Love Your Neighbor

I took a week off last week.  Truth be told...I was really emotional & upset over the tornado in Joplin.  I hugged my kids tighter every night & I held Bferg closer every chance I got.  Next to Jesus, my family is the most important thing in my life. 

And because we are not guaranteed tomorrow; I am so thankful & blessed by my "today's".  Loving my family, serving my neighbors & pursuing my God is what matters when I lay my head on my pillow each night.

Bferg & I had the opportunity to go into Joplin on Thursday night.  We spent the first part of the week collecting clothing & personal care items from friends.  We had a contact in Joplin & dropped our load (which was our entire SUV:) at Forest Park Baptist Church.  Words cannot describe what we saw in Joplin.  The tireless volunteers serving free food, AT&T trucks lined up as phone charging stations, pallets & stacks of bottled water, American flags everywhere & then the devastation.  Complete devastation.  I openly wept as we drove through. 

Pray, pray, pray for the people & churches of Joplin.  Go & help if you are able.  The next step is uncertain for so many & we are called to be the hands & feet of Christ!

 We had a fun filled Memorial Day weekend.  We had friends over Friday night for an Official Start of Summer BBQ.  We had a blast!  9 kids + 1 newborn + 8 adults = FUN!  The weather turned out to be nice & we stayed outside until all the kids melted down.  (It was a slow progression...one by one. :)

Sunday after church we headed over to Tulsa with some friends to visit the Aquarium.  It was really neat!  Aubrie & Bferg got hands on & touched star fish, a shark of some sort & stingrays.  I was happy behind the camera...no need to touch things for Mommy!  Lily was cracking me up because she would just splash the water & think that she had "touched" each creature.  I think she really just liked using the automated Purell stations that were scattered about! 

Collin & Aubrie pointing out their favorite fish.

I never did get a pic where all 4 kids were looking at the camera!

We made it to the Lake on Monday but didn't exactly make it out of our dock.  We had some boat trouble which equaled (big time) tears from Aubrie but we quickly remedied the situation by heading to our neighborhood pool.  The water was freezing!!!  But they didn't seem to mind!

I hope you all had a fun & relaxing weekend!  Very thankful to all the men & women who serve our country!

Happy Summer!!!!
Rachel

Blogger Fail #1

The girls & I spent a long weekend in Missouri & I failed to take a single picture.  Not a single one!  I could have been showing pictures of the fun baby shower that we attended on Saturday morning for my sweet cousin Amy....  And then there was the birthday party for my niece, Taylor, who is cute as a button right now with her dark hair & slightly fall in her eyes banges.  We blew bubbles & bounced HUGE colorful balls all morning Monday against a BLUE not a cloud in sight sky.  Tuesday was spent at Suson Farm with a picnic lunch followed by petting horses & looking at sweet 3 week old baby cows.... 
All of that fun & not a single moment captured.  Ahhh, I have failed as a blogger.  Please accept my apologies & use your imagination!
I did have some pictures on my camera to share.  They were from Mother's Day...it kind of fits with the weekend since I got to spend lots of time with just me & my sweet girls.

{Love them!}

I {love} this picture!  Lily sharing a kiss! :)

~Tasty Tuesday~

Summer is literally JUST around the corner!  We made our first trip of the summer to our local Farmer's Market this weekend & while we just walked away with arugula, the excitement of the crops to come was definitely in the air.
This is a recipe that is perfect for summer because the more it marinates the better it tastes & it is perfect for outdoor eating.

Marinated Zucchini With Mint
2 Cloves Garlic
Olive Oil
4 Medium Zucchini, trimmed & sliced 1/4inch thick
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 - 2Tbs. Red Wine Vinegar
About 10 Fresh Mint Leaves, torn into pieces


Halve the garlic lengthwise, slice into 2 or 3 pieces.  Set aside.
Over medium heat, pour enough olive oil into a frying pan to cover bottom. (Oil should be hot enough to "sizzle" zucchini on contact.)  Put a single layer of zucchini slices into the pan & cook, turning once, until well browned on both sides.  (About 5 minutes.)  As the slices are ready, lift them from the oil with a slotted spoon & put them in a serving bowl.  Continue cooking the slices until all are finished.
Sprinkle the zucchini with salt; add the garlic & stir in 1 1/2 tablespoon vinegar, mixing gently.  Add then mint leaves & stir once.  Place in refrigerator until the zucchini are no longer warm, about 30 minutes.  Taste & adjust with a little more vinegar if desired.  You can serve immediately, wait a few hours, or even the next day! 


Enjoy!

Rachel

Happy Mother's Day

There isn't anything like it in the world....  The baby that you carried & nurtured for months being placed in your arms for the very first time.

Aubrielle Raye {08.08}

{BEST Lips ever!}

Lily Katherine {03.03}

{MOST Kissable Cheeks!}

 

I am so blessed!  Blessed by my girls & so blessed by my Mom!  So very blessed!

"Charm is deceitful & beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."  {Proverbs 31:30}

Love the Moms in your life!  

Rachel

Aubrie's Rainbow

"And God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me & you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, & it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me & the earth.  And it shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, & I will remember My covenant...'"  {Genesis 9:12-15}

Aubrielle spotted her very first rainbow last night.  She came running into the house after a totally random & exceptionally short rainfall.

"Mom! Dad! You gotta come here & look!"  The delight in her face, the awe in her eyes & the splendor of our Creator were all on display.

It lasted for about 5 minutes.  The clouds moved out as quick as they rolled in & the blue skies reappeared just in time to watch a glorious sunset.  It was pretty much a nostalgic moment in the Ferguson house!
I'm thankful to God that He gives us visible, real teachable moments with our children!

Rachel
PS: I wish I had a better camera because the colors were MUCH better than what I captured....

~Tasty Tuesday~

Tuesday.  I love my Tuesday's!  It is a day that I for sure have something scheduled that gets me out of the house & allows my girls to play with their friends...my Bible Study.  Not only does it get this sahm OUT but it refreshes my soul in so many different ways!
Today's recipe is a new one for me.  I needed to take a breakfast item to church this morning & when I pulled up "coffee cake" on the internet I actually had ALL the ingredients ready & waiting for me!  It turned out really yummy!  I did make some small adjustments to the recipe & I added a powdered sugar glaze because I lost half of the top in my bundt pan.  :)

Coffee Cake
2 Sticks (room temperature) Butter
2 Cups Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 Cups Flour
1 Tbs. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt

1 Tbs. Cinnamon
1 Tbs. Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Sugar

2 Tbs. Powdered Sugar


Preheat oven to 350* 
Greased bundt pan.  Cream together butter & sugar (2 cups).  Add eggs one at a time mixing well between eggs.  Mix in the sour cream & vanilla.
In large bowl, mix flour, baking powder & salt.  Add 1/2 of the dry into the wet, mix until combined & then add the second 1/2 of dry.  Mix until combined.

Mix remaining sugar (1/4 cup), brown sugar & cinnamon.  Set aside.  (I actually mixed double of this because that is my FAVORITE part of a coffee cake.  I did not regret this & will probably always double the "filling".)


Pour 1/2 of the batter into your greased bundt pan.  Sprinkle the sugar & cinnamon mixture evenly around the pan.  Add the second 1/2 of the batter on top of the sugar/cinnamon mixture.  (I had to spread it out with a spatula to make sure it covered evenly.)
Bake at 350* for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let cool on a rack until warm & turn out on plate.
Dust the top with the 2 Tbs of Powdered Sugar.  (Or make a glaze with milk like I did.)

Enjoy!

Rachel