Orange Bread

Happy baking for the 2 who requested!:

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tbsp grated orange rind
2 (11oz) cans buttermilk biscuits
1 (3oz) pkg cream cheese, cut into 20 squared
1/2 butter, melted
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 tbsp orange juice (we squeezed it from the orange we grated)

Combine 1st 3 ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.

Separate biscuit dough into individual biscuits; gently separate individual biscuits in half. Place a cream cheese square between the 2 halves, and pinch sides to seal each back together. Dip in butter, and dredge in reserved sugar mixture. Stand biscuits on edge in a lightly greased 12-cup bundt pan, spacing evenly. Drizzle with remaining butter, and sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden. Immediately invert onto a serving plate.

Combine powdered sugar and orange juice; stir well. Drizzle over warm bread... Mmmm!!

Our Valentines Day

Yes, I think Valentine's Day is the dumbest day on the calendar. I shake my head in disgust at the commercials aimed at the poor guy who will end up in the dog house if he doesn't get his demanding princess a diamond necklace. Around here, V-day is sweet in a much simpler, confectionery way...

For a yummy breakfast treat, Joshua helped me make orange bread. He hand-squeezed the juice we needed -- and slurped down the extra as if it were some forbidden soda. What a novelty!

 

 

Every bad thing you can think of is in this bread. It was delicious!!

Later in the evening, we all put together homemade cards for each other and I made mini heart-shaped, red-velvet, chocolate cakes. These were from me for my boys (big hearts for my Big One, and little hearts for my Little One)...

 

The best part of the whole day was how excited Josh was for Dad to see what I had made for him. Greg had been out earlier in the evening so we placed the little card and cake where he could see it as soon as he walked in. Josh posted himself by the door to listen for the garage door to open so we could hide and jump out screaming "SUPRISE!". I can tell you I would not have thought it deserved such pomp. But it was sweet in the purest V-day way to see how much Josh loved doing this for Dad -- I really thought he was going to explode with anticipation (I bet I heard the "beep-beep-beep" of our alarm system 20 times from Josh cracking the door open, making sure he didn't miss Dad's arrival). And sweet, too, was how much Greg relished it! The back-story of Josh's excitement just made him melt...

Hope your day was sweet as well -- in whatever way you needed it to be! ;)

My First Basketball

I really could not have cared less about the game of basketball just 4 months ago. I was a cheerleader for it a million years ago but I didn't know what I was cheering about (and didn't care). I just remember the stinky gym. I watched a 'Magic' game forever ago, which was kinda fun. Any live college/pro game is. But, again, it didn't turn me into a basketball fan one bit. I didn't care. All that changed when I casually asked my son if he wanted to play this year. I was sure he'd say no (why would he care?) but, alas, he said "Yes!". And now, I have to say, I LOVE BASKETBALL! I still don't get it, but I'm enjoying it.

 

 

 

It helps when your favorite player is your favorite kid. In the entire season Joshua only scored once (he's not that great -- sshhh!), but I'm really hoping he wants to play again next year. By then, maybe I'll know some clever things to shout besides "Woo-hoo!" occasionally. We've got a lot to catch up on -- but now I care! Who knew???

8 Inches!

 

That's what we got last weekend! It was beautiful to watch as it fell all day and night, and fun to wake up to with a ruler in your hand. Eight inches is the most I think my southern self has ever seen. This is like our 6th snow this winter, which is amazing. We won't talk about how much school we've missed this year...

 

Greg and Josh had so much fun making this snowman. They kept coming to the door asking for bizarre items -- a spray bottle of water, tree limb clippers, pieces of candy, and a carrot stick of course. They also made an impressive igloo after this shot. I didn't know about it until we were leaving for church the next morning! That tells you how much I love being out in the cold. I was very happy to sit by the fireplace, collect wet clothes as they came in the door, and supply warm food when tired, hungry boys needed a break.

That's my kind of snow day!

 

Christmas is always special, but God gave us a real kiss this year with something I've never seen in my whole life -- snow!!

 

Yes, I've seen snow before but I've never, ever gone to bed without it on Christmas Eve and awakened to it the next morning. A Christmas snow! Isn't that wonderful?

 

We went to Kierstin's house for Christmas dinner. Joshua brought a ball to share out of his stocking and Kierstin had one to show as well. They were very impressed with each others' loot.

Doesn't she look like a little 'Who-ville' baby?

 

On a sidenote, we have started watching 'The Nativity' on Christmas Eve. Here's the magical irony of it. It's not a glamorous movie and the angel, Gabriel, is a little ill-casted (like I know what he really looks like), but I have to say that this understated yet very personal version of my favorite birth story is amazingly glorious. Puts your head to the pillow with just the right heart!

Posers

On our quicker return home from Georgia, we made one last stop -- and that was at our good friends, the Wages. Amy surprised me by inviting some of my sweet friends from yonder when...

 

Now I agree that they are cute girls, but I am glad that we came to our senses and got over the serious pose. Anyone can stand next to each other and smile (and most do, I'm afraid). But not everyone has a cute little blonde 2-year-old setting the pace with her tongue stuck out. That IS my Ainsley Elizabeth! She drew me lots of pretty pictures while I was there. What I WISH I had was a shot of big sister, Evie, snuggled up in my lap...oh, I was lovin' that! Rumor has it that she only does that with Mom, Dad, and grandparents. Lucky me!

 

And back to good posing, shortly after arriving home, my Bible Thumpers got together at Shannon's again for her scrumptious Christmas luncheon. She is so awesome and we have so much fun! That considered, it once again didn't make much sense to stand and smile...

 

I love those girls.

Happy New Year!

Wow, it's been a long time since I've done this! Though I haven't posted anything lately, I've been reading your blogs and I've loved all your Christmas notes and pictures. You make me laugh and think and sometimes cry, and I appreciate that you let me see into your lives. You are inspirational.

Let me tell ya, not having a computer for a very long time makes you withdraw quite nicely. Were it not for the pleas from Mom, I would have let blogging slip into eternal forgetfulness. Thanks, Mom. Photojournaling life is a good thing.

I'm afraid I have to go all the way back to Thanksgiving to start catching up. Josh and I took a road trip and made lots of little fun stops along the way. First: our good friends, the Dearings. They are a really fun family. Tempelle and I have a tradition of eating pancakes at Cracker Barrel. While we did that, Tom and the kids had a big time doing all kinds of enviable things. Tempelle wouldn't let me take a picture of her but the kids had no problem with it...

 

Next we visited my sister, Amanda, and brother-in-law, Sean. I always thought Nashville was kinda cool and now I really do. It's clean and beautiful, has good pizza, and Amanda spots folks that would leave me starstruck. Of course, I didn't. But she does.

 

Final stop: Georgia (Greg flew in, by the way). My whole family gets together here and, with new members added all the time, it's gets better every year. On top of new spouses and new babies, my Aunt and Uncle (who host the whole circus) celebrated their 25th and renewed their wedding vows the evening after Thanksgiving. It was a great party and a very special ceremony. I have no pictures of it because my batteries died, but, trust me, there was good turkey and dance attempts had by all.

Josh looks forward to getting to be with all his cousins. Here's a good pictures for you Mom -- all your babies!!

 

My Grandma knits the cutest stuff and had a huge container full of free-for-all hats and scarves and bags for us. Hot dog! We had a good time modeling all our gifts.

 

More later! Enjoy 2010...