Sun Is Setting ...

The sun is setting on the first snow day of 2017. Thanking God for His many blessings.

Loving This Snow Day!

Loving this snow day with my family!

Our Snowy Morning

The first snowfall of 2017 was absolutely beautiful! Our snowy Saturday morning included, enjoying a hot cup of coffee, watching the snow gently falling from the sky, puppies that LOVE the snow and my husband is at home. I couldn't ask for a better kind of morning!

Prized Finds.

What may look like just a pile of sticks to some ~ is actually a collection of prized finds, gathered by an 11-year-old.

Lego Club - Super Heros

Had a fun morning at Lego Club! I love how imaginative they are when building their designs and sharing them at the end. Today's super hero theme was super fun!

I Love To Hear Him Play!

I absolutely LOVE hearing him play the piano!

Griffin - Piano Player

I love hearing Griffin play the piano! Here he is playing 'Ode to Joy' from memory.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO OF GRIFFIN PLAYING THE PIANO

He's Happy ...

Mike has been away on a business trip for nine days! We haven't seen him since the day after Christmas. We miss him bunches when he is away!! He was able to make it to church tonight, but had to drive back to the job site for the next day. But, we were able to see him and get a hug & a kiss! Griffin was SO happy!

What's For Dinner? Beef Cupcakes!

I had a pound of ground beef and wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it. After looking for ideas, I was inspired by shepherd's pie. My version is made with refrigerated crescents for the crust, filled with ground beef, sauteed with onion and topped with creamy mashed potatoes. I served with a medley of green beans and carrots. Griffin is calling them meat cakes. (I think we should call them beef cakes 😂). By the way, piping those hot mashed potatoes from a ziplock onto the top was quite the adventure!

Here's how I made it:

Dip crescent dough in flour, then mold into muffin tin cups. Bake at 375 for about 12 minutes. Remove from oven, they will be puffy. While warm, press the dough to form a more crust like cup.

Brown ground beef with onions and seasoning of your choice. At the end I added a little flour and beef bouillon (in bout 1/2 cup water). Mix together.

Then I made instant mashed potatoes.

Spoon about two heaping spoonfuls of meat mixture into crescent cups.

Then I put the mashed potatoes in a big ziplock and piped them onto the top of the meat mixture.

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes until a little golden brown on top.

Antiquing & Thrifting With Friends.

Antiquing and thrifting with friends was a wonderful way to spend this rainy afternoon! Griffin found quite a few treasures today ~ a book about tanks, several Goosebumps books and three Bionacles. I love how Griffin isn't afraid to play a piano anywhere he goes. What I love so much about this day is it didn't exactly go as planned, however, it was even better than expected!

Short Pump Park On A Sunny January Day

After a delicious lunch at the Metro Diner, I asked Griffin and his friend Christian if they wanted to go to the park across the street. It was fantastic spending time in the sunshine and enjoying the last day of Christmas break. And, apparently we were also blessed with a sighting of a peregrine falcon. I love all that Griffin has learned from watching 'Wild Kratts'.

Happy New Year - 2017!

We had fun with friend's bringing in the new year!

2016 ~ A Year In Review

The year 2016 was full of special memories. Reflecting on the quote I posted early about tomorrow being the first blank page of a 365 page book and encouraging us to write a good one, I've decided to share some of our book from 2016.

JANUARY ➳ Snowmaggedon ➳ The Blizzard That Lasted For Days ➳ Snow Sledding ➳ Snowman Building ➳ The Beginning of Lego Club ➳ Learning ➳ Quite Time With Family

FEBRUARY ➳ In The Paper ➳ Valentine's Day Lobsters With Friends ➳ Griffin Turns 11 ➳ Grandma Visited ➳ Indoor Swimming ➳ Piano Lessons ➳ Field Trip To The Capitol ➳ Sledding With Daddy ➳ Griffin Learns To Cook ➳ Fun Hands On Learning

MARCH ➳ Road Trip To Florida ➳ Grammy Camp ➳ Disney World ➳ Legoland ➳ Myrtle Beach ➳ Maymont ➳ Easter Sunday ➳ Spring Time In Virginia ➳ Learning Everywhere

APRIL ➳ Our 21st Wedding Anniversary ➳ Maymont ➳ Sweet Times With Family ➳ Daily Life ➳ Casting Crowns Concert With Friends

MAY ➳ Mother's Day ➳ RVA Field Trip ➳ St. John's Church ➳ River Walk ➳ Graffiti Wall ➳ Henricus Historical Park ➳ Donut Learning Adventure ➳ 4H STEM Class ➳ Griffin Composing Music ➳ Camping ➳ Elementary School Graduation ➳ Catching Up With An Old Friend

JUNE ➳ Circle Bar B Ranch Hike ➳ Tarpon Springs ➳ Sponge Docks ➳ Boat To Lime Key ➳ Ocean Ice Cream Boat ➳ Bok Tower ➳ Florida Grammy Camp ➳ Camping ➳ Natural Bridge ➳ Safari Park

JULY ➳ Grandma & Grandpa ➳ 4th Of July ➳ Camp Serve Goochland ➳ Bug Man ➳ Tubing Down The James ➳ 4H Camp Farm To Table ➳ Putt Putt Richmond ➳ VBS ➳ Relaxing

AUGUST ➳ G's Love Of Music ➳ Mike's Birthday ➳ Griffin Is Growing Up ➳ Backyard Finds ➳ First Day Of Middle School 6th Grade ➳ In The Paper ➳ Science Museum ➳ Park ➳ Apple Picking ➳ Four Leaf Clovers ➳ Hands On Learning ➳ My Handsome Welder

SEPTEMBER ➳ My Birthday ➳ Virginia Beach ➳ Virginia Aquarium ➳ Field Day ➳ Jalapena ➳ Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens ➳ Sunflower Fields ➳ Camping ➳ OBX ➳ Sunsets ➳ Sunrises ➳ The Beach ➳ Ghost Crabbing

OCTOBER ➳ OBX Final Day ➳ Apple Picking ➳ Hiking Spy Rock With The Youth ➳ Creativity ➳ Never Forgetting That Jesus LOVES Us ➳ Griffin's First Piano Concert ➳ Pumpkin Patch ➳ Fall Fest At Awana ➳ He Doesn't Want The 'Cute' Stuff Anymore ➳ Griffin Made His Halloween Costume ➳ Annual Halloween Bonfire At Our House ➳ Realizing Griffin Is Taller Than Mom

NOVEMBER ➳ Science Museum ➳ Mike & Griffin Road Trip To Texas ➳ Griffin's First Deer ➳ Mid Day Adventures ➳ Thanksgiving In Florida ➳ Griffin's Workshop ➳ Family Time

DECEMBER ➳ Griffin's First Craft Booth ➳ Awana Christmas Skit ➳ Griffin's First Christmas Performance ➳ Dissection Day ➳ Field Day Christmas ➳ Crafting With Mike ➳ RVA Christmas Lights ➳ Pfifer House ➳ Grandma & Grandpa Visits ➳ Griffin's Workshop ➳ Christmas ➳ Science Museum ➳ Montpelier

Griffin's Photographs ~ Montpelier Field Trip

Today we went to Montpelier, the home of the 4th President of the United States, James Madison. All of the photographs in this album were taken by Griffin.