Our little bit of heaven on Earth...

Menu Plan Monday

2009-08-24T09:41:00.003-04:00

This week's menu is, once again, abbreviated. I am so excited about our camping trip this weekend! Yay! Our meals will be fairly simple this week...I have lots of "catching up" to do and I don't want to tie up too much of my time fix'n supper! I do hope to carve out a little time to bake some big batches of muffins to freeze with Hadley...we will see how that goes!

Monday, August 24th~
Chicken and Noodles
green beans
peaches

Tuesday, August 25th~
Grouper Nuggets
roasted potatoes
broccoli with cheese sauce

Wednesday, August 26th~
Grilled Cheese sandwiches
tomato soup
pears

Thursday, August 27th~
Loaded Omelets with LOTSA veggies!
pancakes

Friday, August 28th-Sunday, August 30th~
CAMPING AT THE BEACH!!!

for more menu planning inspiration, head over to Organizing Junkie

and the winner is...

2009-08-20T06:32:00.002-04:00

I am very pleased to announce the winner of this great giveaway... The winner, chosen by random.org, is...(drum roll, please...) Jennifer Adams! Congratulations, Jennifer!

Thanks to all who participated in this giveaway...I can't wait to do another one!

Have a blessed day!

reminder!

2009-08-19T15:29:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to remind everyone that today is the last day to sign up for this awesome giveaway! You have until midnight tonight! I will announce the winner here on the blog tomorrow. Good Luck!

Gratituesday~just a little more summer

2009-08-18T08:17:00.003-04:00

I am starting to get very excited about our upcoming school year. Our curriculum is here, I have been spiffing up our school room and the kids are ready to dig in. It is gonna be a great year!

But, I am also very thankful that we have just a little bit of summer left to enjoy. Summer is such a care-free time. I still hold dear beautiful memories of my childhood summers-Popsicles, riding my bike, playing outside until dark, watermelon-seed-spitting contests, sparklers on the forth of July.

We are looking forward to a weekend of fun in the sun with family and friends this weekend. And, next weekend we are squeezing in one last summer camp-out at the beach. The weekend after that is Labor Day weekend, and we will be visiting family and celebrating our last official weekend of summer with style!

I am grateful that we have had the opportunity to do so many wonderful things this summer. We have visited beautiful places and spent sweet time with precious friends and family. What a blessing!

for more gratituesday, visit heavenly homemaker

And don't forget about my giveaway!!! Sign up to win an awesome art/painting set for your kids! You have until midnight tomorrow night to enter!

Can I ask you a question???

2009-08-17T21:11:00.004-04:00

As I was cooking chicken nuggets for supper tonight, I started thinking about how wonderfully handy my tongs are. They really are an amazing invention...I seriously use them every day! They make turning sizzling nuggets a breeze! It got me thinking about kitchen appliances and gadgets that I can't (or just really don't want to) live without.

So, my question for you is, what is the one kitchen tool you just can't live without?

Menu Plan Monday

2009-08-17T08:52:00.004-04:00

My menu plan is a little abbreviated this week...this weekend we are traveling over to Panama City to spend some sweet time with family and friends!

I am hoping to get some more recipes up on the blog this week. I am also very excited to see who will win the give~away ! If you haven't signed up to win this awesome kids art set, make sure you do that before midnight on Wednesday! The winner will be announced here on Thursday...I can hardly wait!

Monday, August 17th~
Homemade Chicken nuggets
Homemade Fries
green beans
applesauce

Tuesday, August 18th~
Chicken Spaghetti
corn
pears

Wednesday, August 19th~
grilled cheese sandwiches
tomato soup
carrot sticks
peaches

Thursday, August 20th
Grilled Chicken Quesadillas
refried beans
chips and homemade salsa

Friday, August 21st-Sunday, August 23rd~
OUT OF TOWN

for more Menu Plan Monday, head over to Organizing Junkie!

it's time for a great GIVE-AWAY!!!

2009-08-12T13:21:00.004-04:00

Okay, guys...I am just so excited about this give-away! All Children's Furniture is an awesome website...you have to check it out! They carry everything from beautiful kids furniture to fun and educational toys your kids will love!

They have been kind enough to sponsor this give-away for a very cool paint set that comes with it's own container to keep everything in!
How cool is that!?!

~To enter the give-away, go take a look around their website and come back and leave a comment telling me what your favorite item is.

~For a second entry, become a follower of my blog and leave a comment telling me you did...if you already follow my blog, just leave a comment telling me you already follow me!

~For a third entry, post about this give-away on your blog by copying and pasting this line...

Our Little Bit of Heaven on Earth is hosting an awesome toy give-away sponsored by All Children's Furniture who carries everything from kids furniture to toys! Stop by and enter for a chance to win! Hurry, this give-away ends Wednesday, August 19th at midnight EST!

...come back and leave a comment telling me you posted this on your blog, and leave a link to your blog, please!

~For a forth entry Tweet this give-away...

@EmilyKayWoodall is having a great toy giveaway at http://thewoodallfamily5.blogspot.com/-check it out!!!

...come back and leave a comment letting me know you tweeted!

This give-away will run through Wednesday, August 19th at midnight EST...this contest is only open to U.S. and Canadian residents...the winner will be selected by Random.org...make sure to leave me your email address so that I can contact you if you win!

Good Luck!

how to make a basic cheese sauce

2009-08-11T21:26:00.003-04:00

One of the first things my mom taught me how to cook was a basic cheese sauce. A good cheese sauce can turn ordinary broccoli into something good enough to make for a special occasion. It requires only a few ingredients and they are very basic things I always have on hand. I really don't measure my ingredients, but I tried to estimate about how much of each ingredient I use. This makes a very rich, cheesy sauce...the hot sauce is my secret ingredient...trust me, it is good!

ingredients:

about 1/4 cup butter
a couple of Tbsp of flour
about 2 cups of half and half or milk (I prefer half and half)
about 2 cups of shredded cheese (I use sharp cheddar)
pepper and hot sauce, to taste

In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter...

When the butter is melted, add your flour...

whisk the flour into the butter and allow the flour to cook for a couple of minutes-it is important to cook off the "raw" taste of the flour...

Next, add your half and half and continue to whisk constantly. It will start to bubble..keep whisking...

and it will thicken up...once it has thickened...

add your shredded cheese...

and whisk it in as it melts...

into a yummy, creamy sauce!

season with black pepper and a few shakes of hot sauce...you will not believe how yummy the hot sauce makes it! And, don't worry about it making it too spicy...my kids love it!

This sauce is great on broccoli, as shown, but I also use this sauce on my baked mac and cheese and it is always a hit, as well!

Enjoy!

Gratituesday~sweet time with family and friends in TN

2009-08-11T08:29:00.006-04:00

We had the most wonderful time on our family trip to Tennessee. We spent a couple of days in Savannah, TN. My sister and her husband have just moved in to their beautiful, brand-new home. We were so grateful for their hospitality in letting us crash on their guest bed, futon, air mattresses and couch! Their house is gorgeous, but the real reason we were there was to see them...and it was precious time!
We also got to spend far-to-little sweet time with some very dear friends. The Seller's Family is now living in Savannah, also. John is the associate pastor at Mount Hermon Baptist Church. I am always amazed at how we can go a whole year without seeing these precious friends, and as soon as we get together, it is like we see each other every day! We had so much fun! We grilled-out (one of our favorite pastimes) and the kids played so well together! Becca and I even had the chance to sneak away to the fabric department at Wal-mart and shop and talk without any kids!!! John and Becca also have a beautiful and welcoming home and they are doing an amazing job raising their 2 little ones...Brighton is 3 and he is funny and charming...Raelyn is 5 months old and she is a happy, smiley, sweet and oh-so-cute baby girl!

showing the kids how to shuck corn

Hadley was fascinated by the little worms in the corn

Our yellow lab, Crush loved playing with the Seller's weimaraner, Macey

Avery loved Macey, too!

Ben and baby Raelyn got along great...except when Ben tried to steal kisses...Raelyn does NOT kiss on first dates!

The 2 Mommies

We also visited Clarksville, TN, where I was born and where my grandparents still live. My Grandma Sue graciously hosted us all, and she fed us well while we were there! We had a wonderful afternoon at her house visiting with her, along with my other grandparents, Oma and Pa. I absolutely adore visiting with my grandparents. They are the most fascinating people! On Saturday, we drove over to Nashville to visit my great grandmother, Grandma Katherine. It was wonderful to have the 5 generations together again. Ben enjoyed meeting his great-great-grandmother for the first time. It was a special visit.
We were gone from home for 9 days, but we had such a wonderful visit~we wouldn't have minded staying another 9 days! I am grateful for all of the people who were so gracious and hospitable on our journey. And, I am so thankful that they are apart of my life!

Grandma Sue loving on her first great-grandson

Avery LOVES her Jason!

Isn't he handy?

Ben meeting his great-great Grandma Katherine...(don't know what happened to this pic)

Ben thought Jeff was funny

Ash and I enjoy our visit at Grandma Katherine's while Avery catches a quick nap

our visiting wore this little dude out!

for more gratituesday, visit Laura at Heavenly Homemakers...prepare to be blessed!

What's Going On? All about Avery:UPDATE

2009-08-10T15:15:00.006-04:00

Last Monday was Avery's MRI at Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville. We had to be there at 8 o'clock that morning. We woke Avery up at 5:30 am and gave her some apple juice. She was not allowed to drink anything after 6am. I gave her a bath and got her dressed. We were on the road by 6:30. We arrived a few minutes early, which was nice for my already-elevated stress levels. We got checked in and they sent us to the playroom to wait. This playroom was wonderful! There were toys of every kind for her to play with! They even had a Lightning McQueen ride-on toy...Avery's favorite! She played for a few minutes before they called us back for pre-op stuff. They got Avery's hospital bracelet on her and we changed her into her little hospital gown. They had me fill out more paperwork and asked us lots of questions. After pre-op, we went back to the playroom for about 1 1/2 hours. Avery dug through my purse and found her new Cars toys that were supposed to be a surprise for after the MRI, so we let her play with them and all of her other Cars. She was having a ball! At almost 10am, they took us to the MRI suite. We met with the anesthesiologist and he explained what he would do. He said one parent could go back with Avery while they did "the gas". I went in with her. They set her down on the table and put a "bubble gum" mask on her...they smeared bubble gum scented lip balm on the mask. The anesthesiologist told her to smell the mask and see if it changed from bubble gum to strawberry-this got her breathing more deeply. He told her she could lay down if she was feeling sleepy, but she resisted-she was trying so hard to stay awake and smell the strawberry smell! Her eyes finally closed and I helped lay her down. They told me I could give her a kiss, but not to breath too deeply! I kissed her and then it was time for me to go out. I went and joined Brian in the waiting room. We went to the giftshop and bought her a Cars book and then came back to the waiting room. It felt like the waiting took forever. After close to an hour, they called us back. She was not awake yet...and she did NOT want to wake up! She was sleeping good! We woke her up and she was soooo out of it! We got her dressed and they let us go home. We carried her to the van and gave her the new Cars book. She had not eaten anything since dinner the night before, so she was hungry! She said she wanted Cracker Barrel. We went and she had pancakes and lemonade-2 of her favorite things! She also got the biggest lolly-pop I had ever seen! We took her home and put her down for a nice, long nap. I was so relieved to have it over! On Thursday we got the results from the MRI. Avery has something called PVL. It is not a disease, but rather an injury. When I was in labor with Avery, my contractions were extremely intense and long-lasting. When I had a contraction that lasted for over 5 minutes, Avery's heart rate bottomed out and they had to give me a shot to relax the contraction. They think that during that time, Avery was deprived of oxygen and this caused the injury to her brain. She also spent 8 days in the NICU because of under-developed lungs. This also could have caused too-low oxygen levels. We have now been referred to a pediatric neurologist and a physical therapist. The neurologist will evaluate the MRI also and tell us more about the injury and if there are any other things that go along with the injury. The course of treatment for this is physical therapy. I will continue to update on her as we find out more and as she goes through her therapy. Thanks to all who have supported us and prayed...it means more than you will ever know!

Check this out to find out a little more about PVL!

Avery standing on top of Lightning McQueen modeling her hospital gown

getting a little comfort from her "Dora Blue" and her thumb

Playing with her new Cars toys

Look at that beautiful profile

The worlds biggest lolly-pop

Menu Plan Monday~getting back in the groove

2009-08-10T08:58:00.006-04:00

I can't believe it is already the middle of August! This has been a whirl-wind summer. We have had some amazing adventures and had the opportunity to visit with some wonderful family and friends. We still have some weekend adventures planned, but things are starting to settle back into their routine. I have missed our routine. I am looking forward to staying closer to home. I can't wait to dive back in to another year of school! And, menu planning is much easier when you are actually at home to eat:)

Monday, August 10th~
Mexican Chicken Casserole
Green Beans
Peaches

Tuesday, August 11th~
Grilled Shrimp
Roasted Potatoes
Broccoli with cheese sauce

Wednesday, August 12th~
BLTs
carrot sticks
pears

Thursday, August 13th~
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Homemade Fries
applesauce

Friday, August 14th~
Homemade Pizza Night
Homemade Ice Cream Night

Saturday, August 15th~
Grilled Pork Chops
Sauteed Yellow Squash
Macaroni and Cheese

for more Menu Plan Monday, visit Organizing Junkie!

A day at the park

2009-07-22T10:34:00.006-04:00

Last Friday, the kids and I headed to Gainesville for a Friday Funday! We went to Chic-fil-a and ate breakfast and then headed to the park! We had so much fun. The weather was beautiful that morning...not too hot and no rain!

Hadley Kay posing on the slide

Avery Jane being prissy

Ben loved climbing and sliding!

Hadley and Avery on the "balance beams"

Hadley "helping" Ben

Avery's reaction to mommy telling her it's time to go home

Gratituesday~VACATION!

2009-07-21T21:09:00.004-04:00

I am just so excited about our family vacation! We leave on Friday after Brian gets off work and head to Panama City to visit with family. We will spend a few days there and try to "fit it all in". Our plans include meeting a brand-new baby cousin, eating at some of our favorite spots, going to Ship Wreck Water Park, and my mother-in-law is taking me shopping! Fun! On Tuesday morning we will wake up and head to Tennessee to visit with more family and some very special friends, who are like family! My sister and her husband are moving into their new house and we are so excited to see it! We are hoping to enjoy a few of our favorite spots to eat there, too:) And, I get to see my Grandma Sue, my Oma and Opa, AND my Great Grandmother! I am really looking forward to all my extended family meeting Ben for the first time! Plus, I can't wait to spend 9 days with my hunny bunny! Yay!

So, after Friday I will be on blogging hiatus for about a week. Don't forget to keep praying for Avery...we go for her MRI the day after we get back from vacation. I will update everyone on that situation as soon as we know something!

for more gratituesday, visit the heavenly homemaker!

Gratituesday~Happy Birthday Ben!!!

2009-07-14T07:23:00.004-04:00

Today my precious baby boy is 1 year old. I am not exaggerating when I say that this has been the fastest year of my life! I have been so richly blessed with 3 beautiful children! Thinking back to 1 year ago today, I still can't believe how Ben decided to make his 'grand entrance' into this world. 1 year ago today, I got to experience what a completely natural child-birth feels like; I got my first ride in an ambulance; and I fell in love. All before 7 am. While I was pregnant with Ben, I had such an ideal scenario of his birth in my mind...I never would have imagined the chaotic climax to our story. It was quite a story. At around 5 am that morning, I woke up feeling very uncomfortable. I was having contractions, but I figured if I really was in labor, this was just the beginning. I thought I should try to get some sleep. For about 30-45 minutes I tried to sleep, but finally I decided to wake up Brian and ask him to help me time the contractions. They were about 8 minutes apart at that point. Brian got up and started getting his stuff together and calling/emailing his office to let them know he would not be coming in. I got up and got in the bathtub to try and help me feel better. I really didn't feel like being alone, though, so I got out of the bath and went to sit in the office with Brian while he wrote emails and made phone calls. He called The Birth Center and spoke to the midwife who said we should meet her in an hour. He also called my parents to tell them to come on over to be there with Hadley and Avery. While he was making phone calls, I tried to get up off of the futon in the office to go get dressed. I really struggled to get up and I began to realize I was going to have a baby soon! I went to my bedroom to get dressed, but the contractions suddenly were so intense and close together, I could barely get a break between them to get my clothes on. During this time, my parents arrived and my water broke. Brian called the midwife back and she told him to lay me down in the van and drive to the birth center as fast as he could. Brian and my dad began trying to get me to the van, but I did not feel like I could walk that far...and I knew if I got in the van, I would have the baby on the way to Gainesville...that is NOT what I wanted to do! They got me as far as the front porch before I begged them to call 911. Brian was on the phone with the midwife and when she heard the panic in my voice, she told him to get my back inside and to prepare for the baby to be born. My dad called 911 and I made it as far as the foot-end of our bed before I collapsed. Brian sent my mom to get towels, but before she could make it to the linin closet and back, Benjamin Brian Woodall was born at 6:57 am...I know the exact time because I was staring at the clock when he was born! Brian had the unique opportunity of delivering him. We wrapped him in blankets and towels and I held him close to me until the paramedics arrived. They checked him out and suctioned his nose and mouth. They cut his umbilical cord and cleaned him up a little. Brian was on cloud 9...he was definitley on an adrenaline high. The paramedics loaded me onto a stretcher and took me and baby Ben, along with Brian to the hospital. I am so thankful Ben was not born with any problems. I am thankful that Brian got the opportunity to deliver his son. I am so very grateful for my precious little son.

The Bradford Telegraph ran a story on Ben's unusual birth...to see the story, click here

for more gratituesday, visit the heavenly homemaker

The Big Camping Trip!

2009-07-13T11:32:00.006-04:00

We had such a great time on our camping trip to Gamble Rogers State Park in Flagler Beach, FL. We got to stay for 8 whole days and enjoy the beach with my mom and dad and sisters. It was wonderful! Flagler Beach is one of my favorite places in the whole world...it is a charming little beach village full of character. Gamble Rogers is right on the beach. The kids did great...they slept in a tent for over a week without any complaints...they are such happy little campers! We spent most of our time on the beach, but while we were there we also made a trip to St. Augustine to eat at our favorite shrimp joint, O'Steens, made a trip to Ponce Inlet to see the lighthouse (Clifford, the Big Red Lighthouse, as Avery named it), and made several trips to the "red box" to rent fun kids movies to watch in the tent after dark. It was a week full of family fun!

Sunrise at Gamble Rogers State Park

Ben playing in the tent~he was a happy camper

Hadley and Avery at the Ponce Light~AKA Clifford, the Big Red Lighthouse

Hadley and Avery driving their Jeep Hurricane around the camp ground
Ben playing in the giant pool I dug for him

Suwannee River State Park Hike

2009-07-13T11:05:00.005-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, Brian and I, along with Ben and Crush, had a chance to check out some of the trails at Suwannee River State Park. The park is very nice...everything is newly refurbished. The trails are great! We really enjoyed the Lime Sink Trail. The only down-side...I got a tick on me! YUCK! But, it was a great little mini-adventure with some of my favorite hiking buddies!
Crush was worn out after the hike!

What's Going On? All about Avery

2009-07-13T10:02:00.003-04:00

Many of you have been faithfully praying for Avery Jane over the past few weeks. We are so thankful for your prayers! For those of you who don't know what is going on with her, I thought I would update you on her situation. At her 3 year old check-up, Dr. Anna noticed Avery was holding her left foot very tight. She told us to monitor her and bring her back in if we noticed it happening a lot. After that appointment, we began to notice her walking funny and really turning her left foot in. We also noticed her holding her left arm in close to her body and not using it. So, a couple of weeks ago, we took her back to the doctor to get that checked out. They did a very thorough examination and had Avery walk, run, hop, jump, skip and just about everything else they could have her do. They checked her reflexes, asked us lots of questions and ultimately decided we would need to have an MRI done of the right side of Avery's head to find out why she is struggling to use the muscles on the left side of her body. The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, and vice versa. So, after an agonizing week of trying to get an MRI appointment within a reasonable amount of time, we got an appointment for August 3rd at 10am at Wolfson's Childrens Hospital in Jacksonville. We have to be there at 8 am that morning for pre-op procedures. Avery will have to be sedated for the MRI because she has to lay completely still during the entire procedure. We will know much more after the MRI, but at this point we feel that we will definetly end up in physical therepy with her. She is doing fine...she doesn't even know there is anything wrong! She is a trooper and has done great at all of her appointments. I am so proud of her-she is a very special child! Please pray for us during this time. It is so scary to have something not right with your child. We are so thankful for all of the faithful prayers being sent up on our behalf. I will continue to update the blog on this situation as we get new information.

Menu Plan Monday

2009-07-12T15:38:00.008-04:00

This past week, we stayed pretty close to our menu plan. Friday night, Brian surprised me with a date night to the Melting Pot...it was very neat! We had never been before. I loved the cheese and the dessert. It was pretty pricey, though...a rare treat for us:) It was a much-needed night off from cooking, as well as caring for kiddos. I am so thankful for my mom and dad...they took great care of the kids and had them all sleeping soundly in their beds when we got home! This week, there is no room in our budget for any more "date nights"...we will be sticking to the plan!

Monday, July 13th~
Grilled Shrimp
sauteed yellow squash and onions
Baked Potatoes

Tuesday, July 14th~BEN'S 1st BIRTHDAY!
Loaded Veggie Omelets
Chocolate-Chip Pancakes

Wednesday, July 15th~
BLTs/Grilled Cheese sandwiches
fruit salad

Thursday, July 16th~
Spaghetti
salad
applesauce

Friday, July 17th~
Homemade Pizza Night!

Saturday, July 18th~
Grilled Pork Chops
Broccoli with cheese
Pesto-Pasta salad with LOTs of summer veggies!

Sunday, July 19th~
Leftovers!!!

Gratituesday-Healthy Steps Pediatrics

2009-07-07T07:32:00.003-04:00

Anyone who has children knows how important it is to have a good relationship with your child's doctor and office staff. As a parent, we only want the very best for our children! I am so thankful for all of the ladies at Healthy Steps Pediatrics! When we moved to this area in 2005, I knew I needed to find a good doctor for little Hadley...and quick! I searched the internet for a practice that was relatively close and that would accept our insurance...we had tricare at the time because of Brian's Coast Guard service. I found Healthy Steps online and gave them a call to see if I could just come in and meet them. I knew after the first encounter with this extraordinary group of women that we had found a treasure. Since then, we have added baby Avery and baby Ben to the mix. All 3 of my children LOVE Dr. Anna. She is sharp and professional, but gentle and kind. The nurse practioners are wonderful, also. They are very thorough! The whole staff is great. These are some of the sweetest ladies you will ever meet. They have a beautiful, clean office with lots of toys and fun distractions for the kids. They always work to get us in quickly. They have truly been a blessing to me and my family. I am especially thankful to Renee who went above and beyond for us this week as we tried to get Avery an MRI scheduled within a reasonable amount of time. Avery got an appointment for August 3rd at Wolfson's Children's Hospital in Jacksonville. I will blog more about her situation in another post...

for more Gratituesday, visit Laura at Heavenly Homemakers and prepare to be blessed!

Menu Plan Monday

2009-07-06T16:52:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I really really REALLY need to get back to reality. The past couple of weeks have been crazy for me and I need to regain control! After being out of town for over a week and being sick last week, I am ready to get back into my routine! Making a menu plan is a great way to do that. Last week I worked from a loose menu plan and tried to incorporate lots of tomatoes into our meals because our tomato plants are going crazy! I played around with chicken and tomatoes and basil and came up with a very yummy new chicken dish...I will have to share that one soon! Here is what I have come up with for this week:

Monday, July 6th~
Baked grouper fillets with homemade salsa
broccoli and cheese
pineapple

Tuesday, July 7th~
Chicken Tortilla soup
watermelon

Wednesday, July 8th~
Grilled Cheese sandwiches
carrots and cucumbers
sliced tomatoes
watermelon

Thursday, July 9th~
Baked Pork Chops
yellow squash and onions
baked potatoes

Friday, July 10th~
Black Beans and Rice with Pork
sliced tomatoes and cucumbers
pineapple

Saturday, July 11th~
Grilled Chicken Quesadillas
refried black beans
pears

Learn to sew with me!

2009-06-12T16:04:00.003-04:00

Want to join me on an adventure? I found this sewing machine on craigslist for a very reasonable price. And, since my birthday is coming up, Brian bought it for me! But, I have never sewn a stitch! "Sew", over the next few weeks, I will be posting updates on my progress. My mom is taking me to Joann's for my birthday to get me all the supplies I need and some cute fabrics and such. I can't wait to get started! Stay tuned for pics of my 1st projects.

And, since I am brand new to this, I would love some input from some more experienced seamstresses! Any advice or stories you would like to share would be greatly appreciated!

Garden Update

2009-06-09T09:32:00.003-04:00

Just a quick update on our garden...

We Have TOMATOES!!!

All of the rain we have been getting has actually been rough on our garden. And, don't get me started on caterpillars. My little herb garden has really struggled. Our squash got squashed. Our peppers got pulverized. But, our tomatoes have held on and are now starting to ripen! I have fresh tomatoes and basil and rosemary. I may regroup on the rest of my herbs and start fresh. I just have a NEED for some fresh cilantro:)

Gratituesday-Florida State Parks

2009-06-09T08:11:00.006-04:00

One of our favorite things to do together as a family is camp. We have been bitten hard by the camping bug! It is a pretty economical way for us to "get away" every now and then. It is so much fun to sit around a little campfire and talk and drink coffee early in the morning. It is such an adventure to set up camp and explore and "trek" to the "bathhouse" with your kids. It is so freeing to let your kids get as dirty as they want and not worry about it for a little while! This past weekend our family decided to escape from the Bike Fest (motorcycles up and down our street and very loud bands playing on a stage 100 yards from our house, thankyou-very-much!) and head to the "REAL Florida"...a F lorida State Park! Gold Head Branch State Park is located in Keystone Heights, Florida...about 20 minutes from our house! This was our first time camping at Gold Head. It was SO NEAT! It is located in the area known as The Central Florida Ridge. It has lakes and sandhills and a huge ravine with every sort of flora and fauna! On Saturday morning, we went on a hike-it was National Trails Day! Part of The Florida Trail runs through Gold Head. It was a lot of fun...Brian carried Avery in the backpack carrier. Hadley was a good little hiker for about the first mile, after that, I carried her on my back a lot...wow-what a workout! Ben stayed with Grammy and Grandaddy since he was recovering from an ear infection. He had a great time and enjoyed not having to share the grandparents with his sisters! Florida has some WONDERFUL State Parks...we are very blessed! The camping facilities at all of the parks I have camped have been clean and well-kempt. The staff and volunteers are enthusiastic and passionate about their park. In Florida, we have an ocean, a gulf, rivers, springs, lakes and much more...so much opportunity for exploration! I am just so thankful for the state park system. And, of course, I am thankful that God created so many wonderful things for us to explore! Praise be to Him!

Hadley holding a baby ringneck snake we found on our hike through the ravine

The girls exploring the dried-up lake bed

mommy and the girls just hanging out together at Gold Head State Park

Menu Plan Monday

2009-06-08T08:20:00.003-04:00

We followed last weeks menu plan pretty closely. I am trying so hard to keep us under budget! We did splurge a little on Friday night and I bought smore fix'ns and hotdogs for our camping trip (more on that later!), but other than that-we stuck to the plan:)
Here is what we have planned for this week:

Monday, June 8th~
Shrimp Alfredo
Broccoli with cheese
peaches

Tuesday, June 9th~
Loaded Omelets
toast
pancakes

Wednesday, June 10th~
Baked Pork Chops
pasta salad
broccoli

Thursday, June 11th~
Dinner in Tallahassee with Brian's parents
(dropping off Hadley and Avery for a weekend with the grandparents)

Friday, June 12th~
Black Beans and Rice with pork
steamed carrots and peas
fried bananas

Saturday, June 13th~
Veggie Stirfry
fried rice
homemade icecream

For more Menu Plan Monday, visit Organizing Junkie and link up your own Menu Plan for the week!

Pasta with Tomato-Basil Sauce

2009-06-01T21:38:00.008-04:00

Okay...so I am going to start posting recipes. The only problem is that I don't use exact measurements. But, I take a lot of pics...maybe that will help. So, here goes. This is one of our favorite things to eat during the summer months. It is healthy and fresh and easy. It is very basic, but it can easily be modified to suit your taste.

ingredients:
6-7 large roma tomatoes
handful of fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp. minced garlic
liberal drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
light drizzle of balsamic vinegar
sea salt and cracked pepper, to taste
fresh grated parmesan cheese, to taste
1 box of your favorite pasta-whole grain is best!
Cook pasta according to package directions.

cut up tomatoes and throw them in the pan with a liberal drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a light drizzle of balsamic vinegar, about a tablespoon of minced garlic and salt/pepper, to taste. Cook over medium heat until tomatoes soften a little and are warmed through.

Take about a handful of fresh basil and chop it up...mine is growing in my garden! Don't throw the basil in until the last minute.

Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and toss together.

Finally, stir in your fresh grated parmesan cheese. Serve immediately. We like to eat ours with a fresh, green salad!

Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday-UPDATED!

2009-05-31T21:10:00.005-04:00

Here is our menu plan for this week. I have been working very hard to stick to the plan and stay under budget for our groceries this past month. We have been having at least one meatless meal per week to cut down on cost. This week we are having 2 meatless meals. Poor Brian;) I have had a couple of people tell me they wish I would post recipes. I am going to start trying to get them posted so I can just link to them when I make my menu plans each week. For more on menu planning and lots of great recipe links head over to orgjunkie.com
Have a blessed week!

Sunday, May 31st-
Lunch-BLTs, pears, cottage cheese
Supper-Leftovers or PB & Js

Monday, June 1st-
Pasta with Fresh Tomato-Basil Sauce
tossed salad
homemade french bread

Tuesday, June 2nd-
Chicken and Rice
Green Beans
Pears

Wednesday, June 3rd-
Chicken Tortilla soup
Apple sauce

Thursday, June 4th-
Poppyseed Chicken
broccoli
peaches

Friday, June 5th-
camping at Gold Head! Grilled Quesadillas
Chips and salsa
smores

Saturday, June 6th-
Lunch-Picnic at Gold Head State Park after hike
Dinner-Macaroni and Tomatoes with Cheese
Pinto Beans
corn bread

Menu Plan Monday

2009-05-24T06:00:00.000-04:00

This is a very off week for our family! The first part of the week, we are out of town and the middle part of the week, my sister is town. I imagine we will be spending much of our time at my mom and dad's house visiting. I was tempted to not do a menu plan for this week, but really wanted to stay in the habit and remain disciplined! So, here is our tentative menu for this week!

Monday, May 25th-
out of town

Tuesday, May 26th-
traveling/dinner at mom and dad's?

Wednesday, May 27th-
AWANA awards at church!
Tuna sandwiches/PB & Js, macaroni salad

Thursday, May 28th-
last night with Ashley-dinner at mom and dad's?

Friday, May 29th-
homemade pizza night!

Saturday, May 30th-
grilled chicken quesadillas
refried black beans
strawberry-lime slushes

Sunday, May 31st-
BLTs
carrot, cucumber, pepper stix

Gratituesday

2009-05-19T08:55:00.003-04:00

I love sunny, warm weather. I love playing outside with my kids from morning until evening. I love tank-tops and sundresses, flip-flops and sunglasses. I love hot, humid Florida heat. But, today, I am thankful for the chilly and drizzly weather we have had for the past 2 days. Why? Well, our little lawn and garden was getting pretty thirsty! And, today, the girls and I will spend our time baking and learning and laughing inside of our cozy, warm and dry house-what a blessing! Now, don't get me wrong-the kids do go a little "stir crazy" after being cooped up inside all day. And, I will be very thankful when this wet weather passes and we can play outside again. But, for now, I am thanking God for the gift of rain.

join Laura at Heavenly Homemakers for more gratituesday!

Brian and Emily's camping-date mini-adventure!

2009-05-18T14:51:00.004-04:00

A couple of weekends ago, Brian and I had our first over-night "date" since before we had children 5 years ago. As I blogged about here, we don't go out for dates very often. But, when we do go out, we do it in our own unique style. One of the things that brought us together to begin with was a love for music. Over the years, we have been to quite a few great concerts and Brian has a talent for scoring us awesome seats. When Brian found out that James Taylor was coming to one of our all-time favorite venues, The St. Augustine Amphitheater, he knew we had to go. I grew up listening to JT. My dad is one of JT's biggest fans and he raised me with a love and respect for that music and message. So, one of my favorite musicians at one of my favorite venues for concerts and camping...it was the perfect get-away for us! On Friday afternoon we packed up our tent and headed to Anastasia State Park. We set up camp, relaxed for a while and then walked to the amphitheater for the 8 o'clock show. The show was great! The weather was perfect, our seats were awesome, as always. JT was...amazing. He played a couple of nice, long sets. After the show, we walked back to our camp site and sat around our little fire. We ate smores and talked-without kids interupting! The next morning we got up and went down to the beach for a while. I love being at the beach early in the morning! After we packed up camp, we drove around St. Augustine for a little while looking at old houses and then went and had lunch at Mango Mangos...so yummy! After lunch, we headed home. It was wonderful, but I missed my babies and was refreshed and happy to see them when we got to my mom and dad's house to pick them up. It was a great little adventure with my favorite guy!

A Star is Born

2009-05-18T14:20:00.003-04:00

Last Sunday night, a star was born. Several stars, actually. Our children's choir at church, the KPs, helped lead in worship for a very special Mother's Day service. They did a fantastic job! I have been so blessed to be a leader in KPs this year. These kids worked very hard to prepare for this service and their hard work really payed off! I, as a mama, was especially proud of my own little KP. Hadley made her official solo debut. (her unofficial solo debut took place in June of 2006 when she sang her rendition of 'Old McDonald' at a most inappropriate time-my sister's wedding ceremony!) Hadley loves to sing and is most certainly not even a little bit shy about being onstage! The service went great. It was a Mother's Day I will never forget:)

To see a video clip of Hadley singing her solo, click here

Swagbucks

2009-05-18T11:12:00.003-04:00

Have you ever heard of swagbucks?

If you are like me, you "google" things every day. Any time I wonder about anything, I go "google" it. Well, swagbucks is a search engine that is powered by google. Instead of going to google.com, I go to swagbucks.com and search just the same way I would at google. But, at swagbucks, I earn points, or bucks, that can be traded in for all sorts of prizes. After you rack up enough swagbucks, you can get giftcards to places like amazon.com, Starbucks, Barnes and Noble and many more! How cool is that!?! At first, I kept wondering what the catch was, but I have been using it for a while now and I have racked up quite a few swagbucks! And, lots of people I know have been trading their swagbucks in for prizes. So, if you want to start earning swagbucks just for searching the web, head here and sign up. I have not received any annoying emails or anything by signing up! And, if you follow the link on my blog to swagbucks, I earn extra swagbucks for getting you to sign up! YAY! Check it out...this may just be the next "big thing":)

Menu Plan Monday

2009-05-18T10:37:00.003-04:00

I have not really taken the time to plan out my menus for the past couple of weeks. It has made dinner time much more stressful and the temptation to just go "grab a bite" at a fast-food joint more appealing. I have learned my lesson and I am back on the wagon:) Taking just a few minutes to plan ahead helps me to save money and time. I am able to thoughtfully put together healthy and frugal meals for my family. It really is wonderful! For more on menu planning and lots of great menu plans and recipe links, visit orgjunkie.com

Monday, May 18-
Chicken and noodles
green beans
peaches

Tuesday, May 19-
Macaroni and Tomatoes
pinto beans
corn bread

Wednesday, May 20-
Tabbouleh Salad
homemade pitas
carrot sticks
pears

Thursday, May 21-
Left-over Bar
homemade icecream

Friday, May 22-Tuesday, May 26-
Out of Town for Memorial Day weekend!

Garden update!

2009-05-16T13:50:00.004-04:00

Our garden has now been planted for about 6 weeks. Things are really starting to get exciting! I am learning so much as we go. Our tomatoes are doing great-we have lots of little green tomatoes growing and ripening, our peppers were doing great...until Crush figured out how to get around the chicken wire fence Brian built. We are hoping to still get some peppers off the couple of plants that survived. We reinforced the fence-hopefully it will keep the garden-Crusher out! Our basil is doing pretty well, but the tomatoes have grown so big that they are blocking the sun from getting to the basil. Next year we will plant the basil somewhere else. Our parley, dill, chives, and cilantro seem to be doing well. My cinnamon basil and stevia is doing great! Sadly, my chocolate mint and chamomile never germinated:( I am so disappointed about that! Our hibiscus plants are all doing great as well as some of the other flowers. I am learning which flowers I like in my little garden and which are not worth the effort to me. The flower beds look a little wild right now. The sweet potato vine is taking over! I really need to cut some stuff back, I think. So far, everything has went pretty well and I have had so much fun learning and growing!

I am ready to blog again!

2009-05-16T08:26:00.002-04:00

Long time, no blog! I have so many things I want to blog about! Over the past couple of weeks, I have been doing some spring cleaning and preparing for the summer. I decided to take that time to go on hiatus from blogging. It really did help me to be more focused on the day-to-day activities of managing my home, but I sure have missed sharing the day-to-day activities with you! I can't wait to get you all caught up on everything you missed!:) So, look out for some new posts over the next couple of days!

Nacho Night!

2009-04-30T14:11:00.001-04:00

With 3 kids ages 5 and younger in our house, regular date nights are easier to talk about than to actually do. We know the importance of spending quality time with each other. We know we are supposed to be each other's first priority. But, we also know that finding a baby sitter for 3 kids and finding the energy to dress up and go out and finding the money to go eat at a restaurant is much more of a challenge than we are up to. So, we have started having date nights at home after the kids are in bed. We work very hard to make sure our kids are in bed around 8 pm each night. This gives Brian and I time to enjoy hanging out with each other in the evenings. Last week, we decided to watch a movie and make nachos for our "date night in". I made supper for the kids before they went to bed, but Brian and I skipped supper and just ate nachos for our meal. Trust me, these kind of nachos are more than enough for a meal! They were so delecious I just had to share the recipe!Here is all the ingredients. We sauted some chicken cutlets seasoned up with chili powder, cumin and salt in the olive oil. The chicken you see on the plate has been finely shredded already. Also pictured is a cup with homemade salsa. If you don't have homemade salsa, you could always use the jarred stuff. There is also a can of refried black beans, sourcream, jalepeno slices, mexican cheese, shredded lettuce and Tostitos Multigrain Chips. And, of course, lime. Everything taste better with lime!First, we spread the chips out onto a cookie sheet. Then, I dolloped some of the refried black beans onto the chips.

Brian helped, too! He is very serious about his jalepenos! He put lots of cheese and shredded chicken and jalepenos on the nachos.

Look at all of that cheese! Yummy!

After we got all of our ingredients on the nachos, we placed them in a 400 degree oven and let them cook for about 7-8 minutes.
Here they are fresh out of the oven. At this point, grab your salsa, sourcream, lettuce, etc. and add them to the nachos! They taste SO good!

Um...yeah.
Brian was very proud that he did not let any nachos go to waste. We had a wonderful "date night in" that night! We couldn't have had a better time if we would have went to the fanciest restarunt in Starke. HA!

Garden Update

2009-04-27T14:44:00.010-04:00

I am so excited about my garden this year! We have had our veggies planted for about a month now. Our tomatoes and peppers are coming along very nicely. I mentioned my squash problems here. I am not sure if they are going to recover. It looks as though they may be trying to peak out from the soil...I will keep you posted on that!

My herbs are growing well, too. I have some sweet basil planted in the big box with the veggies. It has been in the ground for about 2 weeks. My basil tends to grow huge and I use a lot of it in my summer cooking. I plant a lot of sweet basil! We love our pesto around here! Here is a picture of my basil after 2 weeks.

I also have parsley, cilantro, rosemary and dill growing in a small garden box on my front porch. It is doing pretty well and I am looking forward to using it in a lot of yummy recipes very soon!

I am very excited about my latest seeds I received in the mail last week. I just planted them in containers. Soon I will have my own tea garden to enjoy! YAY! I have stevia, chamomile, chocolate mint, lavendar and cinnamon basil! Here is a picture of my baby cinnamon basil popping through the soil. How exciting!

This is a picture of my newest plant. My mother-in-law graciously gave me a pineapple plant this weekend! I don't know much about growing them yet, but I plan on researching it today. I just love the way it looks on my porch-so tropical! And, I love a fresh cut pineapple!

I also wanted to show you my chinese honey trees. If you have never had a chinese honey, you haven't lived yet! Chinese honeys are a citrus fruit. You can learn all about them here. They happen to be one of my all-time favorite foods. You can only get them during December and January. A few years ago, I planted some seeds from the fruit. They are in their 3rd year of growth. We wont see any fruit on them for about 4 more years. Until then, I will be keeping the growers in business! We tend to go through several bags of them each season. Here is how they look now.

This is one of my 3 hibiscus plants. I love hibiscus!

So, that is how my garden is growing! I will update again in a couple of weeks and hopefully everything will be a lot bigger by then! Until then, Happy Gardening!

Healthy and Happy!

2009-04-22T09:19:00.004-04:00

This week all 3 kids had their well check-ups. Taking 3 kids to the doctor is a pretty big undertaking. I knew I would need a little assistance so I asked my sister, Bethany to come along. She was a big help! I am happy to report all 3 kids did great and all are very healthy and growing well!

Ben weighed in at 18 pounds and 4 ounces. Although he is much bigger than the girls were at his age, he is still only in the 14th percentile. Dr. Anna said he is perfectly healthy, though. He is a great eater, but he is so active he burns a lot of calories throughout the day! His birthmark is going down in size and will probably be gone by the time he is 2. She is giving him until his 12 month appointment to get his eye cleared up. He has had a clogged tear duct since he was born. If it is not clear by his 12 month appointment, we are going to have to have a procedure done to manually open up the duct. The procedure itself is very minor, but they would have to administer anesthesia. Please be praying that it opens up on it's own in the next 3 months! He had to have a finger prick to check his hemoglobin levels. He was a champ and barely cried. He was officially pronounced a happy and healthy 9 month old!

Avery did so much better than I expected! She watched her brother and sister getting weighed and measured and checked out first and then she was ready for her turn. She weighed 26 pounds. She was in the 10th percentile for her weight. Dr. Anna listened to her heart and looked in her mouth and had her jump around and tell her about shapes and colors. Ave did great. She did make sure to tell everyone that she was NOT getting a shot! She looks great, but Dr. Anna wants us to watch her left foot. She holds her foot very tense and walks funny on it. Dr. Anna said if that keeps up, she may need to do a little physical therapy for it. We would covet your prayers on that!

Hadley had her big 5-year, before-kindergarten check-up. They checked her for just about everything! She weighed 36 pounds and was 42 inches tall. She is in the 19th percentile for height and weight. She had her vision and hearing tested. She had to pee in a cup-she thought this was hilarious! She also had a finger-prick to check hemoglobin levels. She got 3 shots, too. I held her while she got her shots and she did great. I could tell she was pretty nervous, but she sat very still and let them give her the shots in her upper legs. Dr. Anna had her jump around and hop on one foot and balance. She also had her write her name and draw some shapes. Dr. Anna was very impressed with Hadley's hand-writing and told us we need to watch her in kindergarten to make sure she doesn't get bored with the work. She suggested supplementing her regular work to keep her challenged. Hadley checked out as healthy and ready to start school in the fall!

It was a very long appointment and afterward we were all hungry! We got our stickers and lollipops and headed to Chic-fil-a! We all ate lunch AND got ice cream and the girls had a great time on the playground.

I am so thankful for 3 healthy and happy children. What a blessing!

Aunt Fran

2009-04-18T11:58:00.002-04:00

Last month, we were so blessed to be able to sneak over to Tampa and visit with Brian's great-aunt Fran. She is a true southern lady. When we arrived, she had lemonade and cookies ready and waiting for us. We had a wonderful time catching up with her and the kids loved her! We took a nice stroll around the pond and enjoyed the perfect spring weather and the beautiful flowers that were just bursting into bloom! It was such an enjoyable afternoon. I hope to be able to go back and visit her soon. She is such a rich wealth of knowledge and experience. I feel like I have so much to learn from her. I am so thankful for this precious link to generations past!

our little veggie garden

2009-04-14T14:03:00.005-04:00

Well, our veggies have been in the ground for about 2 weeks now. We planted tomatoes, bell peppers and squash this year. Our tomatoes and peppers are looking good, but I have the worst luck with squash! Every year I plant squash and every year something happens to it! This year, Avery is what happened to it. She decided to pick all of the leaves off of the plants. I am hoping they come back, but wont be surprised if we don't get any squash again this year. I also have a little herb box with basil, cilantro, rosemary, chives, parsley and dill. I love herbs! I think I may order some more herb seeds online. I would love to have a whole "tea garden" with chamomile, mint, ginger, etc. Eventually, we want to have a much larger garden with a lot more veggies. But, for now, this is all we have time to keep up with! We do the "raised bed" method of gardening. Brian built our garden box for us year before last. As the kids get older, I would like to add more boxes. I think gardening is so great for kids. What a wonderful, hands-on way for kids to learn about where their food comes from, healthy eating habits, photosynthesis, and much more! Plus, kids just love to get their hands dirty! Stay tuned for garden updates over the next few months. And, if you have any garden tips for me that you would like to share-PLEASE leave them in the comments! We are beginning gardeners and are so eager to learn from anyone who is willing to share their experience!

Gratituesday

2009-04-14T09:33:00.007-04:00

As I tried to decide what to blog about for Gratituesday this week, I realized I am so very blessed. I have so many things that I am thankful for...I don't even know where to begin! Easter is such a refreshing time. What a glorious weekend we had! First, I am so so SO thankful for Jesus. Thankyou, Lord for being the perfect, sinless sacrifice. Thankyou for the cross. Thankyou for the resurrection. Thankyou for making a way for sinners to be justified and sanctified. Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou! I am also ever-so-thankful to have been blessed with a precious family to celebrate our Lord's ressurection with. My sweet and helpful husband was hand-chosen just for me by a loving and merciful God. How awesome is that!?! My 3 beautiful, healthy children who make Easter ( and everyday) much cuter and more fun! My godly parents who are so supportive and helpful. My unique and "random" little sister who makes me so proud! These are the characters with which I was blessed to spend the day. I am also thankful for an AMAZING church family. What a day we had on Sunday! WOW! We have THE BEST music minister in the world. The musical Sunday night was such a blessing to be a part of. What a weekend. Oh, I am blessed. Beyond measure. THANKYOU JESUS!!!

Gratituesday is hosted by The Heavenly Homemaker

Disney on Ice

2009-04-10T14:55:00.003-04:00

Last night was Girl's Night Out! We had such a great time at Disney on Ice in Jacksonville. Hadley, Avery and I joined our dear friends Monica, Reese and Reganne Robinson and Priscilla, Makayla and Ms. Harriet Jackson for a special girls-only night! We had dinner at Chic-fil-a before the show. Hadley was so excited to be eating at her favorite resturant with her best friend. They were so cute!
The show was amazing! We saw Lightning McQueen, Mater, Sally, Ramone, and Doc during the first part. Of course, that was Avery's favorite part of the night! It was really neat to see those cars racing around on the ice. Ramone even "hit the switches" for us!
Then, it was time for The Little Mermaid. That was my favorite part of the show. The Little Mermaid came out when I was in 3rd grade and it was my very favorite movie as a little girl. I felt like a kid again as I sang along to all the songs. It was great!
The Lion King portion of the show was next. The costumes were beautiful! The girls were a little scared of the part with Scar and the hyenias, but they really did enjoy the music and Timone and Pumba cracked them up!
The Fairies were the stars of the show. They came out after the intermission and they were the entire second half of the show. The look on Hadley's face when her favorite fairy, Silvermist skated out was priceless! It really was one of the best productions I have ever seen. The colors and music and special effects were just breath-taking!
It was a wonderful evening out with my precious girls. I would definitely recommend the show to anyone with little girls!

Disney/Sea World!!!

2009-04-08T15:18:00.008-04:00

We had such a wonderful time on our vacation. It was such a blessing to have 4 full days with my precious family! Where to begin? Well, we woke up early Thursday morning. I went to the kitchen to start breakfast. We like to eat a big breakfast before we leave for the parks. We made chocolate chip Mickey pancakes! Yummy!

Well, while I was fixing breakfast, Brian went to wake up the girls. He went to the girl's beds to discover a very feverish Avery. She had a temperature of 104 degrees! Needless to say, we got off to a late start that day! After children's motrin, she was feeling a little better and we decided to head out and try to make the most of the day. We went to Disney's Animal Kingdom that day. Avery spent the majority of the day sleeping in the stroller. We did have a great time that day, though. The girls absolutely LOVED the show Nemo, The Musical. They also both loved the Triceratop Spin, a fun little kiddie ride in the Dino-land section of the park. They were intrigued by the Safari, too. We even got to see the Lions up and prowling around. The animals were really awake and active this time! Even with Avery being sick, we all had a great day!

Hadley got her face painted!

On Friday, Avery was feeling a lot better! That was good, since it was her birthday! We got up and had another special breakfast-Daddy made sausage balls! The girls got dressed in their princess dresses and we headed to The Magic Kingdom! Brian's parents and my mom and sister, Ashley came down and joined us for the day. It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun! We ate lunch at The Crystal Palace with Pooh Bear and Friends. It was GREAT!

On Saturday, we went to Sea World. It was another great day! I think Sea World was actually Avery's favorite place! She has now decided she wants to be a whale trainer when she grows up! They loved the Shamu show and the water and sand play areas the best. And, each of the girls got to pick out a stuffed animal. Avery chose a big, plush Shamu and Hadley picked the biggest stuffed dolphin I have ever seen! It is HUGE! It was a great way to end a great vacation!

Ben in the giant sand box at Sea World

Avery is 3 years old!

2009-04-06T14:53:00.002-04:00

Avery Jane-6 months old

Avery Jane pulls up! 8 months old

Avery and her Blues Clues-9 months old

Avery's First Valentine's Day

Avery's First Birthday-3/20/07
Grill cheese for Breakfast-Ave's Fave:)

It is hard for me to believe that my baby girl is 3 years old already. It really seems like just the other day we were looking down on her tiny little body hooked up to machines in the NICU at Wolfson's Children's hospital in Jacksonville. Avery Jane is a tough little cookie. Looking at her then, she seemed so tiny and helpless and fragile. She had a very rough start. She was born a month early. When she was born, she looked so beautiful. But, she couldn't cry. She made a pitiful grunting noise. She was whisked away to the NICU. It was the strangest feeling. She was in the NICU and Brian was gone to tell our families what was going on. The doctors and nurses had finished up and left me all alone. I knew I had just given birth, but it all felt so unreal. It almost felt like maybe I had just dreamed the whole thing. We didn't get to hold her or feed her for the first week of her life. It was the scariest time I have ever experienced. To look at her now, one would never guess she had ever had such a rough start. She is an amazing little girl. She is sweet and funny, tough and beautiful. She loves to play outside. She loves dogs, especially Crush! She is a HUGE Lightning McQueen fan. She likes to wear dresses every day. She has a stubborn streak. She says she wants to be a whale trainer when she grows up. She is such a blessing to me. I am ever-so-thankful to God for the wonderful gift of Avery Jane. Happy Birthday to Avery!

Menu Plan Monday and Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

2009-04-06T14:11:00.006-04:00

Monday, 4/6-
Spagetti with meatballs
corn
applesauce

Tuesday, 4/7-
baked pork chops
mac and cheese with broccoli
pears

Wednesday, 4/8-
church night-sandwiches

Thursday, 4/9-
girls night out-Chic-fil-a
boys night in-leftovers

Friday, 4/10-
Black Beans and Rice with pork
homemade cuban bread
corn
fried bananas

Saturday, 4/11-
taboulleh salad
homemade hummus
homemade pitas
fruit salad

Find more dinner time inspiration at organzingjunkie.com

It has been an exciting and busy few weeks for our family. We have been in and out and on the go quite a bit and I am very behind on many household tasks. I am also behind on blogging! I am going to attempt to catch things up this week. I will be blogging about all of our adventures over the past few weeks, including: Avery turned 3!, our Disney/Sea World trip, our visit with Aunt Fran, our visit with Ashley, and our camping adventures. Also, on Thursday night, Hadley, Avery and I will be going to see Disney on Ice in Jacksonville with some dear friends-I will take lots of pics and blog that, too! Boy, I sure have my work cut out for me!

Gratituesday

2009-03-17T09:05:00.002-04:00

This week, I have Disney on the brain! In about 31 hours, the Woodall Family is outtahere! I am so excited about this trip. 4 days with my precious family. I am looking forward to watching my kids take in the wonder and magic that is Disney World. They are just about to bust with excitement! We are going to Disney's Animal Kingdom on Thursday. The kids have never been. Hadley is very interested in animals and veterenary care. She is going to LOVE Animal Kingdom. Avery's birthday is on Friday and we will be at Disney's Magic Kingdom. They both are so excited to go back. We are eating lunch at Crystal Palace for Ave's birthday. Saturday, we are going to Sea World. Avery is the most excited about that!
I am just so grateful for a fun-filled trip with my family. Thankyou, God for my family!!!

Menu Plan Monday

2009-03-16T09:38:00.002-04:00

This week my menu plan is a tad bit abbreviated. We are leaving Wednesday for our Orlando trip!!! Yay! I had to adjust some things from last week's menu plan. I got sick Thursday night, so Brian ordered a pizza for he and the girls. Friday night, the kids and I went to the fair with a friend. So, we will have the chicken tetrazzini this week. I made the Lentil and Brown Rice casserole last week, but we didn't really care for it. My main goal this week is to use up some chicken I cooked before we leave.

Monday, March 16-
Creamy Chicken and Veggie Lasagna
Corn
Applesauce

Tuesday, March 17- St. Patty's Day!
Chicken Tetrazzini
green beans
pears
*Special St. Patty's Day dessert! Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream:) (Green, of course)

Wednesday, March 18
*make homemade soft pretzles and cookies for trip snacks
Sandwiches on the Road
Carrot Sticks
Raisens
trip snacks!

Thursday, March 19-Disney's Animal Kingdom!!!
Breakfast-chocolate chip pancakes (shaped like Mickey, of course!) at the condo-we like to eat a BIG breakfast before we go-and than we only eat one meal in the park later in the day

Friday, March 20-AVERY'S 3RD BIRTHDAY!!! Disney's Magic Kingdom
Breakfast-Birthday Muffins
Lunch/Dinner-Character Dining at the Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh and friends!!!

Saturday, March 21-Sea World
Breakfast-Leftover Muffins
Dinner-kids-with Brian's parents, Emily and Brian-DATE!!!:)

Sunday, March 22
eat on the road

See everyone when we get back!!!

AWANA Hawaiian Night

2009-03-12T10:34:00.003-04:00

Last night in AWANAs at church was Hawaiian night. The kids love our AWANA program. Hadley is in Cubbies (our 3-4 year old preschool program), and Avery is in Puggles (our 2 year old program). They really learn so much each week!

The Puggles learn basic concepts about God and His wonderful creation. Avery absolutely adores her teacher, Ms. Dodie. She comes home each week and tells me all about what God made. She sings me silly songs she learned. She loves going to Puggles so much.

Hadley, my little Cubbie, has learned so much scripture through the AWANA program. They learn verses each week. Hadley has earned all of her badges for her Cubbies vest so far. She loves Wednesdays. Going to Cubbies to see her friends and all of her wonderful leaders is one of the highlights of her week! And, you would be amazed at all the scripture she has memorized.

I know Ben will be a little Puggle before I know it. Hadley is looking forward to moving upstairs into Sparks next year. Avery will move up to Cubbies. I am so thankful that our church has a AWANA program. We love it!

Gratituesday

2009-03-10T09:44:00.004-04:00

Well, we have sprung forward into daylight savings time. I know most of us don't have an hour of sleep to spare. Most of us don't get enough sleep as it is! I knew Sunday would be rough. But, I am still trying to catch up!

But, I LOVE daylight savings time. Last night, Brian got home from work around 5:30. We ate dinner out on the front porch. While I cleaned up the dinner dishes, the girls splashed around in their kiddie pool and Brian did some yard work. It is so wonderful to have some daylight left to enjoy after Brian gets home from a looong day at work.

So, this week I am grateful for daylight savings time. And, I am thankful for spring. I am thankful for warm weather and sunny skies. And, for a precious family to enjoy it all with!

Menu Plan Monday

2009-03-09T10:45:00.004-04:00

Menu planning is something that I have done unofficially for a long time. I think it helps keep things saner around supper time when you have an idea of what you are gonna "fix"! This is my first week to participate in Menu Plan Mondays over at www.orgjunkie.com You should go over and check it out. I always like to see what other bloggers have on their menu for the week. Many of them provide links to recipes. Who couldn't use some new (and tested) menu ideas?

Monday, March 9-
Cheesy Black bean and Rice casserole, steamed carrots, apple sauce

Tuesday, March 10-
Creamy chicken and noodles, green beans, pears

Wednesday, March 11-church night
leftovers or sandwiches

Thursday, March 12-
Potato soup and homemade bread

Friday, March 13-
Chicken tetrazzini, peas

Saturday, March 14-
Homemade Pizza Night!

A day at the beach

2009-03-03T08:44:00.003-05:00

As I type this, it is 35 degrees outside. Makes it kind of hard to believe that we were at the beach this past Saturday enjoying temps in the upper 70s and low 80s! We had such a wonderful time. We packed up and drove over to St Augustine for an afternoon of sun and sand. This was Ben's first trip to the beach. He LOVED it! The water was too cold to play in, but all 3 kids played in the sand (and ate sand) all afternoon! Brian bought the girls brand new kites-Hadley a Tinkerbell kite and Avery, of course, a Lightning McQueen one! My mom and sister met us for the latter part of the day. It was so relaxing to sit and visit and watch my kids play. The sound of the waves and the smell of the salty air-it was like medicine for my soul! I am so grateful for God's amazing creation. As I looked out toward the horizon, I tried to imagine how big God is. I couldn't even fathom it. He is truly bigger and greater than my mind can grasp!

After we left the beach, we headed to Osteens for supper. Now, if you have never experienced Osteens, you wont be able to fully understand how perfect our beach day ended...How do they do it?!? It is THE BEST fried shrimp you will EVER put in your mouth! It was delicious, as always.

As Brian and I drove home that night, the kids were SOUND asleep in the back of our van(another thing I am grateful for). We swung through the McDonalds drive-thru and got coffee drinks. I SO enjoyed the drive home with my sweet, funny, unique husband. We sipped our coffee and talked-more than we have talked in a looong time. It was great. We are usually so busy. With 3 little ones vying for attention all the time, it can be difficult to get a word in! It was a precious time.

I am so thankful that we had such a refreshing day!

Hadley is 5 years old!!!

2009-02-25T09:57:00.008-05:00

Five years ago, my life took a dramatic turn. I can't even begin to describe the depth of emotion I felt on February 19th, 2004. Everything I thought I knew about life and love, and even God changed on that day. I finally began to understand sacrificial, unconditional love. I found that I loved my husband even more. I found that I could better understand God's amazing grace(even though I still can't fathom why He would love me!) My priorities completely and immediately changed. Hadley Kay was, and is, such a miracle.
The day she was born was a beautiful, emotional day for my family. My mom and dad, sisters, aunts, uncle, cousins and Brian's parents, brother and Grandaddy were all there. Everyone had tears in their eyes when they met little Hadley for the first time. I was elated. I really felt as though I was on top of the world. She was perfect! She was 6 pounds, 10 ounces and 20 inches long. She had a head full of dark hair. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes on:)

To celebrate her birthday this year, we had a little tea party. She and her buddies enjoyed tea sandwiches, fruit, scones with jam and cream, cookies and cake. They dressed up in their prettiest clothes and enjoyed being ladies.

She really wanted a "grown up" birthday this year. Brian sent her flowers-she was SO excited!

She got lots of great presents. Her favorite present was the ring from her daddy. She is such a daddy's girl!

All in all, it was a very special day of remembering a very special little lady!

Upward Basketball

2009-02-24T14:11:00.004-05:00

What a joy it has been to be a part of Upward Basketball at our church! Brian is helping coach Hadley's team, the Rhinos. It has been so much fun! Hadley is really enjoying being a part of a team. She has improved so much since the first practice. They practice on Thursday nights and have their games on Saturday mornings. Upward is a wonderful sports league because it focuses on being Christ-like and being a good sport as much as it focuses on improving skill and discipline. Of course, Hadley, being the social creature she is, enjoys the fellowship more than the competition! She would rather compare hair-bows with her buddies than "cover" them on the court! But, it has been a great experience and I couldn't be prouder of my little B-ball star!

Hadley's 1st trip to the dentist

2009-02-24T14:00:00.002-05:00

On Tuesday, 2/10, Hadley had her first visit to the dentist. She was a very brave girl! She had no cavities:) She had her teeth cleaned, xrays taken and floride treatment. She was very excited to get a new Dora toothbrush and toothpaste and the dentist taught her how to floss her teeth.

already behind on blogging?

2009-02-24T10:21:00.002-05:00

One month ago, I wrote my first blog post. Since then, I have written NOTHING! I guess I am going to have to get into the habit of keeping this up. My goal is to get "up to date" during the kids nap-time today. We have had a pretty exciting month. Hopefully, I will get pics up and everything. I am still trying to figure out how to do all this! So...stay tuned...

Getting my blog on...

2009-01-23T15:37:00.002-05:00

O.k...here goes...

I have been meaning to start blogging for a long time. Really. But, my biggest obstacle to doing it has been the question "what to write my first blog about?" Do you just jump in as though you've been doing this all along and write about something ordinary and day-to-day? Or, should you write something profound and thought-provoking for your bloggy debut? I follow a few blogs already and really enjoy the unique insight into each of the bloggers lives. Blogs can be inspiring. They can entertain. They can inform. They can make you feel like you are not the only one going through a certain situation. They are a great way to keep up with the day to day goings-on of dear friends and family who live far away. So, I really want to get in on the action. I am ready to get my blog on! Now, if I can just figure out what I am doing;)

I would love to hear what you wrote your first blog about! Also, any advice on getting started would be much appreciated! Thanks:)