Christmas in Stories and Pictures

First, a few precious morsels:

Talking to Jasmine, after church
Me: Did you sing?
Jasmine: No, I was being a little bit cute.

And a few minutes later
Jasmine: can we listen to more songs?
Me: I'm sorry, we're done singing now.
Jasmine: NO! I want to listen to more songs!


Christmas day, after lunch
Jasmine met Josh coming downstairs
Jasmine: Fank you, LORD.
Josh: for what?
Jasmine: for you!


Can you recognize this song?
dat day de Christmas
long time de me
pantry de de pantry

Posing for whoever had the camera at that moment (my brothers all wanted to give it a spin!)


Enjoying the church service:


My Christmas Dress (a splurge):

Josh in his Christmas Finery (a washable leather shirt!!)


Christmas Breakfast (scrambled eggs and bacon, mom's delicious breakfast bread):

Opening her present from Jasmine (a Veggie Tales memory-type game):

Helping daddy open his present:

In theory, our new Christmas jammies are a Christmas Eve present. But Bekah fell asleep before the church service ended, so we waited 'til Christmas evening instead.


(answer to the song Jasmine's been singing: The Twelve Days of Christmas (she only sings the first day, though))

Infant Holy, Infant Lowly

Pictures coming in a day or two...


Here is my family on Christmas Eve:

Blizzard 2008

My friend in South Carolina invited us to come spend Christmas with her. At this point it's very tempting.

You'd really think I was used to this nasty, cold white stuff...but no.

I have a few pictures of what I can see from inside the house. I haven't been out since Thursday and wouldn't mind staying indoors until we leave for my midwife's appointment and then Christmas Eve celebration with my family on Wednesday. This is some of what I've seen or now see:
Like the angle of the snow? It was even more horizontal Sunday morning!!


The wind created a ramp on both sides of the fence to "jump" over its hurdle. It's a good 4 feet deep at its peak. There are piles by the side of the driveway that are close to Josh's height (i.e. 6 feet).

Yup, all the windows looked like this. On all sides of the house.

He did actually get out late this morning. I don't know how long it took him to shovel his car out, though!

And here's me today, at 23 weeks. Mom says I'm carrying differently this time around...I just know that I'm still out front, the way I always am!

Christmas, Part One (in pictures)

Yesterday we celebrated Christmas with Josh's family. We all had a wonderful time and a delicious feast after all the gift-giving!
Here are a few pictures of the day:

My gift:



"Twinkies":

The poofy skirts from Josh's Grandma:

"I'm not a princess. I'm ballerina!"

And cheating...these are from a few days ago!

Advent Calendar and Trees

I made the girls an advent calendar! we bought one years ago that Jasmine's finally old enough to enjoy, but I thought it would be cool to make one that would be even more personal.



They love it!! It's also a great way to "refresh" their memories on out-of-state family members, since they only see my brothers and sisters-in-law a couple times a year (*sniff*)

And...I think I'm going to make a statement I likely won't turn away from next year.
We're going to take a year or two off of putting up the Christmas tree. When we put it up this year, we made sure the fragile ornaments were on the top or on a different tree (I have a tiny tree on the armoire with ornaments from Josh's grandma that are beautiful and very thin glass...I don't even want to THINK about them breaking!) But I hadn't thought it all the way through, and the girls have been pulling off ornaments daily and playing with the hooks that hold them on the tree. No thank you!!! That, and butchering the garland. So I moved everything to the top half of the tree. Talk about ridiculous-looking!



The only reason there are lights all the way down is because this is a pre-lit tree!

So I want to put this picture up for all to see, and so that I can look at it next November and realize that we don't want to go through that again next year. Yes, I know I could spend the whole month taking them back from the girls and punishing them for disobeying, but it's so incredibly stressful. And they know that, when I'm in my shower or making dinner, I can't stop them. So it's just not worth it. I can't enjoy the tree at all this year!

(edit: there's no way I could go without a tree at Christmastime. I know we'll just find a way to blockade it like we did when the girls were little. It's just overwhelming to think of right now. Hormones are running rampant this pregnancy and my emotions are INSANE!)

Done grumbling. I'm loving the music and the joy in the girls' eyes when we turn another door on their advent calendars, and listening to Jasmine talk about Jesus being born in a barn. And that's what it's about!

If you're still doing your shopping...

Sears is a good place to go!

Not only are they a store that actually recognizes Christmas, but I got this from an email and it definitely makes me want to shop there (though it's not usually my favorite store)

(verified by Snopes)I know I needed this reminder since Sears isn't always my first choice. Amazing when you think of how long the war has lasted and they haven't withdrawn from their commitment. Could we each buy at least one thing at Sears this year?

How does Sears treat its employees who are called up for military duty? By law, they are required to hold their jobs open and available, but nothing more. Usually, people take a big pay cut and lose benefits as a result of being called up.

Sears is voluntarily paying the difference in salaries and maintaining all benefits, including medical insurance and bonus pro grams, for all called up reservist employees for up to two years.

I submit that Sears is an exemplary corporate citizen and should be recognized for its contribution. I suggest we all shop at Sears, and be sure to find a manager to tell them why we are there so the company gets the positive reinforcement it well deserves.

A non-scrapping project: finished!

I learned how to crochet back when I was working at JoAnn's. I figured it would help me answer questions about yarn and hooks better if I had some clue what they were. I've made a handful of simple things (I have never taken the time to do the whole gauge-thing, so I only do things that don't matter in exact size, like afghans and potholders!) but it's a fun, calming project.

Well, calming before I had kids. The girls think the yarn is too cool to pass up, so Jasmine spent time pulling yarn out of the skein to "help" me. I think I'll put away my hooks again for a few years. Someday I can crochet again. And do jigsaw puzzles, too. Ahhh, what a lovely thought.

Anyways, I wanted to show off the finished product.


If anyone is curious about the pattern, it can be found here. I used three strands at the same time and a Q hook, which made it come together much more quickly. It also looks nothing at all like the pattern. I may try with the leftover scraps and a small hook, just to see if it's my crocheting or the fact that it's 3 strands (or is it both?) that changes the way it looks. But I Love it! It's heavy(in a good way; I do live in the Northeast!) and matches our living room well!!

Introducing...

We had our ultrasound Wednesday afternoon. The nurse who did the sonogram was fantastic. She got wonderful pictures of our absolutely perfect baby.



Baby is measuring right on (well, technically 2 days ahead, but nothing they'd change my date over) and everything looks perfect.

And we know now that Jasmine and Bekah have a baby brother!! He was very willing to let us know (unlike Jasmine, who hid in my hips so the tech couldn't tell)

His name is Hudson Tyler, after family on both sides. We're not calling him Humphrey anymore...just straight on to Hudson!

The girls are thrilled. Bekah likes to rub and kiss my belly and say "Hi, Hin" (hopefully the pronunciation will improve before he's born!) and we couldn't be happier. I would have been thrilled with a third girl, but I really thought this one was a boy (so I have a 66% accuracy in guessing my own kids!)

Tidbits

From Jasmine recently:

"Please is the answer"
"Oh, you were right" (to Josh, upon seeing that he had told her where he'd left her coat)
"I fink I don't fink so."
"Fank you, Lord, for my books." (Anne', I thought you'd enjoy that one! She loves all the books you sent home with us!)

Introducing: Wunderkind!

Yesterday Bekah:

*decided it was time to start potty-training. She spent a good portion of yesterday in the bathroom and we anticipate the same happening today

*was tired and touchy, so went up to bed and took a long nap, with no assistance or even a suggestion from me

*answered "no thanks" when Josh asked if she wanted a banana

*said "thanks, Dada, kitty" when he brought her a toy kitty to snuggle with for bed.

Little Morsels

I haven't been keeping up with the little fun things the girls say. They are both so funny! Bekah's started putting words together, and even when it's a single word she can be very amusing. And Jasmine talks in paragraphs and keeps us in stitches with that. She is involved in our conversations at dinner now, which makes them so much more fun.

Bekah's new phrase is "uh-oh, mud." She got it from "Going On A Bear Hunt" :
She says it every time she means "uh-oh." It's really cute to see her say it when she pushes a button on the TV remote and accidentally turns it off.

This morning, Bekah woke up (too early) crying, and Jasmine's response was: (almost in tears) It's not up! I want to sleep more!

We've been munching on M&M's the past few days. Jasmine hasn't figured out why they're called that, though, and thinks each and every candy has the "number" E on it!

New Header!

I finally made a new blog header! Jasmine and Bekah love for me to take pictures of them in their Hawaiian garb, and I'm always happy to oblige!

I talked to a dear friend last night. She just had her second baby, and her two are almost exactly the same age span as my girls. We were talking about how different it is having the second, from having the first.
It really makes me wonder what I'm in for this time!!
I had it pretty easy in a lot of ways. Jasmine was still nursing when Bekah was born, so there was no resentment of the time her baby sister was getting. I had no discipline problems at that point. This time, neither girl is still nursing (Jasmine thinks she'll be allowed to nurse again when the baby's born, though I keep telling her otherwise). Hopefully the fact that I'm used to carrying around the nurseling will make things easier...I can still run around as needed while I'm nursing the baby. At least that's my hope right now!
And the girls are older. Bekah will be 2 years and 3 months, in contrast to Jasmine's 21 months. And she's already so much more independent than Jasmine is still. Jasmine needs to be with people, which is pretty foreign to me, the one who was happy spending hours in her room working on huge jigsaw puzzles.

Dad's words keep coming back to me; when he talks to people who are considering/pregnant with #4, he tells them that going from 2 kids to three is the hardest transition. I'm really trying not to think too much about that, though...it's really not what i want to think about!

I voted! Did you?

We went out first thing this morning and voted! It's a gorgeous day so we walked the 1/4 mile (or there 'bouts) to the elementary school to cast our vote.

I've never gone in the morning, so I don't know if it's usually a busier time than later in the day, or if this election really does have more people getting out to vote. Or both. But there was actually a line in front of us! (well, three people). While we were there, we heard two people ask about registering to vote. I wonder how many people nation-wide hoped they could register today?!
And while we looked at the paper to see what we'd see in the booth, a woman came over and looked, and asked us if she had to vote for all the categories, or if she could just vote for president. It was fun to help someone who was doing it for the first time! (especially because it looked like she was voting the same way we were ;) But I would have helped either way, don't worry).

We wore our most patriotic gear: I'm wearing a shirt with a flag that says "strong and proud," Josh is wearing a shirt with an eagle and flag on it, Jasmine's shirt has a flag on it, and Bekah wore a navy and white dress (no flag gear in the house in her size, unfortunately). We did our patriotic duty and now sit and wait. And pray.

I'm praying for all the people who haven't completely made up their mind, praying they see how important this election is, not to just vote for "history," but to vote for the direction the candidates will take our country. More government intervention, or the promise of less? For the rights of the unborn, or against?

How many kids...

...request bed? By name?
Bekah asked Josh "bed? please?"
Unfortunately, it was too early. I usually love when we get that extra hour of sleep, but this year I wish we didn't. The girls were already going to bed nice and early (i.e. between 7 and 8) and waking up between 5 and 7. I really didn't want to see their shining faces and hear "everybody, it's up!" at 4 in the morning!

A few little morsels from the girls:

Bekah has not only started echoing all the words we say, but she's putting words together now. She loves to say our names, so now it's not just "hi" and "bye," but "hi mama" and "bye dada." Oh, and let's not forget "thanks, mama!"
She can finally tell us what she wants, and "yes" is actually a discernable word (For awhile, "no" was clear but "yes" sounded like "uh" or something similarly unhelpful). She loves talking to her sister and pretending to talk on the phone. ("hello, papa. Oh! yup. bye-bye") and telling us she loves us "ah-vla."

and Jasmine says things that constantly crack us up. This morning I was looking in the mirror at my belly, and said, "is it getting bigger?" She said, "no, mine is! Do you want to pet my Humphrey?" and uncovered her tummy so I could pet him :) She wants to know where s/he will sleep and keeps offering to let the baby sleep with her in her bed! It's so sweet! I hope this love continues when the baby's actually here!!

Next week's election

I was thinking last night that I really wanted to write about this, but hadn't felt comfortable on exactly how to go about it.

Then I received an email from a friend, and it said everything I had wanted to say. So instead of reinventing the wheel, I decided to share what I read.

2008 Presidential Elections

As I consider the catch phrase for Fox News “Fair And Balanced” and think of this presidential election I realize that there is nothing fair and balanced about this election. This is not a time to be “politically correct”, but rather to speak the truth. I have felt directed by the Lord to write a letter regarding this election for about 2 months now, and have agonized over it in prayer for much of this time. I began actually writing this a few weeks ago. Today I start at square one, realizing that though there are many issues, of which I cannot address all, there is one main issue in my life and the life of Christians – believers in the Lord Jesus the Christ.
We are in a moment of time in history that must be answered. We must pray. We must vote.

PROPHETIC WORD FOR AMERICA

October 25, 2008 Neville Johnson, from Australia, spoke this in North Carolina:
“If America divorces Israel, if America starts to step back from Israel, if America begins to put pressure on Israel to divide Jerusalem, God will divorce America, at least for a season, and He will divide the land here, and the land will be open to judgments which are not necessary if this thing swings the right way. We need to understand the seriousness of this. It’s really important that we understand the seriousness of the situation, it could go either way and depends upon the Church; it depends upon the prayers of the Church, the attitude of the Church. And you need to pray that the Bush administration, particularly Condeleeza Rice, is not pushed for signing that into law to pressurize Israel to divide the land before they leave office.”
Neville continues on to say, “If this thing goes the right way there will be tremendous things happening in America. America will become independent of Arab oil; they’ll have new energy sources. Great blessing and prosperity will come. If this goes the wrong way those things will not happen for quite some considerable time.”
God loves America, and wants to bless our nation. He will not compromise His beloved nation, Israel, for America or any other nation, but as we align ourselves with His heart, He will bless us!
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” II Chronicles 7:14
We are called to align ourselves with His word, His truth, His heart. I have been praying Ephesians 5:6-17 for this election, and for the Church: “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: “Awake O sleeper, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but wise, redeeming the time, because he days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:6-17
Here we are admonished to: 1) not be deceived by empty words, 2) have no fellowship with darkness, 3) rather expose it, 4) walk circumspectly, in wisdom not foolishness, 5) redeem the times recognizing that the days are evil, 6) understand the will of the Lord, and 7) Wake up! He is not speaking to the world, He is speaking to the Church, that’s us! In I Kings 18:21 He says through the prophet Elijah: “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God follow Him...”
And again II Thessalonians 3:1-2 says: “Finally brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified,just as it is with you and we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.” We are not only called to pray, but to vote on November 4 for a man who agrees with God.

THE ISSUES

There are many issues surrounding this election: core values & beliefs, personal & political associations, social ideologies, personal beliefs, religious affiliations,senate voting records, economic plans, tax reform, “redistribution of wealth” ideology, foreign policy, the war effort, health & retirement plans, sanctity of life, sanctity of marriage, Israel, personal character, integrity, trustworthiness, & patriotism. These are merely a few issues in question as we prepare to vote on November 4. I will discuss two of the most important issues that are seriously crucial to us & for His Kingdom.

ON ISRAEL & THIS ELECTION

“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14
Our choice for president in this election will have a historic effect on the future of Israel. Both the nation of Israel and the sanctity of life are the passion of God’s heart and therefore mine. During his office from 1945-1954 President Harry S. Truman stood up and took a strong clear stand for the Israel that changed the course of history, when many other nations were against her. He, in effect, was a great intercessor for Israel, the apple of God’s eye. We must choose a leader on November 4th who continues to carry God’s heart for Israel as President Truman did.

JOHN MCCAIN ON ISRAEL

June 2, 2008 in a speech to AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington D.C.: “When President Truman recognized the new State of Israel sixty years ago, he acted on the highest ideals and best instincts of our country. He was a man with courage and a sense of history, and he surely knows what great challenges the Jewish state would face in its early years. To his lasting credit, he resolved that the people of Israel would not face them alone, because they would always have a friend and ally in the United States of America.” In that same speech he said: “The threats to Israel’s security are large and growing, and America’s commitment must grow as well. I strongly support the increase in military aid to Israel, scheduled to begin in October. I am committed to making certain Israel maintains it’s qualitative military edge. Israel’s enemies are too numerous, its margin of error too small, and our shared interests and values too great for us to follow any other policy.” And again: “The State of Israel stands a singular achievement in many ways, and not the least is its achievement as the great democracy of the Middle East. If there are ties between America and Israel that critics of our alliance have never understood, perhaps that is because they do not fully understand the love of liberty and the pursuit of justice. But they should know those ties cannot be broken. We were brought together by shared ideals and by shared adversity. We have been comrades in struggle, and trusted partners in the quest for peace. We are the most natural of allies. And, like Israel itself, that alliance is forever.” (source)

BARACK OBAMA ON ISRAEL

He is in favor of a “Two-state solution” regarding Israel & the Palestinians. He believes we should split Jerusalem right down the middle to be shared by Israel and the Palestinians.
(source) He has many questionable associations and supporters who are clearly anti-Israel. As Greta Van Sustren said last night on her show On The Record (www.gretawire.com): “What in Senator Obama’s record gives us any indication that he is pro-Israel?” The answer is nothing! Unfortunately I could not find anything clear & definitive regarding Senator Obama’s true beliefs on Israel other than a number of questionable associations and supporters in America and around the world that indicate he is definitely not for Israel.

ON ABORTION & THIS ELECTION

I have a very strong, clear stand regarding the issue of abortion. I am for LIFE, as many of you already know, and vote ONLY and always pro-life. I have given the last 5 years of my life to this message, which is the desire of God’s heart in this matter. The sanctity of life is a serious and sacred thing. There is only One who can give life and that same One can take it away. So when I look at the candidates, there is only one man I can vote for before God in regards to this most important issue. Unfortunately, that is not the case for many other Americans. But we will stand in judgment before God if we vote in a president who supports abortion and will further the cause of abortion in America. We must pray! We must stand for righteousness! To those of you who stand for the sanctity of life and have committed to vote this way, I remind you to do so!

JOHN MCCAIN: ABORTION & SANCTITY OF LIFE

“John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench. Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states. The difficult issue of abortion should not be decided by judicial fiat.However,the reversal of Roe v. Wade represents only one step in the long path toward ending abortion...The pro-life movement has done tremendous work in building and reinforcing the infrastructure of civil society by strengthening faith-based, community, and neighborhood organizations that provide critical services to pregnant mothers in need. This work must continue and government must find new ways to empower and strengthen these armies of compassion. These important groups can help build the consensus necessary to end abortion at the state level. As John McCain has publicly noted, “At its core, abortion is a human tragedy. To effect meaningful change, we must engage the debate at a human level.”” Regarding stem cell research Senator McCain says: “Stem cell research offers tremendous hope for those suffering from a variety of deadly diseases – hope for both cures and life-extending treatments. However, the compassion to relieve suffering and to cure deadly disease cannot erode moral and ethical principles. For this reason, John McCain opposes the intentional creation of human embryos for research purposes. To that end, Senator McCain voted to ban the practice of “fetal farming,” making it a federal crime for researchers to use cells or fetal tissue from an embryo created for research purposes. Furthermore, he voted to ban attempts to use or obtain human cells gestated in animals. Finally, John McCain strongly opposes human cloning and voted to ban the practice, and any related experimentation under federal law. As president, John McCain will strongly support funding for promising research programs, including amniotic fluid and adult stem cell research.”

BARACK OBAMA: ABORTION & SANCTITY OF LIFE

“Barack Obama is an original co-sponsor of legislation to expand access to contraception, health information and preventive services to help reduce unintended pregnancies.” In clearer terms Senator Obama clearly supports abortion, and has even written legislation to expand abortion, and is committed to passing the “Freedom of Choice Act” which would prevent even the overturning of Roe v. Wade from having any effect on ending abortion in America. Further it would open the door wide for all types of abortion, including late-term abortion. Senator Obama is so strongly pro-choice that he voted in 2002 against the Induced Infant Liability Act which “would have protected babies that survived late-term abortions” and whose stand is considered more radical than the pro-abortion group NARAL Pro Choice America. (Full article at http://www.humanevents.com/) Regarding stem cell research: “Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that we owe it to the American public to explore the potential of stem cells to treat the millions of people suffering from debilitating and life-threatening diseases. Obama is co-sponsor of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, which would allow research of human embryonic stem cells derived from embryos donated from in vitro fertilization clinics.” (Embryonic Farming) (www.barackobama.com)
The Lord woke me up from my “stupor” regarding the elections when He gave us Governor Sarah Palin as Senator McCain’s running mate and said to me, “You were told if you pray I will give you a VP and you prayed and I have given you Sarah Palin.” I am paying attention now and am voting for John McCain for President of the United States of America. Make no mistake, the position of president of the United States of America is the most powerful position in the world, in the natural. And we are called to agree with God’s word, “the kingdoms of this world shall be the kingdoms of our God!” Amen and amen!
We must not take lightly this election and our need to pray and vote. No man is perfect, but Senator McCain is truly a servant. A McCain campaign advisor and eight-year friend who was on the show “On The Record” last night said of John McCain that he is “an authentic man, consistent, a man of character, modest & humble. Humility is part of what makes a leader great.” We do not need a king, but a servant. And when these elections are over we must continue to pray. Awake O sleeper, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light!

INTERNET LINKS:

www.johnmccain.com
www.barackobama.com
www.townhall.com
www.justsaynodeal.com
www.foxnews.com
www.foxnews.com/oreilly
www.gretawire.com
www.rove.com
www.fredpac.com
www.billoreilly.com
www.hannity.com
www.rushlimbaugh.com

ARTICLE LINKS:

Here are just a handful of links. There are so many that it become tiring to even look, but for those who want to you can start here.
Los Angeles Times Article, April 10, 2008, Allies of Palestinians See a Friend in Barack Obama:
“It was a celebration of Palestinian culture -- a night of music, dancing and a dash of politics. Local Arab Americans were bidding farewell to Rashid Khalidi, an internationally known scholar, critic of Israel and advocate for Palestinian rights, who was leaving town for a job in New York.
A special tribute came from Khalidi’s friend and frequent dinner companion, the young state Sen. Barack Obama. Speaking to the crowd, Obama reminisced about meals prepared by Khalidi’s wife, Mona, and conversations that had challenged his thinking.””

Tony Rezko & Barack Obama, The New York Post, August 21, 2008

William Ayers & Barack Obama

YouTube - Obama Mocking God and the Bible Speech on Religion

Picture-heavy post

Jasmine came down at lunchtime in a new outfit (this is nothing new). But for once, it actually worked together! No stripes with plaids, the colors weren't too close for comfort...I'm not sure where she's learning fashion, since I still struggle with what works together!

Then she started posing for me. So I had to grab the camera, and I just let her do her thing. I suggested one pose, which she took her own direction, and from then it was *all* her!









And then Bekah had to join in:

Thanks for the votes!!

I got enough votes to be pictured on the front page!!

Allrecipes

And for people who don't read my blog the day I write, here is what you would have seen:



And look at that! I'm the only non-Halloween picture of the four :) That makes me happy, since halloween is my least favorite holiday of the year. I love when it's behind us and all the yucky, scary, slimy things go away for another year. Bring on Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Vote for me!

All the new pictures that get uploaded to allrecipes.com are eligible for a vote for "best new picture of the day." I'd love it if people wanted to vote for mine!

I have no idea what happens if I "win," but it would be exciting to see my points rack up!

Here's the page my picture is on. If you hit F3 and type "Josh", it should take you right to my cake. You can't vote for the cake more than once, but you can vote for as many pictures as you want.

Thanks for indulging me!!

Bowling Day

Yesterday was Josh's birthday. He's 29 now! Only one more year and we're in the same decade again.

When the cake was finally cooked and the battery to my camera was charged, we headed off to the nearby bowling alley. They have a cool setup for bumper bowling; it's little rails that come up out of the gutters, so there's virtually no set-up involved for them! They also had a metal ramp that they brought over to give the ball enough momentum to make it all the way down the lane.
The girls alternated turns; they didn't care how they did (which is probably why they got so many strikes!!) Josh and I tried to have a game going as well, but it was too much work. Next time we'll just help them and watch, and not try to do it ourselves.

The smallest ball they had was 6 pounds, which is pretty huge for a 20-month old!

I had some issues with my camera on top of being busy bouncing between trying to play my own (pathetic) game and helping Bekah and Jasmine with theirs. But I got a few pictures worth showing!





(I love the dainty fingers Jasmine had!)

Birthday Cake

I made a new cake for Josh's birthday yesterday. It took longer than it should have because of my poor planning when I started, but it was worth it!



Chocolate Macaroon Tunnel Cake

INGREDIENTS

* 1/2 cup shortening
* 1 3/4 cups white sugar
* 1 egg yolk
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 4 eggs
* 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup cold water
* 1/2 cup sour cream
*
* COCONUT MACAROON FILLING:
* 1 egg white
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 1 cup flaked coconut
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*
* VANILLA GLAZE:
* 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
* 1 tablespoon butter, softened
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 tablespoons milk, or as needed


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.
2. In a large bowl, blend together the shortening, 1 3/4 cups white sugar, egg yolk and vanilla until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time using an electric mixer. Combine 2 cups flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the egg mixture alternately with the sour cream and water. Pour batter into the prepared Bundt pan.
3. In a separate bowl with clean beaters, whip the egg white until soft peaks form. Gradually sprinkle in 1/4 cup white sugar while continuing to whip to firm peaks. Fold in the coconut, 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 teaspoon of vanilla by hand using a spatula or wooden spoon. Drop this mixture by teaspoonfuls over the chocolate batter in the pan. Be careful not to let the filling touch the sides of the pan.
4. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a wire rack to allow the cake to cool completely. Remove cake from pan, and drizzle with vanilla glaze.
5. To make vanilla glaze, mix together the confectioners' sugar, butter, vanilla and milk in a small bowl, gradually adding milk until the mixture is thick but pourable. Drizzle over cooled cake. (optional: you can use 2T cocoa powder to make this glaze chocolate instead)


***edited to add: I just found out allrecipes.com is using my picture as the picture people see when they click on this recipe! Since there was a picture in place, this is quite an honor!!! I guess I must really be doing something right in my photography :)

Last week's leaves

Last week we went to the state park to see the beautiful foliage. Jasmine heard "park" and was afraid she'd miss a playground if she fell asleep, so she was asleep the entire three-hour round trip!
Unfortunately, we'd underestimated what it would be like there, temperature-wise. It was all the way up to 52 at home, but it was 47 and windy there! We were FREEZING! So our picnic ended up being in the car, and we spent most of the time driving around. We also avoided even driving past the small playground, since it was just too cold to get out and use it.

So my hopes of getting awesome pictures with my "new" camera were dashed, but here's a taste!

My Finished Book!

I'm so pleased with how this came out. I'm sorry that the sizes will be all over the place...Blogger knows so much better than I do how to resize things (eyes rolling).







And here are the individual pages. I know I already posted some of them, but thought it would be nice to have them all together!