Weekend Fun ~~

WOW ~~ What a fun weekend we had around here!!

Since Blogger is now working better than ever, my pics are downloading in the order I load them in, so my pics are backwards, as far as time line, so let's start with yesterday and Father's Day.....

My S-I-L Barb has a little boy Christian. 

He is 8 months older than Sir Cuteness.

Are they sweet together.

They like being at PaPa Wesley's.

 Sir Cuteness cracks.me.up.

(I have more pics of this day on my other camera, but don't have time to upload them this morning, so we'll wait on those =)

 Saturday I went to my friend Jessie's Personal Shower, which was help at my FAVORITE coffee house, Hebrews Coffee.  Oh my.....SO Good!!!  (More about the shower in a min....)

Well when I got home, my man and I talked for a bit and then Chase and Sir Cuteness came home from a birthday party for one of SC's little friends and he was OUT.

So Chase laid him down, but I had my purse on the bed, because I'd just gotten home myself not too long before and when I went to check on Sir Cuteness, this is what I found.....

 When I first saw him I was so startled.  I thought he'd must have gotten into something at the party and was having a very bad reaction.....

Ummm........no.

When I asked Sir Cuteness what was wrong with his face, he said, "I'll show you." and proceeded to get into my purse and pull out my lipstick.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

And then when I went to get the wipes so PaPa could clean him up, the box had lipstick all over it from lipsticky fingers that had tried to clean it up himself.  Well at least he tried, right?  =)

HAHAHAHA-HEEHEEHEEHEE!!!!!

OH how this little makes me laugh the hard belly laugh out loud kind of laugh =)

 Then before all of that fun, I had this kind of fun.

My sweet and beautiful friend Jessie (the one in the gorgeous bright pink hat =) is getting married to Chase's stepbrother Josh, next Saturday.

Jessie and I go way back.  We went to church together for several years and she helped me in the class that I taught.  Such a sweetie.  I wish her EVERY happiness!!!

Her and her man are so sweet.  She is such a wonderful girl, with such a pure heart for the LORD!!  And he is a man after God's own heart.  What a couple!!

And the lady sitting next to her is Ashley, and she is getting married in Aug.  WOW lots of fun for these two this summer.  I'm so happy for them!!!!!

 Okay and let's back up just a little more ~~ this is the salad I had for lunch just before I went to the shower.  How yummy is this simple salad?!!

I LOVE summer food!!  Lots to love for this vegetarian girl =)

Well, there you have it.  Our fun weekend!!  We had lots of fun yesterday on Father's Day and enjoyed our time with Dick's family. 

Have a Blessed day ~~ I am off to a new doc about my knee.........

I'll keep you posted.......

Love you ~~

Summer Eating...

I always think that "this" is my favorite season of eating....whatever "this" season is =)

In the Fall I LOVE all the pumpkin and cranberry dishes; the sweet potatoes are lovely this time of year..... mmmmm I love me some Fall eatin' .....

Then in the winter........girl loves her some comfort food; chili, Chip n salsa soup, chili-mac.... mmmmm I love me some Winter eatin' .....

Then a long comes spring and this girl LOVES her asparagus and sugar snap peas. I love the lightness and freshness that Spring brings ..... mmmmmm Yep, I love me some Spring eatin' .....

Then summer is here before you know it. Now summer didn't use to be a fav of mine as far as eating goes, because I just wasn't much of a fresh or raw eatin' kind of gal, but now that I am a garden girl, I LOVE IT!!!

For the last several meals, I've been eating fresh garden fare. Either out of my garden, or the Farmer's Market, or another's garden..... LOVE IT!!! For instance, night before last I had okra (our garden) coated in Panko Bread Crumbs, with tomatoes (our garden) and cucumber (almost D-I-L's garden =) and tiny yellow peppers (our next door neighbor's garden) and that was my delish delectable supper.

Well today for lunch I had Long Green Beans (FM), green pepper (MG), onion (MG), tomatoes (MG) stir fry with a little Nama Shoyu soy sauce and served over fresh potatoes (I think FM but could have been M-I-L's garden) either way they were beautiful fresh potatoes.

Oh, and then I made a lovely Peach Crisp for dessert. And this peach crisp is light and lovely made with whole grains (wheat pastry flour, spelt four and organic oats), and to keep it light I used apple sauce instead of butter for the topping. It makes it a little less crumbly, but it is still delish ~~ that is a GREAT trade off seeing how the original recipe calls for 1 STICK of butter. OH.MY.STARS.

mmmmm.... Yep, I am lovin' me some summer eatin' .....

So what are you favorite summer eats?

Love you ~~ have a Blessed weekend,

Living on the Extreme Edge of Faith....

Again today, I'd like to share with you something I read out of this study. It is really good.....anyway....have I told you how much I'm enjoying it?.....anyway.......

Kelly says: "There's a lot to be enveloped by, though for me one consistent thread has knit its way into my soul, not letting me off its spool: Ruth's abandonment to living on the extreme edge of her faith, Ruth's decisions have not been made out of selfish ambition or even normal reason but out of a pursuit of God that is anything but ordinary."

I was wondering as I read that this morning, do I do this? Do I live on the EXTREME edge of my faith? Lately I have been trying to do just that and it is leaving me feeling VERY vulnerable.

I have a very dear friend that listens to me NO MATTER WHAT and offers only what she feels she can, and other than that, she just listens. She doesn't speak just to say something. She says something only when she has something to say. That is invaluable in a friend. Well, the other day I called her and told her that she needed to talk me down off of the emotional cliff. And since then I'll call and tell her I need some "cliff talking". She's ALWAYS there for me. I believe I could call her at 3:00 AM in the morning and she would be there to listen and "talk me down".

So what has brought this on for me? Well it is me living on the EXTREME EDGE OF MY FAITH; MAKING DECISIONS OUT OF A DEEP PURSUIT OF GOD THAT IS ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY for me!!!

WOW it takes some REAL dealing with stuff, but it is necessary. I read this morning about God's plans and how He is directing my steps. It makes each step a little lighter; a little easier to take; a little more sure in my moving forward. I am SO thankful for the hope that living out my faith brings. Fear is subsiding and faith is springing forth.

This study is just amazing for me. I am so enjoying learning about Ruth.... and Dawn. What a journey............ I knew about Ruth.... and Dawn, but God (love that)..... knew I needed to know more about both....AMAZING!!!

_____________________________

So I wanted to leave you with a couple of pics of what's been going on in the garden the last week or so......
Oh aren't they lovely?.....















Yep, Just beautiful.....and good eatin' too!!!

I think there's some salsa makin' days in my future =)

Love you ~~ have a Blessed and Beautiful day,

Lovely Weekend....

This weeked has been so much fun. It has been full. I love full, fun relaxing weekends like this one. Nothing to serious. Just fun.

On Saturday morning I met a new friend for coffee at Hebrews Coffee. It was SO good and SO fun.

I am just over the moon, excited about how God is orchestrating this friendship. It truly has His stamp ALL OVER IT!!!

Perhaps one day I will share the beginning of the journey of this friendship, but for now, I will keep it in my heart. It is special and it is deep. Thank You Jesus!!!

I look forward to many more meetings at Hebrews Coffee with my new friend K.


Then it was back home and lounging with the family for a little while and then hubby and I headed out to eat.

I went it to tell Dak that we were leaving and he looked at me like I'd grown a third eye. Apparently that is not allowed =)

Convo:

Me: Hey son, see ya later...
Dak: Where are you going?
Me: Dick and I are going out to eat....
Dak: Really?
Me: Yep. Date night.
Dak: You two are so cute....
Me: Yeah, I know. hahahaha

Then we were off to the Garden Cafe for pizza and sandwiches and AMAZING conversation!!! I LOVE being with my husband. The love in which he shares his wisdom with me is truly rock solid and inspiring. I am currently working through some stuff in my life. Ya know like the "what am I going to do with my life" kind of stuff. BIG stuff!! The kind of stuff that God is ALL OVER and my hubby is the biggest encouragement to me and gives me the most sound advice and loving me all the way through it. (BTW as I am typing this he is vacuuming. Yep he's a keeper =)

anyway....

I love that God doesn't stop, He doesn't give up on us...on me. My calling in life is different than my wanting in life. Does that make sense? Why is it that when God gifts and calls and you know it, that you want a different gift or call sometimes. Oh brother....I am pathetic.

In church this morning, God seriously got a hold of me on this subject. Yep He knows me. Pastor Curt (our Senior Associate Pastor) spoke this morning, and the boy was on fire I tell ya. What a message!!! He was preaching out of Ephesians 3 and he said this in regards to verse 2 which talks about being stewards of God's grace. Pastor Curt said this:

"What God has given you to do is important. Stop having gift envy and do what God has given you to do. Serve Him in the call and gift on your life, right where you are."

Oh snap. Yep I got called out on this one. I knew exactly what he was saying, and that one was just for me. So I am now moving right on in the call and gifting that God has on my life. And I do so with a joyful and expectant heart. I can't wait to see how God will use this in my life. Yep it is an exciting time for me. My heart is full and ready. I've so needed to get off the Spiritual couch and get on with what God has for my life. Amen? Amen!!!

Well in other exciting news, next Tuesday starts our Summer Bible Study Series. If you want to join us, it's still not too late. Looking so forward to all that God has in store for us.

Y'all have a Beautifully Blessed day ~~

Summer Lovin' Part 1

Oh how much I am lovin' summer, even before it has actually begun. But it certainly feels like summer to me. It's been hot and humid here in our cottage corner of the world.

So here we go.........my summer loves........

1). ~~ Lovin' homegrown sunflowers ~~
I looked out two evenings ago, just before it got dark out and what did my eyes see?...
Yep, a beautiful, lovely sunflower bloomed out. Oh how gorgeous!!! My fav flower!!


2). ~~ Short Summer Hair ~~
Lovin' my shorter do -- I went yesterday afternoon and got it schussed up. Oh I'm lovin' it!!

3). ~~ Summer Purses ~~

I have been looking for a lovely summer purse. I have been really liking those trendy mustard yellow purses, but couldn't find any that I wanted to pay the money they were asking for, but I've still continued to look. Well, I went into Cato's the other day and they had this purse on the clearance for $6.99. Yep it is so lovely and a keeper!!! GREAT summer purse!!

4). ~~ Summer Lovin' Sir Cuteness ~~

This kiddo makes me so happy!!!

So what are you sitting on Sir Cuteness?

Well, toliet paper of course Maw-Maw!!

How funny is this!! We'd just been to the

grocery store and this was his "chair" that

whole day. Hahahaha so cute!!

And this is just a bonus pic for you ~~ your welcome =)

5). ~~ Summer Lovin' my family ~~

A couple of weeks ago my dad was in and we had dinner with him. This is from L to R: My baby sis, Dena - my dad - my sis Rhonda - me.

Side note: my sis Rhonda brought us her famous Chocolate Cake with Coffee Icing last night. How nice was that? She brought us 2 bowls and Dak ate an entire bowl by himself. So funny!!! He LOVES Aunt Rhonda's cake!! Thanks sis!!!!!




6). ~~ Summer Lovin' Front Door Fun ~~

Yesterday I got this very cute flower on a clearance at a local nursery,

so I bought it thinking I could somehow make this a front door lovely....

and oh look how cute she is!!!

This was so easy and fun. I love how it turned out!!

7). ~~ Back Porch Summer Lovin' ~~

We have a very modest back porch, but I love it. And this year I've decided to get it fancied up. Look how cute!! Yep this is a nice place to sit in the evenings.

8). ~~ Summer Lovin' Canning Salsa ~~

Tuesday G and I made 21 pints of salsa from last years tomatoes that we'd froze. So now we are ready for this years harvest. Now let me just say that I couldn't have done this without G. She did most of the work, while I chased a baby, tried to figure out teenage world stuff and had the bug guy here to spray for ants outside. WOW!! It was a day!!! Thanks G for all your help!!!!!





9). ~~ Bible Study Siestaville Style, Summer Lovin' ~~

I'm really looking forward to this study for the summer. I do love me some Summer Bible Study. I'm picking up two more books today for two ladies who will be joing us. There's still plenty of time for you to join us. There are five of us now that will be doing this through my blog. If you'd like to join in, please just give me an e-mail and I'll send you the details.

10). ~~ Summer Lovin' Recipes ~~

This week I have made two very easy recipes. I will be posting these recipes this afternoon hopefully. Pasta Alfredo and Black Bean and Corn Enchiladas Both keepers!!

Well there you have it. My first of probably many "Summer Lovin' " posts.

What are you lovin' this summer?

Have a Blessed and Beautiful day,