At the end of May, we took a trip to Fort Smith, AR, and Poteau, OK, where we visited “old home places” and friends, and attended my niece’s wedding. Rachel was allowed to borrow a gorgeous dress that was hanging in the closet of the house in which we stayed. It fit her perfectly!

On Sunday, we attended church where the house was located, and fellowshipped with the people there. Sarah Ruth was just starting to be proficient with walking and she was a charmer!

Monday, Memorial Day, we headed home. What should have been a 10 hour trip took longer both ways – on the way there, we had to change a tire that was showing belt; and on the way home, we stopped to visit a friend for an hour, and then also had another two tires that had to be replaced because they had worn out! The friends we stopped to visit with were people I hadn’t met in person previously, but we have a lot in common. Our last names begin with “H” and our first names are “Dawn” and we both have daughters named “Sarah” and “Rachel” that are about the same ages!

About the middle of June, we rearranged the living room to make our entryway a bit more open. I really like it a lot better this way! Bobby likes it, too, since he has a little “room” of his own in the corner.

I found a good deal on a washable “swim diaper” for Sarah Ruth, so I got one in her current size and one in the next size up. This was her first time wearing it – in our little pool in the back yard. Obviously, she enjoyed it! She loves water – in the pool or in the bath!

God bless you until next time!

We got Sarah a toddler bed. It is cute, and she seems to like it– to play in, at least. She has napped there a few times, but isn’t quite ready to sleep there alone yet.

At the beginning of May, we took advantage of our Tennessee Aquarium membership. We enjoy looking at the butterflies, fish, penguins, jellyfish, and other creatures. God’s handiwork is so amazing!

The jellyfish are difficult to capture in a picture because of how the flash shines on the glass, but videos work– this is a frame extracted from a video I took of it.

On May 15th, the science museum to which we have a membership had a special day for members. We took advantage of this, as well. They had a big inflatable slide there that John Luke greatly enjoyed! Especially since there wasn’t a line of kids waiting, so he got to go on it over and over without waiting.

While we were in Huntsville, we went by the EarlyWorks complex. They have some really neat stuff there! The boys had fun trying on masks. Most of the kids had the most fun in the room made for the youngest kids – where they had things like make-believe items, costumes, a water trough with toys (Sarah Ruth LOVED that one!) and some other neat things.



May God richly bless you!

I have John Luke signed up for a “preschool club” at Publix, and they send him something in the mail every month. In March, it was a chef hat to go with the apron they’d sent previously. John Luke LOVES this set!

And Sarah Ruth turned ONE!
On the same day, we moved our shed from one corner of the yard to another, and put it on a platform that Robby’s dad built for us.

Sarah Ruth loves playing the computer, like the other kids. Of course, she doesn’t know what she’s doing — YET!


For April 1, I decided to do something fun for a change and we did dinner a little differently. For the main meal, we had cupcakes (meatloaf with colored mashed potato “frosting”) followed by dessert of “cashew chicken” (dried apples and pineapples, cashews, “green beans” made of fruit roll-ups wrapped around sunflower seeds, and “peppers” made of strips of fruit roll-ups in red and yellow).

We took one evening and went up to the battlegrounds in Fort Oglethorpe, GA, where they have a tower that has about 150 steps to the top (I’m not sure of the exact number) and we walked up. It was fun, if a bit tiring! We had to get a picture at the top, of course! (I was taking the picture, you know.) We went around to several locations for photos after that.

I love the little sweet interactions I get to see with my children— especially with the littlest ones. I captured this picture one evening while they were watching a video.

April 10 was Bobby’s 17th birthday! It’s so hard to believe he’s 17 already. He chose to have a big cookie instead of cake.

The same weekend was the annual Ladies’ meeting to which I look forward every year. They always decorate things beautifully and have a lot of good information for helping us as wives and mothers to best serve our families and, more importantly, God.

Another day, I took an old shirt of Rachel’s (that doesn’t fit her anymore, but was way too big for Sarah) and made it into a little dress for Sarah. I think it turned out very cute!

A few days ago, I decided it was time to try to make a pineapple upside-down cake. I’d never made one, and the only one I had ever eaten was when I was a young teen (and I wasn’t impressed at that time). I got a recipe from the internet and here was the result:
It turned out absolutely delicious, and I will definitely be making it again sometime—maybe with a different fruit.


We went bowling as a belated celebration of Bobby’s birthday, and it was a lot of fun! We’re far from professionals, but that didn’t matter. I love this picture I caught of Bobby & Sarah when it was almost time to go home.

We’re hoping to go bowling more often, since our local alley has a special night when it’s only $1 per game and $1 for shoes— that makes it a lot more affordable for our family.

I hope you’ve been able to enjoy the spring weather like we’ve been having here! It’s been sunny and warm during the day and cooler at night— just perfect, in my opinion!

Until next time!

I enjoyed this story by Kathleen Fuller. Based in an Amish community, it is thought-provoking, entertaining, and inspirational all at once. The elements of romance woven throughout are realistic, as are the struggles we go through with the characters as we immerse ourselves in their stories.

I’m thankful that Thomas Nelson Publishers, via BookSneeze, sent me a copy of this book to review. I enjoyed it very much. You can pick up a copy yourself at Amazon.com or Christian Book Distributors.

For example, I might ask him, “Are your shoes not in the shelf where they belong?” Most of us, if the shoes were NOT there, would say, “No,” in agreement that the shoes were NOT in the shelf. John Luke will say, more accurately, “Yes! My shoes are not in the shelf.”

I wonder if that means he is an optimist? Or if he is just more accurate?

On February 19th, I turned 39! (I’ve finally caught up with Jack Benny ) We celebrated with our friends (he turned 43 on the 21st). We actually put 39 and 43 candles on the cakes! And Robby got relighting candles, besides! It was fun, and the smoke alarm DIDN’T go off.


Toward the end of February, Bobby finally got something he’s been wanting for almost two years: a motorcycle! He also got a license to go with it, and has now gained some independence. I like being able to send him to the grocery for me without having to get out myself! It’s very
convenient!

We took advantage of a nice day to go to the park. We only stayed about 15 minutes, but the kids really enjoyed it! And it was good timing, because a few days later, March 2nd, we got enough SNOW for the kids to make several snowmen in the yard!

The same day, Rachel turned redhead, thanks to henna (an all natural plant dye). It really suits her, I think!


Here, she is sharing her music (mp3 player) with Sarah Ruth, who loves listening to music. She likes to hold the ear-bud up to her ear herself, too!

On March 6, we went to a “robot carnival” in Gadsden that advertised they would have “Star Wars people” there for their grand opening day. We figured it would be fun, so we went. The robot displays were not that great – they were mostly mechanical arms – but we had a blast getting pictures with the Star Wars people.

They even had a Darth Vader! John Luke said hi to him when he first saw him (at a distance!) but wasn’t so thrilled about him when he was close up!

On March 13th, we had friends here that have 10 children, making a total of 16 children and 4 adults here! It was a lot of fun!


And, of course, I must end with an adorable photo of Sarah Ruth!

This is a light, sweet story, geared to children of all ages. When we received this book from Thomas Nelson publishers via BookSneeze, I immediately read it to my 1-year-old, who was sitting in my lap already. Shortly thereafter, I was required to re-read it for the 4-year-old. It’s also thought-provoking in several ways. I like the little application bits (they call them “Faith Imprints”) scattered throughout the book, that offer suggestions to help your child understand what the story is illustrating (such as “Share how Katie’s family loved their neighbor.” – which is speaking of *active* love, not *emotional* love). The illustrations by Renee Graef add dimension and interest.

If you want a nice, thoughtful and faith-based book for your children for Easter, this would be an excellent choice. You can get a copy at Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble, among others.

Saturday, I boiled 10 pounds of chicken. I used part of it in chicken pot pie (that recipe will be posted next time I make it, so I can include pictures ), and part of it in tonight’s lasagna, and the rest will be used in sandwiches for lunch tomorrow. The broth was used to cook the lasagna noodles, and the remainder will go in the freezer for soup sometime in the future.

So, anyway. I deboned the chicken; Rachel cooked the noodles. I put noodles in the pan, followed by a layer of chicken pieces, a layer of frozen mixed vegetables, a layer of cottage cheese, a layer of spaghetti sauce, and topped with some more noodles. Since my large pan was unavailable, I ended up using two smaller pans, which worked out well since one was then made with more vegetables, less chicken, and no cottage cheese (for Rachel, mainly, who isn’t supposed to have cheese). Then I covered them with foil and baked at 350F for about 30 minutes (mainly to heat things through).

Here’s the result (after we’d already eaten – I forgot to take a picture when it came out of the oven!) :

(The larger one, with cheese)

(The smaller, cheeseless one)

(It didn’t really *slice* — and that’s Nate’s smile )

(Rae’s plate – a little of both kinds because it just isn’t lasagna without cheese! Although the non-cheese one tasted delicious, even without cheese )

Even Sarah loved it!

John Luke didn’t want to be left out

I’ve never been a country music fan, nor very up-to-date on CCM, so I had never heard of Diamond Rio before receiving this book from Thomas Nelson publishers to review. Nevertheless, the book was well written and even as an introduction to the band, it was an engaging read and enjoyable. Each man in the band had a unique story, and other than music, they had little in common before joining the band together. Nevertheless, their music and their faith cemented their bond. I loved seeing how they supported each other through thick and thin (and there was plenty of both!), and how they worked together throughout the many years during which they sang together.

If you like reading the story behind the music, this is an excellent book for you! You can get a copy at Amazon.com.