HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!

Dear Family and Friends,

I want to wish you all a very blessed and prosperous New Year! My prayer is that 2010 will be an amazing year for all of us. Please enjoy your weekend and don't drink and drive . . . be safe out there!

Kisses and Hugs,

Coming up for air . . .

Hi All,

So much to do, and so little time to do it seems to be my theme right now. I have not felt this harried in a very long time. I will be back again once I can come up for air. For now, I am still swimming upward, or trying.

I hope you are enjoying this Christmas season and remembering that it is the birth of Jesus Christ that we are remembering and being ever-so-thankful for.

Have a blessed week!

Love,

Happy Thanksgiving!

You Burnt the Bird? A Dozen Reasons to Be Thankful!

1. Salmonella won't be a concern.

2. No one will overeat.

3. Everyone will think it's Cajun Blackened.

4. Uninvited guests will think twice next year.

5. Your cheese broccoli lima bean casserole will gain newly found appreciation.

6. Pets won't pester you for scraps.

7. The smoke alarm was due for a test.

8. Carving the bird will provide a good cardiovascular workout.

9. After dinner, the guys can take the bird to the yard and play football.

10. The less turkey Uncle George eats, the less likely he will be to walk around with his pants unbuttoned.

11. You'll get to the desserts quicker.

12. You won't have to face three weeks of turkey sandwiches.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I am so blessed and thankful . . . I hope you are too!

Love and kisses,

Grandma's Green Bean Casserole . . .

Nope, it is not my grandma's, but I found this recipe and the reviews were all excellent. So, since I am in charge of the green bean casserole this year, I decided to give this one a go!

We are planning to share Thanksgiving with family, at my sister's house this year. Thanksgiving just might be my favorite holiday. This time of year really makes me count my blessings because truthfully, they are many. Not to say my life is perfect, but I have to be thankful for what I do have.

I feel like I haven't been home for about three weeks now with all of the running around I have been doing. I suppose that many of you are feeling the same. Holiday time always seems to be like that for me. How about for you?

So here is the recipe - if you make it, let me know what you think!

GRANDMA'S GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 cup sour cream
3 (14.5 ounce) cans French style green beans, drained
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup crumbled buttery round crackers
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth, and cook for one minute. Stir in the salt, sugar, onion, and sour cream. Add green beans, and stir to coat.
Transfer the mixture to a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. Spread shredded cheese over the top. In a small bowl, toss together cracker crumbs and remaining butter, and sprinkle over the cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden and cheese is bubbly.

Servings Per Recipe: 10
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 215
Total Fat: 16.4g
Cholesterol: 45mg
Sodium: 832mg
Total Carbs: 9.5g
Dietary Fiber: 1.1g
Protein: 7.8g

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Love,

A Veterans Day THANK YOU!

I want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU first to my dad, who was a Marine and fought in the Vietnam War. I love you and I am so proud of you. I can never tell you enough how very much your service means to me.

My second THANK YOU is to all of the men and women who who have served our country in the past and present. Thank you for the unselfish gift you give to us - yourselves. You put your life on the line so that we don't have to. You protect and serve out country so that we can live freely! GOD BLESS AMERICA, and GOD BLESS YOU!!!!!!!!

Love,

SendOutCards - Woohoo!

Okay, I am absolutely, totally excited. I love to send cards, but honestly, getting to the store to buy them, going to the post office to buy stamps and then mailing them really slows me down. However, I have recently been introduced to an online greeting card company called SendOutCards and I have to tell you that I am nothing short of hooked! Everything is done online through the SendOutCards website. They have over 10,000 different cards to choose from with different fonts and you can even upload your pictures with their Picture Plus program. And then when you are all done, SendOutCards actually puts the postage on the card and mails it for you. (You can even include a gift if you so desire.)

If you want to, click on the SendOutCards link at the top, which will direct you to my website or just go here: https://www.sendoutcards.com/michellemoran. Click on the banner once you are there and it will take you through the process of making and sending your very own card. If you love it and want to learn more, or would like some help signing up, just let me know and I would be happy to call you!

Have fun!

Happy Birthday Kevin!

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/LU4ZmRfq7knTReGy

Today I want to wish my very sweet husband a happy birthday! I am so glad that 44 years ago today, you were put here on this earth. I pray that you have at least another 44 years, and that I will be here with you to enjoy every single one of them! I love you from the very bottom of my heart!

Love,

When You Thought I Wasn't Looking

Below is a poem called "When You Thought I Wasn't Looking", sent to me by a friend. It is so very true. I hope you enjoy reading it.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw how you handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't feel good, and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When thought I wasn't looking I saw that you cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you and wanted to say, 'Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.

And the winner is . . .

Many of you voted for me and my sister to win the Gypsy Challenge. (Thank you!) Needless to say, we didn't win, but Michelle Machado did win the peppermint earrings! Yea! I will get those in the mail to you Michelle!

Have a fun Sunday!

Gypsy Challenge

The Gypsy (I want one bad!)

My amazing sis thought we should enter a contest using her new Gypsy - (pictured above). For all of you non-scrappers, it has something to do with creating amazing die-cuts for scrapbooking. It actually hooks up to the Cricut machine and is sort of like a Nintendo DS for big people. :)

We spent all day (and night) Sunday working on this project. Needless to say, this project was much bigger then we expected. Our finished project was a chore chart that my sister thought up. (She is smart like that.) I wish the picture showed all of the detail better because there is so much depth and detail that you just can't see by a single, non-3D picture.


Chore Chart - "A Little Birdie Told Me".

Anyway, the winners will be chosen after midnight tonight, which is when the contest is over. (They extended the voting time by several days.) So feel free to throw your vote out way. We really need your vote, and we really want to win! Here is the link: http://www.cricut.com/gypsy/designchallenge/entries.aspx?did=275

Have a great Thursday!

Still Out of School!

2008 Halloween Picture

The kids are still out of school. The school decided to close down for the whole week. I can see their point. Hopefully the kids will mostly be well when they go back. I am wondering where the kids are going to make up their 4 days off though. We are all still (very thankfully) well around here.

We went to a movie one day, and Savannah and I spent a chunk of yesterday scrapbooking. That felt good, and I surprisingly got quite a bit done. Today it is bills, laundry, cleaning up and then a trip to Costco to pick up my pictures and then to Walmart to get the kids' pictures taken together. This is sort of a spur of the moment thing and we don't have any special outfits or anything like that but it has been so long since I have taken them in for pictures that I figured, why not. (Most of the kids should be in school so we should be able to get in just fine.)

We have soccer and soccer pictures tomorrow so most of our day will be spent out on the park. So, the weekend will be busy and crazy, just like usual. But it will be fun too.

How 'bout you? Any plans for the weekend?

Swine Flu . . . Stay Home From School!

I was called to pick the kids up from school this morning, almost right after I left them. Yesterday, 23 kids were out of school, two were known to have had the Swine Flu for sure. So far so good here. The school decided to take precautions and let everyone go home until Thursday. They are sanitizing the school and doing everything they can to keep our kids healthy.

Kevin heard a Homeopathic doctor on the radio talking about Swine Flu prevention; washing hands, vitamin D, lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Prevention of course is the best thing that we can do.

I am not overly-worried, just being smart, and cautious. Pigs are just not welcome in our home right now! :)

I guess we will have 2 days to spend at home. I think we will definitely make the most, and best of it.

Have a great week!

Revolve Tour Success!

Onstage at the Revolve Tour

Savannah with her friends

Savannah wearing her Revolve Tour Hoodie

The Revolve Tour was a success! The girls loved it and we had such a great time. Savannah can't wait to go to the next one. She said this was one of her best weekends ever. It was so nice to see all of the mothers with their daughters. It was a place where the girls didn't have to worry about being "cool", and holding your moms hand was okay. It was a nice reprieve from all of the pressures that our pre-teen and teenage girls face. It was fun, it was exhausting, and it was oh-so-good!

Revolve Tour . . .

Savannah and I, along with two other girlie's and a mom are off to the Revolve Tour this afternoon. It ends around 4:00 Saturday afternoon. It is for girls pre-teen through high school and their moms. It is going to be a fun, faith-filled event; filled with bands, and discussions on difficult subjects that face our precious girls today. I can't wait to go as I have heard so many good things about it! I am as excited as my pre-teen!

What are you doing this weekend?

Pretty . . .

Emma went to a Birthday/Halloween party a few weeks ago. I had bought this Geisha costume for her several years ago and it was way too big. It fit her great this year, but I couldn't get over how grown-up and pretty she looked. Definitely like a beautiful little Geisha girl. Some of the kids didn't even recognize her at first. Some days I don't either. She is getting so tall and her legs are so long. She is still a little girl, but I know she won't remain that way for very much longer.

It's been a busy week . . .

Landon and I at "The Living Desert" on a field trip.

"The Boys" I chaperoned.

Landon in front of the lambs (because they are his favorite animal.)

It has been a very busy week, thus no blogging. All of the school activities and everyday life are keeping me going. I feel like I haven't really spent any time at home since Tuesday. Friday, I went on a field trip with Landon to The Living Desert. The night before he said he was looking forward to spending time with me the most. That boy sure knows how to warm my mommy heart. We did have a great time, and then we left and went to get ice cream.

Sometimes I tend to complain about being busy, but I remind myself that at least I am CAPABLE of being busy. It is all perspective, right?

What keeps you busy?

It's Official . . . Soccer Season Has Begun!

Emma - soccer player #3 (The Robins)

Emma on the field!

Landon ready to kick one! (The Mountain Lions)

Landon throwing the ball in. (Coach Daddy is right behind him.)

It is official and I have a slight sunburn to prove it. (And yes, I was sitting under an umbrella most of the time, and I DID wear my sunscreen.) The sunburn was worth it because the games were good!

Landon played first. Kevin is coaching his team this year and they are called "The Mountain Lions." Cool, huh? They even get to do a little growling. What 7 or 8 year old boy doesn't like that? The parents seems nice, and the kids played great. So great that they won their first soccer game by a land slide. This is Landon's second year and he was a little more aggressive, which is wonderful because by nature, he is not an aggressive boy. Go Landon!

Emma's game was next, and she plays for "The Robins" this year. This is extra special since her aunt (my sister) is named Robin. Em played well too. I was initially a little worried since she was at a slumber-party the night before, barely got any sleep and was running on pure sugar. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Em was much more aggressive this year also. Go Emma! She even made a goal. Things are off to a very good start!

The weather was gorgeous, which was a huge bonus. Last year they played in 100 plus degree weather and it was not easy (or fun) for any of them. I am looking forward to many more of their games. I will be the mom on the sideline, snapping pictures and making lots of noise. Yep, a true soccer mom.