The Picnic Table

 My mom found this little table for the kids. They love it!

I am so happy to have a backyard to put it in where they can eat ice cream and color pictures and drive their little matchbox cars!

Lonely???

I have met some great people the past few weeks since our move to Beaumont.

Our next door neighbors have been wonderful! They have twins Max's age and the kids are loving spending time together. Ty has hit it off with their dad and has been borrowing ladders and tools as we have started different projects around the house. Their mom is great as well! She and I are able to talk and laugh together. She told me yesterday that she has no family. No brothers and sisters and no parents! She started to cry and I thought how desperately she must need some good people in her life. 

Today at the park there was another mom playing with her two children. We started talking. I told her that we had just moved to the area and asked her about preschools for Mia. She had some great information for me. She told me that she and her husband have lived in Beaumont for 3 years and have made no friends. She said that she has been so preoccupied with work and her kids she just hasn't had much time. 

I was struck by the fact that there are so many lonely people out there. People are sitting in their homes wishing for friends. We cannot be too busy or too involved in our own lives to reach out. If we are lonely we need to get out there and invite some neighbors to a BBQ because chances are they are lonely too! I am going to try and be open to these new relationships and friendships. I want to help lift these ladies! We are all in this life together. All children of God. All trying to find joy. All trying to get home. We need each other!

Zac and the cookies

 Zackary woke up from his nap yesterday feeling not so grand.

It was a beautiful afternoon so I took him out to the little picnic table in the yard and sat him down with some milk and cookies.

It didn't take too much convincing. He felt much better!

We spent the rest of the afternoon outside and even cooked dinner on the grill. Hurray for sunshine and cookies!

Spring Take 2

 The sun came out and warmed up the world! We headed out to another playground so that the kids could run and I could play with my camera some more!

Doesn't Max have the best blue eyes?!

I love that he is always willing to pose for me.

 An artistic photo of Zackary and his good friend binky. I was chasing him around the play equipment trying to steal his precious binky away so that I could get a good picture of him. He was not amused!

 Little Mia riding a cow.

I know you can't tell it's a cow, but it is.

 More of Zac. He is getting so tall and independent.

 I was so glad we got to have our successful park trip today. How we love our sunshine!

Thomas Keller's Chocolate Chip Cookies

(My new camera is doing great! So excited about how these cookies look....I know that makes me strange, but I'm okay with that!)

I have tried many different chocolate chip cookie recipes. Today I had to make Thomas Keller's version.

The cookies turned out thin. I was worried that they would be crispy, but they were chewy and delicious! I will make these cookies again. The recipe is a keeper.

Thomas Keller's Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/3 + 1 tablespoon flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

10 ounces chocolate cut into chip sized pieces (I used chocolate chips!)

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter with the sugars until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients. Mix in the chocolate.

Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes. The cookies will spread and the edges will become brown.

Yum-O!

Spring?

 Our new neighborhood is great! There are several little parks and playgrounds within walking distance of the house.
This morning we picked up some doughnuts and headed off for some play to celebrate the first day of spring break. Sadly the day didn't feel so spring like. The wind was blowing and we were all freezing!

 We gave it our best effort despite the chilly temperatures.

 Zack is a climber. He is willing to use steps but usually he heads directly up the slides. Maybe he will be a rock climber like his Daddy!

Max is a great helper on the playground. He tries hard to obey while "other" little people are running away into the fields while I yell at them to come back.

Max and Mia were excited to try out the teeter totter. I think it must have been made for some heavier folks because they could hardly get it to move past this point!

After some time our hands and faces were freezing so we headed home. We are coloring pictures and playing inside. I am sure we will do a little baking later on! Happy Monday! Hoping for some warmer weather soon.

I like my man

Ty bought me a new camera.

I guess he likes me.

pictures coming soon!

Hallelujah!

I lost my keys this morning.

Or rather, I lost them yesterday and today I could not find them. I was seriously distraught. I NEED those keys! This house is so big and I searched and searched in vain. I finally got down on my knees to pray. I asked Heavenly Father to help me find the keys. 

I continued with my search. I kept having this feeling that I should go through the garbage that I had thrown out last night. I wanted to be sure the keys were no where else before I looked through the garbage. There is a lot of grossness in there. 

I gave in and opened up the big trash can lid and pulled out the garbage bag from last night. I opened it up and almost immediately, there were the keys!

I am so thankful that the Lord is mindful of my little world and my simple needs. I am so thankful that He hears and answers prayers.

I am so thankful that I don't have to walk Max to school in the rain!

Fabulous Friday!

 Hurray for Friday!

I think we should all celebrate with some chocolate chip cookies. When we bake cookies in this house everyone goes after the dough and we end up with very few finished cookies!

This morning I found a fantastic recipe over at the Gingerbread Bagels blog.

Chocolate chip cookie DOUGH bars!

Now you can have your cookies and eat the dough too!

Happy Weekend!

Another Day

It is almost 9 am. Max's lunch is all packed and ready to go. The kids have been fed and dressed. Breakfast has been served. Time to get this day started!

I am already being tempted by the Heath candy bars that Ty broght home from work last night. I have a bag of heath toffee baking bits that I am thinking I will work into some delicious treat later. It rained all night but the sun is shining again this morning so I am going to try and get a little more weeding done. I started hanging pictures yesterday, and I am going to put some more up today.

The kids are adjusting well to the new house. Mia loves having her own room and has already started locking her brothers out. Zack has been in a toddler bed since we got here and is doing as well as can be expected. Max loves to use the downstairs area as a ball playground. He is doing great at school. We are all looking forward to his spring break next week. I am excited to not have to plan our day around trips to and from school for a little while!

Poor Ty has gotten sick. I feel so bad that he has to get up and go to work when he does not feel well. He worked 14 hour days all week, but after today he will have a three day weekend to rest up. I am planning on roasting a chicken and making soup. He says he doesn't like to be babied, but that just can't be true. Don't we all need a little babying once in a while? 

I hope everyone is having a great week!

(P.S. Ty has given me the okay to get a new camera. I am looking for something simple and effective that takes great pictures. Any suggestions????)