This week we want to go on several play dates and visit Tweetsie Railroad in the NC mountains.  We’ll be visiting with Hannah’s first foster mom and her family.  We’re looking forward to connecting again.

The kids are each pursuing their own paths! Dylan started guitar lessons last week and will be playing golf this Friday–his passions! Hannah seeks out friends any chance she gets, loves singing and dancing and is overall a fun gal to have around!

I am learning to be a giver of love, to set boundaries in those relationships that aren’t serving me well and to realize the truth of who I am in Christ.

I am struggling with organizing my time between projects (my own) and my kids’ desired activities.  Sometimes, my projects have to be put on hold so that they can know that I am fully present with them. I am okay with that, but I am trying to find a flow that works for everyone.

This week is the first time in a long time that a play date I planned resulted in lots of people attending! Yay–so excited to see lots of people coming together–kids AND adults!

The past few days, I have been trying different recipes for the holiday season.  I really do love this time of the year! All the smells and beauty of the season….all the activities and time together with the family…I just love it all!  I think that it means so much to me because my family of origin always made it such a magical time.  The excitement of Christmas morning always included the opening of gifts and time with family and in our family, this was an all-day affair….no one was left out of that special time.

I have started to ponder the importance of this day and wonder why it can’t be carried over into every day….I mean, really, what’s to stop us from making each day that magical? And I’m not talking about giving gifts every day of the year…I’m talking about the time that we set aside to really BE with one another.  We laugh, listen, sing and play together and think nothing of it—it is expected on Christmas day.  Why can’t we carry this over to every other day of the year?

Are we busy? Absolutely….but I am tired of giving and getting the answer, “I should have called you, life has been so busy”. We can connect, we just choose something else…and usually it is something that we feel can’t be avoided.

So, as I enter this season, I feel compelled to enjoy each moment with each person I come in contact with and hope to spread joy to the people I see…. and maybe carry that sense of love and joy past the holiday season and into the new year!

“Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life. “  Leo Buscaglia

*photo courtesy of maple at  http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

It is a beautiful day–even though it’s raining outside.  It is a day that I can give thanks to God for the many blessings that He has given me–even though I don’t deserve them.  It is a day that I can see with my eyes the love that is shown to me by my loving Father.

Today is a day that I want to honor two of the most special people in my life.  My husband and my son.

My husband, Steve, is 40 years old today.  This man was given to me by God, this I know.  He has brought such joy, peace and love into my life that I cannot remember life before him, nor can I imagine life without him.  He has accepted me, just as I am, with all of my many flaws—and he loves me anyway   Together, we have created and are continuing to create a beautiful family that is growing each year.  I cannot express enough my love for him through mere words, except to honor him on this special day, the day that he turns 40, that is also a day to celebrate his unconditional love for another…..

Today is also the day that we celebrate the my son’s adoption.  Three years ago today, Dylan officially became Steve’s son.  He has his last name and Steve calls him son.  This act of unconditional love for a son that was 10 years old when  they met is one that I will be forever grateful.  Steve has given him so much in this selfless act—but I know that this simple act has created such a secure and safe place for Dylan, that the reward is going to be incredible, when we see all that Dylan will be, as he embraces who he is in Christ.

Steve—Happy Birthday, my love–My prayer for you today is that you will be surrounded by as much love as you give!

And Dylan—Happy Adoption Day, son—my prayer for you is that you realize the love that already surrounds you and that you may grasp hold of all that God has planned for you!

I love you both more than I can put into words–

Cinnamon Rolls

I woke  up this morning with a craving for Cinnamon Rolls—not sure why–but I set out to make them for my family.  I didn’t really take into account the time needed to prepare and bake them, but nevertheless….I was determined!

They turned out very well, so I thought I would share the recipe with you:)

Cinnamon Rolls

3 1/2 to 4 cups All-Purpose flour ( I used half white/half wheat)

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 packages regular or quick active dry yeast

1 cup very warm milk (120- 130 degrees)

1/3 cup stick butter, softened

1 large egg

2 tablespoons stick butter, softened

1/4 cup granulated or packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Mix 2 cups of the flour, 1/3 cup granulated sugar and salt and yeast into a large bowl.  Add warm milk, 1/3 cup of butter and the egg.  Beaat with electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently.  Beat on medium speed for 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently.  Stir in enough flour to make the mixture easy to handle.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic.  Place in greased bowl and turn greased side up.  Cover and let rise in warm place about 1 hour and 30 minutes or until doubled.  Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.

Punch down dough.  Flatten with hands or rolling pin into rectangle, 15 x 10 inches, on lightly floured surface.  Spread with 2 tablespoons of butter.  Mix 1/4 cup granulated sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle evenly over butter.  Roll the rectangle up tightly, beginning at 15 inch side.  Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal.  Stretch and shape until even.  Cut roll into fifteen 1 inch pieces.  Place slightly apart in the pan.  Cover and let rise in warm place about 30 minutes or until doubled.

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from pan to wire rack.  Cool 10 minutes. Spread cream cheese frosting on the cinnamon rolls and serve.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup stick butter, softened

2 teaspoons milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla in medium bowl with electric mixer on low speed until smooth.

Gradually add powdered sugar on low speed, 1 cup at a time, until smooth and spreadable. Refrigerate any remaining frosting.

*recipe ideas from Betty Crocker’s New Cookbook

Hope you enjoy this recipe!  I know someone in my house that did!

Lip-Smackin' Good Rolls

I came across a great giveaway today and wanted to share….

Have lots of photos sitting in a box or in a file on your computer?  Photo books are a great way to preserve the memories while reducing a bit of clutter.

What are photo books?  Photo books are a way of creating a digital scrapbook of your favorite photos and the printing them into a book–you can also do this for recipes, artwork, etc.  Inkubooks is offering this free to Simple Mom readers–all you need to pay is the shipping costs.  They are also giving away 5 books of any style and size to 5 Simple Mom readers.

Read all the details for this great giveaway!

The music that was heard in my house today:

So sorry I have been absent from this blog, but as I am living my very busy life right now, I am thinking about what to write and where to share my thoughts.  Did you know that I have 4 blogs?  And another one waiting in the wings…..hmmm, what am I thinking?  Well, apparently alot as I am trying to place different trains of thought into different segments.  Therein lies the confusion…where do I write what I am thinking, do I write at all, and does anyone really care?

As I ponder what topics drive me to write a post, the topics that I am passionate about (at the moment) are church life, foster/adoption, education philosphies and my family.  So, as I ponder these topics you may see me write about them here, although probably not foster/adoption or about my family (at least not in the detail that I write on our family blog).

There is another subject, though, that has been making it’s way into my thoughts quite a bit lately, and that is the subject of simplicity.  Whether it is regarding nutrition and health or caring for my family, I am really contemplating the idea of simplicity as it pertains to all areas of my life.  I am recognizing that there is way too much focus on what we don’t have in our lives than embracing what is within our reach right now.  There are so many “things” that can take our focus off of what is really important and to me what is really important is my relationship with Christ and my relationship with my family and friends.  Anything else does not even compare—why should I allow it in my life?

So, my friends, I want to share a link with you that talks about simplicity, and what some may define it as.   I liked this thought:

“My goal is to live as simple as possible and enjoy the journey….”

That really sums up my point…To enjoy the journey I am on, I must look at life through the lens of simplicity.  To see God in all things and to enjoy what is placed before me at each moment.

I have written a post on our foster blog, Love Each Child, in honor of our daughter’s birthday—She is 2 today!!

We are thrilled to be able to spend this day, the day of her birth, with her. Two years ago we did not even know she existed–2 years ago we were starting our homeschooling journey–2 years ago we celebrated Steve’s adoption of my son–2 years ago we celebrated our 2nd anniversary in Galax, VA, spending two years hoping for a biological child and then being led a year later to the idea of foster care. Wow, what can happen in a few years’ time!!

I hope you will go check out our latest post—we are in definite party mode!!

I posted a few weeks ago about the photography class that I am taking online, Through the Lens: Digital Photography 101.

The first assignment was a challenging one—reading the camera manual. I am definitely a “learn by doing” type of person, so reading directions and then attempting to follow those directions isn’t exactly my chosen learning style. But, I have to say, I am glad that I did this assignment. I did learn much about my camera that I was not aware of and this helped me to approach my picture taking with a little more thought, instead of just setting it on Auto and then attempting to “point and shoot”.

The next part of this assignment was to take pictures. Anything that interests me. hmmmm. I take pictures of my family all the time… I love taking pictures of my family. I also have been wanting to take better pictures of the jewelry that I design. So, I am going to focus on photos of my jewelry (maybe I can learn a few things about placement, lighting, etc.)  And I’ll probably post pictures of my family as well–just because it makes me smile

So, here are a few photos of a pair of earrings that I designed ( I changed the background and positioning):

The next photos are of my family from various events this summer:

Let me know what you think about the photos–especially the photos of the jewelry–hopefully by the end of this online class, you will see a noticeable difference!

Today is a special day. It is a day to celebrate another year of marriage to my wonderful husband–four years, in fact.

Our story is one of God’s grace and love. Steve and I have been through much in our early adult lives, but through God’s eyes, He was able to see through what the world would describe as unworthy and clear the way for our paths to cross. Through His grace, we were able to connect and we immediately began seeing the hand of God on our lives together. Many would question whether God could bless our life together, based on our past experiences, but we chose to listen to God’s voice instead of the voice of fear. And we have been blessed because of it…

We are amazed every day at God’s provision for our lives—not just material things, the things that money can’t buy, the things that matter most to us and touch the very core of who we are.

So, today, I express my love for my husband, the one chosen by God to complete the rest of my life on this earth. And I express my love and endless gratitude to God, for taking one so unworthy, yet seeing what could be accomplished in these two lives together.

It is truly a honor to be living this life with you, Steve.

All my love,