"Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.' The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy."
Psalm 126:2-3
I have a lot of things to be thankful for. My grace-giving, loving God, my sweet hubby, my beautiful babies, my health, my friends, my family. And -- directly related to my hard working hubby -- I get to stay home with my favorite little people every day and enjoy them! I get to witness firsthand when Buttercup reaches a new milestone (this morning she figured how to brace the cereal bowl with one hand so she could spoon her cereal with the other!), watch Oliver come up with even more ideas on how to use his tools, see them grow and learn, and watch them interact with each other. There really isn't much more on this earth that makes me happier than seeing my kids helping each other, talking together, playing and laughing with each other.
There are so many simple things that I get to enjoy every day, and I am so thankful for that. Playing in the creek is one of them. It's such a simple thing to do. It doesn't cost any money, and you don't need to bring anything (although a $1 butterfly net and bucket are good for hours of fun!). There are always rocks to throw, leaves and sticks to float downstream, fish and tadpoles to watch. It's so relaxing being out there in the shade, enjoying God's creation, hearing the trickling water and watching my two of my favorite people have fun.
I have an ice cream problem. There, I said it. I cannot stop eating it. I love ice cream and I will eat it until my tummy hurts. I bought 5- 1/2 gallons on sale a couple of weeks ago, and ate all of it in 7 days. That's 2 1/2 gallons of ice cream, folks. And my degree is in nutrition!!! Hooooo, buddy.
Therefore, I've put a ban on buying ice cream. But sometimes I still want a cold, sweet dessert in the evening. So I decided to make this treat that my mom used to make for my sister and me when we were younger. It's very easy (and a good bit healthier than ice cream!).
Mix together equal parts yogurt and cool whip. Break graham cracker sheets in half, and spoon some of the yogurt mixture between the squares. Wrap in cellophane and pop in the freezer for about 24 hours. Mmm!
Another thing you can try (this is the way my mom made it for us) is to make it more like a pie.
Crush a couple of graham crackers, spray a mini bundt pan with butter-flavor cooking spray, and coat the pan with cracker crumbs. Fill the pan with the yogurt-cool whip mixture, top with graham cracker crumbs, cover with foil, and freeze for 24 hours. Yum!
This week's You Capture assignment is Fun. I really enjoyed this assignment, because each of my kids has a different idea of fun, and I liked capturing their differences in pictures.
Buttercup is a typical little girl -- she likes to play with babies, baby dolls, wear tutus, dance, etc. But the most fun thing for her? Being mischievous! Here she is, sneakily pulling all of the books off of her bookshelf.
Another one of her favorite fun things to do? Tickling!! 
And Oliver is a typical little boy. He likes to get dirty. The DIRTIER, the BETTER.
I think this is my favorite shot of the week. Although I cut off the top of his head and you can't see his face, you can just sense how excited he was to jump into that mud puddle. :-) 
And something that we all have fun doing -- eating popsicles outside on a hot, summer day. Can you guess what color Oliver's popsicle was? 
Like most 3 year olds, Oliver is getting to be pretty finicky about what he likes to eat. Gone are the days when I could prepare a meal (of my choice), set it in front of him, and have him eat every bit of it and ask for more. Granted, he does eat pretty well for this stage, but he only eats about 20-30 different types of food, and only prepared a certain way. And, sadly, fruit and vegetables are the enemy. Strawberries are the only fruit that he requests, and even then he doesn't always eat them.
So I've taken it upon myself to make fruit and vegetable snacks more interesting and appealing to him. Last week I made an apple butterfly snack for him, which he devoured (and actually asked for more!).
Today I tried something different. I got up early and made "flowers" out of grapes, cream cheese, two peas, and a green bean.
For Buttercup, I made baby "flowers" out of blueberries and cream cheese.
The verdict? Oliver was very excited to see his plate, but he only ate the cream cheese and peas, then refused to eat anything else. Sigh. But an hour later, he asked me to make him a butterfly out of a banana and peanut butter, and he ate all of it, so there is hope! :-)
