'round here and the best chocolate peanut butter pie recipe in the universe!

'round here we've been sleeping in and cuddling with little people who like to sneak into my bed.

'round here sisters have been getting along(mostly!) and spending time together.

this photo was not staged.  

amen.

'round here we entertain heroes at breakfast.

'round here i've been fluffing and cutting fresh blooms off of my bushes.

'round here i've been nursing a broken/disjointed pinky toe.  

i stubbed it on an old metal school chair one night and thought i was going to die.

#criedfordays

over two weeks later, it's finally healing!

'round here brothers have been playing well(for the most part)

and can you even believe how big they are getting?

i can totally see how they will look when they grow up in this picture.

little men in the making.

'round here we took a trip to our favorite thrift and it didn't disappoint.

$12 later, we had all this and much more.

maddie found the perfect vintage birthday gifts for her friend and eleanor found two 

long skirts(dad approved) that are super cute!

'round here(in an effort to rest my toe) and hang out with the kids more, we watched my favorite movie #ofalltime,
pride and prejudice.

can you say couch potato?

'round here the kids have been painting quite a bit.

a little summer art, if you will.

'round here we brushed up on our schoolwork.  

everyone is thrilled as you can see.  :)

'round here, i have been loving this IKEA mag.

i can find about 10 places i would put that fabric covered hanging lamp and so much more.

 

'round here we have been trying a whole lot of new recipes.

and some people don't appreciate the abundance of eggplant and summer squash in their soup.

#rude

so a few weeks ago, i went and bought a smash book with the intention to use it for a special recipe book.

then i saw carissa had done the same thing!

how cool is that?

my girls hunted down a recipe for silken chocolate peanut butter pie that was dairy free, so it met the qualifications to go in the smash recipe book....IF we made it and loved it.

well, we made it, ate it, loved it.

end of story.

now you have to, too.

SILKEN CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PIE 

1 cup non dairy dark chocolate chips

1 package tofu(we used 12 oz. firm tofu)

2/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup evaporated cane juice(i'm going to try agave nectar next time)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

graham cracker crust

you can make your own which would be best using earth balance instead of butter

OR

you can buy one at the store like we did for times sake and just make sure you pick one with the least amount of ingredients(no dairy for us)

1.  melt chocolate chips on low heat...let cool

2.  place tofu, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla in food processor or blender until smooth.

3.  add cooled chocolate and blend again

4.  pour into crust and refrigerate until firm.

5.  garnish with raw peanuts

i kid you not, this pie tastes like the dreamiest reeses peanut butter pie EVER.

there will never be enough of it.

ever.

hope you try it!

xo, 

mary

spending my time

hello, dear ones.  

this is me, hiding behind my coffee.

i have missed chatting with you, but i can assure you, you've been on my mind a lot.  :)

this summer is challenging me in different ways than i expected.

our new home school year is right around the corner, taunting me to plan and organize it, but i'm trying to squeeze every last ounce of summer lazy that i can.

i am craving fall already, which is amazing, seeing as i feel like summer just started.

God is so amazing like that.

He knows when i need prompting and change, and somehow each season is so welcomed by me in all of it's newness and beauty.

fall means apple cider and pumpkins, tube socks and sweaters, jeans and my fave boots.

it's organized days of school, getting up on time, and feeling like we've accomplished big things.

i am sort of scared for all of the responsibility, yet excited for the push it gives me.

is this all random?

why yes, yes it is. :)

i was challenged earlier this summer by this verse.

"we spend our years as a tale that is told."

Psalm 90:9 b

i heard a sermon on this verse once, and it was so interesting to me.

we spend our time.

spend  (spnd)

v. spent (spnt), spend·ing, spends

v.tr.

1. To use up or put out; expend: spent an hour exercising.

2. To pay out (money).

3. To wear out; exhaust: The storm finally spent itself.

4. To pass (time) in a specified manner or place: spent their vacation in Paris.

5.

a. To throw away; squander: spent all their resources on futile projects.

b. To give up (one's time or efforts, for example) to a cause; sacrifice.

like i take my time and divvy it out according to importance, 

carefully counting my coins(hours) and separating them into piles, to see how much i have and how i want to spend it.

that is what we do with our time, too.

except i have been very bad at divvying out my time in the areas that it should be.

my 'time' bank account has been in the red and i have been learning more about spending my time with Him. and part of that means focusing more on them...

...being more of a 'yes' mom.

that's why i haven't been around here much.

i am not the person who is good at time management.

i am challenged to be better.

God wants my best and my family deserves it. :)

so yah.

that was a bonus for you...just something that has been on my heart.

how do you spend your time?

three of our kiddos went off to camp this summer.

for a WHOLE week!

it was super relaxing, and i was able to spend some awesome time with my youngest...just focusing on him.

it was so wonderful.

while i missed my other children, i knew they were well taken care of, and only 10 minutes away.

we went junking, ate out a LOT, went retail shopping, painted, played, and i learned a lot about that sweet little red head.

time well spent.

my mother in law hosted a family reunion at their home a few weeks back.

it was a blessing to see some of the extended family, and especially to spend time with nathan's grandparents.

his grandpa's health is declining, so the fact that they made the trip was amazing.

father daughter love right here.

time well spent.

if i've said it once, i've said it a hundred times.

my oldest is a for real teenager now.

#stopgrowingup

but i know that's not possible.

she is changing just like the seasons and she is so very beautiful, inside and out.

it stops me in my tracks some days.

time spent with her is a blessing and i love watching her blossom into a sweet, Godly young woman.

dipping my toes through the dewey grass early in the a.m. is time well spent.

battling all of the spiders that have built homes into my hydrangeas, snipping their blooms and enjoying the increase that God has blessed us with, even through a partial drought, is something i truly relish in.

chatting with the birds and hanging laundry on the line...

add a lemon verbena candle and a cup of hot coffee and i've got a perfect morning.  :)

flower picking with two of my nieces.

time well spent.

#lovethis

now i don't want to lead you all into thinking i have spent all of my time like i should, because that would be so far from the truth.

there have been wise transactions and very poor ones, but i am trying to focus on the positive, and keep pressing forward into using the time that God gives me in my day to honor Him, and not end up like a frazzled mama mess.

because that happens.

a .lot.

so, i think i'm going to keep focusing on becoming more like the definition of spend

5b:::sacrifice...i want to give up my time and efforts on the things that really matter.

so that i don't end up like 

5a:::throwing away and squandering my time with futile, unimportant things.

i want my tale to be one that is pleasing to Him.

 ^"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."

Psalm 90:12

xo,

mary

july 2012 ten on ten::moving day

raise your hand if you think that summer is flying by waaaay too quickly.

{my hand is raised}

our days have been filled with cookouts, friend's houses, painting, more painting, trying to stay sane in the midst of the intense heat{last two weeks}, and the general busyness that comes with everyday life. 

and about that hot weather...

i was starting to feel like i was in the middle of a long winter spell here, not being able to go outside and all.

the kids were plopped down in front of the t.v. way more than normal, i did too much sitting around looking at walls{hence the painting}, and i was generally pretty crabby some days feeling stuck!

do you know that feeling?

well, praise the Lord, the 100 degree weather has left us for now, and the upper 70's have been feeling pretty good.

you would think that i would have plenty of time to sit down and chat with you, but the days filled up fast with lots of other things and so i haven't gotten to share very much with you.

let's catch up...

*we got chickens!
*i found a really cool chalkboard at a garage sale and humiliated my kiddos.

*i got to have coffee grown up time with a good friend that i don't see very much.

*we picked jalapenos from our garden!

*i have been failing miserably on my summer plan. :/  boo hoo.  

the heat and my general laziness have really gotten on the way of running.

*AND i have absolutely not been eating 90% raw.

ummmmm......going to cookouts and awesome friend's homes for dinner{or the drive in} makes it really hard to eat raw.  there may be self control issues in there, too.

so, now that i've given you a teeny update....let's get on to today!

nathan was home, and we promised some friends of ours that we would help them move.

we did sort of a trade, even though we would've helped them anyway.  ;)

starting at 9:00 a.m.{ish}, here's my day in pictures.

beauty in the ordinary.

because it's there, even when i choose not to acknowledge it.

elly winding thread for her latest hobby, embroidering

library day {and a jokester}

on the go breaky/lunch

moving time! 

taking jack to his ENT appointment

the new house! 

bathroom break

blessed to know her

 supper at my fave place to eat...too lazy to cook

 back home in my haven...jammies and all.

it's off to bed for me girlies....this is one tired mama.

xo,

mary