Fall Burlap Wreath

I'm so excited for Fall!! The last few days have still been pretty hot here in Alabama, but I think this weekend we might get some real fall temperatures! Yay!! So, I've been itching to do some projects and decided today I would actually start and finish one.  I made an adorable fall wreath!  I got the supplies at a place called Home Accents, and didn't even really know which direction I was headed.  Side note...I'm really missing Hobby Lobby (that got blown away in The Tornado) now that the holiday season is upon us. 

So Pinterest to the rescue!  I just searched for felt and burlap wreaths and found a cute wreath with the tutorial HERE.  Yay!!! So, off to work I went and in less than an hour I had a super cute and super fun fall wreath to hang on my door!  I used felt for the flowers but in the tutorial, the girl uses burlap which is also really cute.  I already had the buttons and fabric to make those which I was excited about using them sine I am lacking any real sewing motivation:).

Here she is...

 Linking up with Rhoda...go check this site out for more awesome fall wreath/door projects! 

Lately...

Just Because

I found these pictures when I was going back through our Colorado album of pics.  There are still so many things I didn't post about...maybe one day.  These were just too cute not to share.  I love when I can get a natural smile!!!

 
I love my kiddos!!!!

Good Old Fashioned Updates

SAMUEL
2nd grade is going pretty well so far for our little buddy!  He does still complain about homework (I don't like it either) but his attitude and ability to focus and finish it has improved so much in the last few years.  It's still ridiculous how much they expect at his school for 2nd grade.  Between math sheets, spelling words, writing sentences with spelling words, and reading 2 books every night...it's hard to get much else done in the afternoons!  Samuel is still behind in some areas even after repeating 1st grade, so his awesome teacher has offered to stay with him after school for an extra 45 minutes to really tutor him and work on his reading and language skills.  Even though this extends his day at school, we are thrilled that he will be getting some one on one extra attention that might really help.  Besides school, Samuel still enjoys all things outside and is also pretty into Star Wars these days.  He lost his 8th tooth last week!

ELLIE KATE
Is still our dramatic diva, but thankfully she has really matured a lot.  So far, I really really really love her at age 4.  I keep telling her she can't get any older to which she wholeheartedly disagrees and says she has to turn 5 and then 6!  Having her in school each morning has really been a good decision.  She is learning so much and is really good at home in the afternoon.  She and Abigail have been playing really well together which is so fun to watch.  They love to play with their baby dolls and read books more than anything!  Ellie Kate is really affectionate and she loves to snuggle and give hugs.  I think one of her love languages is definitely physical touch.  I hope she never grows out of snuggling or giving those awesome hugs!  I treasure each one:). 

ABIGAIL
I can't believe this angel will soon be turning 3!  She is, as usual, sweet as pie.  However, she is sinful and has moments of those terrible two's.  She insists on getting herself dressed and loves to say "I do it!" for everything.  When she doesn't get her way, Abigail's first instinct is to fall to the ground and lay her head on the floor in dramatic fashion.  Thankfully, it's usually short lived.  We did have an incidence at Belk a few weeks ago when I was returning something.  She got in her head that she wanted this shirt on clearance.  When I didn't let her have it, there was an all out tantrum right there in the middle of the aisle.  I'm pretty sure the entire department store heard her.  I had to carry her screaming and kicking out the door  and then she proceeded to scream and yell the entire way from there to Ellie Kate's school (about 10-12 minutes)..."GO BACK.  GO BACK.  GET ME THAT SHIRT!"    This was so unusual for her and most certainly a humiliating moment for me!  This week, we learned that she is highly allergic to red fire ants.  She got a few bites one afternoon and her entire foot became so swollen and red that benadryl didn't even touch it.  We are doing a round of prednisone right now along with zyrtec to hopefully help.  It's been 48 hours since the bites, and her foot still looks like she sprained it.  Poor baby!  She has such sensitive skin (from me) and apparently has some extreme allergies (from daddy). 

BABY GIRL (AND ME)
Today we are at the halfway mark!!!  20 weeks has gone by relatively quick.  It's still hard for me to believe that we are going to have 4 children...but with each kick and roll that I feel in my belly, I look more and more forward to the day I hold this baby in my arms.  For the most part, I feel pretty good.  I am still tired all the time and my back gives me trouble which doesn't bode well for later in pregnancy I'm guessing.  I am also already having pretty bad acid reflux/heartburn.  I still throw up nearly every morning too.  While none of these parts of pregnancy are fun, I still find myself so thankful that I get to experience it all one last (hopefully) time!  Growing a life is really the most amazing miracle to be a part of. 

Fall Getaway

This past weekend, we loaded up and joined nearly 300 University of Alabama Cru students for their Fall Getaway/Retreat at Lake Forest Ranch in Macon, Mississippi.   The kids had a blast and all the students were so helpful with playing and entertaining my crazy little ones.  Samuel pretty much fished all the time which means he was in little boy heaven.  It warmed my heart to see these tough college guys be so patient and loving towards Samuel as he followed them around asking a bazillion questions and badgering them to help him fish.   And the girls of course experienced all sorts of attention from the students as well.  Needless to say, we all slept really well each night after so much fun!  One fun tidbit is that Jeff and I went to Lake Forest Ranch as college students as well on our Fall Retreats when we were involved with Cru.  It was sort of crazy to be back.  I'm pretty sure I never would have thought 12 years ago that I would be back one day with my 3 children and 1 in the belly.  The students even had a dance party Saturday  night just like we used to back in the day:).  It's such a privilege to work with college students and see the Lord at work at Alabama.  It is really amazing that we brought so many students!

I, of course, took a lot of pictures with my iPhone and my camera.  I think you'll get a glimpse of all the fun we had (catching lizards, swinging in the hammock, paddle boats, fishing, watching the Alabama football game outside, etc.) ...

And these are from the iPhone...

Some Recipes

This first one has quickly become a favorite at our house and it's healthy so that makes it so much more fun to make!  I saw it on Darby's blog at Fly Through Our Window.  I use unsweetened/natural peanut butter so really the only sugar comes from the honey and the chocolate chips which are just sprinkled on top.  If you like coconuts you could also sprinkle coconut flakes on top.  I do not like them, so I just stick with the choc chips. 

Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

1 1/2 tablespoons of Coconut Oil

2 cups of Peanut Butter

1/2 cup of honey (I usually add a little more)

4 cups of crispy rice cereal

handful of mini chocolate chips 

DIRECTIONS:

melt coconut oil in large pan, add peanut butter until well mixed

add honey and stir well

remove from heat and stir in cereal

spread in 9 x 13 pan

sprinkle with chocolate chips

I usually put mine in the fridge to help everything harden up a bit

ENJOY! 

The next is a yummy soup recipe found in this awesomeness that is this cookbook.  My aunt gave it to me one year for Christmas and it really is a favorite of mine!!!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

I did modify the recipe just a little and I note where I did in this blue font...

 

2 tablespoons butter (I used a little more)

3 celery ribs, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 8oz package of fresh baby portobello mushrooms, sliced

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

4 cans (14 oz) chicken broth

3 cups cooked chopped chicken (or turkey)

1 1/2 cups frozen whole kernel corn, thawed and drained

1 can sliced water chestnuts drained (I omitted these from my soup)

1 cup of uncooked wild rice (I used a small box of Uncle Bens Wild and Long Grain rice with seasoning packet)

1 teaspoon of salt  (I used more than this)

3/4 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper

2 cups of whipping cream 

I added some freshly grated carrots (maybe 1/4 - 1/2 cup) 

DIRECTIONS

melt butter in large skillet (I did this in my big pot) over medium high heat 

add celery, (carrots), & onions - cook until tender (4-6 min)

add mushrooms and garlic, cook 2 minutes

COMBINE mushroom mixture, broth, and next 6 ingredients in a 5-quart slow cooker

(I just added everything into my big soup pot) 

So since I didn't use the crock pot, I went ahead and added my whipping cream and cooked on low-med heat for about 2 1/2 hours.  It came out great this way! 

Cover and cook on low 5 to 6 hours or until rice is tender.  Stir in whipping cream

Yield: 12 cups

 

YUMMY!!! 

This picture was taken after we ate it for dinner and for leftovers at lunch the next day.  

This would be a great meal to make if you need to take some to a friend or neighbor in need.  It definitely makes enough for 2 families!!! 

It's HERE!!!!!!

September means it's 

Gameday in Tuscaloosa