Caleb's Smile

So Easy!

I found this recipe on a blog I like to read called Making Home. At the beginning of January she posted some great links to some of her favorite posts from the past year. A lot of them are very good. Of course, the one I choose to write about is about food! :) Anyway, this group of recipes caught my eye because of the title. They were called "Embarrassingly Easy Recipes." Again there are quite a few that look good, but my busy-mom-of-four-brain went straight to the one that looked the easiest. The Peanut Butter Cookie recipe intrigued me so I tried them. They were embarrassingly easy and unbelievably good! I have made them several times, usually when I have to come up with something quick to take somewhere. I don't have to run out and get ingredients because it only calls for a cup of Peanut Butter, a cup of sugar and one egg (try not to think about the fat content)!! Could it get any easier?? I just spoon them onto the cookie sheet in little lumps and bake for 14 minutes at 350 degrees. Very tasty and oh so easy!

Great Day

I'm not sure the day could have been much more perfect. The ground was still mostly covered with snow and it was in the fifties! We still had quite a bit of snow in the back yard so the kids were out a lot.They greeted Daddy with a snowball fight at lunch.Jake went on a little bike ride.Aly caught some rays.
Could there have been a better Snow Day??

Blizzard!

I have always been a snow lover. I have such fond memories of watching the snow fall from inside, building snowmen and snow houses, or just lying in the snow and letting it fall on me. I have been waiting all winter long for a good, pretty snowfall and here it is!! At the end of March during SPRING BREAK after we've broken out our shorts and short sleeved shirts due to the 80 degree weather we have the most beautiful snowfall I've yet to see in Kansas! We really had a blizzard and were snowed in this morning!! We're guessing we have around a foot of snow.
I think the main reason I enjoy snow so much today is because of the freshness of it. It covers up the dirt and impurities and brings a fresh, new sparkle to life. "Lord, wash me and I will be whiter than snow!" What an encouraging thought!

Pizza Night!

While Chuck was gone to the Shepherd's Conference, we got a little creative in the kitchen. The kids all love to help me cook, so we killed some time whipping up some yummy recipes. We make homemade pizza about once a week. It's a great weekend food that the kids love to help make and eat. This week since we had some extra time, I decided to try a recipe for homemade pizza crust. I usually just buy the packets of crust mix because they are pretty cheap and easy but this week, this recipe sounded so yummy we just had to give it a try. I'm so glad we did. It was DELICIOUS!
Jake was so proud of his creation. It really didn't take any longer than the packets because I didn't have to let it sit and it rose so nicely.
The only problem......there wasn't enough!!


For dessert, we tried these Midnight Molten Brownie Cupcakes form the Betty Crocker Website.

Mmmmmm!!!

Mini Comercial

I just had to share something new we've been trying. It is an easy way to get gift cards or other prizes. I heard of Swagbucks a couple of months ago and have earned $20 in Amazon Gift Cards already (and I hardly ever just 'surf' the internet). All you have to do is click on the picture above and get started using the internet. I just downloaded the toolbar and the home page and use one or the other to go anywhere on the internet. Even when I check my email, I type in hotmail on the swagbucks search engine and I win "bucks" for doing what I normally do. You win around 3-5 "bucks" a day that you can then cash in for prizes. My favorite options are the gift cards. I have gotten the Amazon Gift Cards so far because there are so many things we could use on Amazon.com. Books, music downloads, clothes... I think what I'm saving for right now though, is the Wii Fit board and game. It's kind of a fun way to get free things for our family that I wouldn't necessarily want to spend real money on. :) It is kind of slow going until you start telling friends about it, but then you start making a "swagbuck" for every one they win. So if you want to help me out, you can click on the picture to go through my account and we both can get free stuff. :) Good luck getting "swag-rich!!" :)

Reunion

At the end of February, I had the very rare opportunity to not only escape to a child-free week end, but also to see some of my closest college friends! We shipped Jake to the farm with his Smith Center Grandparents, Caleb stayed with Chuck and the girls and I headed to Princeton on the train. We didn't have any middle-of-the-night excitement like last train ride, but it is always an adventure to get on the train with sleepy children in the middle of the night. We made it without major incident to Mom and Dad's. We were very tired but so thankful to see them. We were greeted by Dad, Curtis, Jessica and Cade and the wonderful news that Curtis and Jessica are expecting another boy!
After some much needed rest and time with the family, I left the girls with Mom and Dad and headed to Chicago to meet up with my friends from Trinity, Christy, Tamara and Mindy. Christy and I were roommates the whole time I was at Trinity. We didn't know each other before college, but were great friends all four years of school. Christy was a friend, encourager and mentor to me. I am grateful to have her friendship.Christy and I our Freshman Year


We were able to see each other at Trinity in 2006. We spent a lot of time over our college years in that room!

And our most recent picture. We don't look a bit different after 17 years, do we?? :)
I became close with Mindy and Tamara my Sophomore year. We had such great times together!


After all the years so much has changed but so much remained the same.
My three sweet friends. Tamara, Christy and Mindy.


Thanks, girls for a GREAT time!! Thank you also for what you mean to me. I treasure our friendship.