Another one.........

tooth that is! Can you believe it? Looks like he is taking after his older brother! Conner had a mouthful at a year old!!

And just another of my baby boy's beautiful blue eyes!

Decluttering

Last year before I got pregnant, I was on a mission to declutter my life and my house, thus "Toward a Simpler Life"....

So after I found out I was pregnant, things got a little crazy wondering if I would have to go on bed rest or not, and I had to be a little more careful and try to slow down my life a little bit (although to hear everyone else tell it, I didn't slow down at all!!) So the decluttering got put on hold.

Now that it is almost time for the kids to go back to school (I can't believe it is that time already--only one more week of summer vacation!) and Hayden is working into a nap schedule in the mornings and afternoons, I am starting to think about decluttering again. Obviously with a baby, I can't just go wild and count on getting it all done in a really short amount of time, but I can start with little projects and at least feel some sort of sense of accomplishment about what I am doing. As I am doing this to our home, I am also hoping that I can teach Mari Cate (and Conner, but he is not quite as bad) to try to keep things orderly, get rid of what she doesn't need, and just try to keep her room tidy in general. For some reason she really has a problem with this and I just don't know how to help her care more about it. We have tried chore charts, reward charts, punishments, and somewhat clearing the room out, but none of these have worked!! Does anyone have any ideas on how to encourage her in this area?? PLEASE share them with me if you do!

So this was my project for the day. I collect makeup...not on purpose, it just happens. When my eyeshadow gets really low, I go get another one, but keep the teeny little bit in the other one...just in case I run out, ya know? So I have a collection of teeny little bits of eyeshadow. The same with foundation....I have multiple foundation bottles that are pretty much dried up at this point. (After writing this, I am beginning to see where Mari Cate might get her problem!!) So this morning I cleaned all the makeup out and put the good stuff (colors I didn't like and such) in a yard sale box and threw away the dried up, teeny bit stuff. I also cleaned my lotion basket out. I have "flavors" we don't care for and such, so I threw away the older ones and put some of the good stuff that we just don't use in the yard sale box. Mom and I will be having a yard sale after school starts back and we have found that this kind of stuff sells really great if you price it right!!

So I am going to add my decluttering tally on my blog again and I hope you watch it grow with me! Here are some before and after pics:

There is still a lot of makeup, but at least it is not nearly empty bottles and such and it is organized again! Here's to decluttering!

More Blueberries.....

Blueberries are number one in antioxidant activity when measured against other fruits and vegetables. Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (1998).

"Blueberries are rich in vitamins and minerals such as C and E, beta-carotene,
folic acid, iron, fiber and potassium. Plus they are naturally free of fat,
cholesterol and sodium. A serving of blueberries (1/2 cup) counts as one fruit
serving, is only 80 calories, and makes an easy, nutrient packed snack perfect
to pop into your mouth during a summertime hike." (excerpt taken from this article)

I was looking for some more blueberry recipes and came across this one to try for Blueberry Buckle. It was really good. I served it warm with vanilla ice cream over it and it was a very refreshing and a little bit different dessert for a hot summer night. Try it for something a little different this week!

Blueberries and Beach Balls

What a combination, huh??

I went to the store the other day and they had blueberries Buy1/Get 1, so I bought two pints of them. There is a "blueberry picking" place (that's the correct term, right? hah) not far from our house and we took Conner there on his birthday and picked blueberries when he was 2 years old and it was so fun, but for some reason we haven't been back?? Weird. Anyway, I just found out that Frank's aunt (who lives behind us) has blueberry bushes also, so I think I will just have to walk through the trail and get me some! We love blueberries, but I need some more recipes---anyone want to share some of your favorites? Leave me a message!! Please!!

Anyway, my family loves muffins, so I made some homemade blueberry muffins. Not everything was homemade (I did use Bisquick), but oh they were sooooo good!! I will share the easy recipe later.

Then for VBS last night we had Rice Krispy Beach Balls. They turned out really cute and were a big hit. Wanted to share a picture of them, since I have shared all the other snacks I have done for VBS. Will post the recipe later on this one too. A little boy I know just fell asleep and I think I better take this chance to get a shower!! :)

Testing a new feature..........

I have wanted the ability to type a post up, but publish it at a later date. I "THINK" I have figured out how to do this so I am going to try it out. This post should be published on Wednesday, July 23rd. We'll see............

************YAY!!! It worked!! Thanks for letting me know Amber!!********************

The Latest Camping Adventure

A few pics of our camping trip last weekend. We also had Conner's birthday party while we were there. Everyone had a great time cooking out and swimming in the lake.

In Memory...

Abigail Grace Hamilton

Born into Jesus' Arms 07-19-2005
She left footprints on our hearts that we will never forget.



Glory Baby by Watermark

Glory baby you slipped away as fast as we could say baby...baby...
You were growing, what happened dear?
You disappeared on us baby...baby...
Heaven will hold you before we do
Heaven will keep you safe until we're home with you...
Until we're home with you...

CHORUS:

Miss you everyday
Miss you in every way
But we know there’s a day when we will hold you
We will hold you
You’ll kiss our tears away
When we’re home to stay
Can’t wait for the day when we will see you
We will see you
But baby let sweet Jesus hold you
‘till mom and dad can hold you…
You’ll just have heaven before we do
You’ll just have heaven before we do

Sweet little babies, it’s hard to
understand it ‘cause we’re hurting
We are hurting
But there is healing
And we know we’re stronger people through the growing
And in knowing-
That all things work together for our good
And God works His purposes just like He said He would…
Just like He said He would…

BRIDGE:
I can’t imagine heaven’s lullabies
and what they must sound like
But I will rest in knowing, heaven is your home
And it’s all you’ll ever know…all you’ll ever know…