Short or Long?

Okay girls I am ready for a change with my hair. I have had long hair for a while now and on some days I just want to cut it off. On other days I don't. So, what do you think? For all you blog stalkers out there, create an account and comment. Now is your chance to reveal yourself! :-)

Short?

Long?

Beef Brisket

Well, my first Brisket was a hit. Nate and Landon both liked it. I made it with sweet potato wedges and broccoli.

Here is the recipe:

2 -4 lbs beef roast or 2 -4 lbs beef brisket
2 tablespoons liquid smoke
2 tablespoons fresh coarse ground black pepper
2 tablespoons kosher salt (use much less....I used 2 tsp)
2 minced fresh garlic cloves

Trim beef of any large extra fat. A little is good for flavor.
Place the roast in the middle of a large piece of aluminum foil. Rub beef all
over with all of the spices. Sprinkle liquid smoke over beef and rap tightly in
foil. Make sure it's completely wrapped. DO NOT ADD ANY LIQUID TO THE CROCKPOT!

Place in crock pot and cook on low setting for 8-10 hrs (10 for a larger cut of
beef).

Unwrap beef and serve with the "smoker" juices in the crock pot or with your
favorite barbecue sauce.

I have had some people ask how I make my sweet potato wedges as well. All you do is cut up a sweet potato into bite size pieces and put on a regular pan. Drizzle olive oil all over them and sprinkle about a half packet of taco seasoning all over them. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes on both sides. Sometimes I do them a little longer because we like them crispy. The thinner they are the better they taste.

A Little Eating and Shopping

Last Friday evening Nate and I decided at the last minute to get a babysitter to come play with Landon. He loves the one on one attention so we do that for him often. We put Liam in the car with us and headed to Outback Steakhouse. We both enjoyed a steak, (which we never eat) baked potato, and salad. Liam enjoyed the pumpernickel bread they give you with your salad! It is always weird for us to only have one child with us while we are out, but it's so much easier than two. I used to think it was extremely difficult with just one, but I didn't know how hard two is at this particular stage.

After dinner we headed to Kohl's where I had a 30% coupon! I am not a real big Kohl's fan but they have a few things I like. We got the boys Easter presents while we were there and enjoyed strolling Liam all around. He tried to get out of the stroller/cart a couple of times. What a ham! I didn't get too many pictures but here are a couple. Happy Tuesday to you! My house is filled with the smell of brisket. It's my first ever brisket I have cooked! If it's a hit, I will post the recipe tomorrow.

Paci Anyone?

Sanctus Real - The Story Behind: Lead Me

Many of us know this song in the Christian world. What a great testimony to all couples. I think as couples we all go through this at different stages in our marriage. This song has been a prayer of mine for a friend who is going through this exact thing right now except her husband doesn't want to make it work. I have been given the task to pray. I will pray.

Spring Break 2011

What a gorgeous week this is! We are having a blast. I thought this week would go by really slow but it has done the opposite. We have been enjoying the down time and doing fun things out of our normal day schedule. I am a very routine person but every once in a while you have to let loose, right?

On Monday Landon went on a field trip with Touchpoint and had a blast! They went shopping at the Dollar Store and found so many things. (Junk in my opinion) This was a field trip to let them pick what they wanted for $10 or less. It also taught them how to pay for it and what you do when you buy something. They ended the day with going to the nature center. Liam and I had a great day together while Landon was having fun! We met up with our friends Katie and Baby Derrick at Beth's Bake Shoppe. We enjoyed lunch with our babies as all the other customers stopped by tell us how well behaved our babies were. I will take that compliment. It won't be much longer until we might not get that same compliment. Ha!

Yesterday Nate took a day of vacation. It's always so nice to have Dad home to wrestle and play with. I worked on my Just Between Friends sale stuff pretty much all day. I am selling everything baby. I am ready to simplify. We topped it off by having Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad for dinner! Yum!

We hope to have some more fun "dates" depending on the weather this week. This is the last Spring Break for Landon as a preschooler. Oh my.....

Liam and Derrick

Katie and Derrick

Weekend Recap

What a weekend! We had so much fun as a family this past weekend. Even though it was cool and rainy on Saturday, it was gorgeous on Sunday to make up for the rain. Friday is Nate's day off since he works on Sundays. I tend to work on Friday's for my Hallmark job. It's also a day I can meet up with a friend for lunch and run my errands with no kids. It seems like I try to cram as much into Fridays as I can. This past Friday I didn't have to work so Liam and I visited my friend Cami and her two boys Trevor and Blake. Trevor is Landon's age and Blake is Liam's age. We also got to see Cami's beautiful home they built. Of course there was never a dull moment with two babies and an almost five year old. I was going to take Landon with me but he wanted to run errands with Dad. Turns out they had a blast. Friday evening we ended up going out for a pizza at Arris pizza. It's one of Brad Pitt's favorite hangouts when he comes back into town. Did you know Brad Pitt is from Springfield, MO? His parents attend our church and are the sweetest people.

On Saturday my parents came into town. (aka Papa and Gigi) We had such a great time spending time with them and the boys loved the extra attention! I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted but you know how that goes! We ended Sunday on a high note with going to church, out to lunch, and playing outdoors in the gorgeous weather. I went to aerobics Sunday afternoon and felt very energized! I heart weekends.

Cami and I with our babies

Impossible to get a good picture

Mommy and Liam being silly

Papa and Liam

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Are you wearing green today? I already had to pinch someone today for not wearing green. All four of us are wearing our green shirts. The sun is shining and it is WARM! So thankful for this weather today.

Tonight Nate is going to a "small theatre" over at the Krenn Crew. I believe the movie of choice is the A Team. It's a guys night filled with lots of guy talk and lots of candy. I on the other hand, am on a mission to catch up on this house. I am a very organized person. I love being on top of things and dislike having a messy house. At the end of the day the toys are always picked up and I am always preparing for the next day to make our mornings run smoother. I find myself busier than ever with two boys now, but I can honestly say I LOVE it! Wouldn't trade it for anything.

Wordless Wednesday

LOVE them!

Prayerful

Have you ever had one of those days where your heart is so heavy that you just want to explode? Today is one of those days. There is so much I am praying for these days. Marriages, friends, Japan, my family, etc. I find myself praying constantly while putting a load of laundry in, folding laundry, driving to pick-up Landon from school and so forth. As I turn on the television it's on the situation in Japan. They showed so many families just sitting in a big warehouse looking shelter. No connection to the outside world. Some families wondering if a family member is still alive and some who haven't had the chance to tell their families they are okay. They showed an older couple making chopsticks to give to people to eat with. People were getting balls of steamed rice to eat. Steamed rice! I would be so hungry ten minutes later! It brought to my mind about Jesus feeding the five thousand. They had five loaves of bread and two fish. All of them ate and were SATISFIED. Today I am choosing to be satisfied. Satisfied in what the Lord has given me. I can't believe how much I have been blessed with. Take time and be satisfied today. I promise you....it's a great and fulfilling feeling.

Spring? Winter?

We have been spoiled by warm weather the past couple of days. Last night was "Spring Forward." I will have to say losing an hour of sleep wasn't that bad. Landon and Liam slept a little later therefore we didn't make it to church. I hate missing our church on Sunday morning. We have been blessed to serve at a fabulous church. Nate is leading students but also has the opportunity to lead our new 10:31 modern service in worship. We are blessed every week through his gifts. I guess I am bragging on my husband a little, huh?

Yesterday I gathered all the baby things like the swing, bouncy seat, bumbo, etc. to get ready to sell in our Just Between Friends Sale. It was very bitter sweet as I was pricing these items. I am ready to get rid of them physically but emotionally it was hard knowing I wouldn't have a little tiny baby anymore. We are so blessed to have two healthy kids that love each other and others. I never take for granted the two children the Lord has blessed me with to be their Mom. Being a Mom is probably the hardest "job" I have ever done. It's the first "job" that I have become selfless in. Thank you Jesus!

It was a pretty uneventful weekend, but those are usually the best kind!

An "Ugh" Kind of Day

Have you ever had one of those kinds of days? Today is one of those days in this household. I think the pictures of "naptime" will explain itself. Keep in mind I just organized all this. Landon thought it would be wise to try on all of his shoes that no longer fit him. As well as pull out clothes to match the shoes. I do count my blessings, but just keeping it real. :-)

Date Night Gone Good

Last Friday night we had the opportunity to have date night. As for most parents, this doesn't happen too often. We don't have family that lives close, so we count on our fabulous babysitters. We are so blessed with great ones!

We started the evening with dinner at one of our favorite local places called Haruno. It's mainly a sushi place but they have other things as well. It's not really a place to take your kids, so we try to frequent this place without our kiddos. After dinner I told Nate we could go to one of his favorite stores. Yes, you guessed it....Springfield Music. Nate LOVES guitars and will talk anyone's ears off with "guitar talk." He showed me his guitar that he drools over every time he visits the store. We went into a practice room so that he could let me listen to how good it sounded. We had fun goofing around and being relaxed together. After our date I felt so refreshed. It's amazing what a few hours can do for a Mom's health. It was very much needed and I am already looking forward to our next one together. Love spending time with my husband.

Sushi Roll

Nate and I at dinner

Nate playing

This is me being serenaded by my husband. :-)

Happy 10 months Liam!

Our miracle baby is 10 months today! Time sure does fly when you are having fun.

This is what Liam is up too these days!

*You are crawling all over the place!

*You love your brother unconditionally!

*You can say DaDa and BuBa (for brother). You really don't say MaMa too much yet, but I am not offended.

*You wear size 3 diapers

*You weigh 21 pounds and you are in the 95th percentile for height.

*You love to push your walker around everywhere you go downstairs.

*You sleep about 11 hours every night and take two naps a day.

*You have four teeth. Two top and two bottom.

*In the evenings you like to be held a lot. You get a little fussy because you are getting tired from the day.

*You love your pacifier at naptime but not at bedtime. It really does soothe you.

*You are eating solid foods and love everything! You are not picky.

*You love to play games like peek a boo, paddy cake, etc.

*You love to be sung too and you know when your Daddy is playing his guitar.

*You have started standing up in your crib. We had to lower it all the way to the bottom so you can't get out!

Mommy, Daddy, and Landon all love you to the moon!