Recentness....in Pictures

* Warning:  This post may be cuteness overload....many adorable kids and a precious newborn! *

Fun times with Play Group:

A couple of fun birthday parties:

A playdate with our bestest friends:

A quick trip to meet our new nephew, Jack:

Kicked off lake season with a very fun Memorial Lake Day:

It's been a little bit of a whirlwind, and we have loved every minute of it!

What Does "Mommy" Mean to Me? ( Belated Mother's Day Post)

It means loving two little gals so much I literally can't put it into words.

It means having two babies already safely with Jesus.

It means having a mother who is my best friend.

It means having a mother-in-law who loves me like her own.

It means having a heritage of sweet, Christian mothers who showed us how to love the Lord.

It means lots of dance parties, giggles, kisses, cuddles...

It means saying, "I love you," "You are beautiful," "Be kind," "Jesus loves you," and so much more.

It means my life is so, so, so much sweeter!! 

Thank you, Lord, for letting me be their Mommy!

Meet Jack

7lbs 14 oz of Pure Sweetness!

He's here!  Our newest nephew, Jack Owens Beekman.  He arrived Thursday, May 17th at 6:43 pm,  Matt's sister, Kerri, and her husband, Brian, are Jack's proud parents!  We are smitten over our sweet nephew, and we can't wait to meet him in person next weekend.  As for now, I keep scrolling through the pictures Brian has already posted, and keep praying some new ones will pop up!  Get that camera out, Daddy!  We are going crazy over here in SC!

Praise the Lord for Jack!  We love him so much!

Menu Monday (Mother's Day Special Edition)

My Mom and Mom-in-Law were both honoring their Mother-in-Laws yesterday.  So, they are coming over to have a belated Mother's Day Dinner tonight.  And I have to say, there are no two women more deserving of celebration!

Here is the menu for tonight:

Pistachio Chicken
Roasted Asparagus
Twice Baked Potato Casserole
Rolls
Hershey Bar Pie (Topped With Fresh Strawberries to Satisfy My Mother-In-Law's "Fruit Tooth")


Here is the recipe to one of our favorites, Pistachio Chicken:

1/2 cup shelled pistachio nuts, finely ground + 1/4 tsp of salt + 1/2 tsp of freshly ground black pepper

4 boneless chicken breast halves

2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix nuts, salt, and black pepper in pie plate. 
Press chicken into the mixture. Heat the oil in skillet and cook the coated chicken on each side until browned.  Place the breasts in a baking dish and bake 15-20 minutes or until the thickest portion is cooked through.

Enjoy!

So....what is your favorite dish for entertaining?  I would love to come up with some new favorites!

It's Here....Almost!!

We are in full summer mindset here at the Gaymon house!  With the (mostly) unseasonably warm weather, we have embraced our typical summer activities a little bit early this year, and I don't mind at all.  The best parts of summer are enjoying outdoors and doing it in the company of friends!  In the last couple of weeks, we have had numerous birthday parties, friends over for dinner, and enjoyed our first pool party (that's right...pool party!)  Here are a few pictures from our early summer:

That is a table full of cute kiddos!

And there are more cute kiddos!

Sweet Little Friend

Magpie concentrating on her roasting.

Crowded around the pit.

Yummy!

Melt in (or out) of my Mouth Goodness!

More Roasting

The girls cruisin' down to the Swim Team Pool Party!

The water is so cold, but this sure is fun!

Hugs

Picnic With Friends

Thinking about getting back in the cold, cold water.

Cute Birthday Girl!

She decided to go for it!

Kisses for a Cold Little Swimmer

I hope that you have had fun in this warm, wonderful weather, too!

Stay tuned.....Mother's Day pictures to come soon! 

Winning the Battle....Even When They Pull The Cute Card!

This morning, Kerri Grace was showing us a bit of her stubborn side (she gets that from her father, for sure. ;) )  Matt was working hard to get her to be polite.  The conversation went something like this:

Kerri Grace:  I need juice, Daddy.
Daddy:  You need to ask nicely.  Can you say, "Daddy, can I have some juice, please?"
Kerri Grace: Please!
Daddy: No, I need you to say the whole sentence. 
Kerri Grace: Juice!
Daddy:  No.  That isn't sweet.  Can you say,"Daddy, can I have some juice, please?"
Kerri Grace:  I can't because those words are too big for my mouth, Daddy!

It's these moments when you have to bite your lip not to laugh at the utter cuteness, and your thinking,"You just said twice the words explaining yourself, Miss Priss!"

End of the story, Daddy won the battle, and Kerri Grace asked politely instead of demanding juice....Good job, Daddy!

Maggie and Kerri Grace's little preschool had a Family Night and Open House last Friday.  Boy, did we have a good time! 

Maggie was beside herself all week long about "singing on the stage!"  The excitement was multiplied by the fact that Family Night created an atmosphere for Maggie's friends and family (Mommy, Daddy, Nana Sue, Pal, Mimi, and Papa) to all be together at the same time.  Maggie is so in love with her friends and her family (although she is getting to the age that she is much more interested in spending time with friends, but that is a another post for another day......sigh....they grow up so fast.)  The point is that my girl was ecstatic!

Kerri Grace was content to tag along with Maggie.  She is not as comfortable being around big crowds, but she didn't mind while sitting in someone's lap and running around with her favorite big sister!  Here are some pictures from our big night:

Kerri Grace shows Daddy some of her work.

We love to color!

Reunited...since this morning. Ha!

I mean, just look at her....pure joy!

Kerri Grace sitting with her Nana Sue and Pal.

Mommy and Daddy were there, too (and we actually remembered to take a picture for proof!)

Look at all of those adorable 3 and 4-year-olds!  This picture says a thousand words about a K3 class!

Good job, Maggie!

Icecream time!

We love our gals' preschool, and we couldn't be more pleased with their year of learning and growing!