News

I found out that hubby and I are expecting our 4th child. I should be due any where from July or August, but I am thinking more along the lines of August 21-23, and my birthday is the 26. lol. You never know. I have a journal blog to chart my pregnancy, and I will update it as soon as anything new or exciting happens. Here is the link, and I will also make a link on the left hand side.

I'm" due Tuesday, August 21, 2007 - Visit My Babies Online Pregnancy Journal

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Let us not forget the true meaning of today. Lots of people this time of year are often very rude. Fighting each other over the last toy for their child, becoming impatient when the line is long and the have to wait a little longer before they can head to their cars. Let the light of Christ shine through you even more this time of year than any other. Don't get all caught up in the hustle and bustle of buying the biggest and most expensive gift. Or even worrying about whether or not you will receive the gift you were hoping for. Let your heart focus on the Lord, and why he was sent here to earth... for us... for our sins... so we can be saved. Imagine that little baby, born in a manger, among the cows, and sheep... among the animals, and the stink of their waste. Think of Mary, giving birth to her baby in those conditions. Try to imagine that beautiful little baby having to be wrapped in simple cloths, and sleeping in a manger of hay that the animals ate and slept on... that beautiful little face, would soon grow into a Man that would give his life for me and you. That's what Christmas is all about... Please don't forget that.

I hope that you and your family have a wonderful and safe Christmas...

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

P.S. I found out a few days ago, that my husband and I are expecting another baby. This baby should be due around August 23, my birthday is August 26.. so we will see if I have this little one on my birthday.

I'm a messie... here's me cleaning up my mess!

O.K. I have decided to declutter certain areas of my home. Even when my home.. to me.. is clean, I don't think it is ever really clean. I have come to understand that I am what is called a messie... I tend to place things here and there "out of the way" and forget about them. They become part of the room, and I no longer notice these items.. like an extension of the walls. What I did was take pictures of my living room, every wall. After looking at the pictures.. I see what other people would see when they come over. I don't know why taking a picture of your home makes you see things you don't notice by just looking at the room itself.

I noticed that every little free corner here and there, every free small space.. I have stuff crammed and packed in. Probably because I don't have room for these things anywhere else. Well, today I am off to clean these spaces.. I will show you before and after pictures. I will try to get all of this done before tomorrow. I have to be at my sons school at 1 today, for a meeting. We had a fund raiser, and we have to see how much money each person raised. Two years ago I raised almost 500 dollars for my daughter, this year.. I have only raised 200 for my son. The main reason.. when my daughter was in school.. I was a SAHM, now I am going back to school myself and don't have as much free time to work on selling items, or asking for donations.

O.K., O.K., back to the mess. I guess I need to do this in every room. I will set my timer for 15 minutes.. that seems to be what almost every site I visit asks you to do. It's amazing what you can accomplish in just 15 minutes. lol. So.. I think I can get all the spaces cleared out, thrown away, and at least have a mental idea of what I want to do with what's left over afterwards, in the 15 minutes. I will even see if I can get my children to clean up around the rest of the house while I do that.. tell them that they have to make room for all the new toys and clothes that they will get for Christmas.

I hope I soon overcome my messiness. I guess every day I will have to go around my home and take pictures with my digital camera, load the pictures into the computer, and find all those little items that are invisible to me otherwise.
hhhhhum, I don't know.. I have been praying for God to delivery me from my messiness. It's not that I am lazy... I do clean.. I just don't see things like other people see them I guess. That and the fact that growing up, I never had anyone show me how to clean. When my grandmother finally got us kids, she kept her home clean, but we never actually seen her cleaning, and she never required us to do anything to help her out.. which in the long run, hurt me (I was the oldest and only girl). When I got on my own.. I didn't know you had to clean a toilet. lol.. I know sad huh, I didn't know that you had to actually wipe down the sink and mop and sweep as much as you have to. The clothes were just magically in my drawer every day, the bed was magically made. I wish my home ran as smoothly as hers does. I wish my home ran smoothly period.

Well..... I am off to tacle the mess.... I will try to post pictures tomorrow. I have to charge my camera again before I can use it. lol. May God bless each and every one of you and keep you safe today.

This is me

I just wanted to post, to let you guys see the person behind the writings. lol.



This is a picture of my husband and I.... before we were married. It is the best picture I have of the both of us together (in my opinion). It was taken a while ago though... it's hard to believe almost 7 years ago already. I was 17 in this picture. lol. I still look the same, I straighten my hair now, instead of letting it curl. At the moment, I also have highlights, hubby wanted to see them in my hair, and now he has. lol

Here are a couple of pictures taken a couple of months ago... I think, not that long ago anyway. I had just cut my hair... I think I will let it grow back out long... I just hate taking care of it. The first time I ever cut my hair, it was down to my waist. Well... this is me... I don't really like posting pictures of my kids, but I might figure out something later on.





The picture above was taken by my 7 year old daughter... she likes taking pictures, her and my son... he's 5 and boy oh boy is he all boy.

Potato Casserole/Bread rolls recipe

O.K. here's the recipe for the bread rolls I made for the Christmas party last night. They had some compliments. They are the first rolls I have attempted to make.. so I don't really have any others to compare them to, but they were good, and really easy to make. The only thing I have to sort of complain about.... is that it took this dough a really long time to rise.. usually the dough I make shoots up... not this one. lol. I even heard someone say... "You can't even tell they were homemade, they taste just like if you would have bought them from the store" LOL, I know it was meant to be a compliment, but ummm, why spend all that time making the rolls, if you can just buy some from the store and they will taste the same? Well, above is a picture of them before they were cooked. I was running really behind on time, and forgot to take a picture of them after they were done. They looked the same, just a little bigger, and slightly browned on the top. lol. I know they are not all the same size.. but hey... they are homemade... not perfect. below is the recipe... like you couldn't figure that one out on your own. lol. I think next time I will try one of the other recipes.. just to compare. I got this recipe here http://www.americanprofile.com/article/244.html

Buttery Light Dinner Rolls

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup scalded milk
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 1 egg, beaten
• About 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons melted butter (glaze dough before baking)

Stir sugar, salt, and butter into milk/ cool to lukewarm. Place warm water in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with yeast and stir to dissolve. Add warm milk mixture and egg; blend well. Stir in 2 to 3 cups flour and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Mix in additional flour about 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough forms. The dough should be soft and sticky but not stick to the sides of the bowl. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Place dough in a large greased bowl, turning to cover dough with grease. Cover with damp towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in bulk (I usually place in oven) takes about 45 to 60 minutes. Punch down dough, Shape into rolls (1 1/2 inch balls) and place in two greased 8 or 9 inch cake pans or on a large baking sheet about 1/2 inch apart. Cover with damp towel. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush rolls with melted butter and bake 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Serve hot. Makes about 24 rolls.

Now... here's the winner... always is, every time. Sorry guys, I also forgot to take a picture of this before I brought it over to the Christmas party... this was all that was left of it when I got home.. and there weren't that many people. lol. At least they had this much left.

Sweet Potato Casserole(or crunch)

• 2 Large cans of sweet potato's
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup of milk
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• (I add a dash of cinnamon, but it's not in the recipe)

Topping

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1. Mix everything in the first list of ingredients together, make sure you mash up the sweet potato's. After you make the mix, place it into a baking dish.
2. Next mix together all of the topping mix. Sometimes the topping will come out too sticky, in that case... add more flour and see if that helps.. or you can just add a little butter at a time until you get it the right consistency. You should be able to "sprinkle" the mixture. If you can't get it that consistency... and I never can.. it comes out sooooooo good anyway, don't worry about it.
3. Sprinkle flour mix over op of Potato mixture.
4. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes...... That's it.

Enjoy.... Like I said, this recipe is asked for at every event... I have even started printing out the recipe and placing it on the lid of the dish, because I know I will be asked for it several times that evening. I hope you try it... if you do.. let me know how it came out, and if you liked it.