Thank Goodness for Oxy Clean

Aunt Julie introduced the girls to pomegranates. 

White shirts and pomegranates do NOT mix!!

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday. Good food, LOTS to be thankful for, time with family and mild weather. Oh, and I guess it is important that our favorite football team plays on that day too, although I rarely have time to sit down and watch much of the game. We had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving with Matthew's family on Wednesday, and with my family on Thursday. LOTS of good food and the best company! These photos were all taken on Thanksgiving day with my family. I regret that I didn't take any photos the day before.

Aunt Mary feeding Eli

The girls love to play hair salon at my parent's house. Unfortunately, Uncle Michael fell victim this time! Thanks for being a good sport, Michael.

This might have been the only time Joshua wasn't on the move. I had to snap this shot during a diaper change because it was hard keeping up with him.

Megan and Aunt Mary got a workout on the treadmill after lunch. 

Our beautiful niece!!

Although he didn't have any turkey, Eli crashed after a delicious lunch of oatmeal cereal and sweet potatoes. 

Lissa and Joshua checking out the toys!

Fun-loving Josiah! I caught him playing the Wii in this shot.

I hate to admit it, but I think Emily has a big head!

New Glasses

I know, I'm getting these posts out of order. I guess that is what happens when you blog a month at a time. Anyway, Megan inherited my poor vision and got glasses this month, and we think they are adorable on her. So far she has been great to take good care of them and keep them in her case when she isn't wearing them. I just have to add that frames are SOOOO much cuter than when I was her age. : )

Sipping Coconut Milk

A few weeks ago we tried coconut. The girls always like to shake the coconuts in the produce section of the supermarket and hear the milk sloshing around. So, we decided to challenge our taste buds to a new taste. It was a fun discovery, but none of us could drink more than a few swallows. It wasn't especially appealing to any of us. But it was fun. Almost as fun was discovering that the liquid was clear, instead of white as we all predicted it would be.

Daddy's Girl

I love this photo, even though it is blurred. I forgot to check the setting on the camera. Regardless, there is a special bond between Emily and her Dad.

Fall Wreath

Another one of my fall crafts. This one was fun because the girls could help. And SOOOOO inexpensive. Thanks to my friend, Holly, for the inspiration!

A Fun Project

I have been making some fun oven mitts for fun. I used to have more time to sew. I am afraid my sewing machine feels abandoned, but I promise -- I will return someday! Someday I will reclaim my hobbies!!

Laundry Day

At least someone is enthusiastic about clean towels!!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow . . .

. . . because it's hot chocolate time!!

Emily picked out colored marshmallow hot chocolate at the store. So now, we are ready for the bitter temperatures. Personally, I think the only good things about cold weather are hot chocolate (and tea) and a fire in the fireplace.

Five Months, and Growing!!

It is hard to imagine that just five months ago we met our little Eli. He has been a treasure to our family. Every day it seems like he is learning something new. Smiles are easy to get from this little guy, and he is constantly being entertained by his two loving sisters. 

Thank you, Lord, for all three of our gifts that we call "children."

Our World-Traveling Ladybug

Sometimes, I wish I could go back to my childhood and re-capture the gift of wonder and awe at the simple things in life. I admire that quality in children, discovering the world for the first time and recognizing how amazing and entertaining the little things are. Many discussions in our house have come back to the great imagination of our creator, God. One day the girls found this stray ladybug cruising on the floor. They decided to turn her into a world traveler -- on our globe. Amazingly, this ladybug traveled from Antarctica to Australia in a matter of minutes!!

Stuffed Crust Pizza

I love trying new recipes, and I love sharing our family favorites. So, here is our favorite pizza crust -- stuffed crust. I usually make my pizza crust in my bread machine, because it does all the kneading for me and I don't have to worry about how long it has been since the dough started rising. So, I make a 2-lb. dough in the bread machine. Here is the recipe that I use.

Pizza Dough

(all ingredients at room temperature)

3/4 tsp salt

4 cups flour

2 tsp active dry yeast

1 and 3/8 cups water

3 Tbsp olive oil

Combine all ingredients in bread pan and set on dough setting.

Dust your pizza pan with a sprinkle of corn meal. Roll out dough, allowing it to hang over the edge of the pan by 3 inches. Cut mozzarella cheese sticks in fourths and place around the edge of the pan. Then, fold the excess dough over the cheese sticks (shown above). Cover with sauce, and your favorite pizza toppings. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Yummmmmmm!

Captured Moment

Simple Fall Craft

Here is a simple fall craft that I have done with the girls several times. It is simple enough for pre-school hands, and when finished, cute enough to display year after year. And, is is very inexpensive! All you need are mixed beans, glue, greased cups and candles. That's it! Mix the glue and beans, scoop into cups and top with a candle. When dry, pop them out and display! Keep it simple!

Round Up at Butler Ranch

This year, to celebrate Emily's 8th birthday, we had a cowgirl party at our house. Emily invited some great friends over to share in an afternoon of fun! We started by dressing the part of cowgirls -- with pink cowgirl hats and pink bandanas. Each girl picked a "brand" to wear on their cheek or hand, and were divided into teams for games depending on which brand they chose. We played a relay race with stick horses, lassoed a stuffed horse, stacked sugar cubes and hunted cowboy and Indian figurines. Then Emily opened gifts, which included many nice hand-drawn cards. Cake, ice cream, pretzels and Sunny-D filled our bellies before playing outside and riding a horse. Special thanks to Sandy for bringing over horses to highlight the party with rides. Guests went home with their hats, bandanas, bracelets and cowgirl cookie mixes. I hope the day is filled with memories that Emily will cherish for a long time. 

Here is the birthday girl, having a super special birthday party.

And the location of her party -- our "ranch" for the day!

We corralled a few horses on her cake. 

And cowgirl cookie mixes for all our guests to take home!

We had two teams of cowgirls ready to race their (stick) horses!

It was a close race!

We had a lassoing competition to see who could capture our fearless horse with a hula hoop!

Horses love sugar cubes, so we played a game to stack sugar cubes.

Sandy brought Laketa and Natasha over to try sugar cubes. What beautiful horses, and what a special friend Sandy is to us. Thank you, Sandy, for making a dream come true for Emily.

Emily waiting patiently for her ride on Laketa. She wanted all of her guests to ride first.