Twinner Talk

I love the morning chatter that I overhear happening between these two forts! I’m so thankful they have each other. 

Adventure Tuesday

I was able to sneak away for a couple hours with my mom while the twins were in preschool last week. We decided to head over to eureka and check out the newest pretty things in Jenny’s shop on Main Street. It will never ever ever get old to see things that I made in a display window! 


We also took a few random spontaneous detours to Martin Greer’s Candy Shop, where we were greeted and given a candy business history by the Martin Greer, himself. This was a highlight and I think our visit made his day, as well. 

We noticed Thorncrown chapel was open, so we popped in and sat for a spell. What a peaceful place. 




Lady got younger with the balm of life fountain 🤣🤣, we walked around in some shops, ate lunch at Nibbles, then people watched awhile. The weather was gorgeous, and it was really lovely to just be together and out for an adventure! 

Points for creativity

Chicken Tetrazzini

Necessity is the mother of invention! 

I had a bunch of cooked chicken to use, and my pasta plans fell through when I realized I only had thin spaghetti on the pantry. I also had a bag of frozen peas in the freezer. I never buy peas but after helping some friends move, I acquired a random bag of this lesser favorite vegetable and needed to use them.  What to do? Chicken tetrazzini! 

Here’s what I came up with:

Cook the pasta to al Dante and top with peas and chicken in a casserole pan. 

Carmalize a diced yellow onion (I prefer the CPK method for this, where after the onion is soft, add 1 tsp each of soy saucec, cider vinegar, and lemon juice until the onion is totally caramelized in the browned butter.  

Then, to this pan I added 1-2 TBS of flour and let it cook up a couple minutes. 

I slowly added 1 each of milk and chicken stock and scraped the onion reduction off the bottom of the pan up into the rue. 

This would have been a perfect sauce but a) it wasn’t enough, and b) it needed mushrooms. 

SO I cheated and whisked in a can of golden cream of mushroom soup. 

This was poured over the top of the pasta and chicken mix. I topped with a heaping 1.5 cups of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and baked covered until hot and bubbly. Served with crusty bread and an iceberg salad. Big hit! 

Area 1 Foster Parent Conference

Aaron and I spent 6 hours in training at the Arkansas Area 1 Annual Foster Parent Conference, today, learning about this work that we have been called to do and grown to love. This event was thoughtfully orchestrated by an army of incredible volunteers and their mission was fulfilled in the way they lovingly ministered to conference attendees. We felt supported, refreshed, that our concerns are heard. Additionally, our young children were loved, welcomed, fed, and generously entertained while we learned from professionals who taught us about creating a safe environment for children with trauma, parenting in the Hispanic Community, Ethnic hair care, and foster parenting ethics.  And at the end of an enriching conference, they held the doors open and sent every family home with a hot dinner to go...what a well considered and empathetic gesture! 

Well done, Hope NWA, this foster family feels and is inspired by your Christian support. 

Mother Daughters Date Night

On Friday, we went to the Garth Smith fireside. It was wonderful! We were inspired by his talent, by the live performance and testimony shared. 

After, we took a hard detour when we noticed there is a smudgies in Springdale! 

And after smudgies, we walked outside to realize we were parked at tacos for life. So we grabbed a bite there, too, and took a fierce selfie. 

Me: ok but why are we making this face? 

Reese: because we take our tacos very seriously 

Love these girls. Boy oh boy are they night and day! 

Reese gets glasses

One of Reese’s eyes is near sighted, causing a headache from the other eye being over worked to compensate. A trip to the eye doc landed this cute little lady admission to the glasses wearing club. As if she could get any cuter, adding a fun accessory to her face took it to another level. She’s stoked.

It should be noted that asking Reese to make a decision and pick out a pair of frames was like asking her which sibling she would like to sacrifice. We narrowed it down to three or four “I guess this one’s” in an hour of looking, and finally I pointed out that she’s returned to the same pair 4 times, to compare all the others to. She liked the mint green stripe between two layers of dark that looked like they’d been carved from an Andes mint. They’re darling, and so is she. 

She is also quite happy to be able to see clearly again. Hooray for specs!