brown-eyed girl

She cracks us up on a daily basis. This morning she over-flowed her little grocery cart w/lots of toys & said "Addie shopping at Target" & then she proceded to go find her daddy & said "Daddy money?"

Where does my help come from?

This morning Addalie wanted me to play the piano. This is a common occurrence & usually I tell her that I am working & that she can play if she wants to. But today I had lunch all cleaned up & had a few minutes before putting A down for her nap, so I agreed. I have a book w/worship songs in it & when I sat down to play it was opened to "I Lift My Eyes Up". It's an older worship song taken from Psalms 121 -& as a started to play I almost started to cry. The past few weeks I have been struggling alot with some really difficult things. As Addalie was crawling all over my lap & trying to "play" on top of me, God so kindly used the words of the song/passage to remind me that my help comes from Him. So while the "difficult things" are still here, He is carrying my burden. Thank you God!

Psalms 121:1-3 (parts of these verses)
"I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven & earth.....He will not let your foot be moved......The Lord is your keeper.

A Big Marshmallow...

is Addalie's "treat" for going to the potty!
She is kinda self-training. I personally wasn't going to push the potty-training....& was planning on waiting until she was at least two-or longer. But she has lots of interest & thinks it is the coolest thing- we'll see if it continues??? She is always so proud.

Rice Krispie Treats

I made these last night for Scott's softball picnic. They are an "adult version" Rice Krispie Treat. There is lots of room for creativity with these. Yum! Of course mine didn't look quite this pretty but they are super easy!

Rice Krispie Treats:
Prep Time 10 Minutes

Ingredients
4 Tablespoons Butter
1 package Marshmallows (10 Oz.)
6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal
Chocolate For Dipping
Assorted Candies For Decorating
Preparation Instructions
Melt butter in a large sauce pan over low heat.
Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted.
Remove from heat and add cereal; mix until combined.
Press mixture into greased 13″ by 9″ baking dish.
Once cool, tear or cut treats into equal pieces; shape into balls.
Dip treats into melting chocolate and let start to harden. Before completely firm, press into toppings of your choice. (If you try this immediately after dipping, your toppings will slide right off. Trust me.)
Get creative! Use any toppings you’d like. I used praline pieces, candied almonds, mini m&ms, and chocolate sprinkles.
Have fun and enjoy!

We are loving our backyard this summer!

swimming

& sliding

Please pray for the Shellenbergers!

On Thursday night friends of ours had little baby twins! Heather was only 25 weeks pregnant though. She started laboring & the doctors weren't able to stop her progression. A sweet little boy & girl were born. Please pray for the fragile little ones & for their parents.

http://shellenbergertwins.blogspot.com/

DC Zoo

Last weekend Addalie & I went down to DC to visit Amy (one of my highschool friends) & Ted & Jackson. The main event on our agenda was to go to the DC Zoo. We decided to drive down Friday evening & go to the zoo Saturday morning, returning home Saturday afternoon/eve. Addalie ended up getting very LITTLE sleep Friday night, so that combined with the heat made for an interesting excursion! But we still had lots of fun.






one of the many stroller snacks that was used to keep everyone happy...

one of Addalie's favorite exhibits was the turtles. she loved them!

Lunch at Johnny Rockets

Thanks Amy & fam. for the wonderful hospitality! It was so great to spend some time together. We had a blast!