more time in georgia

snuggling up during a thunderstorm in charleston

the girls entertaining gramie in georgia - drawing her pictures and delivering them all dressed up

homemade pecan pie for dad on his b'day

smantha taylor - john's cousin's new baby girl

excited about her cinderella dress

her beautiful princess cake

john's parents headed out on their big RV trip :)

last weekend, we made yet another trip to georgia! yes, i think we've been every other weekend in august :) can you tell it's hard for me to miss things? it was my dad's actual birthday, my niece abby was turning 5, joyce and sonny were leaving on their month long trip in their new RV and i really wanted to see my mom post surgery and spend some time with her. see, there were lots of reasons to go!!!

recipes

some we've enjoyed lately...

Spicy Black Bean and Beef Soup

1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cans black beans
2 cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 can corn kernels
1 can chicken or vegetable broth
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp ground cumin
Dash red pepper
Dash black pepper
Bay leaves

Directions:
Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Chop and add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the meat in while the onions are cooking and let brown. Drain meat/onions and return to pot. Raise the heat under the pot to high and add chicken broth, and both cans of black beans and their liquid. Stir well. Drain the corn and add to the pot. Add stewed tomatoes (with liquid), garlic, thyme, cumin, red pepper, and black pepper. Cover the pot and bring soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 8 minutes to let the flavors blend, stirring often. Top with sour cream and cheddar cheese if you'd like.

If you're not big on spicy food, you can easily reduce the cumin and pepper, and it'll still be delicious. You can also just leave out the beef for a vegetarian dish.


Lettuce-Wrapped Picadillo

1 lb extra lean ground beef (could also use lean ground pork)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 (10z) package frozen onion and pepper medley, thawed
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 - 3 teaspoons hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Iceberg lettuce leaves - could also use tortillas
Lime wedges (optional, but soooo good)

Cook ground beef and minced garlic in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium high heat 10 minutes or until beef crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain and pat with paper towels.
Add onion and pepper medley to skillet; cook over med high heat, stirring often, 10 minutes or until onions are tender.
Stir in beef mixture, raisins, and next 5 ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, or until most of liquid evaporates. Serve beef mixture in lettuce leaves. Serve with lime wedges if desired.
Calories 175, Fat 5.6g

to be better

Post from John

Most of you know I am not the world's greatest football fan. However, some of you also know that I can become quite emotional when I witness greatness on the field. For instance, take Tim Tebow. I don't profess to know a lot about the man, but what I do know is that his character both on and off the field have brought me to tears on multiple occasions. I bring this up for one reason. I have recently been struck by how blessed we are to be surrounded by those who are better than us. When our peer group is made up of people who work harder, feel deeper, care more, and love more we are naturally made better ourselves.

I for one am constantly in the presence of my wife who outshines me in almost every way (at least in every way that really matters). This does make me uncomfortable from time to time, because it is a constant reminder of how much better God wants me to be. It also causes discomfort because my actions result in unfortunate results much more often than hers. But, back to the point. I know that one way God blesses us is by demonstrating His love and compassion through others. We each have people in our lives that offer up a road map to being a better man or woman just by the way that they live their lives.

Lauren, thank you for your character. Thank you for the way you love me, love my children, love our families, and most of all for the way you deeply love those who are less fortunate. Thank you for not letting your love live only as an emotion, but as a reflection of your actions throughout each day. Thank you for wanting me to be better, even after witnessing so many of my failures. Thank you for believing in me even when I have trouble believing in myself. Finally, thank you for making me want to be better.

John

comparison

thought it would be fun to compare...these 2 ultrasound pics are of susanna, a little over 20 weeks :)

sweet baby #3

profile - love the spine

leg up over the head - love this b/c we have the exact same u/s pic of susanna at this stage

the girls and freddy headed to the pool

we had our "big" ultrasound last friday and got to see our sweet baby! everything looked great and we are thankful. we'll have another one in a month to look at the heart b/c of some issues i've had with my addison's. the heart looked great at this one, but just to be safe, they'll look at it again when the baby is bigger and they can see more. i was tempted to find out who was in there, but resisted. john and i both "feel " like it is a boy. i felt that way with both girls so i'm obviously not good at guessing my own babies :) we will be absolutely thrilled either way!!! the last pic is of my precious girls walking to the pool together on saturday. freddy the frog spent the weekend with us...he is caroline's 5K class "pet" :)

caroline's first day of 5K

her breakfast - egg whites with cheese, strawberries and water

my note to her - kind of funny since she can't read :)

sleepy eyes, but ready to go

it was really bright outside

mommy, this is killing me!!

one more

at her desk...susanna is always close

caroline and mrs.moore

the classroom....and susanna :)

a sweet first day of kindergarten gift from mrs. moore

my baby started kindergarten thursday, august 20...how did that happen??? thankfully, she only goes half day, every day. i don't know what i'd do right now if i had to send her all day. one more year and then we'll deal with that! she was soooooo excited. she got up bright and early all ready to go. her teacher, mrs. moore, is absolutely wonderful. i could not be more excited for all she will learn this year and all the fun she will have as a big kindergarten girl!

mommy/caroline day, wed aug 19!

mommy/caroline day! on our way to the tea room

she LOVED her blackberry tea - had 3 little pots

mommy's meal - walnut chicken salad, fruit, crackers and hot blackberry tea

holding her teacup like a lady - chocolate/peanut butter sandwich, fruit and goldfish

our table for two by the fireplace...she said it was the most beautiful place ever!

cannot describe how much i love my little girl

our self portrait in front of the tea room

so true! it WAS "time well spent" :)

what a wonderful day! caroline and i have been wanting to have a day just the two of us. she is a quality time girl and i absolutely love spending time with her. it was a great opportunity for us to celebrate the end of an awesome summer and the beginning of her big year in kindergarten. we got dressed up and headed to summerville for lunch and tea at a cute tea room. caroline was so excited! she just giggled and smiled the whole way there. we were seated at a table for two by the fireplace and caroline love everything about it. she said it was the most beautiful place ever...by the way, it wasn't :) we started out with blackberry tea, hot for me and cold for her. she loved her little cup and saucer and had 3 little pots of tea. we had a yummy lunch and caroline said it was better than going to watch a movie, which was our original plan. she said "this is so much better b/c we can't talk during a move". she had an ice cream sundae for dessert and then we headed over to main street in summerville and browsed around for a while before heading back home. i absolutely love and cherish days like today.

papa's birthday a little early!

papa and susanna

papa and the grankids - except for napping andrew

blowing out the candles

the lathe we got papa - a woodworking tool :)

gramie and caroline - gramie got a little pre surgery gift

getting some help opening presents

my sister and her kids were in town from raleigh (for the first time since they moved) for mom's surgery so we decided to go ahead and celebrate my dad's b'day a little early while we were all together. we had brunch at the old mill restaurant in acworth and then had cake, ice cream and presents at home. happy birthday, papa!! we love and cherish you, you are the best husband, dad and papa in the world!