A is for Adams

I saw a really neat idea in Southern Living this month. Instead of carving a face in your pumpkin, make it a little more decorative (and less scary!!) by etching your house number in it. I loved this look, but decided I'd rather use our last initial. I didn't have a stencil or pumpkin carving kit like the article recommended, so I had to free hand it, but I still love the results. Annnnnnnnd, it shows up so much better during the day than a hollow pumpkin! This method also allows you to skip the messy part of hollowing out your pumpkin. (I admit that I had to look in the dictionary just now to see if hollow could be used as a verb. And it can, it even used "hollowed out" as an example. So there. I'm not a redneck that makes up her own terms after all).

FYI . . . if you want to try this yourself, just rub vasoline in the carved grooves and it will keep your pumpkin from drying out! Good tip, right?!!! Thank you SL!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Almost. Next to Christmas season, Autumn is the most wonderful time of year in my opinion!!!!

We made a family outing to Hodges Farm today. It was Sage's first pumpkin patch experience. She really does get excited about pumpkins (as well as Chick-fil-a which she pronounces fish-fye. Go figure).

But they have animals at this farm. So of course she was more interested in them than the pumpkins, especially the horses. In fact, she stuck her finger in one horse's nostril and in another horse's eye, while saying "nose" and "eye." Poor horses.

Approaching the horses, a little apprehensive at first . . .

Getting closer and feeling a little braver. . .

Let me at 'em Mom!!!

You can see where that finger is headed.

And a few more from our time at the farm . . .

Coloring!!!

I recently introduced Sage to crayons. From day one, I emphasized over and over that we only use crayons on paper. Somehow, despite my best efforts, I knew that it was only a matter of time before I discovered something like this:

Thank goodness for Magic Eraser!!!!


And I found a lil surprise when I opened our fridge the other day. Which item doesn't belong?

We like our crayons cold around here :)

Swamped in September

I'm sorry ya'll. I really am. I have neglected the blog, again. There has been so much going on! Revivals, retreats, extra work days for Brian, sicknesses, etc. etc. There are just no free days left in September for the Adams family! I tell ya though, some of my favorite things have been happening . . .

Brian and I got some much needed time together (sans Sage)

I got the opportunity to sing for a couple of revivals here in CLT.

Our church leadership retreat was great, provided vision and clarity.

And our choir retreat is coming up this weekend along with Brian's birthday!

All such fun stuff. However, in my busy-ness, I completely stopped taking pictures of Sage. Sad! So I'm trying to be more camera happy even though I'm totally frustrated with our 8 year old, 5 megapixel Cannon that seems to blur every shot. It couldn't possibly be the fault of the inexperienced photographer behind the lense :)

So here are a few pics. I tried to upload a video too, but can't get it to work. Maybe later . . .

One of Sage's best friends, Rahma, our neighbor.

Cackle

Who's Ready for Fall?

I tell ya, with all this back to school talk and the 90 degree temps we keep experiencing, I've caught myself thinking about fall more and more lately. I even went to weather.com the other day to see when it typically starts cooling off around here. (Keep in mind I haven't spent a summer in the south in a long time so I needed a reminder.) If we were in Jersey (where we lived for the past 4 summers) cooler temps would be around the corner. Not-so-much down here. At least the evenings and mornings will start to be more pleasant soon!

Fall really is an exciting time of year for me. I could stay outside all day long when the leaves are pretty and the air is crisp. Ah, heaven. Just thinking about it puts me in a good mood. But I have to say, I wouldn't appreciate fall as much if it weren't for these hot, humid summers. As miserable as they are, they pave the way for some serious relief and thankfulness come autumn.

And in honor of the coming fall . . . I'm loving this casual look. I think I need those boots, and the scarf, and the skinny jeans. Oh heck, just give me the whole thing :)

Luuuuuv

Read a great quote by Donald Miller yesterday . . .


"Life isn’t a Taylor Swift song, with all the hardship left out. It works more like a Normal Mailer novel, with all the gritty garbage left in. Stop falling for the romantic version of life, and start realizing that a romantic story is told with an enormous amount of pain, sacrifice, suffering and patience."

He just tells it like it is doesn't he? Got love it.

When It Rains

(You know the rest.) IT POURS!!

I'm not complaining. Really, I'm not. In fact I find it slightly humorous. Why is it that life seems to go so smoothly for a while, and then BAM! All of a sudden you're bombarded with problems. Small ones, mind you, small ones, in the whole scheme of things. So let me explain . . .

We've had trouble with our air conditioner lately. Long story short, it had to be replaced after several expensive visits from the repairman. Three days ago we got a brand spankin' new air conditioner. The next day it wasn't working and we began to bake in our own home. After being terribly concerned that we forked over $3000 for a lemon, the repairman came back out to fix the problem and it started working like a charm. Nothing lost but a lil sweat. No biggie.

However . . .

Today Sage was napping when I heard a big BOOM. I figured something must have fallen in the attic because the repairman had been up there moving some things around in order to get to, and fix the unit. When Sage woke up, some time later, I had already forgotten about the boom. That is until I walked in her room and found sheet rock on the floor and an 8 inch hole in our ceiling where part of a heavy tub in the attic had fallen through. All I could think was, "Oh this is not good. This is not good at all." Sage was perfectly safe. The hole wasn't near her crib so nothing fell on her, thankfully!!

But to top it all off, I have a flat tire.

Here's the deal though . . . I've got Jesus. And while He's all I really need, He's also given me a beautiful family, the most incredible friends, a home that completely meets our needs, and food on our table. I could go on and on. You get the picture. There are starving children in Africa. Literally. So I really don't care that I have a hole in my ceiling or a flat tire, or that that I lost 5 lbs in sheer water weight from sweating in my own house for 24 hours. Those things sort of pale in comparison if ya know what I mean. This girl is just thankful that the Lord has matured her enough to realize what's important to get worked up over and what's not. :)

Annual Beach Vacay

It was my turn to find and book the beach house this year for my entire family's beach vacation. I found a really nice house on Fripp Island, in SC. We'd never been to Fripp before and it was a nice change of pace. There weren't many restaurants, putt-putt courses, water parks, etc. But we did have these fun creatures to watch, or in Brian's case, play with every day.

Sage had such a good time playing in the waves and sand. She's pretty fearless when it comes to the water. I should have gotten some video, but of course, I didn't think of that. I also forgot to take any pictures with me in them. Oh well!

My family loves to have a good laugh, especially at the expense of each other. So this year we played this game where you try to move an oreo from your forehead to your mouth without using your hands. It was hilarious!





And lastly, I must show you Sage's new favorite game to play with Daddy . . .

YUM-O

My family has a peach ice cream recipe that we've been making for years. And I mean to tell you, it is OUT. OF. THIS. WORLD!!! The best I've ever had, truly. Brian and I had our neighbors over for a lil cookout the other night and Brian decided he wanted to make some homemade peach ice cream so I gave him our family recipe, "June's Peach Ice Cream." It was his first attempt ever, and he did such a good job. It turned out perfect! (I only ate a tiny bit because I'm on dessert hiatus, but that little bit was heavenly).

Since nobody likes a recipe snob I figured I shouldn't keep this family jewel a secret. It's a lot of work, but well worth the trouble. Trust me.

JUNE'S PEACH ICE CREAM

1 pint half & half

1/2 pint heavy cream

2 cups sugar

1 can evaporated milk

4 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 quart peach puree (fresh peaches, peeled and pureed in blender)

Ice cream salt

Scald cream and half & half. Turn down to low heat/simmer. Beat eggs and mix with the sugar. Add this sugar-egg mixture gradually to the cream mixture, beating with a whisk as you do so. Add salt and cook on low or medium-low heat until thick (about 25 minutes), stirring constantly. DO NOT BOIL. DO NOT HURRY THE COOKING. When mixture coats silver spoon, remove from heat and add vanilla. Cool. When thoroughly cool, add peach puree and stir. Put in ice cream churn (hopefully you have an electric one that does all the work for you!). Use 4 parts ice to 1 part ice cream salt. You'll probably have to churn it for roughly 20 minutes.

When you first make it, it's so smooth, like soft serve. It's CRAZY GOOD!!! Enjoy!!!

I'll Take 2, Thanks.

I really like this hat. I'd buy it if I could justify spending the money for something I'd rarely wear. I like hats but forget to wear them. Maybe if I had a super cute one like this, I'd remember :)

Just Another Day in the 'Hood

We love the neighborhood kids that live on our street. One of the many perks to living in a town house is that your playmates are only a few steps away. We play with these sweet kids all the time!

From left to right: Sage, Gabo, Abrahim, Adam, Rahma, and Kingston.

Sage really likes watermelon these days . . .

My List

Some might call it a bucket list. I guess it's kind of like that. But really, it's just my list of personal goals or things I'd like to master simply because I'd enjoy them. Some of them are unrealistic, at least for now, but it doesn't change the fact that I'd really like to do them. Now if I would just get up off my rear end, I could start accomplishing, in no particular order, "My List":

1.) Plant, nurture, and reap the harvest of a well-loved garden.

2.) Buy a nice camera.

3.) Take a photography class so I know how to use it.

4.) See New England in the fall.

5.) Visit the Northwest. (I think it's the only part of the country where I have not been, except for Alaska.)

6.) Learn to sew, well. And not ever forget how.

7.) Go on mission trips, frequently, with my husband and children to third world countries.

8.) Appreciate food without being obsessive or indulgent.

9.) Be more laid back.

10.) Learn to play the guitar.

11.) Sing a duet with a famous musician.

12.) Lose 10 lbs.

13.) Live on a lake, or own a lake house where we can visit/vacation.

14.) Swim with dolphins, again. (Did it once and LOVED it!)

15.) Take a second honeymoon to Hawaii.

16.) Watch Brian coach or pitch in the major leagues.

17.) Build an outdoor fire pit or fire place where friends can gather in the fall and roast marsh mellows, talk, and laugh.

18.) Have another baby, or two.

19.) Be perfectly content if it's not the Lord's will for me to do any of these things.

I'll probably think of more items to add later . . . so if/when you see a random post months from now about adding this or that to "my list," you'll know what I mean :)

What's on your list? I'm curious to know what other people would put on their lists!

There's A First Time for Everything

So I've never been a Nascar fan. While I did grow up in the deep South, I didn't know many people that were big fans, so I just never caught the fever. Truthfully I just never understood how watching cars go around a track was entertaining. However, Brian and I got to attend the Coca-Cola 600 this past weekend, and I must say, I really enjoyed it. Granted that's easy to do when watching the race from an air conditioned suite, while dining on roasted chicken, broccoli cassarole and triple chocolate cake.

But in all seriousness, I actually got into it! I'm telling you, when you're watching those cars race LIVE, it makes all the difference in the world. The sheer speed is astounding.

Brian and I had the privilege of touring the garages, meeting Bobby Labonte, attending the driver's meeting, and being in the winner's circle at the end. It was such a fun experience.

Dale Jr. at the driver's meeting.

And Larry the Cable Guy

Lee Greenwood singing, "God Bless the USA"

Walking the track.

Jeff Gordon's car.

Visiting with Bobby Labonte in his trailer.

Touring the garages.

(The guy on the right cracks me up.)

The view from our suite.

In the winner's circle, delirious from all the sugar intake and staying up so late.

Winner, Kevin Harvick.

Winner's Circle celebration!!! It's blurry because the noise was ridiculous.