Coming back

After much debate, I have decided to restart my blog.  I have so much to catch up on and maybe I never will.  But it's time to take some time and share stories and events.  I want to look back and remember these days.  They are going much to quickly.

Here is a quick update on what's going on here.  One word can sum up our days:  BUSY!!  Ethan is loving Pre-K.  He only has 2 more weeks and he is done.  How can my baby be finished with preschool?  He is excited to be heading off to Kindergarten in the fall.  I am still trying to figure out how I feel about the whole thing.  Ethan loves sports of any kind.  He is playing basketball at the YMCA and loves it. He is also quite a little math wiz.  He is currently doing math on a 1st grade level.  He has also begun to read.  We are so proud of him. 

Dylan is loving Kindergarten.  He is doing great with his reading and math, although I believe the enjoys math much more.  He has about a month and a half left in the school year.  He is so excited to go to first grade in the fall.  He is also enjoying sports right now.  He is doing a basketball hoop clinic right now and loves it. 

I am still babysitting little "J".  He is a very busy 18 month old.  He makes things more busy but the boys are really great with him which makes it a lot easier.

And that's a little taste of what's going on here.

A delicious recipe too good to not be shared.

I need to admit, I am slightly obsessed with the recipes over at MelsKitchenCafe.  That is always my "go to" place for great meal ideas.  Yet again I was not disappointed. 

Tonight for dinner I made This.  It was amazing.  I never quite know what to do with pork chops.  I love them on the grill in the summer.  But I just am not feeling like I am ready to fire up the grill quite yet.  This was so easy.  And who can beat an easy and tasty meal? 

Your Beautiful

I came across this blog today called The Rusted Chain I really enjoyed reading through it.  Beki wrote this great entry about being beautiful in the eyes of God.  Now of course this doesn't just mean physical beauty.  But for me it is hard to pick out one physical trait that I like about myself.  So here it goes.  I like my eyes.  Steve always says that he loves my eyes and I tend to agree.  They are a pretty blue. I do wish that I would have passed the blue eyes on to one of the boys.  But, they are both brown eyed boys like their dad.  I still think they are pretty darn cute :)
Anyway.....This whole thing got me thinking about a song I keep hearing from Mercy Me.  I love this song.  Here is the chorus to the song "Beautiful"

You're beautiful, You're beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful, You're beautiful
You are treasured, you are sacred, you are His
You're beautiful

You're beautiful, You're beautiful
In His eyes

Happy Friday All.

Randomness

Ok.  When I said that I was going to try to blog every week, I really ment once a month!!  I entitled this entry "randomness" because that that pretty much sums up my feeling these past few weeks.  I believe that the winter blahs combined with minimal sleep at night (thanks to my dear sweet Ethan) have caused me to feel a certain depressed mood.  Not that I have lost all hope or anything like that.  But just a lack of enthusiasm about anything.  I want to get out and enjoy being with other people and do fun things with my kids.  But I find myself staying at home, being  short tempered with my kids and my husband and just generally grumpy.  I am hoping that with spring just around the corner, things will pick up again.  I also think that I need to pray for a softer heart.  I was so disheartened the other day when I made a comment that was quite harsh to my husband.  He called me out on it and it really stopped me in my tracks.  Have I grown so cold and calloused?  I pride myself in being this sweet, caring, gracious person.  How did this harshness creep into my soul?  My prayer is that God will soften my heart once more.  That he will give me grace to pass on to others and peace.  I share this with you in hopes that you will also hold me accountable.  I want to start caring again. 

Mid winter update

One of my new years resolutions for 2011 is to do better at blogging.  I was seriously debating about giving up my blog all together.  But I realized that I really like looking back at my old postings and reading the fun stories about the boys and the things we have done together.  So, I am going to try hard to post something at least once a week.  Yes, that is a challenge!

I have had a major case of the winter blahs.  For some reason this year I am not embracing winter as readily as other years.   I have totally lost the desire to go and do anything.  I have been having dreams almost every night about being at the beach and being outside in the green grass.  I have already started planning my garden for the spring.  I can wait until we can eat fresh fruits and veggies and be outside until 9 every night and have BBQ's with friends and go swimming.  I hope that I can shake this funk soon or it is going to be a long next few months. 

So, in order to try to stay positive here is my list of some of my favorite things about winter.
* Sledding with the kids.  There is something about speeding down a hill on a sled that makes me feel young.
* Ice skating.  We don't get to ice skate very often but this year we had a blast ice skating on my parents pond when we were up for New Years.  The ice was so smooth and perfect. 
*Hot Chocolate.  I am a huge fan of that warm chocolatey goodness. 
*Of course all of the Christmas festivities.
* Wearing warm and fuzzy boots.  Yes I am in love with my fuzzy sweater boots.  They are soooo warm.
*  Soup in the crock pot and home made bread.  A cold weather staple in my house. 
*  The beauty of a fresh snow on the trees and on the ground.  Everything looks so clean and pure.  A gently falling snow is truly calming  to me.
Wow!  I feel a little better already.  I will close with one of my favorite snow pictures from our time in Maine. 

Happy 5th Birthday Dylan

Ok I can't believe that I haven't posted anything since Ethan's birthday. What a horrible blogger I have been.
This one is all for my sweet firstborn. Dylan, I can't believe that you are already 5. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was holding you in my arms. I was so lost as to what to do. I had never changed a baby's diaper before the day you were born. I had so much to learn. And now here we are 5 years later. You are becoming such a smart, caring, creative, interesting boy. You love to be outside riding your bike, playing golf or soccer and digging in the dirt. You also love your inside time playing with trucks and trains and building interesting towers and tunnels. You love to spend time with me but spending time with your daddy is very special. I am so glad that the two of you can spend quality time together. You have become very opinionated which is something that I struggle with daily. I am glad that you are able to stand up for what you want (I just wish you would give me a break sometimes). You are so good with your brother. I could not ask for the two of you to play better together. I hope that the two of you remain close always. You are loving pre-kindergarten this year. You are making friends with the other children in your class. I can't believe the difference since last year. You have also made friends with some of the other kids your age at church. I love watching your sweet personality grow.
Dylan, I love being your mommy. You are such a special boy. I love you always.

Happy birthday to my special little guy.

Ethan, I really don't know where the time has gone. It feels like just yesterday I was rocking my second baby boy. How blessed I feel to have you and to see you grow. You are becoming such a great little guy. You are adventurous and yet so easy going. Yes when there is something that you want you let us know about it, but you play so nicely with your big brother and want to share every moment with him. You are becoming quite the little musician. You love to play your guitar and sing your favorite songs. You are even a bit of a show off at the playground when you stand on the steps and sing your heart out. We love to see your excitement when you sing "the Johnny Appleseed song". We pray that you will grow up to be a man of God and a wonderful and loving husband and father some day. Here are some of my favorite pictures of you from each year.

Long Beach Island 2010

There is one family tradition that I look forward to year after year. For many, many years (since before I was born) my moms side of the family has made their way to LBI for some summertime fun. In fact, I just found out that my great, great grandfather enjoyed spending time at LBI. My great grandparents and my grandparents both had beach housed there at one time. It's calm atmosphere is so appealing to me.Last week we gathered together for yet another week together at LBI. We were so happy to have my Aunt Wendy join us this year as well. She lives on Nantucket Island and we don't get to see her very often. We had a very full beach house but it is always nice to be together as a family. They boys really enjoyed the beach this year too. It was fun building sand castles, flying kites and jumping waves with them. I can only hope that they will grow up with many fond memories of LBI.

It's already finished

I feel like I was just posting the picture of my sweet little Dylan on his first day of preschool. Now here I am posting about his last day. I have seen so much growth in Dylan over the past eight months. He is doing well with writing his name. He know the days of the week and he is understanding time. He has grown so much socially too. I am so proud of my big boy. I can't wait to spend the summer playing with the boys and enjoy them as much as possible. They are growing up too fast!!

God is so good

Why is it so easy to lose focus on the things that are important? I had intended to stay really focused on the Holy week this year. I always wish after the fact that I had spent more time focusing on all that surrounds the week of Jesus death. I wish that I could be more intentional about my faith. So here it is Good Friday and I have lost focus once again. Thankfully, the story of Jesus death does not end on Good Friday. Thankfully, I am saved by grace. Thankfully, Jesus died for ME. How can I ever comprehend the love that He has for me? That he died in my place for my sin? Jesus you are so amazing!!!!!!!!!!!

My newest obsession

I have a new love (sorry honey). I found a recipe for the most amazing Cinnamon Swirl bread. I just can't stop making (or eating) it. It is so sweet and yummy, especially when it is still warm. I have made french toast with it and yummy lunchtime sandwiches. I seriously can't get enough of the stuff.

So here it is, my new favorite bread recipe.

1. Dissolve 1 packet of dry yeast with a pinch of sugar in 1 cup of lukewarm water. Let sit for 15 minutes (until mixture bubbles).
2. Combine yeast mixture with 3 C. Flour, 1 tsp salt, 3 Tbsp. sugar, 6Tbsp. Butter (softened), 1/4 C. dry milk and 1/2 C. Instant Mashed Potato Flakes. Mix using dough hooks for 7 minutes (or until dough is smooth).
3. Place dough in greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled (about an hour).
4. Transfer dough to lightly greased work surface. Pat into 6x12 rectangle.
5. Brush with egg wash mixture (1 egg and 1Tbsp. water stirred). Sprinkle with filling (1/4 C. Sugar, 1 1/2 Tsp. cinnamon and 2 Tsp. Flour).
6. Roll dough into log and transfer seam down to greased bread pan. Tent loosely with greased plastic and let rise for an hour.
7. Bake bread on 350 for 40-45 minutes. Tent with foil for the first 15 minutes.

Dreaming....

This has been a terrible week. The boys have been sick with a stomach bug that just doesn't want to leave them. This has made for quite a few wakeful nights and long sleepy days. I must admit I am worn out. I noticed today that I was more on edge. I found myself raising my voice at the boys over the most insignificant things. I don't like to feel that way. I put myself in a time out today and went to a happier place in my mind. It is somewhere warm and inviting. Somewhere that all the cares in the world just seem to fade.....

Christmas 2009

I am finally getting around to finishing this entry. Actually keepin' up with the boys seems to be taking up more of my time now. But that is for another post.

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was nice to have everyone come to us for a change. We spend so many of our Christmases traveling around trying to visit family. Since our families live far away (mine in northern PA and Steve's in Maine) it always feels like we are on the road during the holidays.

The boys were so excited about Christmas this year. Our Christmas festivities began with my parents arriving in the afternoon on Christmas eve. Then, in the evening we went to our churches Christmas eve service. It was so nice. After the service we drove around for a bit looking at Christmas lights in the neighborhoods. This is something that Steve's family used to do when he was growing up.

Since Steve and I were never brought up believing in Santa, we have decided that we won't be doing much in the way of Santa for our kids. I know that this decision is against the "flow" of society, but it is something that we both feel is a good choice for our family.

One tradition that I want to start is to have a "birthday party" for baby Jesus on Christmas Eve. Since we were looking at the lights this year we ran out of time to do this. I am hoping that next year and in years to come we can add this in to our evening.

Christmas morning brought so much excitement to our home. I had decided that we would have a light breakfast first thing and then do a big brunch later in the morning. Once my sister arrived, the kids were ready to dive in to their gifts. Actually, I was amazed how polite they were in the midst of it all. Yes they were ripping and tearing into everything, but there were a lot of "thank yous" and hugs too. A proud moment for me. We got about half way through with the unwrapping and my grandparents and aunt and uncle arrived. We had invited them to come for brunch and to give gifts. It actually worked out perfectly for the boys to have a little break. They seemed to enjoy just playing with the gifts that they had gotten so far.

The brunch turned out great. Our menu: Ham and asparagus quiche, fresh fruit platter, Belgian Waffles, Sausage and of course my grandmother's Holiday Pudding. Perfect!!

It was great to spend some time with my grandparents and aunt and uncle. They left in the early afternoon and then we had some down time. It was nice to take a break.

We were so happy to have our friends Jeff and Emily join us for Christmas dinner that evening. They are expecting a baby in January and couldn't travel to visit family this year. We had a delicious ham dinner and a great time with my family and our friends.

The next day Steve's mom and sister drove down from Maine to spend a few days with us . It was so good to have both of our families here. This is something that does not happen often. We celebrated Christmas with Steve's family Saturday night after they arrived. Then we enjoyed a delicious dinner from our favorite place, Tallutos. It is a little Italian market that sells fresh pasta and sauces. I highly recommend everything that they make. Yummy!!!

We had such a great Christmas. I feel truly blessed.

Pre-Christmas festivities

Wow! Have I really not posted anything since Thanksgiving???? I guess I really did get caught up in the business of the holidays.

This year we were so excited to have everyone come here for Christmas. I should start out with our Christmas preparations. We were excited to get a real Christmas tree this year. We usually use our artificial tree the years we are not going to be here for Christmas. Anyway.... I just love having a real Christmas tree. It smells so good and there is something so heartwarming about it. The boys were really into helping to decorate the tree. Dylan was so excited to rediscover the ornaments he had received from previous Christmases.


One of my favorite things I did with the boys this year was a gingerbread house. Despite the fact that Ethan thought that all the candy belonged in his mouth, I think it turned out pretty well.

Another fun thing that we did this year was go to Christmas Candy Lane in Hershey. We went out as soon as Steve was finished with work and had dinner there. They we walked around the park looking at the pretty lights and of course riding the rides. Dylan and Ethan's favorite was the tiny tracks train ride. I think they rode it 5 or 6 times.
I really wish we had taken more pictures of Candy lane. But the boys were just running from one ride to the next. They had so much fun. We stayed until the park closed and then drove home.

On Dylan's last day of school, the kids put on a Christmas program. We had forgotten our camera (yes I know, how do parents forget their camera when their child is doing his first school program). I am hoping that my sister got some good shots which I will add later. Dylan was so excited about singing the songs that he had learned. He sang his heart out and played his tambourine so well. The both sad and humorous part of the story comes at the end of the program when a "special guest" enters the room. That's right, Santa arrived at the end of the Christmas program. Poor Dylan is so petrified of Santa (can't figure out what caused such fear). He immedialty ran to his teacher and literally climbed her like a tree. His teacher said later she had never seen anything like it. That is my son. But all in all it was a fun night.

As we were preparing for everyone to come for Christmas, I was busy in the kitchen trying to get food ready. The boys were a big help with making the rolls.
We were really excited to have a white Christmas this year. We were outside every possible moment the two days after it snowed.
Ethan was so intrigued by the fact that the snow went above his knees.

In my next blog I will post all about Christmas and New Years.

Our first time hosting Thanksgiving

This year we were excited to finally host Thanksgiving at our house. We had my grandparents, my other grandmother, my parents, sister and some good friends, the Gutierrez family. This was the first time that my one grandmother had been to our home. I was so glad to have her here.

We had a pretty standard Thanksgiving dinner: Turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash, corn, green bean casserole, salad and home made cinnamon rolls. I was excited to find a recipe for a festive salad dressing using cranberry sauce, pears and ginger. Yum! I think this may be my new favorite dressing for a salad. For dessert we had pumpkin pie and some really yummy Mexican 3 milk cake (made by my dear friend Sofia) .

I must admit that I was a little concerned about getting the timing of everything just right. And in the end I must say that everything came out perfectly. We cooked a 20 lb. turkey and it came out beautifully. I highly recommend using the oven bags to cook a great turkey.

I feel so blessed. There are so many things that I could list that I am thankful for. I thank God that He has been so good to me.

Fall Leaves

I don't know if I have mentioned this in any of my past blogs, but I love the fall. I just love seeing all of the beautiful foliage. But now that most of the trees have lost their leaves there is something else that we have been really enjoying in this beautiful weather.

LEAF JUMPING!!!!!!

Ready, Get Set, GO!!!!

Recovering and Halloween

Ok, my blog has suffered neglect long enough. I wish I had a better reason for not blogging, but I just don't.

The past two weeks have felt like such a blur. The whole family ended up getting what was most likely the swine flu last week. We spend the majority of the week at home coughing, sneezing and sleeping. Despite feeling lousy, I do feel blessed that it was not worse. Hearing about how this flu has affected some people is really scary. I am glad that we are now on the other side of it and are recuperating.

Dylan was the first one to get sick but also the first one to start feeling better. He was able to go to school for his Halloween parade on Thursday. Dylan chose to dress up like a doctor this year.


We were also able to go out trick or treating for a while on Saturday night. Dylan loved it as much as he did last year. Ethan.... well not so much. He was not happy to be out in the rain and didn't really care about the candy. We only went to a few houses with him and then Ethan and I returned home and gave out candy. Dylan and Steve continued on. I am glad that Dylan had a chance to get out and do something fun.

Happy Birthday Dylan

This is a little late but I wanted to write this one to my big boy. I still can't believe that you are 4. It seems like just yesterday you were just a baby in my arms. I am so enjoying you at this age. You are really beginning to understand the world around you. My favorite phrases right now are "Mommy/Daddy, will you go to a football game with me?" "Can we go on a fighter plane?" "Do you want to ride in a helicopter with me?" "Daddy, can we go on a rocket ship and go to the moon? Oh yeah we need to be astronauts!!" You of course loves all of the little boy things; firetrucks, trucks, tractors, trains and dinosaurs. But you also love to sing, play games, help cook and paint and color. I love that you are not afraid to pick up frogs and love looking at bugs. You have such a calm and gentle way about you. You are so caring a loving toward us and Ethan. Even though you don't see them very often, you love spending time with your Great Grandparents, Grandparents and your Aunties.

It's hard to believe that you started preschool this fall. You love going to school so much. I was so worried that you might have a hard time with the transition, but you have done so well. Even your first day you surprised me by saying "Good bye mommy, I will see you in a little bit when you come pick me up. I am so excited for my new school." A little bittersweet to hear but I am so proud of you.

This year we celebrated your birthday with family in Maine. You played outside in a pile of fall leaves for quite some time. You even helped your Auntie Sarah make your birthday cake. It was a chocolate cake with green icing (you picked the color). What fun. I love that you requested pancakes and Chocolate cake for your birthday dinner.

Dylan, you are a special little boy. I love you so much. I pray that your daddy and I can raise you to be a Godly man. A man who is kind and compassionate and who seeks the Lord diligently.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of you. I love your sense of humor.

There is a very similar picture of me doing a headstand when I was your age.

You love spending time with your daddy.

Yeah for a big pile of leaves to jump in with grandma.

And hanging with Grandma and Grandpa at the beach.