The Sweetest Things Sunday…Strawberry Cobbler or Blueberry Pie?

As we head into this long Fourth of July week…I just had to re-cap a few of my sweetest memories from this summer...

Those that will be forever etched in my mind and heart….

Those that will forever steal my soul…

Those that showed us places we'd never been before…

And those that brought our hearts back together again…

 Like our time together in Hilton Head and then in Savannah….

 Layton being so excited to finally be out of the car and at our home for a week all together!

It's these simple memories…the one's that capture your heart and leave you longing for more that make up the Sweetest things in my life right now…simple sweetness...

that's all it is!!!

that's all I've ever wanted it to be…

and yet it's become that and so much more…

enjoying it with my sweet, sweet, family…

And praying it never ends!!

 This ride that seems to take us on a new journey every time we round a corner…

Just the way God planned it and Ordained it!

Being able to watch Layton as she grows up 

All of us spending time with Miller before he heads off to Auburn in August….

 And even trusting God as we wait on His timing for Holly and Brad and what the next step is for them

 They have taught me so much about trusting in God and waiting on His perfect timing, about growing closer to each other and to God through various trials and triumphs, and about never questioning God's goodness…I hope we can be as big a blessing to them as they've been to us over these past 3 years as a young married couple. We couldn't be any prouder of them than we are!

 We will see them in a few days as we head off to New Orleans to spend the fourth with them! We might even take in a swamp tour….you just never know with them!

What I do know is that God has blessed us richly with our children and we are very thankful for that! I am very thankful for a husband that has loved me more than I could ever express to you and that even though there are certain circumstances we might change if we could…God knows what's best for our family and being able to rest in that knowledge and trust Him for His guidance is the Sweetest thing I know!

I'm never looking behind me again…unless it's to spur me on to live the life that God intends for me to live! The past is behind me….I press on….

Philippeans 3:13

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,

Tonight Mitch and Britney and Layton will come over for dinner…I gave Mitch a choice between these two yummy desserts! I can't wait to see what he chooses!

I hope you have a wonderful Fourth of July week and maybe you might want to try out these desserts as well! They are quite patriotic!

Strawberry Cobbler

Pastry for one single crust pie
1 quart strawberries, sliced
3/4 C sugar
1/4 C hot water
1/4 C unsalted butter, divided
Roll out pastry and divide in half. Cut into 1 inch strips. Place half of strips on a baking sheet and Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. ( Reserve other half for the top of the cobbler) Combine the strawberries, sugar and water. Spoon half of the mixture into a glass loaf pan. Top with 1/8 C butter, cut into pieces, and then the baked pastry strips. Add remaining berry mixture and 1/8 C butter. Top with the unbaked pastry strips arranged in a lattice pattern. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 250 degrees and bake an addition 1 1/2 hours. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream! 
( I double this for my family and do it in a glass 9 x 13)

or blueberry pie!

Post Cards From The Past...

Hilton Head Island …The "Early" Years!

Get Ready!

Oh yes, get ready indeed! I can't believe we are really going back!

Here I am… Reminiscing about all of the fun we had so many years ago,

Never dreaming that the memories we were creating then would come full circle like they are now!

We are setting out for Hilton Head in just a few short days…and we are already telling Layton how her daddy used to sing under the huge tree in Harbour Town with Greg Russell! He lived for it! We lived for it!!

We are hoping against hope that sweet Layton will sing for Greg as well…as I hear he is STILL there! Oh My! That's a long time to be singing under a tree all night every night with all of these kiddo's!

You know we lived for it if we were willing to sit in the South Carolina mugginess and heat every night to be entertained like this!

I wouldn't trade these memories for anything! And I certainly hope we will come back with plenty of our own!

Just look at my precious mother with my precious children!

And laugh at my hair!! Oh, there are LOTS of funny hair pics! Just you wait!

But there are also funny pics of Jim's shorts, socks, etc...

And mom is so cute here! I hope she thinks so!

Just floating the day away!

Oh, it's the hat that I meant to say earlier as well! It will NOT be with us on this trip! 

If you can get past the hat….look at the glorious, flat beach! Perfect for playing paddle ball or biking! Or spending time with your wonderful sister in law, Andrea!

Love this of my mom and sister and Holly! What an angel baby!

Ok…go ahead…LAUGH! Jim's outfit…MY outfit…you name it! I can assure you there are more to come in the next few days!

But you can't deny that we made memories!

Which is why I'm guessing that Miller chose this somewhat "fairytale" place for our family's senior trip!

I'm so glad he did! 

He may not have been here at this point in our lives or seen Mitch and Holly at this age...

But he wasn't THAT far behind!

And what he doesn't realize…and what I've never told him…is that while he and his cousin, Will weren't here during those early years…it's the place where we decided what his name would be! I can see it like it was yesterday! We had packed the car up and were headed home to Birmingham after a fabulous vacation with my family and I was staring out the car window and said to Jim, " What do you think about the name, Miller?"

The rest as they say….is history!!