Happier Post

Okay, so life has been all sorts of crazy lately. I was just looking through my last 10 posts or so, and while they have been a snapshot of life for us, they are kind of sad or dramatic posts. I gotta fix that....

God has been so good and has been taking care of us. Even through the stressful situations, we are still a solid, happy family. We have been having lots of snuggle time and the girls are learning and growing so much! They love taking pictures on PhotoBooth lately, and I wanted to share some funny and sweet pictures of our family! I just love these goofballs! I finally have people as silly as me to hang out with! Woohoo! Here we are...

See? Things are good!! :) We hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Hangin' In There

Well, we are missing Toby SO bad right now, but are doing okay! God is amazing!

I have to record this story, because (to me), it was truly remarkable...You see, Toby was found to have cancer in his stomach and intestines. This was the reason he was throwing up every single thing he ate. He just couldn't eat anymore.

So after finding out this terrible news, we made the appointment, and frankly I was too sick to my stomach to care about dinner. The toddlers of the house were very interested in dinner, however! So Eric went and got Toby's favorite...french fries and hamburgers. :) Toby didn't get a lot of table scraps anymore, but in his younger years, he LIVED for the occasional dropped french fry.

I gave him 2 french fries as a last meal of sorts. Then Lexi threw a tablespoon-sized chunk of her hamburger to him. Eric and I screamed and tried to grab it, but he got it first. :) I was really nervous he would be sick, but he didn't throw up!! It was such a God thing!

MY sweet baby got a last meal, and it was his absolute favorite! God allowed him that tender and small joy! That may sound crazy to some of you, but Eric and I smiled about that a LOT this weekend. My sweet baby went to bed soooooo happy that night!!

And in the meantime, we have these GORGEOUS faces to keep us smiling...

Toby, Our Darling Dog

I hate that I even have to make this post, but here goes...

Our sweet, adorable, and beloved Toby (Tobsters, Toby Wan Canoby, Toby-Woby, etc...) passed away this afternoon...(September 3rd, I started this post last night so the date is incorrect above). It was a horrible and heart-wrenching day, but we will get through it eventually. For those that don't know, Toby would have been 16 years old this November.

He was a special gift to my mom when she was sick with cancer. I was 14 years old! I have had Toby as a family member/dog for more than half my life. He had a wonderful life and was the best dog I could have ever asked for. Things will never be the same.

The girls did really well. I think there is a little confusion, but we told them to hug and kiss him goodbye cause he was sick and needed to go to heaven. They seemed to like that explanation and gave him LOTS of love today.

Eric has been AMAZING!!! He loves that dog like I do and as if he had gotten him as a kid too. I always knew that whoever I married would have to love Toby as much as I did. To me, dogs are part of the family. Anyway, Eric has been there for me more than I ever could have imagined.

We brought him home and placed him in a very special spot in the backyard. We planted a beautiful Oklahoma Redbud tree over him and told the girls that it was Toby's tree. We hope that even if we don't live here forever, that the tree will always be a tribute to our beautiful little friend and that the tree will bring joy to new owners, just as Toby always brought joy to us!

What would a blog post of mine be without loads of pictures?!

Some older pictures...

This summer...Lexi and her buddy!

Me and my sweetie on Wednesday...

Sweet Lilly holding her friend...

My guy today...

And yes folks, the girls ARE wearing socks on their hands. Don't ask...

My guys!

Toby met his tree this afternoon...

Goodbye sweet friend! We will never, ever forget you! You have no idea how many people loved you and will miss you!

Beef Noodle Bowl

As I mentioned before, I have been trying lots and lots of new recipes. I saw this one on Finding Joy in My Kitchen and modified it a little bit. It is great for a busy night when you need something filling and comforting, but FAST!

Beef Noodle Bowl

1/2 lb. linguine, uncooked
3 C broccoli florets

1 bell pepper, any color
2 cups carrots (I used sliced baby carrots)
1 lb. beef sirloin steak, cut into strips
1/4 C Fat Free Zesty Italian Dressing
1/4 C Soy Sauce

Cook your pasta. While pasta is boiling, cook beef in a saucepan until browned on both sides. I used pre-cooked fajita beef strips, so I didn't have to wait! :)

Cut up carrots and bell pepper, then add to the saucepan with the beef strips. Stir together the soy sauce and the italian dressing. Simmer the veggies, beef, and sauce together until the veggies are tender.

Drain pasta, add meat/veggie mixture, toss to coat! This was really good and the girls said, "MMMmmm, yummy!" after almost every bite. We will definitely try this one again!

Day at the Grandparents

We hadn't seen my Dad and Debbie for a while, so we packed up the girls on Saturday to head to Dallas. We had such a FUN time! The girls were content to run up and down the stairs and get into everything they shouldn't. But then they got the tricycles out! The girls are super hooked!! Christmas present idea received....

They both stared at their feet but wouldn't steer. It was funny watching them go straight into the bushes or make Papa walk in circles. :)

Papa and Lilly

Lexi riding with Papa's help.
Both on the move! Watch out world!
Lexi was in pink...

Afterwards we went to the backyard. The girls LOVED everything back there, from the plants, to the birds, to the big deck. They LOVED playing back there.

Here was a favorite...swinging!
Anything involving water is fun!
The girls had fun sticking their bottoms into the stream of water...
Then Nana had a great idea...pull out the wash tub and let the girls play in the water. I had swimsuits for them, but we just went with swim diapers instead. They're kids, why not!

Papa spraying Lilly. :)
It doesn't really look like it, but this is the face of a little girl giving a happy shout!
Lexi got comfortable!
Then they decided to share a little bit...
This is my favorite one...Lexi had just said, "We're twins!"
Make a funny face, Lexi!

Recipes

I don't know about you, but I am obsessed with finding new yummy and healthy recipes. This summer I had a lot of fun making new recipes for the family. Last week, I made 4 new recipes. I thought I would share a few. I always check Finding Joy in My Kitchen first. I just LOVE her recipes and her dedication to limiting processed foods.

Here are a handful of recipes on my list to try soon...

Whole Wheat English Muffins

http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2010/01/wheat-english-muffins.html

Spinach Squares

http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2010/07/spinach-squares.html

Refrigerator Pickles

http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2010/08/refrigerator-pickles.html

Creamy Tomato Basil Bisque

http://stolenmomentscooking.com/creamy-tomato-basil-bisque/

Stuffed Italian Chicken

http://www.simplysugarandglutenfree.com/stuffed-italian-chicken/

Cheesy Crackers

http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2010/08/cheesy-crackers.html

Garden Veggie Quiche

http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2009/07/garden-veggie-quiche.html

Zucchini Melts

http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2010/08/zucchini-melts.html

Zucchini Mac

http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2010/07/zucchini-mac.html

I have a severe love affair with zucchini right now. I have made 4-5 zucchini recipes this month and plan to make a few new ones this weekend.

Here are some of my favorite recipes from the summer. I plan to try many, many more though! I also have a list ready for the cooler fall weather. The Barley Bake is one of my all time favorites too, and the rhubarb dessert was the first time I had ever eaten rhubarb. It was good!!

http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2009/10/wild-rice-hotdish.html

http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2009/05/ranch-chicken-parmesan.html

http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2009/12/chicken-mushroom-and-brown-rice-bake.html

http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2010/04/barley-bake.html

http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2010/05/rhubarb-dessert.html

http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2009/07/zucchini-parmesan.html

Whew!

WOW!!!! That is all I can say! I am so stinkin' proud of my girl! The technician asked her to sit really still and BOY did she. He later told her she could move and she stayed frozen. :) I took a few pictures to show Eric (he really wanted to be with us, but it was better to take Lilly home). I also thought some of the pictures were pretty cool for the blog too.

I know the head wrap looks super serious, but she just had a lot of probes stuck to her head and the wrap was to keep everything in its place. She smiled and watched tv while getting set up.

What is that crazy man doing to your head, Lex?

Here is a scan of her sitting still watching cartoons. She was mellow and happy. Not a lot going on...

The wire directly under her eye was to monitor her eye blinks...and she is smiling, because as it turns out, she likes Spongebob Squarepants. :)
She had fun putting her feet up on the bed and giggling that the bed was cold and it tickled her toes...
Hanging out with my sweet chubby cheeks!
I finally got her to fall asleep. This took some time, but she needed a nap and she was starting to get restless. We had 2 more hours to go. So I rocked her to sleep and then had to prop her head up with our diaper pouch.
Now the funniest thing happened when she fell asleep...her scans went nuts! I asked a tech if it was normal to see this kind of thing and she said yes. Remember her mellow, awake scan above?? I guess my girl was dreaming. There were some REALLY big spikes that corresponded with twitching toes and fingers too. :)
So all in all, how do you feel about the test, Lexi??
Obviously, she is ambivalent. :) She enjoyed her reward dinner of pancakes. Her and Lilly sat across the table from each other and tried their hardest to make each other giggle. I think some of the grandmothers sitting close by enjoyed the show. I know I did!!