Life is precious!

This is my friend Tanya. We were high school friends, worked at Aldo's Pizza together (we were the only girls!), in each others weddings, there when each others first child was born. This is my friend Tanya, now laying in a bed in St. Agnes, with few days left in her precious life.

Tanya was diagnosed with cancer around Thanksgiving, and within the past week, found that it has spread to her brain, and other areas quickly. She is fighting with everything in her being, but doctors say she has only days.

Please pray for this mom of 3, wife to Chad, and friend to many! Please pray also for her family that is with her every hour, standing by her bedside.

Tanya's motto through this all has been, LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE. Everyday we are blessed with so many things that we take for granted. This has been a huge reminder to me to remember what matters most...it's not a clean house, a position held, money earned, or an e-mail returned...those things won't matter in the end. Live each day like it's your last, and let those who you love know it without a doubt!!

Thank you Jesus for:

*Dying on the cross so we can live

*My best friend, and husband Eric

*The best 4 boys in the world

*A family that loves me unconditionally

*Loving and giving friends

*A home that meets more than my needs

*My health, and the health of my family

*Providing for all of my needs

*An amazing church

*So many other things in your beautiful creation!!

If you would like to see all of Tanya's story, you can see her website that her sister created. www.freewebs.com/livelaughlovetk

I love you all!

Broken Dryer Top 10 Lessons Learned

10. Your house can drop 2 degrees by hanging 200 pieces of wet clothes everywhere
9. Hang pieces in the room where they belong
8. Hanging clothes decreases wrinkles
7. You don't know what you've got till it's gone...
6. Ducking under hanging clothes is a workout routine.
5. Air dried towels also exfoliate!
4. No procrastinating to put the clothes away
3. No digging through drawers to find your clothes
2. I never would have made it in the early days!
1. Magically, an $18 part, can turn into a $165 repair bill!

I have survived! The repair man came this morning, and I've never been so excited to hear the hummmm of my dryer! He even removed about $2 in change, and don't even have to listen to a clanking sound!! WOW! I can't wait to do more laundry! ;)

Just hanging around today!

Well, after a busy last week, It was so nice to discover that my lovely dryer decided to go kaput! The heating element has gone out, and I had 2 wet loads of laundry, and about 6 other loads that I need done ASAP!!!

I thought, "Why not, it couldn't be that bad...afterall, women have been hanging their clothes out for centuries!" Well...what I also discovered is, they didn't have todays "extras" to make it more difficult too! Okay, so I had a weeks worth of laundry. That's 6 peoples (5 of them very messy boys!) clothing:
5 people x 7 days = 35 pairs of underwear
4 people x 7 days = 28 pairs of socks (I only wear flip flops!)
6 people x 7 days = 42 shirts
6 people x 7 days = 42 bottoms
7 towels
20 washcloths

This doesn't even include cleaning cloths, sheets, and extra clothes for church, or just wanting to change outfits!!

Now, imagine those 174+ pieces of clothing, hanging ALL OVER MY HOUSE!!! Every doorway, clothes rack, ironing board, and garage hinge, has landry on it. Why, you ask, not put it on the line outside?? Oh yes, our lovely dog that likes to rip everything to shreds!! :)

Now, I'm not bitter one bit. Ethan loves going through all of the clothes tunnels! I was a little worried though that Eric would come home and open the garage door, and have the whole neighborhood inspecting our undergarments!!

So, if your tired of hearing that old dryer go round and round, or not wanting to put away those soft, Downy fresh clothes piled up on your bed...just think of me...living in a clothing jungle! :)

(Don't worry, the Sears man is coming soon!)

Yummy Overnight Blueberry French Toast

This is the yummiest thing I think I've ever eaten! I brought this to a brunch, and it was a hit! I doctored it up a little, so here is my recipe! :)

Ingredients:
12 slices of French Toast Bread, cut in 1" cubes
2 (8 oz) pkgs. of Cream cheese
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. milk

1 c. fresh blueberries
12 eggs, beaten
2 c. milk
1 t. vanilla extract
1/3 c. maple syrup

1 c. white sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1 c. water
1 c. fresh blueberries
1 T. butter

Lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan. Arrange half the bread cupes in the dish. Mix together cream cheese, powdered sugar and 1/4 c. milk, a dollop on top, and spread. Sprinkle with 1 c. blueberries, and top with remaining bread cubes.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and syrup. Pour over the bread cubes, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the bread cube mixture from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cover with foil, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 25-30 minutes, until center is firm and surface is lightly browned.

In a medium saoucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3-4 minutes. Mix in 1 c. blueberries and reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes, until the blueberries burst. Stir in the butter, and pour over the baked French toast.

I shook powdered sugar on top too!

Enjoy...and don't think about the calories!!! ;)

Church Shopping

Anyone who knows me...knows I love shopping!! :) This, however, was going to be a different kind of shopping. For about the past 3 years, we have been floating along, visiting different churches, or more likely, going to the "church of NFL, or church of Nascar". As the boys are getting older, we wanted to find a place that fits our needs as a family, one that has an awesome children's ministry, one that reads and applys scripture, and one that Eric and I could feel connected to.

We have always been a part of bigger churches, so trying a smaller, more casual one, has been a real change. After talking with the boys, we made a decision, that we would try a church for 4 straight weeks in a row, and decide if we wanted to continue, or if we wanted to try another church.

For the past 4 Sundays we have visited River Valley Church. We actually visited them a couple of years ago when they were at Edwards Movie Theater. I think we have found a home! :) They meet at Clovis North School, and have two services. The Pastor, Gordon Hall, and his wife Tami, have been great! Gordon speaks from the Bible, and applies it to all walks of life. The "Family" ministry is amazing!! Dawson, (1 1/2 years) even comes home with a coloring page and craft! They read Bible stories even to the babies while they are caring for them. The worship is so uplifting, and we love the music. Ethan asks everyday..."How many days until Sunday?"

We have met great people there too, (Some we knew from high school...go CW! and also Peoples) so it has made the transition easier.

If your in the "shopping" mood, or just want to visit with us...let us know! :)

It's not homeade???

I know a lot of you are "gourmet cuisinists", but I just had to share this. Last week I had a Southern Living at HOME party where the hostess made dinner for everyone. Her family owns a restaurant, so I just assumed, her yummy veggie lasagne was a family secret recipe!! Finally, I got the nerve to ask her if I could get the recipe. She laughed, and said...it was Stouffer's! I immediately went to Von's and got it! :) It has a crumbly parm. topping, veggies, that you can tell what they are, and a yummy alfredo sauce! All of the boys loved it too! Now...I didn't say it was low cal...just yummy! It does take 1 hour and 50 minutes to bake frozen, but thawed only 60 minutes. I've also put lasagnes in the crock pot and cooked them that way too!

Oh to be 5 again!

After a long evening of errands, Ethan couldn't quite make it up the stairs before falling asleep.

Wish I could still sleep like that!!

Sunshine Fun!

Enjoying the sun...and popsicles too!! Gotta love those sticky, blue and red mouths!!

Dawson enjoyed his first popsicle! He loved it, till he discovered how to bite it. The faces were hysterical!!!