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Thursday, December 30, 2010

One Last Post Before the New Year


Christmas is over and New Years is almost here. I love the week between Christmas and New Years. Its almost like an extra week. After Christmas I always feel that it should be the new year as well, but there is still one more week left before the new year begins. Its so nice. 

We had a beautiful Christmas. Winston enjoyed unwrapping his presents. It was a lot for him to take in. His personality likes to study every little object, so he seemed to enjoy every part of Christmas!

I made salmon for Christmas dinner and boy was it delicious! I think I want to do that every year. Benjamin helped me cook it. He seems to be an expert at cooking fish! Thank you baby!

Well, it looks like Marie and Jon are about to have a new little bundle in their arms some time today! She had contractions throughout the night last night and Patty (our Midwife) said she is dilated at 5 cm. The baby was posterior and that may have slowed things down, but Patty was able to turn him and we shall see what happens next! I'll keep you posted :)

"Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? 
I will even make a way in the wilderness, 
and rivers in the desert."
Isaiah 43:19

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Christmas is almost here......

Its already Tuesday!! Christmas is almost here yay!!!
This is the last week that we'll play Christmas music, how sad! Then I'll have to wait until next year! It feels like we just started listening. I am so glad we got an early start on our Christmas tree ;)
I had an extra box of lights so I went ahead and strung them up outside. I haven't seen what they look like at night from the outside yet, but they look sooooo cozy shining from the inside! 

Our weekend was full and busy. We finally got the car to the mechanic and we are so excited to have two cars again. Benjamin had to work the whole weekend, boo for him and for me. It always seems so quiet when he is gone those extra hours. When he works his regular schedule, the time usually flies by and I can't believe he is on his way home already, but those unexpected long hours really get to me and Winston.

So I finally played with our camera. I did figure out how to take pictures at night without the flash, but I couldn't quite get the focus right. And with this little cutie always on the move its a little difficult.

Not only was the car sick, but I accidently placed my laptop down on my hope chest one night in the dark and thinking that the surface was flat, (there were folded clothes that I hadn't put away yet) it fell down on the ground and lost the function of the screen.
So I have been without my laptop for the last month and half or so. And it looks like today we can go and pick it up  from Apple!
No more laying things down in the dark :( 

You can see Benjamin working in the back ground and his toes too he he :D 

I made some rice crispy treats last night. As I was searching for a pan I found these cute little Christmas tree pans that I had bought two years ago after Christmas for like $1.00 each. 
They were perfect for my crispy treats! The treats molded right into it. And then I pulled the two trees out and smacked them together :D 
After I took the picture I decided to un-smack them so we could could eat them easily.
We ate one tree last night and the other one probably wont last much longer!
:)

I got all our presents wrapped today. I even got the cats a can of canned food. They are not accustomed to eating canned cat foot. They eat the hard dry stuff. So I bought them a can each lol. They were sniffing their wrapped presents after I placed them under the tree. That stuff is pretty strong smelling I guess!

We were so blessed to receive a very nice car seat from Benjamin's work last week. It was donated from several families that want to bless military families. Its a super car seat because we can use it for infant, toddler and then booster. We both are so overwhelmed with the generosity of these families.
 So we have a big box sitting next to the tree waiting for us to unwrap it and put it in the car for Winston :) He is just now ready for it too. He has outgrown his infant seat, so this was just perfect for us.
The Lord is so good!

I hope everyone is blessed this week as we celebrate the joy of the season which is
 Christ our Lord.

Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Happy Happenings


Winston is now over ten months old. I am glad I have tried to record each month of his growth.
Otherwise the feeling of him growing so fast would be worse.
He says ddddd and bbbbbb and mmmmmm and almost bubble :)
dada and mama have been said on numerous occasions as well.
He has been pulling himself up now and wanting to get up on those little chubby legs.
Our little peaceful time has gone by. No more staying put when placed somewhere ;) He has my full attention lol!
He has six teeth at present so there's no asking Santa for his two front ones :)
I think we would ask Santa for a little break of teeth  making!
Here is Bay who always wants to be near his Winnie even though he is missing chunks of hair all over his body and a few whiskers. This cat is pretty determined to hang out with his little companion.
This duck was given to us as a present, it has come in so handy! He loves sitting and relaxing in it. And of course bathing and splashing in it!
 

He is my delight that the Lord has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams. After looking after other children for a long time and loving them so much, I knew the feeling would be even better when I had my own. And boy was I right! 
Getting excited for Christmas over here. We had some really cold weather blow in and our temps reached the low 20's which is pretty low for us. The cats are pretty grouchy and we have had to dress and act like Coloradoans! I am so glad, it really helped set the Christmas mood!

I still have a lot of shopping to do and I still have to visit the post office. I don't think there has been a Christmas when I was ahead or on top of things!

I am excited to do a post for CSN this month. They have graceously asked me to do a review for them and I cant wait to show what I picked out for Benjamin. I will do a post on it so keep on the lookout for that!
It was hard to decide what to pick because of the endless supply of house decor, home bar furniture, kitchen tools! It was so much fun!

Benjamin has duty this weekend so I am planning on getting all of our little Christmas plans in order. I have selected our menu and still need to shop for it. Its been a little difficult lately because we are sharing one car, so its not as easy to get some of these things done like I would like to. 
And boy was Wal-mart packed to the hilt last night! Whew! I always tell myself to get everything done right before the month of December and then enjoy the month with the festive things. Maybe next year! ;P

I hope everyone is having a happy month of December!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Christmas Tree Decorating


A few weeks back when my Mom was visiting we were at Hobby Lobby, she and I were looking for some inexpensive ideas for decorating the tree and she suggested this fun idea. 
I am so pleased with my little decorations and how easy this was!
Here are a few pictures showing how and what I did.
I just bought some plain white bulbs from Hobby Lobby that happened to be half off.
I picked out some pretty tissue paper. I was looking for a pretty red but couldn't find a patterned I liked so I went with this brownish pattern.
 Some Mod Podge gloss finish glue.
 Then I cut out a pattern from the tissue paper and placed it on the bulb and painted the glue over the tissue paper as well as the rest of the bulb.
And voila!
They came out looking so pretty!

I am so pleased with my Mom's fun idea! 
I have all these ideas now of how to make gorgeous looking bulbs with a bunch of pretty tissue paper patterns. It would look so nice to do a red and black pattern or a silver and white pattern. 
The most difficult part would have been cutting out the patterns. It was a little time consuming, but in the end very much worth it!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Seasonal Enjoyment

Right now I bundled warmly in a nice robe trying to keep warm. 
We were blessed to have some cold weather blow in the last couple of days. I am sure that everyone who is living in a colder climate would think this coolness that we are enjoying would be Springtime for them! 
Its just really nice to snuggle in my blankets at bedtime and not want to get up because its cold. 
The normal occurrence is that I am throwing the blankets off of me because I am so hot! 
;) 

The Christmas tree lights are extra special this year. 
I think I say that every year ;)
The one thing I greatly dislike doing before bedtime is turning off the Christmas tree lights.
They fill the house with such a beautiful light. When I was little my sister and I always asked if we could sleep in the living room with the Christmas tree lights on the night the Christmas tree went up. 
My sis-in-law Himilce helped me make this a year and half ago. If I remember right, I spent $2.50 to make this! What a happy memory making this with her. Its a little travel beaten, but a few more tugs on the ribbon and it will put you right in the Christmas spirit!
My little Winston who I can't get enough of!  


My mom gave me this delightful book for my birthday this year. 
I want to cook everything in it!

Especially this cheese cake!

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Luke 2:14

O little town of Bethlehem 
How still we see thee lie 
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep 
The silent stars go by
 Yet in thy dark streets shineth
 The everlasting Light 
The hopes and fears of all the years
 Are met in thee tonight
O little town For Christ is born of Mary 
And gathered all above While mortals sleep, 
the angels keep Their watch of wondering love 
O morning stars together 
Proclaim the holy birth And praises 
sing to God the King And Peace
 to men on earthof Bethlehem 
How still we see thee lie Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
 The silent stars go by 
Yet in thy dark streets shineth 
The everlasting Light
 The hopes and fears of all the years 
Are met in thee tonight

Happy Christmas Season to all!

Monday, November 29, 2010

An Apron Swap


My friend Missy and I decided to join in on the fun with the big apron swap. Missy doesn't have a blog (I have been encouraging her to get one, and I really hope she does!). She has the sweetest spirit and is so beautiful inside and out. We have known each other since we were both very young. We were acquaintances, she was about to be a new bride and I was a young teanager. She was someone I wanted to be just like and still do. I am so blessed by our friendship that has sprouted and grown through facebook. I can't wait for the day when we can actually see each other in person!
She sent me the loveliest apron for our apron swap. Its double sided, so it has a pattern on one side and then a sightly different pattern on the other side.
She also included in her box some homemade foot lotion that smells heavenly! I put it on my feet before I go to bed and it has really been nourishing my feet.

I didn't take a picture of the apron I sent to her, which I hope is as nice as the one she gave me! Hopefully one day soon I can let you all know that Missy has started a blog ;)

Thank you again Missy!!!

A very blessed Monday to all
:)

Thursday, November 25, 2010

A Happy Thanksgiving


Some pretty Thanksgiving napkins my Mom brought for me. 
Such a nice treat and touch to our table!

Benjamin decided to start a new tradition by having BBQ brisket with our Thanksgiving meal. Not exactly sure that Turkey and BBQ go together. Turkey is a must in my opinion ;) So we both decided that I would cook my turkey and him his brisket. And it turned out really well. 
We had his brisket in the morning (he had it cooking all night last night) with breakfast and then again for lunch and then when it was time for our main meal we had Mr. Turkey! 
Yes, I am very full ;D!!!
He is so pleased with the way it turned out and me too! 
It looks like we will be having brisket for many future Thanksgivings to come lol.


I made my favorite Frog Eyed Salad yesterday. I posted a little about it last year here. I couldn't find the Acini Di Pepe macaroni though. These ones are a little too big, but they were better then nothing! It came out pretty tasty, not as tasty as my mom's, but still very yummy! 
Perfect with a cup of coffee in the morning!

Okay, my first attempt at baking a pie and crust. I have never made a pie-crust before. My sister Marie and my Mom make such perfect pie-crusts, melt in your mouth pie-crusts that I have felt a little scared to attempt it lol! This year I was forced to. It came out pretty well, but I need some major practice! Not as light and flakey as I would have liked.
I gave away the prettier one of the two to our sweet Jewish neighbor Theresa and her son Joshua. I didn't want to be eating two whole pies between Benjamin and me!

This morning I made us some special coffee that Jon had sent us a couple of months back. Its so special it only comes out on extra special occasions like today!
;)
Thank you so much Jon!!

Winston waiting for his dad to come back from the garage where he was busy cooking his brisket.


I just sat down with a piece of pumpkin pie and a cup of tea and how lovely it is to leisurely post about our Happy Thanksgiving. Since this was Winston's first, he didn't want to miss much of it and only took one nap today and joyfully enjoyed the rest of the day lol. He went to bed not too long ago and I hope that will mean he will sleep in tomorrow morning ;P


Shhhhh, yes we did sneak our Christmas tree in our door a few days before we were supposed to. But I don't think any of the neighbors spotted us and we just turned on the lights tonight so technically its okay, right? 
Lol! 

~Thank you Lord for your goodness in our lives as well as the beautiful country that we are so blessed to live in. 
To enjoy the bounty that was served at our table tonight
 and every night is solely from you alone~

A very Happy Thanksgiving to ALL!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Blessed

My Mom's visit came and went and was so refreshing and uplifting. The six days we had felt like two days. As soon as she hopped into the car from the airport we didn't stop talking. The few hours of sleep we got were enough to recharge our batteries for the next day of delights.

That first morning waking up and jumping into her bed with Winston in tow, was one of the brightest of my memories. We had coffee in the mornings on the back porch feeling the cool breeze and looking at the lake water. I don't want to forget it!
On a walk to a little lake close to the house where there is baby ducks.
Winston was pretty delighted!

I took her to the base and showed her all the different special things and then we had a picnic lunch by the water in this cozy private area. The weather was perfect.

Since Benjamin isn't a fan of brownies, I took advantage of my Mom's love for them lol!




 Mom served us non-stop while she was here. I would go upstairs to put the baby down for his nap and come back down and the dishwasher would be unloaded and loaded again, our lunch would be cooking and the laundry started. She did this throughout the whole of her visit.

In the evenings Benjamin and baby would go to bed, and I would sneak off to her room where we enjoyed tea and some form of a  yummy sweet. We were pretty tired by the end of her visit lol!
This little cutie enjoyed Grammy so much! Her laughter was contagious and he couldn't resist it!




Our day at the beach went by too fast. I can still smell the ocean. We spent several hours there, but it felt like a few minuets. Benjamin had to work the whole week and weekend, so he missed out on a lot of our fun. The last day she was here, he took us to one of his favorite restaurants. 
It was soooo nice!

It was a little difficult getting myself back into the routine again. Today I think my spirits are up and I am ready to get to cooking our yummy Thanksgiving menu! 

Benjamin and I went shopping last night and it was so delightful. Its really fun to be with him when grocery shopping. He takes his time and gets way more then I would have, I love him! ;)

This time last year we were in two different states, wishing we could share this holiday together and now here we are a year later enjoying the joys around us and especially each other.
I am trying to cherish every second of these holidays, cause it looks as though we may not get to share them together again next year.

I received my apron from my sweet friend Missy. I can't wait to post it!

Happy cooking! :P