Happy Birthday Christopher!

I can't believe I became the mom of a teenager today!  My baby boy turned thirteen.  With a house full of moving boxes, we had to get creative about how we could celebrate such a momentous occassion.  So we drove our birthday boy over to the coast and soaked-up some sun and ate some of Christopher's favorite food.  Perk #1 to being a teenager: no longer having to order off the kids' menu!

Tim and I are often told these days that we will hate the teen years.  That we will pull our hair out parenting a teen.  That life will all-around be terrible with a teen in the house.  But we have assured Christopher that he has two choices in life now that he is a teen...to spend these years rebelling against God and pulling away from Him, or to spend these years growing to know God better and bringing glory to Him.  I like to believe that although there are certainly going to be bumps in the road (and on the face), Christopher's journey into adolescence is going to be a wonderful and exciting time of joy.

By request, Christopher's cake was VERY chocolate:  triple chocolate chunk cake, chocolate fudge icing, and chocolate sprinkles.  With Mrs. Fields Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream.  THAT'S a lot of chocolate!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY BOY!!!

(Oops.  I mean teenage boy!)

-Mom

Happy Mother's Day

The kids and I had the wonderful opportunity to spend Mother's Day in West Virginia, and we had such a great time!  Being in the middle of a move, it felt Heavenly to step away from packing boxes and just sit on my parents' screened-in porch, cross-stitch, and REST.  No boxes, no packaging tape, no bubble wrap.  And I will admit that I took more than one nap while I was there...

And as a very special Mother's Day gift myself, I received WONDERFUL news that day.  Our realtor called to let us know that we got the house we were trying to lease!!!  It may not sound like a big deal, but in the area we are moving, rentals are tough to come by.  We had looked at many houses to no avail:  they were all either already rented by the time we saw them, they were too far from the church, or there was some other type of problem.  The one we got was our favorite of them all, and we are so incredibly excited to move-in and start ministering there...

HAPPY  MOTHER'S  DAY  TO  ALL!!!

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. ~Washington Irving

Meet Our Family

 Welcome to our family blog!  

Hard to believe we're coming up on the 5th anniversary of our blog.  

Some of you have followed our happenings for years.  But if you've never met us before, let us introduce ourselves...

I am Kara, the keeper of the blog, the mom, the cook, the homeschool teacher, and the wife.  I like to take pictures...especially family pictures.  My wonderful husband Tim and I have been married for 17 years.  He is a pastor, an outdoor lover, and an amazing husband and father.  Tim likes to play basketball with his boys and he attempts to play dolls with Anna, although she often informs him that he doesn't play dolls right...because he is, after all, a boy. :)  Other than spending time with his family, absolutely nothing gives Tim as much joy as preparing and delivering sermons.

This is our oldest son Christopher.  He is 12 years old, but he would undoubtedly want you to know that on the 15th of May he will celebrate his 13th birthday and will finally become a TEENAGER!  Christopher loves to play video games, paint, draw, ride his bike, and do anything with technology.  He is a big fan of Baskin Robbins Ice Cream, but he has never lived near one of their stores, so he usually only gets his 31 Flavors on vacation.

This is John, who is 10.  John is very outdoorsy and loves animals.  He also likes to play basketball and to watch both college and NBA basketball.  His favorite teams are Duke and the Chicago Bulls.  And like his older brother, John also plays video games.  John enjoys talking about the Bible and listening to his dad preach.  John's favorite food is...well...anything.  John loves to eat!

And this is our daughter Anna, who is 7.  When God gave us a girl, he REALLY gave us a girl!  Anna loves anything pink, she greatly enjoys playing with dolls, and she likes to sing and hopes to begin taking voice lessons.  Anna likes to play with other girls her age and to read chapter books, her favorite of which being the Thea Stilton books.  Anna loves to eat any kind of fruit, and she is learning to cook by helping Mommy in the kitchen a lot.

In our free time together, our family loves to hike and take long walks through the woods.  We enjoy playing board games and watching movies and making homemade pizza.  The five of us have all trusted Jesus as our Savior, we feel privileged to serve Him in full-time ministry, and we are looking toward the bright and exciting future He holds for us!

We hope you won't be a stranger to our blog now that you have met us...

April's Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Each month I post one of our family's favorite recipes, and for April I am posting my chocolate chip cookies.  

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/4 C all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 Crisco Stick

3/4 C granulated sugar

3/4 C packed brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven at 375.  Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl.  Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract with mixer until creamy.  Add eggs.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in morsels.  Wrap cookie mixture in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.  Then drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets.  Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; cool completely on wire racks.

Some of you might notice that this is a variation of the famous Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe.  Two alterations that I made to the Tollhouse cookies are (a) using Crisco Sticks instead of butter, and (b) chilling the dough in the refrigerator before baking.  I find that both steps produce a more substantial cookie that holds together well during the baking process.  Also, if you choose, you can add 1-2 cups of walnuts to the cookies when you add the chocolate chips.  In my house, we have a never-ended nuts vs. no nuts debate when it comes to cookies.  

-Kara

Hiking the Smokies

Our family just returned from a wonderful few days away in the Great Smoky Mountains, where we enjoyed our kids' spring break and celebrated my 41st birthday.  Our activity of choice when we visit the Smokies is to hike, and this time we did something we've aspired to do for a long time: we hiked Chimney Tops!  Chimney Tops is the steepest hike in the Smokies and scales 1300 ft. in two miles.  I was grateful for good weather for the hike, and I was equally grateful for good Advil when I came back down the mountain.  Ha.

Yes, it is four days later...and yes, my calves still hurt.  :)

For those grandmother-types who are reading this post... don't worry.  We kept the kids safely off the rock summit at the top of the trail.  There was a nice shady spot under some trees where they rested and snacked while Tim and I explored the rocks.  And Tim was brave enough to make it higher up the rocks than I did!

Chimney Tops was undoubtedly the steepest trail we've ever done.  But the kids were amazing.  As much huffing and puffing as Tim and I did, the kids just walked and talked the whole way up.  And the kids didn't need any Advil after the hike. :D

Chimney Tops has been closed for 5 months for renovations.  Volunteers have been working with the National Park Service to build some steps in spots that are especially steep and prone to erosion.  The steps were really helpful, although one did feel like she was on a stair climber for the 2 hours it takes to climb to the top of the mountain.

Anna was extremely happy to find flowers along the trail.  Spring is wildflower season in the Smoky Mountains, and Anna LOVES pretty flowers!

http://www.protrails.com/trail/432/great-smoky-mountains-national-park-chimney-tops

Of course, Chimney Tops was not the only exploration we did in the Smoky Mountains this week.  There were all kinds of other fun adventures, as well....

"The mountains are calling and I must go." 

-John Muir

Happy Easter!

"He is not here!  For He has been resurrected, just as He said.  

Come and see the place where He lay." -Matthew 28:6 HCSB

Celebrating this most glorious of all holidays!  I took the kids' Easter pictures in the magnificent Elizabethan Gardens of Manteo, North Carolina.  

 John, age 10

Anna Jean, age 7

Christopher, age 12

Thank you, Lord, for dying on an old rugged cross to save me from my sins.

Thank you, Lord, that You did not stay dead, but that You rose again and conquered the grave!

Thank you, Lord, for the beauty of spring and the joy of Easter.

Thank you, Lord, for three children and a husband whom I love more than life itself.

And thank you, Lord, that I am filled with a renewed sense of hope

that you are working great and awesome plans for my family!

-Kara

March's Recipe: Southern Creamed Corn

They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.  If so, this is a sure-fire interstate to Tim Barnette's heart.  He LOVES this dish.  I hope you do, too.

Southern Creamed Corn

Recipe Courtesy of Paula Deen

8 ears corn, husked and cleaned with kernels removed

"Milk" from corn cobs

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. flour

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup cold water

2 Tbsp. bacon grease from...

3 pieces cooked bacon 

(we use thick-cut Applewood bacon, but you use your family's favorite)

1 Tbsp. butter

Directions: Fry 3 pieces of bacon.  Remove the bacon from the pan, but reserve the grease in the pan.

In case you folks haven't noticed, between the bacon, the bacon grease, the heavy cream, the butter and the sugar...this is not so much a healthy sidedish!  That's why in my house this is categorized as a "sometimes treat." :)

 Meanwhile, in a large bowl, cut kernels from cob.  Then "milk" the corn by running down cobs with the back of a knife.  If you've never "milked" a corn cob, you've missed-out on a treat!  The thick liquid that comes out of a fresh corn cob is sweet and delicious.

 Mix together sugar, flour, and salt and pepper.  Combine with the corn.  Add the heavy cream and water.  Mix well.

 In a large skillet over medium-low heat, add corn mixture to bacon grease.  Heat for about 30 minutes. Before serving, add bacon pieces and butter.  Enjoy.

-Kara