Miracle Tubes

Graham has had a rough road battling ear infection, after ear infection, after ear infection.

His first infection was when he was 6 weeks old, and he has pretty much stayed on an antibiotic for months. We decided to put tubes in his ears, and what a difference it has made!

For the month leading up to his little surgery, Graham refused anything to eat other than formula and yogurt.

Four hours after we got home, he was eating chicken fingers, french fries, and manicotti.

I have my happy little boy back! (except this week with the addition of a couple of new teeth)

Molly's Milestones

Nick was able to introduce Molly to two "big-girl" things this week...

1. Her first late night Gibson Donut.

AND

2. Her first encounter with a Nintendo 64.

Costumes

With all that was going on in October, there was very little blogging going on. But, I didn't want to completely skip over these two adorable little costumes. Both Molly and Graham have now been chickens for Halloween. And as for Molly, I personally think she is just the sweetest little thing.

A Child's Ten Commandments to Parents

I read this on a friend's blog this morning, and I wanted to share it with my friends, too.

A Child’s Ten Commandments to Parents, by Dr. Kevin Leman

1. My hands are small; please don’t expect perfection whenever I make a bed, draw a picture, or throw a ball. My legs are short; please slow down so that I can keep up with you.

2. My eyes have not seen the world as yours have; please let me explore safely: don’t restrict me unnecessarily.

3. Housework will always be there. I’m only little such a short time—please take time to explain things to me about this wonderful world, and do so willingly.

4. My feelings are tender; please be sensitive to my needs; don’t nag me all day long. (You wouldn’t want to be nagged for your inquisitiveness.) Treat me as you would like to be treated.

5. I am a special gift from God; please treasure me as God intended you to do, holding me accountable for my actions, giving me guidelines to live by, and disciplining me in a loving manner.

6. I need your encouragement, but not your praise, to grow. Please go easy on the criticism; remember you can criticizethe things I do without criticizing me.

7. Please give me the freedom to make decisions concerning myself. Permit me to fail, so that I can learn from my mistakes. Then someday I’ll be prepared to make the kind of decisions life requires of me.

8. Please don’t do things over for me. Somehow that makes me feel that my efforts didn’t quite measure up to your expectations. I know it’s hard, but please don’t try to compare me with my brother or my sister.

9. Please don’t be afraid to leave for a weekend together. Kids need vacations from parents, just as parents need vacations from kids. Besides, it’s a great way to show us kids that your marriage is very special.

10. Please take me to Sunday school and church regularly, setting a good example for me to follow. I enjoy learning more about God.

January Meal Making Party

Both January Parties are now full

2012 is just around the corner! We have an exciting menu to help you start the new year off with delicious and healthy dinners for you and your family.

Join us either Tuesday, January 3rd or Thursday, January 5th at 6:30

Please mentioned preferred date when emailing your RSVP

and you will leave with 8 meals to feed a family of 4 plus a dessert. (But if it's just you and one other, simply divide many of the meals before you freeze them, or have plenty of leftovers for the next day).

Menu for the Month...

Cheese Manicotti with Meat Sauce

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

Cheesy Chicken and Black Bean Burritos

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken

Orange Zing Grilled Chicken

Asian Pork Chops**

Elegant Chicken with Gravy

Classy Chocolate Pound Cake Mix

Special New Friend Incentive this month: Invite and bring someone new with you, and we will give you a FREE Nana's Apple Cake Mix!

**can sub chicken for pork- advise with RSVP

______________________________

Where? Anna's House

*********

How Much? $140 **- cash or check payable to Anna Pearson or Rose Kelly

-want the meals, but can't attend? For $150 we will do the work, and you can pick up your meals the next day.

**Note: this is a slight increase due to recent increases in food prices

Please RSVP with your date preference by Sunday, December 11th to

comecookwithus@gmail.com

What to bring?

a cooler and $140

Weekly Meal Plan

As soon as I finish one meal party, my wheels start spinning. Time to deciding what will be on the next months menu. This usually involves 2 weeks of cooking up a storm...

Here we go...

Monday: Cheese Manicotti with meat sauce and garlic bread

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken and steamed broccoli

Wednesday: Creamy Broccoli Chicken over rice

Thursday: Orange Zing Grilled Chicken and mashed potatoes

Weekly Meal Plan and a great rice dish

Well, this week's meal plan should be easy since Thursday we celebrate with the Kellys and Friday we will spend with the Pearsons eating our weight in good food.

Due to lots of cooking and baking for our Thanksgiving meals, plus an unbelievable amount or prep time for our upcoming meal parties, dinners this week will be EASY!

Monday: PF Changs frozen beef and broccoli meal (Nick picked it up at Kroger last night- we'll see if it is any good)

Tuesday: Breakfast: sausage, biscuits, and scrambled eggs.

Wednesday: Merlot Chicken and Rice (this was on the menu for last week, but never made it to our table- still in the freezer, which means no effort involved)

The following recipes is one of my favorite rice dishes. Perfect with a roast! Nick is not a huge fan but I don't understand why. I think it is wonderful with very minimal work.

Rice Casserole

2 cans beef consume

2 cans beef broth/bullion

2 cups rice

2 sticks butter

Melt butter in oven, pour 2 soups in and spread rice around.

Bake @ 350 for 45 minutes

Countdown is on...

While most people are counting down the days until Christmas, I am currently counting down until mid January when Nick and I will be jetting off to the Dominican Republic for a week of luxury at the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotel.

Working at a tire store may not be the most glamourous job, but tire companies sure know how to plan an incentive trip.

While we will most definitely miss our two little munchkins, we will come home with our batteries recharged and hopefully a tan.

8 week countdown is ON!

www.hardrockhotelpuntacana.com

What a month for our little Grahammy!

What a month it has been for little Graham!

At the beginning of November, Graham wasn't crawling, hated food, only took a bottle, and had no teeth.

Today, he's crawling everywhere, eating people food, taking a sippy cup, and is about to pop out his 3rd tooth.

What a big boy he's becoming!

Fun and Funky cookies

I was recently asked to decorate some sugar cookies for a wedding shower. I was giving a napkin for a little design inspiration. These cookies were lots of fun!

Let me know if you need any cookies for an upcoming event. $18/dozen

I have posted previous cookies on my blog.

Meal Plan- The beauty of Freezer Cooking and an easy Fall Recipe!!

This week's menu is going to be the food from our October meal party meals. What does that mean? Homemade dinner on the table every night this week with very minimal effort. Due to trying out so many new recipes for our upcoming parties, I haven't made a dent in the meals from last months menu. Here's what we are having...

Sunday: Potato Soup and pigs in a blanket **

Monday: Baked Jambalaya and rolls

Tuesady: Merlot Chicken over Rice and green beens

Wednesday: Fall Cranberry Chicken and mac and cheese

Thursday: leftovers

**Kroger sells a brand of soup called "Bear Creek". While not all of the soups are good, the Potato soup is great. We eat it often. It's a great Sunday Lunch food. Simply add water, and top with cheese and bacon. Yummy!

Fall Cranberry Chicken

1 pkg dry onion soup mix

1 can cranberry sauce

1 cup Kraft french dressing

Place 4 chicken breasts in a pyrex dish. Mix soup mix, cranberry sauce, and dressing in a bowl. Pour over chicken.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered.

Holiday Cooking Party

The hustle and bustle is just around the corner. You spend your time celebrating, decorating, and shopping...leave the cooking to us!

Join us on Tuesday, November 29th @ 6:30, and you will leave with a cooler full of appetizers, main courses, side dishes, and sweet treats. Simply freeze, and then thaw when ready to serve.

What you will leave with...

Appetizers

(serve 12)

Bayou glazed meatballs

Warm BLT Dip with pita chips

Cheddar Bacon Chicken dip with crackers

Main Courses

(serves 4-6)

Pomegranate Chipotle Pork Tenderloin

(excellent as a main dish, or can be sliced and served on rolls for a hearty appetizer

Wahoo! Chili

Chicken Pot Pie

Sides

(serves 4 or 8)

Paula Dean’s Creamed Corn Casserole (back by popular demand)

Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet and Savory Treats

Sausage Balls (2 dozen)

Tastefully Simple Almond Pound Cake Mix

How Much? $125- for sides to serve 4 people

$140- for sides to serve 8

cash or check payable to Anna Pearson or Rose Kelly

-want the meals, but can't attend? For an extra $25, we will do the work, and you can pick up your meals the next day.

Please RSVP by Friday, November 11th to

comecookwithus@gmail.com

What to bring?

a cooler

Weekly Meal Plan and a simple Pot Pie recipe

Although I have not slacked in my weeknight cooking, I have not been diligent about meal planning ahead of time. I am going to attempt to set a weekly menu each weekend for the following week. This prevents middle of the week grocery runs.

Weekend: Chili and Cornbread

Monday: Spaghetti and Baked apples

Tuesady: Chicken Pot Pie

Wednesday: Fusia Honey Orange Chicken over rice (one of the reasons I LOVE Aldi)

Thursday: leftovers

I typically appreciate a recipe where everything is completely from scratch, but chicken pot pie is not one of them. I've yet to be too overwhelmed with a chicken pot pie that takes hours to make. My oppinion...it's not necessary.

Here is a very simple, no-fail yummy and cozy meal.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 refrigerated pie crust (I prefer kroger over pillsbury for pot pies)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of potato soup

1/8 cup sour cream

1 can del monte mixed vegetables, drained

salt and pepper to taste

1-2 cups of cooked and shredded chicken

Allow pie crust to come to room temperature and line pie plate with 1 crust.

Mix remainder of ingredients, and pour in pie crust. Top with 2nd crust. Pinch edges, and make a few slits in the top of the crust. Bake at 350 for about an hour, or until crust is nice and golden brown. Enjoy!

ECS Clown Parade

While we have had such a difficult week, there have been a couple of bright spots along the way. Although April passed away early Friday morning, Ainsley still wanted to participate in the ECS Senior Kindergarten clown parade. This is quite a little milestone for a little ECS student, so we definitely encouraged her to go of she wanted to. It was encouraging to see some smiles light up her sweet face.

Peace, Love, and a Sweet Testimony

Come to Me, and rest in My Peace. My Face is shining upon you,

in rays of Peace transcending understanding.

--Jesus Calling

I would assume that anyone reading my blog knows of our family's recent struggle as we said "see ya later" to my sweet sister-in-law, April. April fought a 2 year battle with breast cancer, and Jesus called her Home this past Friday. From the first day of being diagnosed, she kept her head high, and was determined to fight. She trusted that God would heal her of this terrible disease. And as Christians, we know that He answered her prayers in His perfect way. Although we will miss her terribly, we know that April is completely healed of cancer and is dancing with Jesus day after day.

We know that God knew from the beginning of time His Perfect plan for April. He had a perfect plan for her life, and He knew exactly what she was to accomplish here on earth.

April was beautiful on the inside and out. She loved people. She had compassion for many and an unwavering faith in Jesus Christ. She was never ashamed of her Lord, and wanted to make Jesus known to those around her.

Through this difficult journey, our family has been overwhelmed by the Body of Christ. We have felt so much love and kindness from hundreds of people. We have been loved, prayed for, hugged on, and brought many meals. We believe that through the testimony of Sam and April's journey, the gospel has been shared. And because of that, we believe many may see a glimpse of God's grace in a new and fresh way.

We thank you for your prayers and huge acts of kindness. We ask that you continue praying for healing for Sam and the children as they begin to grasp what their new lives look like. May Jesus continue to be glorified.

Much love.

brushes and paint

It's been a while since I have painted regularly, but in the past few weeks I have been asked to make a little art. So, I've dug out my paintbrushes and gotten to work. Here are a few transportation paintings I made for our little friend Samuel's big boy room. I will be starting next week on some nursery art for a friend.

There are not enough hours in the day for all of my hobbies!

Two of my Loves

I am fully aware that every mother thinks her children are the most precious...but seriously, I can't imagine any two more adorable kids.

love 'em

Pumpkin Patch

We spent a recent Saturday afternoon at Priddy Farms in Bartlett. My mom had heard about this fun little farm and we decided to check it out, and we sure were glad we did. We arrived around 3:00 and had a couple of hours to ride a little train, take a hayride, pick a pumpkin, and play on lots of play equipment. There was something fun for kids of all ages. We will definitely be returning next year. (And hopefully in December to pick out our Christmas tree). Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.

Recent Treats

As much as I love to decorate cookies, I simply do not make the time unless I get a specific request or it is a holiday.

We are definitely entering cookie baking season... pumpkins, turkeys, and then Christmas.

But in the mean time, here are a couple of my most recent projects.

These were made for a sweet little girl being born. Her mommy wanted some cookies to share at the hospital.

These were made for Ainsley's 6th birthday.

October Meal Making Party

Are you sick of eating out or tired of not having dinner ready for your family? If so, this party is for you!

Join us on Thursday, October 20th @ 6:30**

and you will leave with 8 meals to feed a family of 4. (But if it's just you and one other, simply divide many of the meals before you freeze them, or have plenty of leftovers for the next day).

Menu for the Month...

Baked Jambalaya

Garlic Kissed Pork Chops (may sub chicken for pork- advise with RSVP)

Tasty Brown Sugar Chicken

Fall Cranberry Baked Chicken

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Italian Penne Pasta Bake

Skillet Salisbury Steak

Merlot Chicken

______________________________

Optional Additions for $5 each (please advise with RSVP)

Side of the Month: Scalloped Corn Casserole

Cookie Dough Balls of the Month: Homemade Reese's Chewy Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cookies.

Where? Anna's House

*********

How Much? $125- cash or check payable to Anna Pearson or Rose Kelly

-want the meals, but can't attend? For $150 we will do the work, and you can pick up your meals the next day.

Please RSVP by Sunday, October 9th to

comecookwithus@gmail.com

What to bring?

a cooler and $125

**please note that this is the last traditional meal party of the year.

We will resume our monthly meal parties in January.

We will have a special Christmas Dinner Party in December.

Just an Average Day

Part of my goal for this blog is to just document the every day things around our house so that years from now I'll remember what we were up to in 2011... basically just a diary of sorts. Today wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but I just happened to capture some photos throughout the day, so I thought I'd blog about it...

5:00- VERY early wake-up call from Graham. He is getting his first 2 teeth, which really don't make him fussy, but have caused him to wake up too early a few mornings. I really didn't mind though because it gave me an extra couple of hours to do a few things around the house before Molly woke up.

7:00- Molly woke up (also a bit earlier than usual), but it was good because she got to see Nick before he headed off to work.

The kids played and Molly decided it was time for Graham's first Cheeze-It. He was a bit curious, but not a huge fan. We'll get there. We usually watch Barney or a Princess movie on the mornings we hang out around the house.

9:00- Off to play at Lifetime. Over the last few months, I have gotten into a good routine of working out a few days each week, and the kids both enjoy playing in the nursery while I exercise. Thankfully, the Banks have joined, so I have Katie to workout with, and Molly gets to play with Sloane and Aubrey.

11:00- We grabbed Wendy's and headed to the tire store to eat lunch with Daddy, Honey, and Papa Sid before heading home.

12:30- naps for the kids while I caught up on some meal-party planning, facebooking, and chores.

3:00- We headed to McVay park with Jessica (our next-door neighbor) to play for a little while since the weather has been so nice.

5:30- dinner for Molly (leftover BBQ chicken, pita chips, strawberries, cheese, and fruit snacks)

6:00- Nick got home in time to help with baths.

6:45- Molly and Graham were both in bed, which meant Dinner and TV time for the grown-ups. We have to leave the house before 7:00 on Wednesdays, so Tuesday nights wrap up a bit earlier than the other nights.

Like I said before, this is pretty much a typical busy day around our house, but I think in 10 years, I'll look back with fondness remembering the little things.