Kennedy's First Memory Verse

Sunday, July 28th, marked a major milestone for Kennedy. She memorized her first Bible verse! She was so excited and learned it very quickly. We made a chart-she picked out paper and wrote her name on it, and I wrote the verse she learned and let her pick out a sticker to go by it. She loves that she can pick a sticker each time she leans a verse. I am teaching her a memory verse at home each week. Jordan and I are so proud of her for this important accomplishment!

Ephesians 6:1

Children obey your parents, in the Lord, for this is right.

Jackson Learns to Pray

Last Sunday (July 21st) I was at the sink washing dishes, and I heard Jordan teaching Jackson to pray-thankfully, my camera was on the counter so I grabbed it peeked over and captured this precious moment on camera.

Chandler Grace's Mount Everest

Chandler Grace climbed onto the sofa for the first time without any help July 21st! She was very proud of herself judging by the look of accomplishment on her face! Daddy's chair and ottoman were the next targets. This girl is fearless-I didn't see it coming with how dainty she is, but she'll smile all the way down as she purposely walks off of the sofa, chair or ottoman. Scares her Mama, but she's having a great time. Another daredevil? Oh my.

Jackson Meets the Mat

This sweet boy?

Last night and for the first time, Jackson got sent to the mat for "time out." Two years old, so I guess we're there. He never gets into any trouble so, it was hard for me to see him there, hear him cry, ask repeatedly from the second he sat down "Can I get up now?", then beg "I gotta show you something, Mama" over and over. Longest two minutes of my life. I kept looking at the clock and thinking "Hurry Up!"

Well, he survived and so did I. It may have been the first time, and as much as I'd like to believe, I'm sure it won't be the last. Sweet Kennedy, who seems to enjoy the mat considering the amount of time she spends there, seemed relieved that for once it was not her!

We managed to regroup and continue with our family night of Duck, duck, goose and playing tennis, golf and bowling on the Wii.

Kennedy & Mama's Special Day

Last Saturday for our special day, Kennedy chose to eat lunch at Lancaster's BBQ restaurant. We even got to sit at a booth in the bus at Kennedy's request. It was neat taking in all of the NASCAR memoribillia-although we're not into that. (Man, this town is totally wasted on us!)
It was wonderful! We had hush puppies, fried pickles and ranch for appetizers. For lunch Kennedy got a corn dog and fries and I got the BBQ sandwich and onion rings. She even got to order a Mr. Pibb (major deal since she never has coke!) We played in the arcade after we finished eating.
Afterwards, we hit the Dollar Tree and she got to pick out one toy. Of course she chose the purse, earring, bracelet, necklace combo. (We have gone through 3 or 4 of these!)
Then we went to the matinee to see Space Chimps. She loved it and it was really cute. After the movie, we went shopping for school clothes at the consignment shop so it worked out great that she played with toys while I scouted her size! On our way home we drove through Sonic to get a slush-perfect way to complete the outing. A perfect girls day.
I treasure the time we have together-just the 2 of us. It is so special. I love that I can just focus on Kennedy and give her all of my attention. And she loves that it is just about her. I really don't know who has more fun?!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

**My sweet friend, Raegan, emailed me that you can also use bleu cheese instead of ranch as an alternative! I'll, have to try that, too!
**Also, I noticed that they actually have Frank's buffalo wing hot sauce on the shelf next to the plain Frank's hot sauce. Another version to try!

Okay, all you spicy food lovers out there...
If you love buffalo wings, this is the recipe for you!
Very simple, very spicy and very good.

Buffalo Chicken Dip
2 12.5 oz cans of chicken; drained
2 8 oz blocks of cream cheese
1 cup Ranch dressing (from bottle)
1/2 cup Frank's hot sauce (Don't substitute-it won't have that authentic buffalo wings taste)

Combine & stir ingredients; put in 13X9 pan.
Bake at 350 until browns (about 30 minutes). Serve with tortilla chips.
Enjoy!
*Use 1 cup of Frank's hot sauce instead of 1/2 cup for the daredevils!

3, 6, 9, 12 Months

I thought it would be fun to post Chandler Grace's 3, 6, 9 and 12 month pictures for comparison and because she is the only one of the 3 that I managed to get this done for!

I just can't believe a year has come and gone and my baby girl has grown this much.

Chandler Grace's 1 Year Picture

Chandler Grace Harr

1 year old

Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

I decided to post this recipe because it is that good! Jordan used this recipe from my childhood church home ladies cookbook, and they are AMAZING! Like I mentioned, I've never really cared for peanut butter cookies, but I tried these since he made them-they were so good. So, Amanda, this is for you and any other blogger friends out there that would like to try them out:

1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
1 c. butter, softened (do not substitute)
1 c. peanut butter
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Cream together brown sugar, white sugar and butter. Mix in peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla. In separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to cream mixture. Shape into balls and place on well greased cookie sheet. Dip a fork in flour and mash the dough balls down. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. This makes around 50/60 cookies!

ENJOY!!

How we spent the 4th

Hooray for long weekends! It was so nice to get Jordan for an extra day. Friday and Saturday we headed outside for the day after the babies naps and spent most of our time in the pool or playing outside while dinner was on the grill. Then we'd come in and shower before dinner and dessert and and then play Wii or a game with the kids before their bedtime.
The fourth was a lot of fun. Jordan grilled steaks and Kennedy and I made a flag cake for desert. We played Wii and Hot Potato until time for fireworks. We didn't shoot off fireworkds or go to the big display here on the lake due to the on and off again rain. Instead, we let the kids stay up until it was dark and we watched everyone else's fireworks from our front porch-not a bad deal by the way! It was quite a show.
Sunday brought rain, so we hung out inside and managed to get a lot of work done. The toy room was one of the targets and I went through and got rid of toys and reorganized it for the kids to actually be able to see what they have to play with rather than it being scattered all over the floor! Jordan made desert last night-peanut butter cookies from scratch (I don't even like peanut butter cookies-these were amazing! Seriously, I think I ate 5!) So, we let Kennedy take some over to our sometimes neighbors, Bruce and Teresa Sunday evening. They are an older couple from New York and they use the house next door as a vacation home. They will live there permanently in 2 years when he retires. They have a Jack Russell Terrior, Roxie, that my children adore. She is so playful and good with them. We ended up staying outside visiting with them. They are very fascinating-Bruce was one of the firefighters at 9/11.
It was such a relaxing weekend, we felt like we were away on vacation! We just enjoyed being together. Hope everyone's 4th was great!

Arkansas Visit

We had such a great time visiting our family!
First we went to Grandpa and Grandma's and the kids played with all of their cousins-Coby, Kaolin, Parker, Garrett, Gracie, Jordan, Johnny and Jace. This was our first time to be there in a year! It was so nice to see Grandpa, Grandma and all of Jordan's brothers and their families! Jackson was a Grandma's boy!
Our first night there, Nathan, Jordan's cousin, had a fish fry for us! All of Jordan's family and some of the Lincoln, Campbell, Tappe and Mosher crew were there and the food was awesome. It was nice to be outside and be with everyone.
At Grandpa and Grandma's, the kids got to jump on the trampoline, swim in Grandpa and Grandma's pool, see their new goats, sit on Grandpa's tractor, and just had a blast playing outside with their cousins. Kennedy and Jordan even managed to go off on an adventure towards the woods to hunt for deer until their daddy's noticed! Another favorite thing for Kennedy and Jordan is to sit in the kid sized rocking chairs and watch movies. They were big buds this trip. Also, Johnny and Jackson were big buds, too. They loved playing outside together. They also got to play at Parker, Garrett and Gracie's house and outside on their play structure. The grown ups enjoyed visiting and playing our traditional game of Trivia Pursuit after the kids went to bed. One of the highlights of the trip for everyone-Grandma's home cooked meals-yummy!
One day we all went to swim at the Lincoln's new pool. It was so much fun! And it was great to be with Allison and baby Elisha, Jeff & Laura's family and Nathan & Kacie's family.
Our last night at Grandpa and Grandma's we had a Weenie Roast which was too much fun. Kennedy helped Grandma bring out the food and set it out on the table. Kennedy got to roast her own hot dog and marshmellow. We got to see Uncle Michael and Aunt Shelley, too. The homemade ice cream was the perfect ending. Everyone had a great time!

Then we went to Papa, Gigi's and Uncle Kyle's. Jordan left the next day for his annual golf tournament in Glenwood with his brother, John, and friends from Harding- which was the reason for our trip. Aunt Belle, Aunt Bobbie, Nonna, Precious (Nonna's dog that Kennedy fell in love with), Uncle Steve and James all came to meet and see the kids. Uncle Steve's motorcycle was quite the hit with the kids.
The 4 of us had so much fun being there. I had so much help with the kids which was nice! Of course, Kennedy is a total Gigi's girl-she always has been. We all got a kick out of her going from calling her Gigi to Gig to G! Gigi is so good to play whatever Kennedy desires-from Dentist to Surgeon-which she is always the patient! Jackson takes turns being a Gigi's, Papa's or Uncle Kyle's boy. Papa and Gigi are so good to play with the kids. While at Papa and Gigi's the kids played with Hoover (Papa and Gigi's dog), cupcake party for all 3 of their birthdays,read with Gigi, played water guns, played tee ball, rode the big wheel, had popsickles, play dress up, put on talent shows, danced, and played catch with Papa. Kennedy got to help Gigi in her flower garden, help her with laundry, make a casserole, and wash the dishes. They took baths in Papa and Gigi's huge tub, and just soaked up all the attention from Papa and Gigi and Uncle Kyle. They had a ball. Jackson and Chandler Grace were in the beginning stages of being sick at Grandma's, but it was full-blown at Papa and Gigi. I was so sad they were sick no more than we all get to be together. Thankfully Chandler Grace felt better the last 2 days. She was quite fond of her Papa. Bless his heart, he kept after her and soon won her over! Poor Kennedy was sick on the drive home. But, seemed better the next day.
All in all it was a great visit. I don't know when we'll go back, but we miss everyone already!

Happy 1st Birthday, Chandler Grace

Our youngest baby turned 1 on June 11th. The 5 of us celebrated with cake, ice cream and presents before dinner-big hit with Kennedy and Jackson! Everything was pink and brown for our girl.
We had Chandler Grace's cake made and delivered that day. It turned out just precious and we thought perfect for her. She didn't dive into her cake like the other 2 have. True to her personality, she pinched and picked at it. Even so, she was messy at the end!
Chandler Grace got a jack in the box from Daddy and Mama and a cell phone from her big sister and big brother. Her Grandpa and Grandma sent a balloon bouquet that day with a stuffed cat and Papa and Gigi got her a ride on toy. Nonna, Aunt Bobbie, and Aunt Belle sent sweet cards with money and got her stuffed animals. Uncle Kyle sent a sweet card, too!
We are all so in love with our sweetheart. We can't believe it's already been a year since she blessed us with her arrival. She's brought nothing but smiles since we've found out about her.
Chandler Grace is clapping; says Daddy, Mama, Clap, Hi, and Nanna (banana); waves hello and goodbye; gives five; Dances; jabbers; Eats table food-anything!; Loves to drink water; Loves to watch Blue's Clues and Yo Gabba Gabba; Constantly getting into things; Loves to be thrown in the air; Loves to be dipped backwards; loves to walk around with her eyes closed; holds arms down hands together palms up to be held; laughs when Jordan whistles; Likes to try and take the remote and run off; Loves to climb anything; Loves to take a bath; Loves to swim; Loves to play with Kennedy and Jackson-tries to keep up; Very feminine; Shy; Very fond of her Papa; A lap baby-loves to be held; a serious Mama's girl!
These are just a few of the things that best describe our C right now! She is just a joy and we are so thankful she is ours. Happy birthday, Chandler Grace!