Strange sight at the gas station- Billy goats!

Howdy!

Three Billy goats were munching on weeds in the parking lot next to the gas station where I was getting gas.

Yummy lunch at Whataburger with Grandmommy, mom and dad!

Howdy!

What a yummy lunch that Aunt Debbie treated us to! (She sent us coupons for free hamburgers for lunch from Whataburger!) What a delicious lunch break during our last minute Christmas shopping! Thank you Aunt Debbie!

Merry Christmas!!

Yummy lunch with Mom and Dad Strother, Clay, and Hope!

Howdy!

On a lovely, warm day in December, I met mom and Dad Strother, Clay, and Hope at Cracker Barrel for lunch after they'd picked Clay up from the airport.

What a blessing and treat it is to get to spend time with family.

Delicious homemade red velvet cupcakes

Howdy!

On Matt's afternoon off, we made some delicious red velvet cupcakes with buttercream frosting. We had a fun time making the frosting and ended up using the frosting recipe from an old cookbook; instead of the recipe that matt's great grandmother used. Maybe there will be some left when mom and dad and Jen arrive later this week :-)

Red velvet cupcakes- Matt's great grandmother's recipe

Matt borrowed my John Deere apron to whip up a batch of delicious red velvet cupcakes courtesy of his great grandmother's recipe.

Yummy lunch with Uncle Tony!

Howdy!

My meeting in Austin finished early so I was able to meet uncle Tony for a yummy lunch! What a nice treat!

Chiminea!

Blessings this Fall to you!

Matt & Stephanie
682-429-6099- Cell

"Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9
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Pleasant evening on our back porch with a crackling fire in the chiminea!

Howdy!

What a pleasant weekend! I returned on Saturday evening from a timely and enjoyable visit to Lubbock. It was great to see and spend time with Lanette and also a treat to get to see Josh & Tiffany and 9 month old Autumn as well as see Karen Copeland and her newborn son, Carson!

Matt picked me up from the airport on Sat and we went over to a little get-together and enjoyed brisket and a few games of horseshoes.

On Sunday afternoon, Matt and I assembled our cast iron chiminea. Matt made a crackling, warm fire in the chiminea and we enjoyed sitting on the back porch with the warm fire.

Blessings this Fall to you!

Matt & Stephanie
682-429-6099- Cell

"Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9
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Homemade pinecone centerpiece with Huge pinecones from our property on lake Sam Rayburn

Howdy!

Matt and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Matt's family in Jasper. The weather was so pleasant during our visit that we decided to take a ride up to lake Sam Rayburn and check out the lake access property that Matt and I purchased. Right now it is a woody, undeveloped lot; eventually we would like to build a log cabin on it. We were so excited to discover that several of the pine trees on the property produce HUGE pinecones! We picked up a couple of the HUGE pinecones. Matt had an excellent idea for preserving the pinecones with spray lacquer and decorating the pinecones with ribbon and jingle bells. We think the homemade centerpiece came out great! We placed it on the dining room table to greet guests as they enter our home.

Getting ready to explore!

After relaxing on the porch, some of the family decided to load up in the rhino and explore! (pictured: Connor, Spence, Jonathan, Kaelyn, (I think Skylar and Taylar were also in the back of the Rhino).)

Kaelyn ready to go for a ride!

Delicious Thanksgiving with Matt's family!

Howdy!

So thankful to God that we were able to spend a wonderful Thanksgiving with Matt's family in Jasper. (pictured: Mimi Kent, Matt, Jonathan, Spence, Dad Strother, Uncle David, Mom Strother, Mimi Strother, Joshelyn, and Connor's hand :-)). What an extra treat it was to have Uncle David and Jonathan from Minnesota join us for Thanksgiving! Praying for safe travels for them as they visit East Texas and then head back home to MN.

So grateful for all the excellent cooks in the family; it was truly the most delicious spread!! (Joshelyn's green bean casserole was delicious!!)

The weather was so pleasant (warm and sunny) for the entire Thanksgiving day! We enjoyed relaxing on the back porch all afternoon (as well as continuing to snack on the delicious food!). Our nieces and nephew had fun playing in the yard and on the deck, while we played dominoes and visited.

Praise the Lord for family, food, and the pleasant warm weather we enjoyed for Thanksgiving.

Our adorable nieces enjoying a delicious Thanksgiving dinner!

Howdy!

Skylar, taylar, and kaelyn were dressed so pretty for Thanksgiving dinner!

Mimi Kent, Matt, Mom Strother

Japanese maple

The Japanese maple red emperor in our front yard

Howdy!

Glory to God, the maker of heaven and earth!! We are just thrilled that every day the Japanese red maple has red leaves that have opened!

Healthy lunch with Grandmommy and Aunt Debbie

Howdy!

Grandmommy looked so nice in her brand new outfit that she ordered online! What a rich color that looks good on her, plus it is medium-weight and perfect for cool fall weather. She was all smiles during lunch; the camera just caught her in between smiles!

Grandmommy plans to spend Thanksgiving with uncle mark and Jennifer at their new home. (they close on Tuesday and move in Weds) Aunt Debbie and uncle Steve plan to go to Killeen for Thanksgiving. Matt and I plan to go to Jasper. Matt is smoking a ham and two turkeys for us to take up to Jasper. Yum!

Grandmommy and Aunt Debbie- yummy lunch

Howdy!

What a nice treat it was to have lunch with Grandmommy and Aunt Debbie on a nice Friday afternoon!

Healthy lunch with Aunt Debbie and Grandmommy

Howdy!

What a nice treat! On Friday, Aunt Debbie, Grandmommy, and i met for a yummy, healthy lunch at Subway. We enjoyed catching up and are all looking forward to the long Thanksgiving weekend next week!

Nice visit with Mimi Kent

On a cool, rainy Saturday in November, Mom Strother, Matt, and I had a pleasant visit with Mimi Kent.  Below is a picture of Mimi Kent, "Mom" Strother, and Matt. 

Mimi enjoyed giving us a tour of Shady Acres rehab and nursing facility and introducing us to her new friends.

Blessings this Fall to you!   

Matt & Stephanie

682-429-6099- Cell

"Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

Nice visit with Mimi Kent

On a cool, rainy Saturday in November, Mom Strother, Matt, and I had a pleasant visit with Mimi Kent.  Below is a picture of Mimi Kent, "Mom" Strother, and Matt. 

Mimi enjoyed giving us a tour of Shady Acres and introducing us to her new friends. 

Blessings this Fall to you!   

Matt & Stephanie

682-429-6099- Cell

"Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

Our first homemade coconut cake! We hope Dad Strother loves it!!

For Dad Strother's birthday, we made him his favorite cake, coconut, from scratch! We hope he loves it!!! (I can't wait to try a piece....it smells delicious!)

Ready for the Aggie game!! Whoop!!!

Fun at Aggie football game! Whoop!

Fun times at Aggie football game! Gig'em!

Re: Stylish while baking...thanks to my sis, Jen, for the adorable apron she sewed for me!

Stef. You cook in style.

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 24, 2010, at 6:49 PM, Strother's <strotherexpress@gmail.com> wrote:

> Howdy!
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> Matt and I baked a yummy pumpkin bundt cake on Sunday evening. It was the perfect opportunity to try out my new John Deere apron that Jen sewed for me!! What a fabulous and special birthday gift!
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> Blessings this Fall to you!
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> Matt & Stephanie
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> "Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9=

Japanese red maple has red leaves coming in!

Howdy!

Matt and I planted a Japanese red maple in our front yard in September to replace the live oak tree that died.

We grew concerned when all the leaves on the red maple became dry, brittle and fell off.

Imagine our excitement and joy when we went to water the tree this evening and noticed new bright red leaves coming in on several branches of the tree. Praise the Lord!!

Stylish while baking...thanks to my sis, Jen, for the adorable apron she sewed for me!

Howdy!

Matt and I baked a yummy pumpkin bundt cake on Sunday evening. It was the perfect opportunity to try out my new John Deere apron that Jen sewed for me!! What a fabulous and special birthday gift!

Our 1st batch of cooked turnip greens harvested from our Fall garden. Delicious!!!

Howdy!

This weekend we harvested our 1st batch of turnip greens from our Fall garden. We snipped the leaves about 2" from the stem, so that new leaves will grow again and we can another batch of greens!

Matt smoked a salt cured hog jowl and then pan seared the jowl. Matt added 1qt water, 3/4 of turnip greens from our garden, and 1 tsp white sugar to the hog jowl. Matt let the greens simmer for 45 minutes covered. Then Matt strained them and put them in a bowl for us to enjoy....although I ate most of them...I couldn't stop; they were delicious!!

Turnip greens are getting bigger!! Yum!

Howdy!

Yum! Harvest time is nearing and the turnip greens are getting bigger! Yum!

Marathon relay to pace my sister in law, Jennifer, in her 1st marathon!

Howdy!

Praise the Lord for the beautiful, calm weather in Denver over the weekend. Perfect running weather for the Denver marathon.

Jennifer, dad, me, and Mikey ran legs in our 4 member marathon relay team to help pace our sister-in-law, Jennifer, to a 4.5 hour marathon finish!

Early birthday lunch with Aunt Debbie and Grandmommy!

Howdy!

What a special treat! Aunt Debbie treated me and Grandmommy to yummy Mexican food to celebrate my upcoming birthday. We enjoyed the chance to catch up with eachother as well as enjoy some yummy food!

Fall garden- turnip greens are really growing!

Howdy!

Especially since we thinned out the turnip greens in our Fall garden, the remaining turnip greens are thriving! Only about one more month and we will be able to harvest and enjoy some delicious turnip greens. Yum! (I'm glad Matt knows how to cook them, because I don't! )

We also have a few spinach sprouts. We are going to thin the spinach plants out once they get a little taller. Hopefully the spinach will do as well as the turnip greens are doing!

Although we also planted red leaf and green leaf lettuce seeds, we have not seen a single lettuce sprout. However, with as many turnip greens and spinach sprouts as we've had, I don't know if our little garden would have had room for any lettuce!

Yummy lunch with Grandmommy!

Howdy!

On a lovely Fall afternoon in October, Grandmommy and I had a yummy lunch at Luby's. Grandmommy looked so pretty in her pink outfit and bright, white smile! The kind waitress snapped our picture.

Fall garden...turnip greens and spinach have sprouted!!

Howdy!

Thanks to God for providing the warm sun, quenching rain and allowing our little seeds to grow! The turnip greens and spinach seeds have sprouted and have numerous little plants! The red leaf and green leaf lettuce seeds have not yielded any sprouts. But based on the number of spinach and turnip green plants, I think we will have plenty to keep us busy and our tummies full!

Yummy lunch with my mother in law and Mimi Kent!

Howdy!

Mom Strother, Mimi Kent, and I enjoyed a yummy lunch at Red Lobster on Tuesday Oct 5. What a treat it is to live close enough to be able to get together with family! We will continue to keep Mimi Kent and Dr. Lamendola and his staff in our prayers as they prepare for Mimi's upcoming heart valve surgery.

Yummy supper with Lanette!

Howdy!

Our friend, Shelby, is expecting her first baby (a boy!). I headed to Lubbock the first weekend in October to attend Shelby's baby shower. Looking forward to her shower on Saturday and getting to see some friends at the shower that I haven't seen in a while.

While in Lubbock, it was such a treat to spend time with Lanette. We enjoyed a delicious supper at McAlister's. Yum!

Yummy lunch with Grandmommy!

Howdy!

On a lovely Thursday afternoon, Grandmommy and I met for lunch. We enjoyed visiting and a delicious lunch at Black eyed Pea. Grandmommy looked pretty in her light purple dress and lovely metallic shoes!

Uncle Matt and Kaelyn

What a treat! We got to spend Saturday afternoon with Matt's family in Jasper. What a cute picture of Matt and Kaelyn (she'll be 2 in November).

Our nephew, Connor, is getting so Big! He'll be six months this month!

Kaelyn fixing granny's hair

Kaelyn may be a future hairstylist.

Fun in Jasper- Aunt Stephanie and Kaelyn

On our drive back from the Tim McGraw concert in Dallas, we stopped by Jasper to see Matt's family. We had a nice time visiting and riding up to Tiger Creek to check out our recently purchased land.

Fun at Cowboys Stadium watching Tim McGraw

How wonderful God's timing! Matt and I received tickets for a Tim McGraw concert at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX. On our drive up to Dallas, we were able to stop in Centerville,TX and meet with a realtor to finalize our purchase of some land on lake Sam Rayburn in Jasper county. Thanks to God, not only for the timing of being able to meet the realtor, but for the timing of a successful close on our Lubbock home and the availability of funds to be able to purchase the land outright. Thank you God!

The Strother backyard garden begins!

Howdy!

On a cool Saturday morning in the beginning of September, Matt and I broke ground on our backyard garden!  Praying that God will bless our little garden with a bountiful harvest of delicious fresh vegetables and sweet potatoes later this fall!

Happy Summer to you!   

Matt & Stephanie

682-429-6099- Cell

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and enter his courts with praise, be thankful unto him and bless his name." Psalm 100:4 

Begin forwarded message:

From: Gmail <strotherexpress@gmail.com>
Date: September 4, 2010 8:37:09 AM CDT
To: bdstrother@gmail.com

Sent from Big Daddy's phone

The garden begins!

On a cool Saturday morning in the beginning of September, Matt and I broke ground on our backyard garden!
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Yummy Birthday lunch with Aunt Debbie- Happy Birthday!

Howdy!

Aunt Debbie and I met at a Chinese food restaurant for a yummy lunch and a great time catching up. What a treat it was to spend time with Aunt Debbie on her birthday! We wish her a very Happy Birthday!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Labor day holiday weekend!

Yummy supper with Trina

Howdy!

What a treat! Trina had a business trip to Houston and we were able to meet up on Tuesday evening for a yummy supper. It was so good to see her and catch up!

Fun at the lake- Matt on Big Bertha!

Howdy!

We had a blast taking turns riding Big Bertha on the lake. Matt had a great ride; his dad never managing to knock him off of Big Bertha.