Rebekah's first Christmas!

Rebekah is such a little ham! She had so much fun decorating for Christmas, well . . . rolling around playing with the ornaments, messing with the wrapping paper, and trying to unwrap every gift under the tree. But every moment of pulling her away or telling her "no" was worth it to see her face on Christmas morning. 

 Andrew and I decided that we want to give our children a Christmas Eve box with jammies, a movie and some other goodies, so here's miss cutie pants opening up her first Christmas Eve box. 

We're really happy for this wonderful time of year, and grateful for our loving Savior and all that he's done for us. It was such a blessing having Andrew's parents up for Christmas and experiencing Rebekah's first Christmas. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Leftover Christmas Soup.

Christmas leftovers are always great, I mean who doesn't love turkey and ham? But after a while turkey  and ham sandwiches get boring and start to taste bland. Besides when the weather is cold, freezing and there's like eight inches of snow you want something warm and filling...or at least I do. And, let's face it Rexburg has a ridiculous amount of snow. And, with all this snow I decided to turn my leftovers into a yummy soup instead.

It turned out absolutely delicious, and the best part--most of the ingredients are easily on hand and are probably collecting dust in your cupboard. ;) Which means you don't even have to step outside in the cold. Yay! 

Enjoy your soup with a nice slice of homemadebread or a loaf off French bread...okay maybe you'll need to go to the store after all. But this soup is simple, delicious and sure to become a new family favorite. :) 

Thanksgiving OH-IO style!

I haven't been home since my wedding, and quite frankly I forgot how much I missed my small town, Massillon, Ohio, until I was able to come home and visit again. Luckily, I didn't have to wait too long for that day to arrive. When we got back from our summer vacation to England I found a job and started working again, which meant we had more money, and I was finally able to go home and see my family again. YAY! :)

The best part is my siblings, aunts, uncles, and grandmas were able to meet Rebekah for the first time (Mom and Dad saw her when she was first born). She loved the attention, cuddles and kisses she got from everyone. Here are a few pictures from our trip. 

 

Rebekah is going through a weird phase where she's scared of tall men, well really all men, unless it's her daddy. It took her a while to warm up with Uncle Larry, but by the end of the trip they were best buds.

 

Rebekah is a super happy baby and warms up to strangers instantly. This picture is from the first night she met my older sister Athena and her kids; just look how cozy she looks! 

 

She also has a weird thing with holding people's chins for some reason. Anyway, I think this picture of Rach, Declan and Rebekah is adorable. :) 

 

We were able to get a nice four generation picture while I was home. Things were a little busy this day so we took this in McDonalds after lunch. I got a Big Mac, yum!  

 

 Rebekah loved spending time with Grandpa & Grandma, and would often play pass-the-baby with them.

Rebekah enjoyed spending time with her family. I've shared a few of my favorite pictures if her getting to know everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

While we were in Ohio, Rebekah had the chance to visit with Santa. She was a little scared, but it all got better with mommy holding her. :) 

Daddy's Cheeseburger Soup

Winter is here, and we all know that means colder weather, slushy snow, freezing wind and frost-bit checks. But winter also means it's time for lots of tasty soup and warm home-cooked meals. So it's time to dust off the crockpot and put it to use! My father makes the most delicious cheeseburger soup; it's quick, easy and tastes fabulous. It's my go-to soup in the winter, and I mademy first batch this a past week. 

The recipe is really quite simple. Most of the ingredients are usually on hand, and the rest of the ingredients are pretty cheap. 

You'll need 2 14.5 ounce cans of Chicken broth, 1 12 ounce can of evaporated milk, Veelveta cheese, carrots, onions, and celery. If you're like my family and love mushrooms, they make a great addition to this soup. Begin by chopping up the carrots ( i use my little chopper), celery, onions and mushrooms. Next melt 2 TBS of butter in a sauce pan, add the vegetables and sauté for 10 minutes. While the vegetables sauté begin to brown the hamburger. 

Drain the hamburger after it's done browning, and add the hamburger and chicken broth to the pan with vegetables. Bring the soup to a boil, cover and let simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, or until tender. When the potatoes are tender start adding cubes of Velveeta. The cheese can sometimes clump together, so make sure you constantly stir the soup as the cheese melts. Once the cheese melts you're ready to enjoy your delicious cheeseburger soup. YUM!

Busy Bees.

It's been ages since I've last updated the blog, and I'm not really sure what to write. Andrew will be graduating from school in April, and I graduate in July. It will feel weird not calling Rexburg home anymore, but I'm excited to see where our graduations lead us next. Rebekah is going to be one in like two months, and I seriously can't believe it's almost been a year since she was born. 

 

It's crazy how quickly she's growing up, but it's exciting watching her develop and grow. We bought her a gigantic cow a couple months ago that she absolutely adores, but for some reason she's terrified of Andrew's one cow that moos. She cries whenever he makes a noise and comes in for instant cuddles.

She's such a wonderful baby girl! She's happy all the time even when she's feeling poorly. She's started doing a one-armed zombie crawl to get around, and I'm sure she'll be crawling around terrorizing everything before I know it. She also loves clapping, and will mimic you if you clap. 

 We're going to Ohio in a couple of days, Andrew can't come with us because he'll be in school, but I'm so excited to see my family. It's been far to long, and I know they're all going to love Rebekah so much. It will be nice to have a break from work, and just be able to focus on spending time with my family. 

It will also be nice having time to write. Like I said, Rebekah is a really good baby so I usually have time to write during the day, but sometimes life gets in the way: the house needs cleaned, I have to work, or I want to spend my time working on other things. 

I have about fifteen chapters of my book done and am hoping to have a completed draft by the end of the year, so we'll see how that goes.
So, here's a copy of the first chapter of my book. Enjoy!

Four Months!

Dearest Rebekah,

At four months old you love to slobber all over your tiny little fists as you shove them in your month. You love laughing and will smile at almost anything. You love cuddling with mommy and daddy (we love it too!) You love playing with your elephant play mat. You flail your arms and kick your legs whenever the elephant plays music. You love your dummy very much and have started cuddling with your blankets. You've starting sleeping in your own room. You love riding in your stroller and like go bye byes. You love talking to mommy and daddy, your eyes light up whenever you speak to us. We love hearing your little coos.

Little bean, I can't believe you're already four months old! You're growing up way to fast kid, but mommy loves watching you learn and explore the world around you.

Mommy and daddy love you SO much Rebekah and we're so happy you're a part of our lives.

Love Mommy and Daddy

Creamy Crockpot Tomato Garlic Soup

Friday I made the most delicious Creamy Tomato Garlic Soup, I got my inspiration from Leigh Anne's recipe at http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/crock-pot-tomato-basil-soup/ and adjusted the recipe to fit my needs and the ingredients I had on hand. 

Here's what I came up with: