where's fall?

this happy guy came home with me
he and his twin brother that is
my mind is on fall
we've had some cool temps but i'm ready for more
i love this time of year
can't wait

drama

my girl came home tonight with a note from a friend saying she didn't want to be her friend any longer.

ugghhhh....

i need a parenting manual.
something to help me navigate tween and teenage girls and their feelings.

i get it, been there, done that.
i was even able to share some moments from my childhood that were similar.
it helped her.

big tears came.
big talk followed after.
i listen and try to see the other side of the story.

my advice came down to... "show love, to all at all times."
it's what Jesus would do.

so i will pray as i send her off into school tomorrow.
i pray this will all be a fading memory and friendships stay intact.

Lord Jesus, be with my girls and their friends.  let their hearts be true to each other. let them show love and kindness at all times.  let them be a strong support group.  lead them together, closer to you.  calm my girls heart, surround her with your presence.  create a pure heart in her and her friends.  help heal her tender heart.  thank you for sending the friends you have in their lives.  i pray blessings over each and everyone of them and their families.  amen,

so much has happened this summer

we've moved.
it happened.
we weren't planning on it however God made us aware it was needed.
we lived in the car more than our house in the big woods.
it was tiring and took its toll.
we prayed, purged, cleaned and put the house in the big woods on the market.
three weeks later it was sold.
we were amazed and somewhat ready for the next adventure.
the girls were reluctant to the change.
all they had known was the house in the big woods, oh the memories we had made there. wonderful memories.
moving day came. we had our final walk through.  we stopped and prayed. tears came pouring out of us. it was all so bittersweet.
we left and like a scene in a movie, we watched the house in the big woods fade as we drove away.
kind of surreal for all of us.

God had his hand in it all and now we are here getting settled.
there are still boxes to unpack and will be for awhile.
there is a honey do list a mile long.
but we're home and we're already seeing the benefits to living closer to all the things we do and love.
the girls still question the change at times but being able to decorate their new rooms has been a plus.
with each new box we open they feel more and more at home.
God brought us to the house in the little woods.
i'll share more as we go along. some of the things that made art and i fall in love with the house in the little woods.

for now, here's a glimpse.

i have 7 more days of 12

grace is almost 13.

almost.

i held art's one year old niece this weekend while we celebrated this and found  myself reminiscing.

she was once that size, my one year old with cute pigtails that shot straight out from her head because i pulled up whatever hair she had to create them.

she came out bald with a red birthmark on the back of her head you can't even find now.

she's changed so much and become quite the young lady i wished would never come.

i'm learning to be a mom of a teenage girl. 

it's not an easy journey for sure but she's worth it all.

love every ounce of her.

her freckles.

her smile.

her laugh.

i have 7 more days of 12 and i'm holding on to them tightly.

rut

(I penned this post in my head a couple of weeks ago, it's a part of documenting life, the good, the bad, the joy, the challenges. So here goes.)

Rut is a negative word.  Especially when it and marriage are in the same sentence.  This is the conclusion that Art and I came to one late, very tiring Saturday evening.  We both agreed we were there.

Before I go on let me say that Art and I are 100% committed to each other and 100% very much still in love.  Our conversation was started in the late hours when we were both frustrated with each other, with our busy lives.  We’ve known for a long time that things weren’t as they should be.  We talked, expressed things we needed to let out even it if meant hurting one another.  It was painful at times but also cleansing and at the end, we prayed together.  We laid there, in each other’s arms, putting our marriage into God’s hands.  We’d become so busy with things, with schedules, with commitments that we’d forgotten each other.

 My focus was the girls and the home.  Everything I did, I did for them and I got into a rut, thinking that was all I needed to do.  I felt alone at times.  I felt unappreciated and in a sense unloved.  We women need to be reminded every day we are cherished by our spouses, we need to hear it, feel it and see it displayed.  I am the type to REALLY NEED it.  When we were courting I had that butterflies in my belly feeling, the kind of feeling that is exciting and makes you swoon and blush at his smile.  I loved that feeling and I missed it.  24 years later, two kids, a dog, a house, commitments, jobs – here we are, that feeling a memory and not a reality with where we are at. 

Art needed me to be more attentive to him.  Sounds simple enough and it is.  We agreed that with both of us learning from this and putting into practice what we had learned we could rekindle a spark of our courting days.

We both saw how easily it is to wrap ourselves around our kids, our jobs, our home and loose sight of our commitment to each other.  We could understand how marriages fall apart easily because people drift apart.  We were scared somewhat of where we were headed but grateful God has brought us to a place of communication.

So now we are committed to some changes.

More date nights.  Not just dinner but new adventures, something fun for us to do together, no kids.

Appreciation.  Expressing it and showing it in little ways.

Affection.  It’s one of my big needs and it takes Art out of his comfort zone because he is Mr. No PDA J. However his love and commitment to me is stronger than his discomfort.   Affection does not have to be physical touch either.  It can be a sweet note, a text, phone call or even a simple gesture.

 

More fun time together as a family.  Yes, including the girls in this will not only strengthen our marriage but our family.  We also realized we have 7 Summer breaks left with Grace (before college), that’s scary.  We need to connect with them. 

Busy-ness.  Something has to give.  We need to let go of some things.  That goes not only for the girls but Art and I.  When Fall comes we will be extra careful to abide by this one and not be swept away.

Pray together.  I have felt closest to Art when we pray together.  It is intimacy in a way we both need. 

Make God the Center of our marriage.  Yes we all know this but how often do we live it.  I don’t know about you but we tend to want the control when God is working.  We need to let him lead in all we do.

We are not perfect and we have proven that.  Marriage is hard work.  It’s ongoing and needs refreshment.  I love my guy and can’t imagine life without him.  I’m glad he’s with me on this journey.

  

what do you do while...

your sister has volleyball camp?

Do a hand stand while making a silly face.

Go window shopping at Home Goods.

{we both agreed this mask was creepy}

Have your Mom take pictures of a blinged out puppy.

and of course, tablet time.

what have I been up to?

I feel like the question should be what haven't I been doing since April 1st!

I've been documenting life via instagram.

I will spare you with the picture details since I will get my April and May layout done someday soon.

Here's the highlights though:

Easter parties at school
Hikes down the ravine (our back yard) to Grace and Sarah's secret spot
Easter egg hunts
Restart - new theme introduced at church
New job - more on that later
New swimsuits from the Easter bunny
Lots of exercise at the gym
Time at our lake getting the boat in the water
Cardinal season beginning
Power green smoothies
Spring break
St. Louis Zoo - penguins and sea lions
Perfecting my egg in a nest breakfast
Lots if rain
Storms - overnight guests in our room
First trip to Sugar Fire BBQ
Trip to gluten free bakery
Starting a garden
Spring blooms
Sarah turns 9!
Barbie makes a visit to yoga with me
New apple cider vinegar drink found
Sarah's school Spring musical
Painting patio furniture
Pool is open!
Pollen
Busy Tuesdays
Yoga
Healthy lunches at Sams (not)
Car full of groceries
Grace and Sarah performing at LHS Music Festival
5th grade D.A.R.E. graduation
Broken glass
Gluten free cupcakes
Birthday sleepover
Birthday girl celebration
Irises blooming
Creating, collaborating on fun ideas at work
Arkansas
Hannah's graduation
Mothers Day
Barbells
Strep
Wafflecakes
Last SCCYO performance by Grace
Amerikids performance at church
Last day of school - here we come 4th and 6th grade
Lazy days outside
Pool time
Sickness, like the yuckies sick
Car shopping
Car trade in
Car purchase
First batch of strawberries
Finding more green smoothie recipes
Cleaning out/organizing spaces at work
Swinging at Sams Club
Beautiful, brilliant blooms
Aly's graduation
Summer Library program
You Rock - Grace Marie is moving up at church
Serious shopping
Fruit yummies
New breakfast omelet
Dead battery
Plants/herbs

and as of today....

Volleyball Camp

And we are current.

Summer is here.  Swimsuits purchased.  Warm temps. Grilling.  Eating fresh from the garden.  Slower schedules.  Sleeping in.  Enjoying life.

outdoor orchestra

Grace moved her violin practice out onto the deck.

Not sure why?

Maybe to connect with nature?

When I asked her why she said, "why not?" 

I guess I can't argue with that logic.

Her playing caused a stir with the dogs but other than that it sounded great.

Love my girl and this picture.

i caved

and brought some Fall into the house.
I told myself I wouldn't until October 1st but the weather has put me in mood.

I am loving the scent of my house right now.

:)

day 27 & 28 combined (two for one)

self portrait and black and white...

{basically me, no makeup, in front of a mirror with the camera}

*I really dislike selfies*

momma kathleen's ultimate

I may have shared this in the past.
Can't find it if I have but this is my mom's recipe for chocolate chip cookies.
They are the ultimate.
Through the years I've made very few changes to it because they are perfect.
Every time.
Perfect.

So here's a change I made a couple of months ago.
Instead of using my stone I purchased these pans from Sams.
They are larger than my stone which means I get more cookies on them.
Less baking time.
I line them with parchment paper.
Clean up is easy {yay}.
It's a win-win.

The dough.
My weakness.
My kryptonit.
I can pass up any store bought version of this dough but not the homemade.
This is not good since I've gone sugar free. :(

Another change...
chocolate chunks instead of chips.
Their chunks!!
Enough said.

Bliss on a cookie sheet.
These will not last long if left out, so to the freezer they go.

Okay, I'll keep out a few :) for the fam.

It's a great recipe.
I'm not sure if I like it because they are consistent in how they turn out {YUMMY!} or that it's my mom's recipe...

My mom, definitely my mom.

Momma Kathleen's Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup butter, softened (1-1/2 sticks)

3/4 cup of sugar

3/4 cup of brown sugar

2 large eggs

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla

2-1/4 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 pkg. semisweet chocolate chunks (or chips)

*beat butter and sugars until creamy *add eggs and vanilla *whisk together flour, soda and salt and gradually add dry mixture to butter mixture, beating well * stir in chocolate chunks *bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes for soft cookies {my preference} or 14 for crispy.

ENJOY!!

dewy kind of morning and odb

It's cool out.

Feels like fall.

We had rain in the night and now everything is covered in a dew.

So pretty.

Truman and I took a walk.

These are mornings I enjoy.

No chaos getting the girls out the door.

No drama.

Lots of hugs and kisses.

The weather is alot like my morning in how the rain and cooler temperatures are kissing the plants.
Leaving them glistening.

 I feel so blessed to be able to enjoy it.

My ODB for the day {Our Daily Bread}

I'm finding my devotion time is much better once the girls are out the door and things are quiet.

I liked this mornings devo, I bookmarked it.

'As God becomes our sanctuary, we'll more readily turn our hearts toward Him in prayer.'

I tend to lean towards the side of me that wants to control the situation, instead of stopping and praying, laying it down at his feet.

I stumble on my words in prayer which used to bother me. 

I guess I felt I needed to sound eloquent. {HA!}

God must have been up in heaven shaking his head at me (lovingly) and giggling at that.

He knows my thoughts, he doesn't need to be impressed.

He loves me and my words as they are.

Mostly simple and clumsy.

I know he wants me to come to him, as I am.

I know he is my sanctuary.

Imperfect, simple, clumsy Nyla needs to live this way.

Everyday.

When You said, "Seek My face," my heart said to You, "Your face, Lord, I will seek." - Psalm 27:8

turning eleven

Grace turned 11.

What happened to my baby?

I love this age but I also get a lump in my throat at how much she's changed this past year.

So many changes, too fast for me to keep up with.

We made her day special.

Making her the breakfast she asked for.

She's into bagels and cream cheese.

So with that, banana and sausage we created a happy face.

This was her first set of candles to blow out.

We gave her most of her gifts.
Nail polish, volleyball clothes, new flip flop slippers, violin wall hanger and a stuffed owl made her list.

This was the real gift.
A sleepover with 6 of her BFF's.
We had a great time.
Even Art and I.
These girls are so great.
So easy going.
They truly like each other and there was no drama.
Ahhhh.... bliss.

They loved the props.

Oh my girl.

Truman got in on the fun, even if he didn't want it.
He was a big hit, these girls love our dog.

We crafted with paint, tape and each had a canvas.
{Thank you pinterest for the great idea.}
It was a hit.
I love how they all made them their own, unique like each girl.

Grace requested my ice cream cake complete with Jojo crust and crumbles throughout.
It was a hit and another set of candles she blew out.

We played flashlight hide and seek.
Art went around scaring the girls which they LOVED.
He enjoyed it too much :).
Oh the screams!
It's one of the perks of being a dad to girls.

We painted our nails, minus Art.
Again, each girl was unique in their choices and style.

We ended our night watching Rio 2.
Gotta have a movie to calm down the masses :).
It worked like a charm, they were out by 12:30.

This poor guy was tuckered out from all the love and attention he received.
Poor pooch.

Overall a great evening, celebrating 11 years of Grace.
This one will be talked about for a long time :).

a little bit of halloween {ick}

A little bit of halloween has entered our house and all I have to say about it is, IICKKKK!

I am not a fan of candy corn in any shape or form.

Talk about your sugar overload.

This magically appeared Saturday afternoon.

Hmmm.....

first game

Oh boy was my girl ready for her first game.

She just kept asking and asking if it time to go?

I love her enthusiasm but with that comes chatty, hyper Grace.

She didn't stop talking until she was in the game, concentrating :).

Friends from church came to support her which meant alot.

Man did she shine.

All the girls did.

This team has been together since last year, playing on a YMCA team until now.

Now it's serious :).

They are representing their school.

Her teammates.
She is tied for being the smallest on the team.
But what she lacks in height she makes up for in speed and spunk.
She loves to dive for the balls.
She's gone through two sets of knee pads already.

She also loves being the setter.
She takes it very seriously.

Art and I are proud.
The Eagles didn't win this day but it's okay.
They gave it their best and that's what counts.

Go Eagles!
Go Grace!

looks like someone....

is ready for her first volleyball game.

I found this in the fridge this morning, ready to go...

invasion of the strawberries

Our garden is done for the year.

We kind of took it down because of a pesky critter who came in and ate/tore into our green beans and tomatoes.

Art was not happy.

Neither was I.

They joys of gardening out in the boonies.

Next year we'll get them though!

2 words...

Electric Fence!

I told you Art was not happy, he's already planning.

Beware critters.

You have been warned.

One thing that has remained untouched is the box with strawberry plants in it.

They are flourishing.

That's one of them growing out the hole Art drilled for irrigation!

They are starting to encroach upon the yard.

We're going to have to do some major cutting back or expansion of some kind.

We had a great crop this Summer so this must mean I will be making even more freezer jelly next year, right?!?

bake day

I'm getting into my own routine here at home.
Still tweaking it a bit.

I've made Monday or Tuesday my baking day.

At the end of the school year in May my girls were really tired of the same lunches, mostly sandwiches.
I have to admit I got in a rut and started making the same thing, day in and day out with a few changes in lunch meat etc...
Over the summer I pinned some new lunch ideas and little by little I am trying them out.

You've seen the cute corn dog muffins right?
Well Grace wasn't super crazy about them, Sarah enjoyed them.
I decided if I was going to put my time into making lunches different, both girls had to like the outcome.
So the corn dog muffin recipe goes to the back of this list.
Trial and error.

I made these pancake muffins today but instead of using chocolate chips I put in turkey breakfast sausage.

Into the freezer they went.

My girls love all things pancakes and when you add sausage, you can't go wrong.
They are to be served with syrup which I will probably omit (sounds very messy at school).
I tried one myself as is and enjoyed.
I'm hoping the girls do too.

I had the oven on so my mind went to another recipe I've made for lunches that I know are hit.
Pizza muffins.

Recipe is here.
I left out the meat to save on money and we that we are cutting back.
I give them pizza sauce to dip and they are happy.

Lunches for Wednesday and Thursday are taken care of so that means Friday... a sandwich again :).

one of these days...

I will look up the name to this flower.

I bet my dad would know.
They are blooming like crazy out our way.
They all sit at the edge of the woods or they cover an empty field.
So beautiful when they are in big groups.
Makes me think Fall.

remembering

This weekend we went as a family and picked out two trees in memory of Art's dad, Paul.
We received this gift from my family and I can't think of a better way to honor someone than planting a living tree to help us remember them by.
The girls really got into it, looking at each tree carefully.
We wanted the best :).

For the front yard we chose a birch.
We've always liked birch trees and wanted one for a long time.
We purchased the flag to help honor Paul as well.
Seemed fitting.

We picked out an evergreen for the back yard.
It's near the kids play area/pool.
We want to purchase red, white and blue lights to put on this.
The girls of course thought that was a PERFECT idea since they can see it from the house.

I love this idea.
Love how it helps us keep his memory alive.

Thank you to my family.
Love you.