Playing Catch Up

For the past month and a half we have not had wifi. And our macbook is weird and it wouldn't let me connect through the cable...so I haven't been able to or had the time to go to Panera and upload pictures/work on the blog/sell things on ebay/keep up with our budget/you get the picture. Does anyone know how to use icloud by the way? I have pictures that say photostream on my phone but I'm not sure where they are streaming to. They don't seem to be on my computer.

Anyways. Here are two fun things that happened that I just didn't want to miss writing about.

**Thanksgiving.
We missed my sister's family and baby Kaleb while they stayed in Charlotte, but we enjoyed seeing both sides of my family and spending the day with the Domec's. We always see a movie on Thanksgiving night with my dad's side and for the past 2 years, they have picked a kid friendly movie so that Braylen can come with us. This year we saw the Muppets and it was really cute! Pretty funny too. My mom's side usually has our get together the day after or on Saturday and I am so thankful for that because we don't have to rush out of there. We ended up staying for a while at my aunt's house, ordered pizza, and watched the UK game. This year we made Caramel-Pecan Pie with homemade pie crust and Braylen helped us. He loves being in the kitchen. My mom usually makes this pie and it is soooo good. We also made Pumpkin Cake and it is always delicious.

**Babymoon to New Orleans
We like to visit Guy's family once or twice a year down in New Orleans so we snuck in a trip on the first weekend of December. Braylen stayed with grammy and poppy (Guy's parents) so it was a nice trip just the two of us. One last little getaway before we become a family of 4. We flew standby which is always a nightmare but we eventually made it down there. We enjoyed seeing family, cute baby Ava, and eating much food as possible. :) One of my favorite places to eat down there is called Zea's. It was especially good now that I'm further along in my pregnancy and everything tastes delicious. But the real reason for our visit was to go to a Saint's game!!! One of my good friends from high school's husband is on the coaching staff for the Saints! Seriously. She is that cool.  She offered to get us tickets to a game and we were like, um yes please!

My love for the Saints is obviously because I am married to Guy, but I really do like this team. When Katrina hit and wrecked the city a few years ago, it had an impact on Guy's family too. His grandma stayed with them for months as well as another couple who stayed for a few weeks. After everything "settled" down, the Saints actually won the Super Bowl and it was so amazing. It was like a huge victory for the city! It was really emotional for everyone connected to Katrina. We took a last minute trip to New Orleans a week after they won the Super Bowl and the city was seriously crazy! People were so excited! And it was during Mardi Gras so we saw Drew Brees in one of the parades.

*If you've never gone to Mardi Gras, you should totally go! It is so much fun! It is so not like "girls gone wild" unless you visit Bourbon Street-which we never go to. 

So back to the game. Kelly graciously offered us tickets and told us that we could go on the field for pre-game warm ups! Wow. I am pretty sure that if no one was watching, Guy would have ran sprints around the field out of pure joy and excitement. It was awesome being so close to the players and coaching staff. Even the owner came by and rubbed my belly. :) He said you've got something poking out of there. Can you believe the owner actually says hello to the fans?  Mike Brown, take some notes! We took some amazing pictures and had the best time.

The Saints killed the Lions and after the game, we went to the post-game after party! The families of the players and coaching staff are invited and you needed a special bracelet to get in. We saw a few of the players and Drew Brees wife and Coach Peyton's wife (or ex-wife....drama.). When we were leaving the parking lot in Kelly's car a few people actually stopped us for an autograph because they thought there was a player in our car. Oh I forgot to mention that I almost met Will Ferrell. He just didn't hear me yelling his name.

We had the best time! It was a perfect, much needed trip for the two of us. I am so thankful to be married to my best friend!

 On the field! 

Will Ferrell! So close to meeting him! Not sure what I would have said. I love you? You're hilarious? 

Pierre Thomas!

Drew Brees!

A New Recipe for Each Week

I didn't really plan to do this but for the past two weeks, I have made a new recipe at least one time for dinner. I have been really inspired to continue to do this every week (we'll see how long I can do it for at least!!). My mom gave me the Pioneer Woman Cookbook for Christmas and I love it! She is a very good cook. I can't wait to try lots of recipes (including Spicy Pulled Pork with tortillas, Cinnamon Rolls, and pico de gallo-which I am making this weekend for Bray's small family party). I also have a ton of recipes from when I had a subscription to Cook's Country. They have awesome recipes! They tend to be somewhat intimidating but I have found that if you organize your ingredients ahead of time, they are very easy to follow. Just last week I made Steak with Crispy Spiced Potatoes for Guy's birthday dinner. It was from Cook's Country. It was delicious and super, super easy. Here is the recipe:


Steak with Crispy Spiced Potatoes
1 pound red potatoes, quartered
2 tbsps veg. oil
2 strip steaks, about 1 1/2 inches thick, trimmed of fat and halved crosswise
Salt and pepper
2 tbsps unsalted butter
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (omit if using hot paprika)


1) Toss potatoes and 1 tbsp oil in large bowl. Wrap tightly with plastic and microwave until edges of potatoes are translucent, 4 to 7 minutes, shaking bowl (without removing plastic) to redistribute potatoes halfway through cooking.


2) Pat steaks dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat remaining oil in large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Cook steaks until well browned, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and tent with foil.


3) Drain potatoes and cook in empty skillet until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Add butter, oregano, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Serve to your hungry husband!!


Or if you'd rather, just pull up a chair, relax and snack on some cheerios!

PUMPKINS!

Last weekend we took Braylen to Kinman Farms in Burlington, KY and we had a blast! We rode the tractor down to the pumpkin patch, went through the corn maze, sat by the bonfire, sipped apple cider and shared a funnel cake. When you ask Braylen where he went or where he got his pumpkins, he says "At the farmer's house!" so cute. This year we went at night and there were not many pumpkins left! We had to use a flash light to find them! :)

Last year we went during the day and we took some amazing pictures of Braylen. I just remember Braylen running up and down the dirt road, so happy that he found his pumpkin! He barely has any hair! 

The year before, 2008, here is Braylen peeking out our front door. I just had to include this "pumpkin" picture because it is so darn cute. Look how little he is! 

(Try to ignore the reflection of the house across the street!)

What a cute little boy. He is all about pumpkins right now. We have 3 on our porch-mommy's, daddy's, Braylen's. He likes to kick his off the porch. I do not like that as much. 

What I do like though is this delicious recipe for Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting! Oh wow. It is soooo good. I am new to baking with pumpkin but I love it. This is my mom's recipe but when I read the directions I noticed there were no instructions for how long to bake it. When I asked my mom how long, she said I don't know. Like 30 minutes? I love my mom. She is a great baker. I found this recipe at Tammy's Recipes that uses the exact same ingredients and has proper instructions on how to bake it. 

Happy Fall!!

Camping 101

My family has been going camping for years! Back then we used a tent. I have really fun memories as a kid going camping. Nowadays, we use my mom and dads camper. Some people say it's not camping unless you are in a tent, blah, blah, blah. These people have never owned a camper. :) We love going camping with my parents! Tons of games, snacks, camp fire food, hiking, and relaxation! Over the weekend, the three of us went camping with my parents and we had a blast! Here are a few "must-do's" if you are wanting to go camping!

1) Pick your campsite. Mom booked us a site at Fort Boonesborough Ky State Park. Mom and dad have been all over the tri-state with their "camping group" so they know the fun places to stay.

2) Make sure you hook your truck up to your camper. Make sure that it is nice and secure.

3) Bring a wheelbarrow to unload things like wood for your campfire.

4) Don't forget to pack a warm, comfy hat. Sometimes it gets chilly around the campfire.

5) Be ready to play lots of games. We like to play Euchre, corn hole, and hide and seek in the camper.

6) After you've enjoyed a nice meal (like BBQ, baked potatoes, corn on the cob and green beans!), sit back, relax and enjoy your evening. This is the life. :)

We enjoy camping so much! Our next trip is to Brookeville, IN for the Annual Family Camping Trip. I wrote about it last year. We have been doing this trip for about 10 years now and it is a blast!

One of our favorite campfire snacks is Cinnamon Biscuits. You have to try them.

Supplies and ingredients:

1 can of biscuits, roasting sticks, cinnamon, sugar, and butter (spray butter is easy to use)

-Take one biscuit and slowly stretch it out to make it long enough to twist around the top of a roasting stick. Twist it around the stick. Roast over the fire slowly. Once it is no longer doughy, remove from the stick. Combine cinnamon and sugar. Take cooked biscuit, roll in butter and then roll in sugar mixture. ENJOY! It is sooooo good!!!

Happy Camping!

Sunday Breakfast

Since we are on a very, very limited budget these days, I have been trying to be more creative with meals and using what we have in the house. So I thought I would do a little research on the internet. You can find TONS of super delicious recipes in blog land. Most blogs link to other blogs so the possibilities are ENDLESS! I can browse all day.......... anyways. I came across the blog Making Chicken Salad and found this recipe for Oatmeal Pancakes. Braylen loves "meal" and asks for it a few times a week for breakfast. I bought a giant box of original oatmeal from Sam's months ago and I usually just make a small serving of it for Bray and mix it with applesauce and cinnamon.

It's a very simple recipe and most of the ingredients are staples that you would have around the house. The recipe says that it makes 8 but I only made 6. I think next time I will not make them as thick. They were very good and Braylen was able to help mix the ingredients. He ate 2 pancakes up before I even finished my 1! Next time I might put applesauce on top of Bray's too instead of syrup.

Guy had to work all weekend so it was just Braylen and I for breakfast!

How cute is that little mug? I got that for Guy for his first Father's Day over 2 years ago!

Being creative in the kitchen is a lot more fun that I thought! Now if only I knew what to fix for dinner tonight........any thoughts?

Processed Food: To Eat or Not To Eat......

Ever since we watched the Food Revolution with Jamie Oliver, our family has been trying to eat out less and we have minimized how much processed food we eat. That also means less fried foods and soft drinks! I don't know why I've never questioned what I eat but watching that show (we actually bought the book too!) has really inspired me to cook with all natural items. I don't mean organic, I just mean using items that are fresh! I have always cooked with "convenient" food items so it's been really fun to be creative with our meals. I remember that when Guy and I were newlyweds (I guess we're still pretty new!), I was going to make pancakes one morning when Guy said, why don't we make them from scratch? I thought- you can't make pancakes from scratch! Silly boy! You have to buy it in a box! Guy-very lovingly mind you-told me that you can make pancakes from scratch along with most processed foods. WHAT???? Like I said, I don't know why I never thought of that before, but here I am ready to conquer the cooking world.

Last night I made my first homemade marinade for chicken! It was teriyaki chicken-I used 1/4 cup of water, 1 tbsp of light soy sauce, 1 tbsp of lemon juice, 1 tbsp of packed brown sugar, 1 tsp of veg oil, 1 clove of garlic chopped, and S&P to taste. Mix it all together and marinade chicken (or other meat) for at least one hour and no longer than 24 hours. My super cool husband grilled the chicken along with sliced pineapple! If you've never grilled pineapple before, DO IT RIGHT NOW! IT'S SO GOOD! We had brown rice and zucchini as our other sides. Braylen ate like a champ too! I hate to pat myself on the back, but I was pretty pleased with how things turned out. I'm still pretty new to cooking but I have enjoyed finding new meals to make.

I never realized how bad processed food is for you! I've been looking at nutrition labels and have no idea how to pronounce some of the stuff that is in certain foods. Crazy! I've been really mindful of this while shopping at the grocery store. Although there are some things that I'm not ready to give up. Like tortilla chips, frozen waffles, juice drinks, fruit snacks, to name a few.

On another note, Braylen has been so much fun lately. He has come up with this super funny fake laugh. And he does it all the time. Especially if he feels shy or if a stranger says hello. It is so cute. He is so friendly to people. He is saying his ABC's too. Well.....kind of. He sings "a, b, c, d, e, e, e,...a, b, c, d, e, e, e,.... over and over. And then sometimes he'll say "p" or "v" or "me" like it's the end of the song. so cute!

On Tuesday while we were meeting for bible study, Bray was looking out the window and waving to cars. We had the window open, so when our friend Rick showed up for study, Braylen said "Hi! Hi baby! Hi baby!" It was so funny. Sometimes when he's playing by himself I can hear him say "hi mommy, hi daddy, hi baby." He just brings so much joy to people. I am so blessed to be his mom.

A Night With Friends

Last night we had the opportunity to meet up with some great friends-Kevin and Katie Williams and Shannon and Kurt Baker! It's really amazing how the Lord has used friendships to keep us connected to one another. Here is the connection:

-Kevin and Katie were Guy and Shannon's YL leaders at Boone back in the day

-Guy and Shannon were like BFF in high school!

-Shannon and I played bball and soccer against each other in high school

-I met Kevin and Katie when they were just dating when I first started doing YL in college

whew........Kurt and Shannon met a few years ago-his a fireman and super cool. Anyways. We had the best evening! We met at Abeulo's at 5:30pm and seriously didn't leave until 8:30! A 3 hour dinner! Good thing we have the most flexible child in the world (knock on wood-he did manage to pour a 1/2 empty glass of water onto his shirt and my jeans. chilly.). Guess we need to reconnect with them more often! Kevin is the area director for Urban YL in Cincinnati and Shannon and Kurt do YL at Holmes high school. They have such amazing (and funny) stories of how the Lord is moving in their school communities. Katie and Kevin are going to Ethiopia in 2 weeks to adopt twin baby boys! The boys are so sweet and adorable and have NO idea how loved they are going to be. We are so thrilled for them! Wow. The Williams and the Bakers continue to live by faith alone and it is a blessing to be their friends.

I have finally remembered to post my recipe for homemade granola. I never thought I would like something like this but I LOVE it and try to make it once a month! It's a good, healthy alternative to cereal. It is from my friend Kerri who made it for a leader retreat this past summer.

Homemade Granola

Ingredients:

2 cups regular rolled oats

1 cup chopped or sliced almonds

1/2 cup pecan pieces

1/4 cup toasted wheat germ (or honey roasted)

1/2 cup honey or maple flavored syrup

2 tablespoons veg oil

Dried fruit

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

1) In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, seeds and wheat germ. Stir together honey

and cooking oil; stir into oat mixture. Spread evenly onto a greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned; stirring after 20 minutes.

2) Spread evenly on large piece of foil to cool. Break into clumps. Stir in 1 cup of desired

dried fruit (I use cranberries-but you can use raisins, apricots, cherries,

fruit bits, banana slices). Store in airtight container for up to 1 week or store in

freezer bags and freeze for up to 2 months.

*I like to eat mine as cereal but the boys eat it with strawberry yogurt!

Organization is the key to success

I had a middle school teacher who made us write "Organization is the key to success" on all of our folders. She was so right. :) I have found that if I do not have a list of things that I'd like to accomplish throughout the week, I completely slack off! Now that Braylen is taking 3-4 hour naps a day (I love that kid) it is really easy to be lazy during that time. There are so many things that I can do while he is napping. I found this blog by a very traditional, religious woman who had an awesome idea of how to organize your time as a stay at home mom. You can find her ideas by clicking here. I am going to start using her method and will let you know how it works!

Last night for dinner, I made Chicken Squares! I love this meal. My mom makes it a lot and I'm so glad that I have the recipe. It's so easy.

Chicken Squares

1 pound cooked chicken, shredded or cubed

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

Salt and pepper

1 can crescent rolls

3 tablespoons butter

Bread crumbs

1) Boil chicken for about 20 minutes until no longer pink. Shred or cube into bite size pieces.

2) Mix cream cheese with chicken and add salt and pepper to taste.

3) Roll out crescent rolls. Combine triangles to make a square (you will have 4 separate squares).

4) Add chicken mixture to square, roll up sides and pinch at the top to cover the chicken.

5) Melt butter, cover chicken square in butter and then roll in bread crumbs.

6) Cook at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Hope everyone has a great thanksgiving day! "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever." Psalm 101

Book worm

Went to the Y today with Braylen. He loves it there! One of the child care workers told me that he loves to sit on her lap and read books with her. She said that he gets book after book to read. So cool! That is definitely one of his favorite things to do. He loves to read Curious George books! We have one George book but I have gotten a few from the library. When I say "where's George?," he points to George on the book. He is just learning and growing so much.

Tonight Guy has class from 6-9:15pm! Bah! It's his longest class. We miss him so much around here! Jess comes over to watch Braylen while I go to bible study at 8pm. It's a busy night. What a blessing it is to have such a flexible, easy going child. :) Guy is planning a daddy and Bray "day" next Saturday when he doesn't have his class. That will be fun! It will be a nice little break for mommy too. What should I do.........

Tonight I made BBQ Chicken Pizza. So delicious! Here is the recipe:

BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 can of pizza dough (10/11 ounces)

2 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into small pieces

1/2 chopped red onion

1/2 chopped red pepper

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 BBQ sauce (I use Kraft Honey BBQ)

2 cups shredded cheddar or colby jack cheese (or less)

Garnish with chopped cilantro

1) Preheat oven to 400. Unroll dough on lightly greased pan. Bake for 12 minutes or until brown.

2) Meanwhile saute chicken, onions, and red pepper on hot pan with olive oil for around 8-10 minutes.

3) Spread BBQ sauce all over baked pizza dough. Top and spread chicken mixture over BBQ sauce. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

4) Bake pizza for 5-8 minutes-until cheese is melted.

5) Garnish with cilantro.

*Serve with side salad or fruit salad!

Tomorrow we are going to the zoo with Jess and Vince! Going to be a great time!

Taco Soup

Tonight I am making Taco Soup for dinner and thought I would share the recipe because it's so easy and delicious! Please who doesn't love soup in the Fall!

Taco Soup

1 pound of ground beef or ground turkey

1/4 cup of chopped red onion

1 1/2 cup water

1 can corn, undrained

1 can pinto beans, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 packet of taco seasoning

Sour cream, guacamole, chopped cilantro, shredded cheese

Cook ground beef and onions until no longer pink. Drain grease. In a large pot, mix beef and onions with water, corn, beans, and taco season. Simmer for 30 minutes. You can also add more water or chicken broth.

Serve with sour cream, guac, cilantro, cheese

Makes 4-6 servings.

"Abee, Abee, Abee"

"Abee" is Braylen's new favorite "word." He says it all day long. I have no idea what it means. Up, hold me, feed me, happy.....he uses it for everything! I can't wait for him to start actually talking. It's so funny! He woke up this morning saying it.

Yesterday, after I worked out at the Y, I took Braylen to the swimming pool. We saw Bob Boswell and talked with him for a little bit and then went on swimming. Braylen loves the water and since he's been putting his hands into our toilet (YUCK) I figure I should get him into water a lot more. I dunked him a few times and he comes up all wide eyed but he laughs after wards. He thinks it fun. We came home, ate lunch, and both took naps! Braylen slept for like 3 1/2 hours! Yea BabyWise! For dinner, I cooked Chicken Taco Salad (I posted the recipe below) for me, Braylen, and Corrine since Guy was away at bible study. We had study over here at 8pm for the girls and it was good to catch up.

Today we spent time with Grandma and Grandpa Hicks. Braylen had a good time playing with grandpa while I showed grandma how to import picture onto her computer. He played with all of their toys and books. Now Braylen is napping (and coughing). Tonight we are meeting with the Domec's since tomorrow (our normal day to meet) is Mike and Kim's rehearsal dinner. Can't wait for their wedding!

We have been experiencing a difficult time in our ministry these past few days, as a former Boone County YL student, Laura Chaney, died suddenly in her dorm room at WKU. Guy and I were not her leaders but a few current students knew her well, as does one of our co-leaders, Chris. Chris is also the best friend of Laura's older brother. There have been a few prayer vigil's and Guy was able to go to one last night at the Chaney's house. It's been hard knowing what to do since we are new to the school and because YL is not that well known there. Please pray that the Lord would open doors for us to share His message of hope and love to students who are lost. What a wake up call to us all that life is short and you only get one shot at accepting Jesus into your heart!

Thanks for reading!

Chicken Taco Salad

1 pound boneless chicken

1 can corn, undrained

1 can pinto/black beans (or both), drained

1 can chopped tomatoes or tomato juice

1 packet taco seasoning

Chopped lettuce

Shredded cheese

Sour cream

Crunched up taco chips

1-Boil chicken for 20 minutes and then shred with a fork.

2-While chicken is boiling, on low/md heat add corn, beans, tomatoes/juice to large saucepan. Mix all together and allow to cook.

3-Add shredded chicken and mix in taco seasoning.

4-Top with lettuce, cheese, sour cream and chips. Other toppings: guacamole, cilantro, salsa.