Saturdays in the Fall

I am a huge football fanatic, so there is not much that I love more than a Saturday in the Fall. Waking up to College GameDay on ESPN, getting dressed into the BAMA gear of my choice, cooking (and eating) delicious finger foods, friends and watching teams battle it out for 4 quarters! My friends down here in Florida laugh at me because I don't leave the house on Saturdays in the Fall, unless I am going to a football party. It's just what I do...I am trying to share the tradition with them!

This past Saturday was a big day for College Football. Auburn lost to Clemson (what a great start to the day), Florida beat Tennessee, Miami beat Ohio State, FSU lost to Oklahoma and BAMA WON! Now, I know you are thinking, "North Texas is a high school team"... Alabama's season starts this week with Arkansas to open our SEC schedule, and I couldn't be happier! I love a good SEC matchup.

Since I haven't shared any recipes lately, I have a couple here. Our menu for the day was Boiled Peanuts, Hot Pizza Dip, Oreo Pudding, Rotel Dip, Cookies, Grilled Chicken, and Corn on the Cob. See recipes below... (They were given to me by my Aunt Lisa)

Hot Corn Dip

16oz. cream cheese

1 dry Italian dressing packet

Ragu pizza sauce

Mozzarella Cheese

1. Combine cream cheese & dressing packet

2. Put a thin layer of pizza sauce over the mixture.

3. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

4. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top

***Serve with Wheat Thins***

Oreo Pudding

Package of Oreos

2 Boxes French Vanilla Pudding

12oz. Cool Whip

1. Crush Oreos

2. Layer 1: Oreos

3. Make pudding according to directions on the box

4. Mix in the Cool Whip with pudding

5. Top 1st layer of oreos with pudding mixtures

6. Top that with other half of Oreos

***Chill Over Night***

Back In Time

Last week I went to my hometown of Millbrook, AL to visit my family. I love where I came from and think about it and the people often. This trip was a little different, in a good way.

My mom, brother & I took Jackson to play at Kid's Kingdom. This is a park where I used to play as a kid. It is next to the city league football & baseball fields. I have so many memories from this place... Some good, some not so good. Each time my brother & I would go to a different place in the park, we would share a memory. The creek that ran alongside the playground! We used to skip rocks and run from side to side. The gaezebo! We would play hide-n-seek in there! The walking track! My mom & friends would walk their miles and I'd run all in between. The baseball & football fields! Where some of my most precious friendships were made. The parking lot! Where I had a few fights with an ex-boyfriend. This was like the heart of Millbrook. I thought about so many people while I was at this "landmark"... My friends mostly. I don't have contact with a lot of them, but I will never forget them.

While I smile on most of the memories, I thank God for where I came from, where I am, and where He's taking me! I am so grateful to have had such a lovely place to grow up in with WONDERFUL people. My childhood all the way through High School was wonderful. I don't take any of it for granted. It's where I learned so many things. So, if you are reading this, and you were part of my growing up, THANK YOU!

A View of The Walking Track & Quad

The Creek

Old Train Car

Gaezebo

My Inner Julia Child

As I am starting to type this, I am already laughing. This is a post about my latest cooking adventures. And yes, they are just that. I am not a huge fan of cooking, for many reasons, but last week I purposed to make a menu, make a big grocery store run and cook my heart out.

On Friday of last week, I sat down, went through cookbooks, made a menu (even wrote it down on our pantry chalkboard for all to seee) and hit the grocery store. It was the first night of the NFL Pre-Season games and the BUCS were playing. I needed something easy, but yummy! I came across my Grammie's Breakfast Casserole recipe. Matt's Aunt Linda & Uncle Dave came over to watch the game and eat with us. Aunt Linda brought Monkey Bread! It was a delicious, breakfast for dinner kind of night!

On Saturday, Matt & I had a relaxing day at home. Got some housework done (PRAISE THE LORD). I made Chicken Tetrazzini for dinner. This was the first meal Matt & I ever cooked together when we were dating. I actually still have the receipt from Publix in our scrapbook from that night.

On Sunday, Matt & I attended both church services, as we always do because we sing on the worship team. Sunday's are always busy for us, so I thought what better to make than a Crock Pot Meal. We came home after church and ate leftover Chicken Tetrazzini and then I threw the Crock Pot together for dinner. I made Chicken Taco Chili... It is the easiest thing I have ever made in a Crock Pot and quickly became our favorite. It consists of black beans, pinto beans, corn, diced tomatoes, green chiles, taco seasoning, tomato sauce, and chicken breasts! We took our afternoon nap, because we sure needed it! Every Sunday for 12 weeks, we are meeting with our youth group for a discipleship program called P90X... Passion for 90 days. It begins at 5pm. After it was over, our friends Peter & Ashley Cova, along with their sweet baby boy Malachi and our friend Rachel Olson came over to eat with us. Everyone loved it! Thanks for the recipe Grammie.

Monday nights are our "Guilty Pleasure" TV nights. Bachelor Pad is our new show. I made Parmesean Pork Chops with Squash Casserole. The pork chops didn't turn out too hot. Matt liked them, but I stuck to the family recipe and just ate the squash casserole.

Tuesday nights, I am going to a ladies class where we are reading "Lioness Arising" by Lisa Bevere. It is an amazing class and I look forward to it so much! My sweet friend, who happens to be married to one of Matt's cousin, Cissie Lynch gave me a recipe for spicy lasagna. Super easy & so delicious! We had this Tuesday night and it was a hit with everyone... Matt, his brothers and their girlfriends!

I had a successful week of cooking! Wednesday and Thursday nights we are always busy, so Chick-Fil-A & Chili's turn out to be our dinner. Since tomorrow is Friday, I will be starting the process all over again! If anyone has any yummy recipes they are willing to share, I am interested!

Insights from Motherhood

Yesterday, I started looking through some pictures of myself during pregnancy and after pregnancy with my sweet little boy. All of you know that I had Jackson in May of 2010 and he has blessed Matt and I so much ever since we saw his handsome face. As I was looking through those pictures, I saw the physical differences (how could you not notice the HUGE round thing on the front of your body), but also saw a difference in my countenance.

Babies bring so much joy to everyone around them. They make your heart tender, your patience a little greater and your love for life so much stronger! Jackson will probably not ever know HOW MUCH HAPPINESS he brings to Matt, our family, friends and myself, but each day, I will strive to show him! I can't believe that he is almost 15 months old. Where did the time go? I remember if like yesterday when I took the pregnancy test, heard his heartbeat, found out he would be Jackson, and not McKenzie Grace, held him for the first time, his first smile, his laugh, first steps, and so much more. I will forever cherish every single memory with him.

I have related the love for my son to the love that Christ has for each one of us (not even comparable, but it's as close as I can get). I remind myself daily that God have His 1 and only Son for ME... Simply because he loves me that much. This love overwhelms me. There is no way that I could give Jackson up for anyone, much less for people who would mess up daily, reject me, and sometimes not even care. Thank you Lord for your endless mercy, grace and love!

A Heart For The Next Generation

This past week, I was privileged to go with the Revolution Student Ministry (Life Church Youth Group) to Hiawassee, GA for Total Abandonment. I watched God transform the lives of our young people. Such an amazing trip, and I am going to try my best to recap the trip.

On Monday, Jackson & I left with Ashley and Malachi Cova & Kelly Hingson. It was a 14 hour trek and with 2 babies, we thought it would be best to cut it in half. We drove to Valdosta, GA and stayed the night at Mariott! A beautiful room, Cracker Barrel take out for dinner and The Bachelorette was a great end to 7 hours of driving.

This was our luggage for 1 night... Ridiculous

Tuesday morning, we woke up to hit the road at 9am. We arrived in Helen, GA to check-in at our cabins at 3:30. We hit the ground running from that moment. The kids and the bus caught up with us at the cabin. We began assigning rooms, unloading cars and trying to get 26 girls all in order. There was a night service that began at 7pm (and we stayed 45 minutes from the church). Ashley & I stayed at the cabin with the babies to try and organize everything while everyone else went to the service. Zac & Mikaela Camp also joined us for Total Abandonment. It was so good to see them!!!! A quick shout out CONGRATS to them! She is pregnant!

We had 3 services a day, with a 2 hour lunch break and 3 hours of free time before our night sessions. It was non-stop, but such an amazing time in His presence. All of our kids experienced God in a new way. I am so proud of my Senior High girls and all that they let happen this week. I love them all so dearly! There is way too much that happened to recap everything, some things personal that don't need to be shared on the internet. I just know that radical transformation took place and our youth group.

My prayer for this generation is that they will know there is a God who loves them, who has a plan for them and who wants the best for them.

Back to the Blog

So I have recently been inspired to start blogging again. As you can see by the posts below, it has been quite some time since I blogged last. Just a couple of things that have happened since my last blog: bought a house and had a baby. In these blogs, I will cover everything from motherhood to ministry, husband to housework, friends and fun, travels and TV! Stay tuned to see what happens in "Life with the Lynches"

Majesty of The Seas Cruise 2009

For my birthday, I wanted to go a cruise. Matt wasn't able to take off work, but still wanted me to get to go. I decided that it would be a blast to go with my closest girl friends. We left on a Monday from Miami, and came back that Friday. We went to Nassau, CocoCay, and Key West. I roomed with Mikaela and the other three were together. It was such a fun week. We laughed, danced, ate, shared old stories, and became closer. It went by way to fast, but the memories will last forever.

Me and Mikeala getting ready for the Muster Drill.

Danelle, Brooke, Sarah, Mikaela, and I at dinner the first night

All of us ladies in front of the Majesty in Nassau, Bahamas

The Atlantis....my next vacation :)

On our formal night, they brought me and Mikaela birthday cake and sang to us!

Our favorite way to end the night....Dance Party!!

In Cococay, looking at our boat

4 of us snorkeled in CocoCay...the water was freezing. We went to the sunken ship and got to feed the fish underwater. It was so sool. They didn't mind you touching them! So pretty!