number 9 and number 10

We have all heard the rhyme:

What are little boys made of?
What are little boys made of?
Frogs and snails
And puppy-dogs' tails,
That's what little boys are made of.
What are little girls made of?
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice
And all that's nice,
That's what little girls are made of.

I used to think that rhyme was warped, wrong, and downright mean to boys. Now that I am a mom I understand it a bit more. Also, I am an auntie to 8 kiddos (from both sides of Ben and my family), and only one of those is a girl. There are lots of boys running around in my life. They are full of energy and very dirty. I love these boys and I have fun seeing them play but I would love more girls.

Last Sunday my sister-in-law told me she is having a baby in April!!! I am so excited and am praying God blesses her, us, with a girl. Another boy would be fun and we will love that boy BUT a little girl would be so “nice.”
Then Tuesday night a different sister-in-law came by to say they are having a baby, also in April.
Two babies.
Two babies in April.
I am so excited. I love when the mother goes into labor and the Wilson family heads down to the hospital and we all wait the arrival of the wee one.
But best of all we now have two chances for "sugar and spice."

I love summer fruit. yummy. For the last 3-4 summers my sister-in-law brings back, from Washington, some CHEAP peaches. This year I bought 2 boxes of fresh peaches. They are really good. I thought I would can and jam them but so far I have been preparing them for pies. You prepare the peach pie recipe and then freeze them in foil in the pie dish. Once frozen, take foil out of dish, wrap them up and slip in a freezer bag. Then when I want a fresh peach pie this winter I just unfoil them and they will fit right back into the pie dish! So easy. I figure these will be great for desserts to bring places or to give families. I may just do all the peaches this way, minus the ones we eat on through the week! Well, I may freeze a few for smoothies for the kids for the school year.

I am hoping to freeze some blackberries this week as well. Blackberries are my very favorite.

So You Think You Can Dance

So I just watched last nights finale and I have to say that the "Super Star" had me busting up laughing so hard. I think that may be one of my favorite moments in 7 seasons. The dance she danced with Twitch was one of my favorites that was done earlier this season.

Still laughing!

Go here to watch it!

Not too many exciting things going on around the Wilson house. But I figured it was time for a new post.

Our house is ready for school. We have played lots of legos, gone swimming about twice a week, played some electronic games, gone to the zoo, had a weekend at the beach, had play dates at the park, read a few books, taken a long road trip, watched Toy Story 3. Not much more to expect from a summer break.

It's about time for school to start. Just a couple more weekends.

It's killing me

I hate driving. Have a crazy fear/hatred of it. Will not drive on I-5, really try to avoid even going to Salem.

I would love to take my daughter to Disneyland when the boys head to hunting camp the last weekend in August for just a few days. But the plane tickets/transportation from airport to hotel is too much. I know if I was brave enough to just drive down and back I would have a better chance at swinging it but I am not brave. I am a coward. It's killing me that I let fear get in the way of doing things I really want to do.

I know I took out a chunk of that fear when I got my licence 4 years back and I know I am a little more confident about driving but I still cling to my fear. Sometime I am going to have to take a swing and knock some more fear off my back! It is not Godly. It is not healthy.

So there you have it. Fear is what I need to work on.

What does a 15 year old know of love

In 1992, eight years before I married Ben, I read a poem in The Return To Zion, by Bodie Thoene, that I loved. I loved it so much that I wrote it in my journal. Today is a big day and I knew this day deserved a special post. I knew I had to find that poem. I hadn’t read it since I put it in the journal but I remember it was all about love and would be perfect for today. So I went page by page through the journals and found it.

10 years ago today Ben and I got married in a little church in Creswell. It was a hot day but it was perfect.

Here is that poem I loved as a 15 year old:

There are pools that do not reflect the sky,
There are stars that are not diamonds,
There are sunsets that do not inflame the imagination,
But there is no look deep into your eyes
That does not make my heart beat faster
And my breath come quicker.

There are drinks that do not quench thirst,
There are meals that are not feasts,
There is sleep that does not refresh,
But there is no embracing you,
no touch from you that does not fill my heart with love,
my soul with peace.

There are songs that strike no responsive chord,
There are poems with images that fail,
There are love stories whose partners find no counter part in us,
But there is no “all-surrounding,” “lost without you,” LOVE in all the world for me
. . .but yours.

As an adult I am not in love with that poem as I was as a teenager that never knew what love was. I am not really a poetic person and this is a bit corny for me today. BUT there is an underlying truth to it that I feel with Ben. He can still bring feelings out of me 10 years later that no one will ever do. He still brings me laughter and fills my heart with love and peace. I still love when he holds my hand or looks at me with his blue eyes.

I have had a pretty great 10 years with Ben. Here is to 60 more!

I love you babe!

Kindle Frustration

So I have moved on to trying to download MP3 songs to play in the background of my kindle. I thought it would be easy. We have bought lots of songs on itunes and I thought I would just move them over. Wrong. They are not in the right format. So I thought hey, I will put the old fashioned CD in the computer and move those over. Wrong. They are not in the right format. I bought one song off of amazon but I don't want to buy more and I certainly do not want to listen to that one song over and over again as I read. So I am back to square one. No background music.

What do I do? Any experts out there? I need songs in MP3 format, not M4A or WMA, or whatever.

And I cannot wait to take this kindle to the beach with me on my girl weekend. No paper books getting sand blown into every page making the book twice its normal size.

popcorn recipe and girlfriends

I get to go away with some of my bestest girl-friends.
Friends that know me really well.
Friends who have seen me at my VERY worst moments and have been with me for my very best.
I love these girls.

I have to wait two weeks. I get to go away with them in two weeks for an overnighter. I am beside myself with excitement. Cannot wait until I see them. And shop with them. And eat with them. And of course laugh my head off with them.

This post is actually brought on by my thinking about what snack I want to bring. I decided on peanut butter popcorn and went looking for the recipe. Almost didn't find it so I decided to add the recipe here on my blog so I can have access to it at anytime! This recipe was used when my youth group would get together and one of the moms would make it. I love it.

Peanut-butter Popcorn recipe

4 quarts popped corn
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups light corn syrup
1 ½ cup peanut butter
1 ½ tsp vanilla

Add sugar and syrup together in pan and bring to full boil. Stir for 30 seconds stirring constantly. Remove from heat and beat in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over popcorn.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.