The Last Week of Summer

Braylen has been such a momma's boy lately (WHICH I LOVE AND HOPE THAT HE STAYS THAT WAY FOREVERRRRRR! sorry Guy!) but it is so sweet to see him want to be like his daddy. I wish you could have seen the way Braylen's face lit up when Guy strolled into our living room on Monday wearing a shirt and tie. Braylen was so excited and said "Braylen tie too? Braylen shirt too?" I said you want to wear a shirt and tie too like daddy? "Yea! Like dada!" So up we went to his room-he picked out a blue button up shirt (from Easter) and Guy helped him put on his tie. It was so adorable. We put him in some khaki's too. Braylen would go up to Guy the rest of the day and stand right next to him and say "Pants! Tie! Shirt!" It was so cute. He also kept hugging us and saying "thank you." Oh boy.......you are welcome!!!!!!

We attended a funeral that day for a coworker of Guy's who died suddenly of a stroke. Tom was a believer and my family has known his family for many years. The service was a worship service and it was amazing. Tom knew the Lord and so it was very comforting to everyone he left behind. Braylen did a great job that day. He was very well behaved and went around to everyone, and I mean everyone, showing them his tie. And he sang his little heart out while we were singing hymns. He of course had no idea what he was saying but he didn't care. He sang loud and proud. My mom was holding him and she knew all the words. It was so precious. I think he knew we were singing to Jesus. :) Afterwards an older man came up and said to my mom, "I so enjoyed watching your grandson." I pray every night that the Lord would use Braylen to share the gospel and to bring joy to those around him. Of course Braylen has his moments, but he is so personable with people. He will stop and "talk" to anyone who makes eye contact with him. I don't know if that is how the Lord is using him at 2 years old but I like to think so.

Braylen and I were watching daddy cut the grass one day this week, and he says "Braylen cut grass too?" SURE! We went and got his little mower and he followed Guy around with that little thing for a while. Of course when Guy got too close to him, he ran away. Here are a few pics of the boys working hard.

Look at how happy Braylen is!

Working so hard!

We are attending a wedding this weekend for a child hood friend of mine. The house we are in now is the house he grew up in! We are excited! And next weekend is family camp!

We hope that you enjoy your last few week or so of summer!

"Pream"

Wow. I can't believe it's already week 2 of August! This summer has flown by. We had a great night tonight at HOME! One of the rare evenings that we are actually here. As we are still so super tight on our budget, I have been coming up with new (and cheap) meals to prepare. I have discovered a new love for cookbooks! I love my Betty Crocker (wedding) edition and found a recipe for Red Beans and Rice. Guy grew up in New Orleans and I have come to really love the food down there! Well, minus the seafood, which is basically all they serve in NOLA but I love the non-seafood stuff like Red Beans and Rice! Guy's family is down there visiting and since we were unable to make the trip, I decided to feed my addiction and whip up a batch of it. I love Red Beans and Rice! There is an awesome restaurant down there called Zea's (yum!!) that serves this dish and it is soooo good. Tonights meal was pretty good too, although Guy was looking for a bit more flavor. You can pretty much flavor anything though with hot sauce. :) Did I just say that? weird.

Anyways. After our meal, Guy took Braylen on a bike ride and I went to JoAnne's Fabric. Have I told you that I am learning to sew? I'm super excited. I made a few burp cloths and a baby blanket. Then we all met up at Dairy Queen for some "pream." We split a small blizzard into 3 cups-which comes out to about $1 a person. Not bad. We have been saving change so we were able to use some of that. What a great way to end the night.

Braylen has been so sweet lately. He told me that he loved me all on his own the other day.

My. heart. melted.

How can one little person change your life so much? He came up to me tonight and just wrapped his arms around my leg and said "hug!" I just want to squeeze him all day long. He truly is an amazing little boy.

He continues to teach us more and more about the unfailing, always committed, never ending love of our Heavenly Father. What an awesome example of God's love for us.

DIY: Fabric Bulletin Board

I made this a few months ago and of course didn't take before pictures, but I really like the way it turned out. This is like my first DIY item ever! Not counting the time that I was obsessed with making homemade candles. I gave them as Christmas gifts one year. I have a book on it if you'd like to borrow it. :)

Supplies:

-Any picture frame (I bought mine from Hobby Lobby for $10! It had a few broken pieces of wood around the frame)

-Peel and stick bulletin board (Micheals)

-Sand paper

-Fabric

-Staple gun

1) Remove the glass from the frame and sand all of the wood down to where it is a smooth finish.

2) Once it is finished, you can apply a coat of paint or wood stain. I didn't use either because I loved how it turned out.

3) Measure the inside of the frame to make cuts for the bulletin board.

4) Cut bulletin board and stick on the back of the frame.

5) Cover with fabric and attach using your staple gun.

6) Attach to frame!

*You may need to add foam before you attach the fabric. The bulletin board is a little thin. I just use long needles to attach things to the board because they can slide in sideways.

We hung up the frame in our hallway which is right next to our kitchen. It's the perfect place to hold family news, cards, invitations, pictures, etc.

I didn't know that I had bought "designer" fabric but I have seen it all over the place in different blogs and etsy!

Kojodesigns Bow Tie Tutorial

Nursing Cover at Etsy

You can buy the fabric here.

Camping 101

My family has been going camping for years! Back then we used a tent. I have really fun memories as a kid going camping. Nowadays, we use my mom and dads camper. Some people say it's not camping unless you are in a tent, blah, blah, blah. These people have never owned a camper. :) We love going camping with my parents! Tons of games, snacks, camp fire food, hiking, and relaxation! Over the weekend, the three of us went camping with my parents and we had a blast! Here are a few "must-do's" if you are wanting to go camping!

1) Pick your campsite. Mom booked us a site at Fort Boonesborough Ky State Park. Mom and dad have been all over the tri-state with their "camping group" so they know the fun places to stay.

2) Make sure you hook your truck up to your camper. Make sure that it is nice and secure.

3) Bring a wheelbarrow to unload things like wood for your campfire.

4) Don't forget to pack a warm, comfy hat. Sometimes it gets chilly around the campfire.

5) Be ready to play lots of games. We like to play Euchre, corn hole, and hide and seek in the camper.

6) After you've enjoyed a nice meal (like BBQ, baked potatoes, corn on the cob and green beans!), sit back, relax and enjoy your evening. This is the life. :)

We enjoy camping so much! Our next trip is to Brookeville, IN for the Annual Family Camping Trip. I wrote about it last year. We have been doing this trip for about 10 years now and it is a blast!

One of our favorite campfire snacks is Cinnamon Biscuits. You have to try them.

Supplies and ingredients:

1 can of biscuits, roasting sticks, cinnamon, sugar, and butter (spray butter is easy to use)

-Take one biscuit and slowly stretch it out to make it long enough to twist around the top of a roasting stick. Twist it around the stick. Roast over the fire slowly. Once it is no longer doughy, remove from the stick. Combine cinnamon and sugar. Take cooked biscuit, roll in butter and then roll in sugar mixture. ENJOY! It is sooooo good!!!

Happy Camping!

Sunday Breakfast

Since we are on a very, very limited budget these days, I have been trying to be more creative with meals and using what we have in the house. So I thought I would do a little research on the internet. You can find TONS of super delicious recipes in blog land. Most blogs link to other blogs so the possibilities are ENDLESS! I can browse all day.......... anyways. I came across the blog Making Chicken Salad and found this recipe for Oatmeal Pancakes. Braylen loves "meal" and asks for it a few times a week for breakfast. I bought a giant box of original oatmeal from Sam's months ago and I usually just make a small serving of it for Bray and mix it with applesauce and cinnamon.

It's a very simple recipe and most of the ingredients are staples that you would have around the house. The recipe says that it makes 8 but I only made 6. I think next time I will not make them as thick. They were very good and Braylen was able to help mix the ingredients. He ate 2 pancakes up before I even finished my 1! Next time I might put applesauce on top of Bray's too instead of syrup.

Guy had to work all weekend so it was just Braylen and I for breakfast!

How cute is that little mug? I got that for Guy for his first Father's Day over 2 years ago!

Being creative in the kitchen is a lot more fun that I thought! Now if only I knew what to fix for dinner tonight........any thoughts?

You Think You Know But You Have No Idea

Braylen has been impressing me with his sneaky-ness. For example, he told me that he finished his cheerios the other day and he even put the empty bowl in the sink for me. A few hours later, I found this:

Last week I was cleaning up around the house while Braylen watched Super Why (which I am convinced he learned his ABC's by watching this crazy show), and I just called his name to see how he was doing. When he didn't answer I started to look for him. I could not find him! I went around the rooms and finally went into our room and noticed that our hamper was upside down. He was in it. Then he started walking around........

He is so funny! He is growing so much this summer! He is 3 feet 4 inches and weighs 36 pounds. He's like a little giant. I'm so proud of him too. Counting to ten, saying his ABC's....he's also strangely good with directions. He will point to which way to go when we are driving to grammy/poppy's or my mom and dad's. I think that's pretty impressive. He's also a very good cook.

Well, kind of. He doesn't know that the plastic will melt while cooking on the stove. We'll save that lesson for later.

We are having a great summer! Guy has been loving his new job and we are at 50% towards reaching our MP Support Goal (yay!) but we still have a super long way to go. We continue to be on a very tight budget (we only spent $36 in dining out for the past month! which is crazy.) and we are using the envelope system. We have tried that in the past but now that Guy only gets paid once a month, I think it will be easier to use. We are hopeful that the Lord will provide us with the remainder of our goal but we also know that we need to work hard to make process.

Here are some upcoming things that we are excited about:

-Camping!

-2 Weddings in August for some great friends

-A baby shower

-Family camping in Brookeville over Labor Day!

-Leader Weekend!

-The BEACH!

Have a great weekend!

Like lightning in a bottle...

I'm not sure which is more exhausting.

THIS:

Hanging out with 15 energetic high schoolers

Or

THAT

Keeping up with an energetic toddler

Both are super fun and super rewarding but shew.......I am worn out. :) We left for Sharp Top Young Life camp in Georgia last Sunday, June 27th and returned July 4th. It was a long trip and I missed Braylen soooooo much. We didn't see him for 8 long days. He spent his time with grammy and poppy and then with maw-maw and paw-paw while camping. He had so much fun. And I think that he grew like 12 inches or something because he looks like a giant now. Braylen is saying his ABC's and can count to ten. Yay! He "sings" twinkle twinkle little star" all day, everyday. And usually changes the word "star" to whatever he's playing with or eating. Adorable. If you are having a bad day or need a laugh, call Braylen. He will lift your spirits immediately.

Back to camp: we really had a great trip. We took all sorts of different "types" of students: athletes, cheerleaders, video gammer's, band players......or however you say it. But everyone really got along and we feel like we formed our own little family. It is so great for them to know that they have a family of believers and have friends to help them out. If you've never been to Young Life camp, you are seriously missing out. It really is one of the best weeks of your life. I've had 10 best weeks.......and I've never been disappointed. The food is so delicious!!!!, the scenery is breathtaking, the entertainment is hilarious, and there are so many fun things to do. And to top it all off, these young adults get to hear the message of Jesus-sometimes for the first time-and always in a way that introduces so much freedom for the things of life that weigh them down. We are really looking forward to what the Lord has in store for our YL friends.

This is our little group on top of the mountain that we climbed!

Camp was awesome! God is great! And I'm glad to be home with our favorite little man!

Also happy birthday to my dear Mom and bro-in-law Vince!

And congrats to my sis-in-law Amy for getting engaged! Woo hoo!