our happy, busy and crazy life

It's been awhile since my last post. I've said this before and I'll say it again, we've been busy! I think busy is unavoidable with 3 little ones around. I enjoy blogging (and reading my blog for memory purposes), but it gets put on a back burner to everything else. So here is an attempt to catch up! :)

 We celebrated Aaron's grandparents 50th anniversary!

 What an example!

 

 Lots of family came from far and near to celebrate. Aaron's immediate family is pictured here minus his youngest sister who was in Africa.

 

The twins started feeding themselves "big people food"

 

 one is messier than the other, but that's okay!

 

 Gideon decided to join Bethany in all things standing up,

 

which means nap time sometimes doubles as social hour.

 

 We love to get in our jammie jams and snuggle up

to read a good (or not so good) book!

 

The 3 kids and myself hopped in the van (after much planning and praying) and took a road trip...

 

 First stop...Mundelein, Illinois!

What is in Mundelein?? Only my best friend of 15'ish years!!

 

 We visited Westlake Christian Academy where Andrea is

a high school teacher. 

 

 We went into Chicago and walked along Navy Pier,

enjoyed deep dish pizza and lovely bathroom stops at

Bloomingdale's (seriously gorgeous bathrooms!)

 

 We took tons of pictures (way too many to post on here),

rode in a taxi cab, saw "the bean" and walked all over the city.

 



 The weather was beautiful though slightly chilly,

so we bundled up,

 



and enjoyed all the fun Chicago sights.

 



 I am so thankful for my best friend!

 

 

Our next stop was Michigan, Grand Rapids to be specific,

We stayed with family and enjoyed our time with them! 

 

We visited an orchard to get apples

 

 and of course we had to take a picture in the BIG

chair!

 

 Sweet cousins fell asleep after a crazy day!!...

 

A crazy day in which we visited with another dear friend Laura, and her

daughter, then we went to the orchard for apples, then the vans starter went out, then we drove up north to my favorite pizza place SPANKY'S!!! with my brother and his family and got a little disoriented (read lost). :) But we had Spanky's and a great laugh over the whole thing, so it was worth it all!

 

we visited my sister (check out her blog via the link) and her

family.

 

Bethany had her fill of snuggles with Aunt Renee,

 

 Uncle Brian

 

Uncle Josh and cousin Naomi! She was in heaven with

all the attention.

 

We saw all of our MI cousins, many of whom we watched

run the final mile of the Grand Rapids children's marathon

they participated in. Brian Marcus

and Ethan both ran really well! I will be running the

Dallas Turkey Trot 5k with them on Thanksgiving day.

Should be fun!

 Cousins Ruthie and Elsie are besties for sure.

These two were the best of buds during our visit.

Ruthie was so sweet with Gideon and helped me out

immensely taking care of him.

Lots of cousins!

 

Lots of fun!

 

And now we're 10 months old!

 

 

That about sums up our last several weeks. :) Thanks to my brother Josh, our van was fixed quickly and we were back on the road heading home to see Aaron on schedule! We had a wonderful visit, and God was gracious to give us a safe journey and wonderful travelers. Tune in soon for a post about road tripping alone with 3 kids...

 

 

Twice the FUN!

We get asked ALL the time "are they twins?" Or people will say "I had my children close together like that too...boom, boom, boom (yes, they include the booms!)!" They ask me if I feed Gideon more than Bethany, and they ask if they speak in a secret language yet. People ask if their personalities differ, and ARE THEY IDENTICAL!! (ha, this question still makes me laugh!)

 

I'll tell you what...they ARE twins! They ARE NOT identical! I do NOT feed Gideon more than Bethany! Their personalities differ a great deal! They do NOT have a secret language (at least not yet), though they do make each other laugh and "talk" back and forth from time to time!  

 

Also, in case you are wondering...they are not two for the price of one! That is a statement that some of the doctors and nurses would say to us at the hospital, and they of all people should know that twins, TWO, means DOUBLE!! As soon as they exited my womb, they cost double! From hospital bills, to formula to diapers and clothes! 

 

BUT!!! These adorable twins are TWICE the fun!! Maybe even more than that! They add so much joy to our lives! They fit right in, and what precious gifts from God they are.   

 

They turned  9 months old on Oct 17th!

 

Bethany Paige!! We affectionately refer to Bethany as Squirmy Worm! She is a mover! She crawls, pulls up, and walks along furniture. She is also a snuggle bug when her mood calls for it. She just melts right into you! She grew 2 teeth this month! She is hanging out in her 6-9 month clothes, but will soon move on up to her 12 month wardrobe. She is eating more and more solid food. She is adorable when she laughs! We just love her SO very much!  

Gideon Michael!! He is super sweet. He is pretty chill EXCEPT when he is hungry! He is passionate about food! Clearly he is starving...can't you tell!!??!! ;) So long as his belly is full, he is genuinely a content little man. He is wearing 12 month clothing and will soon move up to 18 month. He has 5 teeth and is working on another. He is a professional army crawler. He recently started pulling himself up on furniture. He talks a lot, and loudly! He is waving hi from time to time, gives high fives and sweet kisses! This man melts our hearts! We love him SO much!!   

if you wanna be happy for the rest of your life...

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life...try these recipes! I know, I know, every recipe anyone posts is THE BEST RECIPE EVER!!! So I am not going to say that! What I am going to say is here are two incredibly scrumptious desserts that are very simple to put together.

 

First up we have mini cheesecakes. If you like cheesecake and you like easy, this is a your recipe. I made these for Aaron's grandparents 50th anniversary party this weekend, and they were a hit. They even looked mostly pretty! I topped them with cherry pie filling per special request, but they could have any number of toppings on them including chocolate, caramel, any fruit pie filling, crumbled oreos...and the list could go on. Without further ado, here is the recipe.

 

Mini Cheesecakes

 

2-8oz cream cheese, (softened, very important)

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 C. sugar

1 T. lemon juice

18 nilla wafers

topping of choice

 

Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add cream cheese and mix until creamy. Add vanilla, lemon juice and sugar and mix until smooth. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 18 cupcake liners in muffin pan, then place 1 nilla wafer in the bottom of each liner. Pour batter in cupcake liners. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Let cool completely on counter. Refrigerate for a couple of hours then add desired topping.

 

and voila...

 

 

 

 

 

Next up is a new favorite in our home. Reese's Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip!!!!!!! I am not kidding when I say this one is addictive! I innocently whipped some up one evening when we were having family over, and boy howdy!! It was delish!

 

 

Reese's Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip

 

1/2 C. unsalted butter

1/2 C. brown sugar

1/4 C. peanut butter

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

3/4 C. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 C. mini chocolate chips

1 C. crushed reese's pieces peanut butter cups, or 1 C. reese's chips

nilla wafers, pretzels, graham crackers...

 

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in brown sugar and heat until dissolved. Remove from heat, add vanilla and cool to room temp. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and peanut butter until creamy (approx. 3 minutes). Add crown sugar mixture and stir in. Gently fold in chocolate and reese's. Serve immediately, or chill and set out 10 minutes prior to serving so it can soften some. Serve with graham crackers, nilla wafers, pretzels, or just eat with a spoon!!

 

This won't disappoint!



 

(sorry for a bad picture)

 

 

Happy Fall!

The word that comes to mind when I think of fall is crisp. Crisp air (these last few mornings have been glorious!! Crisp and cool). Crisp leaves. Crisp apples (or apple crisp...that works too!). I spent all of my growing up years into my twenties in Michigan, where fall is gorgeous! The leaves turn such beautiful colors, nearly every fall day is crisp (or freezing), and apples and apple cider are plentiful. Almost ten years ago I moved to Texas, and fall felt a lot more like summer. Even my years spent in Oklahoma the fall weather wasn't so fall'ish. Nevertheless, fall is still my favorite season of all! So far this year fall has come in with the perfect weather, I am not however holding my breath that it will stay. I decorated our home and our porch with lovely fall decorations, and even if the weather is 95 degrees, I will still enjoy the memories of falls in Michigan surrounded by my decorations. 

 

 Here is my Pinterest inspired creation.

You may have seen this idea floating around on Pinterest.

 

 

 I love crafting!

 

 A little fall in our kitchen

My new favorite candles! They smell amazing,

burn well, oh, and they smell AMAZING!!

http://www.circleecandles.com/

Twinkling Along

We have been busy. A new busy for us. A good busy! Here's a glimpse into our lives. 

 

 Going to the lake for the first time

 

and eating fast so he can get back in the water and sand.

 

Relaxing like a pro.

 Watching the sunset

   and holding two babies at once, even though they are getting big!

It's what parents of twins do!

 

Making happy squeals and laughing 

 because big brother is always making them laugh!

 

Taking walks around the neighborhood,

smiling at all the neighbors we meet.

Watching golfers

and playing with leaves, while wishing it were cooler fall temps.

Exploring the yard, deciding if grass is okay or not.

Playing with cousins,

teaching little sister how to stand up and climb,

and just being sweet brothers.

Crawling to the bedroom for nighttime prayers,

and always watching big brother, and following him around.

My 3 sweets!

Jason & Gideon are teething, while Bethany is content

with a toothless mouth.

Bethany crawls, and Gideon army crawls. 

Whatever their method of getting around, all 3

are very mobile!

Gideon is content to lay around and scoot around,

while Bethany explores pulling up on furniture and

sitting up all the time.

Jason plays Handy Manny and also enjoys all things

playdoh, coloring, cars, books, and blocks. He is saying so

many big phrases/sentences now, some that crack us up!, others

we'd be okay never hearing again.

I am so happy and blessed to be their mama!

 

We have been spending lots of time with family. Rekindling old friendships and making new friends. Finding new parks. Attending cousins birthday parties. Looking for a church. Swimming. Trying new recipes. Crafting. Meeting our new nephew. Taking lots of walks. Going to the store. Going on dates. We are enjoying life! God is good!