Projects #2 and #3 - And the end of the year...

OK... I should have saved Project #2 until later. Or, I should have done it a long time ago. Actually, I don't think it really matters when I do this...it's just not fun. I'm revamping our "Must Have Papers". I made a Power of Attorney for Health Care in case Roger or I are ever needing someone to make health care decisions for us. That's always fun to think about... I am also in the process of making a Living Revocable Trust. Having gone through the death of my mother and my grandmother, I am appalled at how much it costs to put a will through probate. So, by making a Trust, our estate won't have to face the courts, judges, or lawyers. Even though it's a good thing to do, it is still sobering to have to answer questions about guardianship for the kids...etc... And, since we're doing a Trust, we also have to update our wills. Fun... Anyway, I got 1/2 of my project done yesterday and will try to finish today. Our computer is SO SLOW...so it's hard to get my groove back and get it all done. And, our printer is having problems, so everything is just saved instead of printed out.

But, Project #3 is looking much more enjoyable. I'm going to reorganized my stamp room! Doesn't that sound like fun! It does to me... I'll try to remember to take some before and after pics. I'm figuring out that some of the really fun blogs that I follow seem to always have their camera with them and can post fun pictures. I'm trying to train myself to carry my camera, and then remember to use it! I read a post on a friend's blog about taking the kids out for a treat in their pajamas and I thought it was a great idea. So, on Monday night, around 9:15, I rang a bell and we got all the kids up and into the Beast and went to Sonic. They were so funny... I wish I'd taken a picture of all 7 (well, I wouldn't have been in the picture) of us loaded into the Beast...the kids in their pajamas, smiling ear to ear in anticipation. We are sure enjoying our Christmas vacation and I'm beginning to feel the noose tighten as we head towards the weekend. Real Life is just around the corner...

We're hanging out here at home tonight...Hope you all have a super New Year Celebration as we look forward to 2009. God Bless...

My Week of Projects -- #1

We had such a lovely Christmas. Now, how can I make the most of our little vacation before we have to start school again? I have my list, and I'm checking it twice, of projects I'd like to try to get done before Jan. 5. Today was Project #1. I went to an auction last Sunday and I "won" a new freezer. I know, I know... Roger reminds me that we didn't really "win" anything... "We're paying for it, aren't we?" But, it FEELS like you win... Anyway, today, my Project was to get the garage cleaned up and rearranged so we can put the new freezer in it's spot. It's so beautiful! (The freezer, that it...) It is a commercial freezer and, quite frankly, it's a lot bigger than I realized it would be. It didn't look so big in the shop where I won it...but it's big in my garage. I'm so excited.

So, I got Project #1 completed early this afternoon since the weather was so gorgeous. I'll let you know how my other Projects go...

Did I mention one of the other reasons our Christmas was so great? Granddaddy has arrived! He's been in Siloam for about 3 weeks now and is working on getting unpacked. He's been over many times and we were able to spend Christmas Eve with him, and then Christmas Day with him and Roger's sister Grace and her family, the Davises. We are so very blessed to have him close.

I'm Mother of the Year with this one!

Ahhhh... Christmas. I am pleasantly tired from our lovely day of celebrating. I must say that I'm rather happy with the way our gift giving went this year. We scaled back on the presents and I think it went really well. We got one large (expensive) gift for the whole family and then each child received 3 presents. Jesus only received 3!! Limiting the number of presents really helped relieve a lot of pressure as well as saved us money! Of course, they also received gifts from extended family, so don't feel sorry for their seemingly small number of gifts. I'm just tired of buying stuff just to buy stuff!

There was one gift worth mentioning. Zane has been wanting some sort of pet of his own for several years now. We got one of our dogs on his birthday hoping that would fulfill his need for pet ownership. Unfortunately, it didn't work. What he really wanted was some sort of rodent, like a rat! Or, a snake...even worse. I can't believe I agreed to this, but we got him a snake. It's a female corn snake...about 8-10 inches long. Even with my aversion to all thinks remotely slimy, scaly, or slithery...she is sort of cute. She has red and white stripes/dots and a little pink tongue. Roger has been keeping her at the office for the last 2 weeks and the staff has sort of adopted her. One of the gals at the clinic named her Shelia and Zane has decided to go with that. If your name is Shelia...no offense intended. Before we discovered she is a girl, I thought we could call her Satan...

If you click on the picture, it will enlarge and you'll see her pink eyes... ugh!

Chocolate Peanut Clusters! YUM!

I know, I know...I've slacked off with my December Photo Project. The truth is, I just didn't have any pictures that I thought were really interesting. They weren't "blog worthy". But, today's pictures will make up for the last few days! These are definitely "blog worthy".

Have I told you about my new BFF? It's the Crock Pot Lady. She doesn't know that she's my new BFF, but she is. If I knew where she lived, I might stalk her. I am a crock pot junkie and I'll be sad when she stops posting every day. Anyway, Roger has a party at the office this afternoon, so I thought I'd make a little "something something" to send to the shin-dig. I decided to try Crock Pot Peanut Clusters. They are sooooo easy. Here's how I made them.

Crock Pot Peanut Clusters

-- 3 16 oz. jars/cans of peanuts (I used "Party Peanuts" and the Crock Pot Lady says to used "lightly salted" peanuts -- I'll address this in a moment

-- 24 oz. milk chocolate chips

-- 8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

-- 8 oz. unsweetened chocolate

Put it all in the CP (I used a 6 quart size) and cook on high for 1 1/2 hours, or low for 3 hours. Here's what it looked like...

It doesn't look much different after it's cooked than it does when you dump it all in. Don't be fooled though... and don't open the lid "just to make sure it's working". It really is melty gooey...

After it's cooked, you can mix it all up with a wooden spoon. You'll have to put a little muscle into it...

Then, I took one of those ice cream scoopers that is really for melon balls and I scooped out little lumps on to waxed paper.

Let them harden for quite a while...like, over night. Or, you can put them in the freezer to harden them quickly. If you don't let them harden nicely, they are really messy...

Here's what I discovered: The "party peanuts" are salty. I don't really care for a lot of salt on things, but I love the peanut clusters. Perhaps the combo of sweet and salty makes it OK for me. Now, here's the greater discovery... my kids were not crazy about this. They thought it was too salty! WHAT! So, if you're looking for a yummy candy to make that you won't have to share with the kids, this is what you've been waiting for!!

I made them a little bigger than I should have... I ended up with 113, some of them big. Here they all are on my kitchen island...they look like little soldiers all lined up, waiting to be eaten! Yum!

We've Adopted!

Well, I'm doing much better today. I had a mammogram follow-up yesterday and today I got the results...everything is fine and I don't need to go back for a year. Talk about an emotional roller-coaster... Anyway, enough of that!

Here is my picture for my DPP. This is Emmanuel. We selected him at http://www.compassion.com/. Isn't he precious? We went to the website and looked at page after page of children waiting to be "chosen". We wanted a little boy, and, we wanted someone that has to deal with the epidemic of AIDS. He doesn't have AIDS, but it's a good bet that someone in his little world has it. His page indicated that he'd been waiting over 6 months for a family. He is from Rwanda and is 5 years old. His parents are farmers and he is one of 4 children. We're crazy about him! I just love his little, round face. There are several reasons I like Compassion.com. I'd like to encourage you to check it out. This has been yet another opportunity to take the focus off of ourselves and allow our children to take part in expanding their world. We're writing him a big letter with a picture of each of us. He and Nate are about the same age, so I hope he feels a little connection. We hope we can help him have a merry Christmas.

No Picture Today :-(

It was a long day...I'm really tired...thanks for understanding...I'm going to bed!

He is Sam!

Hot chocolate... mmmmm.... just saying it makes a gal feel warm and cozy. I've never been a coffee drinker. I love getting hot chocolate (with whipped cream of course) at Starbucks. And, with all of our great Christmas mugs, I feel obligated to dring hot chocolate out of each one at least once during the holidays. I guess that's where my kids get the idea that one of the many traditions of our Christmas is hot chocolate. And, with weather temps below the freezing mark for the last 3 days, hot chocolate becomes our beverage of choice. So, every night, the kids get to split a package of hot chocolate. Here's Sam with his special mug. The picture at the top of my blog is also Sam... about 2 years ago. I keep thinking I need to change that picture, but it's just such a great representation of Sam. He's such a happy guy!