Eat Your Heart Out!

So what do you do when you have another snow day and Valentine's is coming up? Make cookies of course! We rolled out dough for sugar cookies, got out the cookie cutters, and made some yummy desserts.

Here are Preston and Kaitlyn rolling out their dough and cutting out shapes. Notice they are in pajamas still?

The cookies are fresh from the oven.

Now it's time to decorate the cookies.

The finished products!!!

This kept us busy for a couple hours and provided dessert for tonight. :)

Valentine's Mobile

One of the activities we decided to do for our Valentine's celebration is to make homemade Valentine's mobiles. I got the idea off www.familyfun.com. You can print off the many different heart templates onto cardstock. I then had the kids cut out the hearts.

Next, get a piece of colored yarn, string, or twine and center it one side of the heart. I taped the yarn to the heart to help keep it still. I then put glue on it. Next, you fold the other side over the heart so the string will be going right through the heart.

The kids loved making these and it was a simple craft. They really enjoy having it displayed over our dining room table.

Are the hearts cut exactly on the line? No. Do these Valentine's mobiles look perfect? Absolutely.

The Neverending Snow Day

Winter came to Texas. Every February, the temperatures drop and we get ice. However, in the 10 years that we have lived here, I've never seen an ice storm this bad. It started late Monday night with freezing rain and very cold temperatures. Craig worked a 12 hour shift because everyone waited until the last minute to do their grocery shopping. Let's just say Kroger did not hurt for business that day or all week for that matter.

When we woke on Tuesday morning, this is what we saw. The street in front of our house was covered in one gigantic sheet of ice. It was like that all over the metroplex and most of Texas.

School had already been cancelled and Craig just happened to have Tuesday off from work. So we got to relax and lounge around in our pajamas. I pulled out a puzzle and set it up in our game room (if I would've known the weather would stay the same all week, I wouldn't have picked a winterscape).

The temperatures stayed in the teens and single digits at night. The ice never melted. What does that mean? Still no school. School was canceled for Wednesday and Thursday as well. Craig went to work Wednesday afternoon and just stayed working until about 9 am Thursday morning. He wasn't going to risk driving at night on the ice.

Then, it began to snow. I looked out the window about 11:30 pm Thursday night and saw gigantic flakes continuously falling. The forecasts kept saying we were going to get a "light dusting" of snow. When we woke up Friday morning, this is what our backyard looked like.

This is how it looked out our front door. I think we got a little more than a "light dusting".

Here's another pic of the backyard. Our doggies don't like it too much.

Of course, there was no school on Friday either. Kaitlyn went to school one day this week. Preston and I didn't go to school at all on Tues and Thurs. Luckily, Craig had off Friday so it seems like we all had a mini vacation. Except we couldn't really go anywhere.

After lunch, the kids wanted to go play in the snow. They all bundled up in lots of layers and headed out.

Craig is rolling a snowball in his hand.

Notice the little grids on the pictures? That's because I stayed inside the warm house and took pictures from the window.

Most Texans I know don't own a sled. We have to improvise. Craig got out our cooler with wheels, stuck Preston in it, and pulled him around. Craig said the Suburban Kelley's turned into the Redneck Kelley's. Hey, whatever works!

I'm not a fan of snow. It's very pretty to look at. It's pretty when it falls on the mountains the day before my Christmas wedding or on actual Christmas morning if I don't have to be anywhere. However, it's not really fun to drive in. We actually got out of the house for a little bit last night to eat dinner and buy next week's groceries. The roads are VERY bad and thankfully Craig drove. Driving on ice gives me so much anxiety. More ice is expected tomorrow and Wednesday. I don't know if the kids are ever going back to school. There are big events happening for us at the end of the week, so we'll see if we get to venture out again.

Countdown to Love

Our first big holiday is coming up, Valentine's! This year we wanted to make it a little bit more festive for the kids. So, just like we used our homemade advent calendar to countdown to Christmas, we'll also countdown to Valentine's Day.

Monday night, January 31, the kids decorated their own foam mailboxes that we got on sale at Michael's. Preston picked a red one and Kaitlyn picked a pink one. They also picked out some foam stickers to stick all over their mailboxes.

They are both so proud of their creations.

Then, the mailboxes are placed downstairs in the living room. Each day from February 1 through February 14, there will be a surprise waiting for the kids in their mailboxes. None of the surprises are very expensive. So far, they both got a Valentine's coloring page on Feb 1. Today, Preston got a puzzle ($1) and Kaitlyn got a Tinkerbell notebook ($1). They are so excited to see what new thing they will get each day.

There are other activities planned as we countdown like making a Valentine's mobile to hang from our dining room light, making heart-shaped cookies, and a day full of fun on Valentine's.

We're Still Here

It's been awhile since I've posted anything. This time of year is a little slow for us. Here's just a couple things we've been up to.

First, our friends asked us to puppy sit their adorable lab named Faith. She was so cute and well behaved. We watched her overnight, but it was very easy. I say this because Craig was the one that got up at 4:30 am to let her out when she started whining. Preston and Kaitlyn loved looking at her. And that's about it. For some reason, they thought Faith was going to go after them. Towards the end, the kids did start warming up to the puppy. We were happy to be of help to our friends.

Then, we had snow! SNOW!!!! I have a love/hate relationship with snow. I love to see it. I love when it tends to make a surprise appearance now and then in Texas. However, I HATE to drive in it. If I know I have to drive somewhere and there is snow in the ground, I have terrible anxiety. I blame it on the fact that I was in a bad car accident in 2009 and then I had to drive in snow last winter and my car was sliding on the ice. Thus, the reason behind my anxiety.

So, this is the backyard as the snow was falling. Very pretty.

This is one of our shelties, Lady. She doesn't like to be outside in wet weather any longer than she has to.

Here is another look at our backyard in the snow.

The snow didn't get much deeper and it melted shortly after.

So, not much going on with us in way of activities. However, as I look at our calendar, it's starting to quickly fill up with many things planned. Stay tuned.

Spicy Mac N Cheese

Time for another recipe post! Spicy Mac N Cheese is such a delicious dish but don't eat if you're watching your carbs and fat intake. lol I usually only make this when my dad is in town because it's his favorite. It may be a little spicy for some, but it's just right for our family. Here's the recipe:

Spicy Mac N Cheese from Food Network
2 cups elbow pasta, cooked
16 0z cheddar cubed, 1/2 cubed, 1/2 shredded
8 oz pepper jack cheese, cubed
2 tsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. dry ground mustard
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
4 Tbsp. sour cream
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half/half
4 slices bread
1 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, toss cooked pasta with cheese cubes and pour in 13 x 9 inch casserole dish. In another bowl, mix flour, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, mustard, nutmeg, sour cream, egg, heavy cream, and half/half. Pour over pasta. Cover with shredded Cheddar. Bake uncovered until top is beginning to brown, about 35 minutes. Meanwhile, cut bread into crouton-sized squares. In skillet over medium heat, melt butter and add bread cubes. Toast bread until golden. Sprinkle bread on top of pasta and bake 10 more minutes. Enjoy!

Here's to 2011

As we say good-bye to one more year, it's with great hope that we look forward to 2011. With great anticipation, we are eager to see what God has in store for our family, friends, and loved ones.

2010 was full of many heartaches and trials for us. We mourned the passing of an aunt, grandma, a sister, and numerous cousins. Loved ones were hospitalized for various illnesses and surgeries.

But 2010 was also full of many, many blessings from God. We witnessed many healings and health transformations. God proved his Word is true over and over. So many God ordained events occured and miracles were seen.

God is good. All the time. It's so easy to look at the negative in all situations. It's so easy to be saddened and miserable because life doesn't always go our way. However, the Bible says to be joyful always.

Craig and I decided many years ago that we always have to stay positive. We find the good in every situation and know that God is still guiding our steps.

There is one Scripture that Craig and I have repeated over and over throughout our marriage. It has proven true time and time again. Interestingly, I have seen this Scripture repeated over and over for 2011.

"'For I know the plans I have for you,'" declares the Lord, "'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.'"-Jeremiah 29:11

Let's make 2011 the year we truly listen to God. Let it be a year full of promises being fulfilled. Let it be a year so incredible, that God's love just continuously radiates from us.