Sixty + Eighty-Seven

 Today is such a special day. My Papaw turns 87, and it is also my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. 60! They got married on his birthday. "Less dates to remember," is the reason my grandma gives. Smart lady.
 I could give many sweet memories of them, but that could be pages long. If you've had the pleasure of meeting my grandparents, you know what a true blessing they are to everyone. If you haven't met, well, you better get to it. You're missing out on some top notch stories and delicious meals, my friend.
 I'm so thankful to have them both around, and I so can't wait to celebrate them both this weekend.
Happy birthiversary to my favorite people in world!

A Few Favs: Pinterest Edition

 Everything I have liked from the web this past week is of course from Pinterest. So many good things on there, right? Sometimes I go to Pinterest just to find cool graphic designs of Bible verses. Sometimes I go there just to look at mountain pictures. I guess I go there to get inspired. Is that bad?

 These lemon and raspberry cupcakes look DELISH. And they are so pretty. Can't wait to make them and eat them.

 If you know me, you know I love, love, loveeeeeeeeee mountains. I want to live in the mountains more than I want just about anything. I would love to live in the middle of these mountains. Oh gosh. I'm homesick just looking at that picture.

 I love this reminder. Plus there are mountains in the background. Double like (love).

 I'm glad for Octobers. Because I love fall, especially in Oklahoma. Can't wait to wear beanie and sweater. Mmmmm.

Do you have any favs from around the web you'd like to share?

Happy Monday - I hope your week is filled with lots of hope, joy, and nice big hugs.

A Garden Update: Worship and Solarization

 I wish I could be updating you all on all my awesome veggies in my garden, but I can't, because there isn't one! This year, I had high hopes for having a successful veggie garden. Then as 2011 came to an end and 2012 began, life got much busier, and I found myself having to re-prioritize. And that's okay. 

  For a long time I had been asking God to give me a hobby I could be passionate and excited about; a way I could worship Him through my creativity. Kevin worships through writing music, and I have friends who worship through painting and even baking. Praise God for that, right? But none of those things ever spoke out to me when I tried them. Then, God in all His love and grace, placed the desire to garden on my heart. It was no coincidence that we moved into a house with a big garden plot in the backyard around the same time.It felt so good digging my hands in the dirt. I loved having that time to connect with the Creator of all things, and I still do.

Adventures in Oil Pulling

 Yes, oil pulling. Yes, it's awesome. And weird. But mostly awesome. Oil pulling is a form of  detoxing. In the morning on an empty stomach, you simply swish oil (sunflower, olive, or coconut) in your mouth for a short period of time, usually 10-20 minutes, but people have done it for over an hour! During that time, the oil is drawing all that nasty stuff {toxins} from you body and into your mouth. Yum. Some folks' mouths get so dirty, they'll have to spit it out and repeat the process. TMI? Maybe. But it could improve your health! Oh, and don't swallow. That defeats the purpose of detoxing.

 I used unrefined, expeller pressed virgin coconut oil from Whole Foods. I believe it ran me around 6 or 7 bucks for 14oz. But the oil you use is your prerogative. All you need to swish is one spoonful. Coconut oil comes as a solid, but once you put it in your mouth, it turns liquid. Mine has been sitting out a while, so it's kind of creamy. Did I mention it tastes yummy, too?

swish swish swish! I would have put a picture of me spitting, but no one wants to see that.
So far, I haven't noticed any drastic differences, but it's only my third day to try. I do have a headache today which is a symptom of detoxing. Or maybe it's from mowing the lawn.

Benefits include an overall cleaner system, clearer skin, whiter teeth, fresher breath, clearer sinuses, and hundreds more. To read more in depth about this process, check this out. And for more testimonies and uses for coconut oil, click here. If you give this a shot, I would love to know! I will keep you updated on any benefits or symptoms I might experience from this, too. Happy pulling!

At the Drive-In (not the band)

 Last Friday was Brandon's 11th birthday. We decided to celebrate with pizza and the drive-in. It was so fun to see all the sweet people join together to celebrate B. He had such a blast. At one point, he took his shirt off and went running into the distance at the drive-in. "I thought I was goin'  to jump over the fence!" It's hard to know sometimes with him.

 Tomorrow, I hope to have a post about my most recent experiment in oil pulling. It's not as weird as it sounds...or maybe it is. I'll let you be the judge.

p.s.- We are closing on our house today. Hooray! 25th & Skillern will be officially ours. Crazy!