"I'm on a roll... oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhhhhhh"

Our trip to the zoo today.... The polar bear trap!
















The polar bears put on a LOVELY show for us. The picture does it NO justice.

















We are in the muskrat tunnels.... my dear friend got a good shot!


















Norah and Lena.... girlfriends ;)


















My new favorite picture of the boys.


















We had a lovely day with some friends today at the zoo. I know I've been blogging a lot lately - just trying to get back in gear.

Hope all are well!

CKs Chicken Pot Pie

It's all the rave ;) I took a recipe from allrecipes.com and adapted it to be my own. Here's how I do it -- I was to type this out as an email and thought I'd post it - as it is a family favorite. Isaac asks for it about 3 times a week!

Chicken Pot Pie

preheat oven 425

pillsbury pie crusts (for bottom and top layers)
1 pd chicken breast (I sometimes use a whole Costco chicken)
about a cup of potatoes
4 cups of frozen mixed veggies

--- I boil chicken breast and potatoes together until cooked and then add the frozen veggies to thaw. drain and combine w/ filling mixture:

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup onion
1/3 cup flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/4 t celery seed
1 3/4 cups chx broth (can)
2/3 cup milk

--- cook onions in butter until soft. stir in flour, salt, pepper and celry seed. slowly stir chx broth and milk and simmer until thick.
--- place chx mixture over bottom pie crust, pour hot liquid mixture over. cover top w/ pie crust, seal edges and cut the access off (i never have any!) make small slits to allow steam out.
--- bake for 30-35 minutes and then let stand for 10.

Norah's crawling! Side note: turn down the volume... I'm quite annoying ;) Be prepared to deal w/ the obnoxiousness of a doting mother.

Matt's first post - Theo's first story

Well, here is my first post. Appropriately, this is Theo's first story that I have ever heard him tell. This is the what he said tonight at bedtime.

Theo (from the bottom bunk): I wfaght tdoou thdehl agh shctourghy.
Daddy: Theo, take your pacify out of your mouth.
Theo: [pop], I want to tell a story too.
Daddy: Ok

Theo: The little boy and the little bwather went for a walk in the woods. And they saw a tdwool.
Isaac (from the top bunk): a doll?
Theo: A troll. And he was big. Big, Big.
Isaac: A giant troll!
Theo: Then he ate the little boys.
Daddy: [?]
Theo: Then they flew up in the air and went to the door.
Daddy: What?
Theo: Then they saw the troll and he ate them again.
Daddy: Did they go in his belly?
Theo: NO. He put them in his mouth. And then they went down into his belly. And then they flew out.
Daddy: What?
Theo: They flew out of his belly. And they flew out to the door. And on the other side of the door was another one.
Daddy: Another one what?
Theo: A troll.
Daddy: Did he eat them again?
Theo: No, he ate a sandwich. The end.

I'm on a roll! I didn't even wait for an entire month to go by. I've been a terrible blogger these days - and hope to remedy that soon.

We have Andrew, my brother Tom's middle child, staying over night... our first over night guest (besides Eli's middle of the night visit when his brother was born!) The boys (Isaac and Andrew) are up there talking away... about bad and good guys. That followed a conversation about doing really funny things w/ their heads. I wish I had a video camera.

Today is my sweet little brother's birthday! He turns 27 and is about to have his first baby ANY DAY now. We had a lovely time celebrating his day and eating a lot of pizza. He and his lovely wife babysat ALL three of my children giving my husband and I a chance to visit my favorite uncle. I still can't believe they SO willingly took three kids on the verge of having their own... not only did they do it, but man, they did it WELL.

The stars alined perfectly this afternoon and we had the opportunity to get to spend time w/ my dear uncle. Uncle Jim has been really sick for well over a year now and I haven't had the opportunity to see him. I am amazed by the Lord's grace that has been eeking over him and my sweet Aunt Dolly and that home... I love my aunt's honesty about everything going on in her home and heart. I am blessed by knowing these two - truly. Being with them was THE single best way to spend my sabbath afternoon. Thanks for calling me back, Aunt Dolly. I love you guys. Please pray for my uncle... Here's a bit more about where they are.

I am so in love with our church. I love watching people lovin' on one another. I love the order of worship. I love the songs that we sing and HOW much everyone SINGS them. I love the preaching (& I don't just say that 'cause we share the same house.) I love how my children as so loved on and cared for. I love having my parents there every Sunday ;). CRPC has been such a gift!

BathTIME - Norah's finally added to the mix!














Our new favorite toy - the Leapster.














My sweet lil Norah. Do you like her hair Aunt Meggie?!














Norah and moving! Although -- she has mastered crawling just this week - I've not yet got any footage of it.