WILD WEEKEND
Whew! These past few days have been really hectic around here and the rest of this week isn't looking to be any less crazy! Our non-stop busy schedule started last Friday with a day in town looking at doors for the new house and shopping for transplants for our vegetable garden. Thankfully, we were able to find some time to fit in a quick lunch at The Grill. That always makes for a great day! Then on Saturday, I went with my daughter and grands to The Natchez Trace Festival while Lee got the garden ready for planting. The festival was nice, but man was it hot! I enjoyed seeing all of the vendors, and the kids really enjoyed the petting zoo and the small kiddy area with rides and jumpers. We even saw several animals that we need to convince Pappy to add to the farm. (Olivia really loved the goats and Adeline wants a pony.) By the time we got back home I was hot and exhausted, oh and sunburned really bad on my back since I haven't purchased any sunscreen yet for this summer - it is definitely on my shopping list now. Fast forward to Sunday, when we had to get all of the transplants in the ground and once again it was sooooo hot which did not make planting an easy task. Finally, we had all of our small garden ready except for some melons and sunflowers I plan to get into the ground this week. We still had to figure out how to keep the deer out so we went to Wal-Mart and purchased a bug zapper because someone told us this worked for them, and then we got the cattle panels from the barn and connected them together to make a fence. We didn't have enough to cover the entire garden area, so we hope the bug zapper works for the rest once I get it planted. We also still have to get the other garden planted within the next week or two so there will be lots more to share in our gardening adventures. We will definitely be praying for some rain, because it's really dry and dusty here right now.
NEW HOUSE
Along with trying to get the garden done, we are in the middle of trying to get everything ready to start putting our building together this weekend. Between trying to decide which doors to use, changing up our plans a little, and running around getting tools and supplies it's been a little stressful to say the least. We still haven't made a decision on which doors to get yet, but we did go to my dad's house Sunday afternoon and he and my brother helped us find one of my grandfather's mule drawn plows to use for our mailbox stand! We will be cleaning it up and getting it painted soon! I can't wait to see how this project turns out!
The craziness of building a house comes in stages and it seems we are right smack dab in the middle of one right now. As a matter of fact, we are having to make an unexpected trip to Pocahontas, Arkansas, just to swap out some screws. The trip is going to allow us to look at some of the buildings already assembled though, and Lee will be able to get a little more guidance on how to frame the windows out so it should be beneficial for both of us. I'm actually excited about our little day trip! It will be nice to get a visual on how our building should look once it's put together and we could really use some time away from the hustle and bustle we have been struggling with here lately. I'll share some details from our trip and the progress we have made on our house when I post again next week. Hopefully, things will get going this weekend if the Lord is willing.
TIME TO BAKE
Did I mention it's been crazy around here this week? I am a host for my niece's baby shower this Saturday so we are also trying to get everything ready to go for that. We are so excited to celebrate a little baby girl that will be joining our family soon. I am baking the cake for the shower myself, so I'll be sharing that project with you next week. I hope it turns out as cute as the photo I'm trying to recreate. It's a very simple cake actually so it shouldn't be too difficult, but anytime I expect something to be simple, it always ends up being the total opposite. This week also happens to be Teacher Appreciation Week, so my daughter asked if I could bake some mini lemon bundt cakes for her kids' teachers to go along with their other gifts. I spent most of Monday doing just that. I didn't get a photo of them packed into their cute little gift boxes, but I did take a few photos as I was baking and the final result. I'll be sharing the link to the website so you can bake these at home yourself. You don't have to make these in mini form though, the recipe makes one bundt cake if you use a standard sized bundt pan. I did double the icing recipe since I was decorating twelve mini cakes instead of just one. Oh, and my first batch turned out perfect, but the second batch, as you can see in the photo, I cooked the same time span and I should have taken them out about 5 minutes sooner. They were still good, but the outside was a little more brown than I prefer. Also, I suggest maybe adding a little more lemon juice to the cake mix if you like a lot of lemon flavor. The amount added gives the cake a taste of lemon without it being too overwhelming so it was perfect for me.
Thankfully, this cake recipe turned out to be delicious so I will be using it again for sure. You can find the recipe for Lemon Bundt Cake at www.glorioustreats.com Trust me, you are going to love how yummy this cake is and it's the perfect dessert to take to any upcoming summer cookouts!
WEEKLY BIBLE VERSE
Phillipians 2:14-15 KJV
Do all things without murmurings and disputings; That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.
Why did I choose this verse to focus on this week you may ask? Well, I am a complainer, actually, it's a huge problem I have, especially when my life gets crazy and I have too many things going on at the same time. I get caught up in the struggle to get things done and forget why I'm doing them in the first place. I gripe, complain, whine and just get down right angry. It's not something I'm proud of and it takes all of the joy out of what I am doing. I truly love to help others, I enjoy seeing others happy. We are to be a light in the world and to do for others with sincerity, love and joy in our hearts, willingly, selfless, without seeking acknowledgment or anything in return. I have searched my own heart and found this to personally be a huge problem in my life and an obstacle for me in being the Christian I need to be. If you are a chronic complainer when things are going crazy in your life, I hope you can use this verse as a reminder of what is expected of us and through prayer and deliberate practice can one day be blameless, without rebuke, as I strive to be. Let's try to help others this week, one day at a time, without any murmuring or complaining about it. I know I can do so much better!
#lemonbundtcake #baking #pettingzoo #newconstruction #dobetter #stopcomplaining #bethelight #gardening
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