I Love Being a Mom:-)

Yesterday while "helping" me sort through winter hand me downs, this boy said something I didn't understand but then leaned in to give me a kiss!  Without.being.asked.  Um hello, like I needed anymore reasons to LOVE being a mom!

More Placer County Real Food:-)

Tonight was Beef Stuffed Peppers, and Tomato Corn Salad. YUM! It was adapted from the August 24 menu in Placer County Real Food. Mainly I substituted grass fed beef for the lamb, and sunflower sprouts for the pea shoots, but YUM! It was SO good! Daniel liked the eggplant and peppers, Holden well, he ate the corn. Pretty typical right now.  Seriously eat fresh, eat local, and if you are local get this cookbook!  AND take her class if you get a chance it's FUN!  OK I'm done:-)

Rub a Dub Dub Two Boys in a Tub:-)

The tub...A cleaner off a dirt, and bad attitudes...I remember with Holden when he was small bathtime was almost always at 530pm, before daddy got home and we had dinner, he needed it, I needed it to make it through till bedtime. It's crazy how a little water and some bubbles can change a little ones attitude! So now Daniel is the one I throw in the tub when nothing else seems to work and it's too close to bedtime for a nap, but too early for actual bedtime:-) This is what we did shortly after dinner last night:-)

He really does love the bath...Not sure what these faces are for!

sheer joy!

ALWAYS something to investigate!

There that's better!

His Beard like daddy:-)

Dinner Tonight

Tonight I made a recipe from the Placer County Real Food cookbook.  It's AMAZING!  Seriously if you are local you should HAVE this cookbook!  It is set up with a weekly menu based off what is available at our farmer's markets at that time of year.  YUM!  Beth and I took a cooking class with one of the authors, it was awesome and delicious.  This is part of the meal we made.  I have made the salad a couple of times now, and Tom thought this was excellent:-)  

I need to get better at photographing my food though!  Oh well live and learn. 

Etsy Photoshoot Daniel was one of the models:-)

My Friend Jen makes beautiful hats, and then hires me to take pictures of them for her Etsy shop. She likes to use my boys. It's VERY fun! And my boys are cute:-) The hat for Holden to model is coming to us soon, so I will be sure to post his shots when I get that!

To see more pictures go here!

Wordless Wednesday

A Boy and his Dog...

When Holden was born, people told me to give him a special thing to sleep with, so he could sleep anywhere...I tried, he didn't want/need anything to do with it...he really just wanted me. Now Daniel he is a different story. He from day 1 has been OBSESSED with textures, he will rub your shirt, and carry clothes or blankets around. And he love stuffed animals. So for his birthday I got him this BIG dog, I didn't think about it. He needs something soft to sleep with and while it usually doesn't matter what lately he has been wanting this huge dog! What have I started!?! I need to find a small soft cuddly that he loves just as much, but so far he is proving to love big items more than anything, BIG blankets, BIG dogs...I can see we are going to need BIGGER luggage:-)

It is very cute how he loves this dog:-)

JMB - Just My Boys

My boys joined me on my photoshoot tonight, they were also some of the models:-) I took these while scoping sites...Just thought I would share. I LOVE these boys, my heart is full, Thank You God for these gifts.

Holden was very willing to help me test the lighting:-)

This boy is so sweet.

This walking stuff is HARD work!

whoa, whoa, don't fall!

just too cute!

WOW!

That's about all I can say about this past Sunday's church service.  It was Youth Sunday at our church.  The youth came back from camp a few weeks ago and have been putting together this service since.  I was so glad I could attend.  So THANKFUL that my husband took Daniel so I could listen.  These services are always so amazing to me and so touching.  I think it is because as a teen in junior high and highschool, I personally was so conflicted about who I was, and who God was, I am in complete awe of youth that can speak so honestly, and clearly about what God is doing in their lives and who they are as God's creations.

Worship was awesome! And then the testimonies and things that were shared were very moving and inspiring.  I love hearing about God moving in our church!  The leaders of our youth group are so real with these kids it is amazing!  I sat there in my seat and listened to a young girl share about the creation of her mask art work, and she could have been describing me at her age, except I would never have been able to articulate it and I definitely WOULD NOT have spoken about it in front of my peers, or the adults in my church.

I am SO excited to see what God is doing in our church!  I can feel Him moving and see things growing and working towards where He wants us to be.  Tom and I are such in this place of anticipation, it is both exciting and a little scary.  But we are going with it, taking on new roles, and seeking God's will fully.  

SO leaders if you are reading this, THANK YOU. Thank you for listening to God lead you into these youth's lives, Thank you for seeking God in your own life first so you can pour fully into these young adults.  Thank you for modeling for them, and in turn I know you are raising up the leaders that will be in place when my kiddos are young adults, and I pray that they will be fully sold out to God so that my kiddos will gleam from them too.  I am excited to see where this ministry goes!

To the youth, who I am quite sure don't read this:-)  Thank you for sharing your hearts, it was awesome to hear!  Thank you to those who worked on the service on Sunday, it ran so smoothly and the Art Gallery was AMAZING!

Mostly thank you God for working in our lives and the lives around us!