Boys!

He went to the restroom to "shave" with his plastic razor and this is how he came out. Why? I do not know why...because he is a boy and it seemed like a good idea at the moment! Got to love those boys.

Potatoes

I love potatoes in just about any shape form or fashion. This may be a bad thing! The scales seem to agree that I love potatoes a little too much! Anyway these are wonderful...easy and delicious.
Cut your potatoes into thin bite size slices into a bowl.
Pour a small amount of olive oil onto potatoes...this is not an exact science....I cut up about 8 cups of potatoes and put about 3 Tablespoons of oil...but I am feeding 7....so cut up the amount you need and put just enough oil so that they will be very lightly coated...not greasy.
I melted 1 Tablespoon of butter and poured it on the potatoes. Then toss them.

Place them in a pan single layered I do not literally put them single layer but you do not want to pile them on top of each other or they will not cook evenly. Then add seasoning...I put pepper, lightly sprinkle with garlic salt. I have used red pepper as well.
Cook in a preheated 450 oven for 20 minutes or until potatoes turn nice and golden brown. Oh my goodness...you are not going to believe how good these are and so easy to prepare!

Trouble??

Do you think that I am in trouble????? She is 12 people!

Where is your identity

OK....do you feel more powerful swiping a credit card or handing over a bunch of coupons? I must say that I have been doing this long enough that I get a total thrill handing over my stash and watching my total go down...down.....down. But there is truth is our perceived status with using a "gold" or "platinum" card. We need to move so far away from that thought! There is great power in being free from debt and having money to give......I want to use my extra savings to do amazing things and not pay off credit card interest!!!! We need to understand that our "status" needs to be found in our identity with Jesus and not in the things of this world.

Fajitas

I love fajitas! My whole family loves them in some form or another. I started off with thin meat and I sliced it into really thin strips.





Then I put it in a marinade of olive oil, lime juice, jalapenos and vinegar. I cut up more than we will use in one night and I put it raw..in the marinade...in a freezer bag and froze it for another day. Make sure to label the outside of the bag with a sharpie...you think you won't forget but it all looks the same when it is frozen. Can you tell that I have experience with this?? :)
Throw the meat into a hot pan, I used an iron frying pan.


After browning the meat I threw in the onion and bell pepper. I used red but green is good as well. Then I put spices that we like....red pepper, garlic salt and this seasoning by McCormick.
I made homemade salsa.....oh baby is this stuff good....I'll post about it another time. I use Pace Picante whenever I don't have fresh.


The black beans are from a can...warmed and seasoned. I served ours with lettuce, cheese, black beans, refried beans and the steak. Yummy!!!!Wrap it in a warm tortilla and enjoy every last little bite.

Beautiful Bride

We have had the honor to be mentors to an amazing family...The Apon's. We love them all so much! Kayla is 2nd of 8 children...what a joy it has been to be a part of her life. She is and has always been an amazing example for my girls. She got married last weekend and it was all so beautiful. This is a picture of Eric praying with her before the wedding and below is her first kiss (ever!!) with Ben her equally amazing new husband. We love them both so much and we are so excited to see how the Lord uses them in a mighty way!

My Grandma

My grandma made the best pound cake when I was growing up. She brought it to every family gathering for as long as I can remember. It was the first thing that I looked for at any holiday. She died 16 years ago and I remember remember sadness the first time that we all got together and the cake wasn't there. Last year Eric's aunt brought a cake in a metal pan like this one and I told her how my grandmother always put her pound cake in a holder just like it. Aunt Jane is very thoughtful and she looked at thrift stores until she found one for me. I LOVE it....every time I see it I think about my grandma. Funny how memories are...its the little things.

I love The Pioneer Woman Cooks, blog....amazing! I will have to post the pictures when we met her. Anyway I saw this recipe for her yummy pound cake and I had to try it. Oh my goodness it was amazing. Of course it has 3...yes....3 sticks of butter! It is so yummy and I was so happy with the way it turned out....it is close but not grandmas. :)



Make sure the you take the time to get your favorite recipes from your relatives. I have many, including the infamous pound cake but there are others that I so not have and I will never get. That makes me sad. I have made sure to get my favorite's from my mama and Eric's mom.

Great deals

I hit the jack pot at Publix last week....what might you ask will I do with all this sugar and baking stuff??? Well it has a huge shelf life and I got most of it for free...lots of baking and brown sugar oatmeal. I paid 6.25 for everything that you see here. Kids got into the milk before I could take the picture. If you click on the picture you can see it better.

crazy

What is the most ridiculous "saying" that you have ever heard. Here is one of mine...."Love means never having to say your sorry" How utterly stupid is that statement. The person who originally said that must not have been married, had children...actually you really couldn't have anyone in your life that you really love and not say that you are sorry on a regular basis!

What to make for dinner

If you use coupons then it is pretty likely that you have alot of this type of rice or pasta in your cupboard. I am not one for "one dump" type of meals but this one turned our pretty good. My family enjoyed it
I boiled chicken breasts....remember to get really tender chicken.....bring to a boil....cover and turn down to med low for an hour...on the bone and 45 min for boneless. I usually throw a couple of stalks of celery in as well or celery salt if you don't have the real thing. This adds flavor and I think it helps it to be tender. Cook the rice or pasta as directed in a seperate pot. Cut up boiled chicken and add to prepared rice. I added one ear of raw corn...I love the crunch!!! I only left the heat on long enough to heat the corn through...I didn't want it soggy.
I added some extra spices to give it an extra kick that suited our taste and served it with a salad. The only thing that I don't like about this picture is that it looks boring. The dish was really yummy but the picture looks bland....all my yummy colorful veggies on my salad are on the bottom...so use your imagination!

Haiti

Please be praying for us..... Our church is taking a team to Haiti in 2 weeks and Eric really feels like the Lord is calling him to go. The Lord has provided over and abundantly more than we need this month and we will gladly use that to GO...but I must be honest...there is a part of me that says.....what about next month...what if it isn't there then???? I know...little faith sometimes???!!! Oh how these people need the love of Jesus right now! What an opportunity to give it to them!

Sweet Gifts

I received some very sweet gifts from my children....thoughtful gifts........ cards to get my favorite sweet tea, a rug that I had admired and sweet cards. I am a sucker for homemade gifts...when I opened Benjamin's gift I found some special rocks that he had scrubbed and placed in the box with the words I love you. I love it!

I Love My Man!

I love my man!! He is precious to me and I love to be with him.....even 20 years later.

Christmas

We had an amazing Christmas! We had so many wonderful blessings. The Lord was so sweet to take care of us through the kindness and obedience of others.



My three youngest made these...it is so interesting how differently they think. We make them every year. We never actually eat them so I was so thrilled when I found 7 kits clearanced after Christmas for 1.25. I will store them under my bed until next year.