redemption

Being away from the south for the past 5 years has given me new eyes for Wilmington.  I never even noticed some of the things I lived my entire life surrounded by.   Check out the spanish moss at Airlie Gardens…………

We didn’t have this stuff in the Midwest.  It’s beautiful!

I had to throw this one in!  Bryn has her Papa Lee’s heart, for sure.  She is named after his beautiful wife, who we all miss.

A tribute to local artist, Minnie Evans, was the highlight of our visit to Airlie Gardens.  This structure was made of an assortment of colorful glass bottles.

Do you ever find yourself answering your child’s question with an answer you know they don’t understand, but you find to be very amusing?  If you don’t, you should try it sometime.

Today, I took Shea (my 4 yr old) to the dermatologist and while we were waiting, I discovered a scale, hiding in the corner.  I walked over and stood on it, and Shea asked, “Mom, why are you doing that?”  I replied,  as I grimaced at the numbers I saw below me, “I guess because I want to be really depressed today.”

Before we even moved to Wilmington from St. Louis, I found out about a local business called The Produce Box.  They deliver fresh produce to your door every week.  I love it!  These apples were included in the boxes over the past few weeks, and I decided to make my first apple pie with them.

A homemade apple pie seems more special when using a family recipe, so I called my sister-in-law, Robin to get her recipe.  She makes awesome apple pie!  I couldn’t believe how simple it was.  The hardest part was peeling and slicing the apples.  Here’s the recipe:

Filling:

8 or so apples, peeled and sliced thinly (Robin recommends granny smith).

1 c. sugar

cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice (any or all of these will do), to taste.

1/2 c. flour

T. of lemon juice (I chose to do this to keep the apples from browning while I cut them.  Robin recommends using lemon juice if you don’t use granny smith apples or if you end up using too much sugar.)

Amazingly easy Crust:

2 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 c. oil

5 T. ice cold water (this is the trick to a flaky crust)

Directions:

Mix the filling together.  Then make the crust by mixing the flour, salt, and oil, and then adding the cold water.  Don’t stir more than absolutely necessary.  Once the dough has naturally formed a ball from mixing (I used a fork), split in half.  Place one of the halves in between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and roll out.  Place in the pie dish, pour the filling in, and then roll out the second crust, placing it on top.  Cut slits, place tin foil around the edges of the pie to prevent burning, and Bake at 425 for 45 min. or so.  Test the apples by sticking a fork into the slits to see if they are tender.  If so, you’ve just finished making an awesome apple pie!

Thanks, Robin, for the recipe!

We will be feasting on this for Gage’s  (my 10 year old’s) birthday this weekend, at his request.

Jared and I lived in a very small apartment for the past 3 years while he attended seminary in St. Louis. As a result, we are super happy to have space and a yard now.

I love that the sun rises on this side of the house, shining plenty of light into the dining area.

I bought this rug at Ikea 5 years ago, and I finally have hardwood floors to use it on.

My long awaited, fenced in backyard.

It seems that my blog has taken the back burner the past few months.  I can’t imagine why.  I only had a baby and moved across the country within a 5 week span.

If you used to stop and read here because I actually wrote something, rather than posting pictures constantly, please don’t give up on me.  I promise, I’m coming back.  My brain is slowly beginning to function again, and I plan to use it for this blog soon.

I’ll still post the pictures because I love them.  But, I hope to add a little more variety and thought.  Thanks for bearing with me!

It’s what I do.

Jared and I laugh almost daily about the fact that every time he comes out of his office (he works from home), I am either sitting on the couch feeding his daughter or in the kitchen.

When I am not feeding people or cleaning up after them, I take pictures of them.

Bryn is almost 4 months old!

I spend lots of time loving on her.  We all do.  She is seriously the sweetest thing ever.

She has perfected the art of bubble-making.

Here she is, hard at work.

Shea is becoming quite an explorer now that his brother is at school.  He’s catching lizards and building habitats for them, and finding plenty of other exciting adventures in the back yard.  He’s realizing that Gage isn’t the only one who can explore!

I was always afraid that Gage going to school would inhibit his artistic endeavors because of limited time.  Thankfully, that has not been the case at all.  He comes home from school and jumps into a project right away.

Gage caught this shark with his Papa.

We all fall more and more in love with this little girl everyday.  She is such a gift to our family and none of us can imagine life without her now, although she’s only been with us for 3 months.  It’s amazing how a new little baby instantly belongs and pre-baby life seems so long ago.

Lately, Jared and I have felt like God is telling us to just be the church.  We believe He is giving us a vision for what that looks like in our own lives.  For a long time, while living on campus at seminary in St. Louis, we yearned to live in the “real world” and be more able to open our home and lives up to people searching for more.  We long to see God’s Story change lives and we have begun to see that happening here in Wilmington.  God’s Story sets drug addicts free and heals broken marriages.

We are seeing that ministry isn’t about Jared being one of the “lucky” ones who finds a job in a church.  It’s about living our lives in a way that allows people in.  That is what we are trying to do and hoping to inspire others around us to do the same.  Take a look at the website Jared recently put together and pray for us as you think of it.

on a Sunday at 1:00PM, this little baby boy entered our lives:

Amanda Hardy Photography

And, we couldn’t be more thankful for such a sweet blessing.

Shea has a sweet nature and tells us throughout the day that he loves us.  He’s usually the first one to thank me for the dinner I’ve made, which is pretty amazing for a child so young.  He has a grateful heart beyond his years.  He loves his big brother and wants to be just like him and adores his baby sister.

He has recently discovered his love for cherries.

He is our child who stops to smell the flowers.  I think he gets that from his Granny.

We love you Shea!

because I’m too tired for many words.  Hopefully, the words will come later.

A sneak peek at our house……..pics of the inside will follow soon.

We live 5 minutes from the beach and have been once.  It’s sooo hot, and I think we’ll enjoy it more during the fall.

This picture makes me happy.

Bryn’s first beach trip.  She slept the entire time.

2 weeks after moving in, we took a trip to Lake Junaluska, in the mountains of NC with my parents.  We love the mountains, so it was a nice little getaway.

Grandfather Mountain

Bryn liked hanging out with us in the mountains.  We hiked a little and enjoyed the outdoors.  The boys and Jared swam in the rocky, freezing cold Ocanoluftee River.

Gage started school on Tuesday!  I can’t believe he’s really in school.  (he’s been homeschooled since he was 4!) And, let me just say we are so incredibly proud of how he is handling this transition.  I’ll have to write more about it later.  It’s worth a blog post, for sure.

Shea has discovered cherries and loves them, as you can see.

Bryn and I decided to have our own photo shoot in the bathroom because I thought she looked so cute hanging in her little snugli carrier.

And, that’s all for now, folks.