Family

  • Finding a Warm Spot!

    Our little feather friend found a warm spot between our storm door and back door! She was surprised to see us heading out to play in the snow!

    Recently we had a good 6 plus inches of snow in South Carolina which is pretty rare.  The whole family was out for a little bits throughout the day.  Brina and I lasted the longest the first round of snow playing.  I ended up carrying her up the hill to the house after sledding.  We got inside had hot chocolate, read books, ate lunch, had Snow Ball Ice Cream, did some laundry and relaxed before heading back out.

    The next time when the girls were all bundled up ready to head outside Jake opened the back door to let them out and we were startled to find a “friend” that must have tried to follow Brina and I inside to find some warmth!  We weren’t too excited about having a small bird flying around our house so we sent the girls out the garage then Brina came around to the back of the house to free the bird who was caught between the storm door and the back door of our house.  I think the bird was happy to find such a warm spot until she encountered us.  I am sure she was very glad find another warm spot away from the house!  Even the birds are looking for warmth on the snowy days.  I am thankful for a warm home especially during these cold days.

  • Family Celebrations: Valentine’s Day

    We had a blast celebrating Valentine’s Day together as a family.  The day was so packed full of fun that I didn’t have time yesterday to post what we were up to so I am doing it today!  Here are little snip-its of our family celebrations!

    Brina and Karlie's Valentine Breakfast Goodies

    While Brina and Karlie were getting dressed for school we set out a little box of sweethearts and heart necklaces for them to enjoy.  They ate heart shape blueberry pancakes and saved their candy until after school.  Although they did wear their heart necklaces ALL day!

    Special Valentine's Surprise on my Steering Wheel!

    Jake went with the girls to pick out something special for me.  They left these little goodies on my steering wheel.  When I got into the van to drive Brina and Karlie to school I noticed my Valentine’s surprise.  They picked out a flower, kitten candy and a Valentine’s Day card.  They each wrote their names and drew me a picture.  In my card I had a heart family of four, so cute!

    Valentine's Day Gifts

    Daddy and the girls each received a package of “Nerf Darts” for Valentine’s Day.  Now when we have our little nerf wars we won’t be knocking each other over to get a dart, hopefully.  Karlie was so excited she hugged the package, spun around, and ran out of the room (to get her nerf gun, of course).  Brina had her nerf gun loaded first and Mom was the primary target since I was cooking and couldn’t defend myself, don’t worry I got them back!

    Expression of "love"!

    I had a package of Starbursts so I spelled the word “Love” on the table.  The girls thought this was so neat.  They were excited that they could read the word and could barely wait for Daddy to come home so they could eat the word!

    "I Love You" Balloon

    I picked up an “I Love You” balloon at Dollar Tree for $1.  The girls thought this “ape” was so adorable and managed to drag it almost everywhere they went for the rest of the night!

    Brina celebrating Valentine's Day with her class!

    I was able to help with the girls Valentine’s Day party.  The kids had a lot of yummy treats to celebrate the day.  Brina was so excited to have me come spend time with her in the classroom.

    Karlie enjoying chips during thier Valentine Party!

    Karlie ate all the non-sweet goodies first, including a yogurt and Doritos, as you can see from her orange mouth she really enjoyed the chips.  She was telling all her classmates that I was her Mom and that they should wish me “Happy Valentine’s Day”!

    Homemade heart shape Valentine's Day white pie pizza!

    I made homemade heart shape white pie pizza with mushrooms and olives on top for supper!  The girls thought it was funny the pizza was a heart and the slices were different shapes from “normal” pizza.  It was a fun and easy way to spread the Valentine cheer!

    Minor casualty, nerf dart was shot into the oven!

    I was pulling the pizza out of the oven in the middle of a nerf dart storm and this little guy didn’t survive.  It managed to hit the hot oven, when I went to pull it off the dart tore.  The girls were sad that a dart was broken but it gave me an opportunity to demonstrate why they shouldn’t be aiming in my direction while cooking!

    It was a super fun day with the family.  Having children have makes the Holidays even more of a special treat, they get excited about celebrating.  I am thankful everyday for my family and the memories we create together.

  • Vacation: “Catamaran Adventure” on Philipsburg, St. Maarten

    Beautiful butterflies & flowers at Philipsburg, St. Maarten. This butterfly fluttered around us for several minutes before landing on this flower.

    During our recent trip we were able to stop by Philipsburg, St. Maarten!  Philipsburg is the capital of St. Maarten and on the Dutch side of the island.  the island is well known for it’s most popular “must-have” ingredient….SALT!  In the 17th century the Dutch settlers started harvesting the salt from Great Salt Pond and sending it by the ship load back to Europe.  The natives nicknamed the island “Soualiga” or “Land of Salt”.  Today the island is split with France owning the Saint Martin side and the Netherlands Antilles owning St. Maarten.

    The first wildlife to greet us upon arriving at the island was a beautiful little butterfly, it must have been one from the Butterfly Farm on St. Maarten sent to welcome us to their island.  St. Maarten has great “beach taxis” that will take you back and forth from the boat to the beach all day for $6.   If you are looking to spend the day at the beach this was a great deal plus you could come back to the boat for lunch then head back out to the beach for free as long as you still had on your wrist band.  St. Maarten is also a great place to shop and pick up some neat souvenirs for those back home.  Some of our group went to the beach that morning to swim, collect seashells and relax while others went strolling down through the town and shops.  It was a fun and relaxing morning at St. Maarten.

    That afternoon we all went on the “St Maarten Reef Express” which took us to two snorkeling locations.  On the way to our excursion we walked past a huge private boat, it was said to be Steven Spielberg’s private boat!  They had a lot of wind and storms that week so the water was a little cloudy but the weather was beautiful.  We were able to see some fish but didn’t get to go to the ship wrecks due to the cloudy water.  The food, drinks and ride along the beach were amazing.  We even got to see a plane almost land on the beach.  St. Maarten’s airport is located very close to the beach and when planes land they look like they are landing on the beach while people are enjoying their time sun tanning or swimming in the ocean.  Along our catamaran adventure we saw amazing boats, pastel homes, and were able to swim in its turquoise blue water.

    Here are a few fun facts about St. Maarten AKA St. Martin (depending on which side of the island you were on at the time!):

    • Official Name(s):  St. Martin – dependency of French overseas AND St Maarten – part of the Netherlands Antilles
    • Population of St. Maarten – 40,100
    • Capital of St Maarten – Philipsburg
    • Language of St Maarten – Dutch and English
    • Currency – Netherlands Antilles Florin (although US Currency is widely accepted)
    • Religions – Catholic, Protestant and Others
    • Land Mass – 13 square miles
    • Landforms – The island is known for its white sandy beaches and coves.  They have a lot of greenery in the hills and valleys of the island, the highest point of the island is 1,200 feet.  They do not have any significant rivers on the island.
    • Climate – warm throughout the year, the high temperatures vary just slightly between the seasons.

    Information taken from World Atlas

    In an later post we will share some of the pictures we took during our adventure on St Maarten.  If you ever have a chance to go to St Maarten we trust you will enjoy it as much as we did.  Maybe we will have the opportunity to visit and explore their beautiful island again in the future, you never know!

    A Vacation To Remember series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Go with a good attitude and looking for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!

  • Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

    Celebrate love and cherish the memories on this special day!

    Wishing you a sweet day full of fun with the ones you love!

    Happy Valentine’s Day!!!!

    Photo by Ellie

  • Celebrating Valentine’s Day!

    We love Holidays at our house!  It is a wonderful time to celebrate with those you love and making more wonderful memories together!  We started our weekend of fun on Friday.  Jake and I had the opportunity, through swapping babysitting with friends, to go out for our Valentine’s celebration on Friday, February 11th.  I will be sharing a little more about our adventure throughout the week.   It was amazing time with my man and many great new memories were made.  On Sunday we made blueberry heart pancakes with strawberry sauce and had the left overs this morning for breakfast!

    Making pancakes with the family!

    Batter’s ready on for the pancakes, love turning everyday food into a fun celebration for special occasions!  If you are excited the whole family will have a blast too!

    Brina got a cup full of frozen blueberries all by herself to add to the pancake batter, so exciting!

    Brina helped get the blueberries out for the batter.  She got them out of the freezer, measured the blueberries, and mixed them into the batter before cooking the pancakes.  Even better is we talked about the memories behind the blueberries we were using.  We picked the blueberries fresh from a friends yard during a fun evening together.  Thankful for friends, fellowship, memories, and the opportunity to enjoy such amazing fruit during the winter season.

    Frozen blueberries now in the pancake batter!

    The blueberries are so delicious!  The girls always love it when we add them to their pancakes and I like that they are getting extra fruit!

    Baking the blueberry pancakes on the griddle!

    We purchased the heart shaped pancake form at Dollar Tree several years ago and still use them regularly (it came with a star and bear shape as well).  The girls enjoy getting super special shaped blueberry pancakes.

    The heart shaped blueberry pancakes are ready!

    The pancakes were delicious with the big juicy blueberries in the shape of a heart!

    Flash frozen whole strawberries!

    We pulled our flash frozen whole strawberries out.  The girls and I had a great time picking them at a local farm and froze the ones we didn’t eat right away.  One of our favorite ways to eat pancakes is with frozen pureed strawberries instead of syrup, healthier and delicious!

    Pureed strawberry sauce for the pancakes!

    Once the strawberries had thawed for awhile I pureed the strawberries to use as sauce to dip the pancakes into.  The family loves it and tastes amazing. We typically just puree the strawberries, if you want it a little sweeter you can add a little bit of sugar or honey.

    Fresh strawberry sauce for dipping the pancakes into!

    Everyone got their own strawberry dipping sauce dish for their blueberry pancakes.  Yummy!

    Ready to eat our pancakes with sprinkles and strawberry sauce!

    The fresh blueberry pancakes are ready to eat.  For an extra bonus we have hugs and kisses sprinkles as well as strawberry sauce for dipping!  Delicious!  What a fun way to start off the Valentine’s Day celebrations as a family!

  • Savings with an “Amazon Mom” Membership

    Amazon Mom is a free membership program offered by Amazon for Moms, Dads, parents, and caregivers of children from pregnancy through the toddler years.  Amazon Mom gives members discounts on products for the family.  You can join by signing into your Amazon account if you already have one and indicating it you’re a Mom, Dad, or caregiver of a child.

    Some benefits to having an Amazon Mom account:

    • Free Membership
    • 30% off Diapers & Wipes
    • FREE Two Day Shipping with Amazon Prime
    • Exclusive Offers
    • Discounts & Special Promotions on Products
    • Automatic Additional 15% Discount on Subscribe & Save
    • No Fees, Risks or Obligations
    • Age Appropriate Product Recommendations

    You should receive a confirmation email shortly after you sign up for Amazon Mom, make sure to click the link in the email to confirm your subscription to Amazon Mom in order to start receiving benefits.  Any caregiver of children can qualify for an Amazon Mom membership.  The majority of savings are targeted to those who are pregnant through the toddler years although you can still join even if you have older kids!   You can often find additional coupons in magazines to stack on top of the Amazon Mom savings.

    For more information regarding the benefits of an Amazon Mom account click here.

  • Family Recipe: All American Corn Bread

    The All American Corn Bread is my Mother-in-Law’s recipe.  She has a lot of delicious recipes that we have enjoyed.  The first four birthday cakes for the girls were made by Jake’s Mom.  She would take the theme for that year and come up with something creative yet different for each of the girls.

    If you’re looking for a wonderful corn bread recipe you should check out this recipe.  It is a great compliment to a pot of chili, soup, or any home cooked meal.

    All American Corn Bread

    • 2 cups Biscuit Mix
    • 1 cup Half-n-Half
    • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
    • 3/4 cup Sugar
    • 1 cup butter
    • 1 cup Yellow Cornmeal
    • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
    • 2 Eggs, slightly beaten

    Scald cream with butter, add to thoroughly mixed dry ingredients.  Mix in eggs.  Pour into greased and floured 13 x 9 x 2 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Allow to stand for several minutes before cutting.  Serves 12

    Photo by Tristanf

  • Vacation: “Nature’s Little Secrets” – Tortola, British Virgin Islands (Part 2)

    They say a picture is worth a thousand words, here are ones that highlight our adventures at Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

    A beautiful place to visit!

    View from Tortola, B.V.I. looking out over some of the other islands.

    A BEAUTIFUL view from Tortola overlooking the surrounding islands!

    Tortola painting along the road showing their history!

    They had a wall of history depicted through many paintings, very neat!

    "Serenade of the Seas" our cruise ship looks so small from the top of Tortola!

    We got to see a lot of neat views from the top of Tortola, including our ship, which looks small from the top of the mountain!

    Range free cows on the edge of the road!

    The animals (cows, chickens, horses, goats, etc…) were not fenced in so you would see them on the roads or standing next to vehicles grazing.  They had no one where to go since they were living on the island.

    Beautiful coves and beaches on the island of Tortola!

    The water was beautiful!  Tortola had gorgeous beaches on various parts of the island!

    Tortola had beautiful flowers throughout the island and along the side of the road!

    Tortola had a lot of amazing flowers that we seen along our excursion!

    Yachts at the beach on Tortola!

    A lot people come to Tortola to sail in yachts.  Another popular activity and site at these islands!

    Police to the Rescue - traffic was stopped due to an accident!

    Tortola’s roads were steep and curvy.  Thankfully, we weren’t in an accident but were held up for a few minutes by one.  The police finally came and outlined the cars in the accident so traffic could once again flow!

    Party place on the island in the evening, the seaside Bomba Shack!

    The Bomba Shack by the ocean is said to be the party place for the islanders in the evening.  It was an interesting sight!

    "Shack for Love" the Bomba Shack

    Couples that get married in the Bomba Shack can sign their names inside.  No pictures were allowed inside the “shack”.

    Pink house with a purple roof!

    We took a picture of this “princess” house to show our little princess!  It was a pretty pink house with a purple roof view an amazing view of the island!

  • Life Simplified: Hosting in Our Home

    One of my goals in 2011 is to simplify my life more by enjoying the blessings and not wasting what God has given us.  I have been sharing with you the successes and challenges on those specific areas in my life as I go through them.  One of the areas I am working on is making the best use of my time.  While spending time hosting family and friends in our home is important to me I must also make sure there is time on the schedule to spend with my immediate family.  The girls are growing up fast and the times we have together are precious.  In order to make sure I don’t go overboard I am setting a goal for myself and asking for your help to keep me in line.

    Here are the current challenges I am working on:

    Explanation of the Goal: As a family of four we LOVE hosting people in our home!  We are blessed to have a home to share with family and friends  whether it is for a party, game night or just to hang out together.  I would probably host a get together several times a week if we had the time, money, and energy to do it.  Part of learning how to simplify my life is making decisions on what to do with my time.  Hosting typically requires time for cleaning, cooking, prepping, and/or decorating for guests.  It is my goal to host at least one other family in our home once a month but no more than four.  When I spend time hosting that means I must give up some for something else.  Having up to 4 hosting events in our home means that there will be time to spend together as a family of four.  I want my girls to have the experience of hosting even at a young age.  Sharing our home and their toys is a valuable skill they can learn at an early age, but they like anyone, need a time to relax and refresh.

    We have already started working on this goal.  We had 3 families of three over in the month of January.   February is a busier month in our household not because of Valentine’s day but because we will be hosting the girls birthday party.  One of the many benefits to having twins or higher multiples is their birthday parties hit at the same time.  Brina and Karlie’s birthday party will be our major event this month and we have at least one other hosting event already on the schedule.

    I will share with you the challenges, successes, and updates as I go through this journey so you can keep me accountable or even go through it with me by participating  and sharing your story. Taking the extra time to invest in the lives of others is important to our family.  I hope that we have been able to host many people in our home without going over board.  It is important to me to make time for my family on the weekends as well as the people around us!

    Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others.  Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff”  and if you are like us we just have too much.  I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives.  When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.

    Photo by MaryTClark

  • Getting My Attention

    Do you ever have those wild stressful days?  Recently I had one of those days when I had a lot going on and the girls were trying to help but they were slowing down the process.  Since we had to get going soon I told them to relax quietly together so I could finish up the last few items then we could leave.  It was one of those rushed days that are more stressful than usual and I had over committed myself.

    After completing the necessary tasks I went to find the girls,  they had been quiet the past fifteen minutes so I was interested in finding out what had captivated their attention.  My heart about burst when I went into the dining room.  They were standing at the table taking turns reading The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm together.  As I stood there listening to them share story after story and point out the pictures on the pages I was so happy that they were  sharing this time together.  It was amazing how much they remembered from going through the book with them even though it was several devotional books ago.

    However, at the same time I was convicted because it was a fast paced day and I hadn’t taken the time that morning to do my devotions.  God used my sweet girls to grab my attention and gently remind me of the importance of having quiet time each day.  How I chose to live my life has a ripple effect on my family and the people around me.  I am thankful for these quiet reminders.  I trust that God will continue to do a work in my life.

    We do devotions with the girls in the evenings before bed (most nights).  They always look forward to reading together.  Typically,  Jake will read them a chapter from a book we are going through together then I will do the devotional book with them.  If time is tight we just do the devotional book.  During the Holidays we were staying up too late so we would just pray with them before tucking them into bed at night.  We are excited to get back into the routine and see all the neat things that they will learn this year.