Spring Fever

I am not sure about y'all but we are super ready for warmer weather! Thank goodness we have had a little glimpse of the warmer weather to come!

We have been getting outside a lot more lately! We have also been enjoying the "perks" of small town living!

New addition

In February our family grew... By four legs! We added a puppy to our crew! Her name is Lucy and he is a chocolate lab! She is an awesome dog and we are really enjoying her! I think she is going to make a great addition!

Party Time

This past month has been a busy month full of fun birthdays! We celebrated Nana, Dubba D, a cousin, and two sweet friends!

Of course through all the celebrating Ella Ruth had an amazing time! She even got to test out her artistic skills!

Pinterest Favorites

Last year I discovered Pinterest and my world was forever changed!  I know that "forever changed" is a strong use of words but it really has!  From home decorating ideas, recipes, and toddler projects I am inspired.  Although it can sometimes become a bit overwhelming, I try to keep it simple and not get intimidated by the amount of information it contains.  Sometimes you can start to feel like you need to cook, clean, and organize 24/7 to keep up with the others out there!  

My favorite finds from Pinterests have the be the recipes!  I have not made the same recipe twice since JULY.  You read that right.  Since July, I have not made the same dish twice for dinner.  We have had favorites, but my love for discovering new things distracts me from going back to them.  I have never really been a fan of the "rotationally meal" schedule (you know, taco night, spaghetti night, etc.)!  

To share my new found love for Pinterest recipes I thought I would share a few.  I am going to try to blog more often about my "treasures" so that others can enjoy what we are!  I hope to share more than just recipes too!  

Mexican Stuffed Shells

A friend at work told me about these and they did not disapoint!  Our grocery store was out of shells when I went so I just used plain old rigatoni style pasta and it was still delicious!  You don't think this would be any good, but OH BOY, it is!  I used a yummy mango salsa we had on hand I really think the sweetness made it even better!  

Black Bean Crunchy Tacos

We love mexican food!  It is no secret.  At least once a week I try to cook something with those flavors I love so much!  A couple weeks ago I discovered this recipe for black bean tacos!  I was most excited that this recipe is meatless!  That is a big money saver at the grocery store!  I paired these with yellow rice and it was a super yummy meal! 

Cake Batter Truffles

This yummy sweet treat was one of the first Pinterest recipes I made.  I took these along on a girls trip and they were a huge hit.  These are super easy but look difficult!  A lot of people have asked for the recipe.  That is a good sign right?  

Tonight we are having a yummy find from Skinnytaste.com.  This is another great blog/website I have discovered through Pinterest.  I am hoping to try more of their recipes so I will keep you posted if they are successful!  

A Princess and a Puppy

This past weekend we enjoyed beautif weather and lots of time outside. On Sayurday we helped celebrate some dear friends little girls first birthday. It was a princess theme but of course ER wasn't very interested. She discovered riding in the kiddie gator was much more exciting. She did manage to talk her daddy into playing in the castle so I guess there is still a girly girl in there somewhere!

On Sunday we spent another amazing day outside! We visited a local park and met the cutest puppy! Forget baby fever! We have puppy fever now! We have our eye on a couple breeders and have made a couple contacts! I am not sure if we will commit to adding a fur baby to our family this year but thinking about it sure is fun!

Santa Clause Came to Town!

For the last two years "Santa" has visited our house.  This year our little elf understood what was going to happen a bit better so Christmas morning was a very exciting time for us!  Every time we asked Ella Ruth what Santa was going to bring her she asked for a blue Choo Choo.  Thankfully she requested the same toy each time.  We were also thankful her request was going to be an easy one to fill.  Because we weren't sure if her train obsession would last, we chose a simple Thomas the Train track.  She later asked for a pink train too so we also got her Rosie!  She was very excited to see the train in the living room and ask us to play trains with her a lot now!

This Christmas we also started a tradition we hope will stick in the future.  We decided to keep Santa's gifts simple by only purchasing a few things rather than a ton.  Overall ER received a Choo Choo, a camera, bath toys, clothes, a book, and a movie.  In her stocking she got a big sucker, stickers, and a small coloring book.  She also got an orange, a family tradition!

She was also very blessed by many family members too!  She loves all her toys.  This past week I reorganized and cleaned out!  She is such a lucky little girl!  :)

Test Driving her new Bug from Birdie!  My parents gave her a portable DVD player!  

THE choo choo!  

Her loot from Santa!  

Christmas 2012

Christmas is always a busy time for us.  Fortunately we have lots of family gatherings to attend!  Although it makes for a busy Christmas Eve and Christmas day we enjoy it and love spending time with those we love (and don't get to see as often as we would like).

Our celebrations begin the 23rd at "Cookie Night."  This event started YEARS ago when Preston was just a little boy.  His aunt kept the kids over night so that Santa could get everything ready for the big night!  We now enjoy this celebration with our child, niece and nephew, and a TON of extended relatives and friends.  This year almost 30 people were there!  Of course we decorate cookies but we mostly hang out, eat yummy food, and try not to break any bones (this has happened A FEW TIMES).

Christmas Eve is spent with my side of the family.  We also enjoy time with my in-laws.  We always have a great time and have especially had fun watching ER with her cousins.

On Christmas day we host breakfast with my parents and grandparents.  We then head over to Preston's grandmothers which was only a short walk for us this year!  At night we travel a few miles down the road to end our day with my dad's side of the family.  There are lots of older kids in this family so of course Ella Ruth was in heaven!  She loves all the attention she gets from them although she claims she is "shy."  Ha!

Overall we had an amazing few days of celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  As Ella Ruth would say, "Appy Burday Gigi" (Happy Birthday, Jesus!)!

The decorated cookies!  

Sweet Lindsey helping Ella Ruth decorate!  

Ella Ruth's first cookie!  

Watching Christmas movies with her cousins (sorry for the picture quality)!  

Christmas Eve

More Christmas movies in their Christmas PJ's!  

Skipping rocks on Christmas Day!  

Trying on her new glasses (not real) Nana gave her!  She loves glasses!  

More cousin love Christmas night!