Happy Homemaker Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods:

A much more mild day...sunny and low 70's this morning...I think rain is on it's way, but that's fine...Hannah and I got 2 walks in already today

One of my simple pleasures:

Enjoying the quiet of the evening with my hubby after Hannah is in bed

On my bedside table:

Pictures of Hannah and books

On the menu for tonight:

spaghetti

On my To Do List:

Put laundry away & clean the fisher price bus I got for Hannah at a garage sale, make cookies

New Recipe I tried last week:

Beef Enchilada Casserole (Made it in the microwave in my deep covered baker..probably took only 20 minutes all together!)

In the craft basket:

Haven't done much of this lately

Looking forward to:

Getting an evening out...going to a Pampered Chef training at our directors house.

Homemaking Tip for this week:

Wash & hang dry clothes inside-out to save their color. Washing them inside out protects the color while in the washer, and if you line dry like me (saves energy and makes your clothes smell so fresh!) it protects your clothes from getting faded in the sun.

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):

Kristi did a guest post at Mummy Deals about bringing children up in this world we live in...and excellent essay every mom should read!

Favorite photo from last week: Hannah pretending to carry a container of foam letters around as a purse...too cute!

On my Prayer List: Good neighbors to move into the house across the street that just went up for sale, Dad F. in Canada, little girl in my s.s. class having a scope put into her tummy this week for tests, family, kids kamp preparation

Key Verse:

John 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command"

Lord, is my love for You an extraordinary love? Is mine an obedient heart? Help me to love you more every day and live a life of obedience.

An anniversary date night

Our anniversary actually fell on Fathers Day this year. With it being a Sunday, and Fathers Day, we decided to wait and celebrate our anniversary later in the week. On Friday night, we took Hannah to play with Cindy, and we headed off for some alone time...which was quite nice! We ate dinner at the Macaroni Grill (Seth said that it was the best "out to eat dinner ever") and then headed over to Paradise Park for a game of putt-putt. Seth beat me badly...but it was very fun anyway. I sure love spending time with my dear husband of 6 years.

How we survive the hot summer days...

This week has been a hot one! We do love summer though, and are thankful for two things when it gets really hot: our AC and our kiddie pool. Before Daddy went to work on Tuesday, he got my swimming pool all set up for me, he knew it was going to be hot. After my nap, Mommy and I went outside to enjoy the water. I love taking baths..but just wasn't sure about the pool..maybe it's because it wasn't as warm as bath water, who knows. So I stood in the water for a long time. Finally Mommy went and put her bathing suit on and we sat down together (I only wanted to sit on her lap). After I sat on her lap for a while, I tried sitting on my own, and before I knew it I was kicking and splashing and up and down. I guess I just had to get used to the water. Thanks for the great pool Grandma!

hoping for a prince...

I don't know about this water...

getting better...up & down...up & down

yeah for a day in the pool!!

A hot day at Shiawassee Park

On Tuesdays (yes, we are still a little behind) we go to the park with our MOPS group. This week we were at Shiawassee Park in Farmington. It is such a great park...and Mommy and I can't wait to go back, but will try it on a cooler day. We had fun, but it was really hot! They have play equipment for little ones like Joshua and I. My favorite thing to do was crawl through the tube and peek out at Mommy.

Joshua and I taking a break for some water...

Free Fun Friday-Playdough

I love making homemade play dough. It's great because it's soft, it's okay if the kids happen to eat a little bit, it's fun to make with your kids, and it's almost free!

So here's the recipe:

1 c. flour

1/2 cup salt

1 c. water

1 T cream of tartar

1 T oil

Food Coloring

Cook over medium heat until mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan & becomes play dough consistency. Knead until cool. Keep 3 months in a Ziploc or sealed container (unrefrigerated).

measuring...

playing with play dough for the first time, and yes...she did try to eat it.

For more free fun for your Friday head over to Run the Earth, Watch the Sky

Happy Father's Day

I am thankful for my wonderful husband, who is also a wonderful Father. As I've talked about many times, Hannah loves him! He plays so well with her well and loves very much. I am thankful that he works so hard to provide for us, so that I can be home with Hannah and we can have a nice place to live. I am thankful most of all that he loves the Lord and strives to please Him in everything that he does.

It's kinda a bummer to be away from our own Father's on Fathers Day, but with it being on a Sunday, it's just not really possible to be with them. We are very thankful for our church family, who are like our family away from home. We were able to spend Father's Day with the Mikels and the Stanely's, which was such a blessing. Scott & Kelly made a delicious steak dinner, and Kelly made strawberry pie for dessert..what a treat! We had dinner and then spent most of the afternoon on the back deck fellowshipping and watching the children play.

bocce ball

Unfortunately, this was the only picture I got of Hannah and Daddy all day. Good thing I have lots other good daddy/daughter pictures.

Hannah and Gavin...they are both very fond of each other...and are so cute together

there was much relaxing

They brought out the towel to protect bottoms from splitters...but Hannah and Gavin decided to take a 3 second rest on it...I was quick enough to snap a picture :)

chillin' with "Uncle Dave"

This is the picture that Hannah took for Daddy..he has it in his office now :)

I would be remiss if I blogged about Father's Day without talking about our own Dads too. I am so thankful for both of them. I love my Dad very much and thank God for his godly example in my life. He was a great provider for our family growing up, and never once complained about going to work. He did so many fun things with us, and always played with us. Even now, he stays as involved in our lives as he can. I love him so much!

I'm also thankful for a wonderful father-in-law. He always makes me a laugh and is another godly example in my life. I appreciate the advice that he gives, his sense of humor, and generosity.

I thank God for the men in my life, and that Hannah has such wonderful examples too. She sure loves her Daddy, Pop, and Papa.

More from Lake Ann

On Thursday evening we had a Chuck Wagon dinner. The kitchen crew grilled burgers and we ate outside. We had corn on the cob, burgers, watermelon, and beans...the perfect summer meal.

It's kinda hard to eat corn on the cob when you only have 3 teeth :)

We spent most of the week with a family from the Flint area. It was really nice to get to know them and share ministry ideas. This is one of their little girls. She loved Hannah...and would always come up to her and say "Hey Baby" which is what she was saying here.

Here are both of their girls with Hannah

Hannah LOVES watermelon! She will eat as much as I will let her. She got to eat it by herself right off the rind for the first time. I think this picture just looks like summer!

Here are some of our junior campers. One of the great things about staying at camp during the week is getting to share in the camp experience with our kids. It was fun to see the girls at the chuck wagon dinner and hear all about thier day at the carnaval.

Another new experience at camp was Hannah's first shower. She's too big for the sink now...and so the shower it was. We told her that she was getting in the rain. She didn't like it at first, but as with most things, she adapted quickly. :)

Yes..this looks like a caterpillar...but it's actually a tent worm. They were ALL over the camp. But yet another great experience for Hannah. She loved how it felt crawling on her hands.

On Friday we went to the mall and Hannah got to play in the little play land...she's getting so big!

Time to go home...what a great week!

Things I love Thursday- Gymboree Bubbles

One of Hannah's many favorite things to do is play with bubbles. She asks for them several times daily and gets so excited when we get them out. We play bubbles inside, in the bathtub, and outside...she just can't get enough! I recently discovered gymboree's bubbles (thanks to my friend Rachel). They are a little more costly than the 3 pack of soap bubbles that we can get at dollar tree (we still use these too)...but the quality is so much better, and hands down worth every penny (we got a small 2oz bottle for 1.99 and then 30% off that). They have a sugar base which keeps them from popping as quickly as the soap bubbles do. This is especially great for my little one who is still learning how to pop bubbles. It give her time to pop them while they are still in the air, which is great for her eye-hand coordination, and they don't pop right away once they hit the ground. We also have fun blowing them near a fan...they will float and swirl in the air for minutes...so much fun! The wand is also just her size, and she is already a pro at blowing the bubbles herself! We have hours of fun with gymboree's bubbles! For more Things I Love head over to thediaperdiaries.

Lake Ann Camp

Last week, we took the kids up to Lake Ann Camp. Seth, Hannah and I had the privilege of staying the week too. It was such a blessing! It was great to be there with the kids, to celebrate their decision with them, and help them connect their camp experience with home. The best part was being there when Kim got saved. She came and found us right away to share the good news. We could see an immediate transformation in her life...so exciting!

Hannah did great. She traveled really well. I was so thankful to have Fiona sitting next to her in the van on the way up and back. Fiona played with her and kept her entertained...it was great! We stayed in a little cabin right at the camp. We were thankful for the comfy bed and for having a bathroom right in our cabin. Lake Ann reminded us a lot of our Skyview days. Ken Riley, the director, reminds us a lot of Bill...brought back fond memories. Lake Anns philosophy of ministry is also very much the same, so it's definitely a place that we are excited to take our teens and kids too. Seth and I enjoyed the family time together, getting to pop in on the kids during some of their activities and chapel, gettting to talk to their counselors, some time for relaxation, and getting to fellowship with other youth pastors and thier wives. Such an encouraging week!

I have pictures of the teens and kids, but will save those for later. Here are pictures of our family from the week:

My future camper...

Camping is hard work

a day at the beach. We put Hannah's feet in the water...but was too cold for her. We had fun watching the juniors play water game and just enjoying the sunshine.

trading hats with Daddy

I LOVE this picture. We had lots of open space to blow bubbles...one of Hannah's favorite things!

simple pleasures

Hannah's favorite part of camp was hands down the petting farm, Acorn Acres. We went almost everyday after lunch. We would tell her that we were going to see the animals. The whole way there she would say "aaaannnimals" very loudly...the workers could hear her coming. She was just SO excited!

Her favorite animals were the chickens and the chicks.

she loved to chase the chicken

Seth and the Llama...luckily he didn't make it on the "spit list"

Oh my...this is SO exciting!

We went to "Moomers" which was voted by Good Morning America as the best icecream in America. Hannah ate an icecream cone all by herself for the first time. Of course she has had icecream before, but she got the whole cone to herself! She did great! She licked it and bit around the sides. When the cone got towards the bottom and was getting a little soggy, I helped her finish the ice cream with the spoon and then she ate the rest of the cone...nothing left...she loved it!

Everytime she eats an icecream cone she says and signs "COLD". It's too cute!


Well..this has gotten to be a pretty long post, and it's after midnight. I still have more pictures to share...but I think we'll save those for tomorrow.