Happy Fourth of July

Happy 4th of July

And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
~Lee Greenwood

 

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall

make you free. John 8:32

Family Reunion and hand quilting

 We attended a

Family reunion picnic over the weekend

on my mother's side of the family.

It was great to visit with

cousins, aunts, and uncles that I grew up

with. Everyone has their own children and grandchildren

now and we hardly see each other.

Just a few photos of the day

My uncle has beautiful chickens

 Just chillin after lunch

Quilting

Last week I took a few hours and pinned  together this quilt

I actually started stippling and decided to rip out the stitches and

hand stitch at the last minute. Stippling really stresses me out.....hand

stitching takes me longer but it's so relaxing. 

 

Waterfall

We are enjoying our summer and staying very busy.

I took this picture when we camped a few weeks ago

as we hiked to the falls.

So much to do....Praise God for a wonderful summer

with my family.

Baby birds

We are enjoying the beautiful weather and working around the house the past few weeks. Mulching, cleaning, and also finishing up our school year. This is a very busy month for everyone I know. 
Praise God for simple and quiet days. The weather has cooled down and lots of rain.
Just take a look at what we've been watching the past few weeks.

 

Mama bird watching over her babies last week......

we could barely see their little heads and beaks pop 

up over the nest.....

now look how big they've got!

She's pushing them closer to the edge....

i'm sure it's almost time for

them to leave the nest. Oh, I hate to see

them go.

My beautiful hanging basket....... my Mother's Day gift

Have a Blessed week my friends~

Tina

Best Ever Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies

Last week I came across this wonderful recipe for brownies
at Mrs. June Feuntes' blog,
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home.
Thank you for sharing these with us June!!

Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies

For the Brownies:

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 teaspoons vanilla
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

For the Peanut Butter Filling:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 cup powdered sugar
• 2-3 teaspoons milk

For the Ganache Topping:

• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 by 13 inch metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Remove from heat and add the sugar; stir to combine. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Mix in cocoa, baking powder and salt. Add flour and stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a cooling rack.
3. While the brownies are cooling, make the peanut butter filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the ingredients and beat until smooth. Add more milk if necessary to make it spreadable. Spread in an even layer over the brownies. Place in the refrigerator until filling is set, about 30 minutes.
4. While the filling is setting, make the ganache, combine the ingredients in a double boiler or in a microwave safe bowl. Melt together and combine. Pour the ganache over the top and spread gently. Return to the fridge until set.

I made these today and they 

are most definitely the best

brownies ever!! If you like the

chocolate and peanut butter

combination these will be a favorite!

Spring Fever

 The weather this weekend was gorgeous! Sunshine and mid 80's on Saturday was so nice. We worked in the yard all morning pulling weeds and adding new mulch to the landscaping. I was so excited to find hanging ferns on sale when I went to pick up the mulch. I love ferns....now if I can only care for them so they will live. I don't have the green thumb my grandma had, that's for sure.

raining and winds today blowing my fern

 our azalea bush is blooming

 Last week I started making a purse

and finally finished it today.

Simplicity Pattern #2551

Monday Blessings

 Oh my goodness.....the sunshine is streaming through the windows and I'm loving it!!! The weatherman
has forecast for high winds and rain this evening so i plan to enjoy this gorgeous sun while I can!!!

We had a wonderful weekend!!

Sharing a few more Monday Blessings today.

(#11 - #25)

*Warm days....Spring is here

*Family is well from sickness

*the youth in our church

*My mother-in-law

*Receiving beautiful heartfelt cards in the mail

*the touch of the Holy Spirit

*Songs that Praise the Lord Jesus

*God's provision financially

*to see my girls show love and compassion for others

*clean house over the weekend

*dinner with my mom and sister

*Sunday dinner with my inlaws

*making homemade cards for loved ones

*finding stashed away treasures....reminders of God's Love

*good local honey for our allergies

Tina