Life is busy!

If I had more time in each of my days one of the many things I would like to do is be blogging or scrapbooking! I have so much that I want to share and preserve, but right now life is busy...but good! So I will share just a few things here and then hopefully be able to share in more detail later.

Timothy asked to play soccer before we moved. When we got moved we found an Upward Soccer league that isn't too far from our house. All the kids are playing except Joanna (she isn't old enough). So we are spending two days a week doing soccer. Practice for 3 teams are on Thursday nights and then games on Saturday. They are loving it and it is fun to watch them play!

Joanna is getting bigger every day! Trying to potty train but she has her days that she would rather wear a diaper. We will get there...one day. :)

Isaac is really into fishing these days. So thankful we have a pond that he can fish in some and then if he gets a chance he can go to Laurel Hill Lake with a friend.

Here is a picture of Sarah painting Joanna's nails and Joanna did very good to sit still and wait for them to dry. She loved her "pink" nails. :)

A friend at church gave us some hand me down clothes and this shirt was in the bag. Elijah grabbed it and claimed it as his! It fits him to a tee! Because of his "big brown eyes" I called him my chocolate chip cookie with this shirt on. :)

So here is a glimpse of the Camp kids and what we have been up to lately. Can't wait to share more!

Thankful!

I am thankful for:

148) empty boxes.
149) a dragon fly.
150) Jesus being the Light of the world.
151) a swimming pool at our new house.
 152) Isaac catching catfish for us to eat.
153) people that helped us move in to our new home.
154) Mrs. Judy that has been a huge blessing to us.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Isaac's favorite cookie is the Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake Mix cookies. We discovered those while we were living in Alabama and someone made them for church. I got the recipe and they were so easy and quick to make. I have made them lots of times and even made them using Strawberry cake mix, or Red Velvet cake mix. BUT not the "best for you" cookie. :(

As we are trying to get away from processed foods and eat more healthier foods, even when it comes to sweets :), I found this recipe for Whole Wheat Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. Yes, it is from Heavenly Homemakers website, her website is full of great stuff! So I thought I would try these for Isaac's birthday last month. They were easy and quick to make and best of all they were sooo yummy and healthy! So I just have to share this recipe.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies (Whole Wheat Chocolate Crinkle Cookies)
3 eggs
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sucanat (or brown sugar)
1/2 cup melted coconut oil (butter would also work)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground flour from hard white wheat.)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Whip together eggs, cocoa, and sucanat. Stir in melted coconut oil, baking powder, and vanilla. Mix in flour until a nice dough has formed. Fold in white chocolate and chocolate chips. Spoon teaspoon sized balls of dough on to a greased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake in a 350° for 8-10 minutes. Allow the cookies to sit on the cookie sheet for about five minutes before removing. Makes about 24 cookies.

*This recipe is from the Heavenly Homemakers website. She calls her cookies Whole Wheat Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, but we call ours Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies. Call them what you want, just TRY them!!! :)

Onions

We visited the Amish and bought some onions. I got three BIG onions for $1. I like to use onion in several of my recipes but it is always time consuming to chop up an onion here and there. Thanks to my MIL, she told be one of the best secrets...cut up a bunch and freeze them!

So if we have got onions from the Amish or onions are on sale at the store I stock up! With Bryan's help we can cut up a bunch of onions in a short time, put them in freezer bags, and freeze them for the next time I need an onion. I will put them in the quart size freezer bags and then place the quart size bags into a gallon freezer bag so that the onions are double bagged. That will help the smell of onion from leaking out. (Thanks Darla for the reminder. :))

I have found it to be easier if I slice them and freeze them. Then when I need chopped onions I just remove the slices and with my Pampered Chef chopper chop up as many as I need. It has saved me LOTS of time in the kitchen having those onions ready to be chopped.

Am I the last person to learn this time saver? :)

Crockett Days

Living here in Lawrenceburg, TN we are very close to David Crockett State Park. We attended an event at the State Park in August called, Crockett Days. The people had come and camped out and were portraying the times of David Crockett.

Camping was very primitive for the weekend. Here is a picture of one of the tents there.

This lady was showing the kids how to make yarn to sew shawls, blankets, etc. It was neat to see her use the spinning wheel. She and her husband are sheep farmers so they sheer the sheep and make the yarn themselves.

In front of most of the camp sites were these cooking areas. When we got there the campers (people portraying the times of David Crockett) had just had breakfast. You could still smell and see some of  bacon, biscuits, and more in their cooking area.

Isaac took most of these pictures. The people were dressed in clothes of that time. We saw people dressed as Indians and then others were dressed in the clothes the people wore back then.

A picture of the crowd. When we were at the end you could tell it had really gotten much more crowded.

Bryan actually had to leave while we were there and so afterward the kids and I stopped at a picnic spot and had a great picnic. We bought some Kettle Corn at Crockett Days and ate it with our sandwiches.

Then I decided to take a picture of me and the kids. While I was trying to set up the self timer I took a picture and this is what I got! I LOVE it!!

Here is the "final" picture. We did have lots of fun and would love to go again. There several exhibitions that day but we didn't get to those. Maybe next time! :)

Thankful!!

I am thankful for:
141) jokes the kids tell.
142) a God who is my refuge.
143) frogs for the boys to catch. (Picture at top of Elijah holding a frog)
144) visiting Westwood Baptist Church (where Bryan and I were married).
145) being able to get ticks off. (Found lots already on us)
146) blackberry jam. (First time I have ever made any myself)
147) being able to be at home with my children.

Babycakes!

 For Sarah's birthday she asked for "Babycake" makers. Guess what she got....TWO of them!! My parents gave her one and Bryan's parents gave her the other. Then her friends that came gave her a few decorations for her masterpieces. :)

 Here is Sarah displaying her cakepops that were yummy! OK so we took the sticks off and just had cakeballs. :)

 Here she is with her cakepop maker. She is our little baker!

 Strawberry cake mix with buttercream icing colored purple.

 The cupcakes she made! These were chocolate cake mix with chocolate icing. My mother gave her the cake mix and icing, they were babycake mixes made for the babycake maker. The eyes on the cupcakes are one of the decorations her friends gave her. :)

 Here is the little chef posing for the camera.

She is hard at work preparing delicious cupcakes for her family! Isn't her apron so cute? I will post about that later. Can't wait to share that with you....there is so many things I want to share but I really need more time in my day to get it all done. :)

SURPRISE!!

On August 23rd we had Isaac a surprise for his birthday. We invited his 2 friends from church to come over and spend the night. He was very surprised!! :) Wish I knew how to upload video to the blog so I could share his reaction when we saw Ryan and Kyle.

Bryan took Isaac out of the house and while they were gone his friends came over. When Isaac and Bryan arrived back home and Isaac came in the door we yelled "SURPRISE!!" It was so much fun!

We ate pizza for supper and had mini red velvet cupcakes. After supper Bryan took the boys fishing. Isaac's friends gave him a fishing rod and some fishing items for his birthday gift. Then when they arrived back home we let them hang out in the basement and just have some fun. The picture I took was of them just being silly!!

We really like these boys and their families! So blessed with good friends!