I usually keep my blog posts on the lighter side, but today I do feel the need to open up about some "life stuff" that has been going on in the family. As you may know, Jeff was seriously ill the end of April and ended up hospitalized and then had surgery (see blog entry from May 2 for the details). Between the week in the hospital and then recovery, he was out of work for over three weeks, then had to go in for partial days for another few weeks before he was well enough to return full time. Believe me, this was a time of thanking God for providing through good health benefits!
Of course in the weeks following this, we have had numerous follow-up doctor visits, including a referral to a GI specialist. The result of this was that due to the combination of factors, they did a colonoscopy. This was a few weeks ago and we got the initial results last week. Some of the pathology results were abnormal. That is the word they use when the polyp is not cancerous but is what they consider to be indicative of higher risk. Now before you start saying "oh no!", you must realize that we are viewing this as a huge miracle. Jeff has a family history of "bad guts" and a personal history of "weak stomach", but on their own, this was not enough to warrant further medical interest. However, once combined with his illness in April, it was enough to warrant an early baseline colonoscopy. Normally, they would not do this until age 50. Jeff is 35. We found abnormal polyps 15 years early. This is literally potentially life-saving information for us to have. We can now take definite proactive steps to improve his health. We still have a consult with the GI next week to go over details, but what a wonderful praise to God. Who would have thought that this sickness would lead to medical testing and such important information.
Now, on the downside... after his surgery, he was told he had a 75% chance of developing complications in the surgical sites. He had a follow up with the surgeon last week and found out that yes, one of the sites had not healed properly and he does need further repair. That is an outpatient surgery scheduled for this Thursday. Unfortunately, we do not know what to expect for recovery because the doctor says he won't know exactly how complicated it is until he gets in . Hurrah for the "practice" of medicine. We are of course hoping for the best outcome, whatever that may be. I think the worst part is that Jeff is finally feeling really good and has been hitting the construction really hard. He REALLY wants to be done (since we've only been working on this addition for close to three years now) by the time the baby comes. These setbacks tend to get him rather down, so I'm hoping that this particular procedure goes smoothly and he heals up quickly and correctly this time.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
exhausted
I'm sitting here at the computer "enjoying" my back spasms and braxton hicks contractions.
I had a FULL day. I did a bunch of freezer meals to put up for the next few months, and of course for after the baby comes.
I made
7 quarts of chicken potpie filling (recipe in previous blog),
11 pans of chicken burritos (plus we had them for dinner, so it would have been 12 pans) (recipe in previous blog),
2 large pans of baked ziti and sausage, and then I crashed.
I have the stuff to make 2 or 3 pans of chicken cordon bleu lasagna... I will get to that tomorrow and then be done.
22 meals, not counting leftovers (the burritos won't have leftovers, but the other meals will). I'm dead on my feet (well, not even on my feet, the feet are now on strike) but wow, what a rewarding day!
-------------------
This recipe is almost too basic to post, but just in case anyone needs it:
Ziti and Sausage
2 lbs of ziti, cooked and drained
2 1.3 lbs packages of Italian sausage (sweet, hot, or both)
1 lbs mozzarella cheese, or Italian blend cheese
2 26 oz jars or cans of tomato sauce
Cook and drain ziti noodles. While the noodle water is boiling, brown and drain sausage in a large pan. Add tomato sauce to drained sausage.
Put half of cooked noodles into each pan, pour half of sauce/sausage mixture over noodles, stir to combine. Top each pan with half of cheese.
Bake immediately to brown cheese and serve OR wrap for freezing.
To use from frozen, thaw completely, bake at 375 until heated through and cheese melted. You may broil the top for the last few minutes to brown the cheese.
This makes two deep pans (9x11… called “stuffing size” if you get disposable aluminum pans) or will make two very full 9x13, or 3-4 8x8 pans.
---------------------
Once I try the cordon bleu lasagna, I'll post that too.
I had a FULL day. I did a bunch of freezer meals to put up for the next few months, and of course for after the baby comes.
I made
7 quarts of chicken potpie filling (recipe in previous blog),
11 pans of chicken burritos (plus we had them for dinner, so it would have been 12 pans) (recipe in previous blog),
2 large pans of baked ziti and sausage, and then I crashed.
I have the stuff to make 2 or 3 pans of chicken cordon bleu lasagna... I will get to that tomorrow and then be done.
22 meals, not counting leftovers (the burritos won't have leftovers, but the other meals will). I'm dead on my feet (well, not even on my feet, the feet are now on strike) but wow, what a rewarding day!
-------------------
This recipe is almost too basic to post, but just in case anyone needs it:
Ziti and Sausage
2 lbs of ziti, cooked and drained
2 1.3 lbs packages of Italian sausage (sweet, hot, or both)
1 lbs mozzarella cheese, or Italian blend cheese
2 26 oz jars or cans of tomato sauce
Cook and drain ziti noodles. While the noodle water is boiling, brown and drain sausage in a large pan. Add tomato sauce to drained sausage.
Put half of cooked noodles into each pan, pour half of sauce/sausage mixture over noodles, stir to combine. Top each pan with half of cheese.
Bake immediately to brown cheese and serve OR wrap for freezing.
To use from frozen, thaw completely, bake at 375 until heated through and cheese melted. You may broil the top for the last few minutes to brown the cheese.
This makes two deep pans (9x11… called “stuffing size” if you get disposable aluminum pans) or will make two very full 9x13, or 3-4 8x8 pans.
---------------------
Once I try the cordon bleu lasagna, I'll post that too.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Freezer meals
So I have this wonderful friend who is just so organized and "together" and the best part is that she is also very REAL. Anyway, before I go on and wax elephants about dear Gretchen, I'll get to my point. Gretchen very successfully uses the freezer meal method of cooking. If you want to do searches on this and get recipes, you can either google "freezer meals" or "once a month cooking (oamc)".
I am just a baby at this but do want to share that even for a "Creative type" (that's the nice way of saying disorganized) it is possible to do this and greatly benefit from it.
I would like to share two recipes that are now tried and true favorites for our family. I got these from Gretchen, so they will have her notes on them, then I will also add my own notes. Hopefully it doesn't get too confusing.
The following is the recipe as I got it. It includes her notes. I will add my notes up here. We multiplied this recipe times either 12 or 15 to do for a huge project at church. It still turned out wonderful! When multiplied that many times, it made way more than we expected. I am going to *guess that if you multiply by 3 or 4, you may still get a little extra.
Jody's notes:
-the recipe calls for potatoes. I have made it both ways and to be honest, I prefer it without potatoes.
-when we made it for the big project, we had like a gallon of just sauce left. I couldn't bear to throw it away, so I took it home and put it in freezer bags. I used it for my chicken casserole recipe and liked it 100% better than my usual sauce of cream of chick & mushroom soup. It's a really good and savory chicken white sauce, so if you have leftovers, make sure to save them.
- we have had it made as a potpie in a pie crust and also as a pot pie where it uses a buiscuit crust (more like a cobbler). Jeff prefers the biscuit crust, so now instead of making and freezing the entire pie, I make the sauce, add the chicken and veggies, and then freeze it in a bag. When I want to make it, I thaw the bag of filling, and do it in a biscuit crust. You could also make just the sauce and the veggies and just save it to use after you have a baked chicken --pick the chicken and the next day thaw the sauce and make the potpie. It is still way quicker than starting from the beginning to make a good chicken potpie.
- you can make this as "scratch" or "ready made" as you want. you can start with whole chickens and fresh veggies and make your broth from the chickens or you can start with canned chicken broth and precooked chicken (you can find bulk bags of precooked grilled chicken strips) and go from there. Or you can do something in between by cooking the chicken but using frozen mixed veggies.
Chicken Pot Pie (makes two pies)
2 cups diced peeled potatoes
1¾ cups sliced carrots
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup all-purpose flour
1¾ t salt
1 t dried thyme
¾ t pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1½ cups milk
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
Pastry for two double-crust pies (9 inches)
Place potatoes and carrots in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside.
In a large skillet, sauté onion in butter until tender. Stir in the flour, salt, thyme and pepper until blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. (this is a roux or white sauce, if you are making it in bulk, be prepared to whisk for a LONG time--don't try to do this while cooking other things, you will likely burn your roux)
Add the chicken, peas, corn, potatoes and carrots; remove from the heat.
Line two 9-inch pie plates with bottom pastry; trim even with edge of plate. Fill pastry shells with chicken mixture. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pies. Cut slits or decorative cutouts in pastry. Place over filling; trim, seal and flute edges.
Bake one potpie at 425 for 35-40 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.
Cover and freeze remaining potpie for up to 3 months.
Yield: 2 potpies (6-8 servings each)
To use frozen potpie: Shield frozen pie crust edges with foil; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350; for 70-80 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown.
G’s notes: This is my all-time favorite frozen recipe! It is best with my grandmother’s pie crust recipe, but I will buy pie crusts next time to save time (Shhhh! Don’t tell my mother!!!). It does use potatoes, but since they are in a sauce they do not turn color. They are a little mushy, but it’s still delicious!
-----------------------------
These are delicious! I haven't tweaked anything about it, they are sooooo good. My only suggestion is that even if you think you want them really "saucy" they honestly cook up a lot better if they aren't too saucy. Also, a small sprinkling of cheese on top is fine, it looks sparce, but really, they are so good, that you don't need too much on top.
I was very surprised at how very well these freeze and cook back up, not mushy at all!
Chicken Burritos
1 large onion, chopped *I haven't tried it yet, but plan to try using the frozen onion/pepper stirfry blend
¼ cup chopped green pepper
6T butter or margarine
½ cup all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
1 can (10oz) diced tomatoes & green chilies (like rotel)
2T chopped jalapeno pepper, optional
1t ground cumin
1t chili powder
½ t garlic powder
½ t salt
1 can (15oz) chili with beans
1 package (8oz) cream cheese, cubed
8 cups cubed cooked chicken
24 flour tortillas (6 or 7 inches)
6 cups (24oz) shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese
In a large skillet, sauté onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in broth.Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat; add the tomatoes, jalapeno pepper if desires and seasonings. Cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. Stir in chili and cream cheese until cheese is melted. Stir in chicken. Spoon about ½ cupful down the center of each tortilla; sprinkle each with ¼ cup Colby-Monterey Jack cheese. Fold ends and sides over filling. Place in 2 greased 13x9 baking dishes. Cover and freeze one casserole for up to 3 months. Cover and bake the remaining casserole at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 2 casseroles (1 dozen burritos each).
To use frozen burritos: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until heated through.
G’s notes: I have also done this with cheddar & Mexican blend cheese and they work fine. I add more cheese, and also top it with cheese. I find that it tends to make more than 24 – I usually get 4 casseroles of 7 each.
---------
Like I mentioned above, there are plenty of sites online to get more recipes and information about freezer cooking. There are certain "rules" about freezing foods, for instance, potatoes will turn weird colors. I am not advanced enough yet to try to freeze my own recipes because I'm not sure how they will turn out, so I'm sticking with recipes I've gotten specifically for freezing. This site is very helpful and will get you started. One note, some of the recipes are marked "members only" and you can't access them without purchasing something, but many of the recipes are accessible.
I am just a baby at this but do want to share that even for a "Creative type" (that's the nice way of saying disorganized) it is possible to do this and greatly benefit from it.
I would like to share two recipes that are now tried and true favorites for our family. I got these from Gretchen, so they will have her notes on them, then I will also add my own notes. Hopefully it doesn't get too confusing.
The following is the recipe as I got it. It includes her notes. I will add my notes up here. We multiplied this recipe times either 12 or 15 to do for a huge project at church. It still turned out wonderful! When multiplied that many times, it made way more than we expected. I am going to *guess that if you multiply by 3 or 4, you may still get a little extra.
Jody's notes:
-the recipe calls for potatoes. I have made it both ways and to be honest, I prefer it without potatoes.
-when we made it for the big project, we had like a gallon of just sauce left. I couldn't bear to throw it away, so I took it home and put it in freezer bags. I used it for my chicken casserole recipe and liked it 100% better than my usual sauce of cream of chick & mushroom soup. It's a really good and savory chicken white sauce, so if you have leftovers, make sure to save them.
- we have had it made as a potpie in a pie crust and also as a pot pie where it uses a buiscuit crust (more like a cobbler). Jeff prefers the biscuit crust, so now instead of making and freezing the entire pie, I make the sauce, add the chicken and veggies, and then freeze it in a bag. When I want to make it, I thaw the bag of filling, and do it in a biscuit crust. You could also make just the sauce and the veggies and just save it to use after you have a baked chicken --pick the chicken and the next day thaw the sauce and make the potpie. It is still way quicker than starting from the beginning to make a good chicken potpie.
- you can make this as "scratch" or "ready made" as you want. you can start with whole chickens and fresh veggies and make your broth from the chickens or you can start with canned chicken broth and precooked chicken (you can find bulk bags of precooked grilled chicken strips) and go from there. Or you can do something in between by cooking the chicken but using frozen mixed veggies.
Chicken Pot Pie (makes two pies)
2 cups diced peeled potatoes
1¾ cups sliced carrots
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup all-purpose flour
1¾ t salt
1 t dried thyme
¾ t pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1½ cups milk
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
Pastry for two double-crust pies (9 inches)
Place potatoes and carrots in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside.
In a large skillet, sauté onion in butter until tender. Stir in the flour, salt, thyme and pepper until blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. (this is a roux or white sauce, if you are making it in bulk, be prepared to whisk for a LONG time--don't try to do this while cooking other things, you will likely burn your roux)
Add the chicken, peas, corn, potatoes and carrots; remove from the heat.
Line two 9-inch pie plates with bottom pastry; trim even with edge of plate. Fill pastry shells with chicken mixture. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pies. Cut slits or decorative cutouts in pastry. Place over filling; trim, seal and flute edges.
Bake one potpie at 425 for 35-40 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.
Cover and freeze remaining potpie for up to 3 months.
Yield: 2 potpies (6-8 servings each)
To use frozen potpie: Shield frozen pie crust edges with foil; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350; for 70-80 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown.
G’s notes: This is my all-time favorite frozen recipe! It is best with my grandmother’s pie crust recipe, but I will buy pie crusts next time to save time (Shhhh! Don’t tell my mother!!!). It does use potatoes, but since they are in a sauce they do not turn color. They are a little mushy, but it’s still delicious!
-----------------------------
These are delicious! I haven't tweaked anything about it, they are sooooo good. My only suggestion is that even if you think you want them really "saucy" they honestly cook up a lot better if they aren't too saucy. Also, a small sprinkling of cheese on top is fine, it looks sparce, but really, they are so good, that you don't need too much on top.
I was very surprised at how very well these freeze and cook back up, not mushy at all!
Chicken Burritos
1 large onion, chopped *I haven't tried it yet, but plan to try using the frozen onion/pepper stirfry blend
¼ cup chopped green pepper
6T butter or margarine
½ cup all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
1 can (10oz) diced tomatoes & green chilies (like rotel)
2T chopped jalapeno pepper, optional
1t ground cumin
1t chili powder
½ t garlic powder
½ t salt
1 can (15oz) chili with beans
1 package (8oz) cream cheese, cubed
8 cups cubed cooked chicken
24 flour tortillas (6 or 7 inches)
6 cups (24oz) shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese
In a large skillet, sauté onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in broth.Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat; add the tomatoes, jalapeno pepper if desires and seasonings. Cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. Stir in chili and cream cheese until cheese is melted. Stir in chicken. Spoon about ½ cupful down the center of each tortilla; sprinkle each with ¼ cup Colby-Monterey Jack cheese. Fold ends and sides over filling. Place in 2 greased 13x9 baking dishes. Cover and freeze one casserole for up to 3 months. Cover and bake the remaining casserole at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 2 casseroles (1 dozen burritos each).
To use frozen burritos: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until heated through.
G’s notes: I have also done this with cheddar & Mexican blend cheese and they work fine. I add more cheese, and also top it with cheese. I find that it tends to make more than 24 – I usually get 4 casseroles of 7 each.
---------
Like I mentioned above, there are plenty of sites online to get more recipes and information about freezer cooking. There are certain "rules" about freezing foods, for instance, potatoes will turn weird colors. I am not advanced enough yet to try to freeze my own recipes because I'm not sure how they will turn out, so I'm sticking with recipes I've gotten specifically for freezing. This site is very helpful and will get you started. One note, some of the recipes are marked "members only" and you can't access them without purchasing something, but many of the recipes are accessible.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Happy Father's Day??
oh dear.
I did remember, I did. Well, I remembered about a week ago, when I put together the photo book Jeff asked for for Father's Day and told him that I did it but hadn't ordered in time and it wouldn't be here in time.
I remembered again on Wednesday when Jessi came home from Rainbow Club class at church with a Daddy card she had made.
And then I forgot.
Saturday I brought the mail in and noticed there was a letter for Jeff from my mom. Couldn't figure out why mom would send Jeff a letter when she was just here last weekend, but OK.
I handed it to him and absent-mindedly watched him open it. Simultaneously, as he revealed that it was a card and not a letter, it dawned on me why my mom would be mailing him something.
And that dawning brought a very deep and unplanned response.
"OH CRUD!!! It's FATHER'S DAY!
You will have to let your imagination provide the intonation I used. But let's just say it wasn't positive.
About 3 seconds later I realized...
and stammered...
"Uh,,, did I just say that out loud?"
The look of utter confusion and amazement on Jeff's face let me know that I had, indeed, said it not only out loud, but rather loudly!
Thank goodness the look of consternation on MY face amused him and we both broke into hysterical laughter.
All last night he would look at me and say "oh crud" and I would begin my embarassed laughter all over again.
--------------
now a small confession is needed in order to make the rest of this story funny. I didn't necessarily say "crud". It might have been another word that starts with cr and ends with p.
----------------
Jeff and I have one year old nursery for the month of June. The first two weeks we only had two babies each time. Now it was still a challenge because these were babies who don't like nursery, but at least it was just two.
Today... we had 7 or 8. I really thought I had counted 8, but then when I go back and name them to count them, I can only come up with 7. Either way, it was a lot of one year olds! Especially when about half of them were of the sort that don't want to be in there. We did have two moms who brought the babies in later go ahead and stay, which was good.
So at one point I had two dirty dipes at the same time. I was changing one and the mommy of the other one was changing hers.
Hers was little pooplets, of the rabbit pellet variety. Well, slightly bigger than rabbit pellets, but that type of poop. Mine was.... NOT pellets. At ALL. I heard her comment about the pellets and offered to trade babies right then, but she wouldn't take me up on it. Upon checking the dipes, I had asked Jeff to run across the hall for a trash bag since we were out of the diaper disposal bags. When he came back, I was about finished and threw away the dipe from my baby, as well as the clorox wipes I used on the changing table, and proceeded to begin thoroughly washing my hands. Jeff went over to the other mommy to get her dirty dipe and tie it into the same trash bag.
As I washed, I heard much laughter... and looked up to see that Jeff had been out of the room during the "rabbit pellet" comments and had just picked up the diaper (which the mommy hadn't completely fastened up yet) and the diaper had sort of fallen open and all the pellets had rolled out... you seriously have to just imagine all the little pooplets rolling and bouncing... it was hilarious.
The next few moments were a flurry of the four of us adults trying to keep babies away from the disater zone, hand wipes to Jeff and the mommy to pick up the escaping poo balls, and get a wad of clorox wipes to mop the floor with.
When all was well, and I could breath through my laughing, I said, "Happy Father's Day honey" to which Jeff looked at me and replied...
"don't you mean, 'oh cr*p, it's Father's Day?'"
I did remember, I did. Well, I remembered about a week ago, when I put together the photo book Jeff asked for for Father's Day and told him that I did it but hadn't ordered in time and it wouldn't be here in time.
I remembered again on Wednesday when Jessi came home from Rainbow Club class at church with a Daddy card she had made.
And then I forgot.
Saturday I brought the mail in and noticed there was a letter for Jeff from my mom. Couldn't figure out why mom would send Jeff a letter when she was just here last weekend, but OK.
I handed it to him and absent-mindedly watched him open it. Simultaneously, as he revealed that it was a card and not a letter, it dawned on me why my mom would be mailing him something.
And that dawning brought a very deep and unplanned response.
"OH CRUD!!! It's FATHER'S DAY!
You will have to let your imagination provide the intonation I used. But let's just say it wasn't positive.
About 3 seconds later I realized...
and stammered...
"Uh,,, did I just say that out loud?"
The look of utter confusion and amazement on Jeff's face let me know that I had, indeed, said it not only out loud, but rather loudly!
Thank goodness the look of consternation on MY face amused him and we both broke into hysterical laughter.
All last night he would look at me and say "oh crud" and I would begin my embarassed laughter all over again.
--------------
now a small confession is needed in order to make the rest of this story funny. I didn't necessarily say "crud". It might have been another word that starts with cr and ends with p.
----------------
Jeff and I have one year old nursery for the month of June. The first two weeks we only had two babies each time. Now it was still a challenge because these were babies who don't like nursery, but at least it was just two.
Today... we had 7 or 8. I really thought I had counted 8, but then when I go back and name them to count them, I can only come up with 7. Either way, it was a lot of one year olds! Especially when about half of them were of the sort that don't want to be in there. We did have two moms who brought the babies in later go ahead and stay, which was good.
So at one point I had two dirty dipes at the same time. I was changing one and the mommy of the other one was changing hers.
Hers was little pooplets, of the rabbit pellet variety. Well, slightly bigger than rabbit pellets, but that type of poop. Mine was.... NOT pellets. At ALL. I heard her comment about the pellets and offered to trade babies right then, but she wouldn't take me up on it. Upon checking the dipes, I had asked Jeff to run across the hall for a trash bag since we were out of the diaper disposal bags. When he came back, I was about finished and threw away the dipe from my baby, as well as the clorox wipes I used on the changing table, and proceeded to begin thoroughly washing my hands. Jeff went over to the other mommy to get her dirty dipe and tie it into the same trash bag.
As I washed, I heard much laughter... and looked up to see that Jeff had been out of the room during the "rabbit pellet" comments and had just picked up the diaper (which the mommy hadn't completely fastened up yet) and the diaper had sort of fallen open and all the pellets had rolled out... you seriously have to just imagine all the little pooplets rolling and bouncing... it was hilarious.
The next few moments were a flurry of the four of us adults trying to keep babies away from the disater zone, hand wipes to Jeff and the mommy to pick up the escaping poo balls, and get a wad of clorox wipes to mop the floor with.
When all was well, and I could breath through my laughing, I said, "Happy Father's Day honey" to which Jeff looked at me and replied...
"don't you mean, 'oh cr*p, it's Father's Day?'"
Saturday, June 7, 2008
pictures
My mom and sis came up for a super quick trip yesterday to see the kids in their end of year recital. While she was here, I had Julie take some pictures to use as senior pictures for Dean. Since he had prom last night, he still had his tux and we did pictures in that.
My sister Julie took the pictures and I photoshopped them.
Original:
touched up and cropped:
original:
touched up and cropped:
original:
touched up and cropped:
Two (too?) cool dudes.
Oh, I wish my kids were photogenic...
touched up and cropped:
Two (too?) cool dudes.Oh, I wish my kids were photogenic...
cropped
what a ham
honestly, we did take pictures of Jessica... but so far I'm not loving any of them even touched up. I plan to redo her recital pictures in the next few days and will post them then.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
still around
quick update:
Jeff is doing great, he really is. the surgeon is very happy with how he is healing and he has been back at work doing part time days for about 1.5 weeks, should be back to full time by the end of this week. He was truly very sick and it has taken a while for his body to recover from how septic he was. God has been so good, I really can't thank him enough.
I've had Jeff home for the better part of a month and we have enjoyed it so much! To be really honest, I thought it would be hard... I hear women talk about wanting their husbands to get back to work when they are off for a while, but it truly has been special.
Jessi just had her 5th birthday, no pictures though because the usb port on the front of the computer where I plug my camera in to down load pics is broken and I can't crawl around to the back right now. She had a great day with our final homeschool group field trip, a birthday dinner date with dad and grandpa, home for cake and presents, then off to the pinewood derby to see Joey race. She got a scooter, a fishing pole, and two puzzles, and a great time was had by all.
I got my new serger. I'm in heaven, it's great. After two years, I finally decided and bought one. so far so good. Again, I'll post pics when i get the camera connected.
We did a lot of moving over the holiday weekend, Jeff and I are into our new bedroom, Joey is in our old one, and the girls are in the "kids'" room by themselves. They are getting lovely bunkbed but it's not due in for a few weeks.
Our family lost a wonderful friend last week. My "Uncle" Tom passed away after several years fighting congestive heart failure. I'll try to post his obituary later, and do a proper memorial post. For now I'll just say that this is so bittersweet... our hearts ache for our loss, but I know that he is out of pain and can finally breathe again. He was a big man, an ox of a man, and to be, for all intents and purposes, crippled these past few years has been so hard on him.
Today was our last MOPS meeting of the year, and to make it even more emotional, our two co-cordinators are both retiring this year. God has given us two amazing young ladies to rise up in leadership, but it is going to be hard to do without my other dear friends. I'm going to blame it on the pregnancy hormones, but yes, I did cry (a lot) this morning.
That's all for now, just touching base since it's been a few weeks. There will be pictures eventually.
Jeff is doing great, he really is. the surgeon is very happy with how he is healing and he has been back at work doing part time days for about 1.5 weeks, should be back to full time by the end of this week. He was truly very sick and it has taken a while for his body to recover from how septic he was. God has been so good, I really can't thank him enough.
I've had Jeff home for the better part of a month and we have enjoyed it so much! To be really honest, I thought it would be hard... I hear women talk about wanting their husbands to get back to work when they are off for a while, but it truly has been special.
Jessi just had her 5th birthday, no pictures though because the usb port on the front of the computer where I plug my camera in to down load pics is broken and I can't crawl around to the back right now. She had a great day with our final homeschool group field trip, a birthday dinner date with dad and grandpa, home for cake and presents, then off to the pinewood derby to see Joey race. She got a scooter, a fishing pole, and two puzzles, and a great time was had by all.
I got my new serger. I'm in heaven, it's great. After two years, I finally decided and bought one. so far so good. Again, I'll post pics when i get the camera connected.
We did a lot of moving over the holiday weekend, Jeff and I are into our new bedroom, Joey is in our old one, and the girls are in the "kids'" room by themselves. They are getting lovely bunkbed but it's not due in for a few weeks.
Our family lost a wonderful friend last week. My "Uncle" Tom passed away after several years fighting congestive heart failure. I'll try to post his obituary later, and do a proper memorial post. For now I'll just say that this is so bittersweet... our hearts ache for our loss, but I know that he is out of pain and can finally breathe again. He was a big man, an ox of a man, and to be, for all intents and purposes, crippled these past few years has been so hard on him.
Today was our last MOPS meeting of the year, and to make it even more emotional, our two co-cordinators are both retiring this year. God has given us two amazing young ladies to rise up in leadership, but it is going to be hard to do without my other dear friends. I'm going to blame it on the pregnancy hormones, but yes, I did cry (a lot) this morning.
That's all for now, just touching base since it's been a few weeks. There will be pictures eventually.
Monday, May 12, 2008
mother'sdaystimuluschecklightsout
Yes you read that right.
Mother's Day. Is it permissible to admit that my Mother's Day started out a little cruddy and went downhill a bit before it went back uphill? Or should I pretend that I was feted with breakfast in bed, someone else got the whole family ready and polished for church, and I got the "most angelic mother" award at church?
How about I neither admit nor deny anything, but do say that my dear husband did successfully rescue my day and turn it into something truly special? He really is a great guy and I'm so blessed to have him for a husband and the father of my children.
---------------------
Economic stimulus check. Jeff is actually looking this gift horse in the mouth and wondering where the government gets the extra money to do this. He's such a republican. I on the other hand figure it's about time the GOP learns to share, and after all, all they have to do is shorten the Iraqi war for a day or so to pay for this.
Our plans for the money include:
new lawnmower
new weed eater
new serger
retaining stones for the other half of the house border garden
windshield for the motorcycle
seat backrest for the motorcycle
spinning wheel
hire someone to put down new floor in the kitchen
put aside some $$ for school supplies for next year, so I can have an account to go to as needed
carpet another bedroom
Now obviously, this is a dream list. But it's fun to dream, and if we can manage even four or five things on our list, that will be great.
-------------------------------
We've had some yucky weather around here, including uncharacteristic tornadoes. Let me tell you, I'm a tropical girl and I grew up with hurricanes. they really don't bother me so much. Tornadoes though, I do NOT like. I dealt with them for two years in Alabama and figured I was finished! I didn't sign on to do tornadoes here too. That aside, last night we had some good T-storms and wind and our electric went out. It blinked a few times then went out for good. We broke out the candles and a hand crank camping lantern to use to eat a simple supper, then all piled into mommy and daddy's bed for storytelling, spelling and math quizzes, and general fun until bedtime. I really think the kids liked it, and I know I appreciated having them go down without the usual plea for 2 more minutes of light, or please leave the hall light on.
Mother's Day. Is it permissible to admit that my Mother's Day started out a little cruddy and went downhill a bit before it went back uphill? Or should I pretend that I was feted with breakfast in bed, someone else got the whole family ready and polished for church, and I got the "most angelic mother" award at church?
How about I neither admit nor deny anything, but do say that my dear husband did successfully rescue my day and turn it into something truly special? He really is a great guy and I'm so blessed to have him for a husband and the father of my children.
---------------------
Economic stimulus check. Jeff is actually looking this gift horse in the mouth and wondering where the government gets the extra money to do this. He's such a republican. I on the other hand figure it's about time the GOP learns to share, and after all, all they have to do is shorten the Iraqi war for a day or so to pay for this.
Our plans for the money include:
new lawnmower
new weed eater
new serger
retaining stones for the other half of the house border garden
windshield for the motorcycle
seat backrest for the motorcycle
spinning wheel
hire someone to put down new floor in the kitchen
put aside some $$ for school supplies for next year, so I can have an account to go to as needed
carpet another bedroom
Now obviously, this is a dream list. But it's fun to dream, and if we can manage even four or five things on our list, that will be great.
-------------------------------
We've had some yucky weather around here, including uncharacteristic tornadoes. Let me tell you, I'm a tropical girl and I grew up with hurricanes. they really don't bother me so much. Tornadoes though, I do NOT like. I dealt with them for two years in Alabama and figured I was finished! I didn't sign on to do tornadoes here too. That aside, last night we had some good T-storms and wind and our electric went out. It blinked a few times then went out for good. We broke out the candles and a hand crank camping lantern to use to eat a simple supper, then all piled into mommy and daddy's bed for storytelling, spelling and math quizzes, and general fun until bedtime. I really think the kids liked it, and I know I appreciated having them go down without the usual plea for 2 more minutes of light, or please leave the hall light on.
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