Today Andrew was walking around the house saying "cyder....cyder...cyder." He walked up to the basket of books, rummaged around for a minute and exclaimed "Cyder!!!!!"

This is his new favorite "nursing" book...it's the one he always picks to read while I am feeding the baby.

Speaking of the baby...this boy is 6 months old today!!!! I can't believe it.

It makes me sad that he isn't a tiny baby anymore, but I love all the things he is learning to do. Andrew, who just turned 18 months, is at such a fun age and I look forward to having two toddlers. I am so thankful for my sweet, healthy, happy boys!

Every Florida Mom.....

...needs a great bathing suit! Spencer and I went to the mall on Sunday afternoon. Our Dillard's is going out of business and I decided to take a quick look around. Let me just say...I love hunting a good deal. TJMaxx, Marshalls, Target...I love to scour the clearance racks for a good buy. With that being said, I have never been in such a BIG mess of a store in all my life. I almost gave up because everything was so unorganized and overwhelming. But luckily I looked long enough to find this...

Since I have had my boys I have not been able to find a bathing suit that is flattering, supportive, not black and less that $100! Well I found exactly what I was looking for in this suit! (Plus it was less than $30!) I knew that if I passed it up I would be kicking myself next summer. Besides, I have to try and look half as cute as my little fish!

My Little Sweet 'Tater

Well we are officially starting baby food with Joshua. He is slowly warming up to the idea.

After a few unsure bites of sweet potatoes, he started to enjoy it.

He really enjoyed sucking on a piece of apple.

He didn't quite know what to do with his sippy cup.

I just hope he grows up to be as good of an eater as his big brother!

It's starting to smell like fall....

My mother-in-law gave me this candle the other day. It got me in the mood to make a "fall-ish" dessert.

Baked Apple Dumplings

Apples - about 2 lbs.

cinnamon

2 C flour

2 1/4 tsp baking powder

2/3 C shortening

1/2 C milk

1/4 tsp salt

1tsp vanilla

2 C brown sugar

2 C water

1/2 stick butter

Peel and slice apples. Coat with cinnamon.

Combine flour, baking powder, shortening, milk, vanilla and salt. Mix until dough forms. Divide in half. Roll out one half and cut into 4 pieces. (I was in a rush, that is why my dough looks a little....sloppy!)

Place apples on top. Fold dough to cover apples, pinch seams. Repeat until you have 8 dumplings. Place in a 9x13 dish. Combine brown sugar, water and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour over dumplings.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes until golden brown and apples are cooked. Serve with ice cream!

Greatly Blessed

Sometimes I question God. I think that I know what is fair, what is right and what I deserve. I allow myself to forget that God is sovereign. But yesterday during my quiet time, he gently reminded me that I "deserve" nothing, but he has blessed me greatly anyways and I need to always remember to be thankful.

It is so easy to become ungrateful and take things for granted.

So I spent some time just thanking the Lord.

For my husband. I don't deserve a husband that treats me so well, that loves me so much and that values me. I am so very thankful for my husband.

For my sons. I don't deserve to have two beautiful sons that are healthy, that are loving and sweet. Two pregnancies that were easy and healthy. I am so thankful for my sons.

For my mom. I have been blessed with a mom that has loved me and taught me. She has prayed over me and worked hard to provide for me and my entire family. I am thankful for my mom.

For my freedom, that I live in a country of great opportunity and privilege. I am thankful for my freedom.

And this is just a short list.

Last night I had a huge reminder of the great blessings in my life. I was reading a post on Kelly's Korner and she was asking for prayer for this family. Please read their story and please pray for their family. As I was thinking of this family again this morning, God was reminding me that even in the greatest storms of life that he is loving, faithful, almighty, good, holy and just.

I remembered that I must always praise God for who he is, for his character. To always be thankful for the many many blessings in my life and to never take his blessings for granted.

What do you have to be thankful for today?

Psalm 145: 3-7 - Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

Sunday Afternoon

Sunday afternoon our church had baptism at the beach. There were twenty people that got baptized...it was awesome to see people of all ages from different walks of life make a public declaration of what the Lord has already done in their hearts.

Joshua got to experience sand for the first time.

I love going to the beach, but taking an infant is not exactly relaxing, thus the reason he hasn't been there yet!

Andrew loves the sand too. I was talking with a friend and didn't see Joshua get a mouth-full of sand...daddy made him deal with it until he got a picture!

On our way home we decided to stop at McDonald's for an ice cream cone. After a hot day at the beach there's nothing better than a cool treat for a buck!

Little Men and a Day of Denim

Spencer was so excited this morning. He was going to get up and fix a man's breakfast...pancakes, eggs and bacon. He loves teaching Andrew how to do "man" things, you know, how to eat a big meal, how to dig in the dirt, how to dress like man, how to enjoy a summer snack, how to play ball.

Joshua can't wait to learn "man" things too.

He looks forward to the day where he doesn't have to go shopping with me because I am the only one capable of nourishing him for the time being.

But I would like to think he was happy for the denim deals I got today!

We went to Kohl's because I had a return and a gift card and this is what we ended up with.

Denim bermuda shorts - $7.20 Denim crops - $8.80 Cute jeans (because for the last 2 winters my jeans have needed an elastic waist!) - $24.99 Banana Republic jeans from a local consignment shop - $15

So with a gift card plus a merchandise credit I got all of the above for a grand total of $18.15...I was pretty proud.

Remember how I didn't have any spending money? Well yesterday I decided to roll our jar of change to see how much was in there....any guesses? $84....what a nice surprise! So the mister and I both got some spending money. So I treated myself to these as well...

Happy Weekend!

Amazing Lunch....(plus a dinner recipe recap)

It's Friday! Which means that Kelly's Korner is hosting "Show Us Your Life" - Dinner Recipes

Well If you read my post on Wednesday, then you already saw my dinner recipe...so I decided to add a lunch recipe that I love love love to make this more than just a re-cap!

I got this recipe from my mother-in-law and I love it. (Did I mention that I love it?) It is a wonderful light lunch that is so refreshing. You can make it a sandwich or just eat it with crackers!

Party Chicken Salad

1C chopped pecans

1/2 C mayo

1/4 C onion

2 T fresh basil (use dry if that' what you have on hand)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

4 C cooked chicken (I use canned chicken to make it fast)

4 small peeled and diced peaches

Pull apart chicken with fork, mix all ingredients and enjoy!

Chicken Rolls

Chicken - cooked and shredded

1 package crescent dinner rolls

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 C milk

pepper

shredded cheddar cheese

chopped onion

Unroll crescent rolls and place shredded chicken and chopped onion in center. Sprinkle with pepper. Roll up and place in baking dish. Mix milk and cream of chicken. Pour over chicken rolls and top with shredded cheddar. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

A Date with Ducks

Our house has a little pond behind it. There are always ducks, birds and sand cranes. Andrew loves to look out the window at the ducks.....they must have thought he was going to feed them

Joshua got in on the action

then someone walked by with a dog....he barked

and they went on their way

A few minutes later they must have thought Andrew went and got food and was waiting to feed them, so they came back

Andrew had to break the news, "Hey guys, mom's not going to let me feed you...she said if I do you will just hang out on the patio everyday and poop all over.....sorry"

Silence = Trouble

After realizing that the boys were being a little too quiet I sneaked around the corner with my camera and this is what I found....

After realizing he'd been caught he simply smiled and said "cheese!"