Just For a Smile

Lucy insisted on having all the clips put in her hair. However, not long after this picture was taken she carefully pulled them all out.

Laura's Birthday

Laura was sick the night we originally planned to have her party. Mom and Dad let her open the present from them to make up for it. This is such a good movie!

We had her party the next day.



She strategically placed her candles so that she could blow them out with one breath.

Lilly and Lucy's Birthdays

Wow! I can't believe I have their birthday pictures posted before Christmas! I am feeling rather accomplished.

Thanksgiving

Laura baked the turkey this year. She did a great job, it was delicious!


Getting ready to eat dinner!
We always decorate for Christmas on Thanksgiving day. It is one of my favorite traditions.

Birthday Post

Happy Birthday to my favorite Lilly in the whole world!!!!! I can't believe my Lilly is a big 5 year old!

10 Things I Could Not Live Without

1- Food, obviously
2-Water, once again pretty obvious
3-Family, they are the most important people in my life
4-Music
5-Love, I honestly don't know if I could live without feeling loved
6-Gardening, it is a part of who I am
7-Trees
8-Books, life would be so sad without these little worlds filled with knowledge and adventure!
9-Plants, none of us could.....think about it
10-Laughter, I don't think I go through a day without laughing

Wordless Wednesday

Big News!!!!

I am going to interrupt this Mushroom Monday for an exciting announcement! My amazing big brother Jason and awesome sister-in-law Jennifer are expecting their first child!!! We found out this weekend it is going to be a boy!!! As you can tell we are very excited. I loved the ultrasound pictures. In one of them it looked like he was sucking his thumb. I can't wait to meet him in April!
Wow, I don't think I have ever used so many exclamation marks in a single post.

Mushroom Monday

This mushroom is a member of the sponge fungi family, but I am not sure of its exact name.

Thrifty Thursday

This is a really cool container we found at the great Value Village. I don't think it is old, but is a recreation of the original container the wheat thins came in. Either way it is pretty neat.

Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

Old-Fashioned Lemonade

Ingredients:
6 lemons
1 cup of white sugar
6 cups of cold water

Directions:
1. Juice the lemons to make one cup of juice.
2. In a pitcher combine lemon juice, sugar, and water. Stir. Add more sugar or water if needed.

Wonderful Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

For this first 'Tasty Tuesday' I'm going to share a family favorite. It is super easy and delicious. We eat every bite.

Walnut and Veggies Stir-Fry

Ingredients:
2/3 cup corn
2/3 cup snow peas
1 green pepper, diced
1 cup carrot cubes
1 onion, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
6 tbsps. chopped walnuts
1 cup sweet potato cubes
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tbsps. vegetable oil
Directions:
1. Preheat a pan over high for 1 minute, then add vegetable oil and swirl around to coat surface. When hot, saute onion cubes, add walnut meat, stir over high heat for 30-40 seconds, do not brown.
2. Add all the other ingredients with the walnuts and onion, season with salt and black pepper.
3. Reduce the heat to low, add 1-2 tbsps. water, cover and let cook until all the vegetables are tender.
4. Serve hot.
Servings:4

Mushroom Monday

The first 'Mushroom Monday' fungi I am going to show is my personal favorite, the Fly Agaris. I think they are so magical looking. Warning though, they are very poisonous, so even though they may look delicious, don't try one.

Thrifty Thursday

Let me introduce you to Thrifty Thursdays. My family and I try to be as thrifty as possible, and one of the ways we save money is by shopping at thrift stores. Now every Thursday I am going to share a picture of one of the items we have saved money on. Today's item is one of my favorite dresses. Not only is it cute and different, it has sparkles!!!

Wordless Wednesdays

Nationwide Addiction

I just finished exercising, which was not on my list of things I wanted to do this afternoon. Exercise is probably up on the list of most disliked chores for just about everyone. As I finished my workout I began to ponder why this is so. I mean think about it, regular exercise is one of the healthiest things we can do. Afterwards we feel better, and it largely reduces the chance of getting many health problems, such as alzheimers disease. Logically it seems that we should love to workout.
I once heard somewhere that Americans today are addicted to comfort. A nationwide addiction. How very true that is. I know I am a comfort addict.
Exercise causes us to sweat and become winded. Both cause discomfort, which is why most of us do not enjoy it. This comfort addiction does not apply only to exercise, that was just an example, there are many other areas. This was just a thought I had and decided to share.

Snow!!!

This weekend we were happily snowed in. Even though there was some sleet mixed in with the snow our power stayed on. Electricity makes a big difference in my enjoyment of the snow. Our driveway was covered with a sheet of ice, and Laura and I went sledding down it.

Favorite Puzzle

Mom, Laura, and I enjoy working puzzles. We finished this one about a week ago, and it is definitely one of our favorites. It is a puzzle of all the states' birds and flowers. We had to work it on the table because it was too big for our puzzle board.

A Frankenberger Visit

Jaclyn and Daniel surprised us last week by stopping by for a short visit. Caleb and Jack were visiting Daniel's parents, so they weren't with them. We did get to see Sam though. He is so cute. He enjoyed playing with the toys my grandma keeps at her house, and when it was time to go he didn't want to leave. That made my grandma feel very special.