One more time

Emily is back on the couch....
but at least this time she has a friend!
Sadly, this time, it's both feet that underwent surgery :-(
But at least this time she doesn't have a cast!
Unfortunately, this time, she still had to have pins in her toes :-(
~Em will be in TWO walking boots and on crutches for the next TWO weeks, but her surgery today went well! Thanks for prayers!!~

Jacob

Not a baby anymore....



he'll be three in a few days!

Jenny's Joy

Working hard to get this business up and running- check out the rest at Jenny's Joy.

First bites!

Someone is growing up so fast....
And as much as I try to avoid starting solid foods....
I can no longer deny that it's time!
And just like any breastfed baby that doesn't take a bottle or a pacifier, Caleb insists on having his finger in his mouth with each bite ;-)
Otherwise, he's doing pretty well! We've tried pears, bananas, and oatmeal so far, with only a few looks like this....
But after only one week, he's already starting to put it away at meal time! Must be a boy ;-)

Emma's Senior Pictures (session 2)

Check out Emma's senior photos at my photoblog

Chicken Delish!

Okay, so I happened to tweet today that I had a chicken dish in the crockpot for dinner tonight, and I've gotten several notes asking me for my recipe for "chicken delicious!"

I've been really hooked on crockpot recipes lately because they save me the hassle of having to prepare a full meal at 5pm when my house tends to be in utter chaos! I'm able to get my meals started in the morning when there is still some peace......and I'm still sane!

So, without further ado, here's the recipe.....

~Chicken Delicious~

*1/4 cup lemon juice

*1 tsp. salt

*1/2 tsp. pepper

*1/4 tsp. celery salt

*1/4 tsp. paprika

*cream of mushroom soup- 1 can

*cream of celery soup- 1 can

*1/3 cup dry sherry or white wine

*12 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

*Grated parmesan cheese

~Combine lemon juice, salt, pepper, celery salt, and paprika in a medium bowl. Sir in mushroom and celery soups and sherry or wine.

~Dip each chicken breast in soup mixture , then place in slow cooker.

~Pour remaining soup mixture over chicken. Sprinkle with cheese.

~Cover and cook on hight 1 hour and then on low 6-8 hours.

~Serve with rice.

NOTE: I omitted the sherry/wine since I didn't have any and it didn't seem to be a problem!

Also, the recipe actually calls for low-sodium soup, fat-free soup, but I just used the regular..... I hate that fake stuff ;-)

ENJOY!

Encouragement

My mom sent this to me in an email, and though I'm not sure of the source, it spoke to me so very much that I knew I had to post it on my blog! I wish I could confidently say that I've got this mom thing all figured out. I've been working on this amazingly thrilling job of raising kids for close to 17 years. And while I love my kids to pieces, I can't say I've mastered motherhood. I've done a lot wrong as a mom. Haven't we all? But, one thing I know I've done right is praying boldly for them. Recently, I mentioned 3 things I pray over my kids everyday: * I pray they grow up to be some of the most godly people in their sphere of influence. * I pray that they would be caught when they make wrong choices. * I pray that God would save them from the wrong friends and save them for the right friends. And that goes for their future spouses as well. These are great prayers to pray over your kids. I need simple and these are simple. But, they are also powerfully effective and I've seen God answer them time and again. Especially the getting caught part- have mercy. I will keep praying these prayers, however, there is something I've been working on changing up just a bit. I'm not changing what I pray but rather, how I pray. I want to pray more boldly over my kids. And by boldly I mean with more confidence and authority. James 1:5-7 reminds us, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." As a mom, I want to be single-minded on the reality that if God entrusted these kids to me, I am the exact mom they need. And as the rightful holder of that position, I will believe not only in God but I will also believe that I have what it takes to raise these kids right. As long as I ask for God to help me each day, I can be the mom I need to be. So, besides praying the above prayers for my kids and also whispering "Help me Jesus, help me Jesus, help me Jesus" about 100 times a day, I am praying these prayers for myself as a mom… Lord, help me to: * be ruled by truth not fear. * not build the stability of my identity on the fragility of my kid's choices. * walk in humble confidence that you, Lord, will give me everything I need to be the mom these kids need. Hush Satan's accusations and condemnations so my prayers will never be hindered. Sweet sisters, being a mom is not for the faint at heart. Be encouraged that God led you to read this post today to remind you, you are a good mom! You are the exact person He picked to be the mom of your kids. Now, walk in that sweet encouragement and awesome responsibility!

Allie's 18!

I am still having a hard time believing that my first-born is a legal adult!
Her dad was so excited to take charge of decorating her car for the big day!

(Note the headlights!)

We had a surprise waiting for her in her car before school....
She loves Hello Kitty, so we filled a lunch box with her favorite candy!

Then I made Hello Kitty cupcakes for her to take to the theater- her birthday was on opening night for her school play!
We even went so far as to go with some Hello Kitty wrapping paper.....

Oh, and balloons too ;-)
Allie enjoyed all the birthday wishes she received on Facebook!
And for some strange reason, her birthday list included a mexican poncho/hoodie thingy!
And this thing..... do you know what this is?
No, Allie's not moving to Iran, she's just messing around with her new circle scarf!
Her birthday cake request was a special one....
Red Velvet Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory ;-)
Yum!
After her very quick family party, she headed off for opening night of her school's production The Odd Couple ~ female version!
I snuck a shot of the set when we went- there's no photography or video allowed during the show of course! Sadly, the kids can't wear their costumes out after the show, so the pictures don't tell much.....
But the costumes for this particular show were just their own clothing (although NOT the sweatshirt that Allie had on after), so there wasn't much to photograph outside of the cast meeting up with their friends and family.
Smile Allie, it's your birthday ;-)
All in all, I think she had a great day, even though she was wrestling with a migraine and cramps! The show went well and she played her role perfectly! We were so proud and so impressed with how well she acted as this was her first major role with real lines that consisted of more than one word!!

I had hoped to write a post about the day she was born, but I guess I'll have to save that until next year ;-)

Halloween with The Gang

Well, better late...
than never ;-)
I'm finally getting some of our Halloween pictures posted!
Noah's pumpkin
Emily's pumpkin
Sophie's pumpkin
Allie & Sophie's Pumpcats!

Another one of Sophie's creations!
Josh's pumpkin
We had a Halloween Party at our house and Emily set up her "famous" haunted house! Here's one of the hallways....
And here's another...
Matthew helping on the outside....



Caleb played while we set up for the party!
For Halloween, Noah went as.....
And Jacob was a....
(Jacob was a spider!)

And Caleb was a....
Yep, that's a monkey!
Matthew went as The Incredible Hulk & Josh was a cowboy ;-)


Zack & I took the kids out for trick-or-treating....
We had fun, but it was chilly!


And in the end, there was lots of loot!

Now, how long 'til Christmas?!?!