beef/meat/Monday

Make it a Meat-Filled Monday!

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment
I “like” a few food pages on Facebook. They always have Meatless Monday posts. Now, I don’t really care if people eat meat or not, but I feel like meat, especially red meat, gets a bum rap. 
Obviously, fruits and vegetables provide so many things a body needs. Meat, though, can add value to your meal as well. I’m not talking a greasy hamburger, a chicken friend steak, or other foods like that. Furthermore, I’m not out to take on the world about this, but I can promise you that there are cuts of meat from particular carcasses that are not harmful to your Monday intake (certain breeds are as lean as cardboard grass-fed without wasting the space).

Mr. Gray is definitely the one who is versed in this, since it’s part of his job and all, but I wanted to throw a vague, disgruntled post out there for you. 

For more information on beef,  click here.
Baby Gray/lessons/nap/pool/swimming

Just Keep Swimming…

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment
When things started warming up this summer, we started taking Baby Gray swimming. The very first time he was in the water, he was tired, so he wasn’t sure about it at all. 

The next time, he loved it. He played and splashed. Luckily, he isn’t afraid of the water. We decided to join the local pool and let him try Mommy and Me swim lessons. The swim lessons start at six months, so we figured he would be fine at almost ten months. 
He was ready to swim! From the very first day, he would be cheerful and ready when we put his swim clothes on to leave.

Some mornings, he needed a quick nap on the way to the pool to be geared up and ready for all that activity. For some reason, he woke up extra early for the two weeks of swimming lessons. By the time it was time to go, he was tired again. He perked up as soon as we got to the water, though.
Fine might have been the understatement of the year. He loved it! I took it pretty easy on him since he is still so little, but he willingly did everything that was modeled that he was able to do. He wasn’t a huge fan of going under water, but once we can teach him to close his mouth and blow bubbles, I don’t think it will bother him. He kicks his feet and moves his arms like a champ! He loved to “jump” off the side–he would sit and push himself off the edge to me. It was so cute! I can’t wait until the coordination takes off and he can really get himself going. 

The first day in the life vest was a bit of a challenge, but I wouldn’t have wanted to wear that bulky thing, either. The second day in it, he did much better and stayed in it the whole time. I am working on getting him one of the thinner ones. 

He got a certificate and a water toy for completing the class, and I can’t wait to go back next year! He will be on the move and ready to swim by then! Miss Alexis was wonderful; her heart is definitely with the little ones. We were blessed to have her as our teacher!

This was the scene each day after his lessons. He’d fall asleep in the car on the way home and go straight down for a nap–usually a pretty long one, too. It was great because I’d need to shower and get dressed for the day. Perfect timing!
Baby Gray/Rooster/wagon

Circle the Wagons

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment
We have had my old wagon in the attic since we moved into this house. It’s just been hanging out, collecting dust, waiting for someone to ride in it. I’ve asked Mr. Gray several times about getting it down, but then I would always forget about it. 

Yesterday afternoon, we were going to walk over to the recycling bin, and I asked him to get the wagon down for Baby Gray. He didn’t complain once about my spur of the moment idea! He just climbed right on up into the attic and came down with the wagon. 

You can only imagine how much dirt and dust this thing had collected over the years. Mr. Gray cleaned it right up! 

Baby Gray will sit pretty much anywhere you put him, but it usually doesn’t take him long to start exploring. He wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when I first sat him in his new ride. 


Rooster really wasn’t sure what I was doing when I put him in there, but Baby Gray was glad to have him! They’re going to be big buddies one of these days. 


They loved their cruise to the recycle bin. We’ll definitely be riding again. Sadly, I couldn’t capture any of Baby Gray’s squeals or laughs in the videos I got; I’m sure this won’t be the last you see of Baby Gray, Rooster, and the wagon.
photography/photos

A Tiny Merger

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I finally got some actual photo editing software. Finally. Finally. Finally! If you’ve been using real photo editing software for any amount of time, what I’m about to post is probably not too impressive. However, I thought it was really cool. 
 We were playing with Mr. Gray’s Idaho photos, and he wanted to combine these two photos. I knew there was a way to do it (there is actually even a way to do it on my camera, I’m pretty sure) in Elements, but I wasn’t sure what all it entailed. 

Who knew you just clicked a few buttons and it would merge for you? I was so impressed! Mind you, the actual non-compressed version is much nicer (and panoramic). I can’t wait to actually learn how to work it all!
kindergarten/memories/school/teacher

It’s Been a Long Time

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Early Sunday afternoon, I got a text message that appeared to be from one of the college girls who sometimes watches Baby Gray. When I opened the message, though, I found a great surprise!
It was from one of my former kindergarteners (who also happens to be the college student’s little sister)!  What a sweet message it was. She told me how much she missed me and caught me up what her life as an almost-fourth grader is like. As I read each text throughout our conversation, I could hear her saying each word in my head. That was my first year teaching kindergarten, and I only had 14 students, so I got to know each one of them very well.

I still run into my old kindergarten teacher from time to time. She knows what I’m doing, where I’m living, and everything else. I hope I can keep up a relationship with some of my kindergarten kiddos from along the way. I’d love to know where they are and how they’re doing. I don’t mean to exclude my other students; I’d love to know about my pre-k and third grade kiddos as well!
anniversary/build/deck/home

The Big O’ Deck

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No, not at George’s! In our backyard.

Mr. Gray has been wanting to build a deck for quite some while now. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but I finally came around. That was my wooden anniversary present to him, consent to build a wooden deck. We I try to follow the rules for anniversary gifts. It’s fun to have some parameters.

(Not pictured: the rest of the Quickrete.)
The goal for this weekend was to get the posts securely in the ground. Mr. Gray and Pops knocked it out Saturday morning.
blessings/faith/friends/planning

He Never Fails

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This week, I posted about the plan and taking a behind the scenes look. Would you believe that the evening of that post He did it again? 

Most of the people who lived in Papa & Grammie’s neighborhood when I was younger were empty-nesters. Their kids were grown and gone, but their grandchildren, like me, would come to visit on occasion. One such family lived two doors down. One of their granddaughters was (is) my age, and we played when we were both visiting grandparents. I saw the grandmother last July at Papa’s funeral. 

Thursday, Annie was working with some of her Sunday’s Child photographers and started checking out their work when she got back to her office. She recognized a family on one site as some old (from long ago, not age) friends from her hometown. The photographer is the little girl I used to play with while we visited our grandparents! 

We’ve since emailed, found each other on Twitter, and started following each other’s blogs. She has an amazing heart for ministry and furthering the Kingdom. She and her husband are on an incredible journey to bring home their little boy, Camp, from Ethiopia. You can read all about it on her blog; she has documented many of the big moments in the adoption process there.

I love the ways God works Himself into every story and connection in my life in such a real and visible way. It’s so cool to watch Him work! Nothing is abstract about what He constantly unfolds to me.
decorating/design/home/paint/table

If It Ain’t Broke…

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Mr. Gray and I are both very project-oriented. We can’t sit on our satisfaction long. Whether it’s the house, the yard, school, or whathaveyou, we don’t do static. 

Our latest project was changing out the light fixture in the kitchen. 

This light has been hanging in the kitchen since we moved into the house. It wasn’t my favorite then, and I’m glad we finally got around to doing something about it. I dreamed of Edison lights or blown Mexican glass over our small, farm-style kitchen table (not pictured; I had already moved it for Mr. Gray’s ladder by the time I remembered to take a photo). In the nature of a comfort versus style-type battle, Mr. Gray proposed a much-needed, small ceiling fan for the area.

I was hesitant at first, but I think I like it. This photo has way too much backlight, so you can’t tell much about the fan itself. The hardware matches the rubbed bronze look of our cabinet pulls and the rest of the house. The wood is the same color as the cabinets. We toyed with farm-housing the fan up a little bit, but it appears the look I had in my head didn’t actually exist. I will not be responsible for creating a whole faux genre. I just don’t have the time to keep creating looks to add to it. 

I was promised Edison lights for our dining room in a compromise to get the fan. Be on the lookout for those photos. I’ve already got the fixture picked out!
blessings/friends/life/stories

A Gander Behind the Scenes

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 2 Comments
I’ve written about Papa & Grammie a few times. Lately, especially with the anniversary of Papa’s death approaching, I’ve been thinking a lot about the order of things. I had all four of my grandparents for more than half my life (so far, that’ll change, I know, but I’m soaking it up while I can). For most of my childhood, I also had two of my great grandparents.

While I know I am not called to make sense of God’s plans for life, I have to wonder how the plan is formulated. GM was in quite poor health for a while, and she is the last of my grandparents living. Fortunately for us, GM is now doing very well and is more active than she had been for a while. She went on a “tour” with Baby Gray and I the other day as T-Paw navigated some improvements we’ve got taking place. She’s traveled to our home, to lunch on numerous occasions, and thought about obliging some other invitations that she would have immediately turned down previously. It is such a blessing to have this time with her! Who would have guessed all those years ago that she’d be the last one standing? 

It’s not just the life and death matters that strike me this way. When Mr. Gray and I first moved here, I decided to help with VBS at the church up the street. The lady who contacted me was a kindergarten teacher at the school where I had been hired to teach kindergarten less than a week before that phone call. The kindergarten teacher? Mrs. Fix-It! She is such an amazing friend and a huge part of my life. It is so funny to think back to the way it was all so planned an orchestrated, even when it wasn’t. 

I could tell dozens of stories about the fun of looking back to see where God’s hands played an integral role throughout my life. Some of my nearest and dearest friends started from a harmless shopping trip; maybe it was more than just one trip. It’s the behind the scenes that amazes me the most.


birthday/paint/Shooby/TOMS

The Amazing…

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Mr. Gray! 
I love to brag on my husband! Mr. Gray is so amazing in so many ways. Today, I’m going to brag on his artistic abilities again. I have a vision, but I can’t quite make it come to life. He can take a vision and make it real. 

Lately, no thanks to me, Mr. Gray’s art has taken the shape of TOMS in many varieties. Cookie wanted Shooby to have painted TOMS for her birthday, so we enlisted Mr. Gray.

Cookie emailed this print to Mr. Gray, and he took it and ran with it. 

Little Miss Shooby will be the talk of Rocking Horse Academy!