Piano.

                                    
                                 
 I pray that this is an encouragement to people who feel like giving up with any instrument, and have made other activities in life more important. I tell you to keep at your musical instrument... and you'll never regret it. Your musical ability to play is something that no one can ever take away from you. So keep at it, and remember that God has blessed each of us with two hands, to play whatever instrument suits us. And be an encouragement and blessing to others through your music.

Shopping Trip.

 We arrived home from our little shopping expedition a couple days ago. We had such a lovely time...And after a couple hours in the car, a Mocha ice coffee, and a strawberry smoothie from Panera Bread was deliciously refreshing. Some Cheez-It's were also brought along on the trip as a snack.

We stayed at some friend's house, and were blessed by their hospitality.

On our way back home we stopped at a mall. There was a Disney store and we all enjoyed walking around. Goosie Girl was fascinated by the Frozen cups:)

And here, a stack of plush characters from Disney movies. God blessed us with beautiful weather, and good times spent with friends, and each other.

Bread Loaves.

 I have recently been trying to make homemade bread more frequently. Just because even though it takes some time.... healthy homemade bread is much better than store bought.

 I made some fresh loaves today... which turned out so beautifully brown and soft. The recipe is for sandwich bread... which in fact works great for sandwiches( I mean it doesn't fall apart like past bread recipes that I've made before) So here is the recipe and I hope that you enjoy it as much as we do!Sandwich Bread Recipe 
Note: Just to make it a little more buttery and rich.... I greased my bread pans with soft butter. Enjoy!

Today.

Blossoms, Cookies, and Packing.

 I was so thrilled to find these sweet pink blossoms adorning some of our fruit trees outside this morning!!!

 I had to get some snapshots before they fall off... or( indefinitely which I am praying against the frost kills them:(

 These are the blossoms to our cherry tree....

 And today I have been busy in the kitchen baking and cooking. This weekend all of us ladies are taking a shopping trip for a couple days.... YEAH! So I've had to make food to leave at home for the rest of the crew( a.k.a. my Dad and brothers)

 I have seen this recipe for Thin Mint Cookies out on Pinterest. YUM!!! I love mint, and so I thought while I was baking, might as well try them...
                                      
 They were a huge success, and my family expressed that they tasted just like the Girl Scout cookies you buy.

 And a favorite recipe that we've recently added to our collection is this Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Muffin.

 A delicious....moist muffin, these are great for an afternoon snack, or even as a breakfast muffin.

 This is a new tote bag that my Mom bought for me for traveling purposes.

And my "To Do List" not really used for "what to do" but rather what I'm looking for as we go shopping. I'll be taking along my camera... and so hopefully in the midst of everything I'll get a couple snapshots of our shopping spree. Have a great weekend!

"Let's Go Fly A Kite"

 Last weekend, we enjoyed an evening at the park flying kites. We recently bought these two and have been wanting to try them out.

 A beautiful windy was what we needed... and alas we had a clear spring day with just enough wind for kite flying.

 Goosie Girl and Hair Stylist watch as they get their kite up in the sky.

 Once we got the kites up... it was enjoyable to just sit back and steer them to and fro.

 The grass was so soft and green at the park....

Tapper and Wii Boy as we bring down the kites. Have you ever flown a kite? Or has perhaps Mary Poppins inspired you too.....???

Happy Mother's Day.

Before Mother's Day gets too far away, I wanted to share a few pictures of the special day.

We enjoyed a lovely breakfast, and had a delicious Mocha Chocolate Ice Box Cake for dessert.

All of us were busy during the days leading up to Mother's Day... preparing decorations, cards, and wrapping gifts.

We enjoyed a sunshiny, and beautiful day.... and spent the afternoon giving our Mom her gifts and cards.

Happy Birthday.

 We recently celebrated my Mom's birthday... and even though our house is still a bit discombobulated we wanted to make it special. Tapper, Hair Stylist, and I( Sapphire) were in charge of cooking up a special birthday brunch.

 I did the table settings and decoration, and had lots of fun arranging the table.

A delicious bacon egg bake, fruit salad, and sourdough toast was the special brunch menu.

Our trees haven't really started budding here yet, so I cut down some branches and decorated them with artificial flowers, and ribbon.

We all enjoyed being outside for most of the day, and  when the sun began to set, we gave our Mom her cards and presents. It is always fun to see the creativity of the homemade cards that we all make.

Leaving for the Lakeside.

 So lately, we have been doing a demolition job on our house, and this week have been working on our living room/ dining room floor. It gets tough after a while to stand clear of a wet floor, and have to make meals and live through it all. So some of us went to a condo, and spent the night.

 We were up four stories and had a magnificent view.

 Even though its April, as your can see there is still snow on the pier.

 We spent the day walking along the beach, and playing in the sand. The water was cold, but the sun shone brightly and we had a good time.

 We started taking mid-air snapshots of us jumping over this fence.

 The waves rolling in along the shore.

 I know this picture is a bit blurry, but it was so neat to see the lighthouse turn on once the sun had set.

 This morning when we left, we stopped at a little toy shop in town. They had some stuffed animals that looked so real!

The greatest thing of walking along the beach, was just basking in all the creation the God has made for us to enjoy. The water, rocks, sand, sun, the wind, and everything. Thank you Jesus!