The verdict is in.....

Scott has the flu and bronchitis. Boo. I'm so thankful to live in a place though where we have access to medication.... I can't imagine watching my sweetheart struggle this much and not be able to find a solution to help. Another praise: we found a great walk-in clinic that was terrific.... quick and thorough! Hoorah.

If you think of us, would you please pray that Scott heals quickly? Also, would you please pray for protection over the boys and I as we obviously don't want the bug, too.... especially since we're scheduled to fly to Florida on Saturday for a much needed getaway! I would be so sad if we had sick kiddos for the trip!

Thanks, friends!

I love this kid!

Couldn't you just eat him up?!! I love these pictures! It was such a fun surprise to me the other day when I downloaded (or is the correct word uploaded?!! My husband and I have this debate often....) pictures to my computer and discovered these gems. I love it when my hubby picks up the camera and captures the many expressions of our kiddos!

In other news, Scott made it home safely from North Carolina tonight.... praise God! He was able to push through all three of his sessions; however, he is really sick. If you think about it, please send up a prayer for him as he is doing pretty poorly. I'm not a doctor (we WILL be finding one tomorrow!) but if I had to guess: upper-respiratory infection or pneumonia. He's got a fever, too, but will hopefully sleep through the night with the help of Nyquil.

It was an interesting weekend for the boys and I with daddy gone. This little story about Aaron will sum it up pretty well....

On Friday night, I asked Aaron if he would pray for supper.... he proceeded to say:

"God, thank you for my mom. She’s so pretty. God, thank you for this world you have made. God, thank you for giving me my mom. There’s no other mom in the whole wide world that I want for my mom except my mom."

HELLO?!!! I think I'd go through 28 hours of labor and a c-section all over again just to hear that prayer.... :)

THEN.... Saturday happened. Let's just say that Saturday wasn't the best momma day at our house. Short fuse. 'Nuf said.

So, we made it to lunchtime, and I'm just thankful that I have two plates containing food placed GENTLY in front of both my children. True confessions from the pastor's wife.... yes, I forgot about praying for the food, to which my blessed 5-year old says, "Mommy, I'd like to pray today...." Of course, sure.... to which he says,

"God, thank you for this day. And God, please help my mommy to not be so grumpy. And God, please help my mommy to not miss my daddy so much....."

Oh dear, they are smart little boogers, aren't they? I needed that prayer MORE than my sweet Aaron could ever know.... I'm thankful that he's already learning to turn to God in times of NEED! And.... I must say, we had the most precious time of prayer together last night.... a HUGE lesson for both of us on forgiveness.

Thank you, Jesus, for what you are teaching me through my precious children.

A little glimpse....

.... into our world at The Chapel. The church's tech team put together a little video that is a little recap of our Easter service. For those of you who would like a little glimpse of where we are in Buffalo, check it out HERE.

And.... if you'd like to learn a little bit more about why I posted this glimpse today, make sure to listen to Jerry's message online from today once it is posted later in the week. I trust that you'll be blessed.... and challenged by the message like I was. One word.... VIRAL....

Dateline....

I will be putting my kids to bed early enough to watch Dateline tonight. They are doing a special on the case of Mistaken Identity involving the girls from Taylor U (where I went to college). My prayer is that this interview will bring God all the glory as the families share their heart-wrenching story.

Edited to add:

Wow. That interview left me speechless at points. What faith. What love. My heart ached for those families throughout each minute of the interview, yet so proud to have them as brothers and sisters in the Lord as they shared their stories because they showed such strength and courage. I was even floored by some of the questions that Matt Lauer asked.... opening up even more doors for them to share.

I'm also convinced that there is something in other mothers during tragedy that makes my heart ache even more. I think that most moms in the world go to the point in their own minds of, "What if that were my child?" The moms during this interview.... their tears.... their words.... the mom's prayer journal.... it all made me weep. And pray....

If you missed the show and would like to see more on this story, you can see the families on The Today Show HERE.

Hair Adventures

Well, the good news first.... I'm really pleased with how my hair turned out!!! (sorry, no picture.... I forgot to have Scott take one before he left for his trip!) Sandy (AKA the new lady) took plenty of time on mine, asking throughout, "Does this look right? Does this feel right?" to make sure that I was getting what I wanted. She did a great job on me. I'm hugely thankful to find someone who will cut my hair for a very reasonable price (after asking around, I was very afraid that I was going to have to pay $30-40 for a good cut.... the frugal part of me just wouldn't allow it!) :)

On Isaac.... oh my goodness, that's a VERY different story. He was VERY difficult.... hmm, the words "VERY difficult" are actually an understatement in this case. Woa.... Aaron was difficult at this stage, too, but wow, where was Angie (AKA our previous lady!) when we needed her?!! When all was said and done, Isaac is a little bit less shaggy (yea).... with only a few casualties: including the notches above his ears (if you look closely at the pic, you can tell) and a little blood from the beautician (yes, I'm sure it wasn't a pleasant ending to her day to be kicked and end up cutting herself. Oops.... sorry Sandy). Thank goodness, we all survived AND hair does grow back!

In other hair news, Aaron has been asking for two full weeks to do spikey hair like his new buddy, Jayden, at preschool. So finally.... I asked him if he would stop asking if I let him do it for one day. He said yes (we'll see how that plays out....) and here was the end result for school today. He thought it was very fun.... I laughed out loud when I picked him up, too. They had made paper headbands, so he had that around his head and colored dot stickers ALL over his face (literally.... there were probably 10 of them on his face!) It was the funniest image to enter my vision all week! Too bad I didn't have a camera with me!

Thankful Thursday....

Today, I am thankful....

1) To often capture great expressions from my kids on the camera. I'm crazy about the new picture of the boys on my header.... seriously, I have no idea how I captured this sweetness, but I could just eat them up!
2) For MOPS. Had a great time this morning.... with an amazing speaker! Her talk was inspiring and convicting for me as she spoke on dealing with emotional baggage as a mom (I may blog about it someday...) She even did a break-out session for moms who have struggled with infertility and/or miscarriage. That was a huge blessing to me as well.
3) That I'm finally trying a new beautician tonight. Ug.... that's a hard part about moving! We'll see if I'm still thankful for that fact a week from now! :) I always feel like a dork when trying to describe HOW I would like my hair cut....
4) For my mother-in-law's potato soup recipe.... it's Scott's favorite, and I'm planning to make it for dinner tonight.
5) For continued opportunities for Scott to speak through The Echo Group. He loves doing it and using his gifts (and it's nice to have a little extra income, too!) He's headed to North Carolina for a conference this time around.... while it's hard to give up weekend time with him, it's always a blessing to know that God is using him in a cool way! When Scott travels for ministry, I often think about a quote that I heard from Ruth Graham.... something along the lines of: "I'd rather have a little of Billy than a lot of any other man." Thankfully, the boys and I still get A LOT of Scott, too.... but it's a good reminder, nevertheless!

Have a great day, everybody! May it be FULL of joy!!!

Weekend Update Part 2

So, I just got an email that brought tears to my eyes.... I have goosebumps, too.... so I thought I would share why....

I assure you that it's not about big numbers at The Chapel.... it really is about one.... one person.... one man, one woman, one child.... who needs Christ. If you want evidence of that, just go to The Chapel's website and listen to Jerry's Palm Sunday message, "Shouts and Tears." Totally blew me away.... One thing that I've loved over the past couple of weeks is that I've heard Scott talking about the next step at The Chapel.... more planting.... more partnering.... because it's not about building a bigger box! It's about going into people's world to reach them. Cool thinking....

Anyway, along the road, there are days that celebration is in order.... because of life change.... because Christ is certainly up to something in Western New York. I'm celebrating the privilege of being a part of it.... the fact that God allows us to play a part in bringing others to Him.

So.... here is a portion of the content of the email that I received:

Easter Sunday at The Chapel:
Attendance - 7138
1st Time visitors in King's World (children's ministry) - 63!!!!!!
Salvation Decisions -163!!!!!!

God, thank you for your hand in our lives and in the lives of many. I pray that you would break our hearts for what breaks yours.... give us eyes to see.... give us hearts for the lost. You are mighty to save. Thanks for your goodness. Thanks for your grace.

Weekend Update

We had such a fun weekend! My parents and sister came for a visit, and it was SO wonderful to be with family for Easter! The weekend went by too quickly, of course, but we were just thankful for each minute that we had with them!

The boys had Easter baskets and an egg hunt on Saturday morning instead of Sunday. Scott had to leave for church at 6:15 on Sunday (we had a 7,9,11,1 service at The Chapel) so we thought this would probably work better. Aaron, point-blank, said to me, "Is this from the Easter bunny? Did the Easter bunny come last night?" and I, point-blank, said, "No, it's from mommy and daddy." I must say, I was a little alarmed by the direct question.... we have always said that if he ever directly asks, we will directly answer when it comes to Santa and the Easter bunny. I guess our day came sooner than we thought.... but that's okay. He still thought it was all pretty fun (and even told somebody at church the next day that the Easter bunny came to his house?!) Who knows if he'll directly ask when Christmas comes around or not?!!

Searching high and low.... (yes, please note in the picture.... there is STILL snow on the ground here....)

Examining the goods...
We're pretty crazy about Aunt Debby at our house... Aaron walked around saying, "I love you, Aunt Debby" about a gazillion times this weekend. Seriously, I think he said it over 10 times in one hour. Aunt Debby, you are LOVED!
Isaac with his special buddy.... I love the special relationship that Isaac has with my dad! Snuggling with a super special Grandma, too!
This video summarizes A LOT of a weekend. My sweet mom asked for a Wii for her birthday.... why?! Because she knew her grandkids would love playing it with her and others. We had a blast with it.... Aaron could be a potential gaming addict.... and rumor has it that a few of the adults in the household had sore back muscles after hours of boxing, tennis, golf, and baseball! Very, very fun though!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from Buffalo! We send our love as we celebrate our risen Christ!!!

Wordless Wednesday

An invitation...

Well, I'm starting on a journey, and I'd like to invite you to join me. Scott gave me a book for Christmas.... Kay Warren's book, Dangerous Surrender, What Happens When You Say Yes To God. Yeppers, I just opened it today.... whew.... one chapter and my world is already rocked. That's a good thing....

How are these thoughts for starters....

"I believe that God is looking for some disturbed people. He is searching for men and women, students, and young adults who will allow him to disturb them by making them truly see the world in which we live- so disturbed that they will be compelled to do something about what they see" (p. 21).

"Please know that surrendering your life to God is the boldest and riskiest step you can take" (p. 24).

"It all starts with a willingness to place no limits on what God can do in our lives. We cannot dictate to him what we will or will not allow" (p. 32).

I have no idea where this journey will lead.... my picture is blurry right now. However, I know that I want to live boldly.... I want to live a life of compassion.... I want my heart to break for the things that break the heart of God. I want to say yes to God no matter what that yes entails (p. 35).

And.... I want to always act in obedience. Obedience today was writing this post because His Spirit prompted me to do so. There you have it.... what a ride it will be.

Brothers at Bathtime

These pictures of the boys were just too fun not to post. Because of Aaron's eczema, he generally is supposed to take showers instead of baths because it it better for his skin to not sit in the water. However, when he asked to take a bath with Isaac yesterday, I thought, "Why not?!" and found it to be a perfect opportunity to capture some cute shots.

This was the game of the day.... dumping water on each other....Look at Isaac's face.... yes, he loved being the giver of the action....
However, he wasn't so sure when he was on the receiving end....


Sharing a kiss!
By the end of bathtime, Isaac was in no mood to pose.... yes, true confessions.... the water was actually getting cold after a very long bath with lots of playtime!

Fiction, anyone? Part 2

Ooh.... I stand corrected. My baby sis just reminded me that I used to read Danielle Steele-smut in high school. For the record, I don't anymore! I also used to love the Christy Miller series in junior high (which I would still recommend for teen/preteen girls!) Thank you, Deb, for the reminder. Forgive me, blog readers.... I was not trying to be misleading!!! :)

Also, another thought.... I totally agree with the comments about Karen's books being a little too fake and dreamy in the realm of marriage. To be quite honest, those are the parts that I roll my eyes a bit and just start skimming so I don't vomit, too. Completely, completely agree with you....

Woa....

So, I saw this on Stevan's blog awhile back and was floored. I thought we were doing pretty well when Aaron recently started to sound out words in the beginning stages of reading, but THIS.... wow. Very, very interesting....



I bet she likes fiction someday.... ha! (see my next post down the page....)

Fiction, anyone?

Oh dear, a crazy thing has happened in my house.... I actually have found fiction that I enjoy. Here's a little history for you....

I have NEVER enjoyed reading fiction.... ever. While my two sisters would talk about how much they LOVED Gone with the Wind and Jane Eyre growing up (at least, I think those are the names of books. Just kidding....) I would just roll my eyes because I couldn't force myself through even the first 20 pages. Even in high school, I was too busy reading nonfiction, Max Lucado, Christian living type books. It's not that I was so serious.... it's not that I didn't try fiction over the years.... it's just that I never enjoyed it a bit. In fact, I read JUST ENOUGH to make my way through the high school and college years. I regret to inform you that I think that my second lowest grade in college was in World Literature.... only second to US History (which, I might add, was only lower because we were REQUIRED to read Uncle Tom's Cabin.... I didn't.... hence, my lowest grade in college). Oh wait, correction.... my lowest grades outside of US History were in my Biblical Literature classes.... oops, I guess that I didn't do well at the "nonfiction" classes either since I'm 100% certain that Bible is NOT fiction. Is it bad to admit that I struggled in Bib Lit when I am a pastor's wife and was a Christian Education/psych/youth ministry major?!! All I can say is: they were HARD!!! The quizzes blew my mind!

Anyway, I digress.....

So, enter a flight to Buffalo for an interview last fall. Enter the fact that I just happened to pick up a book from the shelf that my sister had let me borrow and had a year's worth of dust on it because I thought I might need some reading to occupy my mind on the flight. Enter the fact that I found that this book was completely gripping, and I couldn't put it down. Enter.... the world of the Redemption series and Karen Kingsbury. Oh dear, y'all, I'm hooked. I just finished the fifth book today and sobbed through half of it. If you look at my column on this blog, you'll see that I'm now neglecting all other reading for this fictional series. Uh oh....

So.... now.... it's up for a vote.... to those of you who have read the series, should I keep going with the other ninety books (I know, I know.... there really aren't THAT many) Do you feel like they were worth it or were they a let-down after the first five?

And.... any other fiction recommendations? I will not be reading fiction-smut (NO novels with Fabio on the cover) so anything that's NOT fiction-smut that you'd recommend?

How about you? Have you always loved fiction? Do you not like fiction? The comment section is now open.... :)

Our little charmer...

Well, our little Aaron has had an eventful week. It all started last Friday. He came home from school talking nonstop about his new friend, Emma. So you know, EVERYTHING has been about Emma these days when he comes home from school. Anyway, back to Friday.... here's how the conversation went:

A: Mom, guess what happened today at school?

Me: What?

A: Emma, really quiet, told me that she loves me and wants to marry me.

Hmmm....

Enter Monday. Aaron got the most wonderful package, picture, and note (dictated by child, transcribed by mom) from his precious buddy, Brielle, from Indiana. Here was Brielle's note:

Dear Aaron,

I miss you playing Spiderman with me. I love you. I just wanted to send a note because you moved away and I miss you. I sent a picture of us marrying. We love you.

Love,

Brielle

Aaron LOVED it. He still talks about Brielle A LOT.

Enter Tuesday. Without our knowledge (obviously, we weren't there), Aaron and Emma had exchanged phone numbers at school that morning. After a nap that day (yes, he NEEDED a nap that day...) Aaron woke up to this message on the answering machine:

"Hi Aaron, this is Emma. I'm excited about a playdate with you sometime. I LOVE you." (sidenote: her mom didn't know that she had called him until HE called back! HA!)

Yes, I did end up letting him call her back at which time, he says to Miss Emma, "Just so you know, I got a letter from my friend, Brielle, from Indiana, and she wants to be marrying me, too."

After he got off of the phone, I just casually said, "So what are you going to do about Brielle and Emma?" (NOT encouraging this kind of talk, merely wondering how he would respond). And, my little charmer says:

"I'm just going to marry them both because I'm so handsome."

Oh my, I guess he's not lacking for confidence.

So, there's the update on Aaron. I assure you that we are NOT the kind of parents who tease their preschooler saying, "Oh..... do you have a GIRLfriend?!!" Actually, that kind of drives us crazy. We see this as simple, adorable, preschool CUTENESS.... and KNOW that the cootie-stage will be here before we blink.....

Happy Thursday....

.... from our new little artist!

Thankful Thursday...

Today, I am thankful....

1) Again, that my hubby doesn't have to travel very often. We are gearing up for a three day deal when he'll be gone.... the boys and I always miss him like crazy..... and I really am not looking forward to dealing with a muddy dog while he is gone (ahhh.... I can't wait to have a yard WITH grass!)
2) For hobbies. I had a GREAT time at the stamping night on Tuesday.... laughed a lot.... and really enjoyed the women who were there. It felt great to have ink on my hands again!
3) For online bill payment. Seriously, if you have the ability to do this through your bank and haven't started yet, you SHOULD! It's THE BEST!!! I've been paying bills this way for about a year and love it!
4) For online video calling. Speaking of which, do you have SKYPE?!! If you do, let me know. If you don't, AND you have high speed, you should get it! It's awesome!!! We have been able to do video calling with my mom and dad and a handful of other friends. It's the best.... and it's FREE! To do the video part, you just need to get a camera for the computer if you don't have one already (we got one at Walmart for under $30). So simple! Seriously, we want more friends to chat with.... so sign up soon and let us know!!! :)
5) For sunshine! Although it's still been pretty chilly, it's been awesome to see the sunshine with the snow over the past couple of days!

Have a great day!

A cheap form of sledding

Well, it's Wednesday.... we got two more inches last night.... that leads to MORE snow pictures from our family! After dinner tonight, we headed out for a bit to play again (we're loving Daylight Savings Time!) Somehow, my hubby and my kids came up with this little substitute for sledding. It may look crazy, but I must say, for a 5-year old and 22-month old, they didn't mind one bit to not have an actual hill with a sled! Silly kids! Check out their super happy faces!


Thought you'd like to check out the action for yourself!

With five days in a row of a whole lot of snow playing, there was also A LOT of THIS....

More snow pics

Thought y'all might enjoy seeing a few more snow pics from Buffalo! These were taken on Sunday, after the snowfall was finally complete (this round anyway!) We have had a blast playing outside the last three days! Snow IS fun. On Saturday night, I said to Scott, "I actually love the snow...." He looked at me like he could've shot me right there on the spot (oh yeah, I guess HE was the one out with the snowblower, and I was the one out playing!) Anyway, to make it right, I did quite a bit of shoveling on Sunday! :) My theory on snow is that if it's going to be this cold, we might as well have snow, too! It's prettier than the grey!!!

All bundled up and ready to roll in their matching snow bibs! Notice the socks on Aaron's hands. This was an awesome trick designed by my hubby (I'm sure thousands of other people have done it, too).... so great to keep little hands and arms warmer. This is probably the best picture to show y'all how much snow we actually got.... notice the mailboxes and the house behind Aaron.

Something about snow makes both my boys want to pull out their bikes and trikes!

Sweet, sweet, sweet....

I have to tell you, this was one of the sweetest little moments at our house. The other night, I had grabbed the boys' jammies when I was upstairs and just brought them down and threw them on the couch until we were ready later on. I went about my business in the other room until I heard Scott call, "Come here; you've got to see this."

Aaron was being a super-sweetie and just decided to help his little brother conquer his jammies, unprompted. Aaron is still getting better and better at buttons so, as you can tell, this took much concentration and much patience on both of their parts (I don't think I've ever seen Isaac stay in one place this long in recent months!) Now, if I can just teach Aaron to change diapers.... HA! :)
Look at Aaron's tongue.... oh the concentration! I was thankful that I had enough time to grab the camera to capture this brotherly love!

On a sidenote: don't you just love Isaac's jammies?!! These were Aaron's Christmas PJs as a baby and now it's Isaac's turn! Love the old man plaid!

Ponderings from Aldi

Well, Isaac and I had an interesting trip to Aldi this morning. So interesting, in fact, that I've decided to share for a moment....

So, we're minding our own business, picking up a ham for Easter, and a little old lady in a yellow, plastic rain cap walks up to us.

She says, "Here I'd like for you to have this" (and yes, proceeds to hand me a tract).

To which I reply, "Is this about Jesus?"

She says..... nothing..... and walks away. Huh?

Two seconds later, she walks back down the aisle and up to me and says, "My husband and I like to watch a pastor on TV Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and he says that Jesus is coming soon..... very soon" and proceeds to walk away again.

Yes, at this point, I'm speechless (and it seems that she didn't really want to engage in conversation anyway.... as I had attempted to continue the conversation earlier)

So, I continue my hunt for a lemon. At which point, ANOTHER older lady comes up to me and says, "I see that she got you, too."

I say: "Yes."

She says, "It gets old; she's in here every week, doing the same thing."

At which point, ANOTHER woman comes up to me and says, "I'm with her.... I'm with her.... I'm with her."

Finally, I reply, kindly, "I'm WITH her, too, I'm just not sure that is the most effective to have others WITH us, too."

That lady pauses, picks up a bag of carrots and says, "Huh, I think maybe you're right."

So, that was the first scenario..... enter scenario two.

I was proceeding to the check-out line and another older approached me. She said to me, while looking at Isaac, "He is absolutely adorable..... how old is he.... is he a good baby...."

So, I had this thought while I was leaving Aldi: why is it that I felt SO pleasant about the second scenario and so yucky about the first? In one word: connection. The last lady CONNECTED with me.... she saw that I was a young mother who could probably use some conversation at the grocery store (and yes, Isaac IS adorable and I love it when people notice! HA!) I just might have listened to her if she handed me a tract. However, the first lady could've cared less about me, about ME. She seemed to just want to pass out her stack of tracts entitled "What is The Secret?" (which I might add, found offensive as I read, even though I am a believer!)

Now, the one disclaimer in my mind: maybe the plastic raincap lady from the Baptist Church down the street felt called by God and led by the Holy Spirit to "share" her faith in this way.... maybe someone has had a conversion experience by the potatoes at Aldi.... however, as I drove away, I was once again floored by this little "technique." If I was put off, as a believer, what must my nonbelieving friends think every Monday at Aldi?! THAT breaks my heart.

My heart DOES hurt for the lost. I do want MILLIONS to come to know Christ as their Savior. However, I'm guessing that this tactic is probably a bit ineffective in most cases. I'd love to be completely wrong about it though....

While I don't think I have the corner on evangelism, my hope is that my kindness towards others might win many. My hope is that my compassion towards my neighbor when I heard that she lost twins less than a year ago might make her thirsty to know Christ if she doesn't already. My hope is that my family would be known as the kindest and most compassionate on the block. I DO want to make a difference in my world. My hope is that by being authentic, kind, and by truly loving people, others' lives will be changed as they wonder why and as we respond with THE answer.

Okay, so I'm done with my little rant for today.... maybe one day 50 years from now, God will have me in a different place on this issue, and I'll be the one wearing a plastic raincap in Aldi. But for today.... those are my thoughts.... not that she was wrong and that I am right. Merely that maybe, just maybe.... there is a better way....

Recipe slump, anyone?!

I've been thinking for weeks that I'm in a recipe slump and have thought about posting on my blog to get all of your ideas (I'd still love them, by the way!) Then, I jumped onto Lysa TerKeurst's website of Proverbs 31 Ministries and found that she was facing the same dilemma. Go HERE to get some incredible, new recipes. Yum! The only downside, I always tend to get bummed when I look at new recipes because many of them sound SO yummy but would not be eaten by my boys (specifically, the biggest boy in my house.... AKA Scott.... who doesn't eat cheese, cream cheese, etc. BOO!) Have fun exploring the site.... and just a tip.... I just opened a new Word document and just copied all of the interesting recipes into one file that I can print later!

Here's one that you can add to your book.... it's so simple and very yummy. My new friend, Darlene, who gave me the recipe even uses these as an afternoon snack for her kiddos.

Crescent Triangle Sandwiches

1 or 2 cans of crescent rolls (depending on the size of your pan)
Deli ham/salami/pepperoni
Cheese (sliced or shredded.... provolone, mozzarella, whatever your favorites are!)
2 eggs

Press 1/2 of the crescent rolls in a greased pan, sealing edges together (9x13 pan works well). Layer cheese and meats on top of rolls. In a separate bowl, beat 1 egg then brush over the top of the meats. Place the remaining rolls on top and seal together in a flat layer. Beat remaining egg and brush over the top. Bake at 350 degrees.... 20 minutes uncovered, 25 minutes covered. Cut into small triangles before serving.

So, please share (either with me directly or on Lysa's site....) what are YOUR favorite meal ideas and the things that you and family don't want to live without? I need to expand beyond the world of Shake-n-Bake chicken nuggets! (if you haven't made chicken this way, you need to.... it's fabulous, simple, and quick!)

Hello Snow!

We woke up to a WHOLE lot of the white stuff.... and just had to laugh because we heard that the worst is still on the way. We've discovered, yet again, that a whole lot of snow = a whole lot of work AND a whole lot of play! Interesting fact: I didn't realize that Buffalo averages 18 inches of snow in the month of March.... huh....

The work part....
Getting ready to go....The play part!!!
You can't have this much snow and not make a few snow angels!