♥ Lovely Porches ♥

I love porches.  To me, porches give a home an instant cozy and welcoming element.

There are memories made on porches.......in days gone by especially.  In those days when times were simpler and folks weren't on the go constantly running their children to extracurricular activities, they would gravitate to the porch in their rockers, swings, or benches, and watch the kids play in the yard during the day or catch fireflies after dark, while they enjoyed simple conversations ,sipping their lemonade or coffee.  Porches were actually just an extension of their living space.  Families LIVED a great deal of their lives on porches.

I love the appeal of porches.  Every house I could or have ever dreamed of living in or imagined in my life has ALWAYS had a porch.  And I admit that I will slow down and take a closer look at porches when I drive by them.....whether they be large meandering wrap-arounds or cozy small ones......they all draw me in!

Wanna take a stroll with me today as I stop by and visit some pretty and inviting porches?  We can imagine who lives there and what it would be like to visit for awhile on these cozy welcoming porches!

Okay, let's go......

I just love that last one!  Whoever lives there would have a hard time getting me to leave!

And mine seems so simple compared to some of these, but I worked with what I have.  :)  Here's our front porch this summer.....

Thanks for taking a stroll with me today.  I hope you enjoyed the porch tour! I bet you had a favorite that you could imagine yourself on right about now!  :)

Take time to grab you a cool glass of lemonade or a cup of coffee in the morning and enjoy YOUR porch.  Enjoy the simple moments!

♥ Tammy ♥

Pinned it, Made it! Monday ~ Week 47 ~

Good morning!  I hope you all have a wonderful Independence Day and weekend!  We had a great one....just got back from my brother and sister-in-law's house in Alabama.  Why is it when we gather like that we always eat too much?  Lol!

On the subject of eating, I have another recipe to share for Pinned it, Made it! Monday that I tried out this weekend while we were in Alabama.  The guys went fishing and when they came home, we had this waiting on them.....Butterfinger pie.....only 4 ingredients needed!  :)

Here's the original pin:

Source

Butterfinger Pie 

6 butterfinger candy bars ( 2 1/8 oz. regular size - crushed)
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
1 12 oz. carton of whipped topping
1 graham cracker pie crust

**We made 2 pies, so doubled this recipe.  We also bought an extra butterfinger bar to crush and divide between the two pies as a topping sprinkled over.**

I had two helpers....Luke and my niece, Laci.  They were excellent little helpers!

I wish I could say this was guilt-free eating, but it was so good and so rich that I felt like I could feel myself growing as I ate it. But hey, a small piece is all you need anyway!  Your family will love you for making this!  Delicious!  :)

Your turn!  :)  Hope you can link up and join today....share something you've pinned and tried from Pinterest!

Faithful Friday - "Weathering the Storm"

Faithful Friday is a day started and set aside by my daughter, Joy, for sharing something from our Christian Walk in hopes of encouraging others.  You can join too and link a post by clicking on the button below.  :)


I think it's safe to say that we all have struggles from day to day, even as Christians.  Just because we are Christians doesn't mean that everything is all rainbows and unicorns.  Our lives aren't going to be perfect.  We will have struggles just like everyone else, BUT we have His promise that He's there to help us weather those storms.

Whether we're a stay-at-home mom or have a job outside the home, our stress level rises and it's easy to feel like we're sinking further and further and just can't rise above our circumstances or dig our way out.  Some days I just feel like things are piling up so much, whether that be reality or things I've let accumulate in my mind, emotionally.

Our children's pastor brought the message at church a couple of Sundays ago and read a verse that is a promise to us, and even printed it on a business card and gave them out to everyone in the congregation.  I've been carrying mine (in my purse) with me everywhere.  It's a promise from God to cling to on those days that we feel like we're sinking or even drowning in our sea of stress, disappointments, or problems.  I want to share it with you.  Print it out.  Post it on your mirror.  Carry it with you.  Let it comfort you and give you the security that you're never alone.  God is there!  He cares!

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Isaiah 43:2

I don't know about you, but that is exciting to me!  It also reminds me of one line of a song that I absolutely love.  I can't wait to hear that line every time that song comes on.  It always send chills over me and brings tears to my eyes.  (God really uses music to speak to me).  :)  Have you heard Mandisa's song - Stronger?  One line says, "Go on...fall into the arms of Jesus!"  That one line carries a powerful and encouraging message to me.  I imagine the faith of a child that so completely trusts her father that she falls back into his arms knowing 100% that he will catch her....... or she runs into his arms when she's scared or tired and is so sure that she is completely safe and secure then because he is there....he's got her......and everything is going to be alright.  Her daddy will take of her and he'll never let anything happen to her.  That's what I imagine and it's such a security to me.  God does that for us!

So when you feel like circumstances are overtaking you, bringing you down, and you're sinking.......Remember his promise......

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you....... 

Go on.....Fall into the arms of Jesus!  :)


(If you haven't heard the song, Stronger, by Mandisa, you can listen to it here.)

God Bless,

♥ Tammy ♥

♥ Happy 4th of July ♥

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.

Psalm 33:12

God bless America!  And God bless our military families that serve our country!  Thank YOU for your sacrifices daily!

From our family to yours.....a Happy 4th of July (Independence Day)!   Next to Christmas, this is my favorite holiday!  :)

♥ Tammy ♥ 

♥ 3 Years Today! ♥

Three years ago today, we arrived home from China with our newest American citizen just in time for the 4th!

Asleep on the flight home....but don't let this fool you...he might have slept an hour out of 15 hours!

In some ways it doesn't seem possible that it's been 3 years and in other ways, it feels like he's always been with us because he belongs here.

Just home....4th of July 2010

Forever ours.  We are blessed.  We are thankful.  :)

Taken yesterday - July 2, 2013

♥ Tammy ♥

♥ Handyman in Training ♥

Our Luke is definitely an outdoor kid.  He loves playing in the sandbox, digging in the dirt, hauling stuff, building stuff, riding bikes.....anything that has to do with outside.  And even when he's inside, he's still building constantly.

And he loves to help....always asking, "Can I help?"    So I figure we better train him well so one day he will be a handyman like his daddy.   His future wife will be most thankful I'm sure.  :)

Pop gave him water and a brush to practice his painting skills first.....

Then he helped me paint the deck some....... and he wasn't too bad at it either.

Learning to handle the tiller.....

He handles this mower like a pro....My daddy (Pop) taught him.  He's pretty proud of him I think.....of how fast he caught on...especially for the type of mower it is.  Pop set up cones for him to maneuver around and everything.  Lol!   I venture to say he could mow our lawn by the time he's 8!

And he loves to help water stuff....but what boy doesn't love handling a water hose?  :)

It takes more time to stop and allow him to help and show him how to do something, but it is so worth the smile of satisfaction on his face and knowing that we're training him for the future....hopefully a wonderful handyman one day  :)

Wild hair man....that's what hard work does!  :)  

Thanks for stopping by today!  :)

♥ Tammy ♥

Pinned it, Made it! Monday ~ Week 46 ~

Good morning!  It's a beautiful day!  It almost feels like fall here with cooler temperatures after high 90 degree weather this past week.  I'm not complaining one bit though!   :)


It's Monday which means it's also time for Pinned it Made it Monday.  This week I'm sharing a recipe.  It may be familiar to many of you, but it was the first time I've ever made them.  And I have Luke to thank for that.

For this one, I don't have a particular pin that I used.  I wasn't actually home when I picked up my ingredients.  I remembered having pinned one on my Pinterest board and looking back at it today, it was a little different......with cream cheese added.  I shall try that next time.

This time around, Luke actually saw the picture of cookies on the back of the M&M bag and asked me if I would make them, so I picked up the ingredients indicated on that recipe while I was out, and went by it.

Here's that recipe found on the back of the M&M bag:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups M&Ms

Directions: 

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl, cream butter & both sugars until well belnded.  Add the egg and vanilla extract    and mix to combine. 
3. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and salt together.  Slowly add these ingredients into the butter mixture and stir until combined.
4.  Fold in the M&Ms and chill the dough for 1 hour or overnight.
5.  Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto a lightly greased tray, about 2 inches apart.
6.  Bake for 8-10 minutes for chewy cookies or 12-14 minutes for crispy cookies.  Enjoy!

**I used self-rising flour thus eliminating the baking soda and salt.  And chilling the dough is important to help form the dough making it easier to get into the heaping Tbsp for baking. **

These were great!  We ate way too many!  Next time, I think I'll try the one I have posted on my Pinterest board because it has cream cheese.....and cream cheese just makes everything better....fattening yes, but tasty!

Your turn now!  Pinned it, Made it Monday is about sharing something you've pinned on Pinterest and tried out/made/created.  I'm looking forward to you linking with me today!  If you just stopped by for ideas, that's okay too.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Have a great week!  :)

♥ Tammy ♥