SURPRISE! Happy Birthday, Jay!

It's so hard to believe that my baby brother is 18!!  

I remember what a special day it was when God blessed our family with Jeremy!  Time sure flies!!  

My sister hosted a surprise party for him...he had no idea!  It was so fun to meet his friends, hang out and celebrate his life!  What an awesome young man he has grown to be! 

 Hannah was SO excited to hide from Uncle Jeremy and surprise him!  

 camera's ready...

smiles on...

...in he comes!

SURPRISE!!!

it was so much fun to meet Jeremy's friends!  What a great group of kids!!

 Hannah jumped right in with them.  You sure can tell she's comfortable with teenagers :)  

 Ethan loved watching Uncle J open his gifts 

 two studs  

nice photo bomb...Tim

 Thanks, Beth for throwing such a great party!  God has blessed her with the gift of hospitality..it's awesome to see her blessings others with her gift!   

Happy Homemaker Monday

The Weather:::
35 degrees and sunny.  It's so nice to see the sun shining today!  

Right now I am: 
Editing pictures.  I would like to get caught up on my pictures and blog so that I can post pics from Hannah's birthday party :)

Thinking:
About my long to-do list and prioritizing what is the most important/best place to start

On my reading pile:::
Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges  I've just started and what I have read so far has been very good.  I'm prepared to be very convicted and challenged.  

On my tv::: 
With Downton Abbey being over, just not much to watch anymore...

Favorite Blog post this week (mine or other):::
Perfect

Something fun to share:::
My dear friend Julia had her 3 baby today!  I sweet little girl...they named her Vienna.  God is so good!!  It's always exciting to see godly parents having children...she is blessed to be born into the home that God sent her too!   

On the menu for this week:::
Monday - out to eat for family day
Tuesday - Tortellini with Mushrooms, Spinach and Italian Sausage 
Wednesday - Mom's chili with cornbread crackers  
Thursday -  weeknight quiche and salad
Friday - pizza and veggie sticks  
Saturday - Turkey Meatloaf and mashed potatoes 
Sunday -leftover buffet  

On my to do list:::
Laundry 
Homeschooling:  We started "A Pair of Red Clogs Today"  
Menu plan, grocery list, and coupons
work on family photo book

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::
Need to get started on some St.Patty's and Easter decorations  

Homemaking Tips:::
a load of laundry a day keeps the mountains of laundry away (I don't always get to a load every day...but it does the trick when I do :))

Looking around the house:::
It was nice to see the sun shining through the windows today.  Birthday decorations are coming down...making room for a little bit of green to go up.  Hannah played with her new birthday presents today and Isaac played along side her.  It was a great day.  :)

From the camera:::
My big {gasp} 5 year old all ready for her Strawberry Shortcake Birthday party!  

On my prayer list:::
Praising God for the birth of our friends new baby...so many answered prayers there.  Also praying for their family as they adjust to having an infant in the house again.  

Praying and trusting God for the details concerning our house.  

Praying today for our pastor and his wife and the people of our church.  

Bible verse, Devotional:::

"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit."

(James 5:13-18 ESV)

Beating the Mid-Winter Blues

 I was flipping through January pics..and many of them are just random.  Thought I would do a quick post on how we beat the mid-winter blues.  Here are some of the highlights from the month...Enjoy :)  

Snow play dough   We made white play dough and put glitter in it to make it sparkle like the snow.  The kids loved it!  

 We loved watching 6 deer walk through our back yard  

 Isaac and puppy hanging out in the laundry baskets  

 We got a warm spell for a day or so...so we headed out to check out the walking path in town.  

it was nice to get fresh air and exercise.  

This is one amazing man.  He is an incredible father!  What a blessing that he loves his family and makes time for us.  The kids and I are madly in love with him. 

For a while, the kids were into putting bibs around their heads (manes) every night after dinner and crawling around like they were lions.  Can you hear them roar?!

 Birthday dinner with Pop.  We made him a wall calendar for home and desk calendar for work with pics of the grandkids.  

 Unfortunately, January also included sickness.  God protected momma...but the rest just passed it from one to the other.  I hate seeing my kids sick.  Here's Bubby and Puppy resting on one of his not so good days...

 More pretend play...on this day, they were shepherds.  

So thankful for the many blessings of life!  

Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

We had such a nice evening with friends tonight.  We had time of fellowship around a meal and then spent time together in prayer.
I brought dessert and the recipe was requested...here it is.  Super easy, but very yummy.

Ooey Gooey Butter Cake (a Paula Deen recipe)

Cake
1 regular package of yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 T butter (1 stick) melted

Filling:
1-8 ox pkg cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
8 T butter, melted
1 16-oz box, powdered sugar.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*
Combine the cake mix, 1 egg, and butter; mix well with and electric mixer.
Put the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13x9 in baking dish.
It's really crumbly, so pat it into the dish with your hands.

Prepare the filling.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the eggs, vanilla and butter; beat together.
Next, add the powdered sugar and mix well.  Spread over the cake batter and bake for 40-50 minutes.  Make sure NOT to over bake as center should be a little gooey.
Garnish top, if desired with powdered sugar.

Christmas at Papa and Grandma's

It was the year of new homes.  We are so happy for Seth's parents that they were able to move into a new home this past year!!  We loved spending our first Christmas as a family there!  It was so cozy!  

Isaac loved all of Grandma's Christmas decorations  

 We spent an afternoon at Chuck E Cheese...it was not crowded at all, which made for a much more enjoyable time.  :)  

 Isaac wouldn't ride by himself, but he had fun with Daddy!

 Basketball with Grandma and Papa  

 Cal loved this game

 and getting tickets!

 We got to be with Papa on his birthday.  Hannah kept his present a surprise until the end...then she told him. Here he is trying to be surprised about what might be inside.  :) 

 Hannah was so excited to give him his gift and had so much fun watching him open it.  

 what could it be?!  

 I love their smiles :)

 yay!  A squirrel proof birdfeeder!  

Isaac didn't feel good...He came down from his nap and went right back to sleep on Daddy's lap...

 Excited to share movie night with Grandma and Papa

 Big Smiles  

Grandma's house:  A place where cousins become best friends  

 Present time!! 

 so excited!!

 A whole Jesse outfit 

 and a Jesse doll....just what she wanted 

 Isaac loves his train!!

 Now we have a house full of cowboys and a cow girl :)

 snuggles for Auntie Jill