Homemade Birthday Treats

My sweet, soft, cuddly Lincoln Baxter is FOUR today!

We decided to celebrate with some homemade dog treats.

I found a few easy recipes on Pinterest and then did a little grocery shopping.

I may have gotten a little excited and bought ingredients for four different recipes.  

I think the first recipe is our favorite.  

Four simple ingredients.

The recipe calls for oat wheat.  I chose to make my own using oats and my food chopper.

You mix together 4 cups of oat flour, 2/3 unsweetened applesauce, 1/2 cup peanut butter, and 2 eggs.

I goofed up and added a whole cup of peanut butter.  OOPS!  It was an easy fix with a little more oat flour added to the mixture.

Mix it all together and then roll out the dough and cut with a cookie cutter.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

After they are fininshed baking and have cooled, they are ready to enjoy.

Lincoln Baxter pretty much inhaled his.

This second recipe was definitely the easiest.

Mix 32 oz plain greek yogurt, one banana, 2 tbs peanut butter, and 2 tbs honey.

I tried to use an icing bag to make little drops of this, but it was too thin.  I got a few made like that and the rest I put in a tupperware bowl.  You freeze and it is a nice cool treat for your furbaby.

Lincoln approves.

We haven't tried this third recipe yet.  They are still cooking.

You slice a sweet potato, cover them in olive oil, and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Bake at 250 for 2.5 - 3 hours.

The fourth recipe I tried was a flop and never made it to the oven.

I couldn't get the mixture to the right consistency.  It was sticky and crumbly.

Making treats is definitely cheaper than buying treats.  I think we will definitely make the first treats again and maybe the frozen ones too.

Five on Friday

Well it's been a bit of an emotional day around here.

Infertility blows!

I thought it might be fun and maybe even cheer me up to do a little Five on Friday post.

Let's talk about some happy stuff.  

ONE

I fully intend to live in dresses this summer.  They are so cool and comfy.  I scored this one at Old Navy today.  I loved it so much I bought it in this fun pink and in black.

(I call this picture The Flamingo)

TWO

This book came out Tuesday.  I finished it on Wednesday.  I would have finished it Tuesday but there is this little thing called sleep.

This is the best book I've read in a long time.  I lost count of how many times I literally laughed out loud...and I'm not talking a little giggle...I'm talking full on bust out laughing out loud.

THREE

I posted this picture on Instagram earlier this week.  I don't wear my hair down very often.  I didn't have time to put it up on this particular morning so down it was.  I was seriously in awe of how long it has gotten.  I kind of like it.


FOUR

I have already bought several little things for my new classroom theme.  It's all travel and adventure.  I'm loving this theme and cannot wait to see it all come together.  Pictures coming soon.

FIVE

After an emotionally hard day there is nothing better than an hour on our boat just relaxing with my sweetheart eating good food.  It was exactly what I needed.

Why I Don't Bash My Husband

This is my husband.

Y'all he is absolutely my best friend.

He is the first one I run to when I want to share about the best day ever.

And he is the first one I run to when I want to cry about the worst day ever.

He is smart and funny and has the biggest heart.

He is all kinds of wonderful and he makes me have all the heart eyes.

But he isn't perfect.

He is human.

If you follow me on any form of social media (which now includes snapchat because I'm cool like that) then you've been exposed to a few lovey dovey look at us having the time of our  lives status updates.

We like to have fun.

We like to laugh.

And I share those moments because it is in those moments when my husband is loving me well that I see Jesus in him.  It's in those moments that I see him unselfishly loving me - even though sometimes in those moments I am definitely not unselfishly loving him - that I am reminded of how big and how great the love of Christ is.

I share those moments because I want young women to see a positive example of how a husband should cherish his wife.

But I also don't won't to give young women the impression that marriage is all fun and games.

Because as with all stories there is another side.

Wow.  That makes my husband sound a little like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

It's not that bad.

But marriage does require hard work.

Because even with all the heart eyes I have for him, my husband isn't perfect.

And don't tell him this, but neither am I.

However, you will never see me update my status with the story of our latest breakdown in communication.

(Isn't that a much nicer way of saying FIGHT?)

And oh how there can be breakdowns.

Just give us a construction project.

It's like we suddenly start speaking two very different languages.

There is a tool out there that is commonly referred to as the divorce box in our house.  I have no idea what the tool is really called, nor do I remember it's purpose.  What I do know is that it caused an argument or two or three.  It caused all patience with one another to completely disappear.

I'm talking a Houdini-esque vanish.

Don't worry...we can laugh about it now.

But we still haven't used that tool since then.

But in all seriousness...

We get tired.

We get hangry.

We get selfish.

We're human.

But I made the choice a long time ago not to bash my husband in public.

What purpose does it serve?

Sure I might have a girlfriend or two who would take my side and tell me I deserve to be upset.

But more than likely what I really need is a girlfriend or two who will listen and sincerely pray with me and for me.  Someone who won't judge me or my husband, but will give Godly counsel.

Have you ever been around a dripping faucet or a leaky roof?

Annoying as heck right?

I don't know about you but I don't want to be described as a dripping anything.

Proverbs 27:15 says a quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping on a rainy day.

Umm....no thank you!

I'd much rather be more precious than jewels (Proverbs 31:10) or I wouldn't mind being a crown either (Proverbs 12:4).

Here is what I know...when Andrew and I quarrel (that word is underused these days.  It's so much nicer sounding than fight.) and we do quarrel because again...we are human, and then I continue to let those quarrelsome thoughts infect my heart by bashing him to anyone who will listen...

That's not the fast track to peace in our relationship.  That tends to make the fight last longer.

And fighting with my husband is pretty much my least favorite thing in the world.

Even more so than broccoli.

And I eat broccoli like Kevin on The Office eats broccoli.

(If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you are seriously missing out)

Back to the seriousness...

God commands us to love on another, to be tender hearted toward one another, and to forgive one another (Eph 4:32).

He commands wives to respect their husbands...and not just in the moments where they are making it easy, but in every moment.

For me, not bashing my husband in public is one way in which I respect him.

And I'm not saying I'm prefect at this.

Remember I'm human.

Sometimes those quarrelsome thoughts infest my heart and I allow Satan to convince me that my anger is justified and it is okay to bash my husband.

And then I'm left feeling worse than I did before.

I end up on my knees seeking forgiveness from both my Heavenly Father and my husband.

Forgiveness not only for my part in the fight in the first place but now for the bashing as well.

So I just want to encourage you, the next time your husband upsets you because he is a guy and they are just wired different than you or maybe loses his temper because its been a long day at work, instead of bashing him to the first girlfriend who answers her phone, take it to the Lord.  Ask him to soften both of your hearts.  Ask him to help you communicate better with one another.

I promise it's easier and better than the bashing you want to do in that moment.

With love my sweet friends,

My Faith Closet

Children's books.

Those were easy for me to buy.

As a book worm and a teacher, buying books was well within my comfort zone.

Books were easy for me to justify in my head.

Believe me when I say our someday baby has more books than the children's section at the public library.

If my child doesn't love reading, you may very well find me in the corner, balled up in the fetal position, crying.

But clothes...

for a baby who wasn't even born...

who wasn't even conceived...

that was out of my comfort zone.

I was a bit embarrassed to be buying clothes for a child I didn't even have.

It took me a long while before I even let Andrew know what I had been doing.

I call it my faith closet.

And over the past five years it has grown.

It's not big.

But it a visual reminder of moments where I bought something believing with everything in me that some day there would be a baby to fill those clothes.

There have been times over the past few years when I've considered giving the clothes away or selling them.

But I haven't.

I've mustard up just enough faith to hang on to them.

Occasionally I pull them out, cry, and thank God for the baby that I know will someday wear them.

This razorback dress was the very first thing I added to my faith closet.

Our sweet baby also has a few HG shirts because at the time I never dreamed I would be teaching somewhere else.  I actually have this shirt as well.  Maybe we'll put on our matching HG gear and go to a football game sometime.

My high school mascot was a kangaroo so when I saw this sweet little outfit I had to have it.  The ruffles on the booty didn't hurt my decision.

This little onesie made me giggle.  If you know my husband you know the truth of this one.

I'm a sucker for baby gowns.  I'm pretty sure my child may wear nothing else until he or she can walk

I think, like most women, I've always dreamed of having a little girl.  Though I will say my nephews make me love the idea of being a boy mom.

But there is something about the idea of having a mini-me.

I've had my daughter's first name picked out for a long time.

And one day, I not only stepped out in faith of having a child, but in faith of having a daughter.

And I ordered her this little outfit for Christmas.

Those are a few of my favorite pieces from my faith closet

As Andrew and I move toward doing IUI, I can't help but think maybe next year there will be a sweet little babe in those clothes.

Memorial Day Weekend

This past weekend was such a fun one.

Andrew and I have spent the past four days with family and friends.

It could not have been more perfect.

Saturday afternoon we loaded up and headed out on The Liberty Belle.

We met up with some friends, Thomas and Jennifer and their eight kids.

I loved having kids on the boat.

One of their boys, G, ran a continuous loop all afternoon.  He would climb up on top of the boat, jump off, and then do it again.

A few weeks ago Andrew bought a new grill for the boat and we were excited to try it out.

Boat food is always the most delicious food you'll ever have.

Sunday afternoon brought family for some lake time.  

We were on the water until 10 PM.

It's just so beautiful and peaceful out there.

We were back on the water Monday with even more family.

When we closed the boat up Monday afternoon, it was a little sad knowing we wouldn't be back out there the next day.

I'm not sure any of us were ready to leave the water, but we had to get home for our Third Annual Americana Porch Party.

I have to admit I was little discouraged about this party a week ago.  It seemed as if no one was coming and things just weren't coming together.

So silly to stress.

Everything came together and we ended up having our largest group yet.

Andrew and I love hosting this party.  We pretty much start planning the next one as soon as one ends.  One of our favorite parts to plan is our outfits.  

I actually bought a dress last summer that I planned to wear this year.

And then I bought a romper a few months ago that I planned to wear.

And then a few weeks ago I found some presidential shirts which led to me wearing a Reagan/Bush shirt.  

Andrew of course had to have an losing candidate.  

He stands out in the group picture.  He's been looking for a way to bring in yellow since the first year.

This is the one time of year he doesn't mind us purposely coordinating our outfits.

I love it.

2016

2015                                                      2014

It's all fun, but it's all possible because of the real reason we celebrate Memorial Day.  Thank you to the men and women who have served and are serving our country.  There is no greater sacrifice than to lay down one's life.  Only two have done this.  Jesus Christ laid down his life so that I can have the promise of eternal life.  The American soldier laid down his life so that I can live in a free country.  

Thank you to the families of those who have served and who are serving our country.  Your sacrifice doesn't go unnoticed. 

And just when I thought all the family fun was over, we got to have dinner with family Tuesday night, including Cary.  We missed getting to see our other Carolina Weavers.