Happy FOURTH

 Finally, I took the time to post our pictures from the Fourth of July!

We had a FaNtAsTiC, family-FuN-filled

FOURTH.

After we finally got all of our "stuff" loaded up for a short weekend getaway... 

We headed south to Lake Whitney!

My cousin Scott owns a lake house there,

 that he so graciously offered to host everyone at.

And when I say everyone, I mean everyone...

10 adults, 3 kids, and one baby!

YES...

luckily it has lots of room and

YES...

there were people everywhere, and

YES...

 we shared the bathrooms, and

YES...

 it was rarely quiet, but

everytime I looked around,

everyone was Smiling,

Laughing, Joking, or Telling old stories

about going to the lake when they were young.

We had so much fun, what a blessing to be able to

say that about your family!

On his property Scott has several fruit trees. 

The peach tree in particular was loaded down with beautiful fruit.

It was so heavy, that the branches were hanging on the ground!

Gracie busied herself with picking peaches and storing them

 in a butterfly catching net!

Cade even skinned one with his teeth and proceeded to

chomp away at all the sweet, juicy goodness...

Whitney was quick to warn him to check the middle

for

"white wigglies"

Cade declared his peach

"white wiggly" free

and chowed down!!!

This from my uber picky kid.

The fruit trees attracted a multitude of butterflies.

Lucky for Cade,

he is kin to one expert butterfly catcher...

This girl didn't need a net!  All she needed was the 2 hands God gave her to lay hold of those beauties!

Cade took lessons from Whitney and was catching his

own butterflies by the end of the weekend!

They were like 2 peas in a pod. 

I think they were cut from the same cloth!

They were the best of friends.

We relaxed

Snuggled with Uncle D after naptime

Swam in the pool

Water skiied, tubed, swam, and rode around the lake on Scott's

awesome boat

Ate more delicious food than you could shake a stick at...

And put on the best fireworks show in the neighborhood...

All said we had tired bodies, but full hearts 

on the way

home.

It was a FOURTH to remember.

We each made some new family memories

and I look forward to making more in the years to come!

Thanks Uncle Scott

And

God Bless the USA

Is it just me or does anyone else still tear up

when they hear the ole' Lee Greenwood

version?

{i am loved}

On Mother's Day,

Cade came to me saying he wanted to make me a special treat.

I love this kid, he knows the way to my heart

What did you have in mind, I quizzed him.

Well, he said, I think you would really like

some M&M Brownies for Mothers Day.

Oh, you think that would be Mommy's favorite?

Yep.

So what did we do?

Jumped in the car, drove to Wal-Mart, whizzed through picking up our supplies, and got busy baking.

The M&M brownies turned out
DELICOSO

{said in my best DORA voice}

but it was what we made WITH the brownies that really shined.

Thanks to a gift subscription from my Mom and Dad, I am a proud recipient of

Cook's Country Magazine.

In this month's edition there is a recipe for what they call

Magic Vanilla Ice Cream.

This recipe does not require an ice cream machine and I've been itching to try it since I received this month's copy!

We gathered up our ingredients:

and set to work.

You'll need:

1/2 C. Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 ounce white chocolate chips -OR-

1 ounce of a white chocolate bar, chopped fine

1 T. Vanilla Extract

1/4 C. Sour Cream

1 & 1/4 C. Cold Heavy Cream

Start out by placing your metal bowl and metal beater in the freezer. Allow them to get nice and frosty before you begin.

This helps your cream "whip" faster.

BASE:

To make the base, microwave your sweetened condensed milk and white chocolate in a large microwave safe bowl until chocolate melts, stirring halfway, about 30 seconds. Allow it to cool. Stir in vanilla, salt and sour cream.

WHIP CREAM:

Next, take your frosty bowl and beater out of the freezer, attach it to your mixer and on medium-high speed, whip heavy cream to soft peaks, about 2 minutes. Whisk one-third of whipped cream into white chocolate mixture. Fold remaining whipped cream into white chocolate mixture until incorporated.

FREEZE:

Place in airtight FREEZER SAFE container and freeze at least 6 hours before eating. You can store it for up to 2 weeks.

But trust me, it won't last that long once you taste the silky, creamy texture!

Heaven on a spoon, I tell you...HEAVEN :)

Notes:

- Choose your white chocolate wisely.

The magazine warns that not all white chocolate bars are created equal.

They recommend using a premium brand chocolate like Guittard or Ghirardelli. Since we could not find these brands in the white chocolate variety, we used a Lindt White Chocolate bar that I chopped finely before microwaving.

It worked out fabulously!

- If you plan on storing your ice cream for more than a few days, place plastic wrap directly on it's surface before you freeze it.

Variations:

I made 2 batches, one vanilla and one coffee mocha.

For the mocha variation, you need to follow the recipe as directed, and then I just:

- dissolved 1 {heaping} teaspoon instant coffee into 1 T. boiling water

- poured this into the microwaved sweetened condensed milk mixture.

- Stirred well

- Then I took a bottle of Hershey's syrup and made a few rounds in the whipped cream. Okay, well maybe a couple more than a FEW rounds, but who's counting...

- Incorporate the 2 mixtures as the original recipe suggests and then freeze.

All I will say is...

that the coffee mocha variation is my favorite,

and sinfully delicious.

My thighs quiver every time

I open up the freezer.

OH.MY.STARS

Why do I torture myself?

Oh right, it's Mother's Day and all calories consumed are

automatically cancelled out!!!

Thank goodness for

Mother's Day,

my sweet cooking assistants,

and tread mills.

{my compass}

Mom,

I have so many things to be thankful for this mother's day,

but the most important one is you.

I thank God each and every day for my blessings

and one of the most important blessings is you, Mom!

You have been a rock, a guide, a compass throughout the years...

always there, always praying, always listening, always encouraging, always loving, always lighting up the path that leads to Christ.

Thank you for each and every act of love you have lived out on my behalf.

Especially for the hours and hours of prayers you have lifted up over the years...

I have felt each and every one.

By your example, you lead me to my greatest possession,

Jesus Christ.

I have seen you serve on countless occasions by cooking food, sending a hand written card, visiting the sick, making phone calls, driving women to doctor appointments, forgiving, and by being inclusive instead of exclusive!

Thank you for being a shining example of what a servant should be.

The hands and feet of Christ.

I pray that I may develop the same priceless qualities that you possess.

That's the one thing about a compass,

no matter what the weather

it always points in the same direction.

My cup runneth over

♥

Becky

“Her children rise up and bless her;

Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,

But a woman who fears the

LORD,

she shall be praised.”
Proverbs 31: 28-30

This scrapbooking design created with Smilebox

Easter Decorating on a Budget of ZILCH

Okay girlies,

Easter season is upon us!

Remember this guy?

Well check him out now!

~ Bada-Bing ~

Bada-Boom

My little branches are all dressed up for Easter baby!

All you need to do is take out your shredded paper and replace it with moss, remove the hearts in place of your happy little eggs, switch out your bow and

~ SHAZAM ~

Your Easter center piece is ready for oogling by the masses,

especially your kid folk, who enjoy asking...

1) Are those eggs real?

2) {in response to answered question numero uno}

Do they have candy inside?

and

3) Mommy, can we put some candy inside?

And I know someone is bound to ask, but the answer is

NO.

my sweet little candy-eyed chocolate bunny is a decoy, a fake, a fraud...

but a good impostor, no?

I purchased him about 3 years ago at a quaint little decor shop in Salado, Texas.

If I was brave enough to stick a real one up, he'd either be

a) dog bait

b) kid fodder

or

c) mom's stress snack by sundown

Hoppy Easter Decorating

Sweet Friends

Valentine Decorating, on a budget of ZILCH

Take one vase you already own,

Some ruffle paper that you have stored in your gift wrapping tub,

A few branches from that leafless tree in the back yard,

And some words that describe the people in your house,

how you feel,

and hints about what you'd like to receive for Valentines from your

kid folk,

and VOILA...

YOU HAVE A perfectly precious VALENTINE TREE centerpiece!!!

And just think,

all you'll have to do at Easter is change up the ribbon, delete the paper and add

moss instead and spread around your ribbon Easter Eggs to the branches and you'll be ready for

Spring!

Simple, Sweet & Home Spun