Women's High Tea

We are having a Women's Tea at my church tonight. We do this several times a year and it is always so much fun to fellowship with women without our husbands and kids around! Different women are selected each time to decorate one of the tables and with this month's theme being "High Tea" I can't wait to see all of the cups and saucers and tea kettles. People usually get pretty creative and if I remember I will bring my camera and take some pictures!

I'm not decorating this time but I did bring something to share with everyone. My husband got the recipe from a lady he works with and he couldn't tell me the name of it except to say "a strawberry cream thingy." I am going to call it Strawberry Angel food Trifle (pretty good title don't you think?).

So without further adieu: Strawberry Angel food Trifle

1 angel food cake cut or torn to fairly small pieces
1 small box instant vanilla pudding (make according to directions on box)
16 oz. case fresh strawberries cut up
2 cups heavy cream + 2 tbsp. powdered sugar(whipped until peaks form)


fold angel food cubes into pudding until well coated.

once everything is prepped and ready you can start layering into your trifle bowl. angel food mixture first, followed by strawberries and then whipped cream. you will have two layers of each thing.

That's all there is to it! If you have kids make extra, because they will strongly oppose all of said dessert going to some Women's Tea (as will your husband).

Enjoy!

Want to see what other people are cooking up this weekend? Join me...

I'm also sharing at Favorite Things Friday!

Laura from Along for the Ride came by and invited me to her party! Don't you just love to be invited to parties? Makes me feel like one of the cool kids. Come check it out with me so you can feel cool too!

Amelia

What a Bargain!

We inherited a boat load of neat things when we purchased this house. The house belonged to a retired school teacher who was very organized (a place for everything and everything in its place). She was a great lover of books (some dating back to the early 1900s), she loved to sew, and had a pretty extensive tool collection. We just went through one of the sheds in the back of the house and we found...

hand carved spoons

an assortment of tools...machete anyone?!

old oil cans




that's were I left my brass knuckles!!!

dozens of old Mason jars

and a few rusty old irons (we need to clean them:)

It has been so much fun (the boys think its a treasure hunt)!! In a small way we feel like we have gotten to know the retired school teacher who lived here before us!

I'm linking up today with Home is...over at Reluctant Entertainer.

Patience on a Cloudy Day

We have had what seems like an endless supply of rainy, overcast days here. The dark clouds have rolled in and seem content to settle over our little town for the duration. The boys and I watch and wait, hopeful for a glimpse of the sunshine peeking through. But all we see is the gray colorless sky and feel the dampness that seeps in and chills us to the bone.

What we need is a bit of warm to kiss our skin, put a smile on our face and make us sing and dance for the joy of living. Nature always does this for us. Whenever we feel the melancholy cling or the walls close in, we kick the blues off and kick up our heels. We go outside and rejoice in the heavens, in the bird calls, in the feeling of freedom.

But today the weather has decided to make us wait. This “waiting” is a lesson that I have been learning a lot lately. It is a force bigger than me...and important...if I will only listen.

Hope is patiently waiting expectantly for the intangible to become reality. Avery D. Miller

Patience with others is Love, Patience with self is Hope, Patience with God is Faith. Adel Bestavros

I'm linking up with Chatting at the Sky and Sweet Shot Tuesday.

I can't Be Still

I can’t “Be Still” today. I would like to turn it over to Him and let go of the worry that is consuming me but I find myself wanting too much control. Even as I sit here typing on these keys my gut is a knotted mass of nerves. I think that if I worry I can control the outcome. But I know in my heart that I can’t.

My husband went to work early to talk to his boss about buying the business. There have been phrases thrown around like purchase agreement and confidentiality agreement, enough big words to make my head spin. And I have been having a really hard time trusting God with this. Even though I know that He is the one that brought us here in the first place.

We have found ourselves letting go and giving it up to Him so many times these past two years. We have learned some hard lessons; nothing about this process has been easy. Every time I do give my cares and worries to God I feel a sense of peace inside and everything has worked out.

But today I want control and peace. Is that too much to ask?

My mantra is this verse: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. ~Prov. 3:5-6

I have been saying this verse over and over and it mingles with the whispers of worry. My hope is that it will drown out the worry, but I am not there yet.

So today I can’t “Be Still.” Hopefully other people can. I'm going over to One Nutty Girl to find out.

Many Aprons in the Kitchen

(photo by laylegrayce.com)

My great aunt Edna had a roadside café in Ashville NC. She would start her day at 4 a.m. rolling out dough for homemade buttermilk biscuits and making meringue for pies- chocolate, lemon, and coconut cream. I would sit on a bar stool, legs tucked under, eyes wide with wonder, as I felt the energy of the café pulse all around me. It was magical.

My Grandmother was a small feisty southern woman who taught as she worked. She could grow the sweetest, juiciest tomatoes and we would eat them sun warmed and salted off the vine. She would put away corn and string beans. Make homemade pickles with fresh dill and jellies of every kind. She could make fried okra like nobody’s business!

I learned to cook in my mother’s kitchen. With gentle instruction she would give me free reign to create and explore. She taught “healthy” with a southern twist. I was introduced to grains, nuts, sprouts, fruits and vegetables and how to combine them to make delicious whole meals.

My mother-in-law is hospitality extraordinaire. She can set a table and host a party with grace and charm. The food is beautifully presented, linens pressed, candles lit and she makes it all look easy. It’s a joy for her to feed her family and she makes you feel warm and welcome.

My little ones sit on the countertop next to the stove in my kitchen, much like where I sat as a girl in my mother’s kitchen. As I wrap an apron around I teach them how to stir measure and pour. I’m doing much more than teaching them how to cook. I’m passing down a legacy of love than has grown and endured through the generations of women who came before me.

I'm sharing this today at Home is...Wearing an Apron over at Reluctant Entertainer.

Be Still. Let Go

Be Still. I let it go and my world didn’t come to an end. My children didn’t cry out that I was being a bad mama for not taking them to umpteenth after school activity. My husband wasn’t upset that the house wasn’t perfectly perfect. They supported me.

I felt this sense of freedom. Like a weight lifting off. I just let go of two things last week. But in doing so I was able to sit on the patio with my boys and play in their imaginations. We were the Scooby Doo gang going to solve a mystery. We were outdoor explorers in search of exotic flowers and rocks. We were not stressed out mama and tired boys wrestling into gym clothes quickly before we were late for yet another practice.

I was also able to sit with my husband and talk about our day, our plans and dreams for the future. We were able to sit close on the couch and hold hands, and flirt, and laugh, and love. And the stress of not getting everything done melted into an insignificant puddle.

We were “Still” last week and so much the better for it.

I want to thank MJ at One Nutty Girl and her Be Still Monday. If not for this, I’m not sure I would have had the courage to let go.

I'm also linking up with Sweet Shot Tuesday!

Fight Day

They fought like crazy today
At the top of their lungs made their opinions known
Full of passion
Hurt feelings
Righteous indignation
Fight to the bitter
Won’t back down
Snotty tears and red faced anger
And it’s my place
Punisher
Referee
Mediator
Peacemaker
Mamma
Thank-you God for helping us through this day

Calvin: I feel bad that I called Suzie names and hurt her feelings
Calvin: I'm sorry I did it.
Hobbes: Maybe you should apologize to her
Calvin: I keep hoping there's a less obvious solution
--Calvin & Hobbes

(This was written a few days ago out of desperation, or thanksgiving, that the day was finally over. Do you ever have days like this?

Walks with my Dad

Dad with N at my brother's wedding

It started as a way to get some exercise and help control blood pressure problems (my Dad’s). It has turned into so much more. There has always been this “peaceful, easy feeling” with him. Some relationships are hard, you have to work and sweat and cry but you persevere because you know that it will be worth it.

My relationship with my Dad has been a gift.

We walk on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, sometimes with the little ones, sometimes not. We have fallen right back into that easy place where love sometimes is. Where pride and acceptance are. While we walk he spins a tale the way all great story tellers do that captures you and pulls you in. The words flow through and wrap around and it feels like home. It takes me back and I am eight years old in pig tails sitting on my Daddy’s knee listening to him read the Sunday funnies.

My adult self loves him just as much, maybe more, because now I know life isn’t easy or fair but he has always made this simple. This parent-child love that makes me want to be a better parent myself to my two little boys so that they will have the gift that has been given to me.

It’s just an ordinary Tuesday and I’m taking a walk with my Dad and counting my blessings.

I'm linking up with Tuesday's Unwrapped over at Chatting at the Sky

Be Still. Breathe

Be Still. So much of my life is in motion. Some days are so full that I can’t catch my breath. There are practices and appointments to be kept and I go until I come to a breaking point where I feel like there is nothing of me left. I feel used and battered and resentful and I feel myself shutting down emotionally and shutting people out (like my sweet boys and husband).

I need so much to find balance and the peace that comes with letting some things go. The things that bog me down yet I commit to because I want to be needed, and yes, because I want everyone to see how giving and selfless I am. (That’s selfish right?)

I need to find the Be Still moments. The moments just for me where I can breathe deep and listen to the silence. The place where I can pray and find strength in Him. The strength to put God first, my family second and everything else when I can get to it. The strength to say no to the things that I need to say no to.

Do you need to Be Still? I'm linking up with One Nutty Girl.

New Beginnings

Before:

After:

There is a comfortable vibe to this old house. It has no expectations for us except to just live here and be. The big house that we had in another town was showy and impersonal. The crown molding was beautiful and the rooms spacious but it was never home. We were trying too hard to hang out with the popular kids.

This house is like an old woman who forgot to wear her night cream. She needs us to help make her beautiful again or at least presentable in public. I think we are up for the task. To peel away the ugly and see what lies beneath. And as we tear down the wallpaper and carpet and counter tops, it’s like we are tearing down our own expectations of what status and success and perfect looks like. We are rebuilding not only this worn out house but also who we are, our values and dreams for the future.

God has brought us to this little town and this little house to show us how to live.

I am linking this post to Transformation Thursday

Jessica over at A Few of my Favorite Things was sweet enough to invite me to link up to her Favorite Things Friday. She is a very talented photographer, go check out her site!

I am also linking up with (in)courage Spring Fever party today. I have been subscribing to (in)courage for months and it has been such a blessing to me! If you don't know about them yet PLEASE go check it out!

Afternoon with the boys

M called it pink moss

This afternoon we have been playing variations of trampoline kickball/dodge ball/soccer with a small nerf ball that has a big chunk of foam bitten out of it from when N was two and used to eat everything but the food on his plate. I am sweaty and tired and still have dinner and soccer practice to deal with…but I saw this view of our red bud tree from my vantage point on the trampoline and thought SWEET SHOT!

I'm linking up at Sweet Shot Tuesday

That's my Boy!

M had his parent teacher conference and his speech therapy conference yesterday

they said he is sweet and caring and everyone likes him

they said he is polite and thoughtful and anticipates the needs of others

they said he has a great sense of humor

speech therapy said he was brilliant (that is the word she used) and will

test out of speech next year

they said that he is a problem solver and doesn't miss a thing

my heart is full, we are so proud of him!