Elsie and Her Pear

Here's a photo of Elsie tonight. This is the first bow I've put in her hair and it's barely staying in. I'll post a couple more of her romping on the sofa.

This is where she ended up after her couch romp. As you can tell she was pretty tempted by the remote control which is a "no, no" at our house. She fell off the couch before she could actually grab it, but don't worry, I caught her ;)

3 Million Cheeses

Here's a post that shows how hard it is to get 3 kids all looking at the camera (with normal expressions) at the same time. You say "cheese" about 3 million times in about 3 minutes. This photo was taken on Thanksgiving at my parents' house in Bend.

Mike Huckabee Ad

Intentional Christmas

I've recently realized that Weston and Grace are old enough now that we need to start creating some traditions that point to Christ during Christmas.

The other day Weston found a toy catalog that came in the mail. He quickly spotted a knight costume complete with a sword and let me know that's what he wants for Christmas. Although we will probably give him the costume, I really want to start instilling in them the desire to give to others and focus on Christ's birth rather than get caught up in all the excitement over presents.

I recently heard about organizations sending out catalogs where you can purchase animals and various other items to have sent to those in need around the world. I searched online until I found an organization I've heard is reputable. Gospel for Asia is an organization that plants churches in impoverished areas and works to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the people in those areas. I went online and requested a couple of catalogs as well as an explanatory DVD about the organization. It's my understanding that Gospel for Asia (GFA) specifically works with the Dalits who are the "untouchables" in India's caste system.

Weston and Grace both had some money in savings so they watched the DVD and we talked with them about what they wanted to purchase from the catalog. Grace was insistent she wanted to buy a water buffalo (only $430!!!). We finally talked her into going for a pair of rabbits and some Bibles instead. ;)

Weston had more in his savings so he decided to purchase, with his own money, a pair of pigs, a pair of rabbits and some Bibles to give. He was very excited to give to help others, although he had a hard time with the idea that he had some money at the bank that we couldn't go take out right this minute. He thought all the money was in his piggy bank and went right upstairs to get it out. He also thought we would get his money and go buy the animals ourselves to send :) He was a little disappointed that he wouldn't get to see the animals before we gave them. I'm not sure that he completely understands all the candy and toys that his money would buy if he were to keep it, but we won't fill him in on that quite yet ;)

In the end we were able to buy two sets of pigs, two sets of rabbits, a pair of chickens, some Bibles and gospel tracts (for missionaries) and a blanket to donate. What a blessing to us to get to participate in this! As the kids get older I think we will try to do something a little more hands on to raise money. Maybe we'll have them pick out what they want to order and then help them find ways to raise the money themselves (this is what my friend, Kristi, has her kids do). They can put a little effort into thinking about what they want to give instead of get!

Housewife Delight!

Here's a crockpot recipe I recently found. I call this post "Housewife Delight" as this is the kind of recipe I love. Easy, not tooooo bad for us, makes good leftovers, and tastes great!

Creamy and Beany Crockpot Chicken (I made up my own name for it):

4-5 frozen chicken breasts
1 15 oz. can corn, drained
1 15.5 oz. can black beans, drained
1 15 oz. jar salsa (I used the regular kind from a jar)
8 oz. package cream cheese (I used regular, but I'm sure it would still taste good if you want to use light)

Put frozen chicken breasts into crock pot.
Add black beans, salsa, and corn (remember to drain the corn and beans).
Cook in crock pot on high for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked. Add 1 package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour.

I spooned out some of the excess liquid before adding the cream cheese and decided to shred the chicken to put into warmed tortillas. I added some green tabasco to mine, and it was delicious! Husband loved it too! Kids were not so sure, but unless it's candy or cookies, they usually aren't ;)

*Another suggestion would be to add some olives or some cooked rice.
**If anyone has any good crockpot recipes that meet my above criteria (easy, not too bad for us, etc) I would love to receive a copy.

Who Needs Grass?

I just took this photo of the kids playing in our backyard. Due to an early winter and some "kinks" in our landscape scheduling, we will not have any grass at our duplex until spring. But, we are discovering that we don't need grass to have fun!

I think that after 5 or 6 months without grass we will really be thankful and appreciative when we do actually have a lawn.

New Baby Rasmussen

Here's a photo of Dave and Julie's new little girl, Tirien Mercy (Tirien means "gentle, servant"). She was born 11/1/07 at about 8am and was 9 lbs, 2 ounces and over 22" long (big girl!). Julie was blessed with a very quick delivery and a healthy baby!

Costumes!

Here's a photo of the kids on Wednesday night. If you can't tell, Elsie is dressed up as a pink poodle :) I bought tons of candy to hand out at the door and we only had about 3 kids come. What am I going to do with all the extra candy?!!!

The Kitty Litter Cake is Back!!!

Is that kitty litter on my kitchen table?

Back in 2001 I came across a recipe for Kitty Litter Cake and decided to make it for Mike's Halloween work potluck. Although not many people wanted to actually eat the cake, it turned out to be a big hit!

I decided to make it again this year since he is now at a different company. The cake is assembled using two box cakes, pudding, Nilla Wafer crumbs, green food coloring, and...Tootsie Rolls (microwaved and shaped just right). Julie also suggested using some honey to make the cake even more realistic (a very nice touch).

Believe it or not, the cake is actually quite tasty!

Sunny, leafy day!

Today was a beautiful, sunny day! It's probably the only sun we've seen in about a month due to an unusually rainy October. I decided to head out on a "treasure" walk with the kids while I had the chance. While I headed upstairs to change into shorts (it was that warm!) I sent Weston and Grace out to the playroom to pack their backpacks for our walk. When I came down Grace had on her purse (an old early-90's purse I had in high school), her sun hat that's about 2 sizes too small, her hot pink plastic sunglasses, a stuffed dog, and a pink plastic bottle (apparently for the dog?). Weston had on his John Deere t-shirt, jeans, camo backpack, blue plastic sunglasses and his Mariner's hat. They were quite the pair to go on a walk with! I managed to talk Grace out of bringing the dog and the bottle and we set out! It wasn't long before we were finding all sorts of treasures; rocks, leaves, tree seeds, nuts, etc. About halfway through our walk we came across a yard full of yellow leaves. The kids were thrilled to run and kick the leaves (0n the street and the very edge of the yard....I don't let them run through strangers' yards). Eventually, our leaf playing turned into leaf throwing and then into a full blown leaf fight! I did draw the line though at not throwing leaves all over the baby. Elsie couldn't stop belly-laughing at all the leaves flying through the air. I couldn't help but thank the Lord that I got to enjoy my kids in that moment. How fun to participate with them in their delight!