I've already had my treat

I've already had my treat for the week! Knox came for a few hours to Lolli & Pops house one night this week while his mama and daddy went to a business affair. I just can't help myself from sharing this little treat with you.

I could watch his expressions all day long :)
Isn't that the sweetest way he holds his hands?
Knox says "happy treats to all of you this weekend"!

Martha's Pie Crust

This is my treasured friend Martha. We have only known each other 6 years but she is now a " bestest" friend/sister in Christ whom I highly value. Her knowledge of the Bible and her life experiences have been a true inspiration to me.
Besides being a very very special friend and mentor, Martha is an excellent cook! I admit I have not had much training in the cooking department and pretty much go straight by a recipe. Whenever I have a question, I call her. Several weeks ago I needed to take a pie to a function and conveniently had my pie crust ready to assemble on the counter when Martha came over. She made it look so simple and patiently showed me step by step how to make a pretty pie crust. I thought it might be fun and helpful to you also to share it on my blog.
Some of you might recognize this apron of mine that I insisted she wear to keep her pretty outfit clean. I used to wear it like a uniform when I had dish duty in the Williams household. Somehow it made the dishes more fun to clean :) My family thought I should inherit it so I keep it close by for times like this.
See how she lifted the crust lightly up off the counter gripping it with her thumbs on to the rolling pin so she could transfer it to the pie pan.


It laid down a lot better than my past pie crists that I transfered by bare hands.


Then she used the side of her thumb to make the edges.

On the second pie crust she used her knuckle to create a different look.

And here are my 2 pie crusts looking just like they came from Betty Crocker, Martha Stewart and The Pioneer Woman!
Thanks Martha for letting me blog this!
I am a visual learner and greatly appreciate the time and patience to those of you who have shared your talents in the kitchen with me along the cooking journey over the years.

I'm lucky enough

Miriam and I go way way back...from our early childhood to back yards next to each other, to playing kick the can endless hours outside, to riding bikes all over Montgomery, to daddys being doctors, to having same age older siblings, to mothers playing bridge together, to church together, to school days together all the way through high school, to setting up blind dates, through rooming together one summer during my college internship, to standing beside each other in weddings, to celebrating our babies births, to making it a point to get together through out our busy parenting years, and now to relaxing together wherever and whenever we can!

how in the world could I be so lucky (really should say...to be so blessed)?!


We drove around through some beautiful lake homes on the Ridge area but the trees stood out to me more than the multi million dollar homes :)
and the water stood so still with no boats or speedoos zooming around :)
and sweet Lucy stayed by our sides while we swung our legs from the edge of the dock and talked about days gone by
and both Lucy and cute little Spencer took care of "my dog fix" and provided the fun entertainment and affection that only dogs can do sometimes
it was the perfect time of the year to walk and explore Miriam's lake neighborhood



Thank you Miriam for such a wonderful treat of being with you. May we always have these times together!

Knock Knock

Knock Knock

Whose there?

Knox the not so little newborn anymore :)


Knox the who?
Knox the baby, who is filling out and looking so much like his daddy did that it takes Lolli back to another day in time!

(last photo is Knox's Daddy at around 9 months -except for their hair and eyebrow colors they are almost identical)

Pumpkin Patch Playday

This weekend we were invited to have a playday with my 3 precious grandkids at the Pumpkin Patch in Clanton, Al. Even though it was the coldest day ever remembered in October (40° but felt like 30°with heavy wind chills), none of us let that detour us from having a wondefully fun play day together. It is one of the very few times I was not babysitting, but just plain having fun with my big kids and grandkids alike! I was a very happy Lolli :)
This was the cutuest little punkin patch of all!
This one was taken before L & R & K arrived.
Family photos were a good opportunity this time without any sun shining in our faces!

the girls both loved riding the ponies!

Riding the tractor - pull cart was a highlight for the girls ...and their mommy and their Lolli.
It went pretty fast and over some big hills and we all hollered with utter excitement as the wind made it even more thrilling on this extremely cold day.

Lee & Regan had fun showing Knox his first pumpkin patch!
I took Annie by herself to feed some animals and she felt like a very special big girl with me.
they were all especially friendly animals and Annie delighted in the interaction.
Feeding them was a bonus too since they usually don't let you do that much at the zoo.
the very friendly baby llama was too cute
Billy the goat tells Annie to go get some more food for him but we had to move on :(
Can you tell how very cold we were? Walking around was the only way to stay warm in the pumpkin patch on this day. It's a good thing we all live in the south :)
time for a group shot here!

We had a little "baby swap" session here!

Annie wanted to get her face painted and we saved that for the very last activity.
Aunt Breezy takes advantage of some "Knox time"
and Lily Kate takes advantage of some "Pops time" with some activity on the haystacks!

Ain't life GRAND!!!
Finally, we settled down the road to a warm little barbeque place to restock our shivering bodies.
Lily Kate is always excited at the mention of f-o-o-d! Goodness we all love and identify with her enthusiasm for eatting!
Precious Knox got his little tummy full too. He was so good watching all of us feed our faces. I wanted to give him some of my "fried snickers" but will save it for years to come. If you have not had one of those, I reccomend you try it. It is very satisfying!
Can't think of a better way to treat the grandkids with something other than a lollipop...how about good ole cotton candy! it worked for my generation and my kids and now their kids!

Have I ever told you how much I love being Lolli?