A friend of mine had a baby yesterday and I am trying to decide what to bring her for dinner. I was scanning some recipes at Our Best Bites when I came across this piece of heaven. Check it out:
Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
(Recipe from Nestle)
1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust, homemade or store-bought.
2 large eggs
1/2 C flour
1/2 C white granulated sugar
1/2 C packed brown sugar
3/4 C real butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
1 C chocolate chips (semi-sweet or dark works best, you might find milk too sweet)
1 C chopped pecans (you are welcome to make it without nuts)
Vanilla ice cream, or sweetened whipped cream for serving (a must! I prefer ice cream)
Optional: chocolate sauce (honestly, doesn’t really need chocolate sauce, but it looks pretty!)
Preheat oven to 325° F.
Beat eggs in large mixer bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter. Stir in morsels and nuts. Spoon into pie shell.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack or serve slightly warmed. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
*There have been several comments about pies turning out runny. First and foremost, follow the instructions, completely (no margarine or anything from a tub!) I’ve made a million of these and never had that happen so I have no idea. The recipe is correct as written, it comes straight from Nestle!
For the full recipe, complete with all the delicious pictures (and specific directions + pictures for each step) check it out here. Yummy!!
UPDATE: I made it last night for Ted and my dad (my mom is in New Orleans visiting Jeanne and family) and it was DIVINE. I did not include the nuts. I think I might go get some right now. So good! And so easy!
3.29.2011
Because you are all dying to know
I know that you are all on pins and needles to know whether the bat had rabies. Well, you can calm down now because I got a call from the Alabama Health Department (from some guy with a TON of personality named Randy) and we are all safe. No rabies. Praise the Lord. I don't think that I could handle a huge round of rabies shots for the family right now.
Oh and everyone needs to go check out my incredible talented friend, Calder Britt Clark, and her new spread in Garden and Gun magazine. She is officially famous! And oh so cool. And one of the best friends a girl could ever want.
Oh and everyone needs to go check out my incredible talented friend, Calder Britt Clark, and her new spread in Garden and Gun magazine. She is officially famous! And oh so cool. And one of the best friends a girl could ever want.
3.28.2011
Spring Break
Here are some of the fun pictures from our long weekend at Grey Rocks with Ted's sister Julie and her family. The kids had the best time and Ted got his first turkey of the season. To make that turkey even more special, it was the first one he had ever called up by himself and he was on cloud nine.
Ann Margaret was a great helper/babysitter with Sam!
Bubbles!!
Sam had some fun feeding himself yogurt!
oh and the badboy buggie . . . a favorite for all!
Ted's turkey
double trouble!
the only way to get in a picture these days is to take it myself!
picnic!!
3.22.2011
iPad
Ted gave me the new iPad for my birthday and I am officially obsessed. I am trying to get all the fun apps and I ran across this one that let's me post to the blog! I don't know if that means that I will post more but I had to see how it all works. And it is really user-friendly like everything apple does. I think that I might even give up my droid and officially go totally apple.
On another note, the bat man came to the house today and we are airtight. No bats nesting in the attic thank God. He thinks that the bat came through the chimney because we don't have a protective screen near the top of the chimney. So we'll get that installed and hopefully more bats!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
On another note, the bat man came to the house today and we are airtight. No bats nesting in the attic thank God. He thinks that the bat came through the chimney because we don't have a protective screen near the top of the chimney. So we'll get that installed and hopefully more bats!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
3.21.2011
Bat Man Part II
Some of you may remember a post back in August where I discussed an incident with a bat in our house. It was an awful nasty thing, but I thought it was a fluke. Not so. Let me give you the latest:
Last week was spring break. I worked on Monday and Tuesday and went to down to Grey Rocks with the kids on Wednesday. Ted stayed behind to work the rest of the week and was planning on meeting us on Friday. I left a short "honey-do" list for him and one of the items necessitated him going up in the attic. Later that night while deep in sleep Ted heard the curtains in our room rustling. He thought it was our cat playing in the curtains and shushed her, but then realized that she was not even in the room. Next thing he knew a bat flew out of the curtains and toward the hall. Ted, in his slumber, reacted by shutting the door to our room, allowing the bat free reign of the house, and going back to sleep. (Of course if I had been there, there would have been no sleeping until the bat was either dead or out of the house). But Ted thinks to himself that he will just deal with the bat in the morning.
Fast forward 5 hours. Ted is showered and ready for work on Friday morning. He remembers the bat, goes and gets gloves and a tennis racquet (that is how he killed the bat last time). And the hunt begins. And 45 minutes pass and he can't find the bat. What's a guy to do? Continue the hunt? Oh no, Ted decides to lock up the house, turn on the alarm, and head to work - and after work come on to Grey Rocks and LEAVE THE BAT IN THE HOUSE FOR THE WEEKEND. He called to check in and told me about the bat and I insisted that he go home and not come to Grey Rocks until the bat was taken care of. So like a good husband, he goes home at lunch. Searches again and still can't find that bat. So now he is pretty desparate and we both don't know what to do. He locks up the house and calls Jason, his nephew, to come and search for the bat on Saturday. He searched for over two hours to no avail. Sneaky little sucker, huh?
Now we are all at Grey Rocks having a great time and I have pretty much forgotten about the bat. I called our exterminater and you have to be licensed to deal with bats so he refers me to a wildlife guy. I left him a message and don't really think about it until I am driving home with the kids and realize that I am going to be the first one in the house (Ted is behind me) and what am I going to do if I see that bat? We get home and we still can't find the bat. I talk to the wildlife guy who tells me all sort of scary stuff about bats - like they have such small teeth that they can bite you at night and you would never know it; they can squeeze under doors and through anything the size of a penny; if he were me, he would not sleep in the house until the bat is gone, etc. All I can picture is my kids being attacked my rabies-filled bats all night. So I pack them up and head to my parent's house.
I then remember that it has been spring break and we have no food in our house and nothing to make lunches for the kids for school so I gotta head to the grocery store. Ted decides to take the kids with him to go wash his car (a favorite outing) so I can enjoy my grocery shopping alone. I get back home with all the groceries and start putting them up. I decide that I need a little music so on goes Lady Gaga. And I put it on LOUD. I am dancing and singing to my heart's desire and putting yogurt into the refridgerator and then I look up. And staring down at my from the crown moulding are two beaty bat eyes and he looks like he is about to pounce. I guess I woke a nocturnal animal with my music.
To say that I freaked out would be the understatement of the century. I started screaming, loud. And panting. And sweating. I think that I had wet armpits immediately. I grab the phone and run out to the garage so I can still see the bat from the window on the door, but it can't get to me. I call Ted. And continue to freak out. And shreek. And sweat. And maybe wet my pants a little bit. Ted, of course, thinks that my freak out is a bit funny and puts me on speakerphone with the kids. Not so funny.
After what seems like an eternity, Ted gets home. He puts on the gloves, grabs the tennis racquet and asks me to throw him a towel. He throws the towel over the bat who starts hissing and trying to get away. He scoops the bat up with the tennis racquet and goes outside. The wildlife guy tells us that we need to keep the bat and have it tested so that means we gotta kill it. Ted pulls the towel out and places the racquet on top of the hissing and spitting bat. He is looking for something to hit it with when Ward runs up to the bat with his plastic golf club and takes a few whacks at the bat.** He stops. Ted then puts him in a cool whip container and although he flapped around a bit, he finally died. Whew.
So now I am waiting on the wildlife guy (or bat man as we are calling him at our house) to come out and check the attic. He said that we probably have bats living up there. Nice. But he told me that the good news is that the babies aren't born until June or July so I don't have to worry about that. Great. Makes it so much better.
I'll update later once we find out what we are dealing with. Fun birthday, huh?
** By the way, I am a bit disturbed at Ward whacking the bat with the golf club. I mean, he actually seemed to like it. Maybe I should have a little talk with him about not hurting animals.
Last week was spring break. I worked on Monday and Tuesday and went to down to Grey Rocks with the kids on Wednesday. Ted stayed behind to work the rest of the week and was planning on meeting us on Friday. I left a short "honey-do" list for him and one of the items necessitated him going up in the attic. Later that night while deep in sleep Ted heard the curtains in our room rustling. He thought it was our cat playing in the curtains and shushed her, but then realized that she was not even in the room. Next thing he knew a bat flew out of the curtains and toward the hall. Ted, in his slumber, reacted by shutting the door to our room, allowing the bat free reign of the house, and going back to sleep. (Of course if I had been there, there would have been no sleeping until the bat was either dead or out of the house). But Ted thinks to himself that he will just deal with the bat in the morning.
Fast forward 5 hours. Ted is showered and ready for work on Friday morning. He remembers the bat, goes and gets gloves and a tennis racquet (that is how he killed the bat last time). And the hunt begins. And 45 minutes pass and he can't find the bat. What's a guy to do? Continue the hunt? Oh no, Ted decides to lock up the house, turn on the alarm, and head to work - and after work come on to Grey Rocks and LEAVE THE BAT IN THE HOUSE FOR THE WEEKEND. He called to check in and told me about the bat and I insisted that he go home and not come to Grey Rocks until the bat was taken care of. So like a good husband, he goes home at lunch. Searches again and still can't find that bat. So now he is pretty desparate and we both don't know what to do. He locks up the house and calls Jason, his nephew, to come and search for the bat on Saturday. He searched for over two hours to no avail. Sneaky little sucker, huh?
Now we are all at Grey Rocks having a great time and I have pretty much forgotten about the bat. I called our exterminater and you have to be licensed to deal with bats so he refers me to a wildlife guy. I left him a message and don't really think about it until I am driving home with the kids and realize that I am going to be the first one in the house (Ted is behind me) and what am I going to do if I see that bat? We get home and we still can't find the bat. I talk to the wildlife guy who tells me all sort of scary stuff about bats - like they have such small teeth that they can bite you at night and you would never know it; they can squeeze under doors and through anything the size of a penny; if he were me, he would not sleep in the house until the bat is gone, etc. All I can picture is my kids being attacked my rabies-filled bats all night. So I pack them up and head to my parent's house.
I then remember that it has been spring break and we have no food in our house and nothing to make lunches for the kids for school so I gotta head to the grocery store. Ted decides to take the kids with him to go wash his car (a favorite outing) so I can enjoy my grocery shopping alone. I get back home with all the groceries and start putting them up. I decide that I need a little music so on goes Lady Gaga. And I put it on LOUD. I am dancing and singing to my heart's desire and putting yogurt into the refridgerator and then I look up. And staring down at my from the crown moulding are two beaty bat eyes and he looks like he is about to pounce. I guess I woke a nocturnal animal with my music.
To say that I freaked out would be the understatement of the century. I started screaming, loud. And panting. And sweating. I think that I had wet armpits immediately. I grab the phone and run out to the garage so I can still see the bat from the window on the door, but it can't get to me. I call Ted. And continue to freak out. And shreek. And sweat. And maybe wet my pants a little bit. Ted, of course, thinks that my freak out is a bit funny and puts me on speakerphone with the kids. Not so funny.
After what seems like an eternity, Ted gets home. He puts on the gloves, grabs the tennis racquet and asks me to throw him a towel. He throws the towel over the bat who starts hissing and trying to get away. He scoops the bat up with the tennis racquet and goes outside. The wildlife guy tells us that we need to keep the bat and have it tested so that means we gotta kill it. Ted pulls the towel out and places the racquet on top of the hissing and spitting bat. He is looking for something to hit it with when Ward runs up to the bat with his plastic golf club and takes a few whacks at the bat.** He stops. Ted then puts him in a cool whip container and although he flapped around a bit, he finally died. Whew.
So now I am waiting on the wildlife guy (or bat man as we are calling him at our house) to come out and check the attic. He said that we probably have bats living up there. Nice. But he told me that the good news is that the babies aren't born until June or July so I don't have to worry about that. Great. Makes it so much better.
I'll update later once we find out what we are dealing with. Fun birthday, huh?
** By the way, I am a bit disturbed at Ward whacking the bat with the golf club. I mean, he actually seemed to like it. Maybe I should have a little talk with him about not hurting animals.
3.15.2011
Get out the kleenex
Ted sent me this link this morning. It is a video of a story about Georgia's head football coach, Mark Richt. Ted's friend, Drew who played football at Georgia, told him about it when he learned that we were adopting from Russia. Get out the kleenex because it is a tear jerker . . .
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2008/10/25/mark-richt-family-and-adoption
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2008/10/25/mark-richt-family-and-adoption
Gossip
No one likes gossip. Well, I think that I should rephrase that statement. No one likes gossip that is about them. That statement is even more true when the gossip is NOT TRUE.
I got a little upset last night at dinner over some gossip and my blood is still boiling a little bit. We met up with a couple of families who are in town this week (it is spring break week here so most people are out of town) for dinner last night. This is not our usual group so there were people who we don't see very often. One of the wives was asking me about Ward and his school. (For those of you who don't know, Ted and I send Ward to Catholic school at our church instead of the public school right by our house where everyone goes). She said that she was in carpool line the other day and "someone" told her that I was very unhappy with Ward's school. I think that my mouth dropped to the floor, and I know that I got a little defensive. I LOVE Ward's school. I would not change where he is for the world. The academics are great and the spiritual learning is wonderful as well. I am so happy with our choice (even if I was a bit hesistant at first since I knew nothing about it). Ann Park will start there in the fall. So I set her straight and let her know that she had been given some wrong information.
But the thing that made me so mad was that I have tried so hard to tell everyone in our community how happy we are with our choice. Yes, that choice makes us different from everyone around us (I think that we are one of only a couple of famililes in the entire school that are from Mountain Brook), and I have people ask me weekly why in the world Ward doesn't go to Crestline when he could throw a baseball from our yard to the playfield at the school. And I have a great answer - because we feel called by God to educate our children in the Catholic school. He is praying daily - multiple times. He is hearing God's Word each day. He is learning about the stories in the Bible. And he is soaking it in. Much more so than he could in church and an hour of Sunday school. And I am thankful for that. Not to mention he has a fantastic teacher who I would not trade for the world.
Last night I was so shocked (and a little mad) that I did not ask her who told her that we were "so unhappy" at Saint Francis. I almost called her last night when we got home and asked, but Ted stopped me. A part of me really wants to confront (not in a negative way) whoever it was and let her know that we are really happy where we are. After all, why would we continue to pay for a school and put our next child in that school if we weren't happy? Ted says that the next time I see this girl to casually ask her who gave her the incorrect information. I am not sure what to do, but I know I don't want to hear it again.
I got a little upset last night at dinner over some gossip and my blood is still boiling a little bit. We met up with a couple of families who are in town this week (it is spring break week here so most people are out of town) for dinner last night. This is not our usual group so there were people who we don't see very often. One of the wives was asking me about Ward and his school. (For those of you who don't know, Ted and I send Ward to Catholic school at our church instead of the public school right by our house where everyone goes). She said that she was in carpool line the other day and "someone" told her that I was very unhappy with Ward's school. I think that my mouth dropped to the floor, and I know that I got a little defensive. I LOVE Ward's school. I would not change where he is for the world. The academics are great and the spiritual learning is wonderful as well. I am so happy with our choice (even if I was a bit hesistant at first since I knew nothing about it). Ann Park will start there in the fall. So I set her straight and let her know that she had been given some wrong information.
But the thing that made me so mad was that I have tried so hard to tell everyone in our community how happy we are with our choice. Yes, that choice makes us different from everyone around us (I think that we are one of only a couple of famililes in the entire school that are from Mountain Brook), and I have people ask me weekly why in the world Ward doesn't go to Crestline when he could throw a baseball from our yard to the playfield at the school. And I have a great answer - because we feel called by God to educate our children in the Catholic school. He is praying daily - multiple times. He is hearing God's Word each day. He is learning about the stories in the Bible. And he is soaking it in. Much more so than he could in church and an hour of Sunday school. And I am thankful for that. Not to mention he has a fantastic teacher who I would not trade for the world.
Last night I was so shocked (and a little mad) that I did not ask her who told her that we were "so unhappy" at Saint Francis. I almost called her last night when we got home and asked, but Ted stopped me. A part of me really wants to confront (not in a negative way) whoever it was and let her know that we are really happy where we are. After all, why would we continue to pay for a school and put our next child in that school if we weren't happy? Ted says that the next time I see this girl to casually ask her who gave her the incorrect information. I am not sure what to do, but I know I don't want to hear it again.
3.13.2011
Fasting
I know that I said that the fasting part of Lent is probably the easiest, but I am wondering what everyone is "giving up" this year for Lent. Ted is giving up alcohol which is pretty major. I begged him to give up drinking while I was pregnant with the kids and the answer was always a resounding no. I have given up Facebook - which is a major vice for me - as well as meat. Meat may seem pretty weird to give up but for me it is just a reminder of the sacrifice. I love me some red meat - steak, hamburgers and the like. And I think that I cook chicken for 3/4 of my meals each week night. So I am going to have to get pretty creative. No fish sticks here. And on Easter Sunday, I am ordering a steak. And a double for Ted.
What are you giving up?
What are you giving up?
3.12.2011
5 + 1 = 6
No, I am not talking about Ward's addition homework. Instead, I am referring to another addition to the Holt family through the miracle of adoption! I have been hesistant to post anything on this blog about it, but decided that it is so much of what I am thinking about these days, and one of the primary reasons why I did not post at all in February, that I just had to share our great news. So I will just come out and say it - Ted and I are in the middle of the process of adopting a little girl from Russia.
As most of you know, I had really hard pregnancies, and with each pregnancy my health progressively deteriorated. After having Ward and Ann Park I bounced back, but after having Sam I was not so lucky. I went through a lot of testing (with no real answers) and thankfully, I have no internal damage due to the extremely high blood pressure. And all I have to do to keep it in check is take a pill the rest of my life, so I consider myself very lucky. However, all my doctors told me no more babies. As I came to terms with that, my feelings about adoption grew stronger and stronger. I always thought that I wanted to adopt but knew that I had 3 great kids and would I want another? Well, the answer was clear and it was yes.
After a lot of prayer and talking, Ted and I decided to contact a friend of the family who is an integral part of an amazing non-profit adoption agency called Children of the World. We started the process in late January and are moving along very quickly. The most cumbersome part occurred last month and consumed all of my free time. We had to assemble a HUGE mass of documents (including fingerprints, financial statements, doctors statements, proof of home ownership, etc.) and draft personal autobiographies. Everything had to be notarized. We also had to take 10 hours of education classes via the internet to learn more about Russia, the conditions of orphanages, and the challenges our child and our family could face. To say it was overwhelming is an enormous understatement.
BUT thanks to a lot of hard work and some luck, we finished those documents in a little over a month. Today we had our first (of two) meeting with our social worker which is the last step in finishing our home study. And the good thing about all those documents is that they were all-inclusive - meaning that they covered not only our homestudy but also all the documentation that we need for our Russian dossier. Once our homestudy is complete (which will hopefully be by the end of April), we will apply to the INS and our dossier will be sent to Russia. Then everything has to be translated into Russian (which takes about a month) and then we are assigned a Region (like a state) in Russia by the Ministry of Education. This is completely out of our hands and can range from a rural place in Siberia to Moscow so we are covering this assignment in prayer.
And then we wait. And wait. And wait. The average waiting is 6-9 months, but can be as quick as 4 months. The waiting ends with a referral which is a picture and some information about the child (medical and social). We will send that information to the International Adoption Clinic at Children's Hospital who will help us interpret the information (we are asking for a healthy child). If we accept the referral, we will then go to Russia and meet our little girl. We will receive much more information from the orphanage at that point which we will again send to IA Clinic who will interpret it all for us one more time. If all looks good, we head home and wait for our court date, which is on average about 6 weeks later. We will then go back, get approved by the Russian judge, and then have an 11 day waiting period. Then we will be on our way home with another Holt girl!
I really want this to go quickly, but I am not getting my hopes up (which is very hard) because I know that it is all in God's hands. I am comforted by knowing that He has already picked out a little girl for us. His timing is the perfect timing, but it is very hard to be patient when your mind and heart are already focused on the prize. She could already be born at this point, which is very exciting, as we are requesting between a 10 and 24 month old. Odds are, we will be heading to Russia about this time next year!!! Please keep us and our little girl in your thoughts and prayers. Pray that she has a kind caregiver(s) who teach her what love is. Pray that she gets enough food. Pray for her development. Pray for her health and for her heart. Pray for protection. And pray for our hearts and the hearts of Ward, Ann Park and Sam. Pray that they will adjust and love this little girl. There is really more to pray for than I even have words.
So now that I have let the cat out of the bag, I will post updates as we go. Feel free to ask questions. I will answer what I can. We are so excited about the Holt that is in Russia (or will be soon) and can't wait to meet her. Pray for her and us - please!
As most of you know, I had really hard pregnancies, and with each pregnancy my health progressively deteriorated. After having Ward and Ann Park I bounced back, but after having Sam I was not so lucky. I went through a lot of testing (with no real answers) and thankfully, I have no internal damage due to the extremely high blood pressure. And all I have to do to keep it in check is take a pill the rest of my life, so I consider myself very lucky. However, all my doctors told me no more babies. As I came to terms with that, my feelings about adoption grew stronger and stronger. I always thought that I wanted to adopt but knew that I had 3 great kids and would I want another? Well, the answer was clear and it was yes.
After a lot of prayer and talking, Ted and I decided to contact a friend of the family who is an integral part of an amazing non-profit adoption agency called Children of the World. We started the process in late January and are moving along very quickly. The most cumbersome part occurred last month and consumed all of my free time. We had to assemble a HUGE mass of documents (including fingerprints, financial statements, doctors statements, proof of home ownership, etc.) and draft personal autobiographies. Everything had to be notarized. We also had to take 10 hours of education classes via the internet to learn more about Russia, the conditions of orphanages, and the challenges our child and our family could face. To say it was overwhelming is an enormous understatement.
BUT thanks to a lot of hard work and some luck, we finished those documents in a little over a month. Today we had our first (of two) meeting with our social worker which is the last step in finishing our home study. And the good thing about all those documents is that they were all-inclusive - meaning that they covered not only our homestudy but also all the documentation that we need for our Russian dossier. Once our homestudy is complete (which will hopefully be by the end of April), we will apply to the INS and our dossier will be sent to Russia. Then everything has to be translated into Russian (which takes about a month) and then we are assigned a Region (like a state) in Russia by the Ministry of Education. This is completely out of our hands and can range from a rural place in Siberia to Moscow so we are covering this assignment in prayer.
And then we wait. And wait. And wait. The average waiting is 6-9 months, but can be as quick as 4 months. The waiting ends with a referral which is a picture and some information about the child (medical and social). We will send that information to the International Adoption Clinic at Children's Hospital who will help us interpret the information (we are asking for a healthy child). If we accept the referral, we will then go to Russia and meet our little girl. We will receive much more information from the orphanage at that point which we will again send to IA Clinic who will interpret it all for us one more time. If all looks good, we head home and wait for our court date, which is on average about 6 weeks later. We will then go back, get approved by the Russian judge, and then have an 11 day waiting period. Then we will be on our way home with another Holt girl!
I really want this to go quickly, but I am not getting my hopes up (which is very hard) because I know that it is all in God's hands. I am comforted by knowing that He has already picked out a little girl for us. His timing is the perfect timing, but it is very hard to be patient when your mind and heart are already focused on the prize. She could already be born at this point, which is very exciting, as we are requesting between a 10 and 24 month old. Odds are, we will be heading to Russia about this time next year!!! Please keep us and our little girl in your thoughts and prayers. Pray that she has a kind caregiver(s) who teach her what love is. Pray that she gets enough food. Pray for her development. Pray for her health and for her heart. Pray for protection. And pray for our hearts and the hearts of Ward, Ann Park and Sam. Pray that they will adjust and love this little girl. There is really more to pray for than I even have words.
So now that I have let the cat out of the bag, I will post updates as we go. Feel free to ask questions. I will answer what I can. We are so excited about the Holt that is in Russia (or will be soon) and can't wait to meet her. Pray for her and us - please!
3.10.2011
You Love Me Anyway
I heard this song on the way to work this morning and I thought that it was so fitting for Lent. I thought that I would share the video with you. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.
3.09.2011
Mardi Gras
We got a last minute invite to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and we jumped on it. We took Ward and Ann Park and had an amazing time. I think that we are going to reserve our room for next year as well. And maybe Jeanne and I will ride on Iris. If I can rally. I am not good at rallying. But here are some of the pictures. It rained on Saturday afternoon, but it didn't slow the kids down and it certainly did not limit the amount of loot that my kids came home with. More stuffed animals than I know what to do with!
Throwing poppers is so much fun!
Ward and Tripp in the ladder waiting for the parade to start!
So excited for the beads!
This is so much fun!!!
Toilet sunglesses - what else could a boy want?
A little wet, but look at all of our stuff!
ready to go!
On Sunday the kids got to go with Uncle Martin to the Proteus Den where they keep all the floats. They got to climb on them and Martin gave them some special throws!
The weather was much better on Sunday and we hit one more parade before we had to go home.
Happy Mardi Gras!!!!!!!
Throw me somethin mister!
So fun! Bye bye New Orleans! See you next time!
Ash Wednsday
The beginning of Lent.
40 days to prepare for the Ressurection.
The traditional way to think about Lent is through praying, fasting and almsgiving. And I think that most adults these days focus only on the fasting - i.e. "giving something up" for the next 40 days. But that is only 1/3 of the formula, and really I think the easiest part. So I am challenging myself to practice a complete Lent for these next 40 days.
I have been struggling trying to explaint Lent to Ward and Ann Park. I knew that they had been talking about it at school, but how do you really explain something like Lent to a 6 and 4 year old? I went to "school mass" this morning with Ward and Ann Park, and the homily was short, but to the point. The priest challenged the kids to be the eyes, hands, and feet of God. What a cool thing to think about, and a good way to help them in their Lenton journey. Do as God would do . . . wouldn't he pray, make sacrifices and give to those less fortunate than us? So that will be our family focus for these next 40 days. What is yours?
Hiatus
I took a much needed hiatus (is that how you spell it?) from the blogging world. I didn't even read that many blogs in the past month, which is really saying something for me. I spent yesterday catching up with all the funny people on the internet that I follow, including some friends of mine (while I was supposed to be working, of course). Then I realized that it had been over a month since I had posted anything here. What have we been doing? Some good, some bad. Here is a quick rundown:
- I went to Atlanta and had a great girls weekend (thank you Ted). On Friday night I stayed with a great friend from college and on Saturday and Sunday I hung out with two of my favorite people in the world (girls from law school). I love how with real friends, time spent apart doesn't matter. We picked right up like we had just been together. Oh and Angela and I left our hotel in the middle of the night because of the reeking of something burned to cover up the completely obvious smell of marijuana coming from the room next to us. Whatever it was burned up my eyes - literally, I could not stop crying until we left that place.
- Ward and Ann Park got the flu. The day I came home from Atlanta, Ward had 105. Went to doctor and despite the flu mist/shot, they both got it. Ward got Tamiflu and vomited it up for a few hours, which only made the flu worse. Thankfully, Ward was over it in about 4 days but Ann Park had fever for 10 days. And Ted was out of town for a lot of those flu days.
- While the kids were recovering, however, we got to go to Grey Rocks for an adult-only weekend for Ted's birthday with two of our favorite couples. I laughed and laughed (and drank a little too much wine). Ted was in rare form. It was a blast.
- Then Sam came down with a cold. A bad cold. I think that it might have been worse than the flu. He still has it. We are going on week 4 now. Poor guy.
- Then I caught the cold. And Ted. No fun. No sleep either.
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