, thats just how we do it and it's funner that way [wink]! We were  in party-mode during July, celebrating 6 of my family members and 1 close friend!

Happy belated Birthday to:
my sister-in-law Jessica (July 8th)
my bestie Aly {you know of the mommie diaries...we are real life friends since 7th grade}
my Father-in-Law Dave (July 21)
my sweet Nana (July 21)
my brosie Matty & the big 3-0! (July 22)
my sister Melissa (July 26)
my lil niece Olivia (July 28)

Here are some pics of our parties! [I was lame and forgot my camera a couple of time..so really its only pics of Dave's bday and Mattys. Doh]

Dave is a chocolate lover- so I made a Texas Sheet Cake for him! I'll post the recipe soon :-) It's a family favorite.

::::

We had a big family party to celebrate Matthew Hartley 

(same middle name as Jack :-)

 30 & Flirty & Thriving!

Matty and his new bride Mara are the cutest newlywed couple ever!  They are both gorgeous people inside and out! 

::::

For my sister's birthday my mom made her famous Cherry Pie. It is an old family recipe from her grandmother Mimi.  I'm so bummed I didn't have my camera because it might be as gorgeous as it was tasty.

That pie and her Pumpkin Pies are the only pies I like...because they are divine. She is the master pie maker in our family, but maybe I'll try my hand at it one of these days. 

::::

We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our family and in our lives! We are thankful for each one of the July birthday people :-)

::::

Oh July...where did you go? 

I meant to post this one before I left on our vaca to Hume Lake...

Oh well :-)

Tubby little Cubby

All stuffed with fluff

He's Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh

Willy Nilly Silly Old Bear.

I took Jack on a little date (Daddy was in L.A. for work) to dinner and his first movie in the theater! On our way to dinner he exclaimed, "I'm your little date!" to which I replied, "Your my favorite little date!" We had such a fun time! We went to our favorite little Italian restaurant, Arrivederci, where we met up with some of the fam for some gnocchi (mmmm) before the movie!

An outing with this little boy is never complete without some seriously funny moments! He is super regular....yes...in that way.  And hardly a dinner passes that he doesn't leave the table for a little while to go potty. So, like clockwork, he needed to go while we were at the restaurant.  I took him to the bathroom, and when we came out, everyone else was already on their way (walking) over to the theater. So I grabbed my things and we left too.  I was walking along, talking and talking, apparently too caught up in the conversation to realize that Jack was saying, "My pants, my pants, my pants..."  It finally registered in my brain what he was saying and I looking down to see his pants....around his ankles!  He was waddling along saying, "My pants, my pants" as they slipped down to his feet!! It may have been the funniest thing ever. I laughed so hard as I pulled up his pants and we continued on our way to the movie :-)

With Junior Mints in hand (and mouth), the previews started and Jack couldn't believe how big the screen was! His eyes were as big as saucers! He looked a little startled at how loud it was too! [He has always been a little sensitive to noise]. For most of the movie he sat on my lap and Bella sat on her mommy's lap next to us, but towards the very end, they both decided they wanted to sit back in their own seats.  Then I looked over, and this is what I saw!

They cuddled up together and Jack had his arm around her!  They are such sweet little friends. They could not be any cuter! I died, and had to take a couple pics [sorry-other people in theater]. 

Winnie the Pooh was adorable, but time with my boy...

that is priceless!

Moving. and being Moved.

Moving stinks. Can I get an amen?

In the last week we 

cleaned/purged/packed/moved/stored/unpacked/organized & reorganized 

until we were blue in the face. And still...boxes remain. 

I didn't feel like we had too much stuff- until I had to fit all of it into boxes and a 10x13 storage room! It is amazing how much stuff we accumulate, and then don't really need/use, but still can't really get rid of.  

The process has been utterly exhausting, and has left me feeling, at times, like a nomad.  

But this is just a season.

We decided to move in with my in laws for a time while Sean is in these beginning stages of starting his new business.  He has such an incredible vision for it, and one we both feel that the Lord has given him, and has directed for this time.  Luckily for me, my in laws are amazing.  I have heard stories about in laws that might make you shutter.  Mine are awesome.  They are so loving and generous, just absolutely sweet, wonderful people.

But it is still an adjustment.

Obviously, we are a family of 4 that is used to our little family unit, our routine; and they are used to theirs. I think we are all beginning to adjust though.  Jack is happy as a clam. He has lots of room to play, a beautiful backyard to run around in [and Lord knows that boys needs to run!] and he loves having his Grandma and Grandpa around to play with him! Claire has made her transition into her crib, but is massively teething- so the sleeping situation has been rough.  I am trying to navigate my way around a kitchen that is stocked with things that aren't mine, but other than that, we are starting to feel settled.

July is always a busy month for us anyway- we have 6 birthdays, lots of other events and usually our trip to Hume Lake squeezed in there too. [We leave Saturday, and I cannot wait! A week of sitting by the lake, milkshake in hand...yes please!]

Other than that, I have been reading in Deuteronomy lately and there is a theme that keeps popping up: fearing the Lord.  This is something that the Lord has really been teaching me lately.  Even though I "grew up" in the church and went through Christian school, this was never really taught, which is baffling because it is so fundamental, and so vital to our relationship with the Lord and to our understanding of blessings that the Lord has in store for us.

 The Israelites turned from the Lord countless times; forgetting what He had done for them and for their fathers before them, and neglecting to fear the Almighty God who graciously and lovingly chose them.  If we want to experience the tremendous blessings that God has for us, we should be moved by our fear of the Lord into an attitude obedience to Him.  Obey Him because we fear Him? That doesn't sound like a loving, gracious God...you say.  But just as a child must respect the authority of his parents, in part because of a fear of their position and power and influence over life; so should we honor and respect and fear the power that Almighty God has in our lives.  I believe it is something that is so lacking in our society today, which is why we are so able to justify bad behavior.  If we as believers, are committed to seeking God, we will only find ourselves more firmly planted- face down in awe and reverence before the One who delivers us from the desert and into the promised land of abundant blessing.

Source: etsy.com via Mandy on Pinterest

"And now O Israel what does the Lord ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in al His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today."

Deuteronomy 10:12-13