Finally catching up...

So in the middle of starting summer and our beach trip and VBS there have been several things that I have intended to blog about but just haven't been caught up enough to do. Today I am sitting down to take care of that! Mostly because we watched the Bachelorette last night instead of putting it off until this morning so now I feel like I have some free time I was not counting on!

By the way, I really like Des and I am hopeful she finds a good guy on the show. Our family is also glued to The Voice on NBC and tonight is the final for it. Besides these two shows I am pretty much stuck on HGTV or Friends reruns. I have no idea how I have gotten sidetracked on my TV habits so let's move on!

This time of year I love to cook! Mostly because I seem to have more time to search for recipes and also because we are at home and not in a gym or on a field watching our kids play a sport. I was catching up on my DVR episodes of Pioneer Woman a few days ago and here is a recipe she made that I am thinking about trying:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/06/mocha-brownies/

MOCHA BROWNIES!!!! Yes please! Anytime or any day I will be happy to try these. Also Ree has the cutest mixer on the show and it does make me slightly jealous when I see her using it to mix everything! I am trying to be content with my $19.99 hand held mixer but who wouldn't want to cook more with a professional model stand up mixer! So, I'll let you know how it goes when I make these but I wanted to share the recipe with you now while I was thinking about it.


Our summer Bible study is "The Seven Experiment" by Jen Hatmaker.

If you watch the Today Show you may have seen Jen on last Monday. She is an amazing Christian blogger and author who makes no apologies for living a very real and authentic faith. This particular study is something Jen did to wage war on the excess in our lives in seven areas - clothes, spending, waste, food, possessions, media and stress. OUCH! She will be in your business in this study, but it has been very eye opening so far and I am trying to be open minded about some adjustments I need to make for myself and our family where we not only waste stuff but allow stuff to get in our way of serving God. This is also a stand alone book so if you don't want to participate in the Bible study you can just buy Jen's book.

I have shared one of her blog posts here before about teacher appreciation and she was on the Today Show because of her blog post about being the worst end of year mom ever. I am including a link to her most recent post about summer here:

http://jenhatmaker.com/blog/2013/06/13/surviving-summer

If you have a chance, check it out.


I wanted to tell you what I am reading this summer. Two of my favorite bloggers have new books out and they are both AMAZING! Funny, true and inspiring are all appropriate descriptions of these books...

Sophie Hudson's first ever book is "A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet". In her book Sophie discusses her southern childhood, her walk with the Lord and how much she loves bacon! I think you can see why I relate to her. I have shared a post or two from her blog before, but if you have never read anything by Sophie please look her up at www.boomama.net.

I am also reading "Ever After; Life Lessons Learned in my Castle of Chaos" by Vicki Courtney. I have read lots of Vicki's books and this one is quickly becoming one of my favorites! She and her husband have raised three children pretty successfully and other than the fact that they are supporters of a college in Texas that I am not fond of, I read Vicki's material like she is my personal mentor.

This book is about the realities of marriage and motherhood, giving you pieces of her reality behind the fairy tale she thought she would be living out. I am relating in so many ways and this would be a great book to give a friend for their birthday or just as a happy!

Speaking of marriage, Brian and I have just celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary!

Here is an appropriate time for you to join us in shouts of praise because it is only by God's grace that we are celebrating 18 years. My fairy tale would not have included the ups and downs of the last 18 years, but I can see now how my faith grew in the valleys and carried me to the mountain tops. There is no doubt I am married to my best friend, constant comedian and source of strength for all of life's challenges.

By the way, I was 18 when we got married so I am starting to realize that I am in fact getting older! I have known Brian longer than I have not known Brian. I pray the Lord sees fit to bless us with many, many more years together!!

So now you are all caught up with me! Kamdyn is home, Brendan is wrapping up basketball camp and Koby is in Cincinnati alive and well. I wouldn't be certain except for the response he sent when I text him "You alive?" the other day and he replied "yes but my phone is only at 8%". Which I took that response to mean "can't talk but if I had battery life I would tell you how much fun I am having and how much I miss you and how I love doing this mission work". At least I think that might be what he meant!

Have a great week!!!!!