Halloween Weekend:

On Wednesday we had our Church Fall Fest. It went well because there were 14 people that helped me serve all of the food and grill hotdogs. We also had cotton candy, chips, soft drinks, candy apples, popcorn and carmel apples. The kids played many games and loved the double party jumper slide. On Friday Mary Kate and I went to Martin to see family. We also went Friday night to the Fall Fest at First Baptist Martin. We had a great time there. Mary Kate loved the little Tikes party jumper because it had a little slide for just her size. She also got to see her cousins Maggie the Mermaid and Mollie Superwoman. She loves her uncle Bryan's girlfriend's dog Hank.

The Pumpkin Patch at Circle Y in Corinth, MS:

The children from our church First Baptist Adamsville, TN went to the pumpkin patch today. The Circle Y place also had a petting zoo area, a big playground, party jumpers, catfish pond, ducks, and a resturant. It was so great! Mary Kate loved it all and enjoyed spending time with her friend Isaac Estes. Mary Kate was not afraid to pet the animals and talk to them. It was cute because she would bend over and talk to them.

Wednesday Weekly Recipe:

Simply Saucy Caesar Chicken
4 small boneless chicken breast
1 Tbsp. of oil
1 red pepper sliced in pieces
1 package of spaghetti noodles
Seasoning Mix:
2 Tbsp. of dried crushed parsley
1 tsp. of dried crushed basil
1/4 cup of chicken broth
2 Tbsp. of Real Bacon bits
Put Chicken and the oil in a skillet. Cook over medium high heat until chicken is brown. Add red pepper and pour the seasoning mix over the chicken. Put a lid on the skillet and cook on medium low until the peppers are tender.
Serve over a bed of spaghetti noodles.

Mary Kate and her friend Issac Estes:

Mary Kate had a play date with her friend Isaac on Monday. They had a great time playing together. They are both such great kids!

River Run Worship Service:

Sunday night I was able to sing in the Tennessee River Run worship choir. We sang back up for The Revival Crabb Family (The younger ones of the Crabb's), Point Of Grace, and Geron Davis and Kindred Soul. It was such a wonderful worshipful experience! I loved to hear Point of Grace sing. I guess its been since college since I have been to one of their concerts. They are just as good as they have always been. They even sang the old songs like "Circle of Friends". We sang with Geron Davis when he sang "Holy Ground" that he wrote. The service started at 5:00 and we sang until 8:30 p.m. I will never forget that experience and how God gave me stregth to sing all 3 and a half hours. Country music star Darrel Worley is from Savannah, TN and he was the one who allowed the groups to come and sing. He is the one that has the River Run to raise money for the Cancer Treatment Center that they are building in Savannah, TN. Darrel says he is a Christian that fell away from the Lord and says he is coming back to Him and making a lot of changes in his life and music. I pray he does and starts singing for the Lord and not worldly music.
Pray for Him to repent and change the way he has been living his life. Pray for him to be strong against the worldy influences he has in his life.

Wednesday Weekly Recipe:

Fresh Apple Cake:
1 1/2 cup of oil
2 cups of sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. of baking powder
2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp. of salt
1 tsp. of soda
1 tsp. of vanilla
1 cup of chopped nuts (optional)
3 cups of pealed grated apples
Mix all ingredients. Spray the pan with non-stick spray first. Pour into a 9 by 13 or a large bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
You can grate extra apples and put in the freezer for other cakes. These cakes can also be frozen to use later to take to other families.

Labor Day Weekend:

Mom and dad came up Labor Day weekend and brought Maggie and Mollie. Mary Kate and I went camping in their camper with them on Friday night. Saturday night we all went to Florence Alabama to the Children's Museum and to Chuck E Cheese. The girls had so much fun! We then came back to take naps at our house. The girls then played outside in Mary Kate's new play area. I also got out the sprinkler and they played in the water. On Sunday we all went to Church and then out to eat at Hagy's Catfish resturant near the river in Shiloh.

Weekend in Chicago:

We went to Chicago for the weekend because Tim had a book signing. It was a great trip. We stayed with a couple who has a very nice home downtown near the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Birthday and vacation

A late Wednesday Weekly Recipe:

Three Bean Salad
1 can of green beans drained
1 can of wax beans drained
1 can of red kidney beans drained
1 can of garbanzo beans drained
1 can of black beans drained
1/2 red onion chopped
3/4 cup of red wine vinegar
3/4 cup of white sugar
3/4 cup of vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon of ground dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons of dried cilantro
In a large bowl put in drained cans of all the beans. Add chopped red onion and spices. Mix together the vinegar, oil, sugar, dry mustard, oregano, and cilantro. Put the dressing into the microwave for about 2 minutes to melt the sugar. Stir and pour over the bean mixture. Let it marinate in the refrigerator for about six hours before you eat it.
I made this for 4th of July for my family. They loved this bean salad!

Our 4th Wedding Anniversary!

Today is our 4th wedding anniversary. God has blessed us both in so
many ways. He has blessed us with a wonderful marriage, church, family, friends, and our precious little girl Mary Kate. We pray that we continue to grow together even more over this next year. Most of all we pray that we grow more in our relationship to Christ.

Mary Kate's Best Friend Isaac Estes

Mary Kate enjoyed the morning that she got to play with her buddy Isaac Estes. He is the son of Erin and Marty Estes. Marty is our Youth Minister at Church. Isaac is only a couple months older than Mary Kate. He is the only baby around her age that she has to play with in Adamsville right now. Here are a few pictures of Isaac and Mary Kate playing. The first are of last week when we kept Isaac while his mommy was having another baby. This time it's a girl!

Mary Kate having a fun day!

Yesterday Mary Kate decided it was time to stand in the back of her fire engine that she got for her birthday. She has been loading her toys in it for a while. I guess she discovered there was more that she could do to have fun with it. She also likes to play around in the kitchen while mommy cooks. She discovered my Pampered Chef tray and decided to sit in it. What a silly girl we have!

The Wednesday Weekly Recipe:

Strawberry Brownie Trifle
1 box a brownie mix cooked as directed on box
1 box of instant vanilla (do not make as directed on the box)
1 can of eagle brand milk
1/2 cup of water
1 container of cool whip
1 container of strawberries
Bake a 9 by 13 pan of brownies. Let cool and cut into bite size pieces.
Mix pudding, 1/2 cup of water, and the can of eagle brand milk together. Chill in the refrigerator for 5 minutes. Fold in 1 container of cool whip.
Cut up 1 container of strawberries. Layer the following: brownies, cream mixture, strawberries. Layer these ingredients again ending with the starwberries on top.

The Wednesday Weekly Recipe:

Southwestern Chicken Dip
1 pound of Velveeta Cheese cut up
1 can of rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained
1 package of Southwestern seasoned or grilled chicken breast strips in a package already cooked- chop them up into bite size pieces
1/4 cup of chopped green onions
1 tsp. of ground cumin
1. Mix all ingredients in a large microwavable bowl. Microwave on high for 6 to 7 minutes or until Velveeta is melted, stirring every three minutes.
2. Serve with tortilla chips.

Mary Kate's Birthday Party!

On Saturday June 7th Mary Kate had her first birthday party. She had many family and friends that joined her for her party. She opened many presents, went swimming, and had cake and ice cream. Mommy made her a princess birthday cake.
Mary Kate decided to put her toys in the back of her fire engine that aunt Claire gave her for her birthday.