Kathleen and Jerry doing the Bean Boozled Challenge!

          Thought I'd share this video of Kathleen and Jerry doing the Bean Boozled challenge :-)
                                                          Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!!!

                                                                           Blessings,
                                                                                Jill

A Wonderful Saturday Out With an Unexpected Twist!

On Saturday, August 27th; the day after my birthday.... we decided to spend the day out looking at some little shops in town. The girls were excited as they enjoy antiques, crafts and more and so do we!

   Kathleen certainly looks the part of the perfect southern belle sitting on our front porch swing.

 We found a little coffee shop in town and they had another pig out front, so of course we had to get pictures. Pretty cool finding them and seeing all the different artwork.

This mural was inside the coffee shop and Kathleen just loved the chickens as she misses ours so much!

This was one of the visitor centers but it wasn't open so we just took a picture of the pig through the window, lol.

Jerry also surprised me by suggesting we go look at a new van and trade my other one in. After the accident we just weren't feeling safe in it anymore after the repairs. So we traded it in for a new 2017 Toyota Sienna and I just love the color. :-) I've always loved this color for a van and have been wanting it forever :-) I'm very happy with it and we had a wonderful experience at the dealership!

We found a lovely local market with fresh meats, eggs, fruit, veggies and more! Always a joy to find these treasures nearby and to support small businesses! Notice we found local brown eggs?? Until we get chickens again it will work perfectly!!!

Unfortunately while we were out and about Hayley developed an allergic reaction to something but we are unable to pinpoint exactly what caused it and her lip swelled up really bad. We gave her benadryl but it kept getting worse so we spent most of the evening at the emergency room. They loaded her up with prednisone and benadryl and made sure there were no breathing difficulties :-( Since then we have been having a horrible time trying to get the hives under control and she hasn't been feeling well overall. Now she is on Allegra and a few other medicines and yesterday I took her to a new allergist and they sent her for blood work. Anxiously awaiting results as prior we have been to the pediatrician and  ENT specialist and no answers. Please keep her in your prayers that we soon find an answer and some relief for her!

Below is an assignment Hayley had for Spanish to represent the 4 seasons in some way that she wanted and she loves  Volkswagen bugs... so she created this gorgeous painting.... I absolutely love it and so did her teacher. :-) As soon as she gets it back we are framing it and hanging it up. She is truly a talented young artist.

Hope all is well with everyone, been super busy here with Hayley's health issues and the start of school, extra activities and launching my business and so much more! Hoping to catch up on everyone's blogs soon! :-)

                                                                          Blessings,
                                                                               Jill

Kathleen's Outdoor Project She Made For Me!

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths"   Walt Disney

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing"  Albert Einstein

"My favorite words are possibilities, opportunities and curiosity. I think if you are curious, you create opportunities, and then if you open the doors, you create possibilities"  Mario Testino

Older homes have intrique... how the owners lived before us and the things they did around the home and in the yard......

Kathleen has been curious about what in the world was under all the ivy growing in our front yard. So when my parents were visiting she asked my dad, her pop pop to help her cut away some of the ivy to see what was underneath. This girl is like the rest of us, not afraid of some hard work to get what she wants! ;-)

She was excited to find a cauldron pot with a handle under the top part of the ivy ;-)

                                             Hmmmm something else lies beneath! ;-)

                                       Working with pop pop to get it all uncovered!!

                                                               A lonely brick....????

After pop pop helped her remove most of the ivy they had to leave before finishing it. Kathleen told Jerry she needed his help and wanted to do something special for me. My girl had a plan!

They worked hard cleaning out all the ivy and getting all the bricks together that were underneath.

Since the only resource Jerry had on hand was gorilla glue and some straps, so they used that to piece all the bricks back together and used the straps to hold everything in place while it dried, lol!

        Then the big reveal day came to find out if their efforts worked and kept the bricks together!

            Well it's a plus that it is holding Jerry standing on it, lol.  I'd say they did a fine job!!!

Kathleen asked Jerry to take her out to buy me some mums to plant in there and that's just what they did! I love how it turned out so very much!!! Just another thing to love about this yard and I already have some future plans in mind for this area! ;-)

 We didn't forget the cauldron either, it replaced my summer flowers in the chair out front by the road :-) Thank you so much Jerry and Kathleen for fixing this up just like new again! I absolutely love it!!!

                                                                         Blessings,
                                                                              Jill

Review of the ebook One of the Few: A Marine Fighter Pilot's Reconnaissance of the Christian Worldview by Jason B. Ladd

My dad is a Marine. My uncle, even though he is not related by blood; but is a man I call my uncle because he is my dad's best friend is also a Marine and fought in Vietnam. Once a Marine.... always a Marine I learned that early on ;-) So when I was contacted by Jason Ladd to review his book that reflects upon his life experiences as a Marine, husband, father, son... and also his journey to his relationship with Christianity I knew I had to review this book. I have the upmost respect for all members of the military and I know with the horrors that war and other adversities can present to them, sometimes finding faith in things we can't always see can be challenging.

When receiving this kindle book to review I admit I wasn't sure what to expect and was curious about how others may view their faith and what shapes it. One thing I know in my journey is that experiences in our lives help to develop many of our thoughts, values and opinions and can build or destroy our faith.

The author Jason Ladd writes in a most intelligent way that interweaves various thoughts of his on this subject matter. He shares his own personal experiences in his family life as well as his professional career and beyond. He supports many of his ideas through his research and prior knowledge. There is a multitude of information to take in while reading his story and I found it quite interesting to think on his views from a different perspective. To say it was thought provoking would be a mere understatement to all the thoughts and emotions this book stirs up within you. While I feel this book was very well written and full of knowledge and ideas, there is a need to follow and read carefully as comparisons are made in different areas of the book between life experience, thoughts and then religious reference. Reading carefully allows for better understanding and is definitely not a book to quickly read through or skim pages. You will lose value and impact of his words if you do. Overall I found it to be very well written and enjoyable to read.

What courage it takes as an author to express his deep thoughts and emotions and share them with others. I enjoyed reading this book and would certainly recommend reading it to others. It would be great for a book club discussion group and interesting to see where conversations, thoughts and views would lead to in a group. :-) Thank you Jason for giving me this opportunity to review your book, it was a pleasure to do so and certainly has me thinking about a lot of things.

Blessings,

Jill

                                                                        


*I received this kindle ebook for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own*
*This post contains an affiliate link*

My Birthday Celebration Hosted by Kathleen ;-)

Kathleen planned for weeks to surprise me for my birthday. I was not allowed to go into our basement.... lol. My birthday was August 26th ,but I'm just getting a chance to update about the party she planned because I just have to share. She got my mom and dad and Hayley and Jerry to help  her with a couple things. She's so thoughtful :-)

She started my day with breakfast that she made herself, including scrambled eggs!

                              Even saved me a birthday cupcake leftover from our tea party ;-)

         Downstairs she planned a whole under the sea themed birthday! It was just amazing!!!

                     I am one lucky mom that I have girls that are so thoughtful and loving :-)

 See the green squares on the floor, that's confetti! When I came down the stairs she had the pieces on top the fan ( my dad helped her), then when I walked down she turned the fan on and it flew everywhere! Pretty cool!!

                                           She hand made this sign with al the fishes!!!

                                            She spoke a very emotional speech for me :-)

       Kathleen gave me this awesome turtle jewelry set, I love it!! Turtles are one of my favorites!!!

  Hayley made me this gorgeous necklace! She is so talented and has so many wonderful creations!!!

  Thank you both for giving me such a special day!! I love you both so very, very much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                    Kathleen set up lunch and served it in the sunroom.... equally amazing!!!!!

        She planned out games for us to do and it was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. :-)

           I even got a crown ,but the green light bulbs made it tough to get a picture on my phone ;-)

                                   They chose a beautiful cake for me.... so delicious too!

                                 What a lucky mom I am I had the most amazing day!!!!

                                                                    Blessings,
                                                                          Jill

Chocolate Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I just had to share this delicious recipe with you all! Would be perfect for your Labor day cookouts!!!

                         CHOCOLATE SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE!!!!! So delicious!!!!!!

                  Kathleen insisted she wanted to do this one all by herself and she did a great job!

Yup... my sweet girl is even operating all the kitchen equipment... has been for awhile. *Sigh* I remember her watching me on her tippy toes as I would use the mixers, etc. My girl little girl is so independent!

                                         And measuring??? Oh yeah she's got that down too!

                                           

The best part is after all her hard work she gets to sit down and enjoy it like a princess. Cause you know a teacup is a must!!!! ;-)

                       So moist and delicious!!!! Give it a try and tell me what you think! ;-)

Cake:

1 cup butter
2 cups sugars
2 eggs, room temp.
1 1/2 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:

1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze:

1/4 cup butter (I like to melt mine then mix with chocolate chips)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
( can add more if you like)

Topping: Mix topping ingredients together; set aside
Glaze: Mix glaze ingredients together set aside.
Cake batter: Cream butter and sugar; add eggs. Sift flour, baking powder and salt in separate bowl. Then add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Fold in sour cream and vanilla.

To assemble: Sprinkle 2 tablespoons topping in bottom of greased and floured 9" tube pan (bundt pan) Spoon half of cake batter into pan. Add 4 tablespoons topping and 1/2 cup glaze. Spoon in remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining topping. Reserve remaining glaze. Bake coffee cake at 350 degrees for one hour to one hour and 15 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Turn onto plate, drizzle with remaining glaze.

                                                     Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!!!!!!


                                                                                 Blessings,
                                                                                       Jill