Welcome 2013

"May Your favor be on us, Lord our God; make our endeavors successful; yes, make our endeavors secure!" Psalm 90:17
All for Your great glory!

Praying God's blessings on you in this new year!!!

Merry Christmas

From our Family to Yours, we pray you have a blessed Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! 

 

A Few Thougts before Christmas

The news from last week broke my heart! I keep thinking about the parents, brothers and sisters, and grandparents who have the heaviest of hearts this year. I'm thankful that God is in control and that He is the Righteous Judge, Great Comforter, and He is Sovereign.  I don't understand what happened or why it was allowed to happen but I pray He will somehow wrap His great big arms of love around each one of the family members and bless them with His peace that passes all understanding....and so much more!

And that each one of us will be in every moment this Christmas....not just go through the motions...but be in every moment realizing the treasure of each one and each family member we are blessed to spend this Christmas time with!  And the lifetime memories to be made.

This morning I was thinking about my neighbors and what I would make them for Christmas. I am thankful for the neighbors we are blessed to have!  For the past several Christmases, I have made PW's Cinnamon Rolls and hand delivered warm pans of the delicious goodness!  I love baking them...they are time consuming but I love how my home smells like Christmas when the pans of Cinnamon Rolls are baking!

I was thinking about making something a little less labor intensive as I have been so so busy! I still have one last minute photography order that I am waiting to be delivered to I can deliver it to my client and then I am taking a little break to enjoy my family

I have visions of sleeping in (past 5:00 a.m.) staying in my pajamas until noon, watching all the  Hallmark Christmas movies I have recorded on our DVR, getting mani/pedis with my girls, Pumpkin Spice Lattes that always come with fun conversations, fires in the fireplace, giggling so hard until our sides hurt, enjoying looking at all of the beautiful Christmas cards we have received,driving around to look at Christmas lights, Christmas Eve Candle light service, spending time with family...and dreaming of a white Christmas.  I CANNOT wait! 

While I was searching for a new recipe to make for my neighbors, I came across Candy Cane Mice.  I remember making red candy cane mice for my girls to give to their classmates at school when they were in elementary. I think my mom made these for me when I was little too.  And these simple mice flooded my mind with wonderful memories!

source

Thank you Heavenly Father, for the treasured memories I am blessed to have and the excitement of new memories to be made this year.  Please, help me to be in the moment and to treasure each one! And please comfort those who are brokenhearted and be ever present as only You can!

My Favorite Flautist

The first weekend in December brought a flurry of activity. Hannah played basketball in a tournament about 45 minutes away on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and Sunday played in the Band's annual Christmas Concert.

I already posted pictures from the basketball tournament, but thought I would post a few band pics too. Hannah plays the flute...and naturally is my favorite flautist! She and her fellow flautist ensemble won state in May so I always look forward to hearing my baby girl play her flute.

Hannah played the offertory in church this past Sunday right before her daddy and I sang and before her grandpa (my dad) preached. That was a pretty special Sunday. It was my mom's birthday too....and she was sick-bless her heart!

The Secrets is in the Cream Sauce

"The secret's in the sauce." What movie is that from??? If you guessed Fried Green Tomatoes, you are correct! Way to go! When Rachel was home from college for a short weekend, I made a new pancake recipe. The recipe is from Paula Deen so it had to be yummy! The recipe is Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Cinnamon Cream Sauce. And it is incredibly yummy!!!

Here are the pancakes sizzling on my electric griddle...and yes that is bubbly butter:

I've made chocolate chip pancakes before...I sometimes add peanut butter chips too.  They are a family favorite, but the BEST part is the Cream Sauce.  Oh my goodness it is delicious!!!

The pancakes are nearly done:

Add a dollop of the delicious cream sauce and then a bit of maple syrup...makes me think of Buddy the Elf:

The warm pancakes makes the cream sauce drizzle over the sides.  YUM!

All that's left to do is enjoy!  Here is the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paulas-home-cooking/chocolate-chip-pancakes-with-cinnamon-cream-recipe/index.html

Egg in a Hole

A few more days of the crazy, busy photography season and maybe life will return to some sort of normalcy! I am forever grateful for my amazing clients but I am looking forward to a little break which just might include fires in the fireplace, cooking actual meals again, and I may even drag the old iron out again (maybe). Our family has had their fair share of Eggs in a Hole lately. It's an easy recipe and most of the time, I have bread, butter, and eggs on hand. Here is an easy recipe if you need one: Use whatever bread you have on hand.

I don't have a cookie cutter this shape or size, so I use the lid of a mason jar to cut out a center hole. I'm sure you could use cute cookie cutter shapes if you like:

After the holes are cut out, make sure you save the holes, I have my electric griddle sizzling with a little Pam or butter just waiting for the bread.  If you butter the griddle, you don't have to butter the hole-y bread.

Then I ask a cute helper to crack one egg into each piece of bread. Yes, I do this right on the griddle:

Oops....look out for the shell!

I add the holes right on to the griddle too!  And then I salt and pepper each egg:

After the egg appears set, I flip the bread and cook the other side too:

And then it's time to eat!  It takes less than 5 minutes and it beats a run to Sonic any day....well except for maybe their Diet Cranberry Limeades.  What is your easy peasy go to meal when you need a quick something?

The "C" Family {A Sneak Peek}

Although I have been booked solid for months, when this sweet lady called and explained that pictures of the two of them was all that her daughter was asking for Christmas, how could I say no?

Mr. Incredible and I made it to their beautiful home this weekend just as the cold front was beginning to roll in. Much to our delight, were able to capture a few shots before the blustery wind arrived.

Mr. and Mrs. C, it was so nice to meet you and Sophie.  I hope you enjoy your Sneak Peek and that your daughter enjoys her Christmas present.

It's Beginning to Look...

...a Lot Like Christmas!!!  A cold front blew in early this morning.  Our temperatures have gone from 80 degrees to a high of 47.  Yes! The only thing better would be my Rachel being home from college, a fire in the fireplace, Hallmark movies on tv, lots of snow, and a snow day from school ( a girl can dream right?)!

This is my last full week before Christmas Break!  Next week is our short week with an early out a week from Wednesday!  My students and I are counting the days.   Delight!

Do you Pinterest?

I have been sooooooooooo incredibly busy that I haven't had much time to really dive into Pinterest. But, now that I have a tiny bit more time, I am hooked on Pinterest! Pinterest has captured my interest! 

I could spend hours, if I had them, just looking around. Here are just a few ideas I have found...there are so many more!

Seriously, who knew that you could dry your fingernail polish almost instantly by merely spraying Pam cooking spray? The power of Pinterest!

This is not my image. I found it from this source:   http://pinterest.com/pin/263531015666970273/


I found cool new ways to tie a scarf. I adore scarves!!

 Source:  http://www.tipjunkie.com/all-crafts/how-to-tie-a-scarf/


 And what I hope to one day have my photography studio look like. I have been dreaming about a barn...but wouldn't this barn be the bees knees???!  Hey! If you are going to dream, you might as well dream big! I love this!!!

 Source:  http://pinterest.com/pin/93238654756938872/

Do you Pinterest?  What is your favorite Pinterest pin?

My Nephew is a Middle School Baller!

My oldest nephew is old enough to play on our middle school's 7th grade team. Seriously?! When did he become old enough to do that?! In between teaching my high school classes and a quick photo shoot after school, I was able to watch part of his very first middle school basketball game. Yay!!!

Nearly out of breath, I quickly found a seat only to find his game was set back a bit.  Great! I hadn't missed it. Here he is, on his very first game in middle school. He is #5...the ginger who was so pumped about his first game that he was actually jumping with his team mate.  Priceless capture!

With the game delay, and only minutes before Hannah's varsity game, I didn't get to watch much of his very first 7th Grade game.  But, I was thankful to watch the part that I did see.

Free throws are much more interesting when you are the one shooting....that's what I think my nephew was pondering in the image below:

And then my nephew dribbled down court and nearly scored!  Woo hoo!

And then I headed to the high school to watch my baby girl play ball!!! It was a full but busy night and I loved every second!

We're Playing Bas-ket-ball!

If you have read my blog for a while, you know how much I look forward to basketball season! And this season is no exception! My baby girl is playing varsity and we are so proud! Is the season easy? No way, but she is working hard and we see improvements each game. Delight! And I have to admit, it's moments like this, pictured below, that make my heart sing:

She jumped, squared up, shot over that girl-who has her hand nearly in my baby's face, and she swished it! Yes!

I like seeing her put her hand up to call for the ball and post up like this:

And when she draws a foul and makes her free-throws.  She made one and missed one here:

See my Hannah?  She is #50!

Most games, I feel exhausted when it's over just watching.  I didn't realize it until this weekend's tournament that I move around in my chair as if I am helping Hannah. Ha! She certainly doesn't need my help. I may have played 5A basketball when I was in high school, but she would beat me any day!

See the thingy on her arm? She is wearing it for a little added support.  A few games ago, she was fighting for the ball and an opponent jerked her arm backwards and hyper-extended it a bit.  The sleeve gives her a little support. 

And much to my husband's delight, I now read the sports page in the newspaper! I use to only read it if the comics were in that section. Ha! Now, it's the first section of the paper that I read! 





And I'm saving every one that mentions my baby girl.  This Sunday, I squealed when I read it!  She had 10 points and a mention in the big city paper.  Oh, God is so good! I thank Him for giving her the ability and I pray His protection over her and her teammates when they play and practice. 

Go Hannah! #50! We are so proud of you!!!!

My Front Door Christmas Garland

My birthday was a few weeks ago. I love to decorate my home for Christmas as my birthday gift to myself. My birthday fell on Saturday. Delight! My family was so sweet to let me get a little sleep. I slept until 9. I was thrilled! This was the first Saturday in about 8 weeks that I didn't need to rush off to a photography session. While I absolutely love photo sessions, I had carefully circled and marked the 17th on my calendar as a day to decorate and get ready for Christmas. It was such a relaxing day.

 Hannah fixed the BEST breakfast casserole in my honor. The tomatoes were from my garden and delicious!  Fresh tomatoes in November. Who would have thought?!

After the majority of the house was decorated, we headed for Hobby Lobby.  Yes! One of my favorite stores on my birthday.  Mr. Incredible waited in the car...a football game was on.  Hannah and I had as much time as we wanted to shop.  Yes!  I found what I was searching for.

We ate dinner at Outback...some sweet friends and clients had blessed me with a gift certificate. Yum!

While we watched the movie Brave, I put together my front door garland.  I didn't purchase my things at Hobby Lobby, I found it all, except for the garland, at Sams.

All you need is enough garland (I bought pre-lit garland) to line your front door and sidelights.  I purchased 27 feet, or three garlands. You also need netting (also from sams).  I think I used about 5 rolls of red and lime green.  And then I also purchased shatter proof ornaments from Sams and 2 packages of large ornaments from Sams.

I carefully placed my garland on the floor and gave it a good fluffing.  Then, I started putting the netting in loops and using the garland, attached it to the garland.  I used some garland to tie each loop to the garland.  You could use wire or zip ties too.  Here is the garland with the red mesh added:

And then I added the lime green mesh/netting.  I tried to alternate loops:

I made fairly large loops.  I wanted to cover up the greenery so that you mainly saw the loops, ornaments, and the lights.  Hannah and I carefully placed the 8 large ornaments.  They are also from Sams and shatterproof.  We used green zipties that I already had in my craft closet to attach to greenery.  You could probably use wire if you prefer:

The large ornament that says, "Believe" is my favorite.

Then we filled in with various shatter-proof ornaments. I also used zip ties on these:

And then I would like to say that we hung it up and it was fabulous! But, I can't! We had super small command strips that didn't hold the heavy garland.

After church the next day, we headed back to the store for much larger command strips.  They worked perfectly! Here is my garland:

I love it!