jesus, be near

My thoughts are with the people of Oklahoma today. Jesus, be near and let them feel the presence of Your peace amidst the sorrow and destruction.

moonblush tomatoes

Moonblush - isn't that a romantic word? And these slow-roasted tomatoes are amazing! Just put the tomatoes in the oven before you go to bed and take them out the next morning. So simple. They are absolutely delicious right from the oven or mixed in a salad. And only 4 ingredients…it doesn’t get much better than that.  I think these would also be good drizzled with a bit of balsamic vinegar and may try them out on bruschetta too. Oh, the possibilities...

Moonblush Tomatoes

courtesy Nigella Lawson

1 lb on-the-vine cherry tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

Preheat oven to 450. Cut the tomatoes in half and sit them cut side up in an ovenproof dish. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt & sugar. Put in oven and immediately turn it off. Leave the tomatoes in the oven overnight or for a day
without opening. 

summertime...and the livin' is easy

I love that song. Do you remember it from Porgy & Bess? I actually sing it to Landon as a lullaby pretty often. One night he popped up and said "Hey, my daddy not rich".  He's so funny. And at least he didn't say I'm not good-looking.

I'm looking forward to kicking off the summer next weekend. Lazy days, lemonade, watermelon, flip flops, little glass bottles of Coke, the beach, swimming, picnics... Yep, we are ready for summer!

I ordered this Octopus sprinkler from PBK for Landon this morning. It was on sale for $40 yesterday, but today it's marked down to just $34.90. All the other sprinklers are on sale too and probably won't last long. I also got him two cute tumblers to drink from. We've been working on getting the house pretty and festive with all my patriotic decorations. We're having so much fun. 

What are you doing to get ready for summer?


 

 

a note to landon

Sunday will be the fourth Mother's Day that I will celebrate as a mom. Before that Mother's Day was a day filled with dread for me. I enjoyed celebrating your grandma, but my heart ached to celebrate the day as a real momma. To feel sweet little arms wrapped around my neck; to hear the words "Happy Mother's Day" whispered in my ear.

And then God brought us you.  Just when I had  given up hope of ever realizing my dream, there you were. You came along and my heart was yours from the moment I saw you. And you were mine! 

I love being your mommy. I love showing you the world and seeing everything through your eyes. I love hearing you say momma or mommy. It's so fun to watch your personality develop ~ to see what makes you laugh and smile, what excites you, what scares you.  I love seeing your face light up with joy over the simplest things.  I love the way you jump on my lap for snuggles when it thunders.  Most of all, I just love YOU, my sweet, charming, wonderful boy! You've taught me so much about life...and about myself.

There are times when I think I'm doing everything right as your mommy and then there are the times I wonder if I'm doing anything right. One thing I have learned for certain is that when you are a mommy, you just have to let go of perfect. And that's OK because at the end of the day, love really is all that matters. 

As you continue to grow, I have so many hopes and dreams for you Landon.  But my biggest hope is that your life be filled with joy, happiness, laughter and a love for Jesus. 

Thank you for making me a mommy, for making my dreams come true. I love you so very much and you will never know just how much you saved me! Always know that I love you and you are my true joy.

 

Read  our  Baby Story

all about moms | coming clean

No, I'm not talking about baths here. I'm talking about motherhood...and life in general.  In this day of blogs, Facebook and Pinterest, it's so easy to feel like you aren't measuring up to all the other moms out there. And we all know how that leaves you feeling.  Good grief ~ I can watch an episode or two of Leave It To Beaver and feel that way...like I'm not doing it quite as good as June Cleaver {who is not even a real woman!}.  And on my emotional days, I've even shed a tear or two over how easy Beaver's mom made it all seem.  {Slightly off topic, but isn't Ward dreamy?!}

From perfectly coordinated birthday parties to organic eating to immaculate, perfectly decorated houses to spotless clean kids to perfect family Christmas cards {with every child smiling and looking straight at the camera} to homemade laundry detergent... and that's just naming a few things,  I've been there.  WE'VE ALL BEEN THERE.  I've been there through three of Landon's birthday parties, but I'm saying no to it all for birthday number four. I'm not saying Facebook, Pinterest and blogs aren't great {I love blogging}.  But we have to learn to enjoy our life's moments without even thinking about how the mom from anytown, USA would have made it better.

Here's a few things I've realized lately...
1. Landon will never know about the birthday parties I compared all of his to or that I tried tirelessly to make sure everything was perfectly coordinated, down to the paper drinking straws. He won't care how much money I spent on custom invitations. He'll just remember his party and if mommy was in the moment or tired from all the pre-party fuss.
2. My family will enjoy the holidays because of the family moments I just let happen; not because I read blog after blog and poured over Pinterest on how to have the "perfect" Christmas tree and decor to create the holiday.
3. We are FB friends with people we do not talk to on a regular basis. Yet we try to impress these same people with little details of our life. And no one in this life is perfect, no matter what they are putting online.

Just a few weeks ago, some friends and I were talking about how our parents made parenting seem easier. And maybe they were right. Because they just let us be kids. We had simple cake and ice cream birthdays. We had tinsel covered Christmas trees that took our breath away. Our mom didn't care about what the mom down the street was doing.  She did what worked for our family. I'm going to say that again...WHAT WORKED FOR OUR FAMILY.  Wow...kind of empowering when you actually think about it. 

That's all we need to do...what works for our own families. So on Mother's Day, enjoy the day with your family and know that you are blessed. And that's enough. 

Happy Mother's Day!

all about moms | lotions & potions

Oil of Olay and Jergen's Original Body Lotion... They are certainly nothing fancy, but I feel rich when I use them. To me, they are memories of my grandma and mom.  I love how the fragrance would linger on them when I would hug and kiss them goodnight. 

Isn't it funny how something as simple as lotions and face creams can bring back such a flood of memories? I grabbed both these items while I was out last week and fell in love with them all over again, especially the Oil of Olay {we're talking original formula}. I've used a lot of expensive anti-aging creams since I hit my late 30s, all with the usual normal results. But since I started using Olay, in less than one week, my face is absolutely glowing. Seriously! Something so basic is working so well. Now, the Jergen's body lotion is just your basic body lotion, but the smell is what I adore. I'm going to be using both these products through the summer. 

I'm also putting both these items in my mom & sister's  Mother's Day treat baskets. That's one of the best things about memories...sharing them with the people you love.

All About Moms | Shortbread Cookies

Welcome to "All About Moms" week. In honor of Mother's Day, I thought it would be fun to dedicate a week to just that.

My sister and I have a great gift to give to my mom on Sunday and I'm also preparing a basket of some favorite treats.  She LOVES shortbread and always asks when I'm baking her some cookies.  I actually made this last night and it's in the freezer. I'll thaw and bake Saturday evening so the cookies will be fresh for Sunday. 

I love my mom so much, even more as I get older and realize just how amazingly strong she's always been. She mentioned the other day to someone that while Amy and I were growing up there had been times she struggled and we had done without. I actually had to laugh when Amy told me and asked her when that was. We were not rich, of course, but if we ever did without, mom certainly hid it well. I am so thankful to God for the gift of having her in my life.  

Cranberry-Orange-Pistachio Shortbread

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon orange zest

1 tablespoon orange juice

1/2 cup finely chopped dried cranberries

1/4 cup finely chopped pistachios

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating until smooth. Stir in vanilla, orange zest and orange juice. Add cranberries and pistachios, stir just until blended.  

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.

Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended.

Shape shortbread mixture into 2 logs. Wrap in wax paper & aluminum foil. Refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days. Remove from refrigerator 10 minutes prior to using (while oven preheats).

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Cut each log into  1/4” thick slices.  Place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until edges of cookies are slightly golden (mine take 10 minutes).  

You can store these in an airtight container but mine never last that long.  

***It's important to let your cookie dough rest before slicing to bake. Otherwise the logs are hard to cut and the slices crumble easily.***