New Look.

I am hoping that by changing the appearance of my blog I will inspire a change in weather. I LOVE the snow. However, we have not had enough snow to even play. If it is going to snow... I want it to snow a lot. I want to make a snowman and sled. On top of that, it has been bitterly cold. I got rid of the snowflake background and the Christmas music. Bring on spring! Stay safe out there! The wind chill is dangerous.

Per Luke's request I am posting a picture of Tator's new hair.

2009

January brought us a terrible ice storm. We were without power for 15 days. We had a lot of damage. We are still trying to clean up debris. We also lost our dog Koko during the ice storm. And, to top it off Kimber had a horrible case of pink eye.

February started out rough because of the ice storm. We didn't get our power on until February 10th. Valentines Day came and we remembered our sweet baby we lost. On February 20th we celebrated Kimber's First Birthday! She still wasn't feeling great and screamed when her daddy put her hand in the frosting!

March was a big month. Kimber started walking by herself on March 2nd. And, on March 5th Baby Emerson entered the world. Luke built the girls an amazing swingset. And, we took the girls to see Petit Jean State Park.

April brought us lots of Easter fun. Kimber, Kinnison and I participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, which is a tradition for us. I am so proud of my girls for wanting to help others.

May was a busy month. We took the girls camping for the first time. We took the girls to the drive in moviater. And, we celebrated Memorial Day with a Tyree Family Reunion.

June was busy. We got to watch Kinnison perform in her dance recital. She did a wonderful job. We worked in the garden and we put up vegetables. Then we put up some more vegetables. My Mag-Pie passed away. He was a good dog. I miss him very much. And, on June 28th Ty celebrated his fourth birthday.

July and August were filled with fun! I didn't have to work over the summer but I took some online classes, which kept me very busy. I passed my Praxis II exam! We spent a lot of time going to the movieater. Every week they play a kid movie and tickets are only $2. It is one of our favorite summer activities. We spent a lot of time working on the garden. We celebrated the Fourth of July in Branson at a lake house. And, we took the girls to the beach for the first time. It is one of my favorite memories. We had a wonderful time and we get to take them again this year. I can't wait. We remembered our sweet baby on August 20th.

September started off with the Clothesline Fair. Kinnison got to ride in the parade and square dance. Her group did a great job. She started running a fever and vomiting Saturday morning. She had a temp of 102 for 6 days. She was a trooper though. We went to the zoo and a Natural's Baseball game. We had another family reunion. We also got to go camping with Charity, Ty, Gammy and Pappy. We had a lot of fun!

October was filled with pumpkins, pictures and candy! We visited Ranali Farms, which is a tradition. We lost another beloved pet, Huck. He was a wonderful cat and we miss him dearly. We took the girls trick or treating four times. They had so much fun! Halloween was extra special this year because my best friend Fran welcomed her beautiful Gavin into the world!

November was hectic. I had to go to class two nights a week and had a lot of assignments due the first week of December. I passed my Praxis I exam. Kinnison turned four on the 14th. I can't believe how fast the time goes by. We celebrated Thanksgiving at home this year. Kimber had croup and swine flu. It was a very scary time for us. To wrap up November, we took the girls to the Fayetteville Square to see the Christmas Lights

December 7th Luke and I celebrated our 7th anniversary. We celebrated by taking the girls to Branson, another tradition. We love going to Silver Dollar City to see the Christmas Lights. We had many wonderful Christmas Dinners. This Christmas was extra special because it snowed! I had my first ever white Christmas. I am so glad that I got to spend it with my girls.

2009 was a wonderful year. We made a lot of wonderful memories together.

We said goodbye to some wonderful pets and we welcomed a new one to our family.

I look forward to our family traditions every year. There is nothing better than making memories with Luke and our girls. I am so very blessed. I pray that 2010 brings good health, great memories and lots of laughter to my family.

Happy New Year!

I wish you and your loved ones a blessed and joyous 2010!

"Be always at war with your vices,

at peace with your neighbors,

and let each New Year find you a better man."

~Benjamin Franklin

Recipe For A Happy New Year

"Into each day put equal parts of faith, patience, courage, work, hope, fidelity, liberality, kindness, rest, prayer, meditation, and one well-selected resolution. Put in about one teaspoonful of good spirits, a dash of fun, a pinch of folly, a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humor." ~ Anonymous

I know I used the same quote and recipe from last year. They are my favorites. I will probably use them every year. And, I hope you like the Christmas music, because I am thinking about leaving it up all year. :) Seriously, I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful year. Make peace with your enemies, hold on tight to your family and friends, tell them you love them, and do for others, even when no one is looking. My New Year's Resolution is to be more patient with my children, stop cussing, eat better and to make a difference in someones life. I think I can achieve all of those except eating better! ;) Happy New Year!

Christmas Continued- Heaven On Earth

Luke 2:11

"Today in the town of David

a Savior has been born to you:

he is Christ the Lord."

What a wonderful Christmas! Part three, four and five of Christmas all happened in the last two days. We have been so busy! Lastnight we went to my mom and dad's to open gifts. We have done this for as long as I can remember. We laugh, we eat, we bake and we open gifts. It is a tradition to decorate sugar cookies and make divinity. However, due to the hazardous road conditions we cut the evening short. We made divinity this morning. I didn't mind at all. To say that I LOVE snow would be an understatement. I am so happy that we had a white Christmas! This morning we opened presents at our house with the girls. And, every year I make us waffles for breakfast. After we eat breakfast we regroup and head back to my mom and dad's house to celebrate Christmas with the Crazy Crawleys. We always have a good time. We eat and then we play Dirty Santa. I think every gift I opened was stolen from me! Luke took the girls sledding. They only went down two hills. It was bitter cold today. I think the windchill was 4 degrees when they went out. BURR The snow was too dry today to make a snowman. We are hoping we can make one tomorrow. To wrap up the day we drove down to the farm. I took the picture above on the way down there. It is a picture of our upper pasture and the barn we just rebuilt. (It is kind of hard to see because I can't zoom very far) It was a beautiful sight!

I am thankful for my beautiful girls, my wonderful husband, my family and my friends. I am thankful for my mom who works very hard to plan our family dinners. She is amazing. I am also thankful for the snow. I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas! God is good!

Party!

Kinnison is staying the night with Ty tonight. We told Kimber we were going to have a party when we got home. She must have thought we were serious. She decided to empty an entire bottle of shampoo into the tub. I just bought it today! The results...

I love this girl!

After the water drained...bet they are still there tomorrow morning!

Christmas- Round Two- Tyrees

We had Christmas with the Tyree family tonight. It was a lot of fun. Great food and great company! Santa even came to visit! Here are some pictures from tonight...

Christmas- Round One- Bumgardners

Luke's Grandpa, Luke's Mom and Doug came over tonight. We had a wonderful time visiting and dinner was delicious. Kinnison's favorite gift was the Fisher Price Kid-Tough Digital Camera. She has taken a couple hundred photos already. Kimber's favorite gift was a baby doll that moves around and cries. Kimber also got a doll house that they both love. Luke's mom got me and Luke a digital photo frame. I love it! Tomorrow night we will celebrate Christmas with the Tyree Family. Some photos from tonight....

I wanted to post some photos of the upstairs. We have lived here for 3.5 years and are just now finishing the upstairs. I think it is turning out good. We were going for the rustic look. LOL We have changed our mind many, many times.

Bake, Bake, Bake!

Not really! I have made some Chex-Mix, Peanut Butter Balls and tonight I made a Spiced Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie and a Pumpkin Pecan Pie. Luke LOVES the Spiced Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie. He won't get to try the other one until tomorrow because it has to be refrigerated. I hope he likes it!

This is the Spiced Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie. I tried a new technique to *drizzle* the chocolate on top and I don't like it...too thick. I will try something new next time! Recipe from Pillsbury.

Ingredients

1	Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crust (from 15-oz box), softened as directed on box
3/4	cup light corn syrup
1/2	cup sugar
3	tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1	teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4	teaspoon ground nutmeg
1	teaspoon vanilla
3	eggs
1	cup coarsely chopped pecans
1	cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)
1	teaspoon shortening
	Whipped cream, if desired

Directions

	Heat oven to 325°F. Place pie crust in 9-inch glass pie plate as directed on box for One-Crust Filled Pie.
	In large bowl, beat corn syrup, sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and eggs with wire whisk. Stir in pecans and 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips. Spread evenly in crust-lined plate. Cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning.
	Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake 15 to 25 minutes longer or until pie is deep golden brown and filling is set. Cool 15 minutes.
	In small microwavable bowl, microwave remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips and the shortening uncovered on High 1 minute; stir until smooth. Drizzle chocolate over top of pie. Serve pie warm or cool. Top each serving with whipped cream. Store covered in refrigerator. This is the Pumpkin Pecan Pie. Recipe from Bakerella

Refrigerated Pie Crust

Cream Cheese Layer

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp lemon juice.

• Mix the cream cheese and sugar using a mixer. Add egg and lemon juice and continue mixing until creamy.
• Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Make the Pumpkin Layer

15 oz. can of pumpkin

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice

2 eggs

1/2 cup evaporated milk

• Beat pumpkin, sugar and spice with a mixer.
• Add eggs and beat until combined.
• Add milk and beat until combined.
• Spread the cream cheese mixture in the dough covered pie plate.
• Layer the pumpkin mixture on top and try not to disturb the cream cheese underneath.
• Cover the edges of the pie crust with foil to keep them from getting too brown and place the pie in the oven.
• Bake for about 20 minutes then apply the topping before baking the rest of the time needed.

Topping

1 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

• Mix the ingredients in a medium bowl.
• After the pie has baked for the first 20 minutes, remove the foil and layer the topping on.
• Bake for another 25-30 minutes. Remove and cool.
• Cover and chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving.

Seven Years.

Yesterday Luke and I celebrated our 7th Anniversary. To celebrate we took the girls to Silver Dollar City. If you read my Anniversary post last year you might remember that I swore we were never going back. But, it is tradition. This year was actually much better than last year. They had the parking lots done so we got to park in actual parking spots instead of in a field in Branson West. There was more shuttles this year and we didn't wait over 2 minutes to get on when we got there or when we left. Luke's mom went with us. I think that made it a little easier as well. We went earlier this year too.We left after the 6 o'clock tree lighting. That is when it started getting a little crazy. People were actually stepping over Kimber and the stroller. Luckily an older lady in front of me noticed and started clearing a path. Luke and I spent our honeymoon in Branson and every year since then we have went to see the lights. I am guessing that will never change...no matter how miserable it is for us. The girls had so much fun. Kinnison was fearless! She wanted to ride every ride there. Kimber even rode a couple rides without screaming! We made some wonderful memories. I am so incredibly blessed!

Luke~

I can't believe I have put up with you for 7 YEARS! Just kidding.

Our journey so far has been fun, exciting and sometimes challenging. I am excited about our future. I can't wait to make memories with you and our girls. Thanks for being a wonderful husband (minus you leaving clothes on the floor, your selective hearing and constantly passing gas) and a wonderful father. We love you!

*skinny us*

(us before marriage and kids)

Prayer Request.

I have been following the story of this precious baby girl for a few weeks. My heart is breaking for this family. Please pray for her. Pray for her momma and daddy. Pray for her brother. Pray for a miracle. And, please pray for all of the other children who are enduring things they shouldn't have to be enduring.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/hannahgracecrumby

http://hannahandcaleb.blogspot.com/