Bryn's Prayer

Bryn almost made me cry tonight.  She said her first prayer all by herself.  And it was the most perfect prayer I've ever heard.  She said all the right things at all the right times!  Our family is and will be blessed by that child's sweetest humble prayer!  I love you so much Bryn.  Thank you for letting me be your Mommy.

Sleepy Babe

I tried wake this cutie up this morning and she rolled over and said "Fun sleeping Mommy." then went back to sleep! Adorable was defined when you were born Bryn. I'm not sure how I ever lived without you.

We made it. All the way to the playground. On the bike. 6 months pregnant. I'm exhausted. And Bryn is ready to run! She's turning out to hate the camera lately but she is loving the climbing and sliding and running and jumping and chasing after Jannae and her friends. I'm pretty grateful for the extra chasers too.

Red Lobster for 3 for $15 dollars

 People have said that French chefs don't get fat because they work so hard preparing their food.  I hope I'm becoming like that.  That's a bowl of egg whites up there, with peaks!  Yes, beaten by hand.  I may call in sick to care for my sore arm tomorrow!

So, you're broke.  hungry.  need a date with hubby.  what to do?  Make it at home!  So stinking good!  Appetizers, drinks, dessert and delicious coconut shrimp! for less than $15!!!


I didn't make up any of these recipes except the dipping sauce but here's the links to find them.
Stuffed mushrooms
Cheddar Bay biscuits
Coconut Shrimp 
Cheesecake (salad) via my cousin Jessica
1 box cheesecake pudding mix
1 c. milk
whipped cream about 2 cups
1/2 c. berries
1/4 c. sugar
2 T. butter, melted
crushed graham crackers- i used about 8


by the way, these measurements aren't totally accurate. but you can fudge it.  I'm not an exacto chef, I looked at the recipe,  mixed everything  in that order and it tasted fantastic.  If you want exact measurements, google it or call Jessica or something:)


Pina Colada dipping sauce for shrimp
In a food processor mix pineapple (fresh is best) a little cream, coconut and a dash of sugar until it becomes saucy, but not pureed. (This was the same sauce we used on our pineapple upside down waffles a few weeks back).


Have a great cheap date night!!

Bryn did it!

 Pretty awesome stack of dishes don't you think?

 Totally awesome if this is the creature that did it!

I guess it really was a lot of work.

If you build it, they will come

Last Sunday Kelly and Lisa blessed their baby Hannah and had a fun little party afterward at Lisa's Grandparents home.  After that party was over the family started gathering at my house, since it was so close.  It was fun having everyone over.  Shane built a fire pit the night before and we had a fun little BBQ with Linda and Bill and my parents so it was broken in.  The pit must have liked the attention because we used it again on Sunday for a very impromptu BBQ which turned out so awesome!  I never thought I'd be able to feed that many people at my house, especially without planning!  It really proves that if your heart is big enough, so is your home!  

Good-bye Pernille and Fanny

 Pernille and Fanny had to go home.  Fanny, Pernille, Marlouse, Stephanie, Lia and Christine were a pretty tight group this year and have even all made it over to my house to borrow chick-flicks. It's always so fun to have them, hard to say good-bye but a great experience all the way around.  It may sound weird, but I love the good-bye parties.  We always get to have so much fun meeting families, friends, eating new food, and you know, just having a party!


Fanny, Pernille, Marlouse and Stephanie each had their families come over from Sweden, Denmark, I can't remember and Germany respectively.  All of the families made the party dinner and it was awesome!  There were fruit and veggie salads mixed a way I've never seen but it was good.  Lettuce, tomato, asparagus, watermelon, blueberries and provolone cheese from Denmark.  Some red potato salad with red onion and feta cheese from Sweden.  Christine from Spain, made a potato omelet sort of thing.  There was also some tuna dip and bread I'm not sure what country brought it, but everything was so good!

 See this kid?  It isn't Conner, but I think it's his twin!  This is Fredrick from Denmark and he is one of the coolest kids I know!  He is eleven.  He was making some really tasty meatballs and left for just a second, so I jumped in to make sure they didn't burn, you know I was just helping.  He came over and said "I think I should take over."  Holy Cow!  I've never seen an eleven-year-old be so willing to help and responsible!  He was awesome.  Bryn couldn't quite figure out why there were two Conners but it was pretty fun watching her.

 During dinner we tried to count everyone, and my mom's house has never held that many people at once!  We counted 81, but there were about ten people that had already left, at least 20 that came later, and who knows how many were moving to fast to count!  Lots of friends!

 These are all the exchange students and their families.

We love having you both in our family!! 

Baby Boy Quiet Book

The domestic bugs are getting me a lot recently.  I've been cooking, cleaning, crafting and actually finishing projects!!  That never happens!  Okay, I guess this one isn't technically finished because I don't have the grommets on it to hold it together but... it's pretty dang close.  This one is just a tiny one, those circles are about 4 inches in diameter.  The yellow one is a hide-and-seek back with a few shapes, buttons and beads hiding inside.  The robots arms and wheel move.  The fish is actually a finger puppet with a hole from the back.  The balloons aren't sewed down so you can rearrange them.  The boat and truck don't really do anything, except look cute.  For a baby who is minus 3 months, it's pretty interactive!