A Great Recipe To Share plus more Holiday Fun

I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season. I know you are in the kitchen baking all those yummy cookies for your friends and family. We have enjoyed one too many cookies at our house. So it was time for something healthy. I know you will love this recipe. And oh, make sure you are doing 1001 things while you are in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

Christmas music playing in the background

Children saying "Mommy" over and over

A technical error with your calendar that holds your ENTIRE schedule!

The apple support person on a chat line trying to help you, typing "Are you still there?"

2 sweet potatoes

olive oil spray

cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 425 so they will cook fast because it is already 5:30 in the evening.

Begin slicing the sweet potatoes very thin...so thin that you almost slice your finger off.

Place on baking sheet

spray with olive oil...not sure why but seemed like the thing to do.

sprinkle cinnamon sugar so the kids will eat them.

And DO NOT set the timer.

Continue on your task because us mommies can multi task like no one's business.

Take out of oven when the smell and smoke fills your kitchen.

Ta Da! Enjoy!

If you remember my gingerbread tutorial from last year, you will enjoy the next picture. My friend Dawn had such concentration. She took matters into her own hands this year and had us over to her house for the gingerbread house tradition.

Take a glance at the background of this picture. Ok, I know the background is a little fuzzy but I wish you could have seen her house. It looked like something out of a decorating blog. It is adorable! Everything is white, cream, black and lots of texture. Dawn is known for her flea market decor. She can turn anything into a treasure! Enough of coveting her cute house.....

We enjoyed the Christmas parade. Have you been to a parade lately? I just love watching the kids anticipation of what was coming next in the parade line. Look who was at the end of the parade. Ho Ho Ho!


It has been busy with school programs.

So busy that the little guy is D-O-N-E with all the running around. Ever have a bad hair day like this?

In the midst of all the Christmas festivities, I can't forget the big guy's birthday. B painted the plate for him and K gave him a tarheel chair.

More to come.....

A winter wonderland.

Back By Popular Demand

Hello Faithful Readers! Thank you for all your request (Scott and Tyree!) for a post. So Boo's Blog is back by popular demand. LOL! I have missed my blog but life had to take priority. I had a big decision each night....blog or pack. Yes, we sold our house. I am so thankful we did in this terrible housing market. My heart aches for those trying to sell their houses. We are currently nestled into a townhouse. Well they call it a townhouse but in reality it is a 3 bedroom apartment. I will have to say I am LOVING it. Really, I am. I am enjoying my nest being smaller. Big bird is in ear shot and my little birdies are in eye sight. Just the way I like it. I may not want to leave.

We left off with my date with the little guy.

First Up.....
The little guy did start school. If it was not for the Buzz Light Year lunch box and his best buddy being in his class, I am not sure we would have made it through the first week. It was an adjustment for him without big sis at his school.


He even got to ride a pony at school.


The kids are enjoying their activities. K had fun learning to play soccer. He liked the game but was more interested in water breaks and snacks afterwards.




The big guy went on a mission trip to Mongolia for 2 weeks. He has a heart for sharing his skills and knowledge with the people of Mongolia. We enjoyed talking to him via Skype. It was great seeing his face and the kids loved it.


The kids and I went to the pumpkin patch one afternoon. They always have fun looking at all the pumpkins and picking theirs out. I have fun because I have camera in hand.


Maw Maw did it again. She and her sewing machine can produce some cute costumes.




So that is a small recap of life in the G family. It has been quite busy (and to be real.....STRESSFUL!). I have enjoyed blogging tonight. Not exactly sure when I will be back. I really need to catch my breath and spend some extra time with my kiddos. They were real troopers during the packing and moving.

Thanks for hanging in there with me and visiting my little itsy bitsy blog.

A Lunch Date

I had a lunch date with this cute guy. He asked me out for pizza. Last week was so much about Big Sis that I thought a slice of pizza would be a nice treat. My little guy loves him some peeeezzza!

He was full of smiles.

Well in between his monster faces. Tell me this is normal. Even if it is not normal, still tell me that it is. He is all boy!

"It can be so frustrating when my army men are all tangled up."

I love this little guy!

My First Day

First Day of Kindergarten...... fever of 100.9

Second Day....Ready to go with a big smile

Little B woke up with a fever the first day of kindergarten. As disappointed as we were, it was a blessing to have one more day. The Lord knew my heart!

She had an awesome first day and has told me every detail about it. Even who turned out the lights during rest time. She was smiling from ear to ear when I picked her up.

Have a great week.

The Joys of Summer

The Joys of Summer....

Potty training was a success

No swim diapers needed

Friends coming to get their feet in the sand with us

Getting to see family

Dirty feet

Seeing old friends and their kids

Spending time with cousins

Golf cart rides

Watching a baby turtle makes it's way to the ocean for the first time

Experiencing God's creation of the ocean

Wearing flip flops everyday

Tie Dye T-shirts

Lemonade Stands

Having lots and lots of family time

Having my honey for most of the summer

Fresh seafood

Sand castles

Enjoying a sand fort that someone else built

The only thing missing.....my brother, sister-in-law and nieces.

Spring use to be my favorite season. Now, I would say summer. It is filled with memories.

Thank you Lord for a wonderful season.

We are off to kindergarten on Monday!!!

The Little Chapel

We recently enjoyed a worship service at this little chapel. A variety of pastors are invited to give a message to the community on the island. I was pleasantly surprised that the church was packed on this particular Sunday morning. Come on in and let me show you how special this chapel is.

Look at that wood work! Isn't it beautiful. I see why many brides want to get married in this chapel. It was more than the beauty that touched me. It was the minister's message that morning. He spoke on the passage (Luke 15:11-32) about the prodigal son. I have read this passage many times. It always touches me that the father welcomed the prodigal son with open arms. But one thing the minister said that I had never thought about was regarding how lost both sons were. Not only was the prodigal son lost but the "good" son was just as lost. In the past, I always thought of the prodigal son being lost and how we should welcome lost ones with open arms. I love how the Lord opens our eyes and hearts with a scripture and teaches us new things even after we had read the scripture many times.

Keenan coughed a few times during the service. It was echoing so loud. It sounded like we had brought an animal into the church. I almost took him out but he was being so good that I thought he would start crying if I took him. A scream from him would have been much worse than a few coughs. A lady approached us after the service and asked if he was the one coughing. I apologized to her that it was so loud. She asked if she could pray for him. It was the sweetest thing. She knelt down to his eye level and held his hands and prayed for him.

We have been away from our church family most of the summer. You know the friends that you lean on and ask them to pray.....or the ones that pray for you even when you don't ask them.

So the lady praying for Keenan was like a sweet hug from the Lord.

It was a sweet time at the little chapel.

This gem is outside of the chapel.

The sand has been swept away...the beach towels are cleaned and stored away...the beach toys are packed up...the sheets are clean....the golf cart is unplugged....the memories are forever.

Back to reality!

Turtles, Monsters and Movies

My intention was to post a couple of times a week. We have been having way too much fun during the day that I am pooped by bedtime.

The nice thing about the island is the lack of commercialization. No tacky t-shirt shops, no putt putt, no movie theatre, no fast food...the list goes on. Don't get me wrong. We love to do those things as well. It is just nice to have a break from it all. So you ask. What do you do besides go to the beach?

We and several others go watch baby turtles trying to make it to the ocean. They take turtles serious here. Loggerhead turtles (big turtles who live in the ocean) make their way up on the beach and lay 30-40 eggs. The nest is monitored daily by the conservancy. Once they believe the eggs will hatch, they post a sign to let everyone know a nest is about to hatch. Everyone shows up for the fun and experience.

The nest had already hatched earlier that day but we got to see this little guy make his way to the ocean. The conservancy actually rescued this little turtle after some foxes had gotten to the nest. They released him to the ocean Tuesday night.

Saving the environment, one monster at a time. We take recycling serious. I may not use environmental, reusable, whatever they are called grocery bags (which is a market in itself!), but we do make monsters out of paper bags. That is recyling. Right?

After we saw Toy Story 1 and 2 about 749 times, I thought it was time for some new movies. The kids favorite pick was Sound of Music. Oh wait...how did Season 5 of 24 get in there?

When all the paper and tape for crafts is gone...when we are tired of movies...when the afternoon is at a turtles pace...we learn to tie.