Hazel died today.  Twenty-five years ago, this summer, the Captain and I married and twenty-five years ago, this fall, Hazel came to live with us.  She was a year old, but she was like new and she was the answer to one of our first married prayer requests.  It may seem a bit dramatic that I speak of our Kenmore dryer with such sentiment, but please indulge me.  Not only was Hazel an answer to prayer, she gave twenty-five years of faithful service to our family. 

We married in June of 1986 and lived in Tyler, Texas.  Our Saturdays were often spent in the humid heat of our apartment laundromat placing precious quarters, which could have been grocery money, into the machines.  A few months later, when we moved back to West Texas, it was no small thing that we had $200 with which to purchase our very own washer and dryer for our duplex.  We were rich that day.  Nevermind that we were shopping at garage sales.  We sat together on the edge of our tan hand-me-down sectional sofa and prayed before we set out.  “Lord, thank you for this money.  You know how much it is.  Please help us find a washer and dryer that has not been sitting in someone’s backyard next to their old commode and broken down Chevy.  Amen.”   The first sale we went to was in a duplex and everything in it was for sale.  The lady had a sad story and was moving abruptly,  taking nothing with her.  She had a brand new (less than a year old) Kenmore washer and dryer and she was asking $500 dollars for the pair…about half what she had paid.  We had $200 and not a penny more.  This Kenmore pair was not for us.  As we were leaving, we overheard a man telling the owner that he would be back on Monday to pay one lump sum for all that had not sold on Saturday.  We took a chance.  We told the lady that we knew her washer and dryer were worth far more than we had, but that if, on Monday, she had not sold them, please consider our offer.  We gave her our number and asked her to call us if our $200 would be of more value to her than lumping her new appliances in on the pay-one-price deal the man had offered.  We did not expect to hear from her.  The rest of the day was spent looking at washers and dryers, within our budget, that looked like Methuselah himself may have been the previous owner.  We went home tired and dejected.  Monday morning she called.  The lady with the Kenmore wanted to sell the set to us for $200!  

The washer served us well for the next twenty years.  But Hazel, she was with us for a quarter of a century!  She finally kicked the bucket this morning after a long period of knowing it would be “any day now.”  Hazel had been making a really obnoxious clunking noise for some time.  We couldn’t carry on a conversation in that end of the house while she was working and if the phone or doorbell rang, everyone knew to go stop Hazel.  It was time for her to go. 

Hazel dried all those size 3 clothes that I wore on our honeymoon and she dried all the newborn baby clothes and “burp rags” and the only place our first newborn would sleep during those early weeks was often on top of Hazel, where he was lulled by her humming.  It was only natural that he would share a room with Hazel when his siblings moved in to our tiny house.  Hazel moved with us when we left our home of fourteen years and she never missed a beat when we plugged her into her new home.  Hazel dried football uniforms and tennis shoes and many different sizes of basketball uniforms and Nike socks.   She was faithful.

For the past several years, I have been constantly reminded of God’s faithfulness and His provision every time I used my dryer.  I became sentimental about my dryer and I named her Hazel.  God has answered many prayers in our marriage and family since that weekend twenty-five years ago and Hazel has been a constant reminder to me of God’s love and grace.  I’m sad to see her go.  Maybe when my kids read this, they will better understand why I was sad this morning when there was no longer loud clunking coming from the utility room.  The Lord providith and now the Lord taketh away.  I will miss Hazel and I will, forever, think of God’s faithfulness every time I dry clothes.

I ordered boys.  Six of them.  The first one arrived without surprise.  A few years later I was in delivery, ready to meet his little brother.  His name was Samuel…….until the bottom half of “him” arrived!!!  What?!!  But…!!!  Wait…!!!  Well, we changed Sam’s name to Claire Elizabeth and I began recovering from the biggest shock of my young life.  I had a girl!

On Claire’s first night in this world, I slept very little.  My eyes were fixed outside the window, the night sky alight with diamonds, brilliant and shining.   It was nighttime, but it was not dark.  I lay there, my mind as far away as the bright crescent that illuminated the night.  “I have a girl.  I have a girl.  I have a girl.”  I repeated it over and over, out loud, in hopes of comprehending the fact.  I had “ordered” boys and I was stunned, though filled with excitement.  I had a girl.  A daughter.  Her name was Claire.   

Claire:  bright light, illustrious, luminous, brilliant.  The spiritual connotation of Claire:  shining Christ’s light.

My baby girl had the fairest skin; her tiny head was covered with soft, loose, light strawberry curls; her eyes bright blue.  Everything about her exuded her name’s meaning.   That didn’t even occur to me as I lay there that early June night, mesmerized by the brightness, thanking Jesus for the gift. 

{It’s not in my comfort zone to brag and carry on about my kids.  I’m far more likely to give the “little angels” (*said with sarcasm*) a hard time, knowing full well they know exactly how I feel about them.  Claire is no different from my other offspring in that she has her fair share of shortcomings.  She is a lot like her Momma and there is plenty of room for “tweaking”.  However, in honor of her turning eighteen, I’m stepping out of my comfort zone and I’m going to crow over her a bit.}    

In celebration of your eighteenth birthday, Claire Bear, here are some of the many ways you ILLUMINATE my world:

Claire is a songbird!  She loves music and is forever singing, belting it out through the house.  (Her voice is beautiful and will be sorely missed when she leaves the nest…if her Daddy ever lets her.)  Claire’s perpetual song, however, has been known to give her cause for embarrassment.  Like the time she didn’t know that an athletic trainer and his cousin were at the house and her serenade came pouring into the family room from behind the shower curtain and under the bathroom door.  It may have been less humiliating had she not been in “concert mode”.

Claire laughs easily and often.  I love that she can laugh at herself…like when she serenades strangers or discovers something stuck in her front teeth after meeting a new friend.  (Even when she took out the $900 basketball goal while backing out of the driveway, the embarrassed laughter that lights up her face eventually came out…though it wasn’t until after her Daddy laughed.)  Most often Claire laughs at Tanner and Tess.  Her brother and sister are the funniest and she adores them.  Claire is charmed by fun, light-hearted people and is naturally drawn to them.        

Claire is tough.  She’s not likely to cry when she gets hurt, be it physically or feelings.  She’s tough, thanks to basketball and brothers I guess.  We rarely see her tears…unless it’s regarding her passions.   

Claire is very passionate!  If she cares deeply about something or someone, she feels it with intensity and can’t hide it.

Her passions?

  *Jesus.  She loves Him and her heart aches at the thought of a lost soul.     

*Family.  Claire has a long fuse and doesn’t anger easily.  But if you want to see her temper, mess with her family.  She loves spending time with family and when her brother is away at college she misses him like nothing else.     

*Friends.  Claire would lay down her life for her friends and makes herself vulnerable by opening her heart to those she loves.  They are worth the risk.    

*Basketball.  Where to begin?  The loss of a very important game hits her hard (there may be tears).  Being selected All-American out of over 300 girls overwhelmed her with gratitude and humility (there were tears).  She is fiercely loyal to her team and teammates.  When she plays her last highschool game, at her last National Tournament, she will feel it in the depths of her being (there will be tears).

Claire is a Romantic.  She awaits her prince charming, her knight in shining armor, patiently {*Take your time, Sir Knight, just hurry*}.  She is conservative (a.k.a. old-fashioned) when it comes to being romanced.  She may drop a few hints, encourage him along the way, bat her lashes, but her prince better be charming…and valiant enough to ”come calling” on her (… and her Daddy), because she won’t be chasing after him!  Claire doesn’t date yet, by her own choice, though you can be sure her Daddy is in full support.  Her fairytale romance just might be falling *madly in love* with her best friend and, at just the right time, being *swept off her feet* to live *happily ever after*.          

 A dear family friend, who has known Claire forever, recently sent me the following text message:  “Thinking of u so much.  Watched ‘Tangled’  last night!!! WOW!!! Claire’s the star of that show!!” 

Maybe so.  I think I’m going to grab some popcorn and go watch Tangled again, I’m curious.  

Thank you, Claire Bear, for lighting up my life!  

  Two year old little stinker.    

      ”I went to a Chinese restaurant to buy a loaf of bread, bread, bread…”

      Sisters.

    Claire’s big brother.  Her “knight” …until the real one comes along.

Hiking Colorado.

    Finding Claire like this more often these days than usual.

           ”Let me see your grill…”

               My girl.

Backstage…before the play.

Juliet and her mom… “The Suess-ification of Romeo and Juliet”

I’ve never really been one to use the phrase, “my hero is…” and couldn’t even fill in the blank that easily, if asked.  However, I’ve found myself thinking, time and again, in recent years, “Wow, he amazes me!”  The oldest of my offspring, that is.

Sparing the details, I will say this…if I were asked to choose a hero, I’d pick him.          

 *Hero–noun,  1.  a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.*

I have watched, quiet and helpless, as my son has worked, endured, persevered and thrived.  He has not only pressed on through situations that would have driven me to curl up with a blanket over my head, but he has come through with dignity and earned respect.  Most impressively, I have never, ever heard him complain.  My oldest boy has shown strength of mind, body and character that I can’t help but admire. 

He is strong with a strength I didn’t, and wouldn’t still, know he posessed had he not gone out and faced the world.  He has some stories to tell and I don’t know the half of it.  I feel sure God will use them, everyone, someday.     

It’s interesting, to say the least, watching our children become adults.  There are times when I look back on this boy’s raising and thank God he made it to adulthood, especially as the *unbeknownst-to-Momma* tales unfold around the dinner table.  ”You what?!  When?!  Where was I?! Why on earth would you throw a match into a puddle of unknown liquid to see if it’s gasoline or water…inside the garage!?!  Have you no brain?!” 

All those years my Grandma use to say, “Lord, have mercy!” and  I thought it was a figure of speech.  I’ve learned otherwise.  It was a fervent prayer and I pray it often.  And you know what?  God answers it!

My little boy, now my big college boy, is all grown up.  That doesn’t mean he is fully mature.  I think he may never be.  Come to think of it, do boys ever really grow up…fully?  A part of me hopes not.  I love the funny, if pesky, side of my college boy.  He brings laughter and fun to our family, though it’s sometimes accompanied by sisters screaming his name.  While at school, he lives with his eighty-something year old grandma, by his own choosing and doesn’t have to be told to go to church.  He takes his little brother and sister to ”do things” and kisses me goodbye when he leaves the house (though I do sometimes have to remind him).  He buys sterling and diamond-ish earrings for his sister’s birthday, endures American Idol while college basketball is on the other channel, and always chooses to see the best in people.       

I could write a book about my children’s shortcomings; they reflect my own.  But in spite of it all, God has turned my big boy into a *make-his-Momma-proud* young man.

  Happy Birthday, Sporty!  You are a hero in my eyes!     

Tess Mess (where do ya suppose she got that nickname?) is Sweet 16!  Is it possible?  Where has the little girl gone?  I will say this again in five years, no doubt, about the young lady that was once sweet sixteen.  So, I shall keep my eye on who she is right now, today…

Today, she is quick witted and it sometimes gets her in trouble.

  She can laugh at herself and when she does, her face lights and she looks a bit shy and embarrassed.

  Today, she smiles in spite of the  *shocks* she wears in her mouth. 

She sees beauty in an imperfect bracelet made by her *baby* sister.

Her older sister is her best friend and it really mattered that her big brother be home for her birthday.

Today, she wants to spend the whole day with family, as long as it includes Mexican food.

She loves Jesus and wants a devotional book for her birthday.  

She is not perfect.  She can be a stinker.  She is a bit too much like her Momma at times.

But, she is an easy-going peace maker, which makes it easy to overlook her shortcomings. 

Today she is *sweet sixteen* and we celebrate her! 

The gift and blessing that she is…

Today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET GIRL!

We thank God for you!

Since before they could walk or talk, I have hoped my babies would grow to understand and believe the truth about beauty.  The Enemy is brimming with lies on the subject and he has a mass marketing agency in our culture, through which to sell them.  He’s good.  He’s really good.   

A few days ago, after a two and a half hour procedure, my middle-most girl met me in the waiting room of our orthodontist’s office.  There was a a river of tears welled in her eyes and when she tried to speak, the dam broke.  Tears spilled, rushing down her cheeks, finding their way to the floor.  It was a river.

My girl was devastated and had not an ounce of clarity.  She was ugly.  She would never get married.  

I will laugh about this soon.  My girl will laugh about it one day.  I should note, for perspective’s sake, that my daughter did not come out with braces on her teeth.  No.  That would have been “normal” and she would have been less stunned by the change.  Instead, she came out with an “I-can’t-believe-that-fits-in-your-mouth” sized shock absorber-looking contraption that we have come to call *shocks* (pun intended). For the sake of time, and lack of words, I will just say that the *shocks* altered my girl’s facial structure, smile, and chewing ability (try chewing only up and down, no side to side jaw movement…we chew a lot like cows, I’ve realized, but that’s not my point).  Her reflection was not her own.  The girl in the mirror was strange and distorted.

The whole way home she cried and I prayed.  My prayer was choppy and desperate.  Lord, use this in my baby’s life.  Help her to believe Truth.  Forever change her.  Help her to see herself through Your eyes.  Lord, teach my 15-year-old what has taken most women a lifetime to learn; that true beauty is unfading, eternal and comes from within.  Lord give me wisdom.  Lord have mercy.      

When we were back to the safety of home, we talked.  I talked.  She listened between sniffs.  I said nothing new.  I’m hoping, however, that what had once been just words, now had more meaning. 

God says that our lives on earth are but a breath.  One breath.  How long, according to our culture, does a woman get to be a beauty?  Through youth and into young womanhood at best?  After that, it’s all about procedures and products.  For a small fraction of her life…a fraction of a breath…a woman gets to be beautiful.  The conclusion I draw is this: cultural beauty is skin deep and no one gets to keep it.  IF you were “lucky” enough to be born cute, you get to be beautiful for a little while, until the next group of cuties come in to replace you.  But still our culture urges us to chase after physical beauty and hold onto it for dear life.  Even as our physical beauty is fading at a rapid rate, The Enemy says, “Don’t give up!   Compare yourself to the younger more attractive woman, critique her, compete with her!”  But we can not win.  Whether lost naturally by aging or abruptly through an accident, beauty, according to the world’s definition, will not last.  Period.  “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting…” Proverbs 31:30. 

Contrast that to a woman’s true beauty, which is poured out by God into the human heart.  It is unfading and grows more beautiful with age and wisdom.  It is the mark of a woman who fears the Lord.  True beauty comes from within and radiates out.  1Peter 3:4 tells us that beauty doesn’t come from outward adornment, instead “…it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”  Did you hear that?  It is of “great worth in God’s sight!”  AMEN AND HALLELUJAH!    

My girl sat through my ramblings like a champ, as I poured out my heart and soul and everything else to her.  Then she decided she was ready for Mexican food.  A day or two later, my middle-most beauty came out with duct tape over her mouth.  It said, “Under Construction”.  Maybe we’re going to survive this after all. 

There is a road ahead.  We have not arrived.  But I’m hoping that, in the end, our girls will know that the physical beauty our world holds dear has no eternal value; that real beauty is on the inside and never fades.  It’s the truth.  BELIEVE IT!

A well meaning friend told me, in a moment of frustration, that she didn’t see the point in spending so much time, energy and money in playing competitive basketball because “it has no eternal value”.  With all due respect, I beg to differ. 

We returned from *State* a couple of days ago, three very disappointed girls in tow.  No doubt those three players represent the feelings of the whole team.  They had had a very respectable loss to a very tough number two team, which put them in  position to play for third.  What followed the next morning was a game that they would just as soon forget.  The girls were exhausted and it showed.  They lost the third place game without so much as a threat to their opponent.

The boys last game, while not as rough as the girls, was none the less lost as well.  While both teams could have headed back to West Texas defeated and dejected, they left with heads high in spite of deep disappointment. 

So much was learned this week, but the most important thing that we take away is that *ALL is grace*.  Win or lose, we can be sure that God will work it together for our good and His glory.  It’s all part of His plan. 

Before a big game, you can be sure that this momma’s stomach is doing nervous flips.  What of the players, if this is the mom?  But it occurs to me…God already has it all wrapped up, knows what is best, and has it in His hands.  And I thank Him.

God will use whatever He wishes, wherever we are to teach us about Himself.  I haven’t time to go into the countless life lessons our kids have learned on the hardwood over the years, but ultimately it all goes back to this.  God is good and this season in our lives, with so many hours spent in the gym, is a gift. 

Now it’s time to gear up for Nationals in Springfield, MO.  The Lady Titans are still heading into it ranked fourth in Texas!  And, like I’ve said before…Texas is kind of a big deal! 

Go Titans! 

Road trip ahead…just twenty-four hours ’til take off!  The Lady Titans and their families will be headed to ”State”, in a matter of hours, with a third overall ranking.  It is the Texas State Homeschool Basketball Championships drawing us to the Metroplex. 

Don’t let the “homeschool” part throw you.  This tournament is not for the faint of heart.  The number one team at last year’s tournament had so many Division 1 college scouts attending the final game that fans were hard pressed to find a seat (slight exaggeration, but you get the picture).  This same number one Texas team also took home the National Championship trophy, last March, at the National Homeschool Basketball Championship in Springfield, MO (the largest athletic tournament in the U.S., with over 300 teams competing at all levels). 

All that to say…heading into this tournament, ranked third, is a pretty big deal-e-o for this little team from a mid-sized Texas town!  Top teams typically represent the larger cities.  Houston dominated for years, but it’s been a team from the Arlington/Ft. Worth area that has been taking all the kudos as of late.   Austin also brings in tough competition (ranked second this year), as well as others from the DFW Metroplex and  Houston area. 

There is a tough road ahead for the Lady Titans and it won’t be easy.  To make it to the coveted Championship game, these girls will have to fight their way through three games, two of which are against a Dallas team (also in top ten) and Austin (number two)…not for the faint of heart!  Way to go Lady Titans to even be in this position!  Big deal.  Really big deal.      

Did anyone see the Daytona 500 last weekend?  20-year-old, Trevor Bayne and his team won it, one day after his twentieth birthday.  It was only his second cup race (whatever that means) and HE WON!  Talk about a Cinderella story!  And the best part was that he gave God the glory.  He said (as best as I can remember it…not exact quote, but close), “We prayed before the race…we pray a lot…it just goes to show what God can do.”  Does that make you want to jump up and shout ”Hallelujah” or what?! 

Only God knows what this little tournament in Texas holds.  There are three things of which we can count on:  1. He will be there, pouring out His grace on all His children, 2. He cares about the simplest of things and this is yet another of His gifts, so many gifts, and 3.  The Lady Titans can hold their heads high and thank Him, already.  No matter the outcome of this tournament, they have already been blessed to go into it, not only in the top ten, but in the top three!  

Go get ‘em Lady Titans!  Have fun!   

And give God the Glory…No. Matter. What.

Days passed at a crawl the week before our vacation.  Our week at the shore, however, was mere minutes.   Both were seven days.  Time stands still; time flies…or so it seems.

The reality is that the Creator of the Universe “changes time and seasons“  (Daniel 2:21), therefore we can be sure time is constant, consistent.  He gives us the exact same number of minutes every single day, without fail. 

Time is *flying* in my life right now.  Children are changing almost daily,  little girls have morphed into young ladies, mere babes threatening to graduate and go to college, and the firstborn keeps flitting in and out of the nest between semesters.  Meanwhile, we are going to basketball games, piano practice, recitals, basketball games, shopping for bigger shoes, parent meetings, home group, basketball games, shopping for longer jeans, having friends over, and going to basketball games.   Can it be, that in the midst of it all, I’m missing out on something? 

Getting to class on this icy day was not a hazard for us; it’s just down the  hall and through the doorway on the right.  But we took a *snow day* anyway.  We (I) need to slow down.  Sit.  Breathe.  Enjoy. 

This snow was the perfect reminder to be still, to appreciate the time He has given me today,  to take in these little chickadees.  

I love snow days.  I loved this day.

I am giving myself thirty minutes, tops, to complete this ridiculous post.  Ready.  Set.  Go.

This morning I woke aware of, and overwhelmed by, all the *projects* I live amongst.  They all seemed to be in my face screaming, ”Pick me, pick me!”  I took a deep breath, refocused on my day and then took a break later in the morning.  I love  The Inspired Room because, well, it’s inspiring.  So, when I opened my email to find a new post by Melissa, I poured a fresh cup of coffee and settled in. 

What I found was this post about your “furniture talking to you”, which prompted me to write the following comment on Melissa’s amazing blog:

  ”No. My furniture does not talk to me…it YELLS at me and ALL AT ONCE!
Just this morning my could-be-amazing office chair and the little shoe shine bench next to my potty were both begging for attention, while I was trying to settle the argument between the deacon’s bench in the entry hall and the salvaged rattan & wicker chairs in the family room…”

However, the little yellow chair was such a bright spot in my day that I decided to take some pictures of my own begging projects and see if I could muster some motivation to follow the inspiration.

Let’s begin in the Entry:

I am a Texas Tech Red Raider, but my home is in no way, form, or fashion red and black.  Lord help me help this room.  The pew is one of my favorite things.  I must do something.

Now on to the Family Room:

    These chairs are really cool.  They are from Pottery Barn and I got them for $5 each at a garage sale, which makes  them awesome!  Not sure what to do with them.  They are more comfy with a back cushion so, for now, I have extra sofa pillows on them.  The pillows appear that they just might work, but with a closer look, it’s obvious that they don’t work at all.   In a nutshell, it looks like I really missed, but don’t know it.

I inherited this coffee table when I married.  The Captain and all of our children learned to walk by pulling up and scooting around this little drop-leaf cutie.  It was painted gold, probably in the 70′s, and has been such ever since.  It needs me. 

My office chair has potential, but I’ve got to figure out what to do with the desk and library table first.  I got the desk and table several years ago for $25 and $10, respectively, at a school auction.  This project may never get done, but it really needs to.     

This is a peg board that The Captain made for me and I include it because it’s one of few things that is done… 

Well, sorta.  The screws still show and I haven’t finished “styling” and such.  But at least it is up and painted and is more *done* than a lot of other things.  Note the chest, for example, also from The Captain’s childhood.  It has so much potential, but I haven’t a clue what to do with it.  Paint it?  Color? The wall is a very light grey/green/blue-ish color with a darker shade of the same color on the accent wall around the fireplace next to it.  Should the chest be white?  Stained?  I’m just not sure.

The Master Bedroom/Office/Sunroom/Lord-What-Do-I-Do-With-This-Place Room has been a work in progress and I’m slowly getting it figured out.  This *Master Living Area*, as we’ve come to call it, almost made me not want the house.  Everyone who sees it thinks it’s “awesome”, but try arranging it and then tell me that.  It is looonng and narrow and huge and L-shaped.  Including a large, long bathroom and three closets, it is nearly 800 sq. ft!  I’ve stood in this room for hours on end, thinking, ”…over here we could have a sitting area…and then over here, let’s see, we could have another sitting area…and here, hmm, here, by the windows, hmm, I guess we could have a little sitting area.”   Sheesh.  We don’t even SIT that much.  Maybe a bunch of sitting areas would encourage us to sit more?  I think not.

Still a very unfinished work in progress and using only what we already had (except the dark, medium-height shelves, which came from Target), here is what I have come up with so far.

Since I can’t replace the really nasty wall to wall carpeting, I will just pretend it is a wood floor until I can cover it with some seagrass rugs or something.  And then I will pretend it is a wood floor covered with seagrass rugs until I can get the wood floor, which may well be when I die and someone else lives here.  

I do, however, love the little love seat now that I thought to use my antique linen tablecloth to cover the slip cover.  I had the tablecloth stashed away forever, thinking I would use it on a bed or something, but had forgotten all about it.  I was reminded that I had it when I saw this post on the Dreamy Whites blog.  The slipcover is a Target cheapy and doesn’t fit well at all.  I did have a throw over the back, but this is so much better.        

I’m seven minutes over my thirty minute limit, so I better get back to life.  Maybe I’ll actually get one of these little projects done before I move into the nursing home. 

Oh, and I’ll leave ya with this little guy…the shoe shine bench that was never intended to look like this for this long.  And the TP holder, oh my.

If any member of my family had seen me photographing this…well, I’m just glad that didn’t happen.  That’s all.

Some would not consider this a meal.  I do not understand those people, but I will love them anyway. 

I have made beans as long as I can remember.  Sometimes they have been really good.  Other times, nothin’ special.  What is the secret to delicious beans?  In search of the answer, I became interested in beaneology (I thought I made that word up, but I Googled it for fun and I’ll be dern…)

The problem, I learned, is that I’m always playin’ around with ‘em, beans that is.  I try this spice and that.  I am so happy to say I have learned that THAT was the problem.  Keeping it simple is the answer and if you find a good thing, don’t mess with it!

Pioneer Woman helped me understand beans.  Less is more; simple is better.   My last several pots of beans have been PW’s and they are SO good.  The Captain requests them and the kids eat ‘em up!   

Thursday’s Menu: 

PW’s Beans and Cornbread (recipe here) 

Banana Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing (recipe soon-ish).