Apple Pie

Today I took the kids to Apple Town in Lincoln, Arkansas. They have been growing and selling apples for years. In fact, I remember going there when I was a little girl. We didn't just buy apples, but we also bought apple butter, and apple cider. Of course, the first thing I had to do when we got home was make an apple pie. Who do I turn to when I want to make something really yummy? Well, Paula Deen of course! I have several of her cookbooks, and I knew that at least one of them would have an apple pie recipe. I found the recipe and made the best apple pie that I have ever eaten. I will admit, though, I didn't make the crust. The dough boy helped me out on that one. The kids also had fun playing with the pumpkins.

Kirk managed to swipe an apple when I wasn't looking. Thankfully, they said he could have it!

Aubrie had fun looking at the big pumpkins.

Fun day!

Pop's Cabin

Perched on the side of a mountain, deep in the woods in Northwest Arkansas, sits Pop's Cabin. It started with a dream to have a quaint cabin to escape to and "get away from it all." The land is rugged and the location is far from civilization. However, that is what makes it so perfect. The only other living things that can be seen while at the cabin are deer, squirrels, and maybe the occasional bear. The exterior of the cabin is made from old barn wood and tin. It is the perfect location to be when you just want to escape the hustle and bustle of life. Who doesn't want to do that from time to time? Even though the land is primitive, the cabin has a cozy, comfortable feel to it that draws you in and keeps you coming back. The dream of the cabin belonged to my dad. He placed the cabin on the same mountain that provided a home to his father, grandfather, and great grandfather many, many years ago. His ancestors put their blood, sweat and tears into the same mountain when they homesteaded there so many years before. Now it was his turn to do the same. He put his heart into building this cabin, for he built it with his own two hands. So much love has gone into this project, and to say that he is proud of it would be an understatement. Here are some pictures to show the cabin from start to finish.

This is the view out the front door of the cabin.

The beginning of the cabin.

The sign above the door that my mom made. Pops is what Aubrie calls my dad.

A close view of the porch and some of the old tin used to cover part of the cabin.

Pops with Kirk and Aubrie.

This is the "road" leading up to the cabin.

A picture of the inside of the cabin.

The wood stove that will be used to heat the cabin as well as to cook on.

The "kitchen"

The door into the bathroom.

A view of what the outside looks like now.

The steps of the cabin.

Ya'll come back now, ya hear?

Gymnastics fun!

Aubrie loves to go to her gymnastics class. She looks forward to Mondays more than any other day of the week. I love to watch her learn new things each time and have so much fun doing it. Poor Kirk, he gets a little bored watching big sis. Now that he can walk, he wants down so he can go, go, go. I have to contain him in his stroller.

Stretching

Entertaining himself

Flip

Listening to directions

Still happy

Swinging

Monkey

Resting

Can we go now, please?

Cini Minis

Poor Beau awoke to a yummy smell coming from the kitchen. However, it wasn't what he thought. He thought I had made cinnamon rolls for his breakfast. Unfortunately, he was only smelling the Pumpkin Spice candle that was burning in the kitchen. Needless to say, he was disappointed and I felt bad. So, I went to the fridge to see what I could find to make some quick and easy cinnamon rolls for him. The first thing I saw was Crescent Dinner Rolls. I knew they would work perfect. This is what I did:

Roll the dough out in a rectangle shape on a well floured surface.

Drizzle melted butter on the dough.

Sprinkle a cinnamon sugar mixture onto the dough.

Roll up the dough.

Cut the dough into small sections.

Lay the cinnamon rolls into the pan.

This is the result after baking on 375 for 25 min.

I also drizzled a powdered sugar glaze over the rolls before serving.

Enjoy!

Friday Night Lights

Most people go to a football game to watch the game, but not Aubrie. She goes for one reason, and one reason only, to watch the cheerleaders. In fact, one of my favorite Aubrie quotes as we were watching the game a few weeks ago is, "Mom, I can't see the cheerleaders! I DID NOT come to watch football!" Needless to say, we found new seats front and center. To say that she is obsessed with cheerleaders would be an understatement. She will even watch football on TV just to catch a small glimpse of the cheerleaders. We have taken her to all the Shiloh Christian School home games this year, and now she is hooked. One of the sweet girls even gave her an old pair of pom poms, as you can see in the pictures. She brings them to every game and cheers right along with the big girls. By the time we go to the next game, she will have a cheer uniform to match theirs as well. I love to see her confidence as she stands in front of a few hundred people and does her cheers. I pray that she is always this confident in life and never lets anything stand in the way of her dreams and goals.

It was a special night for our littlest Jackson too. It was Kirk's first football game! Now, if you know anything about Beau, you know that football has been and still is a passion of his. He played from the time that he was a little boy and while he was in college. He is now ready to pass the tradition on to his mini me, Kirk. Ok, I know he doesn't look very happy at the moment, but he really did have a good time running around at the game. There is nothing better than watching your kids enjoy life. Even the simple things can make them so happy.

House Divided

You discuss many things before you get married. For instance, it is important to know your future spouses views on politics, and religion. When I met Beau, we talked and discussed the fact that we were both Christians and we were both on the "right"side of politics. Great! This is going to be a match made in heaven. We agreed on so many things. We liked the same movies, foods, had similar hobbies, and so on. Well, there is one thing that I guess we left out. How did we let this slip through the cracks? How could we have been so careless? After we got married, we realized the consequences of our mistake. The reality began to set in, but it was too late. Which team will our children cheer for? Arkansas or LSU? I guess only time will tell!

Once upon a time...

I still remember every detail about my wedding. So many people told me that I wouldn't remember anything that happened. That it would all be a blur by the end of the day. I made a promise to myself before my wedding that I wouldn't let that happen. I decided to make an effort to cherish every moment and to take it all in. After all, you only have one wedding day, right? ;) Our wedding was simple, yet beautiful. I didn't fuss over every detail because I didn't want to stress over the wedding since the marriage is what really matters anyway. Deciding on an outdoor wedding was a decision that was easy for me to make. I prayed for months for beautiful weather and that is exactly what we got. I wanted both of our families to be a part of our day, and they were. I wanted the perfect music, and we had it. I wanted a simple dress, and I found it. I wanted the perfect husband for me, and the Lord blessed me with him. It has been quite the journey so far. We have been through things together that I couldn't have faced alone. We have been blessed with our 2 children, and we raise them together as a team. We take each day as it comes, living by faith and counting our blessings. I still stop and wonder what life would be like without the perfect mate. I am so glad that I will never know.

Beau, I thank the Lord for you everyday.

I love you!

This picture was taken on one of our first dates. I can't believe how young we look! ;)

Ok, this might not make sense to some of you, but I wrote this little poem for Beau before we got married, but we were engaged at the time. We were still in college, and when I wrote it, we were sitting in the computer lab on campus. Beau was doing homework and I was playing around on the computer. I was bored and tired of waiting for him to finish his work, and all of a sudden this popped into my head. I typed it out right then. Literally took me 5 minutes to come up with. That is why it isn't very good! I still wanted to share, so here it goes...

A Poem for Beau

Once I met a boy named Beau,

He became my friend, not foe.

We began to talk and hang out,

He was cute without a doubt.

Sometimes basketball we would play,

We were on the same team, and we liked it that way.

As the days went on, our friendship grew,

We liked each other, but no one knew.

One night, Beau decided to give me a call,

He asked me out, he did not stall.

I said "yes" to his invitation,

We went out the next night with no hesitation.

No kiss that night, but not long to wait,

That happened on our second date.

We would talk for hours in the cold,

We didn't care, and it didn't get old.

Time went on and we stayed together,

I know that this will last forever.

I can't wait to be your wife,

I will love you for the rest of my life.

I love you,

Michele

Aubrie Faith

My first born is the beautiful Aubrie Faith. She was born May 9, 2005. She is a drama queen and she LOVES to be the center of attention. She has lived life to the fullest in her 4 short years. She gets the most out of every single day, and she doesn't miss a beat. I have enjoyed being a stay at home mom with Aubrie and I cherish every moment with her, even the not so fun moments that arise due to her personality. There really are no words to describe her and the things that she comes up with. I can't wait to see what she becomes and I can't believe how she is growing up before my eyes. She isn't a baby anymore and I see her turning into a lady more and more by the day. She loves being active. One of her favorite things to do is gymnastics. She has just started her second year in gymnastics and she LOVES it. Her class is every Monday, and she must have the perfect leotard on to go. She has improved so much and has learned so much. She is working on perfecting her cartwheel at the moment. She almost has it, she just needs to work on keeping those legs straight. She makes her way around the gym and runs from event to event. Her class is only 1 hour long, but I know that she would stay all day long if I would let her.

Every day, she expects to go somewhere. She wakes up asking me what we are going to do that day. She loves to go, and it doesn't really matter where. She just wants to go. I love to dress her up before we leave the house, and fix her hair. It is like having a live doll to play with.

She is the best girl and I love her so much.

Kirk Samuel

My sweet baby boy is Kirk Samuel. He was born June 28, 2008. He is such a joy and a wonderful addition to our family. Before he came along, I couldn't imagine life with more than one child, but now I couldn't live without him. He lights up the room with his smile and makes my days brighter. He has such a sweet spirit, and he is full of love. He loves to be held and rocked. He would let me rock him all night long if I wanted to. He does, however, have a stubborn side! He just recently learned to walk. Yes, I know what you are thinking. He did walk a little late. At 15 months old, to be exact. Believe me when I say, he is making up for lost time! I think he is going to be a neat freak like his momma because he insists on throwing his diapers away after every change. When I don't let him throw the dirty ones away, he lets me know how mad it makes him by screaming at the top of his lungs. I am working on controlling that, though. He is a work in progress. ;) He is also a climber. He will climb onto anything and has no fear, of course. I have to close all the bedroom doors to keep him out and to keep him from getting into trouble or hurting himself. His favorite word to say is "bye". He knows when to use it, and never forgets to tell someone that he is leaving. I am happy to say that his first word was "momma". I will always remember that moment. He is ALL boy, and he is so tough. If he does hurt himself, he cries only for a second and then moves on to the next adventure. He has only been on the Earth for a short time, but he has brought joy to so many people. I look forward to what each day brings, and I can't wait to see what his future holds.

I'm new at this

Ok, here it goes! I am not sure what I am getting myself into, but I will do my best. It is inevitable that I will write a lot about my kids, and I will post A LOT of pictures of my kids as well. I will share bits of my day the good, the bad and the ugly. I will use this as an outlet to say what I want to say and I might speak my mind and voice my opinion on occasion. I am known to do that from time to time. ;) I don't know who is going to read this, and I don't really care if anyone reads it at all. I am doing this for myself more than anything. Also, just so you know, I am not a writer...