Recipes

I would prefer to microwave than to cook, however, when I think back at some of my favorite foods I always think of mom's vegetable soup, roast with veggies, and her yummy lasagna. I want Isabella to grow up thinking her mom can really cook (even though she can't :) So, with that said I figured I'd rather learn how to make a few really good meals that would be memorable than a bunch of not so good ones that people would want to forget. If anybody has a good beef stroganoff recipe (with rice) and don't mind sharing that would be great! Also, I like simple, the less ingredients the better. If you have any others you would like to share that's super yummy, fill me in! I know Peter would sure appreciate it. :) So far I know how to cook a good chicken pot pie, taco ring, and meatloaf. Thanks!

I usually don't bake that much because of this experience:
I tried to make a caramel pie last year when I was pregnant. I remember spending hours on it and I just knew it was going to be the best pie ever! Little did I know I used the wrong kind of milk ,condensed milk instead of evaported milk I think and ruined the whole thing. Since I was pregnant you can imagine how that went over. I cried the whole afternoon. Peter thought I was crazy. Anyway, so you can see I would love your feedback. Thanks friends and family!

BTW, Mom is doing well, she left the hospital the other night and had an MRI done today. Hopefully everything will be much better from here on out.

Prayer Request

I just got home from the hospital where mom is staying. She spent the night there last night. Yesterday she passed out during her church service and she was having chest pains. Her vision went in and out and she knew something was very wrong. The doctors are doing many tests on her and have not found anything yet. This morning they did a stress test to see if something shows up there. Please pray that the doctors will find what may be wrong and that it would be easily treatable. Hopefully she will be coming home today. Thank you! Love to you all.

My Climber

Ok, totally disregard the statement I made earlier about Isabella not being a walker. She is so much the walker she can't stand it. I haven't seen her crawl at all the last couple of days. Walking is her new favorite toy! I picked her up from the nursery today and the worker told me she was a climber. I knew that already by her climbing experiences at home. (check out the pics) I watched her in the nursery before she saw me and she was climbing all over the little seats. This was the first Sunday she actually did not cry. I was so happy for her! The separation anxiety has been quite a challenge the past couple of months. I'm hoping after this morning she's good to go with being there.

At one point she had both feet in the red cart. Holding on to the couch for dear life.

Here she managed to climb on top of the ottoman to watch the Wiggles. I sure hope her eyesight doesn't go bad at 1 years old! By the way, if anyone has a good remedy for getting the Wiggles music out of your head when you go to bed, please let me know! Ugghh!

Isabella's Milestone

Ok, I am really freaked out by Isabella walking now. I wouldn't say she's a "walker" yet, because she still loves to crawl, but she's really loving this new walking thing. I was talking to my friend Krista on the phone today and Isabella walked right past me all the way through the kitchen into the dining room. It was so strange to see that! She's still my little baby and I'm soooooo not used to seeing her walk around. I'm happy for her though. She's getting to be so big. Here's a video of her walking.

Peter and I had Tessa yesterday while Amanda was at the hospital. She and Isabella played in Isabella's water park on the deck. They had fun in their "birthday suit". It was cute watching them play. They always have fun together. Every time Isabella sees Tessa she squeals and laughs ready to be chased or chase her. I love watching them play.

Thanks! And keep 'em coming!

Well, not an hour went by after my last post that I talked to Amanda and a liver was on a helicopter being sent straight to Vanderbilt for Harry. Praise God! The doctors said he would not have made it another day if it hadn't come when it did. Harry still had hope. He kept saying "Come on, come on." Telling that liver to hurry up and get to him. He had the transplant yesterday about 2pm and was in recovery last night. He is still in critical but stable condition. Please continue to pray for his recovery and his kidneys that started to fail. He has to continue dialysis because his kidneys were shutting down, but he did make it through surgery successfully! Thank you for the emails and prayers being lifted up for Harry. Thank you friends for remembering them. Love you....

Urgent Prayer Request

I don't post this just for you to read. I post this because my sister's family needs your prayers urgently. So, if you feel led to pray for this family, please do so. Her husband's father is in ICU at Vanderbilt with liver failure. His name is Harry Tomlin. He has been given 1 week to live unless he gets a liver asap. He's stable and holding on for the hope of a liver at any moment. It's so hard to pray for a liver donor because that would mean someone else would have to die, but please pray God's will to be done for Harry. Pray specifically that he remains stable with no complications until a donor arrives. If something comes up they will have to take him off the list, and we don't want that. Amanda is staying strong for Greg and Greg is staying strong for his mom and dad. It's a stressful time as you may imagine. Please pray for them also to have the strength they need until his transplant is successful. We are praying for a successful transplant and no complications this week. Thank you for remembering them in your prayers.

Happy 1st Birthday Isabella!

Wow, what a weekend we had! I didn't realize how much work went into a 1st birthday party! :) I feel like I've been planning this thing forever. But in the end, it was so much fun and she was all worth it. I guess it seemed a little hectic because my sister-in-law and I made the birthday cakes. Only a mommy would work on a birthday cake for 2 nights and 1 morning starting at 5am! Kim and I baked the caterpillar cakes in two nights and then the morning of her party we iced them. Here's a before and after picture of the cake. I think it turned out pretty great. I knew what I wanted and didn't think I could get someone to make it like I wanted, so I knew I just had to make it myself. Thanks to Kim, the expert, I couldn't have done it without her! Thanks Kim! It was perfect.

After baking these, we spread them out on the table to get a feel for what we were into.

You don't even want to know how much money I spent on icing! Here's Aunt Kim working hard.

The finished product.

This is Isabella's cake for her to dig into. A smaller replica of the big cake.

She woke up that morning at 6:30am and I thought maybe she'd take a little snooze before we headed out to the park. Did that happen? Of course not! It was her party and she was not about to sleep. Needless to say, even without sleep she did not cry once! It was miserably hot and muggy. I felt so bad for my grandparents that came. I might need to rethink an outdoor birthday party for next year. Everybody was sweating! We hired a guy to do balloon animals and the kids loved it. Abbie and Lillie are playing with their swords. Here's some other sweet pictures from the party.

This quilt deserves special mentioning. My Grandmother "Granny Beach" hand quilted this for Isabella. She's made one for the grandkids and the great grandkids. Isabella was the final great grandkid that she is doing one for so this is extra special to me. She is in her 80's and still does beautiful work like this. She is a very special lady in my life and I love her so much! Thank you Granny for this gift that will be cherished forever. We love you.

It covers most of my kitchen floor.

Thank you to everyone who came and blessed her with a birthday present. Not seen here is a Kangaroo climber her Gigi got her and a River Run Water Park her Gram Gram got her. Thanks you so much! She loved it all!