Home Canned Salsa and Diced Tomatoes...

Last Friday, while Trey was tuning pianos near Ryan and Amanda, I was able to spend a little time helping the nesting mother. We accomplished a lot and had a wonderful visit! Justus was a joy to spend time with, (although, he was very disturbed upon seeing me put the baby gate up in preparation to mop the kitchen floor.:0) He very seriously went and told mamma all about it. After explaining to him that the floor was dirty and we where going to make it all clean, he contentedly waited nearby. Upon seeing the freshly mopped floor, he declared, "All clean!"

Justus loves to have books read to him and has several memorized. I was quite surprised when he sat through all of Green Eggs and Ham. Amanda said it was the first time he had made it through the book without having large pieces omitted.

What a fun time we had all together!

Amanda blessed me with the excess of her garden, by giving me two nice sized boxes of tomatoes! Upon seeing them Trey's eyes lit up and he said, "Oh, do you think we could make salsa out of them?" He LOVES homemade salsa! 

A few days passed before I had a chance to process them, but soon all those plump tomatoes became salsa and diced tomatoes! There were 10 pints of salsa and 7 pints of diced tomatoes. Trey was like a kid on Christmas day!

Thank you Amanda!

Awaiting the Arrival of our new Nephew/Niece!

Our dear sister Amanda is due to deliver her second child any day now! We are all so excited to meet the newest member of the Cox family!

Last Sunday afternoon we had the opportunity to visit with Ryan, Amanda and Justus for a few hours. I took what may have been my last chance to snap a few pictures of her.

 What a beautiful mother she is! There seems to always be an air of elegance surrounding her. (Even when she was swinging a baseball bat last weekend at our family baseball game! Oh, to have had my camera with me then!)

 We pray that she will have a safe delivery and a healthy baby!

Nephews...

We have the privilege of having 7 nephews, 2 nieces, 1 baby on the way and everyone is just getting started! Oh, Yeah!!! I'll say God's been BLESSING!

I can't wait until Trey and I have a little one of our own! But that is a story for another day...

Nephews...they're crazy, wonderful, lovable, sweet, sincere, hilarious...I could go on! The sad thing is, we don't get to see them nearly often enough, seeing as how the closest lives 2 hours away and the others are 6 hours away. =0( We make the best of the times we do have together, though. 

Recently Becky, my sister ''in-love' posted on Facebook such a funny conversation with her boys that I just had to share it!

We're eating dinner and Levi says "Bub (Josh) loves Meghan."

Becky- "Meghan? Who is Meghan?" 

Bubby- "At Connie's house mom! You know her!" 

Becky- "Ohhh, that Meghan! You love her, Bub?" 

Bubby- "Yeah, we're getting married. We went to her party and she had on a pretty dress. I like her!" 

Becky- "Don't you think she's a little old for you?" 

Bubby- "Nah, I'm getting ready to grow up."

I can't help but laugh, at some of the things they say! Children are such Blessings!!!

Enjoying a Peaceful Autumn Day...

Ahhh.... Autumn is here! I enjoy every season, but since moving to Southern Illinois I have come to appreciate Autumn so much more!

 While visiting in Ohio this summer, my Mamaw presented Trey and I with these two lovely crochet afghans! One is a beautiful sage green and the other is the color of goldenrod.

From the moment I received them I have been itching to curl up in one on a cozy afternoon. Cooler days have arrived and now...

Ahhh...So Cozy!

Thank you Mamaw!

"Trim Healthy Mama!" Has arrived!!!

Several weeks ago a package arrived in the mail, brought in from the mailbox by my Trey.

What could it possibly be???

Trey's mischievous smile gave away the fact that he already knew what it was.

With great anticipation, I tore open the packages to reveal:

How To Encourage Your Husband and How to Encourage Your Children from Above Rubies

Breastfeeding and Fertility from Above Rubies

and

The Fly Lady's Calendar and Sticker Kit which can be found here ~ http://shop.flylady.net/pages/FlyShop_calendar.asp

What a Surprise!!! I have a wonderful, wonderful, Husband, as you can see!

With disappointment in his eyes Trey informed me that there was one more item, which hadn't been shipped.

"Trim, Healthy Mama!" from Above Rubies, the book I had soooo wanted!!!

I was instantly jumping around the room and I have been waiting patiently until today. It has finally arrived!!!

I Devoured "Breastfeeding and Fertility",  learning so much about breastfeeding and mothering! I Highly recommend it to anyone who is married, has children, hopes to have children, or simply interested in learning something new! 

"How To Encourage Your Husband" is a book full of great ideas to encourage your man! After you've read it you will find yourself constantly thinking of ways to encourage and bless your husband. I actually copied down some of my favorite ideas from the book, adding my own as well. It makes a handy reference, when my creative idea well runs dry!

I have not finished "How To Encourage Your Children", but it looks very good.

(Trey accidentally got me the student version of the calendar, so it came with stickers like, "Upcoming Test!", hee, hee! But, you know what? It doesn't really matter, it is the thought that counts!)

~Clair M.

Happy Fall Y'all!

I know we are a few days late, but...

Happy Fall Y'all!

Our Sunday Afternoon Excursion

This past Sunday after an encouraging worship service, we took a drive through the country down to the Shawnee National forest.

With a basket containing some tasty morsels, our camera, and my crochet basket, (just in case :0) we set off for an afternoon adventure!

It was a beautiful, crisp afternoon, with just enough warmth to leave our jackets behind.

We started our fun with what we call a 'Course Meal'. A course meal is where every course comes from someplace different. Passing Arby's I looked entreating at Trey, thus our first course was a Jr. Ham and Cheddar. We then pulled into the nearby Huck's gas station for gas and drinks. Trey knew exactly what he wanted and filled his cup with Mountain Dew, and after much deliberation (and nearly three whole minutes!) I settled for Raspberry Sweet Tea.

As we pulled out of Huck's Trey spotted a sign at Dairy Queen advertising buy one get one free blizzards! It wasn't at all time for the next course, but would you have passed up a deal like that? No, I didn't think you would have. So with childish glee we continued down the road with Trey's yummy "Double Chocolate Cookie Dough" and my delicious "Pumpkin Pie" treats!

It wasn't long before we found the perfect spot to eat the bread and cheese that I had packed and to take a few pictures!

I seized my photo opportunity with my husband!

The tunic sweater I am wearing is one that I finished  crocheting  last week! Being a very simple pattern it did not take long to complete. It was my  first successfully  completed garment for myself!

Isn't he handsome?

Okay, we had to have a few silly ones, right?

I'm really pretty strong, you know...

Here are the remains of a house that was built into the side of the cliff.

After driving in circles for a few hours, without finding the place we were looking for, yet enjoying the scenic drive all along the way, we did stop at the beautiful One Horse Gap Lake.

I'm stand among the knees of a Cypress tree!

After driving a little further we found this...

It was amazing to see how truly large the cut stones  were!

After enjoying what was to be seen there, we drove on down the road to Ox Lot Cave.

This photo was a little blurry, so I edited it and it looks like an enchanted forest! 

Ox Lot Cave
(It was actually bigger than it looks in this photo.)

The spring inside Ox Lot Cave where the loggers watered their Oxen in the 1930's. 

We enjoyed hiking and spending an afternoon together and felt ready to tackle the new week!

~Clair M.

Welcome to "We Will Sing a New Song" Blog!

Every life is like a song. Some are beautiful arrangements, while others seem carelessly thrown together. In Psalm 98 it says, "Oh, sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonderful things!" 

Our lives were once separate, but now we are one and we have become a new song! We want our life to be a Joyful song of praise to our Heavenly Father and a blessing to those around us. 

We like to think of it this way; God is the Grand Staff.

Trey is the Base (or low) notes, I am the Treble (or high) notes, and our children will be all the notes in between.

At times we may sound like a bunch of pounding, but knowing the two of us it will be an ever changing melody, with lots of crescendos and diminuendos!

Our song has already begun and as it continues we pray that it blesses you!