every captive thought

I don't consider myself an expert baker or anything...I wouldn't say I am a beginner either. Maybe somewhere in the middle. But there is one thing that I just cannot master no matter how hard I try. Chocolate Chip Cookies. My husband loves them. And I've tried and I've tried but they are always a dismal failure. My mother makes them the best. My sisters make fabulous chocolate chip cookies also. But me, not so much...and I even worked in a bakery throughout high school! Well Brad had some things to go do this morning and while he was out, I thought I would try again. After the last time and his response to my pathetic attempt, I swore I would never make him chocolate chip cookies again. But my goal as his wife is to delight him...even if it means facing harsh criticisms of my baking abilities. And besides...I really love chocolate chip cookie dough...from the bottom of my heart...and the bottom of my thighs. So it's a small sacrifice to make. I followed the recipe s...

I had such a great morning with my sister-in-law, Karin and her little girl Addison. They are so much fun. James got to take a nap in Addi's bed and poor Addi had to nap in her pack and play. She is SO cute. She is so close to crawling. She does what her mom calls her downward dog yoga pose. It is so cute. Here is the little darling trying so hard to crawl to her mommy! I love having a sister-in-law that is younger than I am. I always wanted a little sister growing up and now I get one! We love that we are both staying home now so we get to spend more time together. Her mother-in-law, Barbara is a fabulous cook! Today Karin shared 2 of her scrumptious recipes with me and I'll share with you. Tonight I made her Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwiches. The recipe as it is would make 12-14 sandwiches. I cut the recipe in half and it made 6 sandwiches (could have easily made 7). I will tell you the recipe as it is, not as I made it in 1/2. Does that make sense? First of all, mix up 1 sti...

Today I've been given a small little glimpse into what my future holds with this active little boy. We started the day off right with a nice warm bubble bath. James loves bath time! And he really loves this little tiny duck. It is just the right size for his mouth. Which sort of worries me. He has started crawling really fast to one end of the tub and then belly-flopping. Then he'll crawl to the other end and do the same thing. Today he fell backwards and just laid there...enjoying the warm water I guess. It ended up being a bath for him and a shower for me. I may have actually gotten wetter than he did. Then I was hanging up some laundry and I heard some strange noises coming from the kitchen. I comforted myself with the thought that we have baby locks on all of the cabinets with dangerous stuff in them so he can't be getting into too much trouble. That's when I walked in and saw this... Now I am not saying I had the neatest cabinets to begin with but clearly James t...

Yesterday I had a few different conversations with a few different friends. What struck me is how we all have issues in our life and all want to do the right thing for our kids, husbands, wives, family, and selves. Outside of the Lord, I don't know how that is accomplished. No matter if it is concerning small issues or great big life changing ones...it is so comforting to know that the Lord knows it all and wants to help us through by giving us wisdom and guidance. I am fortunate enough to have several people in my life that pray for me. I can call these people and tell them what is on my heart and ask them to pray and I know they will. What is a real joy is also being able to pray for these people in the same way and see the Lord move in their lives. ~~~~~ Last night Brad and I watched Knowing . I don't know if I would really recommend it or not. Definitely not unless you read Ezekiel 1 first. Otherwise it just seems like a weird scary si-fi futuristic sort of movie. I think t...

We had a great anniversary! It started out by taking James to the doctor for his 9 month check-up. Can I just tell you how much we love our pediatrician !? She is just THE BEST! We go to Dr. Hoving and just adore her. Right after I had James she really did a lot for us and was nothing short of a direct answer to our prayers. And she has the world's best nurse ever....Lorraine. We have a very special bond with both of these wonderful ladies. One time we had to call the doctor's office late at night for something that was worrying us about James. Dr. Hoving was on-call that night and called us back. Brad was apologizing for calling so late and she said, "I'm glad to hear from you! I was just praying for yall !" You just can't get any better than that! Anyhow...James is tall and thin just like his dad! Other than that she told us he is doing just great and looks wonderful. We sort of already knew that but it's always good to hear it from a medical professio...

Happy Anniversary Bradley! I love you so much. You are one of the Lord's sweetest and most precious blessings to me. It is an honor and a pleasure to be your wife. I know this picture is blurry and out of focus...but I love it because it captures so much of what I remember about that day...flowers, smiles, Bradley, and it all went by in a blur. The following was part of our marriage ceremony . It is one of my favorite parts...aside from the I do's and whatnot of course... "The nearest place to Heaven in this world is a God-centered marriage. The opposite is also true. The nearest place to hell on earth is a home where bitterness and hatred and strife are prominent. More scars are put upon a person's character and heart in an unhappy home than in any other place." "Some say that a home ruled by God's word is a home where angels may be asked to stay with us and they will not find themselves out of place." "I know this is the kind of home that you...

I have a little catching up to do from last week. First and most importantly is this... This is one of my all time favorite pictures ever. This is my Dad and James on the 4th of July. And in case you haven't read it the other 60thousandmillion times I've said it...James is named after my Dad. And my Dad has been through a lot in the past year. I'm thankful for him. I'm thankful to have this picture of my son with him. I love the look on Dad's face. My Dad and I have always had a very special relationship. I completely adore him. I love to see the same relationship being built between he and James. ~~~~~ My beautiful nieces spent the week in Amarillo last week with my parents. I loved getting to see them everyday. They are such gracious lovely girls. I miss them. Dad took them out to Cadillac Ranch one day. Aren't they just fabulous!?! And another day I stopped by and they were making jam with my Mom. Isn't that just the perfect grandmotherly thing to do...