HOOK 'EM LONGHORNS!

I know you've all been waiting anxiously to find out the team name of Micah's pee-wee soccer team. The Longhorns it is. Enter my long list of questions before the season starts next Saturday:

• Should Micah wear #10 to be like The Texas Longhorns' Vince Young?
• Will George W come flashing the hook 'em horns sign?
• Will Matthew Mcconaughey come to the games and distract all the soccer moms?
• Will we get a 2000 pound mascot from some run down farm in Goochland!?
• Could I last 8 seconds on that bad boy?
• Do we get to choose jersey numbers? This is a huge deal in my family. No son of mine will ever wear lame numbers like 6, 13, 14, 17, 19, 26, 31, or the dreaded #1.
• Does every kid get a trophy? If so, I have a ton of worldview teaching to prepare for.
• Most importantly, how do I explain to Micah the concept of TIES in a sporting event? "Well Micah, ya see...sports are not about winning or losing. So we do neither. What's really important is that you score dad some of those orange slices and fruit roll ups. Run along, hook 'em Longhorn!"

This is gonna be great! I am tempted to rent a minivan just for the season! -Ed

Winter Wonderland!

This is what we woke up to today!


Here are some pictures from yesterday:A picture of our snowman, his name is Frosty:
Back at it again! Hopefully, we can take Caleb out later today!

Yay! Snow!

It's snowing and it is for real snow! It is truly a miracle! It never ever snows in Richmond. Ed is out with Micah right now in the middle of it to sled because who knows how long it will be here. Usually the sun comes out in an hour and melts it all away. But I think this is for real! I will definitely post pictures soon. Micah looks so cute in his redneck outfit. He doesn't have any snow boots or pants or socks or gloves or anything. So we just bundled him up with whatever we could find. At least he has a good coat and hat!

Simple Mom

Ok, ladies, I have found the best site and I think you will agree. The funny thing is I have no idea how I stumbled upon it. Maybe everyone else knows about it except me! It is the best resource for homemakers I have ever found. I really like this girl, totally my personality. Her priorities are very similar to mine and has the same beliefs as most of us who read this blog. Go to her site and check it out for yourself or see my highlighted links below.

Here are some highlights to check out:

1. Home Management Notebook, I just started mine and am already loving it!

2. Chores (we are changing the name) for preschoolers

3. Monthly Menu planning
see also regular menu planning

4. Dave Ramsey's Money Management Methods (more to come on this!!)

What's for Dinner?

This was a meal I made a couple of weeks ago and it was very good! Sorry, no picture! It is from Cooks Country magazine.

Baked Pork Chops with Parmesan-Sage Crust

1 (5oz) box Melba toast, broken into rough pieces, (i used Peppridge farm bread crumbs b/c that's what I had and it was good)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mayo
2 Tbsp chopped fresh sage
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp grated zest and 1 tsp juice from 1 lemon
4 bone-in, rib-cut pork chops, 3/4 to 1 in thick

1. Oven to 425 and adjust rack to middle of oven. Pulse Melba toast prices, parmesan, 2 tbsp mayo, sage, 1/4 tsp salt, and 3/4 tsp pepper in food processor until coursely ground. (can use blender) Transfer to shallow dish. Whisk remaining mayo, mustard, lemon zest, and lemon juice in another shallow dish.
2. Cover pork chops with mayo and mustard mixture. One at a time, dredge chops in Melba crumb mixture, pressing gently to adhere. Transfer chops to wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet. Bake until crust is golden brown and meant registers 145 degrees, 16 to 22 minutes.

Our New Tricks

We have some new tricks around the Martin household. Micah and Caleb are growing so fast! I have two little boys who are just adorable, (I know I'm a little biased!), and they keep Ed and I entertained. Micah is really turning out to be the goofy one. His Sunday School teacher told us, he really likes to make the other laugh. I think we have a class clown on our hands. There are times I just laugh because I can't believe how much he has taken on Ed's humor. I basically have a little Ed running around!

Micah's new love is to be in his underwear. He has decided he doesn't like clothes too much and often times asks me to take his shirt or pants off. When we get ready for bath, he does a victory lap before he hops in the tub! He even has a naked boy dance! I don't know where he got it from! Here is a picture of him flexing his muscles. What you can't see is all he is wearing is underwear!

His other new trick is SOCCER! Micah is playing soccer this spring for the Y and so we went to Play it Again Sports and got him some cleats (or FWEATS, as he says it). They were used, so they were nice and cheap, but what surprised me was how they looked brand new. Anyway, he wants to wear them all the time. Yesterday, he put them and his shin pads on and just ran laps in the house. But it was great because he still isn't used to the cleats, so he kept tripping on the floor and falling. Ed took him out to "practice" and got some traditional soccer portraits!

My sweet Caleb is growing up so much. He is such a content baby. The doctors are concerned that he is not crawling or really even rolling over at this point. So we are going in for an early intervention evaluation. I assured them that I just have a fat happy baby who just likes to sit and watch his brother. He really loves his arms and raises them up often. A tradition in our family is "How big is Caleb?" "So Big!" He has adapted right in and has picked up the "So Big!" We caught him in action showing us how big he is. (Jen, makes me think of "How big is your baby? I just laugh thinking of Matt's voice!)

Caleb's newest trick is waving bye to people or even things, which is just precious. It cracks us up because he just lifts his hand with all seriousness. He waves bye now all the time. When he goes to bed, when we leave the house, when Ed leaves, while he is eating, etc. It is awesome! Who says my baby is delayed! His hair certainly isn't! I keep trying to trim it but it is just out of control. I think I need to take him in to get a "real" haircut soon! He's only 9 months and getting a real haircut! What's that about?

The Trinity Redefined

A couple night ago as we were putting Micah to bed, he asked if he could pray. We did not realize that he had apparently been reading my Systematic Theology book during his quiet times. He closed his eyes, folded his hands, and pontificated a reinterpretation of the Holy Trinity by saying, "thank you Jesus for...Jesus, Ray, and George".
Ray and George and I used to pretend that we were the A-Team back in the 80's. Ray was B.A. Barracas, George was Captain Hannibal Smith, by best friend Dave was Face, and I was Murdock. That is entirely different than Ray playing the part of the Father and George being the Holy Spirit.
Yes, it was a cute mistake by a 3 year old, but Micah has since been excommunicated from family devotions. -Ed