~shopping with idiots 101~

make sure when your friend ask you to go to menards to help her get tile, you don't put it all in the front of the cart.



~easiest & best peach cobbler ever~ p.s. it's sweet.

1 can slices cling peaches, drained (13 oz)

3/4to 1 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp. honey

1 box jiffy yellow cake mix (9 oz) i used any yellow cake mix

1/2 cup melted better (1 stick)

spread the drained peaches in a baking dish. drizzle the honey on top of the peaches. sprinkle brown sugar on top. make sure to get around the edges and in between the peaches. sprinkle the cake mix evenly over the peaches. melt butter and pour over the cake mix; all mix doesn't have to be moistened. bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until brown.

i made this for the hubby trying to fix him something not chocolate.

and he loved it.

can you believe my husband does not like chocolate?? weird.

~a few turkeys~

saturday i went to work with chuck for a few hours.

 he had to go out to the lake and fix a couple of pumps so i agreed to ride along.

how pretty is the lake when it's cold out?

ice on the trees i love.

(even though i hate cold weather)

as we were headed out there i noticed two turkeys

(i'm thinking it was a husband and wife team)

i was wishing i had my camera and my husband was wishing he had his rifle

how different are we?

chuck reminded me of how i like turkey to eat.

i told him true, but i don't like to think of how it got to my table.

i talked chuck into taking a different shot of the animal this time.

one that was harmless to these turkeys.

(i must say i hate cell phones as they are always ringing at my house. but they are good when you're missing your camera)

~otis~

 meet the newest roberts family member.

it was a hard decision to get this little guy.(if you can believe that with those sad eyes)

we've had bad experiences with pets in the past

but we decided to give it another shot.

it took me going into the pet store the other day with brady
(more here of our haircut/pet store experiences)
then back with brooke the day after to not being able to
get my mind off this small creature.
i kick myself for even entering the pet store. i should have known
i should have been smarter. but those short legs. those long droopy ears.
and those eyes. those sad take me home eyes.
i had to go back.

what i know now from otis

• he is little camera shy right now
• he is scared of the coffee maker(but shall get use to it in the mornings)
• he is scared of my hairdryer
• he hops when he runs
• he already loves the kids
• he is a big baby  a big small baby
• he is adorable
• he is short
• soft
• handsome
• he loves chucks socks and takes off with them often
• he likes the corners of my books that i leave lying around
• he follows us everywhere

he is adjusting to life as a member of the roberts family.

~lovely spaces~

via rue magazine

~tooth fairy~

last night brady says "put some money under my pillow" i say "do i look like the tooth fairy" he says "or if you don't have money you can just go get me some breakfast" brooke says "mom can you get me some breakfast too" i say " if you hurry and pull a tooth out"

~him vs her quiz~

B&B

brooke(13) and brady(12) and how they answered some of my random questions

what do you want to be when you grow up?

him: in the NBA

her: a wedding planner

what's your favorite food?

him: noodles

her: salad (??)

what do you think of your family?

him: good, i guess

her: good.

do you eat in an unusaul way?

him: no

her: i eat with my mouth open

what puts you in a good mood?

him: playing basketball

her: dancing and learning about God.

what are you afraid of?

him: spiders

her: squirrels

do you prefer chocolate or vanilla?

him: vanilla

her: chocolate

if you could take 5 things to a deserted island, what would you take?

him:

• gun
• fishing pole
• bed
• xbox
• tv

her:

• bible
• a big bucket of water
• justin bieber
• ipod
• cell phone

~feels like spring out.~

 after church brooke and i walked the bike trail. beautiful sunny weather with no wind this afternoon. we were hot and out of breath from the hills and craving some iced something to drink. 

 raspberry iced tea....something

cooled us off quick and very satisfying.

raspberry iced tea

• 4 qt. water
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 (12-oz) pkg. frozen unsweetened raspberries
• 10 individual tea bags
• 1/4 c lemon juice

in large kettle or dutch oven, bring water and sugar to a boil. remove from the heat; stir until sugar is dissolved. add the raspberries, tea bags,and lemon juice. cover and steep for 3 minutes. strain; discard berries and tea bags. transfer tea to a large container or pitcher. refrigerate until chilled. serve over ice.

makes 16 servings.

~little glass containers

the hubby bought some peaches from the store in this container and i must say i love the jars they came in.

they are easy and small enough to take snacks back and forth places. that are just the right size for snacking.

and then i clean and reuse over and over again.

great purchase my dear.

~walking towards a positive attitude~

this week we've had some really lovely weather...i mean 70 degrees is just right. not too hot or not too cold.

all  (mostly all) week i've been walking back to work from my lunch break and then walking home in the evening..(except on the really windy days)

but i've really notice my attitude has improved this week(which is a blessing due to my lack of estrogen these days) and i give all the credit to the walks

i forgot how much walking can bring peace to your soul

and uplift your spirits

seldom does someone walk and think about all their problems or things to get done. 

walking has a way of clearing your head

i forgot how good that feels.

lately i've been slacking on the walking thing

i'm thinking lack of time is my excuse, cold weather, or maybe here when I was bitten by a dog on one of my morning walks

but whatever the excuse it feels good to be back

back to sunny days and lots of long walks

~embarrassed

i'm ashamed to say i just now changed my calendar from Jan to March.........(17th)

so i'm a month and 17 days behind schedule
and totally missed putting February up there

i purchased this dry erase calendar in hopes to keep all the busyness organized

have got to try harder on keeping it updated...(long sigh)

on another note....came across this lovely quote by Tom Bodett

"the difference between school and life?

in school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test.

in life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson."

so true....i think i want to go back to school.

~he is so easy to love~

i switched toothpaste just recently and may have caused some confusion with my son.

last night when i told him to go brush his teeth (because even though we are 12 we still need to be reminded what to do nightly before bed) he asked " mom, where is the toothpaste"

i yell back from another room "it's in the bathroom"

HE still unable to locate it says " i can't find it"

i say "it's the one that says tom's on the counter"

i don't hear nothing for a few seconds then my bright- handsome- tall- big footed- little man-says:

"isn't that for heartburn"

he makes me smile...sometimes even laugh out loud.

~away time~

are you sick of the basketball pictures yet?? honestly this will be it...for awhile

until next season :)

we had to travel a couple hours from home a couple weeks ago for this tournament,

so we decided to make a little "getaway-trip" out of the deal

just some small fun like...

*staying in hotel

*swimming

*dining at red lobstah (as my family in maine would say...lobstah)

*a little bit of shopping at the mall

*and getting to SLEEP IN UNTIL ALMOST 7:00 A.M.

kids impressed with the WHOLE strawberry in their drink at red lobster.

almost to the point they didn't want to touch it.

brady doing some laps at the hotel.

pool to ourselves...what more could we ask for?

dad/hubby hanging out pool side.

brooke suddenly camera shy

see not so shy moments HERE.

brady jumping in pool for the 100th time.

love these short little getaways...

they don't happen often enough.....

what i took away from bible study last night~

"when we have a craving of to much of anything...it will soon lead to disaster."

and

"nothing more miserable than being so full you feel empty"

the only thing that can fill these empty spaces in us is the living water from our Father.
"Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." John 4:10

“My people have committed two sins:

They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water
Jeremiah 2:13

the continued search for something earthly to fill our empty places is costly, in the end
we will not be satisfied and will not fill the empty spaces in us.

"Salvation does not equal satisfaction"

P.S. if you get the chance to do this study i'd do it. over and over again. i'd do it.

last tournament with a coach with a sprained ankle...~

 life as a sixth grade basketball mom has come to an end. they played their last tournament in north platte this weekend. and even though i'll miss him playing...i'm excited. boy does the traveling get expensive and take alot of our time on the weekends. here is a few photos of my boy as he plays this past weekend. overall the boys did great!

 brady telling his friend what's up

 waiting for the ball.

 after coaching all day the foot was sore.



~i love good quotes~

God whispers to us in our pleasures,

speaks to us in our conscience,

but shouts in our pain;

it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.

C.S. Lewis