Saturday, September 26, 2009

Benjamin Funnies

I went to Home Depot today with Benjamin and when we walked in, they had all their Christmas decorations out. As a side note, that's just a bit early don't ya think? Anyway, Benjamin got all excited and called out "Noah, Noah!" He has not yet learned who Santa is and well, I didn't have the heart to correct him. So, Noah it is for now.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Our Ice Cream Boy

A couple of weeks ago, I experimented with a mint ice cream recipe I found and used a new sugar substitute I recently found called Just Like Sugar. It was my attempt to create my favorite dessert without it being quite so bad for us. The ice cream was pretty good, although not amazing, but Benjamin LOVED it! So much in fact that he spread it all over himself and decided he could get more in his mouth if he used his hands. Mmmmmm. Yummyness!!!





Thursday, September 24, 2009

Family Movie Night

For the past couple of Sunday night family movie nights, we have watched Finding Nemo with Benjamin. He loves it! He also loves eating popcorn while watching and apparently loves to wear his popcorn bowl as a hat.



Wednesday, September 23, 2009

A Precious Naptime Moment

I was laying in Benjamin's bed this afternoon before his nap and we were just talking about this and that. Then he kept saying "go supper." I kept repeating it after him and he kept looking at me like "what are you talking about?" We always say dinner rather than supper, so I really couldn't figure him out, but he kept on repeating it. Finally he said, "go supper, sheep." I said "Oh, the shepherd takes care of the sheep?" He said, "yeah, good shepherd, sheep, ummmm, MOPS, ummmm, cookies, ummmm, Good Shepherd." I asked him if he learned that God is our shepherd when he was at MOPS yesterday and he said yeah. Amazing. Tears came into my eyes as I realized that he is truly beginning to remember and comprehend what he learns about the Lord. So precious! I'm so thankful for a church where what we are teaching him at home is being reinforced.

Oh yes, and he loves the cookies at MOPS too!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Labor Day Weekend Part 2

Can we just say that I'm a bit behind on the blog thing? It's been a very busy month both with Benjamin's daily activeness and with Matt in the last month of studying for CPA. Needless to say, we are more than ready for the test to be over and for things to slow down a bit at least for a while.

So, two and a half weeks ago, we decided to make a day trip to the beach. Well, more like an afternoon trip. We left after church and returned home around 11 pm. It was a crazy tiring day, but we couldn't have asked for better weather. Last year we went on Labor Day and there was a hurricane on it's way, which made for super hot air and very choppy waves. The beach was also pretty dirty and we came home covered in tar. This year though, the beach was perfect! The air was warm, but not too hot, the water was oh so comfortably warm without too many floaty things that usually make me squeamish about swimming, and the sand was relatively clean and tar free. And, the waves were just right for Benjamin to play in. Also in contrast to last year, Benjamin LOVED the ocean and called it a waterpark. I told him it was God's waterpark. Last year he would not go near it and hated even the feel of the sand against his feet. This year, he was totally fearless, which was so much fun to watch, and of course meant we had to keep our eagle eyes on him at all times. Overall, it was a great trip and I got to do one of my very favorite things and watch the sunset while listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the sand.
Family Shot
Look at that sunscreen hair!
first steps into the water
He loved to jump and then land bottom first in the middle of a wave
Playing with Daddy in the water




Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Benjamin Funnies

Last week Benjamin and I had some dried figs for a snack and he loved them and said "mmmm, pigs." I figured he was just mispronouncing them and didn't really think they were pigs. Yesterday I got them out again and he said "oinks, please oinks." Guess he really did think they were pigs. Silly boy!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Labor Day Weekend Part 1

I love long weekends. Sometime they seem even more relaxing than having a week of vacation because we rarely plan to do anything big. We did go to the beach this year for one day, but other than that, we relaxed and enjoyed some good family time.
Helping Daddy make pancakes
Getting a little too excited about eating the pancakes and deciding to see if flour tastes good. It does not!
OK, I know I look like a crazy woman in this picture, and yes, I'm still in my PJ's, but Benjamin loves it when I dance with him and I couldn't not post it just because I was embarrassed about myself.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Sugar Free Apple Pie

Well, this week in Texas we have had several days where the temperature didn't get above 95 and the evenings were finally cool enough to enjoy going for a walk. Which for this Hoosier girl who's used to MUCH cooler temperatures this time of year, makes me long for fall. I had to light a cinnamon candle and I got in the mood for apple pie. So I came up with a very simple recipe for some very yummy apple pie. It's definitely more tart than your typical apple pie, but since I love tart flavors, it works well for me.

Sugar Free Apple Pie
3 large apples that are crisp and tart, peeled and sliced into small pieces - I used Paula Reds, which I've never had before, but which were delicious!
2 T lemon juice sprinkled over the apples
2 1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t allspice
2 1/2 T unbleached white flour
2 1/2 Tablespoons apple juice concentrate

Combine all ingredients together and set aside.

Crust:
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c very cold butter
5-6 T of very cold water

Blend flour and butter with a pastry cutter until coarsely crumbled. Add water a few tablespoons at a time just until the crust begins to come together enough to form a ball. Place ball in the the fridge for 15 minutes. Then place it between two sheets of parchment paper and roll thin. Place the whole thing in the freezer for about 5 minutes. Then place the crust in a dish of your choice. I used a Pyrex round dish because I wanted my crust to fold over the apples. You could just use a regular pie dish and rather than trimming the edges around the dish, just fold the excess in over the top of your pie.

Once you have your crust in your dish, spoon the apple mixture in and bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes, or until the crust is done and the apples are soft. Top with a generous dollop of unsweetened whipped cream. Mmmmmm!

Benjamin sure enjoyed his pie!!!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Benjamin Funnies

I asked Benjamin this afternoon if he had the hiccups and he said "yeah, pickups."

Then, a few minutes later, he saw our bottle of hydrogen peroxide which I used to clean a cut he had the other day and he pointed to it and said "owie, owie." I said "yep, I used that to clean your cut the other day so it wouldn't get infected." He said "infested." Incidentally, the cut got neither infected nor infested. :)