Dear lissie-

I really wish you were here to see your little Jettie! She is so grown up & I am so excited to see her become a little you. :) She is becoming just like you: beautiful, smart, & silly. I remember when you were only a little baby........

Paslyee & Josh were so excited to have a new little addition. They couldn't wait for you to grow up and become the new little cat or dog in the game of "house". We all felt so blessed to have you in our family. I couldn't wait to ell you all about our family & home. I knew we would make lots of fun & loving memories in our home. You made it so much more bright & loving. I always went into your room just to smile or remember something sweet about you. <3

I feel a lot better knowing that your little Lillianna & Kasey B. are with you and Jesus. You will raise them & teach them while, awaiting our arrival.

I will never forget when you were a little 8 year old in my best friends wedding & you were so excited you got to walk down the isle with Radley. That was the first time you ever met Radley & you two really hit it off me & Kelsey were so surprised by the happiness you two shared.

We immediately grabbed the photographer and made her take this beautiful photograph. We knew you two would get married. Once the photographs were ready we got two and framed them both. I was so excited to have it in my living room & hung it on our family wall. :) 

I couldn't wait for the day you would come home & say he asked you out. I was so excited & felt over joyed the day you ran up to the car jumped in & you tossed your bag to the back, gave me a big hug & kiss hello. Then you had a smile from ear to ear for the rest of the ride home. You couldn't wait for dinner time to tell us all what happened.

I remember when I was home alone with Josh, He was only 5 months old. He & I were sitting on his floor just hanging out & he looked straight up and said : "Lissie" of course it was not exactly Lissie but, it was pretty close. I was so excited I knew in that moment any girl that we had, when I held her in my arms I would look into her eyes and just know that that little girl was my lissie. That little girl was you... :)

I was so blessed in the moment I held you i knew that you would forever be in my heart & life. You instantly became my best friend. <3

You were born just as we were making & changing Presley's room! you were so involved and excited to see the new things & pretty colors! You practically picked everything in her room!

 You became such a cuddle bug & my little mommy. You would fold little towels & help me everywhere. I realized I needed to treasure that time & enjoy that you would love to help & spend time with me. :)

 {these were taken in my blonde years, do you remember those? haha}

I love you with all my heart! I will write again soon, sweet heart!

To remember

This is something I like to call "To remember" I will often just post little things that I want to remember about the day or somethings that make my heart stop. :)

1. I remember when this little guy......

 was only the size of a peach.....I was so excited to hear that Paslyee & Jon were pregnant. I was never one to be upset that I was becoming a grandma. I think that is a symbol of how much you've grown & how much you love your family. :) {I took all these photographs BTW.}

 He grew up a little too fast for us however, I got to photograph him the very first week of his life. It was so beautiful to see my daughter become a mother & Jon was & is such a grateful father. :)

I love you little Ezra!

2. The moment when I was upstairs getting ready for date night and I was listening to Jon play with Jess. He was making her laugh and he was laughing and it was perfection. 

3. The moment when it was 12:30 am and we were just laughing in our bed and Jon told me mid sentence that he misses me on work weeks.

 

A place called home

So I have had a few opportunities to design & create beautiful living spaces for some close friends & family. I just wanted to share my latest design for the Carsons....

First the beautiful family....

There beautiful house filled with love & peace.. {I redid the whole house, my first full on while house design. These are just little bits of it.}

{the entry way.}

 {dinning room}

 {kitchen}

 {family room}

{one of the hall ways to the stairs}

 {Elle's room, her oldest girl}

{Tracen her little boy's room.}

I hope you enjoyed the little tour of my latest work. I also designed our house & I deisnged my favorite room.. Lissie's. :) My little girl always has a place in our home. I don't have our current house but, i do have our old farmhouse. I will start with her room{s} over the years.

 {current/high school years}

 {teen years/middle school}

 {ages 16-17 sharing with her sister, in the farmhouse.}

{the farmhouse, sorry this is the only good photo I have of the farmhouse, it was taken Christmas morning.}

 I hope you enjoyed my little tours of our old house & Lissie's rooms & the Carsons house. :)

Dinner at The Pond

We live in the middle of a meadow, it’s my favorite place on earth. In the winter we ice fish on the pond and come warm nights we set up our “pond house” for backyard bbq’s and watching movies under the stars. Today I want to share our favorite campfire treat, naan bread with brown sugar butter. It’s better then s’mores and will make you famous at summer parties. So try them this weekend or very very soon!









Naan Bread
serves around 6 people, easy to double for more
1/2 package of active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 small egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour
grape seed or olive oil for grilling

Dissolve yeast in warm water with sugar for 10 minutes in small bowl. Beat egg in large bowl and add milk, salt and bread flour. When yeast mixture is ready add it into the large bowl and start mixing. At this point you can either use a stand mixer or when the dough comes together start kneading. Adding more flour or water to get a soft dough, around 5-8 minties. Put dough into a well oiled bowl and place a towel over to rise. This takes around 1- 1 1/2 hours. In the meantime make the brown sugar butter.
Brown Sugar Butter
1 stick room temperature butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Mix all of the ingredients in small container and when well combined place in the refrigerator. This lasts for 3 weeks and can be used on toast or is the best butter for popcorn.

Back to the dough. When it’s done rising, push dough down and start taking small bits of dough to roll into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place on a cookie sheet and let rise again for 30 minutes. Start grill, clean and oil grates for cooking. Grill side take dough and shape into thin circles. Brush with oil and place on grill. When they puff up turn over and wait for other side. Each side take around 2 to 3 minutes. At this point you can either keep some for your meal like we do or make all of them into sweet treats by brushing the brown butter directly on them when finished grilling.
 
 


Fun Extra’s!!
We grill aromatic lamb meatballs and serve them with cucumbers, tomatoes and tzatziki dip. Then for dessert we cover the last 5 or 6 with brown sugar butter.

And some nighttime summer music…

for dancing Devendra Banhart – Santa Maria Da Feira. I have no idea what he is sing about but his voice goes beyond the limits of language. Also he’s wearing rainbow suspenders in the video.

for driving Firekites – By Night. Such a great band and there song is perfect for driving in the night with the windows down. Or at the least makes you feel a tiny bit free sitting at your office desk.

for dreaming Ari Hest – Cranberry Lake. I’m pretty sure this song is about our pond, just change the title to Cranberry Pond. 1:12-1:23 is my favorite moment.