Valentines day

 I can honestly say this year was one of the best Valentines day we've had together so far. We made it all about the children & family. Judging by the look on their faces I think they would agree:)

Our day started at 7:00 getting children up for school,Valentine cookies & milk then Andy bathed all four children while I laid out their clothes for the day,(pink & red colors of course).

We surprised the children by picking them up from school & taking them out for pizza at our local pizza shop for lunch,they were thrilled! then it was back to school for them.

LOVE is patient,LOVE is kind,it is not rude,it is not easily angered,LOVE always protects,always trusts,always hopes,always perseveres...1Corinthians 13...

This was my only attempt at decorating for valentines,I wanted to decorate the table for dinner with lots of pinks & reds & cards with little love notes for everyone but it just didn't get done. By the time we got home from meeting the children for lunch,I was fighting a terrible sinus headache & just wanted to take a nap with the littles. After resting with them & feeling much better,it was time to start dinner.

she was so impressed that the pizza was a heart,she said"mommy you have to take a picture of me with the pizza". She also said I was the best "cooker" ever!:)....(I know,pizza,twice in one day??,you ask) but it was the only thing I could think of to make that I could shape like a heart & nobody seemed to mind;)

River was cleaning out my dirty laundry basket & found 2 dirty dish-rags that he brought into the kitchen,putting them up to his nose pretending he was cleaning his nose.

& now hes cleaning my windows...

& the floor...

hes a very busy little guy,I love him to pieces!

the little boys having a sword hanger fight

River managed to get Weston trapped in a corner,he thought he was all that & a bag of chips:)

We ended our evening with games & the older children reading stories to us. After bedtime prayers we tucked them into their  beds & Aalyvia whispers in my ear"mommy,this was the best Valentines day ever"

and that my friends was the best Valentines I could have asked for!

Happy Valentines Day to you all,what did you do to celebrate this day of Love?

An all day baking kind of day...

    I don't normally post recipes on my blog but I spent the whole day in the kitchen so I thought I'd share what I've been up to...

We are completely out of baked goodies & it's so close to Valentines day so I thought cutouts would be a good choice.I got the recipe out of our church cookbook(United Dayspring).

1c.brown sugar,1c.white sugar,1c.butter,2eggs,1c.milk,2tsp.baking soda,3tsp.baking powder,1tsp.vanilla,1/2tsp.salt,6c.flour.combine butter & sugars then add the rest of the ingredients.roll out the dough on a floured surface & cut into desired shapes.bake @ 350' till just set.the best part of this recipe is there is no chilling time.

I was sure i saw a heart cookie cutter in my drawer last week but today when i went to get it,it was missing. My guess is,a couple little play-dough-playing kiddos snatched it & forgot to bring it back so I improvised...flower shaped cookies with hearts piped onto them.

they were a hit! The children smelled them as soon as they got in the house after school.

I decided if I'm baking anyway I'm going to make a pan of  Pumpkin cinnamon rolls for our neighbors. While Andy was gone for 9days in Haiti the neighbor boy came over every day to feed our chickens for me so I didn't have to bundle the children up every day & take them out with me to feed them.A HUGE help considering how chaotic my week was,& they didn't let me pay them so this was something I could do for them in exchange.

this is the only recipe I ever use for cinnamon rolls,they truly are the best!

Melt 2/3c.milk & 4TBLS. butter in a saucepan till scalding.while that is getting hot combine,1c.pumpkin,4TBLS.white sugar,1tsp.salt,2eggs,2pkgs.yeast.slowly add the milk mixture while whisking.then add 4c.flour,knead well,let rise till doubled,roll out onto a floured surface,brush with 4TBLS.melted butter & sprinkle with 1/2c. brown sugar & 2tsp.cinnamon.roll up,jelly roll style & cut into 1in.sections.place in a baking pan & let rise again till doubled, bake @ 350' for 20min.frost with your favorite icing. 

Then for dinner we had pizza rolls,my own invention:)

use your favorite pizza dough recipe,roll it out onto a floured surface,top with your favorite toppings then roll,jelly roll style & cut into 1 inch sections & place on a baking sheet.bake @ 375' till done.

when done brush the tops with 4TBLS.melted butter & 1TBLS.garlic salt,they are delicious!

this is how my kitchen counters look like when I'm in my baking zone! I ran the dishwasher twice today & still had to hand wash some dishes myself.

let me know if you enjoyed the recipes:)!....love reading your comments!

Happy Monday...

    Monday mornings don't get much better than the one I've had today...I woke up to Andy still snuggled sprawled out beside me & my baby boo peeking over the side of his crib,smiling around his pacifier,wondering if mommy & daddy were ever going to get out of bed & feed him.

    Got the two older kids off to school without a hitch then started my laundry which turned out to be only 5 loads instead of my usual 8! yay!

    The sun was just begging me to hang out my towels & bedding,love seeing the linens blowing in the breeze.

I think every toy that the children own has made it's way into the living room,but I haven't heard any crying or fighting yet today so they can just wallow in the toys to their hearts content.

    The tongue always comes out when hes thinking or concentrating really hard:)

    where did it go mom? my ball was here a minute ago....

    I have steak in the crock pot with a mushroom sauce,getting ready to be served with rice & a salad for dinner. So no hurried,what do I make for dinner dilemma tonight....my washing machine is telling me it's done cleaning my laundry & is ready for another load.

good-bye for now & Happy Monday to you all!

 

Day of Rest...

    Sundays are probably my favorite day of the week.I have the privilege to go to church,worship in song & scripture & connect with friends.Then i get to come home,throw on some sweats & a comfy t-shirt & spend the rest of my day with the people I love the most in this world!
     I had nothing planned for lunch till we were about 5 minutes from home,I decided lunch would be biscuits & gravy,quick,easy & delicious.
    Then it was nap time for the kiddos & much needed catching up time for me & A!

    It's just not Sunday unless we have popcorn,so out comes our trusty popcorn maker,two popcorn poppers full? I ask,& was answered with a resounding YES!

I love the fact that there's no laundry to do on this day of rest,no house to clean,lunches to pack,trash to burn etc.It's just me & my family,getting to spend the day together,doing whatever we please!...& today it was games...checkers & connect four,two of our favorites right now.

    Andy had just made a 3-jump move on Aalyvia,note the look of glee on his face.
Had to laugh though,none of us could get a win @ checkers except Andy,but when 4yr. old Weston played connect four w/ daddy,Weston won the 1st go-around & was hardly trying,in fact Weston didn't even know it till we pointed it out:)

    I had a quick notion tonight to make something special for my family for breakfast in the morning so I quickly put together a batch of pumpkin cinnamon rolls w/ brown butter icing...

    There will be some smiling faces when they wake up & see these.A great way to start out a Monday morning!

     wishing you all a fabulous week!

Big January Birthday Bash!

There are only 6 birthdays in January on my in-laws side of the family,Grandpa,2 Aunts,a cousin & 2 of our boys! so January is a big celebration month.This year we got to celebrate a special birthday,(all birthdays are special) but when a baby turns a yr. old here it's a pretty big deal:)

 I found the idea for this monkey cake & the birthday banner above on Pinterest
although Dawson claimed it looked more like a bear,I think I agree.But it didn't matter to River,monkey OR bear,he enjoyed his cake thoroughly!

 he's probably thinking,really? you're actually letting me get my hands messy?

 goin in with both hands with the encouragement from his brother

 Mmmm...thats good!

 when his shirt is off he is constantly playing with his chubby belly rolls,so he would dig into his cake then touch his belly & repeat,so his belly was covered with chocolate:)

& now i've had enough!,is what he seems to be trying to tell us.

 what can I wish for that I don't already have? maybe a DS,like the one the little friend on the right brought to the party & mom caught me sitting in a corner playing with while my friends were off having a wonderful wrestling match,hmmm,yea thats what I want!

 tearing into presents!

 after all the practice River got over Christmas,he knew just what to do when it came time to open his gifts.I swore if anyone ever gifted a drum to one of our children it would go back to where it came from...it's still sitting in the living room with all the other toys though:(

 big sister eager to help

a 100.00 dollar bill from grandpa Raber to start a savings account with,thank you granpa!
Lots of great gifts,good food,& much-loved family times!