Double Chocolate Layer Cake

I would like to take a moment to thank Angela for this decadent recipe! It is the best chocolate cake I have ever made and possibly the best one I have ever eaten. I made it for Ross on Valentine's Day and it turn out great! He said it was restaurant worthy; which definitely means I will be making it again. Speaking of V-Day, my Sweets left 8 roses under the windshield wipers on my van, 1 rose was in my car seat being held by a Teddy bear (my childhood dream-that a boy would give me a Teddy bear holding a long stem red rose) and the other 3 roses he left in each of his daughters' car seats. There is a story behind the roses under the windshield. Not too long after Ross and I met, he left a single pink rose under the windshield on my car at work. There was a guy I worked with that was semi-stalking me so naturally I thought it was him. When I got off work, I went back to my dorm and told my friends who I thought it was from. After telling them, I went down to the main lobby (leaving the rose with my friends), and one of Ross' friends asked what was wrong. I said nothing, and he said, "Was it the rose?" I said, "What rose?!" He said, "The rose Ross put under your windshield." I said, "No, nothing is wrong." I quickly came up with a reason to leave and ran upstairs to tell the girls what happened, BUT when I rounded the corner, there it was! Ripped into a thousand tiny little pieces. The rose. All over the hallway floor. I gasped, explained what really happened, cracked up laughing and drove as quickly as I could to buy a replacement rose. I totally pulled it off too. Ross never knew...until I told him. Later. :) It made for a much better story to tell. I hope you all enjoyed your Valentine's Day!! Our family enjoyed a nice dinner at home with BBQ Pork Tenderloin, Gingered Purple Cabbage, and Crescent Rolls. I made Rice Krispie Treathearts for the girls. To make these, just make Rice Krispie Treats with Strawberry Marshmallows and cut them into heart shapes. Ross and I put the kids to bed and enjoyed our Decadent Double Chocolate Layer Cake, just the two of us. All-in-all it was a good day.

Busy Week

This week has been a busy week, and it's only going to get busier! For several months now I have been having issues with my left eye; and putting off going to the Optometrist mainly because for me, having my eyes checked is equivalent to most people going to the dentist. On Monday I finally broke down and went. He said that I have some dry spots on that eye and gave me some special eyedrops to use anytime my eye was bothering me and especially before bed (as the middle of the night was when my symptoms worsen). For now I am going to use the eyedrops and get my new prescription glasses and see if that takes care of the problem. If not, he will then refer me to an Opthamologist. On a positive note I found a really cute pair of glasses I cannot wait to wear! On to Tuesday. Wow! First of all, it is inevitable that if it's bible study day you can bet on someone being late that morning, no matter how early you wake up and pre-plan the night before. Satan definitely attacks my household on these mornings! After dropping the girls off at school...one of which was late, I went to bible study. Then Abigail had a dental appointment to have her teeth cleaned. In addition to the cleaning, they also applied fluoride for the first time. The fluoride they previously used contained peanut oil, so they never used it for fear of an allergic reaction. Luckily the new product they are using does not contain any severe allergens in it. Although that didn't stop me from standing by with her Epi Pen in hand. ;) So thankful everything went well and now she can receive future fluoride treatments without complications. Woohoo! We left the dental office and met Ross for lunch and then it was time to get home to pick the girls up from school. Mary Grace had basketball practice from 6-7, so Ross picked her up for me on his way home from work while I got the other kids ready for bed. Man was that a long day! Today I have been walking around half dazed. I think I am just worn out from the busyness of the previous days. Our morning started out with Abbz going to therapy and then we visited Mandy, Alex, and Emma. I want to take a moment to talk about Abigail and Emma. They have NO personal space boundaries with one another. Emma hugs all over Abigail and Abbz lays right back all over Emma. While this is going on their is laughter and what I truly believe is their own little language that only the two of them understand. I LOVE it! Seeing them interact together is like watching two best friends with unconditional love for one another. I don't know what caused them to have such a bond, but I hope it is never broken! This evening we had church and now I am sitting here blogging instead of doing what I need to be doing. Sleeping! Tomorrow is my birthday and although I don't really have any plans, I'm sure Ross and the kids do. Plus MG has basketball team pictures at 7:15. Friday, Abigail has a follow up appointment with the Pulminologist and then the weekend begins. I am already exhausted, and praying He gives me the endurance to push on through the next few days. Good night all!

Nuggets of Truth

I blogged towards the end of last year about finishing well so I can start off the new year right. As I prayed asking God to reveal some ways I can begin this new year, I felt it pressed upon my heart to read through the Bible in a year. I have always wanted to do this, but I never begun nor followed through with such a task before. After searching out several Bible reading options, I have chosen to do this in chronological order; mainly because it made more sense to my brain then trying to read some Old Testament and New Testament both in the same day. With that little bit of background let me say that although I have just begun, there are several fascinating nuggets of Truth my eyes have already read. For example, the whole saying, "Sins are passed down from the father," so true. Abraham lied to both Pharaoh and Abimelech about Sarah just being his sister she was, but she was also his wife), not his wife. We later see that Isaac (Abraham's son) did the same. He lied saying that Rebekah was his sister, not his wife. Both did so out of fear of being killed because of their wives beauty. This next story is not really a sin, but interesting non the least. Esau served his younger brother Jacob, and then Jacob's oldest sons bowed before Joseph, one of Jacob's youngest sons.

Other interesting nuggets, did you know Rebekah had her nose pierced? Yes, you read that right, and if you need proof it's in Genesis 24. ;) Abraham sent his most trusted servant to seek a wife for his son, Isaac. Abraham sent his servant with a nose ring and bracelets for Rebekah, as an offering for becoming Isaac's wife. So, the next time you see someone with a nose ring, remember this story and do not be too quick to judge.

Job. This book in it's entirety is interesting. Though I have read it before, there is such comfort in it. Comfort in knowing that while Job told God exactly how he felt, God ultimately respected Job's honesty and truthfulness. Unlike Job's friends who ranted. (Job 47:7) Oh, and I loved this..."And the LORD restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends...now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning." (Job 42:10; 12) Job prayed for his friends even after they verbally beat him up for days. He could have see I told you so. I told you I was righteous in the sight of God, but he didn't. He prayed for them. In doing so, although it isn't said I'm sure he also forgave them, and the Lord blessed him for doing so.

These are just a few interstings things I have learned from my daily Bible reading. I have also just started Beth Moore's, Here and Now...There and Then study on Revelation so I'm sure I will all kinds of things to blog about over the next 11 weeks. Happy Monday to you all!

Weekend Whirlwind

Saturday Ross and I celebrated our 11 year wedding anniversary. It started out with the above pictured anniversary present from Hannah: It read, "Anniversary was mom and dad! Anniversary day! I love you dad and mom! I hope you have a great anniversary day!" That really could be the best anniversary gift ever! Thank you, Hannah, your gift was extremely thoughtful. It was perfect. The not so perfect part? Ok. This is a little involved. Sarah had surgery on an abscess two weeks ago and the doctor said he did not believe it was staph and not to worry about it. He drained the abscess and sent my sister on her way without any antibiotics or specific instructions. Well on Friday, mom had a place on her leg that she thought was a bug bite that started looking really badly. After going to the doctor she learned that Sarah did in fact have a staph infection and now she did too. Shame on the doctor who did the surgery for dropping the ball big time and not following up on the culture and shame on Washington Regional for not making it known either. Thankfully there are two other hospitals in the area that gives patients options. My family has already made the decision to avoid WRMC and MANA whenever possible. Ok, so back to Saturday...mom is sick and in pain with staph and daddy has the stomach bug which now means we have no babysitters on our anniversary. Luckily, Austin was around to save the night. He came to the house to watch all four kids until Blair got here to help him out after she got off work. Thanks guys, it was great of you to sacrifice your Saturday night to help us out!

Ross and I went to Noodles for dinner and planned on walking around the Square in Fayetteville and looking at Christmas lights, but mom called as soon as we were done eating and needed us to look at her leg. It looked really bad so we took her to the ER (remember dad couldn't; he was sick). Aunt Debi met us there because we had to get home to feed Jonathan. Mom ended up having her wound lanced, drained, and packed. They also gave her an IV antibiotic and she had to go back Sunday to do it again. Needless to say out night out was interrupted by more important things. What an Anniversary, hopefully next years will be better. Love you, Babe. At least we were together!

This brings us to Sunday. We had to get going early. MG and Han were singing with XLR8 as part of this years Christmas program; so they had to be there by 8:10. I did not want to get up...nothing like the kids' performance to hold you accountable ;). Long story short, I ended up sitting in the ER with Sarah all day because she needed an IV antibiotic to stop the staph from spreading even more than it already had. Needless to say, this was a whirlwind of a weekend.

Jonathan's First Birthday

This post is a day late, but I was taking care of sick kids and a sick husband yesterday while still having to make and ice the birthday boy's cake.

Happy First Birthday J Baby!! I'm glad the Lord knew we needed a son when he blessed us with you. You have brought joy and happiness into our lives in a new way over this first year of your life. You have grown from an 8 lb. 1 oz. baby into an 18 pound little boy full of adventure. Your love for stuffed animal monkeys has intrigued us all, and your laugh is intoxicating. I am excited to experience the new milestones and first experiences this next year will bring. Mommy and daddy love you very much sweet boy.

Stomach Bug

Our first attempt at painting the salt dough ornaments failed. Sadly, three of my four kiddos were stricken with the stomach at the same time. Abigail had Speech Therapy this morning and literally as soon as I walked in the door from dropping her off, Mrs. Tara called to tell me that Abigail had thrown up. Poor Mrs. Tara! Luckily she is the only one that vomited and it was only once, but MG and J both had potty issues and tummy aches all day. Abbz feel asleep on the floor at about 4:45 this afternoon and woke up for about 20 minutes before she asked to get into bed. I swear that sweet girl falls asleep somewhere on the floor when she doesn't feel well.

Tomorrow is my baby boy's first birthday so I am praying everyone will wake up feeling back to normal. I have had a terrible headache for two days now and still have a birthday cake to make...that may have to wait till morning.

On a happy note, Mandy saw my Facebook status stating my need for chocolate and she delivered. I love having a friend so close that she can swing by just to bring me chocolate without being asked because she loves me. Thanks Mandy, you have no idea how badly I needed that! Sometimes it's the small things in life that help you make through a day with 3 sick kids and a hubby working the night shift. Oh and as far as the ornaments go, next week is the new plan for painting.

Wednesdays

Today has been a long day. Not a bad day, just a long one. I made, cut out, and dried the salt dough ornaments. Now all we need are 5 little girls and 1 almost one year old little boy to paint them!
Speaking of that one year little boy; I CANNOT believe my baby will be one in 2 more days! It makes me sad.

I took Mary Grace and Hannah to church for choir rehearsal and a pizza party for all of their hard work preparing for their Christmas performance. If you are in Northwest Arkansas and need something to do on Sunday morning, Cross Church (formerly First Baptist Church Springdale) is having their Christmas Program; it starts at 9:15.

Wednesday's are always hectic. Especially since we live 25 minutes from the church. We scramble to get the on time and then we rush to get home so the kids are up too late on a school night. Although it's chaotic at times it's worth it. Our kids always love going to church which makes this momma happy. Okay I'm exhausted so I'm callin it a night.