Library Card...

After being inspired by a friend of mine in book club (thanks Erin!), I decided to make a trip down to the Coppell Public Library today to take advantage of my tax paying dollars and get my very own library card. I haven't set foot in a library since college....and I truly cannot remember the last time I checked out a book from the library. I must say, I was quite impressed by the Coppell Public Library....and the place was packed! Who knew so many people visit the library?! Unfortunately, the book I was looking for was checked out....Dear John by Nicholas Sparks....but I will definitely check back when we choose our next book club read. I can even access their online catalog from home to see if they have the book I want! Pretty fancy, Coppell...pretty fancy! Now I know why our taxes are so high.

Meet Zoe Mae...

My dear friend, Mel, gave birth last week to a precious baby girl, Zoe Mae Conner! Zoe is perfect in every way! Both mom and baby are home and doing great. Congratulations Mel and Justin and welcome to the world Zoe!!

Zoe Mae Conner
Born January 21, 2010
12:14am
6 lbs, 11 oz and 20" long

Preparing for Zambia...

Although many of you know, I have not made the official blog announcement that Josh and I will be spending 8 weeks in Zambia this summer with Family Legacy! We are beyond thrilled and can't wait to get there, God willing! We are scheduled to leave on May 15th and will return on July 8th. I'm taking a 2 month leave from my job, thanks to my amazing boss who has supported Josh and I through this decision 100%...thank you MF! Family Legacy will ship 4 large containers (via ocean liner) to Zambia at the beginning on February with a ton of supplies for the summer. It takes approximately 3 months for everything to arrive in Lusaka. Since Josh and I will be there for 8 weeks this summer, we get to send a few boxes on the containers with some of our personal things like bedding, towels, toiletries and non-perishable foods. We gathered everything we wanted to ship to Zambia throughout the week and boxed it all up Thursday night so Josh could take it to the Family Legacy office on Friday. They will be working around the clock over the next week to load all of the containers.

Please pray that everything arrives safe and sound...

We decided to ship Kaci and Chloe to Zambia too!

All packed up and ready to go...

See you in 4 months!!

There are a ton of projects to complete for Camp LIFE before the containers ship. Some of our amazing small group friends came over this morning to help Josh and I sort all of the alphabet beads that the Zambian kids will use to make name necklaces at Camp LIFE. Lindsay, Josh and Scott taking inventory to make sure we had the right amount of each letter....

Matt and Lindsay unpacking all of the beads...

Hard at work...thanks so much for helping!!


We can't wait to get to Zambia!! Come join us....it's not too late to sign up for Camp LIFE!

Kindergarten Bread...

I've never made bread in my life....until tonight! My Aunt Shirley shared with me an amazing bread recipe that is so delicious....it's perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack. It's called Kindergarten Bread because it's so easy to make even a kindergartner could make it. And, it's true! So easy...and so GOOD!

Ingredients
2 Cups Quick Cooking Oats
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Grandma's Molasses (this is the secret ingredient)
2 Tbsp. Shortening
4 Cups Water
1 Yeast Package
1 Tbsp. Salt
8 Cups Flour
Cooking Spray
2-3 Tbsp. Butter

Directions

Combine Oats, sugar, molasses and shortening in a large bowl. Add 3 1/2 cups of boiling water. Stir well and cool until luke warm. Add 1 package of yeast dissolved in 1/2 cup of luke warm water. Add 1 Tbsp. of salt and 8 cups of flour. Mix as well as you can (dough will be very stiff). I used my hands. Place the dough in a large bowl (with room for the dough to rise) sprayed well with cooking spray. Spray the top of the dough with cooking spray and cover with saran wrap. Refrigerate overnight. The next day, divide dough in half and place in 2 loaf pans sprayed with cooking spray. Let rise for 1 hour. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350. If loaves start getting too brown on top, put foil over them until fully baked. When you take the bread out of the oven, rub the tops with butter. Cool on cooling rack. Enjoy!!!

Right before they went in the oven...

The finished product...

Thanks Aunt Shirley for introducing me to this terrific bread!! XOXO!

Date Night...at Home

On Friday night, Josh and I had a date night....at home. It was so nice to enjoy a quiet and relaxing evening together. I made Mexican Lasagna for dinner...a delicious recipe from my friend Amber over at Chocolate Broccoli. A must try...Josh and I both really enjoyed it! It's flavorful, filling, easy to make and healthy! And we finally watched 500 Days of Summer. What a great movie!

OK, so Josh just informed me that this is a boring post and that I must not having anything interesting to write about today. Maybe he's right. So, I leave you with this....make the Mexican Lasagna recipe and watch the movie 500 Days of Summer.

That's all. Bye.

Clayton, New Mexico Pit Stop...

On our way home from Colorado on Jan. 2nd, we had to make a bit of a pit stop in the little (and I mean little) town of Clayton, NM. The alternator on the Rector's Tahoe went out about 10 miles before Clayton. Of course, Captain (aka: Karen) was driving when it all went down, so there was no drama involved. {For those of you who know Karen, hopefully you're catching my sarcasm}. Thankfully we made it to Clayton and found a nice mechanic who diagnosed the problem and an auto parts store who had the alternator in stock that we needed. 45 minutes later, we were back on the road and Texas bound. A miracle, really. But, what's a road trip without a little detour, right?

Where it all went down...thank you Sinclair for fixing us up!

Pessimist vs. Optimist. Optimist won.

To lighted the mood the boys made a trip to the local Duckwall's Hometown Variety Store to get us a little early Valentine's treat.

We were grateful...(thanks boys)

And happy to be back in Texas!

The Perfect Brownie...

Back in September, I blogged about the Perfect Brownie....and for Christmas, I got one!!! Last night I finally had the chance to use it. And....IT WORKED!!!! I love this thing and will never make brownies again without it. My results...

Right after I took the brownies out of the oven...

I let them cool for 5 or so minutes before removing the divider piece....it came out very easily...

Ready to serve! With the Perfect Brownie, you can literally serve the brownies right out of the oven...no need to let them cool before cutting!

Perfect edges...

I have the perfect brownies ready for home group tonight!

Clean-up was extremely easy too....all pieces are dishwasher safe! You have to get one!!

Note: The directions say to spray the pan and divider well with cooking spray....and to place the brownie pan on top of a cookie sheet while baking just in case there are any leaks (the bottom of the brownie pan comes out so they can be displayed on the serving piece after baking). I following both of these directions.

Mr. and Mrs. Brent Nelson Baker...

Alison and Brent's wedding weekend was picture perfect. There were incredible details everywhere you looked! What a joy it was to be a part of their special day! My photos will never do it justice, but I hope you enjoy...

At the bridal luncheon on Friday....Ali with her bridesmaids...

Ali with the house party girls (minus Mariana)...

At the manicure and pedicure party following the bridal luncheon...Me, Ali and Mary-Frances (our boss)...

Ali and her precious mom, Sharon...

At The Salt Lick for the rehearsal dinner on Friday night...amazing BBQ and atmosphere! Our fun table...Karen and BJ...

Me and Josh...

"Bride and Groom To Be" Jenni and Paul...

Chris and Marina...

A picture with the blushing (and extremely calm) bride to be...

One of my favorite girls in the world...

Here is my attempt to capture the reception decor at The Four Seasons....unfortunately, my amatuer photography skills definitely do not do it justice. It was so beautiful! Ali's inspiration came from this book...A Passion for Blue and White. The ballroom was just incredible!

The sign-in table...The Passion for Blue and White coffee table book was on the table for guests to sign.

Lounge area in the foyer...

Inside the ballroom...

Custom band backdrop and blue and white dance floor...

They incorporated really cool lounge seating around the parameter of the room...it's hard to tell in this photo, but it was really neat!

Beautiful blue and white vases adorned each table...

The bride's cake table area....unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the 5 tier cake...it was stunning and tasted incredible! This picture was taken after the cake was cut. Sorry!

For the groom's cake, they had Hey Cupcake. Ali's brother, Brian, is co-owner of Hey Cupcake in Austin. A cupcake bar was built to look like an airstream....and the cupcakes were delicious!

Me and Josh...

Jenni Wright, Liz, Me and Marina...

Liz and Jordan...

Me and Karen...

Mary-Frances, Wyatt and Luke (the adorable ring bearer)...

Me with Mary-Frances...

It's time to PARTY!!! The Project Band did an amazing job. The dance floor was rockin' all night long! Ali and Brent tearing it up...

Chris and Marina...

We were having a good time...

Roommates from college...

Sweet Caroline...

The fabulous Brenda Marr...

With the beautiful bride...


I love this picture...

To Ali and Brent....I wish you all the joy in the world as you begin your lives together. You two are incredible individuals....but you make an even better pair! My prayer is that your days as husband and wife will be filled with lots of laughter, amazing love and many blessings! Josh and I love you both and we look forward to sharing lots of fun memories together in the future! Congratulations!!