A Picture...finally!

Ok, so I haven't shared a whole lot on my pregnancy throughout these past almost 32 weeks. But can you believe I have made it to this point?? Sometimes it seems so unreal to me that our little baby boy will be here in 8 weeks or so! He is doing really well and weighed approx. 4lbs 1 oz. at my appointment 2 weeks ago. I go to the doctor on New Years Eve, so we will see what he is at then. I am beginning to really feel pregnant and get tired a little more easily and feel like I waddle all the time (haha!). So anyway, I thought I would post a picture of my pregnant belly for all of those I don't get to see on a regular basis. One other thing...Baby H is still breech, so please continue to be in prayer that he will turn himself around the right way!! : ) I would prefer not to have a c-section if at all possible! Thanks!!

Wishing all my family and friends a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Another video from Mari Cate's Christmas concert....

The first part is the traditional "Joyful, Joyful", then goes into a "rap" type version.

Again, the quality isn't that great (don't know why--we have a great camcorder!) Anyway, hope you enjoy!!!

Hot Chocolate!

Ok, this is my first time trying to add a video that I made and I uploaded it to YouTube, and it doesn't look real great, so I will be trying some other ways.

Anyway, this is from Mari Cate's concert this past Friday.

**Be sure to turn off the music player before you start the video**

12 Days of Cookies -- Days 6 and 7

Ok, I am taking a shortcut today on my 12 Days of Cookies posts. I am going to post the name/picture of the cookie and the link to The Food Network where you can find the recipe. Sorry to be kind of lazy, but I've got a busy day. : )

Fregolata: Crumb Cookie (Italy)

Sesame Rings (Spain)

2-0

Well, our boy did it again! He won his wrestling match on Tuesday night, by 7-6. So he is now 2-0. He doesn't get to wrestle in all the matches since he is Junior Varsity (and he had to miss a couple because of his concussion too!)

Congratulations Conner!!

Unfortunatly he won't be able to wrestle in tonights match because he knocked his kneecap out of place at practice yesterday afternoon. (ewww!!) So please say a prayer for him...he has had problems with weak knees since he was a baby.

But, that leaves his/our schedule open for him to be able to participate in his first Band concert which is tonight also. He is playing trumpet in the Beginning Band at school this year, so we were sad that we would have to miss it because of the wrestling match, but now we won't have too. Of course I will have pictures (and maybe a little video to share!)

Wordless Wednesday

Another memory of Christmas past...

To My Friends and Family...

Of
All
The Gifts
We get in life
By far none can compare
To the gift of
Loving-kindness
And the friends with whom we share;
The good times and the bad times,
The laughter and the tears,
The things that give us hope
And the things that cause us fear.
For everlasting friends are truly gifts from God above.
Through them He gives us all we need
Including
His Great
L O V E!

This poem was written by a good friend of mine, Carole Hicks. She is a VERY creative writer and recently moved to another city to further her career/education, but in the process moved away from many of her friends! If you would, remember Carole, and friends that you have, that may be away from their family and friends this Christmas season. Thank you for allowing me to share the poem on my blog Carole!

12 Days of Cookies -- Days 3, 4, and 5

Sorry I got behind on these....I didn't realize they continued to send them on the weekend too! So I will post all three days today.

Day 3
November 30, 2007
Double Chocolate Sable Cookies

Sable in French means "sandy" — these are a classic French cookie, made out of crumbly chocolate shortbread. To keep them nice and sandy, be extra careful not to overmix the dough. The hint of salt brightens the flavor and underlines the chocolate. For a special holiday treat, sandwich two of these together with a small scoop of peppermint ice cream.

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, frozen for 10 minutes

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

5 1/4 ounces (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 large egg yolk

Grate the chilled chocolate with a fine grater or rasp and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and sea salt.
Beat the butter and sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until just combined. Mix in the yolk. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and beat lightly together until just combined but still crumbly. Fold in grated chocolate with a spatula. Bring the dough together by lightly squeezing in your hands; but don't knead or overwork, as the secret to these cookies is their delicate, sandy texture.

Divide the dough in half. Lay half the dough on a long sheet of waxed paper and shape into a log along the width of the waxed paper, leaving some space at each end. Pull the paper over the top of the log. Grip the edge of the top piece of paper, and use a straight, firm edge, like a ruler or the edge of a pan, to press gently against the edge of the dough where the papers come together to create a solid, firm round log. Repeat with remaining dough and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (To keep logs round store inside an empty paper towel roll.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Slice logs into 1/2-inch thick rounds with a sharp, thin knife. Divide rounds onto the prepared sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Bake until cookies smell fragrant with a full cocoa aroma and set on the outside, about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pans, about 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely. Serve.

Busy baker's tips: Dough can be made and frozen for up to 2 weeks. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Baked cookies can be wrapped in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil and frozen for up to 2 weeks.

Cook's note: For super uniform cookies, place each sliced disk of dough in a muffin tin and bake. The cookies will be chewier, less sandy this way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 4
December 1, 2007
Walnut Sugar Cookies (Kourabiedes)

I am not going to include these cookies on my blog, because they do include brandy. Our family does not drink any alcohol, therefore I don't feel right to post a recipe that calls for alcohol. I have included the link for the cookies if you wish to get the recipe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 5
December 2, 2007
Cinnamon Stars (Zimtsterne)

These are a classic German Christmas cookie; you'll find them in most every household as soon as St. Nicholas' Day (December 6) rolls around. These gluten-free cookies are kind of like a cross between a macaroon and a meringue, with a hint of nutty spiciness. We find them truly addictive. They're designed to keep for a long time, they'll get chewier as time passes.

2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, plus more for rolling

15 ounces sliced almonds, with skin (about 4 1/2 cups)

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 large egg whites, room temperature

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

Sift the confectioners' sugar. Put 1/2 cup of the sifted confectioners' sugar, 10 ounces (3 heaping cups) of the almonds and all the cinnamon in a food processor. Process until the nuts are finely ground, with just a few larger pieces.

Whip the egg whites in a large, clean bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until they hold soft peaks, about 1 minute. Gradually add the remaining confectioners' sugar while whipping, until the whites are thick, creamy and somewhat stiff, about 2 minutes more. Set aside 2/3 cup of this meringue for topping the cookies.

Fold the ground almond mixture and the lemon zest into the remaining meringue to make a stiff dough.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Lay a sheet of parchment or waxed paper on the work surface and lightly dust with confectioners' sugar. Turn the dough out onto the dusted paper, flatten and dust with more sugar as needed, and then lay another sheet of parchment or waxed paper on top. Roll the dough between the papers until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Flip the dough over and gently peel off a sheet of the paper. For ease when cutting, lay the paper back on the dough, flip again and gently pull off the other side of the paper so that the dough is fully released from it.

Cut cookies with a 3-inch star cutter and place about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. (Excess dough can be rerolled.) Use a small spoon, brush or offset spatula to spread the reserved meringue over the top of each cookie, taking care not to let the meringue drip over the sides. Press or sprinkle remaining sliced almonds in a decorative pattern into the meringue.

Bake cookies until bottoms are light golden brown and meringue is set and crisp, about 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the oven door to release heat and dry cookies out in the oven for 10 more minutes.

Busy baker's tips: The dough can be frozen between the sheets of paper for up to 2 weeks. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 10 days.

More Holiday Baking...

Mari Cate LOVES to help with the baking, so last night I thought we would spend a little mother-daughter time and bake something fun.

We made chocolate covered peanut butter ritz bits with sprinkles on top. I dipped them in chocolate and she sprinkled them. I know that using the ritz bits is cheating a little bit and may not taste quite as good as using big ritz crackers and making them completely from scratch, but the ritz bits are a great size for snacking and Mari Cate thought that they were so cute!

Easy recipe to follow:
CHOCOLATE COVERED RITZ BITS
Chocolate or Vanilla Almond Bark
Ritz Bits Peanut Butter Crackers
Sprinkles

Slowly heat/melt the almond bark, drop the ritz bits into the chocolate to coat. Remove from chocolate and place on wax paper to cool. Before the chocolate hardens, add sprinkles.

Christmas Parade

Well, I didn't get any really good pictures, but thought I would share what I had anyway. Conner was in the Christmas Parade in Chattanooga on Saturday night representing the Young Marines. He had to the be there at 4:30 to get lined up, so we were there way early for the parade, but that let us get an awesome parking place. We were able to park on the road of the parade route, instead of having to park and walk and take chairs or anything. We put our chairs out right behind the van and Mari Cate was even able to sit in the back of the van with the hatch up some of the time. The Marines and Young Marines led the beginning of the parade (which may be why I didn't get any great pictures....I was not expecting him that quickly!!) Conner got to ride on a convertible BMW, which he thought was really cool. Hope you can pick him out in the pics--he's the one on the right side. Since the parade finished up at Ross's Landing on the river not far from where we parked, Frank walked down and picked him up and he was able to watch a whole lot of the parade with us.

(Conner is on the right on both pictures)

The parade got over just in time for us to make to my Dad's Family Christmas party and see some family we hadn't seen in years too. We had a really great evening all around!

I'm Dreaming of a PINK Christmas????

Mari Cate put up her Christmas tree this weekend. A couple of years ago I got the Barbie pink Christmas tree on clearance at Target (gotta love those after Christmas sales!!), so she puts it up in her room with her little decorations she makes at school on it.

No "Memories on Monday" today....got too much to share from this weekend I think....

12 Days of Cookies--Day 2 Moravian Spice Cookie Wafers

Day 2
November 29, 2007
Moravian Spice Cookie Wafers
The Food Network

This cookie comes to us from North Carolina by way of Central Europe; it's a classic, peppery spice cookie brought to the U.S. by Moravians in the 1700s. The key to this cookie is rolling it super-thin to get that characteristic snap; it's a lot easier to roll it that thin between waxed paper. If you don't have the patience, go thicker, for chewy gingerbread-style cookies. Either way, these cookies would be fantastic on your holiday table.

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon finely ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg yolk

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, pepper and mustard together in a medium bowl.
Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until just combined and lightly fluffy. Beat in the molasses and egg yolk. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix together on low speed until dough is just combined and still crumbly, about 3 minutes. Give dough a few turns with a spatula to bring together.
Lay out wax paper on a clean work surface and put about 1/3 of the batter on top. Lightly press down and top with another sheet of wax paper. Using your hands or a rolling pin, gently pat into a rectangle. Roll out with a rolling pin until dough is as thin as possible without breaking, no thicker than 1/16 inch thick. This is the key to these cookies: they really can't be too thin. Gently peel back the layer of waxed paper and then replace it loosely.
Transfer rolled batter to a flat baking sheet and freeze until firm and can easily be peeled away from the waxed paper, about 30 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Cut dough using a small (2- to 3-inch) fluted round cookie cutter and return to the freezer for 15 minutes to set. Transfer frozen cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until crisp and lightly, evenly colored (but not brown), about 10 minutes.
Busy baker's tips: Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 10 days. The dough can be frozen, between sheets of waxed paper and well-wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 2 weeks. Baked cookies can be wrapped in plastic wrap then aluminum foil and frozen for up to 1 month.

Cook's note: Don't be intimidated by how many cookies this recipe makes. This dough freezes well, and you can roll out far in advance -- so when you need cookies, you can cut and bake as needed, which is a great holiday timesaver.

"While You Were Sleeping" by Casting Crowns

If you would like to listen/watch the video, you will probably want to turn the other song player off first.

12 Days of Cookies--Day 1 Almond Lace Cookies (Florentines)

Each Christmas, I receive an email from The Food Network for the "12 Days of Cookies". They always have a lot of neat recipes, so I thought I would pass them along to you. I am going to post the recipe, but will also include the link to the recipe in case you need more info. Hope you enjoy!!

Day 1
November 28, 2007
Almond Lace Cookies (Florentines)

These Tuscan cookies are a Christmas classic. They're nutty, lacy and crisp, as well as deceptively simple to make. Drizzling them with chocolate turns them into the perfect holiday indulgence.

1 3/4 cups sliced, blanched almonds (about 5 ounces)

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Finely grated zest of 1 orange (about 2 tablespoons)

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Topping, optional: 2 to 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

Pulse the almonds in a food processor until finely chopped, but not pasty. Stir together the nuts, flour, zest and salt in a large bowl.

Put the sugar, cream, corn syrup and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a rolling boil and sugar is completely dissolved. Continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, then pour mixture into almond mixture and stir just to combine. Set aside until cool enough to handle, 30 minutes.
Scoop rounded teaspoons (for 3-inch cookies) or rounded tablespoons (for 6-inch cookies) of batter and roll into balls. Place on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 3 to 4 inches between each cookie since they spread.

Bake 1 pan at a time, until the cookies are thin and an even golden brown color throughout, rotating pans halfway through baking time, about 10 to 11 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve.

Optional chocolate topping: Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very low simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. (Alternatively, put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue heat until completely melted, about 1 to 2 minutes more.)

For sandwiches: Drop about 1/2 teaspoon chocolate onto on the flat side of half of the cookies and press together with remaining halves. Return to rack and let chocolate set.
For chocolate decor: Drizzle melted chocolate over Florentines as desired. Set aside at room temperature until chocolate is set.

Busy baker's tips: Store baked cookies carefully, separated by parchment or waxed paper, in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. Florentines are best stored separated from moist cookies and cakes.

Holiday Baking

Actually this first recipe is from the Pumpkin Pie that I made for Thanksgiving, but obviously it can be used/made for anytime! I got this recipe from http://www.allrecipes.com/ and it got a 5 out of 5 rating! Their note on it says "A good pie for the diabetic and doesn't have an aftertaste!"




Sugarless Pumpkin Pie

1 (9 inch) pie shell
1 egg
6 packets artificial sweetner (I actually used 8)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (again, I improvised and used a cinnamon, ginger, and cloves mixture, since I didn't have the pumpkin pie spice)
1 cup pumpkin puree (do not use the pumpkin mix)
1 cup evaporated milk


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl whisk together egg, sugar substitute, and pumpkin pie spice until well blended. Add pumpkin and milk to egg mixture, and stir until smooth. Pour mixture into pie shell.


Place pie on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until set in center.

This next recipe also came from http://www.allrecipes.com/. These cookies turned out good and chewy just like it says! It made approximately 3 dozen (actually a few more than that)

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-pupose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups quick-cooking oats

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat over to 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stire into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

**HINT** If you will make the dough and chill it for about an hour, the cookies will not "spread" out as they cook.

It's Official!!

At least my official time for putting up Christmas decorations!! I would have had them up the day after Thanksgiving, but I had a nasty stomach virus all last week---what a way to enjoy all the yummy Thanksgiving food, huh??

Well, I was pretty much out of commission last week so, I have a lot to catch up on! First let me catch you up on some news "from the family". Two weeks ago, Conner got a mild concussion at wrestling practice. He is doing fine now, but went through a few days of headaches and nausea. It was a good thing that they have had a few weeks off from wrestling matches for the Thanksgiving holidays. It gave him a little while to recuperate.

That same week, Mari Cate sang in the choir for the annual school play. This year the play was The Wizard of Oz. The play is performed on Friday and Saturday nights. They did a great job--especially the choir!! : )

Wishing all of our friends and family a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Wordless Wednesday

Unconditional Love

Another Great Christmas Giveaway!

Here is another great Christmas Giveaway from MamaSpeaks! Take at look at the Holiday Gift Guide 2007--there are lots of neat items for the Fresh and Green, the Rockin' Tots, the Girly Girls, Daddy Dearest, Knocked Up, Toy Joy, Baby Makes Three, Deck the Halls, and last but not least Making a List Checking It Twice. So many neat goodies!

Hope you enjoy!

Memory Moments on Monday

BABY--The Dog

About a year after Frank and I got married, we bought a house. Little did we know that along with the house came a stray dog...and her puppies.

A stray dog started hanging around our house and she looked like just a pup herself and she was scared to death--of EVERYTHING. She looked like she hadn't eaten in forever and I couldn't even tell that she was pregnant. I felt so sorry for her that I started feeding her. I would put food on our doorstep and go inside and watch her sheepishly come to the door and gobble the food so quickly that she turned the bowl over and scatter food everywhere! After a week or two, she finally began to realize that we were not going to hurt her. So then we started coaxing her into the house (what were we thinking??) She came inside and loved it, although she was still scared. I enjoyed her company at night because Frank was working 3rd shift at the time. One day when I came home from work, she didn't come to the door and I got a little worried about her. She stayed gone for a couple of days (oh and by this time we knew she was pregnant), but finally came back to eat and then left again. A week or so went by of this routine. Then one day she came out from the woods and with her came a little puppy, and another and another, 7 puppies in all. As sickly as she had looked, I really didn't think any of the puppies could have possibly survived, but they were very healthy! We ended up giving them all away to homes that lots of land for them to play on, since they looked as if they would be pretty big dogs and need the room. Well, Baby turned out to be one of the best dogs anyone could ever ask for. She lived 14 years. She died around this time of year 3 years ago. Every one should be so lucky to have a dog like her as a friend and companion.

Thanksgiving Dinner--A little early!

Well, last year we tried something new...we went to Cracker Barrel for Thanksgiving Dinner. Normally we have always gotten together with my family and Frank's family (yes, all of us together--we actually all get along well enough to have dinner together!) and had the traditional Thanksgiving meal with each of us contributing something. But for some reason we changed the tradition last year. Well, we went about 4:00 in the afternoon and just as they seated us, they informed us that they had run out of turkey and dressing. What???!!!! Ran out???? On Thanksgiving??? So they offered free pumpkin pie to make up for it. Well, I wasn't to thrilled about it, but stayed anyway. My parents wanted their turkey and dressing and so did Conner, so they left and went to another restaurant. So Thanksgiving didn't turn out like we really like it. Somehow the decision got made to go to Cracker Barrel again this year, but we are going around 11:00 instead. I figure that they should have turkey and dressing still available at that time. However, my sweet, quiet husband, didn't speak up until the other day to let me know that he didn't really like this decision that we had made. He wanted to have Thanksgiving dinner at home they way we have always done it. Of course it is really a little late in the game to change our plans now, so I decided to "The Meal" myself. This is a first for me. I usually bring 3-4 items, but my mother always does the turkey and dressing. So I attempted it! I bought a turkey breast (instead of the whole turkey) and my mother came over yesterday and taught me how to do the turkey and how to make the dressing. I made mac-n-cheese, green beans, broccoli cheese casserole, pink cherry salad, and rolls to top it off. For dessert I made a pumpkin pie (a diabetic one at that!!) and chocolate chip cookies for the kids. Normally we do have a lot more when it is all of bringing items, but these were the foods that Frank requested. I must say he was so sweet about it and thanked me several times for making the meal just for him.

I will come back and add the recipes for several of the items tomorrow (probably).

Share Something Sweet

As I have mentioned before, one of the blogs I enjoy visiting is http://www.adventuresinbabywearing.com/. On her site, Stephanie shared that the Ferrero company (you know the one that makes that wonderfully, delicious and beautiful chocolates!) has partnered with Share Our Strength (SOS), one of the nation's leading organizations working to end childhood hunger in America, has created a Web site called Share Something Sweet.With this site, you can send virtual electronic snow globes to friends and family that can be customized by uploading photographs as well as personal messages. As part of its work on SOS, Ferrero will be donating $20,000 to the charity. You can share, too, by sending a personalized e-card snow globe and spreading the word.

It's fun and it's sweet! : )

Oh and by the way, here is a link to a FREE sample of their newest chocolate! Hurry--it's a limited time offer! http://www.ivillage.com/0,,c6rr989t,00.html

Wordless Wednesday

Memory Moments on Monday

I wonder as I wander

Out under the sky

How Jesus the Savior

Did come for die

For poor ornry people like you and like I

I wonder as I wander

Out under the sky

Ok, so I am dying to get my Christmas tree and decorations out, but I have always held to thought that you must wait until after Thanksgiving to put them up!! The "holiday" season starts at the beginning of November to me and I like to make sure that I include them all. Please don't get all upset when I say "holiday" season...I say that phrase because I truly include Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years all in it, although Christmas is definitely the most special. But I don't like to see Thanksgiving getting passed up by the retail end of Christmas. I want to enjoy ALL of it! So that has always been my reason to not put my tree up until at least the weekend after Thanksgiving, but I am not so sure that I will make it this year! I guess add in the fact that I fear that the further along I get in my pregnancy the less I will feel like putting an decorations up, also makes me want to go ahead and do it now. Other than my own made up tradition of when to do it, the only other thing stopping me is that all of our decorations are in storage at Frank's office, so I have to have his help!

So back to the picture....I always liked this picture of Mari Cate and Conner. I think it makes them look sweet and innocent (notice I said "look"--haha!!). Seriously the picture is from Christmas 2005 and I hope you enjoy taking a "memory moment" with me on this Monday.

Check out the great giveaways at 5minutesformom.com ! This is a great blog to check out!

Way to Go Conner!!

Last night was the opening match for Wrestling Season and Conner's very first match EVER!!

And I must say congratulations to my son for winning his very first match (which also happened to be the first match of the night--so he got the team off to a good start). He won the match 12-8, which we thought was awesome!!

Frank and I didn't realize that Conner would be the first one to wrestle and the match was supposed to start at 4:30 and we got there at 4:35 to find him already on the mat, so I missed a few good "starting" pictures and almost cried when I thought about almost missing his first match! I was so excited about him winning that I didn't even think to get the picture of them "holding is arm up" in victory. So please excuse the "first time wrestling mom" errors, but enjoy the couple of pictures I did get (one of them is kind of blurry--so sorry!)

Wordless Wednesday

Matthew 7:13-14

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

I got tagged!

These games are so cute! My friend Kelly from The Barefoot Mama tagged me yesterday for a Picture of Me meme. To play along, post a photo of yourself that captures “the real you” and write a bit about it. Afterwards, tag three to five friends and let them know to play along! Posting a baby or childhood photo is acceptable, since some people may be uncomfortable sharing a current photo.

So I wanted to share a new picture of me from my 40th birthday party that we had Thursday night (10/25). Frank and the kids, my parents, and my aunt and uncle were able to be there to help me celebrate and we had a great time! So here I sit with my two wonderful children, pregnant with a new baby (on my 40th birthday!)--getting ready to start all over again! :)

And now I tag-----

Brynna of Taking Up My Cross

Liz of Adventures of the Mayfields

Maren of Learning to live not just exist

TO ME!!
Ok, so I am telling my age, but hey, what other choice do I have, but to enjoy it??

Just some interesting information about the year I was born...

1967 Prices

Bread: $0.22/loaf
Milk: $1.15/gal
Eggs: $1.10/doz
Car: $2,425
Gas: $0.33/gal

House: $24,600

Stamp: $0.05/ea

Avg Income: $8,801/yr

Min Wage: $1.40/hr

DOW Avg: 905

US President & Vice President

Lyndon B. Johnson, Hubert H. Humphrey

Academy Award Winners:

Best Picture:
In The Heat Of The Night
Best Actor:
Rod Steiger in In The Heat Of The Night
Best Actress: Katherine Hepburn in Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

Top Songs for 1967

Groovin' by Young Rascals
Daydream Believer by Monkees
Somethin' Stupid by Nancy & Frank Sinatra
Light My Fire by Doors
Windy by Association
To Sir with Love by Lulu
Happy Together by Turtles
Ode to Billie Joe by Bobbie Gentry
The Letter by Box Tops
Hello Goodbye by Beatles

Hot New Toys in 1967

Dr. Doolittle's Pushmi-Pullyu
Spudsie The Hot Potato
Twiggy Fashion Tote Bag
The Monkees Game
Frosty Sno-Cone
Ants in the Pants
Girl From U.N.C.L.E. Trick Gadgets Set
Don't Break the Ice
Uncle Fester's Mystery Light Bulb

HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY TOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Let it rain.................

Thank you Lord!

(oops I did add a few words!)

Memories on Monday

Today, I wanted to take time to reflect back on a Monday eight years ago.

Eight years ago (except the actual date was the 18th) on Monday, we brought home our precious daughter Mari Cate. Frank had found out on Friday that there was a baby girl that needed to be adopted....immediately. So after we prayed about it (obviously very quick prayers!), we got an attorney to arrange temporary paperwork for us over the weekend and we brought home a beautiful 4-week old baby girl that Monday evening. I can remember calling my parents, who lived out of town at that time, and telling them they had a new granddaughter--you can just imagine the shock in their voices!!


God does work in mysterious/funny ways sometimes though. I had told everyone before this time that I probably wouldn't go through another adoption, just because of the stress involved, but if God decided to "drop a baby on our doorstep" that I definitely would take the baby!! Well, that is about as close to our doorstep as you can get I think!! : ) Mari Cate has been a true joy and blessing in our lives and I can't imagine not having her!


The other really neat thing about that day is that it was Frank's Dad's birthday, so he got a really neat present that year!! That is something that Mari Cate enjoys remembering too...she was Poppa's birthday present!

So I thought it would be neat to remember what a special day we had eight years ago today!

My how she has grown!!

With Grandmomma and Poppa--what a neat birthday present!

Wasn't she just adorable??

And what a beautiful young lady she is growing into!!

Something new.....

"WORDLESS WEDNESDAY"

Congratulations Pvt. First Class Conner!

As I have posted before, Conner is part of the Young Marines program. He started the program last January and went through a rigorous 13 week boot camp every Saturday from 7:45-2:00. The bootcamp included physical fitness training and tests, written tests, verbal tests on rank structure, the Pledge of Allegience, the National Anthem, the Young Marines Obligation and Creed, etc. He had to complete these things and more to graduate from the bootcamp. After graduating bootcamp, he earned the rank of "Private". Then their unit kind of "died" for lack of a better word. Their unit commander moved to Texas and they had to find a new commander. Well, their new commander, Sgt. Taylor is VERY GUNGHO!! He came in telling us he wanted to get the promotions done that were due and really get the unit "motivated" (this is a word the Young Marines hear from Sgt. Taylor VERY often!!) Well, he has done just that! This past week he did make those promotions with more to come. Just so you have an idea of what is required to earn Private First Class, they are listed below. I am very proud of Conner and his accomplishment!!

This is a picture of the chevrons he earned and now gets to proudly wear on his uniform.

PFC Requirements
Required time in previous grade:
Graduate from bootcamp

Citizenship:
Memorize Pledge of Allegiance to flag
Memorize Young Marine Obligation
Know U.S. President and Vice President

Leadership:
Show willingness to accept responsibility
Military courtesy
Understand billets

Physical Fitness:
Pass PFT with score of 200

School:

Be attentive polite and obedient

Home and Outside Activities:

Respect parents and elders at all times.

Use 'sir' or 'ma'am.'

Personal Habits:
Have clean body and teeth.

Hair and fingernails clean and neatly trimmed.

Close order drill:
Be able to execute all facing movements and column movements.

Other subjects:
Pass standardized PFC exam for age group with 70% or better.

Exam will include questions identified in this study guide.

The Young Marines program is open to boys and girls ages 8-18 (I think). If you think your child might benefit or be interested in joining or you know someone who might be interested in joining the Young Marines, please be sure to visit this website http://www.youngmarines.com/unitlocator.htm to find a unit located in your area. Registrations are going on now for the next bootcamp.

And More Apples...........

Well, I am still trying new recipes with all the apples we got, so I wanted to share another one with you. This one is a Golden Delicious Apple Bundt Cake, which I got from SouthernFood.about.com

INGREDIENTS:
3 Golden Delicious apples (about 1 pound), peeled, diced
1 cup pecan pieces (optional)
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 large eggs
2/3 cup safflower oil or Canola
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup applesauce
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

PREPARATION:
Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt cake pan or spray thoroughly with a flour and oil baking spray.

Core apples and dice in 1/4-inch dice. Put diced apples in a bowl with pecan pieces, 1/2 cup of sugar, and the cinnamon. Stir to blend; set aside.

In a large a mixing bowl, stir or whisk the eggs with oil, sugar, applesauce, and vanilla. In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly beat dry ingredients into the oil and applesauce mixture until well blended. Stir in the diced apple mixture. Spoon into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden pick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs clinging. Cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes. If necessary, carefully loosen sides with a spatula. Put the rack over the pan and carefully invert. Cool completely.

Slide the cooled cake onto a serving plate, or to be safe, place the baking pan over the cake again, flip with the rack, then cover with a serving plate and invert again.

I added a Caramel Sauce and it made it just oh so yummy!! If I could only figure out how to make these non-fattening!! : )

Here is the recipe for the Caramel Sauce which I got off of Martha Stewart's website.

Ingredients:
Makes enough for 1 cake
1 cup light-brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Directions:
Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until thickened to desired consistency.

Let me know if you try this recipe and I hope you enjoy it!

It's apple pickin' time!

One of our favorite things to in the Fall is to go to the Apple Valley Orchard here in Cleveland. Of course they have lots of different kinds of apples, homemade apple goodies, apple cider and THE BEST apple cider frozen slushy!!

Well, thinking I might be on bed rest by this point, I thought I would miss out on going to the orchard, but hooray, we got to go today. Unfortunately, the orchard lost most of their apples this year due to our crazy weather this year. I really feel sorry for them because this is a pretty big business. Anyway, they are bringing apples in from Virginia, Michigan, and New York they told me, but they probably won't have some of our favorites varieties.

We did get some Golden Delicious and another mix that I can't remember the name of (I think it was "Stay" something--blame it on pregnancy brain!) So anyway, tonight the kids are going to make some caramel apples and I made some apple bread and thought I would share a pic and the recipe since I hadn't done that in a long time!!

Apple Bread

3 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

3 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups diced apples

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans; set aside.

2. In medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. In mixing bowl, beat the eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla together, mixing well. Stir in flour mixture until just mixed. Fold in apples and walnuts and spoon into the prepared loaf pans.

4. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until tested done when wooden pick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pans before removing to cool on wire racks.

If desired you can add a glaze once the bread has been transferred to the wire racks:

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

3-4 Tbsp. Milk

Mix together and drizzle over both loaves. Enjoy!!

Our First BIG Purchase

First, let me say, I am sorry it has been awhile since I posted. All I can say is...just life and its normal busyness!

Well, we went to a special "registry" night at Babies R Us last week. I know it is a little early to register, but I thought if I end up having to go on bedrest, I would like to have this done. I also wanted the free stuff (hehehe!!)

A few weeks before we had been there to purchase a present for a friend who had just had a baby and saw a stroller/travel system (stoller and infant car seat combo) that we reeeeaaaalllllyyyy liked! It is a Chicco Cortina Travel System in the Discovery Pattern. They had one on display away from the others, so we asked the price on it (hoping that maybe it was marked down since it was a display or something), but it wasn't. So over these last couple of weeks we have been researching Consumer Reports to see what is rated the best, worst, and so on. (I believe being older we are checking things out a lot more closely than we did before---but I don't really know why).

So anyway, the stroller was marked down when we went in to register. Of course it was the only one at that price so we couldn't register for it. So anyway, Frank told his Mom about it the next day and we got an early Christmas present!! And they even got an extra 10% off of that day!! So we are thrilled!!

Happy 8th Birthday Mari Cate!

Happy Birthday to You,

Happy Birthday to You,

Happy Birthday my Sweet Princess,

Happy Birthday to You!

Birthday Money--woo hoo!!

A new Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana CD!

The theme was High School Musical--one of Mari Cate faves!

Getting ready to blow out the candles

We had Mari Cate's birthday at a local pizza parlor (Rafael's) this year. This was much easier on me, so that I didn't have to major house cleaning! : ) She loves Disney's High School Musical (both of them), so that is the theme that she wanted. My parents, Frank's parents, his sister and her family, some friends from church and our next door neighbors were all there to help celebrate. We had a really good time and Mari Cate got lots of goodies!! We celebrated her birthday on Sunday evening, but her actual birthday was on Monday, so I took cupcakes to school for her class and then surprised her by checking her out of school. I almost never do anything like that, so she was really shocked! We went down to Chattanooga to meet Frank for lunch at Chick-Fil-A, then took her over to Toys-R-Us to use her gift card. I think she really enjoyed her day! Be sure to take time to make your princess or prince's day a special one (even as they get older)...time is so short, you don't want to lose out on the opportunity!