The Big Sister and Brother!

I thought I would share a couple of recent pics of the kids! Er, or the most recent ones on the computer!


Annalise Elizabeth, taken on Easter, will be 4 July 8th! My big girl! She has, of course, asked God for a sister and declared if He sends us another brother, she will ask for a boy next time so it will be a girl!

My big boy enjoying some yogurt. Don't you want a bite? He will be 2 September 26.

Both kids at the Little Rock Zoo.

Friday Photo Flashback

Ok, so I hope this isn't cheating, but I am going to share a picture on my computer but I have a reason...just hang on!

This is my BABY who will be 2 in September! Scott and I have really been reflecting on how big he is getting. One reason we have been thinking about it is.....................dun dun dun.................we found out we are expecting again!!!

Spring is here!!!

We are emerging from a week long down pour! We have gotten 13 inches of rain in the past week! Yesterday we rode down to Arkansas Post and we saw these guys sunning themselves in the swamp just before the park.

We counted 5 or 6 baby alligators laying out. We weren't the only ones enjoying the sunshine!

Chicken Spaghetti

One of our family favorites is Chicken Spaghetti. I had a nice big batch made Wednesday with half ready for the oven for supper and half ready for the freezer for another night. Then we find out several church members are without power from a bad storm, so we decided to load it up along with the bread I'd made and a few other things. (Thank you, Paula Deen, for the brownies with stuff I had in my pantry!) We were able to feed a family of 6 as well as another couple in the church. I think it tasted even better being able to share it! Scott preached on the Prov. 31 woman Sunday and made jokes about me bringing food from afar (we live 45 minutes from church.) Anyways, here is my recipe. Its extremely flexible.

2-3 large chicken breasts (or any other cooked chicken you have on hand) boiled and shredded
1 pkg spaghetti (I use Ronzoni Smart Taste to made myself feel a little better about feeding the fam pasta..Barilla Plus is yummy too)
2 cans cream soup (cream of chicken, celery, or mushroom)
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 small onion chopped
2 TBSP butter, margarine, or olive oil
16oz Mexican Velveeta (or plain Velveeta and a can of Rotel)
garlic powder, salt, & pepper to taste
1 can mushrooms (if your fam is down with them)

Cook and shred chicken (or chop, we just prefer the texture of shredded). Cook pasta. Saute veggies until translucent. Add soups & velveeta and cook on low-med until velveeta is melted. Taste and add spices. If using Rotel, add it here. Add chicken to sauce. When pasta is al dente (it will absorb a little sauce so don't over cook it.) drain and mix in sauce. At this point you can eat it, put it in a casserole dish and bake it, or toss it in the crock pot on low and take it somewhere. Oh, and it freezes well if you want to freeze part of it too.

Hope you like it! Like I said, its one of our favs...even my picky 19m old eats it up! Head on over to the Grocery Cart Challenge to get a ton more yummy recipes as well as awesome money saving tips!

Making Your Home Sing Monday: Deep Freeze!!!

So, I realized this weekend I am a grown-up. And not just a little bit...a big HONKIN' grown-up. We are getting a deep freeze (a chest freezer for non-southerners) and I am completely psyched! For the past 5 years I have dealt with the skinny excuse for a freezer on the side-by-side fridge that came with our house. My head is filled with the amazing things I will be able to do with a freezer......freezing casseroles, milk on sale, meat on sale, fzv veggies on sale...ok,anything I can find on sale and get in a freezer bag is going in this bad boy! So, how is this going to make my home sing you ask? In all seriousness, I really do think I can save us money with it. My hubby is NOT a fan of leftovers, so my recipes that tend to make more than we can eat (like chicken spaghetti) I plan to freeze half of it for a later meal then it isn't "technically" leftover. I also plan to put up a lot from my garden as well as corn and purplehull peas from nearby. Anyone have any wonderful suggestions for ways to make my home sing with a freezer????

Head on over to Momstheword for other great Making Your Home Sing suggestions!

Praises and Prayers

THANK YOU for those of you who read and prayed for rain! This morning there was nearly 4 inches in the rain gauge this morning! God is so good. Scott will have a much slower week at work before the flurry of bean planting starts.

As for the changes I mentioned, God has us on the move. Not physically, but in churches. Scott resigned from his pastorate this morning. It wasn't an easy decision for him to come to, but I supported it. He feels God leading him more toward a teaching/small group ministry. We aren't sure where yet, but we know God knows and will reveal it to us in His time. So please keep praying for us. The last Sunday in May will be his last Sunday at our church.

Blogging my laziness....

I confess, I am lazy today. Ever have a day like that? I am resisting the urge to go lay down because I know I will go to sleep and there is no telling what my 3yr old would do! Its the day of the month where I crave Fritos and M&M's and I just can't inspire myself to be productive. I found a fantastic sounding bread recipe I am going to try when I motivate myself to. It has been a long week. God has been dealing with Scott and I on a few issues and we know there are changes on the horizon (I will share soon) and it has been a taxing week mentally. Can I be selfish enough to ask you to pray for rain so hubby could have a day off tomorrow? He is the inventory control manager for a seed company here and during planting he works 6 days a week, often 10+ hours a day, then preaches on Sundays. My man is tired!

Well, that bread isn't making itself, and I need to put Anna on www.starfall.com so I guess you are done enduring my ramblings.......