Back to the Blogging World

Im baaaaaaack :) Trying to still keep away from facebook - it just takes too much time to get involved there. But I missed blogging! I have so much to share and catch up on.....and for the record....I know that more than my mom and my sister read this blog. I was kidding. I hate writing things like "to all my readers" or assuming someone will notice if I dont post - its weird that you people want to read what I write. haha! :) (kidding again....) But I do know I have some faithful readers and that is so super cool! I really love that. Love you! Thank you! :)

Now its picture time!

We had some REAL winter weather on Christmas Eve. Ive seen it snow but nothing like what happened that day. It was like blizzard weather - howling, sideways wind and snowing hard. (our dog Bella was hilarious trying to figure out the snow!) We had at least 3" of snow (thats a ton for TX!) and it stuck. We had a white Christmas! Here are some pictures from when it was just getting started.







Christmas morning......



Christmas Eve. Every year my sweet Aunt Cathy sends the kids handmade pajamas. They adore them - wear them constantly all year long. Especially Caleb, that boy loves him some flannel pajamas. So here they are after New Years Eve service, being silly




Jayna's presents Christmas morning. The bench is from us and the scooter is from Grandma. My mom got the vinyl letters that make their name several months ago so I went and got plexiglass to put them on. We'll hang them up soon!



Caleb and his TRex mountain. He talked about this so much, it was precious. We got an AWESOME deal on Craigslist - the mountain and a big box of the Imaginext dinosaurs for only $30. He was thrilled.....he still is



Steve helping Abram on his Zebra Bounce 'n Spin. He wasnt too sure but now he's hilarious on it, he goes nuts. Another great Craigslist find.....$20.



Noah opening some of the Imaginext dinosaurs that came with Caleb's set. We wrapped some for him so he could play too and he was really excited! We also got him his first big boy (i.e. TINY pieces) Lego set



Noah and Steve playing Mario Kart on Wii. Grandma got Noah that for Christmas. We all have fun playing it! Its a long way from Nintendo 64 ;)



I have more but thats enough for now. New post coming soon :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR! May you be richly blessed by the love of Christ in 2010!

Taking a Break.....

Well the good news is that my Craigslist stalking has paid off. I think Ive finally found what Ive been looking for, for Jayna for Christmas. They dont sell them anymore and I saw it one day online and just fell in love ........ sooooo sweet. And it gives her a special place for all her girly toys :) Going to meet up with someone tomorrow to get it. He lives an hour away but I emailed to ask if he's ever in the area and he just "happens" to be nearly driving by my house tomorrow. so excited! Here's a picture:



Love me some indestructible Little Tikes! :)


So its a long story but Im going to be taking a little computer break until after Christmas. Noahs been asking for the computer a lot and Im telling him he doesnt to be on it every free second but not exactly --*ahem*-- modeling that to him. The computer is right here in the kitchen and its just too tempting for me. So Im sticking to just checking my email and anything photography-related that I need to do. No facebook, research, no blog-reading or blog-writing, etc. Im going to do my best to just keep it off all day until they go to bed. Feel free to keep me accountable! :) Ill be honest, it will be hard.

A speaker we had at Core recently said that we tend towards where we believe freedom is. What we do with our time and energy reflect what we really believe. I think I escape to the computer for mental breaks (really, can you blame me?! if you'd been a fly on the wall in my house today you wouldnt LOL) But I want to go to Jesus for that escape. I know the result will be more peace and less striving. I know freedom rests with Him. He is the only thing its truly healthy to be addicted to ;) But I go to my computer more than I do to Him. Its a useful tool but I need to step back a bit. Spend more time preparing for school and hanging with kids :) Looking forward to it actually.

Im also going off sugar and back to not eating after 8. Im feeling the physical effects (headaches, constipation - just keeping it real y'all) of eating it again and I dont like it at all. Its just not worth it! Im giving myself a few "passes" to use in the next 2 weeks for holiday events and treats and of course I plan to fully enjoy Christmas :) (and not get the stomach flu again - ugh, that was awful)

Steves parents come in the 20th. I just cant believe how quickly Christmas is coming! Thinking more each year about how we can keep it about Jesus. Check out this blog post my friend Anda directed me to. Love it. What Jesus Wants for Christmas One of my love languages is gifts, so I love giving gifts to the kids. I dont want to not get them something. But I want to make a bigger deal about what we can get Jesus for His birthday - that really blesses Him! I anticipate that this will get more and more exciting each year as they get older!

If you think of me ... please pray for wisdom about my photography. Please pray I can see clearly His will for the new year. Thanks!

Some pictures from our trip to Cabela's with my dad :)














ok. adios blog and my beloved blog readers (all 2 of you! you are the best mom and sister ever! hahaha :)). see you in a few weeks :)

Neglected blog

Im sorry ive been neglecting you blog. I have too much to say and no energy or grace to articulate well. its not your fault. ill try to do better.

*sigh* Life is so good and rich but at the same time so exhausting and overwhelming. Im so very thankful for the season we are in right now - Abrams still nursing but he is older and more independent. As much as I love having a little baby, Im thankful for the freedom I have right now. Im thankful to have my body back for a short while and to wear some clothes I love and feel like myself. Im enjoying the kids and watching them play and having the honor of teaching them things like reading and counting. I know this is a sweet season that wont last forever, on so many levels....and soon we'll be on to a different, but also sweet season :)

once again its too late and Im still up. so off to bed I go! But I want to share more soon!

Mommy and JJ

Today was Jayna's last day at her special PreK. She's been going on Thursday mornings to my good friend Ami's house and her 13yr old daughter has been running the PreK for 3 little girls. Its part of her homeschooling and training for motherhood - how cool is that?! She has done an amazing job teaching them manners, some dancing, some music, how to plant a garden, etc. Its been absolutely precious and a huge blessing for her to have her "girl time" :)

Today the little girls put on a tea party for their moms - fruit that they helped wash and cut, little sandwhiches, cookies and tea. Precious and more precious. Ami grabbed my camera and caught this shot and I am SO thankful. Im in love! I dont think ive ever had a picture with just Jayna and me. I want to blow it up on the wall. (and for the record - keeping it real - yes I took some wrinkles out under my eyes. haha!) :)

Secret to Great Homemade Bread

So Ive been hearing/reading that some of my dear friends have tried their hand at bread making ...and some with some hard-like-a-brick results. So here are some tips that Ive learned from many, many bricks of my own :)

1) Dont add too much flour. Most, most important! This has changed my loaves of bread forever. I always thought you needed to add enough that it never stuck to the sides and wasnt sticky to touch. That is NOT true. My poor Bosch mixer used to mix so hard it would inch its way across the counter and Id have to keep moving it back. You'd think I would have wondered why - what a dork I am. Well the reason was that I was using way too much flour and it was too dry. I LOVE the recipe I posted from **HERE**. Its always right at 11-12 cups of flour (or 5.5-6 if you half the recipe). You want the dough to pull away from the sides but it will still be very sticky to touch. It will get better once the gluten develops (same if you are hand kneading) but you'll still need to keep the oil around to keep it from sticking everywhere. I oil my hands (light olive oil) before handling, oil my rolling pin, oil the counter, etc. That helps keep it most too - DO NOT use flour on the counter. I buy the big thing of light olive oil at costco and use it for cooking when i need liquid (vs. coconut oil which is hard when its cold)

2) Fresh yeast! This will not only make your bread better and lighter it will make your job so easy. I got the big pack of yeast from Costco for like $3 (such a good deal!) and my bread rises VERY quickly. The first rise is only 30-45 mins when its supposed to be 1.5hrs. Even in my freezing cold house today :) Keep it in the fridge or freezer to keep it fresh! I always proof it and make sure its good ... too many wasted loaves from bad yeast.

3) White Whole Wheat flour. King Arthur is the only brand I know of. Or if you have a mill you can buy Hard White berries and grind your own. Its so much lighter and better tasting than whole wheat.


I had so many bad experiences before. But this time its come out well every single time. I really think #1 is key for me this time - keeping it moist and sticky means a lighter, delicious bread!

Hope this helps :)