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Hello! I promised to keep you posted on the status of the little girls. We kept telling ourselves that we just wanted what was best for them and that if it wasn't us than we would at least be happy that they are being taken care of, but we still feel a little sad that they aren't coming to be in our family. After the funeral, their Grandpa, who is actually quite wealthy, interviewed a nanny for the girls and as far as we know, things are really working out with her. We are a little bit relieved, but we also really wanted them to come. We also feel like everyone needs a mommy! ( I am sure that the nanny is a wonderfulwoman, but how can a nanny be a mommy?)

We hope everything continues to go well, and we will be available if they still need us.

It is also getting nice and warm! It hasn't been a bad winter, but I love seeing things coming back to life! I am going to take some pictures of my Hollyhocks and Iris which are already trying to take over the world.

I also have another fabulous recipe! This is a fabulous French Bistro sandwich that David and I had for lunch today.

Monte Cristo Bistro Sandwich:

6oz smoked ham (like Black Forest or Westphalian)

6oz Smoked Turkey

6oz swiss cheese

high quality dijon mustard

Dense whole wheat bread

for the Batter:

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

salt to taste

spread some of the dijon mustard on both sides of bread. then put one or two slices of ham, turkey and swiss inside the sandwich. Then pack the sandwich down a little. Dip the sandwich in the batter and fry like french toast. Cook thoroughly, at a hot enough temperature to melt the cheese. Remove from heat and serve with strawberry preserves.

We made this a romantic brunch meal by serving it with fresh fruit juice in wine glasses. C'est magnifique!

Fabulous and Fancy Free Easter Menu

This Easter menu is ideal for anyone who is busy hunting for eggs, and enjoying the company of friends and family on Easter.
Everything is simplified so you don't miss out on the fun.

Easter Menu

Marinated grilled Flank Steak

French Cut Green Beans and Sour Cream

Cesar Salad

Parmesan Rolls

Flank Steak Marinade:

Begin by Tenderizing the meat. (We used the back of an ice cream scoop!)

In a blender, mix the following ingredients. This makes a lot so invite a lot of people or half the recipe.

1 1/2 T parsley

2 T dry mustard

2 1/2 t salt

1 T pepper

2 cloves minced garlic

3/4 cup soy sauce

1 1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup worchestershire sauce

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice.

Blend thoroughly and marinate steak overnight in the fridge. Grill on a George Foreman grill if you don't have an outdoor grill. Slice into strips when cooked to your liking.

French cut Green Beans: Well, we just opened up a can of them, warmed them up and put some sour cream on them. They are a family favorite.

Cesar Salad: The Cesar salad kits available at the store are actually really great. They save some time too.

Parmesan Rolls: Get rhodes rolls and take them out of the package to rise. Place them in a buttered cooking dish and drizzle butter and parmesan cheese on top. allow to rise and follow cooking directions on the package. We are all about easy at our house so this worked out really well.

I made this diaper bag for our friends Melissa and Allen who are having a baby boy. I actually stole the idea from my cousin Ashley who had made one for a baby girl. It was really easy although a little tedious. You start by cutting 98 4''x4" squares. (use a rotary cutter and your life will be much easier.) You also need about 50 3"x3" squares of batting. Sandwich a square of batting between two flannel squares and sew an x in the middle with a sewing machine. Repeat this with all of the flannel squares. Then sew the squares into panels 5 squares by 4 squares wide.(sew with the seam allowance on the right side to make a fringe.) You should have two of these panels, one for the front and one for the back. Then sew the side panels by sewing 4 squares in a strip. You should have two of these strips. Sew bottle pockets to the sides by making an elastic waistband around the top of a 7"x6" strip of fabric. Sew across the bottom two squares of the side panels. Now sew the side panels to the front and back panels.To sew the bottom of the diaper bag, use a firm rectangle of interfacing between two rectangles of flannel, 4"x 18" wide. Attach the body of the bag (Front, back, and sides) to the bottom. The next step is to cover a strip of webbing (however long you want it to be.) with flannel and sew a couple of lines down the length of the strip to secure fabric, and add the remaining two squares to the strap. (I cut slits just wide enough for the strap to pass through. ) Now sew the strap to the inside of the bag. Next sew in a zipper in the top to keep all of baby's supplies secure.
How cute! Now go take that baby to the park to show off your new diaper bag.

I also made this diaper stacker for the baby. I am making another one, so I will include pictures and instructions with the next one for anyone looking for a new project. They make really good gifts for baby showers.

This was just a family picture on Easter sunday. David looks soo cute wearing his new purple shirt and tie doesn't he?

I thought this was a cute idea. We did these for our primary kids for Easter Sunday. You just make a nest the same way you would make rice crispy treats, but instead of rice crispies add chow mein noodles. We also found edible easter grass to put in the nest, with some jelly beans for eggs, and a peep on top. I thought they turned out kind of fun. The kids liked them a lot.

Here McKinley is coloring easter eggs. You can't really tell from the picture, but the orange one that she is working on is completely cracked and battered because she was working so hard on it. It was pretty funny because that was the only one she really went to town on. She also had to taste the dye to see what "red" tastes like.

The Saturday before Easter, we went to Red Cliffs. It is a little hiking area just five minutes off of I-15 between St. George, and Hurricane. It was so much fun to get out of the cold of Cedar and into the warm weather. It felt like spring break! There are miles of red rocks to climb around on, and plenty of room to get some sun. I should have warned you beforehand to not look at my white, white legs without eye protection. We had a blast! We went with my parents and my little brother Johnny, and spent a couple of hours just hiking around. It was so much fun.

My Happy Family

This is my little family! David is my handsome husband who I have been married to for the best 3 years of my life.(so far) He is the Love of My Life and I don't know how I lived without him for the first 20 years of my life.
Then we have McKinley our 2 year old crazy lady. She has red hair just like her daddy and her personality exemplifies RED! She is so full of life and fun. We have a tough time keeping up with her sometimes. In this picture you can see that she doesn't feel that she has time to pose for a picture.
So we are a pretty small family right now but we hope to start growing again. David and I got engaged, got married, got pregnant and had McKinley, just about all in the same year. (2005, it was quite the whirlwind.) So we decided to slow things down a bit and let life catch up a little. But now we really want to get started with some more little ones, especially because we think McKinley really needs a friend.(and someone to rival with so she wont be soooo spoiled.)
However, last week, a relative of my mothers was killed in a snowmobile accident. She was the guardian of her daughters 2 little girls who are ages 6 and 7. I felt so badly that they had lost their Grandma and we offered to take them and have them be a part of our family. Things are still up in the air, but we may get to have them come. The next little while should be exciting either way, so stay tuned!

Come and wallow in Mississippi Mud!

This amazing Mississippi Mud Cake will drown all your sorrows! Trust me.

Mississippi Mud Cake
4 Eggs
2 Sticks Margarine
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 Tbsp Vanilla
1 7 oz jar Marshmallow cream
8"x 11" pan

Cake:
1. Melt margarine and cocoa in a sauce pan.
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
4. When cake is done, remove from pan and immediately spread with a 7 oz jar of marshmallow cream.
5. Let sit until marshmallow cream begins to set- then spread icing while still warm.

Icing:
1. Melt 1/2 stick margarine with 1/3 cup cocoa.
2. Mix with 1 box powdered sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla.

That's it! Now all you have to do is get muddy!

32 flavors and then some

So, who starts an introduction from the middle? Me, of course! Yes, I know, it sounds a little conceited that I might describe myself as a 32 flavors kind of girl, but I don't mean to make that kind of impression. I feel like I have so many interests and so little time to do and be everything that I want to.
We always ask questions like "What do you do? or "Where are you from?" or "What is your favorite kind of pie?" but adding all of these questions up does not, of course equal any real person. But I will answer these questions sooner or later.
Hmmmm...who am I? I guess it depends on the day. Some days I swear like a sailor, while Sundays I teach the five year olds in church. (Hopefully "some days" never line up with Sundays.) Music is one of my lifelong passions, however, I chose another path.
I'm a firefighter, and I occasionally save a life or two as a paramedic, but that's nothing compared to the life I have the opportunity to create by being a mother to my daughter.
I am forever in love with my Angel Husband David, a true individual who completes my life.
I have a temper, but also a kind heart behind the smoke.
I'm a blonde, through and through, and yes, we have more fun.
I thrive on creativity, but not my own. I am a first rate, self proclaimed copy cat.
I enjoy cooking, but not as much as I enjoy eating.
I have tried to live without regrets, but who can really feel good about cavities. (Those sour patch kids weren't THAT good!)
so now that I feel like I have advertised myself in a personal ad, "if you like long walks on the beach and the color green"....yeah, get real.
So there you have it a little glass of lemonade. A little bit sour and a little bit sweet.