EVERY day is a gift

My heart has been heavy this week. There are a lot of young people hurting in our community. Tomorrow hundreds will gather at a funeral to pay respect to a young man who died too soon. During his football game. It's not fair. It's not.

I remember how it feels to lose a friend. I know how helpless you feel as a bystander. It's ok to be sad. Grieve. You can still smile and laugh and remember the fun memories. Don't feel guilty for that. You don't have to forget, but you have to keep going.

Another set of young boys were one week into their freshman year in college, made one wrong choice, and are now struggling to find reality. We have all made bad choices. No one is immune to messing up. But why did this happen to them? I don't know. But I do know that God is in control and using this. 

These peaks and valleys that you are experiencing in life are shaping you. You shouldn't have to go through losing a friend. But through these experiences you learn to trust God, you learn that you are not in control, and you learn that every day is honestly a gift. EVERY day. Even the bad ones. 

First Guest Post!

First guest post of the blog is from my friend Diane Hutchings that is so crafty. She is always cooking amazing things or creating something awesome. I basically asked her 3 simple questions and she ran with it. 

Hi y'all! I'm Diane Hutchings, a Southern girl at heart, born and raised in Ohio. My husband Lee is a pastor in Ridgeland, MS. Our son and joy, Harper is 14 months! 

When and where did you learn to sew/cook/craft?

I started cooking at a very young age-I've always been very tall, and could use the real oven at age 6! I grew up on a small, family farm in Northeast Ohio, where my parents made most things from scratch. Hunting, gardening, cooking, and canning were all a huge part of our daily lives. My mom used to say that she lost all her slave-labor when we moved out...it takes a lot of work! I grew up cooking almost every night of the week, learning from both of my parents. They are both incredible cooks, and I definitely developed my love for food and cooking from them! 

Who inspires you?

Before we were married, my sister and I used to get together on Tuesday nights and cook difficult recipes we had found online, or in our vast cookbook collection. Those were really fun times! My sister Rachel now  lives on a sustainable farm, and inspires me with her farm to table approach to food. I'm also inspired by many of my talented friends, different food blogs, and fresh, local produce. Any cookbook by Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa is guaranteed to have fantastic recipes. She's definitely a favorite of mine! 

Favorite recipe?

I have so many favorite recipes! I typically cook 5 nights out of 7 at our house. I love to throw together easy meals like chicken stir fry and baked pasta, but I also love more complicated meals like crepes florentine and stuffed peppers. If I could eat cheese and french bread with salted butter for all meals, I totally would! Or caprese salad...or brie en croute...or peach, coconut muffins...or spinach quiche..I just love good food, and I love to cook! It relaxes me and gets my creative juices flowing! 

I have made this chocolate cake 3 times in the last month. It *seems* healthier to me because of the almond meal, but it's just plain delicious! Even my husband, a cake connoisseur, says he likes it better than my two-layer-chocolate-buttercream-frosting cake. WIN! 

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

• ⅔ cup regular olive oil (plus more for greasing)
• 6 tablespoons good-quality unsweetened cocoa (sifted)
• ½ cup boiling water
• 2 teaspoons best vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups almond meal/flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 cup superfine sugar
• 3 large eggs

1. Preheat your oven to 325ºF. Grease a 9inch springform pan with a little oil and line the base with baking parchment.
2. Measure and sift the unsweetened cocoa into a bowl and whisk in the boiling water until you have a smooth, chocolatey, still runny paste. Whisk in the vanilla extract, then set aside to cool a little.
3. In another small bowl, combine the almond meal (or flour) with the baking soda and pinch of salt.
4. Put the sugar, olive oil and eggs into the bowl of a freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment (or other bowl and whisk arrangement of your choice) and beat together vigorously for about 3 minutes until you have an aerated and thickened cream.
5. Turn the speed down a little and pour in the cocoa mixture, beating as you go, and when all is scraped in you can slowly tip in the ground almond (or flour) mixture.
6. Scrape down, and stir a little with a spatula, then pour this dark, liquid batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the sides are set and the very center, on top, still looks slightly damp. A cake tester should come up mainly clean but with a few sticky chocolate crumbs clinging to it.
7. Let it cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, still in its pan, and then ease the sides of the cake with a small metal spatula and spring it out of the tin. Leave to cool completely or eat while still warm with some ice cream or homemade whipped cream. 

Thanks for sharing Diane!! My house has lots to be desired in the cooking and cleaning area. 

Meet the Rebels

We had such a fun day at Meet the Rebels last Saturday. This was our first year to go to this and I had absolutely no idea how big it was. The girls are in the Rebel Kids Club (thanks to Toddy and Poppy) which lets them get into some events early and others free. They get a little swag bag with random goodies. It's a neat little deal if you have kids. 

Pulling into town, we thought we would run by and pick up our stickers to get in, grab a bite to eat and then come back. It was such a great plan until we pulled up to the practice facility and saw the massive "early entry" lines. Crazy town. Of course we joined the madness and went on in. 

It was pretty awesome. The kids got to run around on the turf, take pictures with cheerleaders and Rebelette's, and Elle met the bear. No one is a fan of the bear except for Elle. She would not leave him alone. Seriously, she stared at him and took pictures with him for a good portion of our time there. 

The lines to get autographs were forever long and I knew there was no way we were doing that so we left to go pick up a friend, ate a late lunch, and came back to see Sean. They went about an hour over on autograph time but the girls finally got to give him a hug and talk for a little while. These girls LOVE their uncles. 

I'm so glad we are close enough to share all of these cool experiences. They have been raised in the gym watching Alec and Sean play basketball, in bleachers watching MRA, and now will have new Grove and Vaught Hemingway experiences. 

Football practice preview

A couple of weeks ago, we made a quick trip to Oxford to watch Ole Miss football practice. We didn't get to see Sean on his birthday so the point was to deliver a cake, wave at him from the bleachers of the stadium, and hang out with Alec for a little while. 

The goal to leave our house was 7:00 am. We pulled out of the driveway at 7:35. Close enough. Bottles, pump, diapers, wipes, paci's, stroller, umbrellas, face tattoos, you get it. We packed the house and all 3 kids into our minivan and trekked to Oxford to watch practice.

Elle is my dad's little buddy so he took her down to the bottom of the stadium and let her run around while he watched. She was content and climbed and ran and played for minutes. Several minutes. And then Dad was done babysitting. 

My turn. I let Andrew watch my brother practice for a little while and chased her all around the stadium. It's ok because I had exceeded my question-asking limit. They needed a break from me too. We played in puddles, discovered water fountains, climbed stairs (an entire stadium of stairs multiple times), and then I started to sweat. Profusely. During all of this chasing Elle, Addie was running around and making friends in the stadium too. So I strapped her back in the stroller, held a battery operated fan on her like she was royalty, thinking she would fall asleep. No such luck.

Andrew's turn. Bless his heart. In the 10 minute span that happened to coincide with his walking with Elle to the car to get a bottle for Bentley Claire, it rained. He's such a trooper though that he didn't even complain. 

Looking forward to the season with all of our yahoos. Wish us luck!

Call it "school"

I used to hear the word daycare and cringe. Really. It sounds awful. Constantly sick kids, parents that work all the time, crying babies, the list goes on and on. I prefer the word school. We are a couple of weeks in and loving "school." Granted both girls have already been sick but that was to be expected. I'm hoping their immune systems will get a little tougher. They really do run like a school; they even have chapel every week. I would love to come watch one day.

When we walk through the halls to leave, all of the other teachers know Elle. I'm still deciding if this is a good or bad thing. I'm going to choose to believe it's because she is so sweet. She is. In a badger sort of way. One second she will be loving on you and the next she is scratching your face and making your bleed. (True story. Another blog post, another day.)

When I pick her up, I ask how she is doing fully anticipating some list of things we need to work on. I have gotten a good report every day so far. Whew! We've had a biting incident but I'm pretty sure that Elle held the kid down or did something aggressive to get those. It wasn't bad and hasn't happened again. 

Potty training is the worst thing in the world. That is a fact. Best news ever: Elle has used the potty TWO days in a row. Elle isn't even 2 yet and has already started this process. Whaaaat?! I have horror stories from potty training Addie too soon. These people are miracle workers and for that I am grateful. 

I'm sure we will have some good stories soon. 

First day of "school"

Blog Tour

This post was supposed to be done on Sunday. Better late than never right? I'm still a newbie to the blog world but when I heard about a Blog Tour from Jenny Mac at Crumbs Under the Table it sounded kind of fun. 

1. What am I working on? Besides making it on time for school, I have about 20 blog posts that are waiting to be finished. Procrastinate much?

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?  I don't really know. I just write about whatever I want to write about.


3. Why do I write/create what I do?  It's a fun outlet for me to just be quiet and reflect. After the hubs and kids go to bed, it's my quiet time.


4. How does your writing/creating process work?  When something funny happens or something pops into my head I jot it down. I will either go back and finish it or let it sit in the draft pile for weeks. Some things may never get published. I'm ok with that.

I'm passing the torch onto Susannah at Susannah Styles. Enjoy!

Change of pace

School is almost here. Wahoo! We are all beyond ready to get back in the swing of things. Blogging has been fun but let's be real. The daily posts will no longer be happening. My plan is to have 3 a week. It's good wind-down time for me and I enjoy it. 

I don't expect anyone to read. Bonus if you do. :)

This year I will be teaching elementary computer and will be taking on the role of "Technology Integration Specialist." It's just a fancy way of saying coordinating tech for the teachers. To say that I am thrilled is an understatement. It is literally my dream teaching job. 

With that said, "working" to get everything ready at school with my mini-me's has been interesting. Addie has kept everybody entertained and has become the helper. Seriously sometimes she is the best helper ever. Today I sent her back into "school" to get Bentley Claire's bag that we forgot (another story for another day) and she did it ALL BY HERSELF. She acts totally silly and has her meltdowns like any other 4 year old, but usually she is right by my side. I'm not sure I could do it without her. 

Elle and BC, not such great helpers. But they've been good. We've had lots of naps in the stroller, bottles between painting and setting up, and several drive-thru trips. We need to be done with fast food. Seriously. One more week and we will be back to a normal eating, sleeping, school schedule. One. More. Week. 

I promise Bentley Claire is not always in her carrier. We do get her out and play with her...

Weekend Update

Our internet was upgraded today because AT&T DSL wasn't cutting it. (We only have 2 options in our neighborhood for some reason.) Welcome to 2014. 

Moving on.

New app called No Time to Cook? by Real Simple. Ah-mazing. You start by picking a meat and the time you want to spend on the meal and it finds recipes for you. It will also make a grocery list to go along with your recipe choices. 

One more Ole Miss video for the Rebel fans reading. 

Lots of mixed reactions about the Ebola patients coming back to the U.S. Glad they will be able to get the care they need. 

Elle was promoted! Woo hoo. They move up with their age so everyone else did too. We can still celebrate. 

Have a great weekend!

Storms

Ever since Addie was a baby, she has cried during storms. The other kids are not like this so I'm not sure what we did differently. We have tried every trick in the book to help her get over this.

Mississippi has had our fair share of tornados and she is at the age where she remembers. I think we have "taken shelter" four times this year and somewhere in our state has had devastating destruction. We grab the flashlights, kids, dog, tv remote, phones, chargers, batteries, shoes, sometimes helmets, and gather in the bathroom. It's the responsible thing to do. It's tough to entertain three kids and a dog while keeping track of the storm path. I kind of freak out but have to remain calm all at the same time. 

Every single storm is terrifying for her. She tries to hide it by asking a thousand questions but she's not fooling anyone.

To make matters worse, I made the mistake of showing her the tornado destruction in Louisville. I didn't make a special trip there or anything. We were there for a family reunion and I took a "shortcut." This not-so-shortcut led us to the exact spot that the tornadoes touched down. It was an accident. Of course this led to multiple questions. Why are those trees on the ground? What happened to that building? Where did the people go? And on and on.

In my normal teacher fashion I answered the questions in an honest yet careful way. I thought I did a good job but it made the storm fear worse. Now she comes in our room if she hears the faintest clap of thunder or sees a flash of lightning and asks about the tornado. I'm not sure we will ever overcome this but we are trying.