The bright side of not having air conditioning

1) I am extra thankful for my car's air conditioning!
2) I spend more time outside.
3) My windows stay open all the time, so the air inside is fresh.
4) I appreciate the cool nights and mornings.
5) I rest more in the middle of the day...when I'm too hot to do anything else!
6) I stand in amazement every day of the women throughout history who accomplished way more than I do, in much more difficult circumstances. Recently finished reading Marriage to a Difficult Man, a biography on Sarah Edwards...very encouraging and inspiring!
7) I love showers even more than normal....which means I love them a LOT. =)
8) Sweating is good for you, right? 
9) The electricity bill is much lower!!


This is not sarcasm. I really am seeking to be thankful for what I have right now and enjoy this short season without air conditioning. In fact, sometimes I am almost convinced that I shouldn't run our a/c when we have it. But I am not quite convinced yet! =)
 I am most of all thankful for the many hours of hard work my husband and father-in-law have put into installing our new HVAC system. I know it has been a labor of love. 

In honor of Patience's graduation...

Wow...I can't believe I'm old enough for my little sister Patience to have finished high school. I was sad I could not be at her graduation ceremony and party, so Patience recorded her part in the  graduation ceremony on her iPhone and sent it to me right afterwards so that I didn't entirely miss it. Thank you Paye!! It was encouraging to hear how God is working in her life. 
I found these old pictures and sweet notes from Paye in my "memory box" when I was digging through them recently. 

Patience and Sarah on a field trip to Longwood Gardens

Patience in her classroom in 3rd grade.

All of us! I remember trying to get everyone to stay stacked for this picture! =)

No date on this one, but Patience apparently drew it for me.

So precious! The date that I had written on the back was 3/10/01. 

This, as you can see, is written by Ben, not Patience, but we can honor his graduation too. It was too adorable to not post!

I love you Paye! 

For those of us who never tire of more pictures of Nate...

 Nate loves being naked!!

 And playing with his ball that Nana made!

 Nate can now roll both ways at will...which means he's rolling all the time!

 He is also pushing up on his hands and knees...thinking about crawling! Happy baby =)

Nate and strawberry beds

 One of Nate's favorite things to do is read (i.e. try to eat books!)

 Laughing at mom, actually he was probably laughing at Lexi. I have to work hard to make him laugh, but Nate will laugh at Lexi if she walks by and looks at him. 

 This is the progress we've made thus far on our clothesline. =)

 Our strawberry beds, which are doing great for just being planted this spring. Now if only the birds would stop eating all my berries! As soon as the berries get to the size you see below, they are mysteriously snipped off. =( I suppose I'll be heading to Lowe's sometime soon for stakes and netting if we are going to be eating any strawberries this year. 

Delicious and nutritious homemade pizza

For dinner last week we had the lovely Coppock family over for dinner. It was a fun time of food and fellowship! I enjoyed making the pizzas we ate from scratch. The whole wheat pizza crust and the tomato sauce recipe were both from allrecipes.com. Here are the links:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Amazing-Whole-Wheat-Pizza-Crust/Detail.aspx

 http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Exquisite-Pizza-Sauce/Detail.aspx

I made some alterations, based on ingredients that I had or didn't have. In the crust, I use all whole wheat flour and honey instead of sugar. The sauce is so tasty that I want to eat the whole bowl with a spoon! I have to remind myself to save some for the pizzas!

I doubled both recipes and made four pizzas. One I froze. In the past, I have completely assembled all the pizzas and frozen the ones we weren't going to eat that night. I didn't even prebake the crust! So easy! Then the next week when I want homemade pizza, I just pull it out of the freezer and pop it in the oven! 

There is something soothing and comforting about hand-kneading dough.

 Before the dough has risen.

And after...

 My four crusts...

Ready to be rolled out! 

 
Delicious topping ideas: Yellow, red, and green bell peppers, onions, mozzarella cheese and Italian seasoning
                       Sliced red tomatoes, onions, mozzarella cheese and blue cheese crumbles
                       Veggie pizza- I had onions, peppers, mushrooms, and broccoli
                       Pineapple chunks, sausage, pepper jack cheese, and mozzarella cheese
                       Sliced red tomatoes tossed in olive oil and italian seasoning, feta cheese, and fresh basil

 And for dessert we had Sensational Strawberry Shortcake! http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sensational-Strawberry-Shortcake/Detail.aspx

Mother's Day and Gwen Update

 Three generations of mothers on Mother's Day.

The entire Hawkins family

 Quiet evening at the barn

 Gwen loves being out in the arena with her mom! She races around full speed and spins in the sand. 

 Poor Rose is so thin! You'd never know the huge amounts of grain and hay that she's getting! Gwen is just taking everything out of her!

I am thankful for...

11. ...the sweet "bababaaaabbba" noises that Nate is now making.
12. ...Nate's smiles when he first sees me in the morning. No matter how early it is, I can't help but smile back.
13. ...the delightful coolness of spring mornings.
14. ...all the varieties of plants that God has created for us.
15. ...Gwen gradually becoming more friendly.
16. ...the birds singing in the trees.
17. ...godly ladies in the church who remind me that worrying is a sinful lack of trust in God's grace and providence.

Solids and flowers and gardens

Nate has decided that he wants big people food! I wanted to hold him off a little longer, but he was diving at our plates and so obviously wanted some that I couldn't resist giving him a taste. He 

has had rice cereal, applesauce, sweet potato, carrots, whole milk yogurt, and alvocado so far and loves all of them! 

Not only did my sweet husband go grocery shopping for me, he also brought home these beautiful tulips! He knows me so well!

 Inside, my violets are blooming their little ruffly hearts out.

And outside, my flower beds are beginning to look like someone loves them a little bit. 

Nate was laying on the blanket watching me pull out all the encroaching monkey grass. Apparently watching mom weed is great fun! At first, he would laugh every time a weed popped out of the ground.
 My vegetable garden is, as of yet, nonexistent. =( I planted strawberries in both of my 4*8 boxes and was hoping to have a large plot in our backyard tilled by this spring. Due to other projects taking priority, that has not yet happened. Oh well...maybe I'll have a fall garden! On the bright side, my strawberries are growing and reproducing and blooming and berrying. =) I'll post a picture of them sometime soon.