Hummus

Ansley is studying the comparison between Islam and Christianity at school so one of their assignments last week was to either make hummus from scratch or research the food Muslims eat and write a 1 paragraph report.  I thought the report sounded easy.....I mean it's only 1 paragraph for goodness sake!  But, Ansley thought making hummus (that no one will eat but me) sounded like a much better idea. The thought of researching and writing another paper wasn't on the top of her list.   So off to the grocery store we went for the 3rd time that week :-)  .   We got all the ingredients and made it.  It was good but lacked a little something so I mixed it with the roasted red pepper hummus I already had in the fridge from Harris Teeter.  That gave it what it needed and it was very yummy.  Ansley tried it and said it was OK.  Elisabeth refused to try it.   John said it was Ok too.  At least most everyone tried it. I think next time I make it from scratch I'll find a roasted red pepper recipe on the web.  It's really delicious and addictive!  You should try it!

Our first camping trip of 2012

We finally found a free weekend and decided to go camping for the first time this year! Finally! We went to Coneross Campground outside of Greenville, SC.  It is run by the Corps of Engineers and it was a great campground.  Very quiet and the cleanest bath house I've ever seen!  We wandered around on Saturday and found this beautiful sunflower field.  It was amazing.  We took lots of pictures as you can tell!  It's not every day you see a field of sunflowers that's for sure.  We also visited a goat farm where they sold goat cheese, soap, etc.   It was fun and kids enjoyed petting the goats and the dogs and watching the chickens and the roosters.  We even found a roadside stand selling beautiful pumpkins and we stayed there for quite a while learning all about their pet pot belly pig named Samantha.  Her favorite food is Cheetos!  I think she had eaten one too many.  :-)  It was a beautiful weekend for camping and exploring!

 Samantha

 Ansley petting Samantha

Ansley and Molly.  Such a sweet dog!  I love labs!

So special

I meant to post a picture of this earlier in the year but just didn't because it was made during a hard time.  John made this for my Aunt Pat because she requested a piece of stained glass for her window in her den when she moved into her new house.  Then she got very sick and life got crazy and busy but John wanted to live up to his promise to make her a piece of stained glass. I love and respect that he did that for her. It meant alot to me for him to do that.   I think it turned out beautifully!  I know she didn't get to enjoy it as long as we wanted her to but I hope it brought a small sliver of joy to a very hard time.  I cry when I look at it because I know the cross is what we have to stand on, rely on and put our hope in.  I know that she is with Jesus and she is well and whole again and rejoicing with the Lord.  And someday I'll see her again!

A nice ending to a stressful day

Wednesday was our first day of school at home for the 2012-2013 school year.  It was a little stressful to say the least.  We were all a little grumpy by the time the afternoon rolled around. So when we went outside that evening and saw this it brought smiles to all our faces and made us remember the promise God made to us and it reminded me that God is with me.......even during the very stressful days when I feel like I might pull my hair out.  :-)

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First Day of School

Today was our first day back to school.  The kids were excited to go back and I think we are all ready for a little bit of a routine again.  But, I will miss not having to set the alarm!  It was hard getting up at 5:50 this morning!  I like to get up and get myself ready and get a cup of tea before the girls have to get up.  I am dragging already tonight and it's only 7 pm.  Can I go to bed this early?!  ;-)

 2nd and 6th grade

They were so excited to have new rolling book bags!

Elisabeth is 7!

Elisabeth is so excited to finally be 7!  She promptly reminded me that she's almost 10.......just 3 more years.     She wants to be as old as Ansley so badly.  I told her she shouldn't rush it.  Just enjoy being 7!  She started the day off with chocolate ice cream,   then went to day camp and had a huge chocolate chip cookie cake and then had a 2 layer chocolate cake at her party that evening.  That was one sugared up little girl!  She had 16 or so friends join her at Monkey Joes for a party Friday evening.  They had a great time and played and played and were exhausted afterwards.  She had a great birthday!

Ansley turns 11

It's hard to believe but that time of year has rolled around again and my "baby" has turned 11!  That's only 2 years away from being a teenager.  Oh my!   She is a blessing and is a sweet, funny, very creative, always happy young lady.  She moves into the middle school youth group at church this year and she is very excited about that.  We have a very active youth group and a great set of youth leaders so we're excited to walk alongside her in this new season of her life.   She recently had a party with 16 (yes....16!) girls attending.  We  did crafts, played games, made ice cream sundaes and played water games outside.  It was fun but went by too quickly.  Happy Birthday sweet Ansley!

 The Peace Sign cake :-)

 Make a wish.....

We even "tie-dyed" the inside of the cake

Puerto Rico Part 2

 Me and my new Puerto Rican friend, Elizabeth.

 A storm is definitely headed our way!  It poured as soon as we got to El Yunque rainforest. It rains alot in the rain forest  ;-)

 We finally made it to the Falls after a 40 minute hike into the rain forest.

 Views from El Yunque tower

Beautiful Puerto Rico

As most of you know, John and I spent 5 days in Puerto Rico celebrating our 20th anniversary in May.  The weather was great and we really enjoyed Puerto Rico.  It's only a 3 hour flight from here, everyone speaks English, easy to get around (for the most part) and you can drink the water!  What's not to love?!   We didn't get to do all that we wanted to so we definitely plan on going back again to see the rest of the island.  Here's a few pictures but there will be more to come because there's too many to post in one sitting.  Adios...

 The beautiful buildings of Old San Juan

 The narrow cobblestone streets of Old San Juan. It's a parallel parking nightmare.

 Our beautiful room at the El Convento in Old San Juan

 The courtyard right outside our room

 The plunge pool on the roof

 The church across the street from the hotel. Ponce de Leon is buried there.

One of the many patios at the hotel.