father's day

i know that i'm late, but if you've been paying attention, you would know that we rarely celebrate holidays on their correct date, especially mother's and father's days. when your husband is a pastor, sundays are anything but free for leisurely lunches and snapshots of the whole family...at the same time. however, it is kinda fun going out to eat and getting presents after everyone else has celebrated. hello, no-long-lines-at-the-cheesecake-factory...yum! on to father's day...tom was with the students at world changers in muncie, IN so we celebrated last weekend. his mom and the girls were in town and helped make it extra special. they made a welcome home banner and maddie even presented tom with the father's day gifts she made for him during the last days of school (of course, she made them on behalf of caleb...seeing how he can't write yet and all). her little book was sooooooo cute. the picture didn't turn out so well, but it says i love my dad b/c he prays for me. how sweet!!! tom was really excited about his new wallabees...i know this because he immediately asked, "how much did you pay for these?" apparently the amount one can enjoy a gift is directly related to how much money is left in the bank account after it's purchased. after all these years (okay, 3 years...ha!), he still hasn't learned that i am really good at shopping...i got those shoes for a steal. yay me!!!! caleb even got excited about the wallabees. don't adjust your screen...size 13 shoes really do appear that large next to a 17 month old child.

favorite things

since i haven't blogged in forever (family in town last week, vbs this week), i decided to steal an idea from a fellow blogger (sorry, kelley!) and quit putting off the inevitable. here are 2 new things that are favorites around here. 1. mini muffin tin. yes, i'm serious. they let you make the perfect kid-size treats. the small size is the right portion (yay, healthy) and reduces waste (why can't kids ever finish anything?!). 2. "my first..." flashcard series. i'm not trying to turn caleb into some super-genius baby, but i do like to foster a love of reading. these flashcards are great. we have them for shapes/colors and first words. the best part is, they grow with the child. each of the cards has a cutout which exposes a texture for caleb to feel. it's great fun...the flashcard with the jelly is actually sticky!!! and, the publishers printed helpful suggestions on the back for older children. things like, what sound does dog start with and can you think of another word that starts with that sound? a big bonus is that the cards and box are sturdy enough for caleb to practice putting them in and take them out. this is impressive since, to quote my granny, "that boy is as rough as a cobb." mad props to the people of dk publishers for coming up with these.

nothing says "good morning" like a mini muffin

since nana and the girls will be here to visit starting tomorrow, i made some muffins tonight and thought i'd share the recipe with you. it has quickly become my favorite because it makes enough batter for 24 mini muffins (don't like having to wash my pan and then do another batch), uses no butter or oil, you can use whatever fruit you have on hand, and it takes 30 minutes from start to finish. i modified this recipe from one i found online, so i hope i'm not plagarizing! 1 c. unbleached white flour 1/2 c. whole wheat flour 1/4 c. wheat germ 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. salt Combine in small bowl. 1 c. pumpkin 2 eggs 1/2 c. milk 1 tsp. real vanilla 1/2 c. brown sugar (i like to use the brown sugar/splenda blend) Make sure fruit is pureed or well-mushed and combine ingredients in large bowl. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet. Once combined, pour into well- greased mini muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 mins. This recipe is really user friendly. For example, with the pumpkin i like to use 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. of nutmeg. With banana, you could add 1/4-1/2 c. of mini chocolate chips, or pecans to the mixture. tom thinks blueberry would be good, but i'm not sure what spices would be best. now that you know what caleb will be eating for breakfast in the morning (yes, with cream cheese on it), let me know what you think!

17 months old

best friends caleb and his gran celebrating mother's day it's hard to believe that caleb is already 17 months old. some days, i watch him run around and see a little boy, not a baby. here are a few things that our little boy is up to: 1. words galore. new favorites are "momma," "dada," "ma men" (amen), "bye-bye," "bye bul" (Bible), "baybee" (baby), "crak er" (cracker), and "tuk" (truck). he can also make the siren sound for the firetrucks--we hear alot of them going down the road where we live now. 2. body parts. caleb knows his belly, nose, mouth, eyes, sometimes his ears, and oh yeah, his man parts. while we use the correct term at home, not so sure that i want to put it in a blog for people to search...ewwww. 3. running. after a bumpy start, he's motoring around the house like a pro. he loves to take off down the hall, look back at me to see if i take the bait, and the chase is on. 4. food...still eating well, but not gaining a ton of weight. he's still plodding along the growth charts at his own pace. 50th percentile in height and head and roughly 10th percentile in weight. he loves all fruits, especially peaches, mandarin oranges, and blueberries. another favorite is soy sausage. aside from the occasional peanut butter & cracker and scrambled egg, it's the protein of choice. oh yeah, cream cheese. i make ultra-healthy muffins (think banana, pumkin, wheat germ) and the boy licks the cream cheese off and leaves the muffin. crazy kid! caleb has a wild sense of humor, the occasional temper tantrum, and the sweetest hugs. happy 17 month birthday little boy!!!

tea time

today at church, some ladies organized an afternoon tea. it was a great time to get together, have some cute and delicious food, and be encouraged from the Word. it was so amazing to see approximately 80 ladies (of varying ages) there. to top it all off, we were given cute tea cups to take home as a reminder to pause each day and have time with the Lord with tea (or coffee) as our only companion...quite a task some days when you have a little one(s) around. here's hoping that you take the time to satisfy your soul in the Word during the next week.

water baby

it was a blistering 94 degrees in nashville today. way too hot for caleb to play outside for very long. i had a flash of mommy brilliance and decided to take a small tub, fill it with water, and give caleb some kitchen utensils to splash around with outside. after changing caleb into his trunks (complete with sunscreen), we headed outside to find some shade. tom made fun of me for insisting that caleb wear a swim diaper and trunks, but i'm glad that i did. while my reasoning was that we bought 'em and need to use 'em (after all, they won't fit next year), caleb had another idea. after a few minutes of splashing, he decided that the tub i use to hold ice and drinks for parties was just the right size for him to climb in and sit. and by golly, he was right! we spent the better part of a half-hour just sitting under the shade tree watching traffic go by and splashing in our resourceful pool...resourceful sounds so much nicer than cheap, or redneck, lol! what a great way to spend a way too hot morning.

better???

i doubt that this snazzy new template will fix my posting problem, but it sure looks pretty. i'm sure that it will change again since i've found free template...yay!!!