Saturday Photo Hunt - Messy

What could be messier than my daughter's favorite food...peanut butter!?!?!

This is my everyday. In fact, I do believe there is some peanut butter that needs to be cleaned off my television right now. :)

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Ching, Ching

After all the presents were unwrapped and my snuggle bunny went on to bed while sugar plums danced in her head, I just sat in amazement as I looked at my living room floor. The paper and bows and presents and boxes were stacked up all around and I just got a sick feeling in my stomach. More stuff. It just seems insane to me how much stuff there is to have. There is even "stuff" for your stuff. Ludicrous I tell you.

The peanut not only gets stuff from us, she gets it from my mom and stepfather, my dad and stepfather, my in-laws, her Godparents, my sister...it's really just ridiculous to be honest. We are going to have to go through her old stuff and figure out what to get rid of to make room for more "stuff". Meanwhile there are children all over the world, and most probably my own "backyard", so to speak, who have nothing.

I know several people who had money to get a few small items for their children and I felt sorry for them at first, oh poor so and so... What the heck? I mean Jesus, the king of kings and Lord of Lords was wrapped in rags and lay in a manger during Christmas. It's just all become so commercial and sickening. It's all about what you got, how much you spent or was spent on you, where you shopped...I think those folks with the manger were by far the wealthier.

Merry Christmas to you!

I just wanted to share with you all our Christmas letter this year. It was so full of reminders of how God has blessed us and given us grace this year. Merry Christmas to you all and a very happy new year! ~Amy

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas to you! We hope that this letter meets you in a time of joy and sharing for you and your loved ones.

As is our custom, we have had one busy year! With birthdays and jobs and trips and babies and church and moving…whew, it’s been hectic, but good too. We have had struggles, just as you have most surely had, but we also feel joy as we celebrate the birth of our Savior this Christmas.
The peanut turned one in February and has been taking off with all the learning she’s done since! She’s walking, talking with an amazing new vocabulary it seems every day and all together just making us crack up with the crazy fun things she does! Although there have been times where it has been so different and difficult to deal with the toddler years, most of all we just enjoy our precious little girl that brings her momma and daddy great joy and thankfulness in our hearts.

Michael continues to work for .... This summer he got a promotion and became a manager over a team of brokers. We are very thankful to God that he has provided Michael this opportunity so early on in his career with ... and although it has been difficult as we’ve had to make a lot of sacrifices financially (no more overtime!) and with our time, we know that God is using Michael in this new position and has great things in store for the future.

I (Amy) have been so blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom to the peanut. We keep busy with story time at the library, playdates and our Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) group and we love it! I’ve really enjoyed being a part of the steering committee this year as we get to plan and make new friends.

We continue involvement with the church taking part in bible studies, sound booth ministry and our new Kids for Truth ministry. This church has been so wonderful for us and we just can’t say enough good things about it! We feel like it has been a great place for us to grow and learn and we are excited for all the terrific things happening there!

In August we (yes, even the peanut!!) got to go back to Hungary for our second mission trip there, thanks to the prayer and financial support of our friends and family. We so love being there and working with the children and staff. They are such a wonderful group that has affected our hearts and minds in ways they can never know. We can’t wait to return again!

The same week we went to Hungary we also moved into our new house! Whew, that was one crazy week! We were ready for more space and really wanted to move out of the city so we moved East to .... Here we have a huge yard that we love, lots of mature trees and the funniest part, chickens! The old residents couldn’t take them so they left them for us. It has been so fun finding out more about chickens then we ever wanted to know and feasting on yummy fresh eggs any time we want!

All that being said, maybe the most joyous of news this year was the birth of my new niece, Sydney, in September. She joins her sister in being some of the peanut's most favorite people ever! It’s so cute to see the peanut hug her and say Sydney. Adorable!

We really hope that your homes are full of love and joy this Christmas season as you remember the true meaning of Christmas. I couldn’t say it any better than what Mary had to say about it in Luke 1! And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.”

May Your Days be merry and bright this Christmas season,

Michael, Amy and The Peanut

Saturday Photo Hunt - Light

This is a picture I took last summer of the dog we had for awhile, Daisy. It still makes me smile!

For more go to http://tnchick.com

Wordless Wednesday

And they call it, puppy love!!

Oh there's no place like home for the holidays

So BooMama is having a Christmas tour over at her site so I thought I would join in! You get to show off your own home and then go check out the Christmas digs off your fellow bloggers. Join in!! Well, when you are done visiting me anyway!

Our most important decoration is our nativity. What would Christmas be without it?

!
My living room and my tree. It's a 7 foot artificial, but I love it!

I would normally not be fond of the above ceramic wreath. But Michael's grandma, who passed away this fall, made it for us so we are displaying it in memory of her. It's funny how someone being gone makes you think differently!

Here are some of my favorite ornaments. The first is our new one this year. That's our family in moose. Is that fun or what!!

This is another new one this year. I love the Hallmark ornaments and we buy one every year to symbolize the big stuff in our life. The picture is kind of fuzzy but it says, "New Home" on it.

We bought these next two ones at Target when we got engaged/married. Are they cute or what? They discontinued the line and I was so bummed!!



We're almost done....

My tablescape. No, I'm no Sandra Lee, but it looks nice. And that is the wreath I made last year. Not too bad if I do say so myself.

The stockings my grandma made for us. Michael's is humongo because she forgot to make one for a few years so I guess she was making up for it! Mine is like 30 years old!!

Here is the staircase to the loft. It so doesn't show what I want it to because I took this during the day. At night it's all lit up with garland and lights...love it!!

And no house is complete without sugar cookies and handtowels with reindeer on them!

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!

As I am...

OK, so I really do have a reason for my lack of blogging this week. No, not a bunch of more excuses. Talk about busy, look what I got Michael for Christmas...

Introducing Buddy!!

No, I really wasn't smoking anything, I promise! Here's my story and I'm sticking to it! On Wednesdays and weekends, when Michael has the day off, I do a little independent contracting in my free time. What does that mean? Well, I run around doing whatever I can get people to pay me to do, that is legal, of course! Well, I was off doing one of these jobs when a maintenance guy came into a shop with this precious pup and said he had found him and they were calling animal control. Well, being the softy I am I started playing with the little guy, loving on him and all and they said I could take him if I wanted him. Michael has been pining for another dog, if you remember all of our dog travesties back in the fall and I knew he would just love this guy. Before I was out the door he already had a name and a place in my heart. This little stinker that has decided to make my house his own personal litter box, the chord to my laptop his favorite chew toy and my pillow his dog bed, has just drawn everyone of us in. He is such a little lover, he just wants to hug and play all the time. I really think this ones a keeper!

It's funny how God just works things out sometimes. We were looking so hard for a dog for so long and they just never worked out. We gave it to God and said, "If you want us to have a dog you are going to have to drop one in our laps." Don't you know he did it? He's pretty amazing that way!

Anyway, Buddy has been keeping me on my toes. Not to mention looking for work when I have a moment and just altogether keeping up with the peanut! Plus, I've had steering committee meetings, friends to shop with, playdates, cookies to bake and our MOPS Christmas dinner to attend. This has been a really busy week! Particularly for someone who doesn't have a car I tell you! But it's been a good week too and God has provided in really great ways to get me where I'm going when I need to go. Have I told you I'm thankful to Him lately? Well, I am. He has really provided exactly what we need.

I did want to mention one very big prayer request for you guys, my friend Susan, over at Let My Lifesong Sing, lost her brother very suddenly this last week. She actually started blogging about two years ago to have a place to go to just get out her thoughts and feelings when this same brother was paralyzed in an accident. She has such a love for God and for her family and church members, she is just a wonderful encouragement to me as her faith has only grown through the years. It has been a hard couple of years for Susan and her family and this was just a devestating blow to them, including to her mother, of course. Please remember them in prayer tonight, as you thank God for the loved ones in your life. And, if you are so inclined, please go visit her blog and let her know you are praying for her.

Thank you my dear readers!

Amy

These are the crazy times...

Life has just seemed too busy for blogging lately. I keep forgetting to even go to my blogs so I apologize that I am not visiting. I actually can't even stay now, I am going to be late for church if I don't jump in the shower in the next minute or so. I just wanted to post this hilarious picture. I don't know why I find it so funny, it just makes me laugh. We went to the new Johnny Rocket's at the mall yesterday and the peanut had a blast just goofing off and watching the server's dancing to Stayin' Alive. Good times! Here are a few more of the pictures I took...

Santa Baby

My New Favorite Picture
First of all, can I just say how cute the above picture is? I almost considered using it for our Christmas cards. She just looks like a little snowbunny. The funny thing is the coat is absolutely swimming on her and it's only 18 months. (She's nearly 22 months!) She is such an itty bitty. Her 12 month coat still fits. Crazy!

Santa Claus is coming...
So yesterday the peanut and I went to Wal-Mart for a few items. While we were there who was there ho ho hoing but old St. Nick. Since the peanut has been walking around the house for the last week saying "Santa" I thought this was my opportunity to have that perfect picture and for free! Woo hoo! Of course, when it came time for the man in red all I got was kicking and screaming. And, that was just from Santa. :) He definitely did not want a crying baby on his lap and made it pretty clear to me. Yeah, good times at Wal-Mart.

Mommy Dearest
For those of you that are parent's, what do you remember as being one of the sweetest moments with your kids? I have to tell you, I had one this week. The peanut said, "I love Mommy" for the first time today. Is that the most precious and heartwrenching thing you ever heard. It makes the crying at Santa seem like pretty small potatoes.

Yummy Yummy Yummy I got love in my tummy
Today I made the most yummy breakfast. Crepes!! They were oh so good. Sorry no picture but we had to gobble them in a hurry before church. It was actually a quick recipe instead of the one that usually takes several hours or overnight. I found it on allrecipes.com and it was really good! Here it is for anyone interested: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Basic-Crepes/Detail.aspx

I'm in a hurry to get things done
The next few days should be pretty busy. Besides my usual mommy and wife stuff, I am going to be making three desserts for a dinner my MOPS group is putting on for lower less privelaged families. I think I'm going to make cheesecake with blueberry topping, pretzel sticks dipped in various chocolates for the kids and a Christmas cake. The pretzel sticks are the most work but they are so yummy in the end!

Bye, Bye, Bye
OK, yours truly is tired. And I mean seriously tired...I think I'll go to sleep...zzzzz....

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What is your favorite carnival/amusement park ride?
I like the carousel. It just makes me feel like a kid again.

Soup
How do you react in uncomfortable social situations?

I start laughing at inappropriate times. Nice.

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy discussing deep, philosophical topics?

5, it just depends on who I’m talking to. I like to do it but only to an extent. I’m not a person who beats a dead horse.

Main Course
Did you get a flu shot this year? If not, do you plan to?

No. I was too sick, they wouldn’t give it to me.

Dessert
Approximately how many hours per week do you spend watching television?

Too many. Being at home with a toddler, I see a lot of the Wonder Pets and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Baby it's cold outside!

Is it just me or does the temperature seem to have dropped like a million degrees overnight. I am just feeling so bitterly cold right now. You know that kind of cold that feels as though it is deep in your bones and you can't shake it? Yeah, it's a lot like that. The only thing that seems to quelm it is a hot shower. Ooooo...that sounds real nice. Being that it's almost 11 pm though, I think I will skip it. Maybe a hot cup of tea before bed, we'll see.

Today has been a long day. It started off with my mom calling me telling me that some tests she took came back A typical. My mom had bladder cancer two years ago and has been in remission since. She went back today to do more tests. It's a horrible thing to think about and we are just praying that something is amiss with the testing. She found out she has arthritis in her knees a few months back so she's been popping Ibprofen like it's going out of style. She's hoping that was the cause of the problems in the urine sample. I don't know if that's possible or not but it sure would be a comfort to me.

To top it off Michael has been having chest pains for the past couple of weeks. Being the man that he is, of course he has done nothing about it. So, tonight he finally went to the ER (where he is as I write) to get checked out. I'm waiting for him to come back and just tell me he has a strained muscle or something. Makes me nervous even typing this. We decided for him to go alone because the peanut just wouldn't do well at 10 pm in an Emergency Room. Also, the hospital is 5 minutes at most from here so that's a comfort.

There were good things in the day too. Michael and the peanut put up her new swingset together! How fun is that!! We got it last week for 1/2 price so we are excited. It's just one of the simple metal ones that will be good for her toddler years. It's got a 3 swings, a slide, a teeter tawter and something I don't know the name of on it. I really think she will enjoy it. It's too bad it's so cold out so it will be several months before she can really use it. We didn't want to leave it in the garage though as we do, someday, plan on getting that new car!!

So, no, I still haven't gotten another car. It stinks because it's really kind of crippling in the middle of nowhere. However, I have also seen the blessings God gives me through friends at this time. I've had several friends offer to come and get me just to go shopping or to the library and playdates. It's so nice because the peanut and I may have gone stir crazy without them!

I hope you all are well, I'm going to try and visit my blogging buds in the next couple of days. I've been really lacking on my visits. I need to have a fire lit under me! Oh, maybe that wouldn't be so bad at this point, I need the warmth!!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Gosh, where has the last week gone? It has flown by and I have basically been just far from blogland. I just feel like I've been super busy, which is a good thing. What does the bible say? Idle hands are like the devil's playground? OK, that's not word for word, but you get my idea. LOL

The last week has actually been a bit hard. We have been so blessed to drive two cars with no car payments for nearly 2 years now. How? Well, we drive old cars. It seems like everyone has nicer cars than us, but because we are living on one income, it is so hard, so we just are happy they've stayed with us for so long. Unfortunately, Michael's decided to depart from us on Friday. What was a 4 cylinder, is now a 2 1/2 cylinder. Yeah, not so good. So, it's sitting at Michael's parents waiting to be salvaged. Of course we weren't expecting that to happen so we've had to spend a lot of time trying to figure out what to do. We definitely can't afford a new car payment. We went to the dealer to talk about leases and when they told us $400 was a normal car payment, our chins about hit the floor. First of all, we don't believe it, and secondly, that is just crazy!! Particularly for people with 2 or 3 car payments. Absolutely insane!!

So, we decided not to lease either. So we are left with the options of:

1. Only having one car. This would be really difficult since we live in the country and Michael works 45 minutes away. I would literally be stuck for 4 days a week...ugh! If we had to we would do this but it's not our preference.

2. Buying a used car. This is most likely what we will do. We've been looking around and we actually found a minivan we almost bought. Michael started talking to a guy at work though that owns a car lot and next time he goes to the auction he's going to look for something for us. I'm not a fan of the PT Cruiser as I just don't like the body style, but he thinks he can get one at a really good price and it would fit our needs for more room, so that may be the way we go. I'll let you know!

How was your Thanksgiving? Ours was pretty nice. We started out the day looking at the ads for black Friday and ended it the same. In between, we decorated the tree that we had put up Wednesday night. And let me tell you how the peanut loved that! She was so cute coming down stairs and look at this...

I hope you all have fun celebrating the holidays too!

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Flash Comments at WishAFriend.com">

Days gone by

I know I haven't been the best at posting lately, but it just seems like the days are getting a lot shorter and we've been busy. Not to mention, I just have not seemed to have the patience to sit down and type while my little toddler screams at me to pay her some attention. Yeah, it's been one of those weeks. In fact, it's going on right now...excuse me...

The weather here was warm at the beginning of the week so it was nice to get out and enjoy it a bit. The peanut has been knocked off her schedule a lot lately so she has been a grump. However, I did get a couple of good shots of her...







She also has started to eat a few more foods...

She actually really likes Kix cereal. Ask me why, I don't know. I'm personally not a fan, but put a little milk in their and she devours it. She's actually eating it all by herself now, the big girl.

The peanut has also started to say a couple of sentences. I eat was the first. I poopie was the second. Not too bad for a 21 month old!

I hope all of your weekends are great!

Two things...

Totally worth eating...

http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/detail.aspx?ID=29734

The recipe actually called for peanut butter chips, which I thought I had but it turned out I didn't. So, I decided to try with cherry chips instead, which I did have. Holy cow!! It is so good. It is getting ugly in here how much I am craving this cake. I had never made a homemade cake before, it's pretty darn easy and I'll surely do it again. Totally worth it as it is one of the yummiest and moist cakes I've ever eaten. Give it a try!

Totally worth reading...

http://www.theotherjournal.com/

Tag, You're It!

Sarah, over at http://sassyfrazz.blogspot.com, has tagged me for a meme I've not seen before. I think it's a funny one so I thought I'd play along.

Devise a list of 5-10 courses you would take to fix your life. It’s more fun to be in classes with friends, so include one class from the person who tagged you that you’d also like to take.

1. I'm so there with Sarah on taking a class that teaches us how to love excercise as much as a bag of chips. Whew, if I could only patent that one I'd be a rich lady!

2. How to Blog while cleaning.

3. On that note, how to take a picture without thinking, "This one will be great in my blog".

4. 101 Ways to get your dog to clean up her own fur.

5. Introduction to getting the stank out of your diaper champ.

6. Advanced Football. Maybe this would help me to care a little more and my husband and I could banter about it on a level past..."Yeah, Peyton really did get picked 6 times this week." And for those that know what I'm talking about...Can you stinking believe that???

7. Advanced Development of Food that tastes good without butter. I don't know what this food is, but I sure would like to. Everything is better with butter...except maybe my hips!

8. Getting past your fears and getting on with your life. This is in reference to my ornothopobia. Fear of birds. I'm so not kidding!!

I tag anyone reading this...have fun!

Amy

Saturday Photo Hunt - Flexible

This was a hard one for me and took some time. The only thing I could come up with was a photo from last summer. My husband caught this poor catfish on the belly. Ouch! He lived though and all was right with the world. LOL

To participate or see more entries, go to http://tnchick.com.

Appetizer

Which snack do you like to get when you go to the movies?

Are you kidding me? The cheapest person on the planet. Seriously, I almost never buy food at the movie. Sometimes, however, shhhhhh...I sneak in some junior mints.

Soup

What year did you start using the internet?

Either 93 or 94. But not regularly at all. It was the start of college and I did not understand the internet at all. And I mean, at all. But, in my defense, it's nothing like it was then. Who couldn't use it now? Seriously. I mean, even my mom has used it. Woah!

Salad

What is your first name in Pig Latin?

myAay...um, it doesn't work so well with my name, huh? LOL

Main Course

Name something you are picky about.

Oh, you are about to hear something weird about me. I don't like things to be out of order. Case in point, yesterday, while at Old Time Pottery, there were these:adorable advent calendars. Clearly, I had to have one. Anyway, all the little drawers were mixed up in all the calendars. And they were switched around, like some would have multiple drawers of the same numbers. Now, I don't know if it was a Made in China kind of thing or if some little turkey came along and did it. Or, some combination of both. Anyway, this totally annoyed me and so I sat there for quite some time fixing several of them. Yeah, a little anal like that.

Dessert

Fill in the blanks: I ____ ____ yesterday and I ____ ____ today.

I went shopping yesterday and I will volunteer today.

(Our MOPS group is having a clothing drive so I'm heading over to the church today!)

A little link love

I was listening to NPR yesterday, which I must tell you I love, even though my political leanings are conservative, and NPR is ridiculously biased to the left, it is so educational. I hear so many stories from around the world and find out information that I would otherwise not know. I often shut off the radio if they are talking politics because I get annoyed quickly, but sometimes I listen to that as well just to know what's going on in the world. Information is a good thing.

Anyway, yesterday, while listening, they were telling about these bloggers who are 95 and 108 years old. Isn't that awesome? You have to go visit Olive, the 108 year old blogger at http://www.allaboutolive.com.au/. Unfortunately the 95 year old blogger is in Spanish so I can't read anything but the basic part. If you can though I encourage you to go to her website at http://www.allaboutolive.com.au/.

Pretty nifty!

Beeny Weeny

Saturday night my sister in law decided it was time to get all the special girls together from her life and have a girl’s night. She rented a limo to pick everyone up, had drinks and food and foot baths. She wanted it just to be a time for the girl’s to have a great time and just be girls. That was so very thoughtful of her.

You know, since I got married I never have time with just girls. I always have the peanut attached to my side and I just thought it would be so much fun. You know, kind of relive my youth days a bit. Looking back I remembered spending lots of nights going dancing with my friends and just laughing and talking and I missed it.

I had another friend that lives nearby tell me she was going to have a weinie roast the same night and invited our family to that. You know, just sitting around a campfire. Toasting hot dogs and munching on smores. Laughing and talking, sounds like fun! Of course I couldn’t do both and I had committed to my sister in law first so that’s the way I went.

Taking a ride in the limo was fun. I had a glass of wine, which I just never do. Please people, I am way too cheap to buy alcohol. Not to mention, I don’t really care for the way it makes me feel and I don’t really like it around the peanut. Anyway, as a result of not drinking since I got pregnant with the exception of a couple of sips since the end of breastfeeding, it didn’t take too long before I was feeling it. And I’m talking not in a good way.

To compound the issue, I was surrounded, with the exception of my sister, Erika, by a gaggle of girls who’s apparent only topic of conversation was drinking, sex and more drinking. Wow, the depth! Mind you, I’m completely incapable of small talk so this to me is like sticking needles in my eyes.

Let me just tell you how by 9pm I was calling my husband begging him to come and get me.

On Tuesday I talked to my weinie roast friend to ask her how things had gone. She relayed the story of how her daughter got sick at the gathering but she wished I would have been there to shoo everyone away. Apparently they stayed another two hours. Is it totally sad I wished I would have been there too?

Yeah, when it comes down to it, I think I’m just a weinie roast kind of girl.

Oh bother

The Office is my favorite show on television. Right now they are, along with the other Hollywood writers, on a strike and the set has closed down. OH NO!! Only two new episodes left. What will my Thursday nights be like?

My two new favorite things

I don't know why, I suppose it has something to do with the changing temperatures, but I've been all about food lately. I'm so not kidding. And last night I had a dream that I gained a lot of weight and my face was round. I kid you not that I woke up with a racing heart. It made me think about not eating the foods I'm about to tell you about...but, of course, it's me and that didn't last long!

First of all, I've had a bread machine for years and haven't used it. It's just sat there rather helpless for the longest wishing for something delicious smelling to bake. Well, a couple of weeks ago I decided to give it another whirl. Oh, did I forget to mention why it hadn't been used in forever? I'm trying to forget it...the weirdest looking bread you ever saw. Who knows what I did wrong, but it was definitely not edible.

So anyway, last week I tried once again to make just a regular old bread of white. Holy cow was that thing delicious. And we blew threw it in like a day and a half. So, naturally, I had to make another one. And another, and another, and another. Yep, it's been going on for 2 weeks now and I see no end in sight. As a matter of fact, my house will soon again be filled with the delicious smell of fresh baked bread in another hour now. YUMMO!!

The other thing I simply must tell you about, makes me look like this...

And what can it be?

Yes, pumpkin flavored ice cream. I have been looking for it for weeks and finally found it at my friendly neighborhood Marsh. I had been told Kroger had, but that was a lie from the pit. My mouth is watering thinking of it now. It's like pumpkin pie, ice cream...yes, creamy form!! Holy cow this stuff is good. The price tag is a lot more than I wanted to pay...I think like $6...but I will only buy it once and oh my gosh, am I happy that I did. Now my hips on the other hand, may feel a little different!

How Great is Our God

Do you ever just hear a song and it touches you? Yeah, me too. Last week at my parent's church these two high schoolers got up and sang this song with one struggling through on the guitar. It was beautiful.

Saturday Photo Hunt - Classic

After our wedding the car we rode off in was a real classic. My stepfather's 1965 Mercedes!

To see more photos go to http://tnchick.com