Newly Married Fellowship Reunion Pictures

Everyone was concerned about Emma....she was so tired!

Dacia Grace (3 1/2), Jaden (almost 2)
Brett (6 months) and Emma (10 months)

Here they are just chillin'

Five years ago this summer about twelve couples started on the journey of marriage. Once married all of us joined the newly married fellowship. None of the couples knew each other but we soon became friends as we met for a year and were discipled by two of the neatest couples in the world....Chris and Amy McReynolds and Tom and Alicia Moore. Over the five years about six of the couples have stayed close friends. In mid-July we gathered one afternoon at the home of Kim and Jamie for a reunion. Here are our kiddos.....not everyone was able to be there but what a blessing these kiddos are to each of us!

Beauty and the Letters

Here is our little Beauty playing with the letterboard that was mine when I was a little older than she is now. She loves to play dress up....currently her favorite is Belle. I found this dress at Value Village for 99 cents! Actually it was more but I would not pay for it and when the manager heard me talking to Dacia Grace, she lowered the price! Wonder why I am such a loyal custormer.

My Little Helper

I have the sweetest little girl....she is a gem! Recently we have been watching her little servant heart grow and grow. Here are just a few of the precious moments from this last month.

I will do the laundry, Mommy!

When I am done here, do you want me to BBQ, too?

Notice she is standing on a small stool and reach the sink!

When did my little baby grow up?

So happy to be washing dishes with and for Mommy!

"Reading" the directions for Mac-n-Cheese to Mommy.

Time to add the cheese!

Peas!

Early in July I purchased some English Peas from the local produce stand. Dacia Grace was very excited to learn how to shell peas. She sat on the counter and shelled peas for about 30 minutes or so. I told her about growing up in St. Louis on "the farm" and shelling peas under the apple trees with my brothers and sister or down in the basement when it was too cold and rainy outside. Growing up we would shoot peas at each other until our Mom would finally call a halt to it.....so Dacia Grace had to try shooting some peas as well. She did a fine job of that as well! She has a good eye for throwing anything...including peas!

Fanno Lodge Has Been Invaded!!!!!!!!!!!

By a bookworm! Dacia Grace is a true book worm and has been since she was about nine months old. She loves her books. A trip to the library is a weekly event. We live just 1/2 mile from our local library....this was one of the HUGE selling points when we bought our house last summer.

When I was a little girl every summer was filled with the local library's reading program. It was a much anticipated time for me. The summer between second and third grade I read over 150 biographies. I still remember reading those and enjoying my "quiet time" in the hot St. Louis afternoons reading in my room by a fan.

I knew that I wanted Dacia Grace to enjoy the summer reading program as well but thought that I would need to wait until she was able to read. Not so. They now have summer reading programs for even the littlest of "readers"...i.e. babies. The prize is a new free book. The parents or the child chose a goal for the summer and they read aloud to achieve the goal.

Well this year, I asked Dacia Grace how many books she would like to read. Her response was so unusual.....I want to read this many Mommy! as she held her hand up to above her head. YEP! She wants to read a stack of books that is as tall as she is! We actually have to wait until the end of the program or until her book stack reaches her height to find out just how many books that will entail. Currently we have read almost 60 books! For a 3 1/2 year old....that's a lot of books!

Currently her favorite book is Oops a Daisy by Claire Freedman. If you have not read the book, stop by the children's section of your local library to take a peak. It is quite cute!

Fish Chowder!!!!

Last night I made a wonderful Fish Chowder.....that is quite economical....you can use whatever you have on hand for the veggies AND a can or two of tuna. I used some "fresh fish" that I had frozen several months ago.....I knew its taste would be sort of flat so I just steamed the fish and added it to the chowder.....so Yummy!

Potato Tuna Chowder (Fish Chowder)
Serves 4 - 6 people

2 1/2 c diced potatoes (divided)
2 c chicken or veggie stock
2 T finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sage
1/4 tsp paprika
Dash of white pepper
1/2 c sliced carrots
1/2 c green beans, cut into pieces
1/2 c sliced celery
3 c milk
1 (6 1/2 oz) can tuna fish, drained and broken into chunks.

1.) Combine 1 c potatoes, chicken stock, onion and salt in large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.
2.) Add sage, paprika and pepper to saucepan; with fork, mash potatoes in saucepan.
3.) Add remaining potatoes, carrots, green beans, celery, and milk to mashed potatoes in saucepan; bring to a boil, then immediately reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until veggies are tender.
4.) Add fish to saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes, until well heated. Serve at once.

That is the recipe as listed in the book. Now here are my modifications/notes:

1.) Used one medium to large sized Yukon Gold potato.
2.) Since I had no Sage or White Pepper on hand, I used Summer Savory, Oregano, Basil, Marjoram and Black Pepper.
3.) While the potatoes were cooking, I steamed my fish by placing it in a shallow frying pan on a rack and adding some water, fish sauce, garlic and fresh grated ginger. Steamed until fish flaked. Took out and let it cool.
4.) No green beans on hand so I threw in some fresh asparagus, broken, some sliced mushrooms, fresh chopped parsley (coarsely chopped).
5.) Served with grated colby and a Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad.

There are many possibilities with this recipe. You can use any canned fish or oysters that you can find on sale. You can use whatever fresh veggies you have on hand or use some frozen veggies. Don't be limited by what the recipe says....use what you have on hand..... This can be quite economically ladies!

Original recipe from Creative Cooking: Fish and Other Seafood. Ottenheimer Publishers, Inc. 1992. Page 18.

Cheer Hero!

Love the Dacia-isms that come my way on a daily basis....

After catching a floating balloon, Dacia asked me "Am I your cheer hero?!"

What a great word. We should all use cheer hero. It combines the best of two wonderful words.....cheerleader and hero. I pray that as her mommy and as Arthur's wife, I will be their number #1 cheer hero!

Side note: Please keep me in your prayers as I am battling a nasty, nasty cold! Hence no pictures or updates about our vacation. Just trying to keep my family feed and taken care of on a daily basis is a huge challenge!