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Wonderfully Made

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Am I good enough? Am I making the right decisions? Am I ruining my child? Am I thin enough?

I read quite a few blogs. Most of them are written by women. Many of them share a feeling of not being adequate in some place in their life–parenting, marriage, cooking, organization, crafting, and on and on. I hate this for these women. I hate that they don’t feel good enough in their skin to be who they are. I hate that they feel they have to be good at everything to be good for anything. I want these women to be encouraged.

You have value and worth in your Creator. He created you specifically, for a purpose. You and your spouse have a purpose; you are a partnership ordained by Him to work for Him. He gave you your children for a purpose. Work within Him and His worth for you–it’s infinitely more than you can imagine.

As a friend, it is important to me that my friends feel their value and worth; that they know they are valuable to me, but, more importantly, to the Lord. I want to be a friend who is encouraging and speaks life. I pray that the women in my life can overcome any feelings of inadequacy or mediocrity and become great in the Lord.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

Psalm 139:14

Baby Gray/errands/haircut/sunglasses

Right on Target

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

It’s not unusual for me to run errands with Baby Gray. Even with his budding independence, he usually does very well. Sometimes, things get a little tough, though. That’s where squeezies come in.

They are the perfect quick distraction in the store. He knows they’re there, and he’ll ask for them before he gets frustrated or tired. It’s a one-dollar life saver!

But, I digress. The real issue here is how stinkin’ cute my boy is in these fancy shades he picked out yesterday. And yes, I did get suckered into buying them; thanks for asking.

Side note: these are the last photos of his long locks for a while; it’s haircut day! We missed his last haircut, so his hair has been exceptionally long lately.

Baby Gray/jump/play

B-B-Broken Record

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

I promise I don’t post a video every time we go to The Jumpy Place. Sometimes, though, it’s just too funny.

Baby Gray spent quite some time dive bombing out of one of the jumpers last week when we met for a play date.

He did actually jump this trip as well. He was pretty into it.

Baby Gray/furniture

Baby Proof?

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

The day Baby Gray shook the lamp off the side table in the living room is the day we screwed all the furniture to the wall. Extreme? Maybe. Called for? You be the judge.

I’d hate to see what our house would look like if he didn’t have some deterrent. Watch out, Incredible Hulk!

clean/tips/WD40

Whoa-oa, It’s Magic!

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Squeaky door? Jammed window? Stuck drawer? Pulled a price tag off and have adhesive residue? Unwanted Sharpie on a smooth surface? Black scuff marks on tile?

I use WD40 for all sorts of things.

Obviously, there’s the squeaky-door-stuck-window-type dilemma that everyone thinks of WD40 for.

But, there’s so much more! In the case of Sharpie (probably crayon, too), I just spray a little–a very little–on a paper towel and then wipe over what I’m trying to get off. It’s pretty much instant. When working with vases, glassware, etc. sometimes the price tag sticks and leaves a funky residue. Wipe it down with WD40, and it’s gone!

WD40 can be sprayed on pretty much any smooth surface and remove what’s on it. Magic potion, anyone?

Not a paid advertisement. I just use WD40 for tons of things and thought others might like to as well.

garden

Numb Green Thumb

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Aside from our beginner’s luck with gardening, every year has been a new adventure in what can go wrong with your garden.

This year, we thought we had all our ducks in a row, and we started off strong. Baby Gray has enjoyed a fresh strawberry or two, and I cooked a few dishes with fresh spinach.

It wasn’t long after I had picked the spinach that things turned sour in the ol’ garden. The next time I went out to water, the remaining spinach had been eaten up by bugs. The following day, the squash and zucchini was looking a little sad–I discovered grub worms had munched on them! A few days later, we had a tomato plant getting eaten up by something.

We were able to treat and salvage some of the plants, but I’m beginning to think we’re better off supporting our local farmer’s market.

Baby Gray/popsicles/Recipes/summer

Cool Down

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 2 Comments

A staple in our freezer growing up was my Mickey Mouse popsicle mold. My mom would fill it with different juices, Gatorade, etc., and I would be all fixed up with a sweet treat. I went on the hunt for popsicle molds and came up with these.

I decided to make Baby Gray some fruit popsicles with yogurt and watermelon.

I used about a third of the watermelon, without seeds. I scooped the pieces into the blender and added a little plain yogurt.

I poured the puree in to the molds and stuck it into the freezer.

When they were solid, Baby Gray enjoyed his cool treat!

I can’t wait to try other ideas for his popsicles.

Baby Gray/bacon/Mr. Gray/Recipes/Rooster

Sweet Repeat

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Christmas morning, I tried baking bacon for the first time.

Since, I have done it several times. Last night, I did it again. The boys enjoyed the show. I enjoyed not being popped with bacon grease.

How?

Start with a cool oven and cool baking sheets

I lined mine with foil because I was using my good jelly roll pans and didn’t want to have to hand wash a big mess later (there are very few things I exclude from the dishwasher; my jelly roll pans are in that elite group) or have permanently baked on bacon residue.
I have since made it without the foil lining on an old pan and thrown it in the dishwasher. I haven’t had any problems with it sticking.

Lay the bacon flat on the sheets
Put the baking sheets into the oven and turn it on 400 degrees
Check the bacon at 17 minutes; I usually let mine go closer to 19
When you are pleased with the crispness of your bacon, take it off the pan and put it onto a paper towel-lined dish

blessings/church/family/friends/home/season

On the Run

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

This weekend was, by our standards, a restful one. Usually, we don’t get to spend much time at home on the weekends. We always seem to be running. Luckily, we’re not running from anything; we pretty much run to it all.

We have an address in a nice, quiet little town where many people have chosen to reside as well. Crazily enough, we don’t really do life in this town, though. We run to church; we run to our friends’ homes; we run to work; we run to family; we run. It works for now. I would like to think our season of running will be just that–a season. I would like to think that one day we will live, work, worship, and fellowship all in one community. I don’t know that, though. I do know that God has definitely placed our church, our friends, and our current home directly in our path. I know that we are right where we are meant to be. I don’t know for how long. I don’t know why. I just know that for now, we are called to be here, in our centrally located home, and run.

baking/cream cheese/Recipes/shower

Make It, Take It

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Sometimes there are things that are just meant to be. As far as I’m concerned, cream cheese baked into anything with some cinnamon and sugar is one of those things.

I was making this on-the-go for a shower we hosted last weekend, so the photos (well, the ones I remembered to take) are iffy at best.

I did the cream cheese mixture before I left and took it with me.

The toppings were pretty easy to pack.

I put the whole thing together, baked, and served at the shower.

You will need:

12 package of whipped cream cheese

2 packages crescent rolls

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sugar

1/2 stick butter (real butter), melted

Sugar (extra for topping)

Cinnamon (for topping)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer
Spread first package of crescent rolls in bottom of 9×13 pan
Top with cinnamon and sugar
Spread cream cheese mixture over crescent rolls
Top with the second package of crescent rolls
Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over the top
Pour melted butter over the top
Bake 13-15 minutes or until the top is golden brown and not too crisp

This was a perfect take-to-make desesert!