Thanksgiving Fun!!

I know I'm a little late!! But I still wanted to share our day! This year is the first year in many years that I haven't had Thanksgiving dinner at my house!! I was thrilled!! Thanks to Steve and Beck, it was a wonderful day filled with family fun!! Kali Faith- I am most thankful for her engaging personality! She kind reminds me of a little angel I know!! I love her humor...her faces...her sayings...and of course those big brown eyes!!
Aunt Beck leads us in devotions!
The Family (table 1)
The Family (table 2)
Truman, Jake, Taiji- I love these boys! They are always a plethora of information...even if it's wrong...they love each other and adore their little sis!! I'm so thankful that they each have a personal relationship with God and that they are always trying to do what is right. I love their prayers...smiles...and sense of humor!! We are so blessed!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving Day to all!!

Getting ready for Christmas!!

Deck update & Oranges!

We are close...from the mouth of the contractor, "We should be done by Monday!" I'm not so sure...but it's nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel!!
Not only did we gain square footage...but it's safe and looks good!
The view from the platform!
Now for a completely unrelated topic...Kali has discovered peeling oranges. Yes very cute, however she doesn't eat the orange!
But who could say 'no' to that face!?!

Monday Night Football!!

Fun Friday!!

Fun Friday started with a visit from cousin Tessa. In between running all over the house, screaming and pulling out every toy we own...they managed to read a little!! Kali & Tessa
New Favorite thing...playdough!! Note the fun retro purple!!
Cheese!!!
Ummmm....yummy chocolate!!! Helping with the dishes as mom makes some cookies!! Nothing more fun on Fun Friday than licking the spoon clean!!

Hope you have a great weekend!!

Couple of Recipes and a cool website!!

Yesterday I made some lasagna for some friends that had a rough day...I asked her if she thought it was blog worthy and she said yes...so the first recipe is for a Chicken Lasagna. The second one was a base recipe a friend gave me and she told me to play with it to see what I could come up with...well I'm gonna call this one Rockin' Black bean salsa soup!!

Chicken Lasagna
Lasagna Noodles (9 cooked)
4C. Cooked chicken (Roasted chicken from costco...works wonders $4.99)
1 can cream of chix soup
1 can cream of mush soup
1 C. Parmesan Cheese
8oz Sour Cream
1/4C Chopped onion
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
16oz. Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Mix all ingredients together well. In a 9x13 pan, layer chicken mixture, noodles, cheese, noodles, chicken mixture, cheese, noodles, and chicken mixture. Bake, covered at 350 for 30 to 40 min. Sprinkle with a bit more cheese and bake, uncovered, 10 minutes more.

Rockin' Black Bean Salsa Soup!
2 cans of Chicken Broth
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can refried black beans
1 sm can green chile's (choose your temp)
1/2 C. Pace Chunky salsa (choose your temp)
1 C. Pico de gallo (Lynden readers use El Ranchito's...YUM!)
1 1/2 C. Roasted shredded chicken (are you seeing the pattern here?)

Combined all ingredients except the chicken and pico. Mix well and bring to a boil. Boil for a few minutes and then reduce the heat to simmer. Add the chicken and pico. Let simmer for about 20 mins. I tell ya...serve this one with a few tortilla strips and a little avocado and...YUM!!! You can make this as hot or not as you want. I added a little Fiesta Party mix from tastefully simple and that really kicked mine up a notch!!

Ok and last but not least...I was told about a really cool website that has great holiday recipes and a ton of them. So for all you cooks and holiday bakers...check this one out!!
Mrs. Claus' Cookbook

Deck Update!

As you can see things are coming along...should be done just in time for our first snow!! Oh well, at least we will be able to enjoy it as soon as spring hits next year!! The little platform has a great view of Mt. Baker...and the next phase we are thinking about covering it and adding light and heat!!
We've added quite a bit of space on the main part of the deck...great for entertaining!!
Just a little view of the steps and the mess below!! Another project come spring!!

Happy Halloween!!