Can you figure it out?

I had a nice weekend- the weather on Saturday was so nice. It was about 50 and sunny! It was so nice to just be able to go outside and enjoy the warmth and the kids played outside for quite awhile. I know they were in desperate need of some fresh air.


Because I don't really have anything much to blog about today I have a question for you to solve:

Continue the series: o t t f f s s _ _ _

I'll tell you the answer tomorrow- if you know it and want to show me how smart you are-email it to me at
cbattjes@altelco.net

Get thinking!

Too funny!

I got this from my friend Kim's blog. It was so funny I had to share it!

When Mama Aint Happy.....

You know the saying- When Mama ain't happy...ain't nobody happy!
Well if that's true then nobody's happy right now. I woke up this morning to a little surprise from Arianna.

Look at what she did!



She cut her hair! Look closely at the front- she cut a big section right down to the scalp.

This is a reminder of what her hair used to look like just 2 days ago!



I really felt like crying- it made me sick to my stomach. It took so long to get that hair grown out. When I was pleading for an answer as to why she did this she told me she didn't like it in her face.

She's very fortunate that I was able to move her part over so it's not really noticeable, but it's going to take forever to grow that back out.

The other frustration I have today is that our lovely govenor is signing a law today that all kids up to the age of 8 have to be back in a booster seat. That means Halle has to go back in a car seat for another 1 1/2 years. She was in tears this morning because she's a big girl and now she has to go back in that seat again.
I know a couple other moms who aren't happy about this either!! I know it's a safety issue for the kids so I'll do it, but I'm not thrilled about it.

OK- now I'm done venting, I'll try to be in a better mood tomorrow!!

Slow Cooking Thursday

I love Chicken a la king so I was thrilled when I found a recipe for it in the slow cooker:

1 can cream of chicken soup
3 T. flour
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts- cut in cubes
1 celery rib, chopped
1/2 c. green pepper
1/4 c.chopped onion
1 pkg (10 0z) frozen peas, thawed

In slow cooker, combine soup, flour, pepper until smooth. Stir in chicken, celery, green pepper and onion. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until meat juices run clear. Stir in peas and cook 30 minutes longer or until heated through.
Serve over rice or toast.

Lunch conversation

I had the pleasure of watching these 3 little princesses today. They all had sandwiches for lunch. While they were eating this was a little conversation I overheard.


Ruby (the blonde one) says: I don't eat crusts
Naomi (the cutie right next to her): You mean like Jesus died on the crust.
Rosie ( the cutie further right): No Naomi, the cross not the crust. (said in big sister frustration at the obvious mistake
Too funny~

Mission Accomplished

Halle had a big weekend. She was on a mission to get her loose tooth out.
While Mark and I were canning meat (you can see it all in the background of the next picture) she kept coming in the kitchen telling us she was making progress.
Finally she asked Mark to just try once:




It was a good pull and we had success. She has pulled her other 2 teeth out herself but she wanted to make sure it came out that day because we were going to see Grandpa that night and he always gives them $1 for each tooth.
Here's the new fabulous smile:

I Know my Redeemer Lives - Nicole C. Mullen

Have a glorious Easter- we serve a Risen King!

Easter

I hope you all had a great Easter. We had such a great service at church this morning. We had a great message, great worship with our praise band and even special effects! I'm not sure who did the decorating in the front of church, but it was awesome and really set the tone for worship today.

After church, we came home and did our egg hunt inside because of the snow.
The girls had a blast.
Every year we do an egg hunt and there is always 1 "golden egg." Inside the golden egg is $5 so it's a big deal to find the golden egg. You can only find the egg every other year so this year Halle found it. Next year, it will be only Arianna's to find. Here's Halle with the treasured find:


Here's the girls with their egg treasures:




I have to show you the girls in their new Spring dresses. Don't worry- when we left for church they put their sweaters on to keep warm!
Don't they look beautiful. Arianna just looks so old to me all of a sudden!

Arianna's Spring Program

Arianna had her spring program tonight for school. The program was called "Boom"
It was kind of fashioned after Stomp. I was really impressed with this production. They all had different beats and sounds that the kids had to incorporate into the songs. This was called Boom chicka Boom.



They did a great job and we really enjoyed the show!

Dad's Surgery

First of all- thank you all for praying for my dad. Surgery was successful and he is home resting. The Dr said it all went well. Here's what they did:
shortened 2 of his toes
fused the front of the bones in his foot
In the back of his leg- lengthened the heel cord.
The Dr came out and showed us the xrays of what they did- He has at least 15 screws in his foot and leg!
He's in a cast up to his knee and the Dr says the recovery is 2-3 months. Dad isn't one to sit for long so hopefully he'll be in the 2 month range.

While we were waiting for him to go into surgery, Mari said- you should take a picture of his toes and blog it- so her wish is my command:



Take note of how crooked his toe is- this is frightening to me, because I have a "hammer toe" already. So I'm hoping this next picture isn't in my future.


I'm glad it's done and now the healing can begin. Hopefully in the coming months he will be able to walk without pain.

Surgery

I have a favor to ask. Tomorrow my dad is having surgery on his foot. They are going to be rebuilding part of his foot because he has bone rubbing on bone which is very painful. This will be about a 2 1/2 hr surgery and then he has to be completely off his feet for 2 weeks and total recovery is 2 months.
It's not necessarily a risky surgery, but my dad is 77 and surgery can be risky at that age.
Please pray for a successful surgery and also for healing without difficulties and patience for his wife Ann. This is going to be a long haul and we're so thankful that she is there with him.

Absolutely Incredible Kids

Mari has informed me that it's Absolutely Incredible Kids day today.
Here are my 3 incredible kids:



This was taken last summer when we vacationed in South Dakota.
Nick is now 15 1/2 and in 9th grade. Arianna is 9 and in 3rd and Halle is 6 and in Kindergarten.
They are incredible and a huge blessing to us!

Oh..Such a dilema

Oh the choices I have to make- it's really a dilema I face.
What to do? What to do?
Now on Monday's I have to make a choice. Do I watch this:



Or this:


I absolutely love Dancing with the Stars but I've also gotten very attached to Jon and Kate also. I know you're all saying- tape one! Easier said than done. With our cable we have to have the show that we want to tape actually playing on our t.v.
It's ok when we're gone, but when we're home that's a problem when we want to tape one show and watch a different one.

I ended up picking dancing and switching back and forth through commercials.
My take on Dancing with the stars was that I liked Mario, Steve Guttenberg and Jason Taylor. Penn (from Penn and Teller) was the worst- it was uncomfortable watching him, I felt bad for Julianne- his partner. I can't wait for tonight to see the ladies perform.
If you watched it- what did you think?

Adoption and it's hard moments

As many of you know-our girls are adopted from Russia. Adoption is very dear to my heart obviously. There are many tender sweet moments, there are also difficult, hard, sad moments.

We go through highs and lows and sometimes when we are in the middle of a low and there is lots of testing happening a mom knows that there is something else going on other than just testing limits.

This time I had that feeling and I was right. I was talking with Arianna to see if I could gain any insights into what she was feeling lately and she started sobbing and finally told me that a boy
(who it is taking every muscle in my body to not give some adjectives to describe how I feel about this child!)
on her bus found out that she and Halle were adopted from Russia and proceeded to tease her in front of other kids on the bus that she just came from a factory!

Arghhhhhhhhhh- my heart just hurt for her. We've been very open with the girls about their adoption right from the start, but sometimes when moments like this happen I don't know that I am happy with how I answered her.

I told her that adoption is very special. Actually mom and dad are adopted also- into God's family. I told her that God has a plan for all of our lives and His plan is perfect! I also told her that I think that kids that tease her about being adopted are just jealous because she has such a cool story to tell about how we became a family.

I didn't know what else to say to her. She stopped crying, but I'm not convinced that she was satisfied with that answer.

I know that all kids get teased, but as a mom, I just hate it. She's at such a tender age right now, trying to find her way in life and when kids say such mean, hurtful things it really affects her!

Any of you have any other ideas I could tell her?

Word Verification

I'm sticking my neck out a bit here, but I have a request:

Can we all disable word verification???

I know it's an option to not allow spam comments- but do they really hurt anything anyway?
I just know that when I'm going through my blogroll and trying to comment on everyone's blog- I get frustrated when I encounter word verification because it takes more time and half the time I can't decipher the letters and it takes me 2 times to get it correct.

I hope this doesn't make me sound crabby- I'm just asking- and you can decide from there.

To turn it off- sign into your blogger account and go to comments - then go down to word verification and click on no.

Just my 2 cents!

Girls day out

Mark had a youth leaders meeting all day today and Nick had to work so it was just us girls today. I decided to take the girls to see Horton hears a who. First of all-
What a great movie!!!!!
I have to back up though. I wanted to go to the first showing because I had lots of other things to get done, so I went to the 10:30 showing. I got there and there were no ticket lines open except this table off to the side. I went over and asked if I could get tickets and the lady tells me that a certain school PTA had reserved the first showing, but I was welcome to get tickets from them. Well the tickets were $10 a piece, but they included pop, popcorn and a poster and stickers. I wasn't planning on even buying popcorn because we were going out for lunch, but I didn't want to hang around for 1 hr for the next showing either.
I bought the tickets and we went in. I was a little irritated, but we were in and all was good.
At 10:30 the lights went completely on and a lady gets up and thanks everyone for coming out and that we were going to play some games! Oh boy, did I feel out of place! They were going to ask questions and whoever got them right got a free dvd. I told the girls NOT to raise their hands, because I felt like an intruder and this was for the other kids schools. They also told everyone that they had spies watching everyone and whoever was the quitest would win the grand prize.
We sat through the games and then she asked everyone if they wanted to know who the grand prize winner was-everyone cheers. Then all of a sudden this girl starts coming down our aisle.....I started to shrink in my seat and sure enough.... she picks up Arianna's arm!!!
Congratulations- you're the grand prize winner! Oh it was awkward- no one else knew anything was wrong, but I felt very wierd about it all.
They did tell me I was welcome to get tickets, so I guess it's all fine.
Here's what Arianna won:

Her very own stuffed Horton!

It was a very proud moment for me, because I instantly thought- Oh no- Halle's going to be sad....
Actually, Halle looked at Arianna and told her "Cool- Anna!"
And then much to my delight- Arianna looked at me and said- "I'll share it!"
Oh how my heart rejoiced!

I highly recommend this movie- it's so cute and very well done. The girls loved it!

If you look at the picture of Arianna- you might be able to tell from the picture that she is not feeling well.
Late this afternoon, she came down with the bug that Halle had on Thursday-Friday.

Hopefully she feels better soon I'm really hoping I don't get it. My dad is having surgery on Wednesday and I'm supposed to be there. I don't want to be sick!

Tune in Monday- I have an important topic that I would like your input on.

A fun post

I'm trying something different today. I saw this on one of the blogs I read occasionally and it sounded like fun.
I will start with a question/phrase. The next person that comments, please answer the question above you. Once you’re done, include a question for the next visitor to answer. It could be a general question, fill in the blank sentence, or a general topic you’d like to hear about.

Then the next commenter will submit their answer and then think up something for the next person. Here's the first question:

If you could invite one television personality to dinner, who would it be?

The first person to comment should answer this question and then leave another question for the next person.

Slow Cooking Thursday

It's a very special Slow Cooking Thursday today, so I've got a whole meal for you to enjoy:
We'll start with Cheesy Chicken and Peppers Dip

2 pds boneless, skinless chicken
1 can (10 0z) enchilada sauce
1 can (4 1/2 oz) green chiles undrained but chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
2 pkg (8 0z each) cream cheese, softened and cut into cubes
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Place chicken, enchilada sauce and chiles in 3 1/2-4 qt slow cooker. Cover and cookon low heat setting 8-10 hours or until juice of chicken is no longer pink. Stir in bell peppers, cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Cover and cook on low heat setting about 30 minutes, stirring once or twice until cheese is melted. Scrape down side of cooker with rubber spatula to help prevent edge of dip from scorching. Serve with tortilla chips.


For a main dish- why not try Brazilian Chicken and Rice:

3-3 1/2 pd cut up broiler fryer chicken
3/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 T. olive oil
1/2 c. chopped fully cooked ham
1 medium onion chopped
1 medium red pepper chopped
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
1 8 oz yellow rice mix

Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt. Heat oil in 12 inch skillet over meium high heat. Cook chicken in oil until brown on all sides: drain. Place chicken in 3 1/2-4qt slow cooker. Top with ham, onion and bell pepper. Add broth. Cover and cook on low heat setting 5-6 hours until juice of chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken from cooker. Stir rice mix (dry) into mixture in cooker. Return chicken to cooker. Cover and cook on high heat about 1 hour or until rice is tender.

To finish this off- how about a very simple dessert!

Take fresh strawberries. Put yogurt in one bowl and brown sugar in another. Dip the strawberries in yogurt and then in brown sugar- Enjoy!

more painting

Just a quick post today. Soon Mark and I will be taking off to my dad's to finish up some painting before Ann gets home today.

Dad ended taking down the rest of the wallpaper in the front hallway and entryway and was hinting (in a not so subtle way) that there was more painting to be done.

Terri and Mari were not available at all before Ann got home so Mark took the day off work and we're heading over today to finish up. I think it's going to be kind of fun to paint together- I'll let you know if I change my mind after it's done!!

Happy Birthday

Tuesday is the Birthday of a very special man. Let me tell you a little bit about him. He was born to a large, humble family, they didn't have alot of money but had alot of love and laughter.
This man was full of mischief and got into his share of trouble- nothing serious just pranks. He worked on his family farm and eventually him and his brother bought the farm and worked it to provide for his own family.
Times changed and the highway came through the farm so this man had to get a different job- he started working for the road commission. He worked some very long hours when the roads got bad, but never complained. He was a very hard working man and was always thankful to have a job.
More importantly, this man had a wife and 4 children. He was an incredible father and example to his children of what it meant to love the Lord and teach your children. This man was a strict father, but very loving. The children never had curfews or lots of rules. They just knew right from wrong and most importantly didn't want to let down their parents.
I can tell you all this because I am one of those children. I'm speaking of my father. It's his 77th birthday tomorrow. As you can tell I'm very proud of my dad. The Lord blessed me in a huge way by giving me the family I have.
I really can't say enough about my dad- I'm so very proud to have him for my dad.
I love you very much!

Wall Words

A lot of you have asked me where I got my wall words. Here's the link:
It's a sign

Go check them out- It's so much fun!

A little bit of this- A little bit of that

How was your weekend? We had a nice weekend- busy, but nice.


Friday Nick had a friend overnight and then Saturday he worked for a good portion of the day. He works at a greenhouse and this is their busy time. He's working very hard so I'll be happy for him when things slow down just a bit.
Saturday was grocery day and errand day and then at night Mari, Terri and I had to go to the funeral home because my Uncle died. It was my moms brother that passed away. It was interesting while we were there to re-discover how much my mom was like my Uncle Hank. It also brought back alot of good memories. He will be missed!

Here's just a couple of pictures that happened this weekend:

Halle went to play outside and next thing I know- I peeked outside and this was what I saw:

She had gotten the cross country ski's out and was sailing along in the backyard like a pro!




I have something new to show you in my living room:


I just love it!! They are vinyl sticker words that you put right on your wall. It changes the whole feel of my room and I absolutely love it!!

A couple more photos for your enjoyment- this was the sunset over the weekend:

Have a great day today!

And this is what desperation brings......

I can't believe I'm doing this however I'm about to post 2 pictures of myself.
I really don't like pictures of myself because there's a very strange phenomenon that happens to me in pictures. Whenever I appear in pictures, it's the weirdest thing, but about 50 pounds morphs itself onto me! Any of you have anything like that happen to you????? Please excuse the hair- I'm trying to grow it out.


Anyway, I've got absolutely nothing to blog about so I have to resort to my new glasses. Actually this has been huge for me. The eye doctor said it was a fairly big change in my prescription so I would notice a change. I also paid extra for the different lens material that helps with night vision and raining and won't scratch.
When I put them on, I seriously couldn't believe it. I have never had such a huge difference. I feel like I can see so clearly now- it really is fantastic!!
So here you go- here's the before glasses:


And here's the new glasses:

You make my day

Karen blessed me with an award:




"The rules for the “You Make My Day” award are to re-present it to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blog land. Let them know through email or by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times, and if you do, consider yourself really, really loved. So to pass it on and keep the love going."

I'm passing this on to:
Julie
Brenda
Ginger
Dena
Leslie
LeighAnn
Heather
Laura
Heather
Jennifer
You all share your lives in your blogs and you truly do make my day. Enjoy!

Childrens Museum

Last Thursday, Mark gave in to some big brown eyes and a soft little voice along with a hug to accompany Halle's class for her field trip. I was gone that day so Mark was the choice to go on this outing.
They went to the Childrens Museum. Mark was in charge of 5 kids and even though 1 slipped away momentarily, all 5 were returned safe and sound to school!
Here's some of the things they got to play with:

Grocery shopping- apparently Halle likes goldfish~


Halle playing with the bubbles~


Halle's teacher- Mrs V- enjoying the bubbles too~


Some fun bolts to build with~

Winter Walk

We went for a walk yesterday in the woods that are close to our house. Check these out:

This is Mark standing on a block of ice in the tree. The river was much higher awhile back and then froze between the trees.




Here's Mack having a great time- I just love his ears!


Look at this long line of the "ice road" If you look closely between the trees you'll see Nick, Arianna and Halle:

You can't tell from this picture, but yes- I'm up on the ice road too. Now don't be laughing too hard imagining me trying to get up and down from there. I will say it wasn't too graceful- It is kind of hard getting up there without using my knees because I don't have snow pants on. I did it though- and we all got a good laugh about it!