Kitchen Remodel

We did a semi-kitchen remodel. I repainted my green kitchen to a slate blue. Got rid of my dusty blinds and put in roman shades and got new countertops. I LOVE how much all the changes warm up the room with not too much of an expense! I had already painted the walls when I took my before picture - but you get the idea.

Take my picture

Joshua has (kind of) figured out that he likes to have his picture taken. He hasn't quite figured out that you don't need to get SO close to the camera. And is still working on what SMILE means. We also found out that he really likes 'ungwasses'!

Zoo

While John's parents were in town we took Joshua to the zoo. It's the first time he has been to a real zoo. It was lots of fun. I definitely think it's something we will be frequenting more and more often the older he gets.

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year everyone!! Hope your Christmas was wonderful! We had a very nice time spending time with family before, during and after Christmas. It was great to see so many people and have so much fun sharing Joshua's JOY about Christmas with everyone. Joshua especially loved to show off for all our company by acting SUPER silly. His personality just gets cuter everyday. Anyways, here are some pictures of Joshua during Christmas.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry, Merry Christmas!! May your home is filled with lots of joy and blessings!

"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” - Luke 2: 9-12

Virtual Gingerbread House

Here is a fun activity I found on a friend's site. Enjoy!!

Build your Gingerbread House here

Peanut Brittle

I have never made peanut brittle before...but decided to try some for this year's Christmas baking and it was SOOO easy and turned out great. The recipe is from a cookbook called Gift From the Christmas Kitchen.

Peanut Brittle

1 c sugar

1/2 c light corn syrup

1/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 c roasted peanuts

1 tsp margarine or butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

Spray cookie sheet w/ cooking spray. In a glass bowl stir sugar, syrup, and salt with wooden spoon until mixed. Microwave on High for 7 -8 minutes until pale yellow. Stir in nuts. Cook for 1 more minute. Add margarine, vanilla, & baking soda until foamy. Pour on sheet and spread evenly. Let cool; break into pieces.

Cute stuff..

Obviously Joshua is the cutest boy on earth...but man, the more he talks the cuter and cuter he gets. He currently is obsessed with pointing out EVERY trash can he sees. He also is obsessed with throwing trash away. He will find the tiniest string on the ground and says, "trash, trash, trash". It also melts my heart that I pointed out Baby Jesus in our nativity and then two days later he is pointing to it saying, 'Baby Jesus'. Ahh!! I just love it!

Christmas Dinner Entertainment

This year I have made Christmas Crackers for all my guests. I used a wrapping paper tube and cut into smaller pieces. I glued wrapping paper around each one and tied each end with a ribbon after putting little prizes inside each. I glued name tags on each of the crackers. This will indicate where to sit as well as have a question on the back that my guest must answer before they can open their cracker. Questions might include: What is your favorite Christmas tradition? etc

We will also be playing a few games between dinner & dessert. I found quite a few good ones at THIS site. It should be lots of fun!

Great Kid Sites & Free Stuff

I love how many websites now have pages to print and color, games, videos, storybooks, etc. Here are a few of my favorite sites. Also, for Christmas, I'm printing lots of coloring pages and making a coloring book for Joshua - which is basically free and a great stocking stuffer.

1. Boz the Bear - This bear teaches all sorts of pre-school stuff like colors, numbers, etc with a message about God. They also have lots of family activities that go along with their books and videos. I really love Boz & so does Joshua!!

2. Disney - Lots of links to any of their shows online.

3. Veggie Tales - Who doesn't love Bob the tomato & Larry Boy!!

My favorite places to shop online

I did almost all of my shopping online this year and saved a bunch of money using coupon codes that you can also find online. Here are a few of my favorite shopping sites.


1. Etsy - This is a site full of crafters and their products. This is a great site for unique items and a way to support other crafters!

2. Amazon - This is just a given. Amazon is great. I have even bought items like my digital camera and found them always to be quick and the lowest price around.

3. Gooseberry Patch - Everything on here is just SO darn cute!

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Guess who is afraid of Santa?

Christmas Eve Gift

I like to open one gift on Christmas eve which is usually Christmas pajama's. But this year, I've decided to add another gift for Joshua to unwrap on Christmas eve - a box with a picture of baby Jesus inside. Now, Joshua probably won't really understand this year - but hopefully in years to come it will be a great reminder to us all that the real gift of Christmas is the gift of Jesus.

Baked Grits

Being a southerner, I figured it was high time for me to learn to make grits. So this morning I made my first batch and boy were they delicious!!

Baked Grits
6 c water
1 1/2 c instant grits
3/4 c butter
1 lb Velveeta
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
pinch cayenne
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp Worcester
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium saucepan boil water and stir in grits. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add in all ingredients except eggs and cook until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and add eggs. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake for 1 hour. Yum!

The Snowflake Poem

Here is the snowflake poem I mentioned earlier...this is a great idea for a winter baby shower as party favors.

As God creates each snowflake to be unique & special - so He creates each child. Hang this snowflake on your tree as we pray for (insert baby name here) that she will know how delicate she is in the tender arms of her creator.

At Home..

I love this picture that I snagged last night of Joshua. It says to me that Joshua is so comfortable and happy in his home - which makes me so happy.

Dishcloth Apron

Here is a simple dishcloth apron from Real Simple Magazine. All you do is get a dishcloth, sew two buttons (one on each side) to the top corners and then tie with a ribbon.

Christmas Banner

Look at this fun banner that Monica at The Homespun Heart is giving the pattern away for. This is the one I made this morning - so much fun!!

Help! Snowflake Poem

I'm looking for a poem that is attached to snowflake ornaments that are given as favors at a baby shower. The poem says something about how each snowflake is different like the child that is expected and when you put the ornament on your tree remember to pray or something like that. Does anyone have a copy of this poem? Has ever heard of it or anything? Thank you!!!

Joshua's Tree & Our Big Helper

Here is a picture of Joshua and his tree. I told him to smile for the camera and that is the grin he gave me.This other picture is of Joshua being a big helper with one of John's honey do projects.

The tree is up!

I finally got the tree all put together. We set up the tree and some of the basic ornaments - like the balls & snowflakes last night. So when Joshua woke up this morning he got the surprise of a tree in our family room. He has done pretty well with it and I hope that continues. I only put non-breakable ornaments up this year and the bottom third of the tree is almost bare. But I put a few ornaments that if Joshua played with - it would be okay - although I'm trying to keep him from touching it at all. I have a lot of my mom's Christmas decorations so it's neat to have new 'old' things to remind me of her. The picture of the reindeer is something she made a gazillion years ago that I always remember hanging in her home. I'm so glad that most of her decorations were handmade - it gives everything an extra special touch. Our tree is also my mom's artificial tree...I am amazed at how real it looks. I just love it!!

Pecan Coffee Cake

This is a really yummy coffee cake and is slightly altered version this recipe from Allrecipes.com.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tbsp melted butter

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350. Grease & flour a bundt pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sour cream, sugar, and eggs, then stir in the vanilla. Fold in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Spread 1/2 of batter into prepared pan.

To make the Pecan Topping: In a medium bowl, mix together brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over cake batter in pan. Pour remaining batter on top. Careful to keep topping in center of batter so it doesn't spill out and stick to the pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

It's beginning to feel...

I'm feeling a little bit more organized for Christmas everyday. I finally ordered my Christmas cards last night and feel so good about that. I was thinking of making my own cards but the stress of it all was not worth it. I pulled down some of the Christmas decorations yesterday and also wrapped more presents. Once I get all my shipments out I will feel much, much better. I've done almost all of my shopping online which has made shopping easier for sure. I have decorated the outside of the house multiple ways through the years and am really stumped on how I want to decorate this year. I feel like I need some fresh ideas. Any ideas?

We have been invited to a free dinner/theatre performance at our local dinner theatre this weekend. I'm SOOO excited. It should be a lot of fun and the performance is Christmas themed. Our town is also having their Christmas parade on Saturday which Joshua enjoyed last year so I'm sure he will love it this year...hope it's not too cold.

Finally, Joshua continues to surprise us everyday as we watch his mind work. Yesterday at about 6pm, he decided he no longer wanted to wear what I put him in and wanted to wear a particular outfit - his dinosaur PJs which were dirty. We put on other dinosaur PJs hoping to satisfy him...but NO, he wanted those particular ones. So he kept taking his clothes off. Oh boy!

Our Holiday

We just got back from visiting John's folks in NJ. We had a very nice visit and got to do lots of fun things including the zoo, park & Storybook land. As well as just getting to enjoy the company of family. Unfortunately, we were in the airport FOREVER today because our flight was delayed 3 1/2 hours!!! Which trust me is a little longer than eternity when you have a toddler who didn't take a nap and an hour of that delay was in the airplane on the runway with no air. Thankfully, we are home safe & sound after a nice trip. I'm anxious to start my Christmas decorating & cooking later this week! Hope your holiday was great!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
- Psalm 106:1

T - Is for the Tons of Blessings that I receive each day.
H - Stands for these Hands that fold, when I begin to pray.
A - Means all the Awesome powers our Lord has from above.
N - Stands for His Never ending patience and His Love.
K - Is for the Kindness and forgiveness He has shown.
S - Stands for the Sweetest gift of love we've ever known.
G - Means the Amazing Grace that God bestowed on me.
I - Says I can't imagine, without His love, just where I'd be.
V - Is for (Victory in Jesus), just like that song of old.
I - Means I'll do my best, to lead lost sheep into His fold.
N - Is for the nails driven through our Savior's hands.
G - Stands for God's Greatest Gift, His Son's life for mortal man.
Many Blessings and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

~© 2002 by Vickie Lambdin~

Mary or Martha Thanksgiving?

I'm currently reading Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World in my women's bible study and loved this post on having a Mary or Martha Thanksgiving and thought it was a great reminder - go read it!

A fall stroll...

This first picture is John saying, "Where's Joshua?" and Joshua saying, "Here I am!!"

My Thursday Morning...

I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday so I thought I would share today. This is a perfect example of a day in the life of me...

I was on the phone briefly and thinking, "My, isn't Joshua playing wonderfully by himself." So I walk over to where he was at the window and notice that there is frosting all over the air vent cover on the floor. Which means, that he has squeezed his little cinnamon rolls that he had for breakfast all down my air vents. So I pull the vent off to find that this apparently wasn't the first time he thought it would be fun to put things down the vent. There were 4-5 handfuls of food, several toys, and lots of dead bugs. Yay! So I get the vacuum to stick down the tube to suck anything else that might be down the tube that isn't within my reach...when I turn to see that apparently my dog was trying to get my attention unsuccessfully because he pooped ALL over my family room. JOY! So I run to throw the dogs in the garage and in the meantime, Joshua has fallen into the open air vent - just one leg - but he was stuck - which is a blessing really...because that means he wasn't walking in the poop. So I put him in his crib so I can clean everything up and thankfully he played very nicely in there the whole time without crying once. I'm very thankful that I was able to laugh about the whole thing and hope you get a good laugh too.

P.S. I had to buy 2 new air vents because apparently he was using the other one in the kitchen too and they were so sticky and yucky so I decided $12 for 2 new ones was well worth keeping my sanity.

I won!

I won a giveaway and I'm so excited. I won the book "Where Angels Go" by Debbie MacComber from Renee at 2 Peas in a Pod. Thanks Renee!

Peace

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I can't believe Thanksgiving is a week from today. It's such a great reminder that we are to give thanks to God in ALL circumstances. I don't mean to always bring up my mom, but I am so THANKFUL to have a relationship with God so that in my time of need and sorrow I could have peace. Sometimes I'm surprised that my heart did not become bitter or angry when my mom died but then I remind myself that is the promise of God, it's truly the "peace that passes all understanding". God was and will always be with me. So today I'm thankful that God is with us in our joy, in our pain, and everywhere in between.

Growth Spurt

My little boy has had a growth spurt...he no longer fits in any of his 12 month pants..thank goodness since he is 19 months old. But the waists of all the 18 month pants are too big...ugh. I need to find a belt for a toddler. But then most of his pants don't have loops to put a belt through. It's tough trying to dress a kid.

Pictures

Here are a few quick pics of Joshua. These were at a birthday party we went to a week ago. The picture of Joshua at the table is when they started singing Happy Birthday - we think he thought they were singing to him cause he got all excited and the silliest smile on his face. Joshua is such an incredible JOY!!! We are so blessed!

Hotel Cleanliness

I just had to post about this because I just saw a special on the secrets of hotels. Now I know they don't wash the comforters but this special showed that hotel after hotel didn't wash the glasses that they leave out. They just rinse them with water in the sink and dry them and put them back out. Can you imagine how many people's mouths have been on those glasses? Even the Ritz Carlton did it. So I know I will never use the glasses in a hotel again.

No Sew Blankets

No-sew blankets are a fast, fun, & easy way to make a blanket. They can be either one or two layers. We have one of each. Joshua being really warm natured sleeps with the one layer one.

To make - simply get 1 yard each of 2 coordinating fleece fabrics (you can use larger pieces for bigger blankets if you prefer). Place together and cut out corners as on pattern. Then cut on lines around the blanket - but both layers at one time. Tie stripes together in a knot. You are done! For a one layer - just knot the individual cuts to make tassles.

Praise!

"The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him." Nahum 1:7

God is so good! Baby Noah is going home on Monday. Just wanted to share this awesome praise!!

What happened to Thanksgiving?

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

I can't believe Thanksgiving is 2 weeks from today. I think I'm really having a hard time believing it because it seems like all the retail stores have just skipped right over it.

Wordless Wednesday - Big Boy

For more Wordless Wednesday pictures visit here.

Operation Christmas Child

Joshua & I just got back from shopping for our Operation Christmas Child box donation. National collection week is next week and it's a fun way to share the true meaning of Christmas with your child or family. I hope you will consider getting involved.

The Mitford Series

After hearing so many people talk about the Mitford Series, I decided to start reading them. I was able to pick up the first 3 books for $1 each at the used book store and of course, I had a store credit...so they were free. Anywho, I just finished the first book in the series...which I found delightful and started in on the second book. Now, throughout the books the bible verse Philippians 4:13 is mentioned (which BTW gave me the inspiration for my latest banner). But...I also happened to notice that both of my first two books end on page 413...and so I was wondering...is that a coincidence or is it connected to the bible verse. I'm probably over thinking this, which is surprising considering my mommy brain, but figured I'd put it out there and see if anyone knows the answer or has noticed themselves.

P.S. Is this considered starting a conspiracy theory? Ta hee hee.

Memories of my mom

Today is the 6 month anniversary of my mother's death. My dear friend Sue brought me some beautiful flowers today because she was afraid I would be sad. I was so touched. Thank you Sue!
Anyways, my mother gave me the gift of loving to read. It's something we shared. Along with being mother/daughter & best friends - we were avid book swappers. We enjoyed reading the same type of books and would trade books back and forth almost weekly. Until experiencing a loss of this magnitude, I had no idea how much I would miss the every day moments of life my mom and I shared. The joy of simply finishing a book and putting it aside to share with my mom is now gone. I miss calling my mom to tell her about a new author I found. It's all the small, everyday moments that I will never be able to share with her again. I lost so much when I lost my mother. But there are other moments still happening in my life that I try to now stop & treasure. I hope you too will stop & appreciate all those simple things in life before they are gone.

P.S. Along with books...my mother loved bookmarks and would always buy 2 - one for me and one for her. The picture is just a small sample of some of my mom's bookmarks - can you tell she also loved butterflies?

Joshua Video

Joshua probably did this for 30 minutes straight. Make sure to click the play button on the bottom left.

Awesome Brownies!!

I made these brownies yesterday for a charity function dinner. I forgot that I was supposed to make something so I scrambled to find something a little more homemade then boxed brownies but that I could make with brownie mix. These were SOOO good. I did make my own Coconut Pecan Frosting - recipe is below for both. It was easy, quick and seemed very gourmet.

Awesome Brownies
1 box brownie mix & ingredients to make
1 container of coconut pecan frosting
1 small container sour cream
1 c chocolate chips
1 c chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9 x 13 pan. Mix brownies per instructions for cake-like brownies - 1/2 of the oil called for. Add frosting & sour cream. Bake for 35 minutes. Spread chips & pecans across brownies and bake for 5 more minutes. Use a spatula to spread the chip/pecan mixture and let cool. Yummy!!

Coconut Pecan Frosting
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 stick butter
3 egg yolks
1 c flaked coconut
1 c chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla

Stir milk, butter, & egg yolks in saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly till thickened - about 10 minutes. Take off heat - add coconut, pecans, & vanilla.

Enjoy!

Cozy Sister Swap

I participated in Carrie & Monica's Sister's Shoebox Swap: Cozy and I'm OH SO EXCITED to share with you my package from my swap partner Melissa! It was wrapped oh so cute in a photo box and immediately I could smell cinnamon drifting out of the box. Delicious! After opening the top everything was wrapped so Christmassy and the cutest cookie cutters were on top calling me to make some sugar cookies right away! There was also the most scrumptious cinnamon pumpkin room spray.

Upon opening the package there were sprinkles to go on my sugar cookies and recipes cards with a 2 great recipes. There were two candles, Christmas music, a Martha Stewart Thanksgiving DVD (which I can't wait to watch). The coziest hat & socks - so cute!! A coffee mug with hot chocolate & 3 precious Christmas ornaments for my tree. It was just so awesome and fun to open. Don't you just love all the cute ribbons tied around everything. I feel totally spoiled & blessed to have had such a great partner!! Thank you Melissa!!Well, I was overly excited about putting my box together and sent it early in October before the holiday bug got me...so mine was not Christmas themed but did have fall colors. I really enjoyed putting my box together. I only got one quick photo before my camera broke. Here is what I sent Melissa. It included a Monica inspired crocheted dishcloth with cinnamon star. 4 hand stitched napkins. A cozy candle. 2 hot cocoa mixes. Bath salts. A cute little mug for her cocoa. And a crafted picture frame. Overall, I had a total blast and can't wait till my next swap.

Unauthorized Activity

I hear and see Joshua playing under the coffee table. and it sounds like he is coloring...but I keep thinking I know he doesn't have anything to color with. So it's finally driving me crazy so I crawl under there to look and he has sidewalk chalk and he was coloring the underneath of my coffee table. Here is a picture of him showing me his 'artwork" and a picture of him bouncing up & down on my stomach as I laid on the floor trying to take more pictures. That is the most amount of coloring he has EVER done in one spot at one time. I thought it was super cute...especially because it wasn't on my walls. :)

Fellowship & Chicken Enchiladas

Today I had a few ladies over to make some food for a family in need. We decided to get together and make 3 freezer meals to provide to the family and to do it together as a way to make it a little more fun. I coordinated recipes to try to cross over ingredients then sent out an email list assigning everyone 2-3 ingredients to each bring. I made cards with instructions on how to prepare the food to put in the freezer and then another that we taped on top of the meal with instructions for cooking. The other goal was to have each lady take a 15 minute increments to watch the kids while the others cooked - however, it didn't really end up working that way as our house is compact and we could keep an eye on them and cook. Finally, I made some Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread for us all to enjoy after our hard work. I've attached one of the recipes below which is an adaptation of an Allrecipes.com recipe.

Chicken Enchiladas
(this recipe is to make one for now & one to freeze for later)
4 cups cooked chicken - shredded or cubed (about 4 breasts)
1 container sour cream
1/2 c diced onion
16 - 8 inch tortillas
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp butter/margarine
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2 - 8 x 8 pans (make sure one is freezer/oven friendly). Mix soup & sour cream - set aside. Saute chili powder, onion & butter till mixed. Add 4 tsp chicken soup mixture & chicken. Warm tortillas in microwave for 1 minute. Spread 1/2 of soup mixture into bottom of each pan. Roll 1/4 c chicken in each tortilla & place seam side down. 8 tortillas per pan. Spread remaining soup mix on the tortillas - top with cheese. Cook one for 25 minutes. Freeze the other for later. To cook the frozen one - place in pre-heated oven frozen for 35-40 minutes.