Motherhood

Just thinking about Motherhood today... I read this great blog post via a friend on Facebook.

I love my children. Even on crazy days (when I joke about selling them... ;). It is my honor to be their mother and take on this calling. And I am so, so grateful for my Mom.

"There is nothing more important in this world..." - Elder Holland

Kitchen Reveal: biting the bullet

This is it! Even though there are a bunch of things left to do (paint the window, decorate the dining wall, some pieces of trim installed...etc etc etc), it is time. Here is the before and current-after of our kitchen/dining area. I love it!

Before:

After:

cabinets washed, sanded, removed, painted (thank you for your help Brother & Sister Rowe!). new hardware. new light fixtures (thanks for the help Dad Spann!). new microwave (thanks for the help Joel!). some wood removed. scrubbed (thank you Linda & Lovie!). some new plumbing. new crown molding (thank you Uncle Don!). new pantry door, new finish. patched walls & ceiling, painted ceilings (thanks Dad!), painted walls. new awesome baker's rack (thanks Gram!), new wall-word (thanks Mom!). There is a lot of love in this kitchen! Thank you everyone!

Happy Fourth of July!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are proud to be Americans and to live in this great country! May God continue to bless America and may we live our lives that we honor those who have fought for our freedom!

We spent our day with family - the best way to spend it! My brother Joel & his fam came up for the weekend and we've had so much fun! Mason also spent the morning with Matt's family - including some time digging potatoes :) He was thrilled, "we pick tatoes!!"

I was a terrible picture taker - but here are a couple shots from the firework watching crew. We went to the Charlotte Ballpark to watch their first ever fireworks show - and WOW, they were fantastic! Almost 30 minutes and a really great display! And 2 minutes from our house! Can't beat that! :)

Hope you had a wonderful holiday!

Hello, I am delicious

Breadmaking. I've made loaves before, but it has never been a regular occurrence - it has been more like a "scarf it and it's gone" type of situation. But, since we don't know yet if Lincoln has outgrown his milk/soy issues, I decided a little bit ago that it was time I start making some bread... and, well, not buy anymore store bought stuff. In Utah I could find loaves that were basic, homemade recipes. Usually local bakeries made them, but they were carried in Walmart, Target, the local grocery, etc. Apparently there is no such demand here in Tennessee! Have you ever looked at how many ingredients are in the store bought bread? CRAZY. Anyway, we are still buying buns but so far we've made it a month without buying a loaf at the store. We'll see how long I can keep it up!

While scouring the internet for bread recipes and tips, I ran upon the most FANTASTIC pans! They're 12" loaf pans, meaning you get a loaf that is fairly similar to the size you'd buy in store. So great! And as of tonight, I think I've found my favorite wheat recipe (white/wheat... I'm going for sandwich bread) - and by halving it I got two great looking 12" loaves. Triumph! The recipe is compliments of a friend of my friend Faith. Way to network, right? Thanks Faith! I am expert bread maker just yet,... but hopefully I'm on my way.

For those who want it - here is the recipe by the Karoly's via Faith:

WHEAT BREAD

Combine in mixing bowl:

5 cups Water

1 cup Honey

Combine in bowl and let rise:

1 cup Water

4 Tablespoons Yeast

1 Tablespoon Sugar

Add to mixing bowl with water:

6 cups Wheat Flour

2 Tablespoons Lecithin

2 heaping Tablespoons Vital Wheat Gluten

2 Tablespoons Salt

Mix Together

Add:

Yeast mixture

2/3 cup Oil

9 - 10 cups White Flour

Let the machine run for 7-8 minutes after all the flour is mixed together.

Add:

2 heaping Tablespoons Dough Enhancer (it is kept in the fridge)

Run Machine another 3 minutes. Let stand while you grease 5 bread pans. Separate dough in to 5 sections, shape and put into greased pans. Cover and rise until almost double. Cook at 350° for 25 minutes. Set on cooling racks after taking out of the oven and Butter the tops of the bread.

*I didnt have any lecithin (soy product), so I omitted it. I halved the recipe and still ended up kneading my dough by hand bc my kitchen aid couldn't handle it (it was climbing up). I might end up looking for a bosch :) Another side note, dough enhancer also has some soy & milk in it but I figured it was a good time to start testing Lincoln on small doses... I still didn't butter the tops though. Still delicious!

**QUESTION: I have noticed that some recipes have two risings, some only have one. It seems that white bread more often has two and wheat often only notates one (but have seen wheat with two). I only let my bread rise once with this recipe and it came out great - when does bread need to be proofed once/twice? Anyone know?

Cute?

I am pretty certain the term "cute" never came to mind when I thought of a bat... until this little guy! We discovered him on my parents porch when we were leaving to head home one evening... he was fuzzy and I kind of just wanted to scoop him up. Kind of.

Side note: why do I think of bats as being only male? Sorry if you're a she-bat little guy.

Fireflies

...or do you call them lightning bugs? Hope you can see them a little bit in these pictures... it is hard to capture them, even when there are a million!

The other night we stopped to show Mason what a firefly is - his very first encounter (why didn't we do this sooner?). He is ENTRANCED! It is adorable. The next day he actually ended up getting a bug cage/catcher set thing (you know what I'm talking about? Mailbox shaped... handle... handy dandy magnifying glass...). For whatever reason, our house/lot has an abundance of fireflies. There is a creek that runs along one side of our lawn and I wonder if they like it because of that... I might have to research. Either way, I love looking out and seeing them all over our lawn - it's magical :)

Happy Father's Day!

Through studying social research in college and observing/experiencing life, my appreciation and gratitude for the good men in our lives has grown and deepened over the years. We all wish the men in our lives a Happy Father's day, but maybe we don't always realize just how great an impact they have on those they love. Simply put, research shows that they are so essential to the development of a healthy child/adult. Here is a snippet from one article from the University of Maryland that popped up when I googled it: "According to the researchers, children who identified a father or father figure scored higher on basic learning skill tests and had a stronger sense of competence and social acceptance compared to children without fathers. Researchers also found that children who viewed their fathers or father figures as supportive had a greater feeling of competence, greater social acceptance, and were less likely to be depressed compared to children who did not view their father or father figure as supportive."

This is just one of dozens of studies done and just barely brushes the surface of the effect of the role of a Father! But you don't have to look at the research - do some of your own observation, you'll readily see the impact of a good/bad Father figure in those around you.

What I am getting at....

I am so, so grateful for the good men in my life who have showed me how to love, how to respect, how to work, built my confidence and showed me what to look for in my own future husband. I love my Dad & Father-in-law and the men they are and am honored to have Matt at my side as my husband and Father of my children.

Happy Father's Day!