Up to Our eyeballs in FOOTBALL!

Today was Stephen's 2nd game of the season. Last week we played the Leonard Tigers. The score was 6-6 at the end of regulation and we won in double OT!

Today we played the Trenton Tigers (lots of tigers in this league! LOL) and we won 30 - 0. Stephen did great and even recovered a fumble. Wow!

Stephen is #79 - I love watching him play ball!

Do you see what I see?

Nary a 90 degree day in sight and Holy Mother of Pearl, I see a 59!

I don't know why we're being blessed with this delicious weather, but I'm not gonna question it! I'm just gonna enjoy it! WOOT!

First day of 6th grade!

Time flies by

~a new obsession~

I've fallen in love! Lately, Virgil, Stephen and I have been frequenting Antique Shops and Thrift Stores. Lots of items catch my eye, but these cups and saucers have captured my HeArT! I've only purchased one (see it above! :) ) But, I'm thinking I'll start collecting them. I'm going to look for a variety of patterns. I don't want a matching set. I look forward to sitting around the table with my sisters, sipping our favorite Chicory coffee - each with a different cup and saucer. And they will probably tease me...but that's ok. I know they love me anyway! ~ @my

Homemade Christmas Ornaments (Part 1)

We have decided to make all new homemade Christmas ornaments for our tree this year. We started out with these button wreaths:

I got the idea here. Virgil had the idea of inserting red buttons to represent berries. And since I had a lot of white buttons, I decided to do some white wreaths as well. I think they turned out quite charming!

And since were talking Christmas, here's a yummy holiday recipe too. I made this tonight and it is DE-LICious! I got this recipe from Gooseberry Patch Homespun Christmas recipe book. It's a winner and something that will reappear come December!

Gingerbread Coffee Cake
1 c. water
1 c. molasses (I used sorghum..and maybe those are the same thing...I don't really know! Ha!)
1 t. baking soda
1 c. brown sugar
1 stick butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten
2 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 X 9 baking pan. Bring water and molasses to a boil. Stir in baking soda. (Ummm...make sure the pan you use is large enough to handle the bubble up..I had a bit of an overflow!) Let cool. Beat sugar, butter and eggs in a bowl. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves. Beat flour alternately with molasses, half at a time, into butter mixture until well mixed. Pour into the prepared pan.

Topping:
1/3 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 t. ground cinnamon
1/3 t. ground ginger
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (I used a mixture of walnuts and pecans)
3 T. butter

Combin flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and walnuts in a bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is coarsely crumbled. Sprinkle over gingerbread. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. (Watch the time. I baked mine for exactly 40 minutes and it was a little darker on the edges than I would have liked. I would try 30 -35 minutes and add more time if necessary.)

Glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 T. milk
1/2 t. vanilla

Whisk sugar, milk and vanilla in a small bowl until soft enough to drip from a spoon. If needed, add more milk. Drizzle over top of lukewarm cake.

Enjoy!
~ @my

Dog Fighting

This is the only dog fighting I condone! ;)

~sorry~

I'm sorry. I really am. But, I am the mother of a boy. One boy. One {not so} little boy.

And when the mother of a growing up boy comes across something like this:

[Stephen at Vacation Bible School - Summer 2003 - age 5]

She must take a moment. Or two. And stop cleaning out her kitchen cabinets. And just be nostalgic.
For just a moment.

Am I wishing my life away?

Because I have such a yearning for Autumn Breezes

and FALLing leaves

F O O T B A L L

and cold SNAPS

and PuMpKiNs

and APPLE butter

and BONfires

H A Y R I D E S

and bakery scented CanDLES

HALLOWEEN
THANKSGIVING

and holiday CraFtINg...

{sigh}

~did I mention?

It's football season!

{Stephen after his first practice}

Being Loved...

It's an awesome thing!

Our Weekend in Mena

Mena is located at one end of the Talimena Scenic Drive through the Ouachita Mountains. This drive is particularly beautiful in late October and early November when the leaf change is peaking and your eyes feast upon vibrant golds and oranges.

Here is a photo from our visit last November:

This time of year, (August) the landscape is green and lush. And on Saturday there was a freak weather system that kept temperatures at 71 or below. Considering we are now home in Texas and temps are expected to be 103 degrees, you can imagine what a treat that was! It was also misty and overcast..which we LOVED!

We took our time driving along the Talimena and stopped for lunch at the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge.

Once we arrived in Mena, AR, we spent the afternoon visiting various antique and thrift stores. I even bought something!

I plan to use it in my craft room to store stuff in. Probably ribbon, or scrap fabric.

After the thrifting we decided to drive north towards Needmore, AR and do some driving deep into the Ouachita National Forest on dirt roads.

Look at those ears! I think Patch enjoyed hanging his head out the window on our drive!
On Saturday evening we went to Spinelli's Restaurant in Mena and had the firefly experience!

Sunday was a bit warmer with highs in the upper 80s and lower 90s which made it the perfect time to head out to Little Missouri Falls for a swim. The waters are SO cold and there has been lots of rain this summer so there were great rapids and the falls were beautiful!

See the look on Stephen's face? These waters were COLD!


A lovely way to spend a weekend...

Where have all the fireflies gone?

(photo from www.stumbleupon.com)

I've been missing fireflies - or lightning bugs, as I grew up calling them. I remember many early summer evenings dashing about under big oak trees grabbing lightning bugs and quickly depositing them into one of Momma's canning jars. [And, yes, I mashed a few to take advantage of their glowing juices!] Is there anything more defining of rural summer youth? Well, maybe swinging from a knotted rope, hung on a sturdy tree branch and dropping into a refreshing body of water!

About two weeks ago I asked my hubby, "Where have all the lightning bugs gone? Do you suppose the fire ants have gotten them too?" He was as nonplussed as I.

And then, on Saturday evening, exiting Spinelli's Restaurant in Mena, AR, I spotted one! And I think I probably squealed in delight! And I implored V to drive to the back of the parking lot under some trees and look out onto a small meadow lined with more trees. And there my friends, were lightening bugs. LOTS of lightning bugs. And so we sat and Stephen had his first delightful experience with these charming insects.

Isn't it neat how God does that? As if to say, "Yep, they're still here. And so am I."