Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love to bake and, even more so, I like to get others to enjoy baking.  I may not be the best and I am certainly no Buddy from Cake Boss, but I tend to think I'm pretty good at it.  So it only seems natural that I try to pass my love for baking onto my 5 year old niece, Kendall.  

Trevor and Kendall are on Christmas vacation and, since I am still on medical leave from work, we decided to have a sleepover last night.  It was a lot of fun!  We watched Despicable Me, saw the end of Back to the Future on AMC, and read a few books before going to bed.  When I asked them what they wanted to do today, their response was that they wanted to make chocolate chip cookies...from scratch. 

After a quick trip to the grocery store (where we picked up other essential items such as Toy Story 3 gummi snacks, peanut butter M&Ms, and original M&Ms), we came home to start our cookies.  After a quick visit by Grandpa Ed to help fix something, we were off.  I do not have any pictures from the actual baking of the cookies.  Why, you may ask?  It's because I was doing all the baking while my 2 little helpers were doing this: 

Kendall is playing on the iPod, and Trevor is playing the Wii.  So much for them wanting to make the cookies.  :)

Our cookies ended up turning out very well and, as Kendall put it, they were the "best cookies ever."  (No, I didn't even have to pay her to say that.)  

Here is our finished product:

I think they turned out pretty well.  We've already delivered some to Denise who is working up at church today.  Kendall made a sign that said "Made with Love," and Trevor walked in saying "Cookie delivery!"  

It was a pretty good day with my little buddies.  

Family Photos

To me Christmas is all about family.  It is about being thankful for what you have.  Although there are a few people missing from my family, I am so thankful for the family I do have.  I can honestly say that I would not be the person that I am today if it weren't for them.  

I am not proud to admit that I used to get annoyed at how many places we would have to go for different Christmas celebrations.  In the past few years, I have come to realize that instead of being annoyed, I should be thankful that I have family and friends to spend the holidays with.  

Every year, after opening gifts at my Mom and Dad's house, we take a family photo.  My brother-in-law, Tony, brings his tripod, and we set the timer.  This year's photo turned out really good.  We can't wait until we hopefully have a few more additions to the family in the future. 

My sister, Denise, and I also take a photo with Mom and Dad each year.  This year's photo also turned out really good.  

I think we're a pretty good looking bunch.  If you look real close between Mom and Dad, you can see my Mom's ornament that has my brother's picture in it.  Even though we knew he was there in spirit, we thought it was really neat that he got in on the family photo too.  

I'll only post one more photo.  Brady and I have the distinction of being Trevor and Kendall's only Aunt and Uncle.  Each year we also take a photo with the two of them.  They truly are two of the best things in my life.  

The holidays are a good time for everyone to sit back and realize what is really important in life.  Like I said at the beginning of this post, to me it's all about family!

Being Silly

I had to share my two favorite photos from Christmas with my family yesterday.  

I think Kendall takes after her Grandpa Ed just a little bit. 

This is what happens when Grandpa Ed gets tired and decides to take a nap.  Kendall has the same enthusiasm that I do for taking photos!  Never a serious one with the two of us!

Hope you all had a great Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of you!  

This Christmas will be a little difficult for Brady and I.  While we are happy and thankful for what we do have, the holidays are always a reminder of what we are missing in our lives.  This will be our baby daughter Hope's second Christmas in Heaven, and it will be our son Ben's first Christmas in Heaven.  I do take comfort in knowing that they are with my brother, Dean.  This is is seventh Christmas in Heaven.  Anyone who has experienced loss, especially a loss of a close family member or friend, knows that the first of everything is so much harder without them.  While it gets a little easier each holiday, birthday, etc., you never forget that there is someone missing.  I encourage anyone who has gone through loss to remember that your loved one or loved ones will always be with you in your heart.  Even though I miss Hope, Ben, and Dean more than anything in the entire world and I would give anything and everything to have them with me, I have to remember that one day I will be reunited with them.  

This Christmas our wish for all of you is for joy and happiness to fill your hearts. May God bless you this Christmas season!

Perfection

Perfection can mean many things.  


Today I witnessed perfection.  I met Josslyn Joan, the newborn baby of my friends Adam and Kara.  She was born yesterday and is the definition of perfection.  I wanted to be around a baby since we had lost our baby, Ben, 3 weeks ago.  I knew it would help my healing process, and it did.  Thanks to Adam and Kara for letting me hold and cuddle with their precious little girl. 


I also witnessed the opposite of perfection.  In an attempt to make a super delicious Christmas Day dessert, I was excited to make a chocolate cake roll.  Well, after baking and needing to get the roll out of the pan (and cool), the first attempt turned out like this: 

Luckily I had enough of the ingredients to make another.  It is currently cooling and hopefully will be as tasty as it currently looks!  I think I am enjoying baking a little too much.  :)  

Inspirational

I was called inspirational today.  It is something I never thought I would be called.  I still do not think I am inspirational.  I have just been dealt a bad hand of cards the last few years.  I read a quote the other day (and, of course, made it my facebook status) that read: “When things are bad, we take comfort in the thought that they could always be worse. And when they are, we find hope in the thought that things are so bad they have to get better.”  This pretty much sums up the last 2 years.  Brady and I have only become as strong as we are because of the people that surround us.  We are so blessed to have our families and friends to lean on during our losses.  

You may say I am inspirational, but I turn it around and say that our families and friends are.