James' Haircut

Recently, James got his first haircut. He looks like such a big boy now.

 

 BEFORE

Isn't he cute?

 

AFTER

He is also talking some and is so adorable.

 

~Anna

Drum roll, please...

 

And the winners are...

 

Delie and George!!!

 

They are both advancing to the national competition held in Gatlinburg this November, and we are all sooooo excited for them!

 

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 

 Indeed, I count everything as loss,

 because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. 

For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things

 and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.

 

Philippians 3:7-8

As American as baseball and ... green tomato pie

The corn was dead, the green beans were sprawled over the melon patch, and the tomato plants are producing tomatoes that rot before they ripen.  So last week we decided that when life gives us green tomatoes, we'll make - you guessed it - green tomato pie.
 
For the adventurous eaters in your family, it tastes exactly like apple pie.  And for the not-so-adventurous, give it another name and they'll never know the difference!

Green Tomato Pie

• 1 double crust pastry of your choice
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups finely chopped green tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream (or milk)
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
 
Preheat oven at 425 degrees.  Place half of pie crust dough on a lightly floured surface and roll into and 11-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick.  Transfer to a 9-inch pie pan.  Trim the crust to 1/2-inch of the outer rim. 

In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt.  Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar mixture across the bottom of the prepared crust.  Add the tomatoes and lemon juice to the remaining sugar mixture; toss to coat.  Spoon into pie shell and dot with butter.  Roll out the remaining crust on a lightly floured surface.  Slice into 1-inch strips and weave into a lattice pattern on top of the pie.  Tuck the overlapping crust into the pan; crimp the edges to seal.  Brush the top with cream and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon sugar.

Bake for 15 minutes; then reduce the temperature to 375 degrees.  Bake 35-40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly.

Serve warm with a big ol' scoop of vanilla ice cream and enjoy!


Joy
 

The Bible Bee

 

 

Yesterday our family hosted the Jackson Area Bible Bee.  We are all excited to be finished, but a little sad, too.  As Daddy said at the opening ceremony, "What are we going to talk about now that the Bible Bee is over?"  Thankfully, even though the bee is over, we will never be done studying and memorizing the word of God!

 

 Our friends, the Smith family, came for the day to help with the judging.  The contestants were not allowed to have cameras at any point during the contest, so you can visit their blog for more pictures.

 

P.S.  On Wednesday, we'll find out if anyone from our bee is going to the national competition, so I hope to blog about that later this week.

 

Joy