Lijah's 11!

Last but not least, Lijah tuned 11 on the 23rd of July! He is growing up so fast and is such a joy in our home! We pray he will serve the Lord with whatever his hands find to do.

David is 3!

David William, also know as Davy-Bill, turned 3 on the 16th of July. :) We are so thankful that the Lord gave him to us and pray he will grow to be a mighty man of God!

Our sweet sister is 2 months

A sister is a forever friend!

Brownies

Hi everyone! I hate to follow up the profundity of the previous post with a recipe, but... I've been asked for this one by several people, and decided to just post it on the blog instead of typing it out that many time. :) So, without further ado, here it is!

Two-tone Fudge Brownies

1 box of brownie mix
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. white sugar
4 1/2 Tbsp. milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk)

Bake brownies according to directions and cool thoroughly. Cream butter and sugars, then add milk and vanilla. Stir in flour, and then chocolate chips. Carefully spread over cooled brownies, and refrigerate.

Our Heroes

Our Heroes

Here's a hand to the boy who has courage
To do what he knows to be right;
When he falls in the way of temptation,
He has a hard battle to fight.
Who strives against self and his comrades
Will find a most powerful foe.
All honor to him if he conquers.
A cheer for the boy who says "NO!"

There's many a battle fought daily
The world know nothing about;
There's many a brave little soldier
Whose strength puts the legion to rout.
And he who fights sin singlehanded
Is more of a hero, I say,
Than he who leads soldiers to battle
And conquers by arms in the fray.

Be steadfast, my boy, when you're tempted,
To do what you know to be right.
Stand firm by the colors of manhood,
And you will o'ercome in the fight.
"The right," be your battle cry ever
In waging the warfare of life,
And God, who knows who are the heroes,
Will give you the strength for the strife.
Phoebe Cary

Josiah's 5!

This is a little late in coming but someone very special had a birthday in our home on the 2nd of July! Josiah is now counting every finger on his hand to get to his age...which could mean he is a handful! :) He is such a joy and keeps us all smiling! We love him to death...he's a keeper! :)

Josiah with his baseball cake

David helping pull the candles out of the cake

Two little boys trying thier hardest to fly! :)

Here's a Laugh :)

Tiny Town

We weren't that desperate to make it to Tiny Town, but it was a lot of fun...
Aunt Angie, Alexandria and Grandee made a quick trip to visit us a couple weeks ago and this was one of the outings during their stay.

A group picture with everyone looking at the camera!

Cutest thing to ever find smiling out a window...

It was so much fun to see all the little people running from house to house. Alexandria, Josiah and David in particular enjoyed finding the houses they could fit in. This picture was of them inside one of the churches.

Most of the houses have been there for many years. Some of them you can actually get inside of (if you're small enough) and the ones that are closed up have appropriate decorations inside. This barn was the site of a square dance.

The boys - we found out that they are very well trained when it comes to picture taking. For the most part, they'll patiently be posed and re-posed and then sit still while the shutter clicks multiple times.

Me with one of my boys in front of a very picturesque location.

The Messrs. Mischief - here proving that they can hold still :)

Another of my boys who really is almost as tall as I am.

Alexandria was so excited by all of the houses that were her size.

Four boys in the Opera House.

We capped off our visit with a ride on the Tiny Town Train. The boys rode in the caboose. Believe it or not, we have pictures from years back of Sarah and I in this caboose.

They have some humorous decorations along the train route.

Aunt Angie and Mom