Another New Year

Happy late New Year!

It's amazing how fast time goes by. It seems like yesterday I was still in college. They say once you have kids it goes even faster. I can imagine!

2008 was a great year. There were a lot of firsts for us: first year in our house, first wedding anniversary, first child. Those are the major ones anyway. 2009 will also be great, but no major changes foreseen.

I have not made any resolutions, as I don't believe they are necessary. I believe in setting personal goals for yourself, but I think that should happen on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. I do suppose that some people feel that a new year gives them a fresh start. I can respect that.

Here are a few things on my goal list:

Try new recipes

Eat out less

Only buy necessary things

Keep up with my quiet time

Be encouraging to others

Spend time getting to know people better

Sit with different people each week at church (this was AJ's idea and I like it!--so look out people)

Work out regularly (anyone care to join?)

So the list is always a work in progress and there are others to name but I'll spare you.

Instead, here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

This hat was supposed to be a santa hat, but for some reason it just made him look like the Pope! He didn't like it too much and I don't blame him!

Breakfast Bake Pictures

Here are the pictures of the Breakfast Bake...

        

Breakfast Bake yummmmmm!!!!

On today's breakfast menu is one that you can bake then enjoy all week long!  Of course there is only two of us that are eating solid foods at this point.  The tasty breakfast bake casserole consists of the following:

8 eggs

16 oz of shredded cheese (We like the fiesta blend)

2 cans of Crescent Rolls

1 package of sausage (We use deer sausage as it is healthier and spicier)

To prepare:

Spread one can of crescent rolls into bottom of 9x13 glass dish

Bake @ 450 for 5 minutes

Cook sausage in separate pan on stove top until brown

Sprinkle sausage on top of the half baked crescent roll layer

Beat 8 eggs in separate bowl then pour on top of the first two layers

Spread 16 oz of cheese on top for next layer

Spread 2nd can of crescent rolls on top of the whole dish

Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes

Approx. 8 servings

(Sorry no pictures Cari...maybe we will by the end of the week)

Here is a picture of sleepy Ari as a replacement!

  

Hamburger Soup

This is for all you mama's out there looking for a new recipe to try.  This is a Hillebrand family recipe that AJ's grandpa came up with (I think anyway). It took me a while to get past the name...but it actually tastes a whole lot better than it sounds! And it only takes about 15 minutes to prepare.

All you need is:

1 lb. of hamburger

1 bag of rice (we use the boil-in-a-bag)

1 lg. can of vegetable soup

While the rice is boiling, crumble the hamburger and cook it. When the meat gets done, add the can of vegetable soup. Then add the rice when it is done. I only leave it cooking altogether until the vegetable soup is able to warm up. Then Ta-da! It's all done! You will notice that it really isn't that soupy. That's how it's supposed to be. But I guess you could always add more soup if you wanted it to be that way.

We like to doctor ours up with crackers, sour cream, and tabasco sauce.

There is always lots of leftovers for us to eat throughout the week. So there is plenty for those of you with multiple children to feed.

Eight Weeks

Time has gone by so quickly. Ari is already eight weeks old. He smiles all the time and is starting to coo more often. Some of his favorite things to do is sit in his bouncer, bath time with daddy, and sucking on his paci. Here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

He is happy that the Colts won!
He loves his Aunt Molly! She is very comfy...
She is very comfy here too...

It won't let me post any more pics so I will add more later. Have a Merry Christmas!

Crazy Birds

So yesterday I saw an unusual amount of birds in my backyard. I was pretty creeped out about it for a while, but they didn't stay long. I don't know much about birds, but it's amazing how they can survive in this type of weather. They are so tiny and it was like one degree out!

Dished Out

After seven weeks of no work, I decided to come in for a few hours today to cover the phone while the other lady in the office had an appointment to go to. Ari is at home and I miss him so much! AJ says that's what he goes through every day. I can't imagine! It does make me stop and appreciate my husband even more because he works so hard to provide for our family. I feel very blessed to be able to stay at home and provide for our family in other ways. Coming in to work for a few hours has changed my perspective on some things. I used to resent the fact that I am constantly doing dishes. Well, at least three times a day. (Which is a lot considering there is only two of us making these dirty dishes.) But sitting here at work all by myself just waiting for the phone to ring has made me wish I was doing dishes instead! Not that I mind sitting here at work, or that I mind doing the dishes. (I actually like to do dishes because I have my own way of doing them.) It just bothered me at how often I had to do them. Since my husband is willing to support me staying at home, I will stop concerning myself with how often I have to do the dishes and just do them! From now on I will gladly do the dishes as much is needed for the sake of my husband and my home.