Clueless

Tonight I was with two beloved girlfriends of mine. Girlfriends that I rarely get to sit down with - but every 3 months or so we have a long powwow and it's like only a day has passed since the last time.

It was like that this evening and after 4 1/2 hours we had covered a LOT and then some...one of which was a huge news flash to me.

One of them mentioned their Christmas present - a wireless bluetooth - if I am even getting the words right there. I asked her if she wanted that and she said that she needed it since the law about no driving and talking on cell phones had gone into effect since January 1st.

(You are all shaking your heads with smug or delightful pleasure because you know where this is headed)

No need to continue retelling the way our conversation went. But all of a sudden of few recent happenings made more sense - like how my mom-in-law got one of those aforesaid devices too and how I thought how amazing she was in becoming such a seeker of technology! And then how when I asked my sis-in-law last week if she was "out and about" when I called her she said, "no..I don't do that anymore - no one should Stefanie"....and how I felt a little crushed by her words.

Alas - - it all makes sense!!!

Two final thoughts here:

1. Angels have been watching out for me this last month because I have had many a talking moment in my car. And no ticket to show for it - thank you Lord. You knew it would have taken every penny of my first paycheck.

2. I live in a little bubble - I only watch cartoons and three dvrd shows a week - HOW would a MOM who just has her nose to the diaper grindstone even supposed to find out about this law. (pretty sure my husband has no idea either as he would have told me) - Wouldn't he have? I can't wait to tell him in the morning.

Auntie Brag

Here are my three nephews:



Cole Thomas..........Lincoln Pierce..........Miles Terrence

Aren't they sweet?

Side Note - My bro has three boys. I have three girls. My sis has a boy and girl!

These Girls...

I've told you before about my cousins. These are two of them - Kayla Ann and Katelin Jean. Kate has dark hair and Kayla is fair complected. If my approximation is correct, Kayla is 14 years younger than me and Kate is 12 years. When I was growing up, they were MY babies whenever I was around them. Did I tell you too that I loved (love) babies? I rocked them to sleep, fought with my sister and best friend cousin about who got to cart them around, and even asked my aunt if I could keep one of their newborn diapers once because I treasured it's miniscule nature.

Fast forward to yesterday. Katelin is at a nearby college - almost an hour drive, but so worth it! She offered and we ACCEPTED to have the girls come play at her house for the afternoon. It was grand - both to have some time at home alone and to allow my girls some bonding time with Kate! They had fun - she took them all to the grocery store to gather cupcake materials (brave girl) and whipped up the tasty snack with them as one of their activities.

We had switched vehicles so that she could do the above trip. On the way home I was listening to one of her cds - sounded like she had made it. I was rocking out to Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, and Tim McGraw along with other love song crooners. I had to text her and tell her that I was enjoying it! She wrote back and said that her boyfriend Taylor had made it for her.

Is it strange that my first reaction was to listen to the songs again with the new knowledge that my baby cousin's boyfriend had picked each song out just for her. I began to have a roller coaster of emotions inside. First feelings felt were those of sadness that I'm soooo past the age of courting and mixed "tapes" - I felt old all of a sudden. Then those feelings were quickly replaced by memories of Katelin as a little one and how now she's taking care of my little ones and she has a boyfriend..sob sob sob - happy tears!

Needless to say it was embarassing to walk into her house a bit of a mess and her boyfriend and two other guy friends there to meet for the first time. I'm not sure they noticed but when I told Katelin about my experience in hushed tones she laughed and enveloped me in a younger sister to big sister sort of hug.

I'm so blessed! Love you Kate:)

Tragedy in my home town...

This is Alma. Just 22 years old. A mother of a 2 year old. Obviously a stunning girl. She passed away very unexpectedly this week, after having a seizure. Her dear sister and roommate found her. What a tragedy and sorrowful week...my words cannot explain the sadness felt by so many.

She belonged to a well known and loved family in the community I grew up in. She was the fifth of their eight children. Their mother taught about all the little girls who enrolled in tumbling and dance classes at the community center in the 80's and 90's (including my sister and I). With eight kids their family knew and was loved by many classes of kids and teachers in the school district.

I attended the funeral today and I was so saddened by their tragic loss and moved by the outpour of love and support. I got to see so many people I hadn't seen in a long time...and I wondered why it had to be such a sad happening to bring us all back together again.

Please pray for the Acosta family this next week, months.... I can imagine it is going to be even harder for them as they have to leave one another and head back to life...

Tonight I can't not think about something their loving family taught me. And I'll have to backtrack a little bit...I've been wrestling with the question of whether our family is done or if God has another child waiting for us. I've been plagued with the fears of not being able to give enough to so many kids, that I might be cheating my three daughters in some way or another, and what it would mean for our family now and in the future. I still don't have an answer - but I do know now that it can be done and done so lovingly. Those brothers and sisters are so close and they all take care of one another.

I was blessed by their togetherness.

A Little Treasure I stumbled upon...

Great Soup!

Today at mom's group, I prepped this soup for my "girls", so that they were able to come with their crockpots, throw in all the ready-to-go ingredients and head home with dinner in tow!

It is really really yummy ~ a perfect Super Bowl Soup????




Ingredients

* 1 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 lb. deli-roasted chicken, skinned, boned, and coarsely shredded
* 2 Tbsp. butter
* 1/2 cup coarsely chopped celery
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 2 14-oz. cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
* 1-1/2 cups milk
* 1 tsp. bottled hot pepper sauce
* 1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese (6 oz.)
* 1-1/4 cups crumbled blue cheese (5 oz.) (substitute a different cheese, like a sharp cheddar or feta if you detest blue cheese)
* 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (2 oz.)
* 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
* Bottled hot pepper sauce (optional)

Directions

1. In 4-quart Dutch oven melt butter over medium heat. Add celery and onion; cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in broth, milk, and the 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce.

2. In bowl toss together mozzarella, 1 cup of the blue cheese, Parmesan, and flour. Add gradually to soup, stirring after each addition just until melted. Stir in three-fourths of the shredded chicken; heat through. Top with remaining chicken, blue cheese, and hot sauce. Makes 6 servings.
Nutrition Facts

* Servings Per Recipe 6 servings
* Calories 490,
* Total Fat (g) 28,
* Saturated Fat (g) 15,
* Monounsaturated Fat (g) 8,
* Polyunsaturated Fat (g) 2,
* Cholesterol (mg) 145,
* Sodium (mg) 1134,
* Carbohydrate (g) 12,
* Total Sugar (g) 5,
* Fiber (g) 1,
* Protein (g) 45,
* Vitamin A (DV%) 0,
* Vitamin C (DV%) 3,
* Calcium (DV%) 47,
* Iron (DV%) 10,
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Beaming With Pride

This is my newest nephew everybody!!! I've only seen this picture so far, as he was just born today at 12:30pm ~ but isn't he just perfect??!!!

8 lbs and 12 oz of baby and I hear it only took one push - hurray.

I'm so proud to be his auntie ~ and even prouder of my little (17 months younger than me) brother! He is the Daddy of three boys now and I love how he loves them. I'm so thankful he met and married my sis-in-law Meghann ~ they love the Lord and have built a sweet little family on the Rock.

Congratulations guys!!!

The Best Little Trip

I am so behind on this really important blog post:

We ended our Christmas vacation with a one night's stay at the Embassy Suites ~ a favorite spot of ours. This year I actually prayed about what to get the girls from us for Christmas - what a novel idea, right?! Alas I had never thought to do that before... And the first thing that came to my head was to do something memorable and fun with the girls.

So they got a $10.00 Santa gift this year, and a really stuffed stocking, and then we ended our short little Christmas morning-present opening-celebration by sitting them down and telling them that we had booked the Embassy for a one night's get-away at the end of that week. To my relief and excitement they were ecstatic. It truly was their favorite gift this year and they counted down the days all week.

We had a really fun time swimming and swimming and swimming. A little eating in there too I guess:). We woke up there on Ruby's 2nd birthday - another reason for our outing. It was perfect. I think we have decided to make it a tradition.

I left the hotel that afternoon telling Mike that my "family time cup" was over-brimming with JOY (and chlorine).











We went home and all the girls in the house took naps:) Mike took the awake shift so I could regain some of the not-great-night's sleep that I got at the hotel. I felt no guilt to squeeze in a 2 hr nap that afternoon, as he informed me right before we went to sleep at the Embassy that he would be wearing ear plugs so that he could a good night's rest. As much as that peeved me a bit, I know that we work best taking turns:) in this parenting partnership. So alas, my nap....it was great! And then I woke up and had 2 hours to pick up the house, run to the grocery store for some balloons and such and get ready for Ruby's small birthday party. It was a cozy affair and a huge success! We ended the festivities by watching Ruby's first home video - oh how's she's grown!