Visions of Sugar Plums.....and Thanksgiving

• YEAR 2012
• 

Didn't realize till after I took the picture that 2 lights were unplugged :D

 Our greatest Gifts!

Lights out and Tree light plugged in :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So this is Pictures I took tonight, but I thought I would upload some of our past Christmas Card pictures just to compare how much life has changed, and how quickly!

Year 2006

2006

2006 Ethan 4 weeks

Jadyn 3yrs

Cayden 7, Tre` 6

YEAR 2007

Year 2005

Tre` 5

Jadyn 2yrs

I think this was the year we gave up on Christmas card pics, for obvious reasons.....

Cayden 6

 YEAR 2008

 These are pictures that never made it to a Christmas card, another one of those years we gave up, I don't know who we stressed out more the kids or ourselves! Ethan as you can see would not cooperate! Looking back it is funny, but at that moment it was not! lol!

Poor kids they are thinking, " just smile so we can be done!"

This picture here says why Ethan has only 2 baby pictures taken.....He was AWFUL! hahahah!

Poor things, they tried so hard but in the end it was all in vain...:)

YEAR 2008 , My all time favorite pictures ;)

And Last Years, 2011....

 never made cards either :) But here it is anyways, we lost a few years due to the computer getting a virus...

We had just moved into our new house and stripped wallpaper, so all though it doesn't look like the prettiest house in the world we were so thankful to finally have our own home once more that it didn't matter what the background looked like, it may never have made it on a card but it was still taken in remembrance of what is really important at Christmas. Not gifts, decorations, prettiest tree award, best dressed award, or anything else that we tend to place so much importance on, but it is about remembering, Jesus was born into this world, it's His birthday we celebrate and it is His return we long for. It is also a time to thank God for the blessings in our own lives, not only did Christ give His life for us but, He has also blessed us with what is truly important in life. To me that is Gary, Cayden, Tre`, Jadyn, Ethan. As well as my parents siblings and extended family members, and lots of friends, some near and some far, some old some new!
Wishing you all a blessed Thanksgiving and hoping this year as you celebrate the birthday of our Savior it is  with an anticipation of His second coming!
As I ponder all my blessings in life with Thankfulness, still my soul is saying "Happy Birthday Jesus!  See you soon!"

Happy Birthday Ethan!

Today Ethan turned 6yrs old ;) He is growing up...*tear* or *sigh of relief*....Maybe a bit of both!
Since school he has really changed in a lot of ways, some good, some....not so good! lol!
He FINALLY wants to learn and does school work here at home, that is a big shocker!
He is not so much a baby, well still some but not like he was before school started.
He is getting big and maturing, learning as he demonstrated over Breakfast

Birthday Breakfast- Oreo Ice Cream cake!

 to Jadyn and Cayden this morning how to "cuss with his finger" as he put it....uhh, learning a new song that goes something like "I'm sexy and I know it"...yeah not happy with those learned experiences but, on the bright side it is a lesson learned of what not to sing or do with our fingers? :)

 

 

" THUMBS UP on the Cake Mom!" Better sign language here....

And here are some more pics for you to enjoy.....if you lay on your Right side to look at, when uploading, they were right side up but on the blog they all turned sideways....sorry I can't figure out how to fix it and just really don't want to take all the time trying! Again!

Ethan with his "picture smile" and Jadyn!

My "Birthday" kiss.....Love how that works!

I told Cayden to hold Ethan  so they would all be the same height. ..

Finally, a normal smile! (Before school)

Ethan & Tre` (After school notice the absence of hair gel....)

Well 

Guest Recipe Buffalo Chicken Dip

Buffalo Chicken Dip By: Heather Terry (aka...my very first BFF)
 
3/4 cup Franks hot sauce
1 cup ranch or blue cheese dressing
2 cups shredded cheese
2 10 oz cans chicken or chicken breasts (3-4)
2 8 oz cream cheese
Heat chicken & hot sauce. Stir in cream cheese and dressing. Blend well. Mix 1/2 cup shredded cheese in. Put in 9x13, top with cheese and bake @ 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Serve with Tortilla chips! ;)

I have some other recipes by Heather I will share with you at another time, for now I gotta get to bed! 

Heather is my first cousin, we are 3 months apart.....what can I say about her, she is perfect! No her life hasn't been perfect but, it has molded her into the beautiful lady you see in the picture below. She's beautiful, inside and out. She is sweet, she is considerate, kind, compassionate, caring  and constantly giving of herself to others. In a world where so few people value the time of another, she is always giving her time to help those in need, those in her youth group, her church, her family. Most people never realize what a valuable gift a person gives to another when they give of themselves, and their time. I love her and I soooooo miss her! I guess I should mention she is an awesome cook! lol!

Meatballs in Crockpot

Homemade Meatballs in Crockpot 
Cook on LOW!  aprox. cooking time 6-8 hrs

Ground Beef (your choice of cut)
Italian Bread crumbs
Onions- chopped
2-4 TBSP Garlic-Chopped/diced
10 sprigs leaves Oregano-FRESH CHOPPED
2-4 Eggs (enough to get it all to stick together)
1/4 cup FRESH Parmesan          
> Found in Cheese section at grocery in a wedge worth every penny and a little goes a long ways
1/4 cup FRESH Feta cheese crumbles-
>Wal-Mart has this in cheese section and for a good price Also Sam's if you have a card there)

I like to make extra and freeze them for another time. You can put them Frozen in the crockpot.

Spray crock pot with nonstick spray. Pour in spaghetti sauce. Add Meatballs. Cook on Low. Takes about 6hrs on low.

Cook Pasta. DO NOT MIX pasta with meatballs, that way you can freeze your leftover meatballs for another time!
Not to mention spaghetti noodles mixed with meat/sauce....is disgusting. I know I am weird. I can't eat it, makes me gag thinking about it.....not really sure why?

Oh! and Thanks to my Cousin Heather Terry for this tip, you can freeze pasta as well. (add little oil I think she said)  To cook just get the water very hot then add bag (noodles inside) she calls it "Shock" the noodles get them warm and serve. I also have added the noodles to hot water and then just drained again and they were fine too.....

Recipe: Supper easy and Cheap Chicken ;)

Sweet Basil & Oregano Chicken
 

once again I didn't follow directions I just used what i had on hand

here's how it went:

CROCKPOT

1 pack boneless, skinless frozen chicken breast
put in crock pot. Do not add water.

mixed this packet ($1.24 is what this costs me best I remember ) with olive oil. let it set a little for a bit while I did some laundry etc.... then spooned it out on the chicken breast.

Let this cook 4-5 hrs on High or 6-8 hrs on Low. (if you leave the house make sure you add a little water with bouillon like 1/3c or the White cooking wine as the recipe calls for.)

very easy, very cheap, just made sides when the chicken was done.

Recipes: Mexican Chicken

Mexican Chicken

CROCK POT!

Put 1 pack of boneless, skinless chicken breast in crockpot

In bowl stir together:
1 can cream of chicken or celery soup
 (or make your own: 1 c. milk, 4 TBSP flour and Chicken Bouillon, stir constantly in saucepan on stove till thickened.)
1 jar salsa
pour over top of chicken, let cook till chicken is tender.
add
 prob 1/3 -1/2 box of Velveeta Cheese (I slice and lay on top when almost ready to serve, let melt, then stir all together)
Once stirred & melted together it is ready to serve

Serve on top of Dorritos. For Sides we like, Mexican rice, and Mexican potatoes with ours

Rice- buy at store Mexican rice

Potatoes- Cook as desired, You can fry, or slice and boil till almost finished then put in a pan to bake or make baked potatoes :
Regardless of how you choose to cook them add Peppers, onion, and cheese. Of course salt pepper, a garlic spice blend shaker (Weber Garlic and Herbs is what I like) of course if you do baked potatoes add the butter and the rest of this as toppings

Recipes: Roast

Roast (on sale this week at Kroger)
 6hrs on High or  Low for longer time

In Crock pot add: in this order
1 large Sliced Onion (thick slices do not break apart rings)(You can use or discard after cooking)
 CHUCK ROAST salt and pepper both side
 1 TBSP- white Vinegar
1/2  (1 Cup)  Bottle of Red cooking wine 

Cook on high or low depending how long you will be gone. 
You can add the carrots and potatoes if you like for the traditional Roast Meal, is a lot quicker! Add Beef Bouillon and 1-2 cups water if your doing this version and plan on being gone all day. 
ONLY add water if you are going to be cooking longer than 6 hrs and are adding the potatoes and Carrots

 
 
BUT.....here is how we like it: of course this is the Harder, time consuming way.....but it is worth it if you have the extra time!

SIDES

1. Make Mashed potatoes

2. Carrots
Boil:
1 bag carrots
2 TBSP Beef Soup Base / Bouillion
enough water to be even with carrots
1/4 c. Red Cooking Wine

Boil till desired texture, I like mine still a little stiff, not crunchy, but FAR from soggy.....

3. Noodles 
Bring water to boil
 with a littleof the broth from the roast, use water and beef bouillon or soup base stock for the rest, add a little of the RED COOKING WINE

4. GRAVY for potato and spoon some over roast
Pour the remainder of the broth from the crock pot into a saucepan. In a separate bowl stir, cold water and cornstarch. Add to Saucepan, and start heating till gravy thickens, stirring constantly.

5. Bob Evans yeast rolls found in the freezer section at Kroger.....you will have to let these rise so make sure to follow directions on them!


 So that is another one, for those of you on Facebook, who read or text me about the other recipes I won't repost those I think everybody that reads my blog has a Facebook account too and can get them off my page. I will try to post more as I get the time!