My Baby is 4!!

On Saturday, Dec. 27th our baby girl turned 4 years old! Oh, how I remember that first night 4 years ago when they brought her to me from the nursery every 2-3 hours to nurse. And how I wanted to say, "NOOOO, please send her back...I need to rest!!" It was a trying time, but one we made it through. Today this same little girl received 4 immunization shots and did not even WHIMPER. I lie not! Talk about totally shocked. I had been dreading this for days and weeks since the appointment was made back around Dec. 3rd when I last took Jase for his wailing and shot-getting. It's just not something I look forward to. I only had to have blood drawn once or twice in both of my pregnancies and one shot in the hip (other than the obvious epidurals with both) when they gave me the epidural and my blood pressure dropped. I want to thank our church family for praying for us this morning with the appointment! I certainly felt your prayers and I know it was only by the grace of God that such a dramatic little girl who WAILS and screams when she falls on the kitchen floor was able to sit calm and still during 4 shots without blinking an eye. It was truly AMAZING. A miracle! I'm inspired by my own daughter to be a bigger, braver mommy.

Here are some pics above of Emma Grace's birthday "lunch" with her friend Madeline Rambo at Chuck E. Cheese on Saturday. May the Lord continue to bless her as she grows to love the One who created her.

A Mommy Moment & 3 Good Recipes

Yesterday morning around 7:45am when I went in to "get" Emma Grace up (she calls me until I come snuggle in the bed with her and then she gets up), she was telling me that her doll "Laura" (the one she sleeps with) was sick last night and threw up for two hours! Oh the drama from this almost 4 year old! I asked her was she going to be a doctor when she grows up and she said no. So I asked her if maybe she was going to be nurse to help sick children and she said no. Then I said, "Well, what do you want to be?" She said, "I want to be a MOMMY!" I asked her why and she said, "Because I love YOU and you take care of your children!" I was in awe and complete shock.

Since Jason and I had a discussion about my example and daily witness to the children being at home with them all the time, it has really set in what he said about "If being a mommy is not fun for you then what makes you think your children will see that and want to be a mommy or daddy when they grow up?" Surely it's a noble calling and honestly the highest calling any woman can take on, but I had never thought about leaving a legacy where my daughter (especially) would want, crave, seek to stay at home with her children and seek out a husband who would want her to do the same. Or that my son would one day see that as a thing to value and want his future wife to be a stay-at-home mom. I know it's far down the road, but the seeds are being sown now and the foundation is being layed (or is that laid, Becky?).

Anyway, I pray that each day I will remember, write it on the forefront of my head, just how important my witness and attitude are for these children. :)

And now, I have 3 recipes that I have used lately and would recommend to anyone and everyone, so I'll post them below for all who would like to print or copy them. They are all borrowed from friends...none are my own creation!

Pine Bark:
1 to 2 secions of 1 box of saltine crackers
2 sticks of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1-12oz. package of semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Line a 12X16 cookie sheet (the kind with a lip around it) with aluminum foil.

Cover with one layer of crackers, placed side by side. Melt butter and brown sugar together in a pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes then spread mixture over the crackers. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes (the crackers will look real bubbly). Remove from oven and spread the chocolate chips over the top. Spread the chocolate as it melts. Refrigerate until hard; break apart and store in refrigerator in an airtight container.



Buffalo Chicken Dip:
1-8oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup ranch or blue cheese salad dressing
1/2 cup Jack's Buffalo wing sauce

Microwave until smooth. Stir in: 1/2 cup shredded (sharp, colby, mozzerella) and
1 can chunk chicken (drained)

Put in baking dish and bake @ 350 for about 20 min. or until bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips.


Crock Pot Pizza
This is so yummy and so easy!! This recipe makes A LOT, so be prepared to have leftovers (or maybe invite some friends over)!

Ingredients:
12 ounces egg noodles, cooked according to package directions and drained
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onions
2 (14 oz) jars pizza sauce OR 1 large jar spaghetti sauce
3.5 ounces turkey or beef pepperoni
3 cups (12 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
3 cups (12 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet, cook ground beef and onion until done. Drain. Stir in pizza sauce and pepperoni. Grease crock pot. Spread 1/2 of meat sauce on the bottom. Cover with a layer of noodles, then a layer of cheeses. Repeat layers twice. Cover and cook on low heat for 3-4 hours or until heated through and cheeses are melted. Serve with a tossed salad and bread.

Christmas Pics

Come out of la-la land back to reality!

Every now and then looking at other people's families on Facebook (yes, sigh, Jason..) and thinking, "Wow, I could have a couple more kids and be o.k. just like they are!" is good for me. The Lord can even use Facebook! Our Christmas decorations are up, cards are coming along, shopping (the little we can do this year) is nearly done, the kids are healthy, life is GOOD. Add to that a couple of weeks of Jase and Emma Grace BOTH sleeping soundly through the night from say 8:30 or 9pm until 7am or 8am and I was (I say WAS) seriously thinking that in a couple of years we might be able to THINK about having another child. Yeah, dream land that was!!!!

Last night blew that concept out the window...matter of fact, I videotaped in the dark my husband with all his deep breathing in between the 10 or more times I had to get up with either Emma Grace or Jase. I got NO SLEEP! I mean probably less than 3 hours...seriously. Who can live on sleep like that?! I was seriously beginning to think this was a joke they all were playing on me! Emma Grace even called 2 times and had to go to the bathroom once and was "thirsty" another time. Give me a break!

Furthermore, I was beginning to think Jase had to be sick with something as he never wakes up every 20-30 minutes crying. I have no clue what was going on. This morning he's had a bottle at 7am--drank the entire thing fine. He's a little congested, but not so much he can't drink a bottle. He doesn't feel feverish. I did finally give the boy some tylenol at 3:30am after I'd had all I could stand and I was thinking maybe some teeth coming in were paining him (and ME!). So about 4am I think he really was in a deep sleep. That would be when Jason started up the engine on his breathing/snoring! Then after warming the bottle at 5am (heard him again) at about 5:30 I think I fell asleep only to be woken up by Jason's alarm at 6am!!

I tell you, the Lord has a funny way of showing us who is in charge. Get comfortable and then let Him show you how comfortable he wants you. So the moral of the story is, Lord, you must not want us to have more kids right now...and I must say that is FINE by me! Please pray for patience for me today; I don't do well on little sleep...and I hear little Jase talking right now in his bed, so that extra morning nap is gone. Guess I'm up for the day!! Lord, give me strength for TODAY and bright hope for TOMORROW. Help me to see if Jase really is sick. Amen.

P.S. Here are some pics from our photos at Portrait Innovations on Friday.

One word---COLD!!!!!

Words cannot express how COLD it is in my house today!!! The guage in the hallway is reading 65/66 right now!!! I just went ahead and turned the blooming thing off as all I felt was COLD air coming out! What is it with heat pumps?!? Do the things work? Evidently not ours too good! Well, I suppose I'll turn it back on in just a few minutes to see if any warmer air comes out. We normally keep it set on 69 day or night, but the thing just can't keep up and I promise it's blowing out COLD air. But our socks are on, our slippers are on, we have sweatshirts and t-shirts and layers and layers of clothes and I'm seriously freezing. My nose is dripping and my feet are like ice. My hands make Jase shiver when I have to touch him or heaven forbid change his poor diaper and touch his hiney!

Did I mention we want to have new windows and doors put in this place? They simply aren't doing their job! The wind is gusty today and I know the high is like 45, so we're bound to be freezing in here when the cold air leaks in. I've had a space heater blowing in Emma Grace's room for the entire morning since she woke up and her clock/temperature guage is reading 66 still!! Tell me all the temperature guages in the house are broken, right?! NOT!! O.K. I'm off to call the Superior Gas man so he can come look at these gas logs and the pilot to see why it won't light. We've got to do something, and FAST!