Botanical Gardens, Memphis

While Tim was at the Razorback game.  I hung out with the Cooks, Mrs. Sheila, Meredith and Kendall at the Botanical Garden.  We had a good time and I took some pics.  Jennifer and I had this grand plan of getting a family pic for them.  Lets just stay getting four people to look the same direction is hard especialy at the same time.  Here are a few of the ones that I took.  I still trying to learn how to use my camera.  I really need some lessons. 


The Gardens had a children's play area.  You weren't really allowed on this part to play but I do think it looked neat.

K. Smith - isn't she beautiful

B. Cook

C. Cook - Look at those eyes

The day was beautiful.  Thanks so much to the Cooks for entertaining me during my time in Memphis.

Weekend Get Away

This weekend we went to the Razorback game.  Actually I just hung out in Memphis with some friends and everyone else in our group went.  Nannie and Pops graciously agreed to keep the kids for the whole weekend.  We left Friday morning and got back on Sunday morning.  I missed the kids but we had a great time.

Us

Brian and Kendra

Donnie and Jennifer Cook.  They babysitted me on Saturday while everyone was at the game. 

Tim and Brian

We all ate at Rendezvous.  It was okay.  Everything was a little too spicy hot for me.  But the company was great.

The spiceyness did not keep me from cleaning my plate. 

We walked over to the PeaBody motel when we were done eating just to look around.  That evening we went over to the Cooks to hang out and play some cards.

Evan, Leah, Kendall, Meredith, Bro. Barry and Mrs. Sheila came up to the game also.  Kendra and Leah were the only girls in the group that actually went to the game. 

Die Hard Fans.

Saturday everyone that didn't go to the game went to the botanical garden in Memphis.  They had a great play area for children.  I walked around and took some pics of the kids and enjoyed the sunshine.  I will post some pics of the gardens soon.  I think my kids would like it and it was fairly cheap.  Noah might think it was a little babyish.  It was nice not to be responsible for anyone but myself.  I got about two hours in the hotel room by myself too. Yippee!!! I just enjoyed watching TV and getting to control the remote.  I did forget my pillow which I am pretty bummed about.  Now I am going to have to pay the motel to send it back to me.  Actually I will probably just get them to send the pillowcase because it matches my comforter.  I missed the boys but so enjoyed not having to referee any fights or try to entertain the baby. 

While we were gone I don't think the big boys missed us at all.  Noah had a game that morning and Saturday evening Pops took them out for a boys night.  He took them to their favorite place to eat and then took them bowling.  They had a ton of fun.  Nannie did say she thought Ti might have missed his mom a little bit before we got back which of course made me feel good.  Who knows I might be ready to leave again for another getaway soon.

School Play / Tree Planting

Noah was in his first school play last Wednesday.  He had one of the lead parts with lots of lines.  His character was Mr. Skowler, the principal.  He has an excellent ability to memorize things so even though they could carry their lines during the play he had his memorized.    He did a great job.  I think he liked it.  His dad asked if he was going to be an actor when he grew up and Noah's answer was No.  I guess he doesn't think he can play professional football, which he is convinced that he can do, and be an actor too. 

Dad got it all on video.  Just incase anybody would like to see it again.

After the play they went out and planted trees on the playground.  Folsum was one of 5 schools in the state that the forrestry service chose to donate trees to go on their playground.    Lots of different people spoke during the ceremony.  It was kinda neat.  Maybe when Noah is an adult he will be able to come back to his elementary school and remember planting the trees there.

Doesn't he look cute in that outfit.  He was suppose to wear business professional for the play.  Since he was the principal and all.

This could be a whole other post.   So I go to Kohls to look for something and of course my coupon didn't start till the next day.  I bought a shirt, dress pants and shoes which I decided to return.  Just those three items cost about 70 bucks.  I don't spend 70 bucks on an outfit for me.  Why would I want to spend so much money on an outfit that he would wear maybc occasionally to church and at Christmas time. 

I decided to stick with the shirt off the clearance rack for 8 buck and made sure the pants he wore didn't have grass stain and he wore his boots.  I highly doubt that the principal would have grass stains on his jeans.  Even without spending the big bucks he looks as cute as can be.  Of course I might be prejudice.

Great Soup for a Cold Day

 
BAKED POTATO SOUP
6 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 3/4 lbs)
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 (14 oz) cans Swanson chicken broth with roasted garlic*
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup whipping cream or half-and-half (I use fat free half/half)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 tbsp chopped fresh chives1
8 oz container reduced fat sour cream (optional)
4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
extra cheese
1-Combine first 6 ingredients in a 5 quart slow cooker.
2- Cover and cook on HIGH 4 hours or on LOW 8 hours or until potatoes are tender.
3- Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soup is slightly thickened; stir in cream, shredded cheese and chives.
Top with sour cream, if desired, and sprinkle with bacon and cheddar cheese before serving. Makes 12 cups.
*I only use 2 cans of the broth with roasted garlic and 1 can of regular chicken broth. I found that 3 cans of garlic was a little strong.Enjoy!

Who Is My Neighbour

Have you ever noticed what type of person you feel most comfortable around.  I was noticing myself Sunday gravitating to those people I feel most comfortable around.  I am just wondering if everyone does this.

I had two different women setting near me.  One was very tall, skinny, beautiful with pointy shoes.   You know those ones with the really high heals and you know their toes can't fit into the end of their shoes becasue they are so narrow.  I haven't actually ever owned a pair of these but I can't see how they could be comfortable. Yes I notice people shoes,  Anyway on with my story, the other lady had dress pants, medium height, a little fluffy (Heavy), average looks and flats for shoes.  Guess who I shook hands with?  You got it, the fluffy person.  Why is it that we gravitate toward those we feel most like.  I noticed the beautiful lady crying slightly during the service and I did offer her a kleenex but yet when it came to time to introduce myself I am ashamed to admit that I chose not to.  Why I felt inferior to this lady I have no clue. 

We did the story about the good Samaritan the other day in Noah's Sunday School class.  We talked about how we aren't suppose to be nice just to those who are like us but to everyone.  Oh how easy it was for me to tell the boys just because someone might dress differently than us or maybe smell we are still suppose to be nice to them.  Then the next Sunday here I am choosing to do the same thing.  Sometimes it seems easier to teach what we should do in a situation instead of actually putting our faith into action.

Speaking of Neighbours we have new ones.  If you live within a mile of someone and you live in the country you are considered neighbours. Just incase you were wondering.  Brian and Kendra have moved into their new house.  I wanted to try out an recipe for pecan pie that Meredith gave me a couple of years ago.  What better excuse than a welcome to the neighbourhood gift.  Of course I ate of piece of it after I gave it to them just to make sure it was edible.  It was actually pretty good.  I think I let it get a little too brown but it was definitely edible.  I brought Timmy a slice home so he could try it.  He liked it too.  Even the crust was homemade.  I had never made a crust before.  I think I might like the store bought crust better.  We are having connection group Sunday night I am suppose to make dessert so now that I know it is good I might bring it there also.  Of course I would never try something for the first time when I am serving someone other than close friends.

 

My First Pecan Pie

Don't you wish you were moving near me????  I would bake you a pie. lol  And I will make sure it is edible.

Happy Fall

Fall Pictures 2009

We are Blessed

We went to Prairie Grove Battlefied Park yesterday.  I wanted to practice some with my camera.  It is usually torture to take  pictures of the kids so I brought in reinforcements.  Mrs. Imogene  is a sweet heart.  We try to go by and visit about every other week.  She bakes us cookies and loves on the boys.  Since we don't have grandparents that the boys can just stop by to see after school we have adopted Mrs. Imogene.  She explained the fine art of making Sorghum Molasses to the boys while at the park.  We love Mrs. Imogene and are blessed that she is a part of our life.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I would never look on the internet how to help a momma dog that is engorged because all her puppies are gone.  She is really miserable and I can definitely simpathize with her.  And just incase you are wondering - ice packs.  Just to let you know dogs don't like icepacks.

I would never send my children outside to play on the trampoline in the rain.  And I would definitely never yell out the door to come in if it starts lightening.  Really I am much more protective than that.

I would never consider taking my baby on a weekend getaway that is suppose to be for adults just because I hate to pump and I am nervous about leaving him.  Really this is my third child I don't worry about these kind of things.

I would never fill the high chair tray with water to entertain the baby while I cook supper.  My baby is so smart he can entertain himself.  lol

My husband would never accuse me of turning into my mother because I won't take a nap on Sunday afternoon.  He would never say something to the fact that naps use to be a priority.  Of course he would be thankful that I can always find something I need to do.

My husband would never dry up spilt sweet tea with a rag and then throw the rag in the bathroom floor.  Of course if he had done this the next morning the rag would definitely not be covered with ants.  Really we are much cleaner than that.

Because we are such sanitary people I would never have to tell my son not to use the good tupperware to keep his frog in.  And then later in the day when asked where he put the bowl of course he would not tell us back in the draw that he got it from.  Really my kids understand a bowl is dirty after a live animal has been put in it.  That same child would never then put the live animal in a tea pitcher and then forget about him.  I would never notice a stench coming in our back door because our garage is super clean.  Of course I wouldn't need my nose to lead me to a very dead frog in a pitcher.  Really my children respect animals enough not to let them starve to death.  Of course if I did find a dead frog I would immediately throw him away and not just leave him there to show my husband what I found that was stinking.

I would not be writing on my blog when I could be working on Quickbooks Proadvisor Stuff.  Really I never waste time on blogging things when I have other things to do.

So what did you not do this week.

I am Blessed

I read a post of a friend the other day.  She reminded me of how truly blessed we are.  So I wanted to follow suit and show a little thankfulness.

I am blessed because I have Godly heritage.

I am blessed because I live in a country that allows me to worship the one true God.

I am blessed because God has given me three very healthy boys.

I am blessed because God has abundantly provided for our family.

I am blessed that I have a husband that is committed to our marriage and children.

I am blessed that my husband has a job.

I am blessed that I have friends.

I am blessed that I serve a God that hears my prayers and then answers them.

I am blessed because my oldest child has already accepted Jesus as his Savior and my middle child is already asking those important questions about salvation.

I am blessed that I have a Christian husband.

I am blessed that I know without a doubt when I die where I will go. 

I am blessed that I am physically able to do.

The list could go on and on.  Of course I could complain about the things that aren't perfect but this is not going to be the post for that.  This one is just to praise the mighty God I serve who has blessed me so much.

Ti - 8 Months

Ti is 8 Months Old. He doesn't have any teeth yet. He has been pretty consistently sleeping through the night. He is ready to go to bed aroudn 7:30 or 8:00 and he sleeps till about 7:30 the next morning. He only stays awake about an hour after he wakes up and then he is ready to go down for another hour nap. He still nurses about every 3 hours and eats baby food twice a day. We are trying to feed him a bottle about once a day so that mommy doesn't always have to be around when he is hungry. He really doesn't like it but he is taking one a little better. He is just about ready to start crawling. He rolls anywhere he wants to go. He is starting to wave bye. Which mommy thinks is extremely cute. Of course momma thinks everything he does is cute. He is a happy healthy baby. We are so blessed to have Ti apart of our lives.