Happy Easter!

He is risen!  

He is risen indeed!

For our family, Easter is a time to celebrate.
We celebrate our resurrected Lord Jesus. 
We celebrate the Life He alone gives us.
And to celebrate, we spend time together with loved ones.

This year, we celebrated today (Saturday) with T's family.  Tomorrow, Easter Sunday, we'll celebrate with my parents.  Tomorrow afternoon, Bubba and I will also participate in a special celebration dance.  Up to Faith has organized a "global" dance event--groups and individuals around the world are doing this same dance on Easter Sunday.  We'll record our efforts and send our edited video to Up to Faith who will in turn re-edit ALL the videos they receive together into one!  Wow!  I will try and post a link to the final video once it's available.

1 backyard + 169 plastic eggs + 11 kiddos = a slightly chaotic bit of fun!

 

All the eggs were found. Including the special EMPTY one--a reminder that Jesus' tomb was empty!

He is risen!

He is risen indeed! 

thirteen

lucky or no, thirteen is how many years i've been married to my best friend.  and yes, after 13 years, we're still the best of friends!  i love love love my man and am so very thankful the Lord gave me such a wonderful husband! 

happy anniversary to my sweetheart!  i ♥ u!

4.18.1998

i've put off posting this today because i'm bummed that my man had to leave today.  i'm not talking about the normal go-to-work leave here.  i'm talking about the my-hubby-has-to-go-to-the-cities-7-hours-away-and-won't-be-home-until-thursday-and-i-have-to-spend-my-anniversary-alone-with-the-kiddos kind of leave.  it stinks--at least we think so.  you can take my word on that.  but he had to go for some work-related classes or workshops or whatever they are.  so i understand.  really.  i do.  in my head i do.  but not so much in my heart which tells me he should be here spending our special day with me! 

so what did i do all day?  let's see.  i spent the morning here at my computer.  mostly just doing some perfectioKnits-related stuff and Facebook. and dripping on occasion.  after lunch, i decided to distract myself a bit and did a little baking.  had to use up my nearly black bananas before they weren't usable, so i baked a batch of banana "muffins" for cj who doesn't care for cherries.  {just used the same recipe and baked in muffin cups!}   and then a double batch of my mom's banana-cherry bread.  yum!  the house smells wonderful!  i just wish i hadn't bumped the top of my arm on the edge of the oven as i was reaching in for the bread pans.  yowch!  that hurt.  still does a little.  i used an ice pack to cool it down and it doesn't look like it's going to blister.  still not really sure how that happened.  i'm usually VERY careful when baking!

after my baking, i turned the computer back on and did some more perfectioKnits-related business {found some buttons that i think will be perfect for some of my items. good price.  ordered 2 kinds in lots of 100.  so excited that they're coming from the UK!}

we finally decided on ramen noodles for tonight's dinner. 
[yes, mom, we'll manage.  i even have chicken thawing in the fridge for tomorrow.]
and now i'm back on here writing this while the boys are deciding which movie we're going to watch.  i think they've decided...so it's time for me to go!

Decorah eagles

I've been so busy starting my perfectioKnits business on Etsy, that I haven't been able to keep up with this blog at all lately!   One of the more interesting things that's being shared on Facebook these days is the following live video feed.  These eagle parents and babies are so fun to watch!  I had hoped to see the 3rd eaglet hatch, but even though I missed it, it's been very educational {for both myself and the boys} watching the parents care for their young.



Live Broadcasting by Ustream


Enjoy!  I have some perfectioKnits work to do now!
Have a happy Saturday!

sticky buns! yum!

i'm just lovin' my new kitchenaid mixer!  i finally had time friday to make these...

it's one of my all-time favorite recipes--sticky buns.  but without a stand mixer, it was a lot harder to mix up the dough.  my hand mixer just couldn't quite do it properly.  that's why i hadn't made these since before cj was born!  i'm so glad to have the right tool for the job now!  only problem is yummy baked goods like these aren't good for people who are trying to lose weight and not gain more. 

they sure were delicious though!

Happy Valentine's Day! (recipe included)

I hope your Valentine's Day has been as lovely and fun as mine! 

My hubby and I did a little shopping together this weekend.  While we were at Sears to return a shirt I had purchased that ended up being a tad too big, he "hunted" for a certain item I've been wanting for quite a few years...

Can I just say I was so surprised?!  And isn't the red a fun color?  I shall always remember that he gave it to me for Valentine's Day!  ♥ 

So, I tried out my new KitchenAid today and made a double batch of chocolate chip cookies. Yummy!

If you're like me and you like your chocolate chip cookies to be just a little bit crispy on the outside but nice and chewy on the inside, you'll want to try this recipe for sure!   

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies   Yields about 24 cookies
1 egg
1/2 cup shortening (or butter)
1 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (I substitute milk chocolate chips and my hubby loves 'em!)

Set the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
Grease the cookie sheets (or use parchment paper...much easier).
In a small bowl, beat egg until light and foamy. Set aside.  (My KitchenAid hand mixer got used for this recipe too!  Didn't want to hurt it's feelings after almost 13 years of it being my only mixer!)
In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and brown sugar.  Add beaten egg, vanilla and water.  Beat until smooth and creamy.
Sift together flour, soda and salt.
Stir half the dry ingredients into batter. Then stir in the other half until all the flour is blended into the batter.  (I just added it gradually and mixed the batter until it was all blended together.)
Stir the chocolate chips into the batter.
Drop rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto greased (parchment lined) cookie sheet.
Bake about 12 minutes.  Cool on wire rack. 

A double batch works really well.  ENJOY!

So I had thought that my new KitchenAid mixer was all I was getting.  I mean, really!  It's a VERY NICE GIFT!  But no.  My wonderful husband had also ordered me a Kindle.  He brought it home today at lunch--handed the box to me with the mail--and I could see it had been opened so I popped the box open and I believe the words that left my mouth were "No WAY!  You're SICK!"  I guess that what ya get when you really surprise me.  LOL! 

I spent the afternoon learning how to use it. (No school today! Mommy wants to play!) I already have a bunch of free books including The Light of Eidon by Karen Hancock.  It's the first in a wonderful series that I've read and own in paper format too.  How fun to get it free for my Kindle too! Next I need to figure out how to download PDF files to it and maybe MP3s too.  I'm just so happy, I could burst!

My poor, dear, hubby didn't have such a great day though.  He's sick.  Poor guy!  I put him to bed early and I hope he's feeling better by morning.  He even has a low-grade fever.  Not very fun.  I wish I could make him feel better with a hug and a kiss, but I tried...it didn't work. 

Get well, my love!  And thank you, again, for the wonderful gifts this Valentine's Day!  I love you.