Forgotten???

I promise I have not forgotten about my blog! I have just been SO busy building a house. I am having so much fun, but it has been very time consuming!

I hope to get back on track SOON!

Curiosity

I overheard M ask her Daddy "why does your belly have so much hair on it?"

I love the curiosity of our 4 year old!

House at Sunset

As you know, we are in the middle of building a house. I thought I would show you what the house looks like so far. Can you believe it is now dried in??!!!It is happening so fast!

This is our views at sunset. Isn't it gorgeous? I love being out here this time of day. It so beautiful and

peaceful. 

The view from our front porch.

The moon peaking through the trees behind Scot's shop.

The backyard at sunset.

How can you not reflect and be amazed by our Creator when you see and enjoy His handiwork each day?

God is With Us

A friend of mine at church sang this song by Casting Crowns. It is such a beautiful reminder of the birth of our Saviour!

The skies don't seem to be as dark as usual
The stars seem brighter then they've been before
Deep within I feel my soul a stirring
As though my hope has been restored
The shepherds say they've heard the voice of angels
Confirming rumors spread across the land
That a child protected well from Herod's anger
Is our Father's Son, and the son of man

Love is raining down on the world tonight
There's a presence here I can tell
God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel
He's the Savior we have been praying for
In our humble hearts He will dwell
God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel

I feel compelled to tell all who will listen
That peace on earth is not so out of reach
If we can find grace, mercy and forgiveness
He has come to save, He is all of these

You're the Savior we have been praying for
In our humble hearts You will dwell
You are in us, You are for us, You are with us, Emmanuel

When Love was Born

I love this song by Mark Schultz. Have you heard it?


Starlight shines, the night is still, the shepherds watching from a hill
I close my eyes and see the night, when love was born

A perfect child gently waits, a mother bends to kiss Gods face
I close my eyes and see the night, when love was born

Angels fill the midnight sky and they sing
Hallelujah He is Christ our King!

Emmanuel, Prince of Peace, Love come down for you and me
Heavens gift, the Holy spark to light the way inside our hearts
Bethlehem through your small door came the hope we've waited for
The world was changed forever more when love was born

I close my eyes and see the night, when love was born..

Snowman Cheeseball

I saw this cute snowman cheeseball recipe on Julie's blog and knew it was something we will have to try this Christmas season.

Photo and recipe courtesy of Less than Perfect Life of Bliss

Here are her directions:



Just mix together (2) 8-oz. packages of cream cheese, a clove of garlic (minced) and a 1/4 cup of finely shredded mozzarella. Form the mixture into 2 balls, one larger and one smaller, then roll the balls in more mozzarella.

To assemble the snowman, stack the small ball on top of the larger (use toothpicks to stack if needed), then add peppercorns for the eyes and buttons; and a shred of carrot for the nose. To make the hat, cut circles from a piece of toasted wheat bread, then place it on his head with a toothpick!

Black boots go with everything right?

....even pink jammie feet?

She is so SASSY!

House Warming Party and Recipe

I co-hosted a House Warming party today for a great friend of mine.  It was a lot of fun to throw this party for them so all their friends and family could come by and see their new home. I am so excited for them and the new house the Lord has blessed them with.
This is the food table. Don't you love the centerpiece? I wanted to do something unexpected and I think it worked!

It was super simple. Gather some twirly branches from your yard. Spray paint them with your choice of color. Once they are dried, arrange them in a vase. Then decorate them with ornaments of various shapes and sizes. SO EASY!
Lastly, several people asked for my "Heart Attack" dip recipe. (I really need to come up with a new name...hahhaa) Here's the link if you are interested.

Christmas Parade 2010

Today our little town had their annual Christmas parade. We love joining in on the festivities celebrating the Christmas holidays. This year we are living near the square and were able to just walk up the street to be along the parade route!

Scot and B played football in the street before it started. There are not many times when you can say you played ball ON Main Street!

Of course, Santa made his appearance and a certain 4 year old was pretty excited to see him ride by in his horse drawn carriage.

Happy Birthday, Scot

Today is my sweet husband's birthday! We took him out to a local Mexican restaurant to celebrate.

How lucky we are to have such a wonderful, loving husband and father!

What have I been up to you ask?

Yes, I am still alive....we have been busy with this "little" project ....

I have been posting over on my other blog

If you want to see what we have been up to just click on the image above. I promise to be back later this week! I have several posts in the works :)

Christmas Tree 2010

Breaking Ground

We broke ground on the new house over the weekend. If you want to read more about it, go here.

It is FINALLY Time

We are breaking ground on the new house TODAY!

 I will be documenting the entire process over at Our Home on County Road 39 blog!

B's Smile

My handsome little man lost another tooth....finally!

Pilgrims and Indians

For AWANA, the kids are suppose to dress up like a Pilgrim or an Indian to celebrate Thanksgiving!  S and M loved this idea and could not wait to do it!

S, my cute little Pilgrim

and  M, my adorable little Indian

You can be assured that my 6th grader was NOT going to dress up for the occasion. I can understand that - 11 year olds are just at that age where things like this is "so not cool!"

However, because she didn't, B did not want to either. He thought it was "baby".... I wonder who he heard that from???

Mud Room Story

My cousin Anna was talking with M (my 4 yr old) about our house plans.  M was excitedly telling her different things about the house, her room and bathroom, playroom....and then she said "and we will have a mud room where can go in there and play IN THE MUD any time we want!"

We have laughed and laughed about this. Just the thought that this is what she has been thinking every time she has heard us talking about the Mud Room!

Now every time I talk about the Mud Room I think about this story and I think I always will....at least I hope I do!

Parade 2010

The parade always begins with a truck dumping peanuts down the center of the road. Kids and adults alike pick up as many peanuts as possible to enjoy during the parade.

Scot and M picking up peanuts.

Scot helping B fill up his bag with peanuts!

Scot helping M and her friend E shell their peanuts.

S loving Cotton Candy - pink of course :)

E with her friend R enjoying candy apples!

The kids with our cousin Billy.

Peanut Butter Delight

As promised, here is E's prize winning recipe. After one bite, you will understand how she won 1st place at our local fair's recipe contest!

15 peanut butter sandwich cookies
3 tablespoons butter, melted
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
12 ounces whipped topping
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 squares semi-sweet baking chocolates, melted
Container: 9" loaf pan, medium mixing bowl, small dish

Line the loaf pan with aluminum foil. Crush 10 of the peanut butter cookies and mix with the melted butter.

Press the cookie mixture into the bottom of the loaf pan until it is nice and compacted.

Mix the cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla until well blended. Stir in 3 cups of the whipped topping; mixing well. Remove 1/2 cup of the cream cheese mixture into a small dish, stir in melted chocolate and set aside.

Spoon half of the cream cheese mixture into the loaf pan, over the cookie crust and spread evenly.

Add the chocolate mixture on top and spread evenly, trying not to mix with the bottom layer. Add the remaining cream cheese mixture on top of the chocolate mixture and spread evening.

Freeze for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Remove from freezer and invert onto a plate, remove the aluminum foil and then re-invert onto a serving platter (cookie crust should be on the bottom).

Break the remainder of the cookies into medium sized chunks. Top the dessert with remaining whipped topping and sprinkle with the broken cookies.

Cut into 1/4" slices and serve. Store remaining dessert in refrigerator.

Thanksgiving Mantel Inspiration

I am working on a Thanksgiving mantel display after seeing this beautiful one over at The Lettered Cottage.

Layla was sweet enough to offer a free download of the picture that her husband took for their mantel.

Thanks Layla for the Beautiful picture and the inspiration!

Fair 2010

Here are some hightlights from our family trip to the fair.

E with our cousin Billy

Our kids along with my niece and nephew

M and B with Scot on the roller coaster

B loved this ride!

M and my nephew W. They are only a week apart and good playmates!

Billy won this Ohio State Buckeye for S and B who are huge Buckeye fans thanks to Scot :)