Bird Pictures

Karen, Bryan and the kids are coming to see us next weekend. I had McKenzie come help me clean today, she was good help, we got a ton of stuff done. I think I'll have her come back again. It is good to have young people around you, they bring such a freshness. Life is pretty easy when you are kids.

Here are the birds in the nest, it looks like all 5 eggs hatched. I never did take another photo, but there ended up being 5 eggs total in the basket. I have been excited to see them hatch. They were all done when we got back from seeing Noah last week.














Here are random photos. Some of the kids last week:









The play room at the hospital caused a bit of concern. The rules were to only allow the patients in the room. Olivia cried when we told her, but she was good and stayed in the room with us while Isaac took Noah to the play room. Soon the nurse came to tell us they didn't like to hear her crying, since there were only 4 patients on the wing that day and none of them were in the room except Noah, she could play in the toy room too. She was so happy, and they both were well behaved while there.

Recipe Friday June 6, 2008

I saw this cake on Paula Deen's magazine cover and knew immediately I had to make it for my hubby. He does so much for me, I love to treat him to chocolate treats. He lives for chocolate. Here's the magazine cover:



















I was intimidated by the recipe, it had 3 parts. The mousse in between each layer caused me to almost panic, I have never made anything so fancy before. But I followed the recipe exactly, and it came out perfect. I didn't have 2 9" square pans like I thought, so had to bake 3 cakes. All in all, it turned out pretty good. I don't shave or curl chocolate, so I had nothing pretty to decorate it with. The taste is pretty good, I am NOT a chocolate person. Steve says it is fantastic. I will be making it again. When shopping the next time, I will look for a pretty platter to put it on, it is worth it.














I wish it looked as pretty as Paula's, but it tasted good.You would think with all the chocolate it would be sickenly sweet, amazingly it isn't. It is really light and has a pretty 'soft' chocolate taste. Steve really liked it, he's the chocolate guy at our house. Warning: HAVE PLENTY OF COLD MILK TO GO WITH IT!


Dreamy Chocolate Mousse Cake:

2 C. Flour
2 C. sugar
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
1 c. strong brewed coffee
3/4 c. vegetable oil
1 Large Eggs

Dreamy chocolate Mousse, (recipe follows) Chocolate Fudge Frosting (recipe Follows) Grnish with grated chocolate, and chocolate curls, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and Flour 3 9x9 pan, square or round. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add Milk, coffee, oil, and eggs. Beat at a medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.

2. Pour evenly into prepared pans and bake for 23-25 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.

3. Using a serrated knife, cut cake layers in half horizontally to make 6 layers, place 1 cut layer, cut side up on a cake plate, spread with one fifth of the chocolate mousse. Repeat procedure with remaining cake layers and mousse. Freeze cake for 1 hour. Spread chocolate fudge frosting evenly over top of cake and up sides. Garnish with chocolate curls and grated chocolate.

Freezing the layers for 1 hour helps the frosting spread easier on the cake, ask me how I know..............never try to deviate from the recipe the first time you make one.

Dreamy Chocolate Mousse

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3 Tablespoons cold water
1/4 c. boiling water
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 c. heavy whipping cream

1. In a small bowl, soften gelatin in 3 tablespoons cold water. Let stand for 2 minutes. Add boiling water, stirring until gelatin dissolves, set aside.

2. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cocoa powder.

3. In a medium bowl, beat cream at medium speed wit an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add sugar mixture, beating until stiff peaks form. Stir in gelatin mixture. Cover and chill 4 hours.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

1 c. sugar
1 c. heavy whipping cream
5 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate
10 Tablespoons butter
1 c. confectioner's sugar

1. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and cream. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat, and simmer for 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, add chocolate and butter, stirring until melted and smooth. Let stand 10 minutes. Whisk in confectioner's sugar. Let mixture cool until it reaches a spreadable ocnsistency.

Tornado South of town

*****Note to Larry, the cake recipe is posted under the post: Something to do over the holiday weekend. I would have emailed you a copy, but you have no contact information attached to your post.


The John Deere Dealership North of town, you can see the tornado cloud South of town.

















The neighbor's trampoline caused damage to our son's car:


















The kids were anxious for Uncle Isaac to get up, first they sat at the top of the stairs watching the door to the guest room waiting for him to poke his head out,
that soon got tiresome, so they went and opened the door.















I am making Psalm 23 bracelets to send to my friend Karen in Colorado. She and her husband do mission trips to Canada every year. The older girls will be given a kit to allow them to learn the Psalm while stringing a piece of jewelry to help remember each day the gospel of the Lord. I made one for Miss O while visiting. She loved it and wore it each day:


















Here is Isaac playing a game with Noah, they were buddies the whole time after Noah was dismissed from the hospital:





















Miss O, here are the baby birds that hatched in Grandma's hanging basket on the porch.













Here is a picture of Noah's puppy, he had to endure the hospital stay with Noah, he had his own "LINUS" blanket to cover up with:
















Miss O at the hospital, she dressed herself, on the way out the door, she grabbed her little purple hat with the pink flower on it and popped it on her head, how cute it was!!!

Wanting to WIN FOR MY DAUGHTER

On this blog

Leaving for home today

As soon as Brian gets off of work at noon, we will be leaving for home.

Noah was released from the hospital yesterday, he is bouncing back, but slowly. Yesterday he laid and slept, his appetite isn't what it should be, but we are encouraging him. The Dr. said to have him drink, which is his weakness, I think that might be why he didn't bounce back from this the way his sister did, he is a poor drinker.

They make orange colored gatorade, and purple, so I came home with 2 bottles, one for him and Olivia. Amazingly, it is almost gone, he loves it!

Here are some pictures of the ordeal.
















The hospital has a project called the 'Linus' project. There is a group that makes blankets, they give them to the kids that come into the hospital sick. Noah's was 60"x80" and he loves it! He wrapped up in it and felt much better, more at ease and at home. The nurses at Avera St. Lukes were amazing, thanks, Nonah, you are the best!

Notice his sister had to go see him, she would wake up and ask if she could go see her brother, they are so close, it is really neat. I hope it lasts throughout their lives.

I tried to download pictures from my SD card, but Karen's pc isn't working right, so I can't, I think she needs more sheep. (Kids name for RAM) HAHA

God is good all the time

This is something that our pastor used to tell us each Sunday in church. I have struggled with a very personal issue for the last 4 years. I have prayed to God to tell me what to do, but I have not gotten an answer. (It is my lack of obedience in the Word that made the Lord not respond, or maybe He did, that still small voice might have been ignored)

Now, if you are one of my family members, read this entire thing before you start in with the personal thoughts and opinions. Mom, if you are reading this, I hope it makes you proud.

I have a stubborn personality, I got it from my genetic pool, there is no doubt about it. When I have an issue that troubles me, it is with me all the time. BUT I don't always handle it appropriately, I was not taught how to handle conflict and personal attacks. Instead of handling them head on, we allow them to fester and make us angrier, which allows a bigger grudge to grow, it is then harder to get rid of. It also becomes a hurdle you can't overcome. This is what happened to me.

Even though I am extremely embarrassed, I am going to share my struggle here with all of you. This issue has been resolved, anyway, it is in my mind.

4 years ago, a very important person in my life passed away from end stage emphysema. This man is the person that held the highest position in my life, he was my father in every aspect of the word. He 'inherited' me when he married my mom, she had me, I was a 3 year old and my brother, then 5. Right before passing, he underwent surgery to remove the lower portion of his colon, with the permanent placement of a colostomy. The combination of those two things are what ended his life, I believe.

Right after he passed, we learned that his funeral arrangements had not been taken care of, so it was up to all 8 siblings to share that expense. During the normal grieving period, we spent the time stressing over the money, how some of us would get ahold of that money, and how other finances might have to take a back seat because of that added responsibility. I was fortunate enough that I could write a check and take care of my portion of that bill. The stress it put on my siblings was something that I heard expressed more than once. They all stood up and did their part, and that made me proud of them. I was angry that the burden had been placed on us, I thought it should have been handled years before that.

Because of that, I have had anger that I have held onto like a trophy for the past 4 years. I didn't speak to my mother, because I felt she put us in that position, and I was damn mad about it. (excuse that word, if you will).

For the past 4 years, I have held onto that anger, I have not dealt with it, even though I knew it was something that would eat me alive inside.

I know all the bible verses that supported doing the right thing. BUT I CHOSE TO IGNORE them. I have a faith in the Lord, I know that when I have struggles, He is my salvation and my strength. Yes, I have all kinds of weaknesses, I don't always act like a Christian, but what most people don't understand is, we aren't perfect. Don't even claim to be, we are sinners, we struggle, fall and get back up and go on........the Lord is our guidance, if we let Him. If the church were for perfect people, it would sit empty.

For 4 years I have known I should not hold onto the anger that I did. Heck, my siblings got over it and moved on, they are more forgiving than I am, which is what makes me so proud of them. They were the ones affected, not me, so why did I act that way?

I found out Mom had cancer a couple weeks ago, I started to pray, asking God to allow me the courage and the dignity to approach her and try to put all our past behind us. I have a couple opinionated, pushy sisters that stick their noses into everything, even when it isn't something they should stick their noses into. They pushed me to go there (Mom's) without knowing I had already been. They also didn't know my heart, or that I have truly struggled with this. Even though they say they don't, I believe they think the worst of me in all situations. I also think it is because they have never taken the time to get to know me, it is easier to judge and pick than to even entertain for a minute the idea that they might be wrong. I know they are like that, because it is something that I struggle with myself. It is that darn genetic pool again.

I talked to Mom last week before I had to leave to go to Colorado for the wedding, it went really well. She even acted happy to see me, which surprised me, remember when I said if we don't handle our emotions and anger, it builds.............I had myself convinced she didn't like me and didn't want me around. I know that isn't true, now.

I have a daughter, we have an awesome relationship. I hope it stays that way, if she ever gets mad at me, I will knock on her door each day, but won't allow her to hold onto anger towards me.......I promise.

Mom, I am sorry, thank you for loving me and forgiving me. It is between you and me, it is not something I have discussed with anybody but Steve. I hope it stays that way. The waters get muddied when we allow others to intervene. They don't know my heart or yours, they can only speculate, but because they don't know how we feel, they get it wrong. More often than not.

For all you visitors to my blog, I apologize, I don't like blog posts where folks air their family matters, I will not do it again, I like my posts to be fun and light hearted.

Weddings, Illness and Blessings

Steve and I had the privelege of driving to Sterling Colorado to witness the marriage of my friend Karen's youngest daughter, Lacy to Darin Jost. The time we spent there was limited, but it was great to touch base with her and her family again. Her daughters, Lacy and Shanna are sweet spirits. We found great joy in seeing them......they are delightful, accomplished, confident, intelligent young women.


They have a son, Chris, who took the job of 'watching' over his sisters very seriously throughout their lives. He expressed a deep love and appreciation for them, as well as a deep sense of pride in them. We were impressed with him......we are going to start praying harder for a young woman to be his perfect mate. When he finds her, she will be a perfect compliment to his sweet spirit. Chris has many gifts to offer, God will continue to work in his life until the perfect time arrives. I will continue to pray for her arrival. It worked for us, Brian didn't stand a chance. So many of us prayed him in, then Karen did the rest. (I JEST, I JEST)

While enjoying the company of Karen and her family, our daughter Karen called us to tell us Noah was taken to the hospital, ill and lethargic, unresponsive with a fever. They were running tests on him for meningitis. (I was most concerned about the spinal tap, but he was a trooper during the whole thing.) We spent last evening in our hotel room praying for him, while trying to rest in case we needed to make a run to help them.

Today the preliminary test came back negative for meningitis, but positive for rotavirus. Karen is exhausted, Brian is out of hours that he can be absent from work. Karen called me to ask if I could come spend a few days with her to help her with Miss O. Steve and I just arrived home, I will sleep a few hours, then Isaac and I will drive help out while Noah gets the medical attention he needs from the hospital staff. God willing, he will get to come home on Monday.

Thank you all for your prayers while we have had this difficult, trying time, we have felt them, we praise God for his grace.

Thanks to Pastor Cary and his family for their continuous offers of assistance and support to our daughter and her family, they are an extension of her immediate family. Because of the distance, I am not always available to be there for her and the grandbabies, her church family willingly stands in the gap for us, it is a blessing to have people like them in your life.