FHE

Tonight for FHE (Family Home Evening) we discussed the 13th Article of Faith which states:

"We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."

I talked about the different kinds of arts that enrich our lives; painting, sculpture, music, literature, acting, etc.

So, I decided we should produce our own art so I picked up some canvases, busted out the paint and paint brushes and we painted.

Here's what we consider to be "anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy"

Our art studio



Todd's rendition of Abby's betta fish, Spikes

Sam's rendition of Todd (??)

Abby's rendition of a dolphin witnessing the first fall leaves (??)

My rendition of fall leaves

Not sure these will qualify as lovely, of good report much less praiseworthy but we had fun!

Service Sunday

Months go by so fast! Here are again on the 3rd Sunday of the month, our Service Sunday.

This month, I decided to do something a bit bigger and more involved and since it was more involved, I asked a couple of friends if their families would like to join. Thankfully they said yes.

I wanted to go visit our local shelter for women who have experienced domestic violence. Here in Douglasville it's call The SHARE House. I made contact with the director and today we made our visit.

Jennifer & I did some shopping.

Coloring books, markers, bubbles, puzzles, books
play-doh, glo sticks, etc.




Movie treats

For the moms, nail polish, socks, combs, shower gel, lotion, nail files

We also took Abby's old dress-up Princess dresses

We also donated a bunch of women's clothes as well.

We also each took some homemade treats-cupcakes, cookies & rice krispie treats.

We arrived at 4pm, not really knowing what we would do or how many people would be there. The sad part is that our husbands couldn't join us but they were there in spirit.

There were 3 moms there and 2 kids. Our kids played with the 10 year old boy the the 14 month old girl. They read stories and played games. Us girls sat at the table chatting with the 3 moms. One was pregnant with baby #2 and is so sick that she has a picc line. Another mom is 20 and has 14 month old twins. Another was a grandmother. We didn't get into their specific situations but these were sweet and faithful women who only want what's best for their little families.

They were so fun to watch as they went through the baskets and chose stuff. Who knew a little nail polish would brighten their day.

We thanked them for their example of strength & courage.

We also counted our many blessings.

Thanks to J.M. & kids and C.C. and kids.

"Do you, take this dog..."

A few weeks back, Abby spent the night with her cousins, Ava & Elizabeth. Ava & Elizabeth have two dogs, Speck (male) and Peanut (female) so it was decided that the two dogs should get married. Let the planning begin!

The girls spent a couple of weekends together to plan the event and it took place yesterday.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Ava (the mother of the bride & groom) wore a lovely white dress with green & yellow. The bridesmaids had matching dresses & the all got their nails done (like all good bridesmaids do), they prepared food, had a cake, a photographer (Todd aka Uncle Jumbo), a videographer (Aunt Kimmy), groomsman (Larry aka Dad) & the officiator (Lisa aka Mom). There were also several other invited guests-The Pratts and Claire.

The wedding went off perfectly. You couldn't have asked for better weather. The food was delicious-guacamole, chips, hummus, pita chips, cookies, salad, basil rolls and of course wedding cake.

The bride & groom are looking forward to a lifetime of love!





The officiator & wedding party



The girls

9/11/2010

We had yet another busy Saturday!

Sam participated in the Harrison Tennis Center's
Skills Tournament.

They practice basic tennis skills: forehand, backhand, serve and combo.

Sam does quite well and always has a good time.

Sam & his coach, Mr. Jim

We then went to Marietta Fire Station #56 to take some cookies to thank them for being HEROs to us. This is Todd's childhood friend, Kevin.

We then went to Derek's Diner for breakfast/lunch

Drinking hot cocoa in 90 degrees

Ava spent the night with us so we had s'mores

Happy girls!

Lunch & Dinner

Just a couple of my favs...


Avocado with sprouts on toast

This is one meal where I usually have the ingredients on hand and it is easy to make and delish!

Corn Cakes with Black Beans

1 can black beans
1/2 c. corn (frozen or canned)
2 tsp. chili powder, divided
2/3 c. corn meal
2 Tbl. flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper, to taste
1 egg
3 Tbl. melted butter
1 c. buttermilk
sour cream
salsa
cilantro

Slightly drain can of black beans, retaining some liquid. Add 1 tsp. chili pepper. Heat.

In bowl, mix cornmeal, flour, soda, salt, pepper to taste & 1 tsp. chili powder.
In another bowl, whisk together the butter, buttermilk & egg. Mix the liquid into the dry ingredients until just blended. Fold in corn.

Fry up just like a pancake. Top with black beans, sour cream, salsa & cilantro.

Delish!

Labor Day

We had a pretty mild Labor Day...

slept in until 9am
Sam & I went for a walk/run at the soccer field
Abby had a sleepover at Ava & Ellie's

We met up at Paolo's Gelato to pick up Abby and get a treat

Abby, Ava & Peanut



We then went to Piedmont Park

Todd decided that since it was Labor Day we had to grill something so I picked up some Hebrew Nationals (Todd's Jewish you know), had grilled veggies, tater tots, salad and to top it off:

My newest ice cream attempt:

Coconut Lime Ice Cream
quite tasty!

The end of summer has officially come.

Boo Hoo!