Hubby's birthday

As adults, our birthdays are low-key. We are loud when celebrating the birthdays of our children but Mitch and I tend to keep our own birthdays pretty simple. It usually involves a cupcake, a song, a very small gift, and some hugs and kisses. Oh yeah, we always enjoy watching Mitch sing "Happy Birthday" to himself, hence his pointing. He's not being arrogant at all....just being silly with the kids.

Happy 38th birthday, Babe.
It gets better and better each day.
So glad I belong to you.
I love you, dude.

How to draw pets

Andrew has been drawing again.
He sees something...anything...and wants to draw it.
I checked out this book from the library and he got busy drawing his favorite animals.




I am impressed with how well my four year old did on drawing the animals! I gave him no help other than offering him verbal direction when his pencil was to the paper.

Abigail the dragon

I think all my kids have had their picture taken at some point with this dragon outfit on. Abigail is certainly cute, although she's trying to get out of the suit in this picture.

It's been 53 years

On January 8, 1956, five missionary men were murdered in the name of the gospel. As I've mentioned before, I have always been intrigued by this story and am always moved to tears when I re-read about it. New details are always learned everytime I hear it. These men were dedicated to Christ throughout their entire life...and their wives were also.

Live to the hill every situation you believe to be in the will of God. Jim Elliot



Thanks to JT and JC for sharing about this on their blogs today.

Randomness

My husband just joined Facebook.

I think my left leg is longer than my right.

My favorite food is macaroni-and-cheese.

I hate having white tiles and cabinets in my kitchen.

My husband's birthday is TODAY!

I love Wednesdays because I get to spend two hours alone with my eldest child.

It's January and the weather has been sort of like spring (until today, which felt like the wind from Chicago).

I don't enjoy drinking cranberry water - but I must.

I get a "high" when I get a deal at any store.

I've got some awesome friends. I'm glad they like me.

I always keep water by my bed at night.

My mother is coming this weekend and my kids are constantly asking when Gami is arriving.

I love talking geography. One of my favorite geographical areas to think about is Point Roberts, WA, USA.

The Dollar Tree is one of my favorite stores.

Publix is my choice for groceries but WalMart has far lower prices. It's worth the extra mile in gasoline.

I wonder what Seth is up to now?

The second Tuesday of every month is a dinner delight.

TiVo is a wonderful invention.

Speaking of inventions, these are the inventions I am most grateful for:
1. Ziploc bags
2. Safety pins
3. Wet wipes

I love football but the BCS talk is getting on my nerves.

Kim H. cracks me up.

Crissy S. makes me ponder, think, and shake my head in agreement.

Hope A. points me to the gospel.

Wordless Wednesday

Andrew plays basketball

In the fall, it was soccer.
In the winter, it is basketball.
He is already asking what he'll play in the spring and summer.


Poor Luke. His birthday falls late in the year so he'll be starting sports at the Y much later than Andrew did. When asked if he's gonna be a soccer or basketball player, Luke quickly replies, "Nope, I'm gonna play football". Well, ok then.


For Christmas, my sister gave Luke the Whack-A-Mole game. It's really funny to watch anyone play since you have to beat the timer and lights by whacking the moles over the head with a plastic mallet. Let's just say that as soon as I snapped this picture, a few of the mallets hit human heads (not mine!). School starts back tomorrow and I am only looking forward to it because it will mean there is a cease-fire to the constant fighting between brothers in the house.

RedBox code good today only

Today's Redbox code, good until midnight.
Local machines are at the Walmart on Whittlesy and Airport.

37CEA9

Droids

The Droids are coming! The Droids are coming!
Poor girls. They don't know what hit 'em.

I feel gratefully convicted

I think my heart is being spoken to.

Thanks to Ann at Holy Experience.

Brother & sister

These two get along just fine. He takes care of her, and she makes him laugh.

Bad News: Santa is coming to town

I know it's been a week since Christmas but I wanted to post this wonderful message anyhow.

2009, we welcome thee

We spent New Year's Eve at home, as usual. I think the only time we've ever really done the party thing was with the Granberry family from our church back in Birmingham, AL. Of course, that was the first year of our marriage and no children were in the picture yet. Since then, we've just stayed home, enjoyed the children, watched the ball drop in NYC and then let our heads drop on our pillow.

Anywho, I always buy one of those cheap packs of fireworks for the boys to enjoy. We lit them in the street and smiled as the boys giggled and begged for more. Well, Luke got a little scared and eventually ran inside to watch from the front window.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Y'ALL!

Free printables @ TipNut

TipNut just posted a few printable freebies. I especially like the one that includes the free kitchen, household and crafty printables. Wanna print some for yourself?

$3 off pint of B&J

For all you lovers of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, click here to receive a $3 off any pint. It immediately appeared in my Inbox, no lie. I'll be heading to B&J later this week to get me some Chunky Monkey!

Ewwww...gross!

Well, it's actually pretty sweet to see my brother getting a kiss from his girlfriend. I just wanted to post this so I could embarrass him. tee hee!

ChickFilA free biscuit offer

Make any purchase at Chickfila on January 1, between the hours of 10:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., and receive a coupon for a free chicken biscuit on your next visit, good until March 29. Click here for the proof.

HT: MoneySavingMom

Taco Soup

Abraham, over at 22 Words, has requested people send him links to recipes for a virtual potluck of sorts. I thought that I would fulfill his request and put my taco soup recipe on "paper". Gosh, I hope that didn't sound vain.

I must admit that my friend, Maja, had a hand in getting me hooked on this dish. Leave it to Maja, a mother of seven, who is Danish and cooks like you wouldn't believe, to make sure I didn't leave her home without one recipe for my back pocket. This recipe is easy on the brain! I'm thankful God put Maja in my life to show me what true hospitality looks like.


Anyway, back to the recipe. No one in my family likes onions or large chunks of tomato so you'll find none in my recipe...but you can always add them if you'd like!

EASY TACO SOUP

Ingredients
1.5 lbs ground beef, drained
(1) pack Ranch dressing
(2) packs taco seasoning
(1) 29 oz can tomato sauce
(1) 29 oz can water
(2) cans of shoepeg corn
(2) cans of black beans

Procedure
Brown, drain, & rinse beef.
Add tomato sauce & water. (After emptying sauce, refill can with water)
Drain/rinse both corn & beans - add to pot.
Add Ranch & taco seasoning.
Heat & stir!

Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, and corn chips.

This recipe makes a lot of soup so it's perfect for eating half now and freezing the other half for later. YUM!

I think my wife's a Calvinist

Some of you may have already seen this video on Challies.

It cracked me up.

RedBox code good today only

Today's free REDBOX rental code:

545DZ9

Expires at midnight!