a good nap

Ahhhh the days of naps.  If we could only jump into a time machine and go back to those days when naps were encouraged...necessary...mandatory.  If our kids could only realize how good they have it...getting into a warm, cozy, comfy bed at mid-day to sleep the cares of the day away.  To wake refreshed and energized. Then to be offered yummy snacks and tv time.

If only...

The other day our sweet Samuel woke from his afternoon nap.  You know you can tell when your kids have had a really good nap.  They will wake with pillow marks and crazy hair and a smashed face.  It is so cute.

"a good nap"

Here's to future nap time.  Maybe it will return for us adults someday.  

Happy Heart Wreaths

Here's hoping you all survived Valentine's Day 2013.

I thought I would post a tutorial on how to make the heart wreaths that I hung on the back of my dining room chairs.  They are pretty simple but have several steps...so grab a comfy chair, this will take a couple of minutes.

Here's what you will need.

You'll start by cutting your white card stock into the size circle that you want.

 I chose an 8 inch circle.

After cutting out the 8 inch circle line up your circle cutter and cut out a 4 inch circle.  You can use the grid on your cutting mat to line up the cutter so that your 4 inch circle is centered.

Voila!  

You will need 2 rings for each wreath that you make.

Next, summon your super helpful and happy toddler, if you have one, to come help.  (Mine was actually chompin' at the bit to help his mama craft.)

Ahhhh...here he is.  See, very happy.

Staple the ribbon that I have not instructed you to cut yet to the center of your ring.  Your happy toddler will be glad to do this. The ribbon should be whatever length you need to tie a bow from wherever you are hanging it.  Mine was about 18-24 inches long. You will need two pieces for each wreath. 

Then have that same happy toddler squeeze some glue out and glue the two rings together.  The ribbon will be sandwiched in between the rings.

This is what your finished ring should look like.  I actually stapled the ribbon at this point too.  It made the card stock sturdier and the staples will get covered by the hearts.  

Ok.  Now moving onto the hearts.  I consider this the fun part.  If your happy toddler is napping you can pop in a good movie or cd and sit for awhile.  If you are making as many wreaths as I did this step will take awhile. I do not recommend that your toddler help you with this step...sharp knives and all.

Start by cutting all of your pretty papers into 2 inch strips.  Be mindful of the pattern.  Those zig zags will actually be horizontal once you punch your hearts. 

Now take your handy dandy heart punch...I got mine at Michael's...and start punching.

....keep punching

....still punching

...until

you have a big pile like this.  Actually this isn't all that big.  I eventually got a big bowl out and started to fill it up.  

Be sure to buy enough paper.  Don't make two additional trips to Hobby Lobby like I did. You can always return what you don't use.  

Once all of your hearts are punched you will curl them.

Did you know that you can curl paper?  This was a new revelation for me.  All you have to do is grab a knife with a flat edge.  Start at the middle of the heart and work out.  Curl on the pattern side of the paper.  Scrape the paper just as you would scrape ribbon with scissors when you are wrapping a present.  

Aren't they pretty!

All that is left now is to glue, glue, glue.

 I started in the center where the ribbon is.  

You can lay your hearts in any direction.  What ever makes sense to you and of course what ever looks the best.

And finally...when you are finished, this is what you will have.

Happy Heart Wreath

Stand back and gaze at your handiwork.  

Then smile because you made something so cute!

Time well spent!

And kudos to me for actually making something that I pinned!

Happy Heart Day!

This year instead of going out on fancy dates, my friend Natalie suggested that we get a group of people together for Valentine's Day.  And since I do everything that Natalie suggests...ha ha ha....I rolled with her idea and threw a Valentine's Day party.

What fun it is to throw a party!

I decided we would put all of the adults in the dining room and make it more formal and let all the kids eat in the kitchen and make as much noise (and mess) as they wanted.

This is what I came up with.

Menu:

Pink Lemonade

Caesar Salad

Lasagna

Garlic Bread

Texas Sheet Cake

A beautiful table complete with white table cloth, real silver and even candles. 

Sweet little jars of pink, red, and white m&m's.  I found these jars at Michael's in their wedding favor section.

I made two big Texas sheet cakes and used a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut them out.  They were so cute waiting for us to eat on the table.  

And I made these really simple happy heart wreaths out of heart shaped paper I cut with a paper punch.  I hung one on each chair.

I wish I could say I took more pictures.  Like of the huge lasagna and the biggest caesar salad I have ever seen.  Or of the friends (21 total) that filled our house and the fun we all had.  But I did not. Once everyone arrived I was busy hostessing and making sure everyone had what they needed.  

But what I will say is that it was one of the best Valentine's Days I have ever had.  My husband admitted the same.  Valentine's Day can often be a death sentence for guys. I have known many guys, including my own husband, who are scared to death when it gets close to this day.  "What will I get my wife.  Will she be happy?  Will I be in the dog house if I mess up?"  I know Patrick has been in this situation before. I am sure more than once.  Oh the pressures we put on our guys!

But this year was different.  It was amazing the difference in my day when I was not focused on myself. I did not have time to sit around wondering if Patrick was going to "perform" like the world has so defined what a good Valentine's Day is.  

It also comes to this...

I am loved by the creator of the world even if I don't get                 . 

You can fill in the blank with whatever applies to you...flowers, chocolates, cards, candy...

We are loved by the creator of the world.  When we take the focus off of ourselves and focus on Him our eyes can be opened to see things differently.  Instead of "needing" to be loved by Patrick, I can see that I am already unconditionally loved by our Lord Jesus.  How great is that!  

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God, and God in him.  

1 John 4:16

I hope everyone had a Happy Heart Day this year!  

Love,

The Pendley's

Family Pictures 2012

This year, I mean last year, we had family pictures taken.  It was so nice to get a beautiful picture that included all four of us.  Most of the time we are lucky if even one of us is in the picture with the boys.  Actually lately we're lucky if we even get the camera out. But we did it. We made an appointment and met with the photographer. Sorry for the delay in posting them. We were saving them for Christmas presents.

These were taken in August at the Carleen Bright Arboretum.  It had to be the most humid day on record but I think they turned out beautiful.

Enjoy!

If you are interested, these pictures were taken by Jenna Mayfield from Artistic Images by the Mayfields.  We think they did a wonderful job and hope to use them again in the future.

graham crackers and sour cream

Over the past few months we have been getting together with the our friends the Maddoxes on a fairly frequent basis. It has been really nice to get to know another couple on a more intimate basis. I have already seen changes in our friendship and I know that the Lord has us getting together for a reason. But recently many things have gotten in the way of us hanging out...holidays, work, schedules and unfortunately sickness. Last Friday all of the stars seem to align and they were able to come over.

I spent my afternoon getting the house ready and dinner as well. On the menu was crunch top ham and potato casserole, green beans, and s'more brownies.   This casserole has become one of my favorites and we have eaten it a lot since Christmas.  Patrick was given a ham that was big enough to feed most of the army and navy combined.  After baking it, and then eating on it for several days, I packed the rest of it up and put it in the freezer. I have brought it out a little at a time to make this yummy dish.  

So I got all of the ingredients out for dinner...ham, potatoes, sour cream, cheese, butter...and started to assemble the casserole.  Two little boys were on their step stool eager to help.  

And on this particular day, Samuel was most helpful!?

Can you guess what is on his face?

I gave the boys some graham crackers to munch on as a means of keeping busy...and happy of course...and I got to work.  As I bounced around the kitchen grabbing this and that, I noticed that the boys were very quiet.  I turned around only to find a very sneaky baby.  I am actually not sure what to call him...sneaky, mischievous, courageous, adventurous???

This is what I saw.  You can decide.

cinnamon graham crackers and sour cream

Yum?

Yikes!

Yuck?!

I guess he is going to have a diversified palette.  

"I know I am cute, mommy!"

To the Maddoxes:

I am sorry I did not tell you and you are reading about this now on my blog.  If the casserole had a hint of sweetness, it is from the graham cracker crumbs.  Also I am sure a little bit of slobber made it in there too.  

I will choose to believe that these two elements enhanced the flavor and I will probably be missing them the next time I make this dish.  It will never be the same.

Come again!

Love Brandy