Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. We went up to my parents' house. I baked all the pies for our big Thanksgiving dinner. We had a blast catching up with all the family. Friday after Thanksgiving, we went up to Branson with my parents and my brother and sister-in-law. We had a blast. Here are some pictures from our trip.

The pecan pies that I made. They tasted fine, but the syrup mixture got underneath the crust somehow, so they fell apart when you dished it out. Oh well!

Pumpkin pies

On our way to Branson (sorry these switch to small pictures, not sure why!)

Waiting for our tram to SDC

My mom and me

Ryan, Natalie, and baby Graham
Us with some snowmen!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thanksgiving

I love this day! I love the fact that there is a day set aside to express our gratitude for the blessings God has given us. This year we have had many blessings that have come about because of some tough things that happened to us. I'm thankful that my car was found after it was stolen in March. I'm thankful that Annie has fully recovered from her surgery. God provided for us financially far more than we could have imagined. After having to move yearly here in Amarillo, I'm glad we were able to renew our lease and stay settled in the home we have made.

I'm also very thankful for daily blessings. My wonderful husband who is incredibly patient and loving. I'm not the easiest person to be around all the time. I get confused easily, sometimes can't finish my sentences, and am very emotional. We have been together a little over 7 years, married for almost 3 1/2, and he amazes me all the time by how patient he is with me. He loves me unconditionally, even when I flush my keys down the toilet when we are in the middle of nowhere! He is very giving and encouraging. I could not have found a better man to complete me. I love him with all of my heart.

If you haven't noticed from my blog, I am thankful for my dogs. All I've ever wanted to be from the time I was little was a wife and a mom. Since we are not at a point where we can have children yet, our dogs give me something to take care of and love on (and talk to!). They make me laugh so much and I can't remember what we were like before we got them! They are definitely my babies!!

I'm thankful for all of my family, immediate, extended, and in-laws. I am blessed to be loved and supported by so many!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Leo got in a fight...

You should see his kennel!

Prepare yourself for cuteness!


She's even cuter when she's walking around in it! I know, I know, I'm pathetic!!

It looks like I'm not the only one who loves the Christmas tree!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Ornaments

In case you haven't heard, I love my ornaments! I know for a fact that Tim is tired of me saying that!! Here are some up close pictures of the different ones I have on the tree so you can see the colors and the details a little better.
I love how well the tree skirt is, since I got it at Target and all the ornaments came from a little shop.Now, don't you all want to come over and stare at my tree with me? ;-)

Christmas Gift Ideas

Are you starting to think about all the people you will need to buy gifts for this Christmas? Friends. Coworkers. Church members. Secret Santas. Well, hop on over to my sister-in-law Natalie's site and check out her candles.
They are soy candles that she makes herself in some amazing scents. I LOVE to burn candles (maybe it's because I have a large stinky dog). I especially love special scents for this time of year like pumpkin and cinnamon. She has worked hard to come up with scent combinations that are really great! She also packages them beautifully with a ribbon and tags. This is a great way to help support a home business, which is something I try to do whenever I can. You can leave her a message on her blog or email her if you have any questions or want to order.

Oh, Leo!



For the past several weeks, Leo has been bound and determined to not stay in his kennel while we are gone during the day. He busted out of his kennel so many times, he broke the metal poles that go in the holes to keep it closed, so each time we put him in, we have to put them back together and put them in the holes. Then we bought some zip ties to try to keep him in, and he would pop those suckers and be out to greet us when we got home! Now, we have had to use the metal poles, zip ties, AND a bungee cord!
And wouldn't you know it, he greeted me at the front door again today at lunch! What are we going to do with him?!

Happy Thanksmas!

So, I did it! I put up our tree and decorated it and put out all of our Thanksgiving decorations. The only thing Christmas that I have out right now is the tree and my "Christmas" dishes. They aren't actually Christmas dishes, as you will see below, but I love them! Here are some pictures of what I put out so far.

Our front door


Pumpkins and pumpkin candle on the side table.
More of the side table


Our mantle. I love my nativity, and I keep it out all year long. I think the birth of Jesus should be celebrated all year, not just for a month. This reminds me to do that.

Our console table in our dining room.

I got these dishes last year at Target the day after Christmas. They came in sets of 4 and were super cheap! I was so excited because I had been eyeing them the whole season. Well, when I was in Target a few days ago, I saw they have them back this year, so I'm going to get 2 more sets of each of the plates so I have 12 place settings (I have this dream of hosting all the family holidays once we move to a more desirable place and have a bigger house! So I have to have plenty!) I love the simplicity of them but they are still festive.


Our table, all set!



This is our tree with our new ornaments. I told Tim the ornaments were my Christmas present this year because I wanted them so badly. I love the red and lime green (I wish you could see them better. I might have to make a post later of each of the different ones up close). My garland definitely needs a little help! Tim will have to fix it! He had to fix all the ornaments I put on there!! Seems like I remember my mom telling me a story about how I would put all my ornaments on one limb of the tree and after I went to bed my mom would rearrange them all over the tree. I never knew the difference!


After Thanksgiving, I will put out the rest of my Christmas decor. I'm going to make my wreath for our door to match the tree with the garland and some little ornaments that go with the ones on the tree. Plus, we are going to put some of our favorite personal ornaments on the tree, too. My sister-in-law makes us ornaments each year and I love them! She is so talented and I look forward to what she is going to create every year. So I will put some more pictures up as I add things.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Hook 'em!

(I can't believe I just typed that!)

Here are some pictures from the UT/OSU game!

Boone Pickens Stadium

We could see the whole field the whole time. They were good seats!


We had a great time!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Hello!

Sorry to leave you all hanging after my last post! I was sick most of last week and we were out of town this past weekend, so I haven't updated. First of all, Happy November! I'm so glad Halloween is behind us, I can't stand that "holiday". And now, our neighbors have put away their haunted yard decorations, and I can enjoy the fall! Don't tell Tim, but I'm going to try to decorate for Christmas this weekend. Someone told me that it was ok to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving, as long as you incorporate fall decorations with the Christmas. I can totally do that! I got some new ornaments that I have been lusting after since last November and I CANNOT WAIT to put them up. Y'all have no idea how giddy I get around this time of year. Maybe Sunday I will be posting pictures of our house all decorated!

After we found out about the Navy a few weeks ago, Tim contacted the Air Force. The reason he hadn't pursued the Air Force before is because we were told they did not offer loan repayment...boy were we wrong! Their reimbursement and pay plan is much better than the Navy and the person Tim talked to was very knowledgeable about the pharmacy specific things. So, Tim has submitted his application to the Air Force and we will see where everything goes from there. He is also looking into some one year residencies that he could possibly do. One is in the Temple, another in South Carolina (I think), and a couple in Tennessee. Also, he got an email from his Navy recruiter who told us they have decided to reinstate the loan repayment for pharmacists in 2010. So, we have several options now. Now that we know about the Air Force, though, it seems like the pay would be better there and Tim knows that he likes the job that he would be doing. If you think of us, just pray for God's guidance as some doors begin to open and opportunities arise.

This past weekend we were able to go to the UT/OSU game. Now, I grew up in Arkansas, so my blood is Razorback Red! It was hard to put a burnt orange shirt on Saturday! But it was so fun and all the fans we sat around were so friendly! I wish we were able to do that more often. I'll post some pictures later.

I hope everyone is doing well!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Well...

We've been hit with a bit of a blow today. We met with Tim's Navy recruiter today for lunch and at the very beginning of the meeting, she handed us this fiscal year's financial notes regarding the offers they have available for the year. We were absolutely shocked to see that they no longer offer the loan repayment for pharmacists. While we were not joining the Navy solely for financial reasons, it is not feasible to continue on the same path without the loan repayment option. At this time, we have no idea what we are going to do, where we are going to go, or why God has closed this door. Obviously, God is not going to leave us here to figure it out on our own, but we do feel a bit lost at this time. We both have decided to sit back and pray for direction, without any predisposed ideas of what we want to do. Please join us in praying while we search for what we are going to be doing in 7 months. Both of our sets of parents are being incredibly supportive and caring right now. They know how excited we were to have a decision made about what we were going to do and about serving in the Navy, so they know we completely devastated about this change of events. I will keep everyone updated as decisions are made, but we aren't planning on any being made for a little while.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies

I got this recipe from a college friend. When I first made them, I had one and I could only taste the butterscotch, so I was a little worried. But by the next day (I was making them to take to work and to a dinner), they tasted much more pumpkin-y and just a hint of the butterscotch. They are a cakie cookie, so be prepared for a different consistency than a normal cookie

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 cup pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar for about a minute. Mix in the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture then add the butterscotch chips. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop dough onto baking sheet (or if you have the medium scoop from Pampered Chef, that is the perfect size). Cook 12-16 minutes and allow to cool about a minute on the pan before transfering them to a wire cooling shelf. Enjoy them!!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Pumpkin Bread

This is one of my favorite things to make around this time of year. Just cut a slice and put a little butter on it, it's so good! You can either make 3 small loaves, 2 larger loves, or a couple dozen muffins. You could also pour all the batter into a bundt pan and then drizzle a glaze (2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tbs milk, 1 tsp vanilla) on top


Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients
-1 15oz can pumpkin puree
-4 eggs
-1 cup vegetable oil
-2/3 cup water
-3 cups sugar
-3 1/2 cups flour
-2 tsps baking soda
1 1/2 tsps salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ginger

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease pan. Mix together pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until blended. Pour into pans. Bake muffins for about 12 minutes, small loaves for about 50 minutes, and large loaves for about an hour. When you think they are done, poke a toothpick in the center and if it comes out clean, it's done!

*Tip* If you have a regular KitchenAid mixer (not the large capacity) do not, I repeat DO NOT, double this recipe. Someone you MIGHT know MIGHT have tried this and MIGHT have had a large mess to clean up after doing so.

We're alive, we promise!

I am so sorry it's taken so long for me to update. I don't have any good reason, just that I'm tired at night and don't feel like doing anything but workout then go to bed! But things are going well, same ol', same ol'! Here is a recap of what we've had going on around here since I last updated:

Some of our precious friends got ENGAGED! We are so excited for them! Their wedding will be in January. We are so blessed to have them as our friends.
We got to be part of the homecoming of a soldier who was at basic training for 5 months. He and his wife are in our Sunday School class. We are so proud of him!
We have been rooting for our teams:
I've been baking! I baked a lot of this:
And a lot of these:
I'm going to post the recipes in the next few days (I PROMISE!).

Our weather is supposed to be cooling off her pretty soon. I'm ready for fall! Actually, I'm ready for CHRISTMAS, but I'll take fall for now!!