I was only gone for 20 minutes...

I went for a walk around the block last night, and came back home to this craziness:

Yes, it's a diaper - but at least it was a clean one. I have to give credit for this to the daddy.

Tonight, after dinner, the clouds were just amazing. I thought this was so pretty and couldn't help but take a picture. It was so much better in person. It was really cool how the sun's rays came thru the break in the clouds - this picture just doesn't do it justice.

Happy Sunday evening. Hope you have a great start to your week.

Bad Hair Day

...and I thought I had bad hair days!

(I know, Mom, you don't like it.)

Back from a blogging hiatus

For those of you who were actually reading my blog for a while noticed that I haven't updated since Christmas time. I had to stop blogging because I found that it was beginning to consume my time and thoughts. I ended up spending more time on the computer than with my family - it became an obsession almost. A sermon at church was what got my attention - it was about where our priorities lie. What did I put in front of Christ? And before my own family? It was definitely the sermon for me...so that's why I stopped. So, to get back on track, I've posted a few pictures to show you what's been happening this summer.

Gavin loves to eat tomatoes off of dad's tomato plants.

Dad built Gavin a sandbox this summer. He loves to roll around in it and play.

We went to the beach with some friends at the end of June. Gavin loved the sand, of course, but wasn't too crazy about the ocean waves. He did like standing at the edge of the water and splashing in it, though.

Our Very Busy Christmas

All the hoopla and excitement, and now it's over. We stayed busy for 2 weeks straight - something going on every single night. It took forever to copy all 400-something pictures on my computer. Yeah...you read it right....over 400 Christmas pictures!!! Am I insane or what? So, instead of posting 400 pictures, here are 23. Hope you had a great Christmas!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

In the past few posts, I've shown you my poor attempts at baking Christmas goodies. But behold, I bring you good news of great joy! I have a found a recipe that I have tried and conquered! Not only did they turn out great, they tasted great too - especially with a glass of milk!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

3/4 cup butter, melted 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract 2 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 6-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips (or 1/2 of the regular sized bag) 3/4 cup powdered sugar 1. In a mixing bowl, mix the melted butter, cocoa pweder, and sugar. 2. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. 3. In a separate mixing bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 4. Slowly mix in the wet ingredients. Then stir in the chocolate chips. 5. Refrigerate for 2 hours - or overnight. 6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 7. Form dough into 1-inch balls and roll in powdered sugar. 8. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for 12 minutes. *Makes about 20-25 cookies

And to leave you with another one of my child's antics...

It wasn't just one finger picking - it was a double picking. I couldn't stop laughing. (I guess my laughing isn't going to help matters when he starts doing it all the time.)

Birthday Shout Out and Advent

Some old man I know got even older last week!

Happy birthday, Dad. I love you.

So, doing my advent activities isn't as easy as I had planned in my head. I sat down one day and strategically placed activities on certain dates to try to keep them in the flow of our normal lives. But I'm just not doing good at all.

As of tonight, we've only completed 4 activities:

1. We were supposed to read the legend of the candy cane, but the library was out; so instead, we read about Mary's baby.

2. We cooked dinner for our grandparents. Menu - chicken casserole, green beans, and sweet potatoes

3. We had red and green pancakes for breakfast.

4. We made Christmas goodies to share with others.

reading about Mary's baby

red and green pancakes for breakfast

Jason rolling out cookie dough to make candy cane cookies our cookies actually came out right this time!

and they taste great too!

More Stuff

Last night, mom, Kelli and the kids, and I, attempted to make some goodies to share with friends. I love the Ritz crackers with peanut butter dipped in white chocolate. I found out how to make them, so I didn't think it would be all that hard. Well, this is how they turned out:

They didn't look good, but they sure tasted good!

~

This morning while I was washing clothes, Gavin mysteriously disappeared. I noticed he had gotten really quiet and I didn't hear him running around anywhere. So, I called for him several times and never got an answer. When I went into the kitchen, I found him with his face up next to the washing machine and humming to the tune of the spin cycle.

~

After I put Gavin to bed tonight, I went back in to check on him and make sure he was covered up. This is how I found him:

Gavin makes me laugh so much.