A Weekend Trip, An Adorable Niece and a Stomach Ulcer?!

So this past weekend my sister Beth and I took a quick trip out to California to visit my brother Mark, his wife Mindi and their new daughter Adalyn.

This was the first time that Beth and I have ever had the chance to get away together. A couple of things I realized on this trip...flying is WAY overrated. I don't love the waiting and the boarding and the concern about the luggage....or being squeezed between 2 strangers for 2+ hours...if you could fly anywhere in the US in under 2 hrs and no layovers....that would be ideal!

The other thing that I realized even more was just how awesome my sister is.  As kids we weren't really "friends". She always seemed so much younger than me. But now that we are both married and have kids...we do share some common ground and it was just so much fun getting to spend time talking about life together! She is just an awesome mom and we had such fun laughing together over our kids!

The main reason though that we went to CA was to see miss Adalyn.

Oh my goodness she is just a sweet ball of adorable!! She has such a nice personality. And while, like most babies, she had a few hours of "fussy" time in the evening....she was such a sweetie all day long that she is forgiven! ;)

Beth is giving her a little baby massage to calm her down one night and she was liking that! :) And Mark and Mindi are doing such a great job as parents...it is cool to see my little brother in that role - so very proud of them both!

The only down part to the trip was that I didn't sleep well...I woke up a couple of the nights with this bad pain in my stomach/rib cage.  I was worried that I was coming down with something or didn't know if it was nerves because of flying or what was going on.

The night I got home the symptoms got even worse and I was really hurting....turns out I have a stomach ulcer. Good times. Thankfully I have been feeling MUCH better today with the Prilosec I am on - but this is a reminder to me of how my health can suffer when I am trying to do too much and not taking good care of myself.

That is changing! And the how's and why's are details that are coming....but for now I will say that after this weekend I just feel so blessed. I have such a wonderful family, from my husband and kids that "let" me leave them for a weekend to a sister, brother and their families that make my life more full just having them in it! I am blessed!

(in) RL 2013 - Register today!!!

So one of my most favorite sites that I read almost every day, is (in)courage. They have writers and guest bloggers share their faith journey through encouraging posts. They also have fun giveaways, and it is where I signed up to review all of the beautiful Dayspring products that I have in my home!

Last year the women behind (in)courage decided to have a conference.....but they wanted to make it accessible to everyone - so they had an "online" conference of sorts. They encouraged women from across the globe to get together on a Saturday and share life.

I hosted last year and it was so much fun. There were only 4 of us - but we really had some great conversation and just enjoyed spending time with other women.

Well the conference was a hit and they are doing it again this year!

Starting today you can register and become a part of a group in your community. The actual day of the conference is April 27, 2013.

So what's this conference going to be about?? Well in their own words...

"This year we're taking a closer look at what it takes to stay rooted in community when sometimes just walking away would be so much easier and tons more convenient."

Oh and did I mention that it is free this year?! AND if you sign up today you will also get a (in)courage 365 Daybrightener...so don't wait!!

Check out the video below to learn more...and then register to attend in a community near you!! And if you are in the Marshall area (or want to make a road trip) sign up for the group I have already started!! I would love to host again...but also want to see if it is someone else's hearts desire to do it first! Either way I will be there and would love to hang with you!!

Taco Cups

So I have to start with a disclaimer that this recipe was not my idea....these are something that Markel (our wonderful daycare provider) makes for the kids. They are always a hit at her house and I am always looking for something new to try....so I thought I would give these a go.

This is such an easy recipe too - even better right!!

So here is the list of ingredients:

Wonton wrappers

Ground beef (browned)

Taco seasoning

Shredded cheese

Sour cream

Salsa

Black olives

So obviously you start by browning the hamburger and then add the taco seasoning according to the package directions.

To start assembling the taco cups, spray a regular sized muffin tin pan with cooking spray and put 1 wonton wrapper in each spot. ** Update - cook just the wonton wraps for 5 minutes so they crisp up and then add the meat** :)

Then add a spoonful of the taco meat to each cup.

Top with cheese....

Then bake in a 350 degree oven for approximately 15 minutes. I wanted to make sure that the wonton wrapper was a little crunchy....

Once they are out of the oven add any toppings you would like, sour cream, salsa, black olives etc...and there you have it!

 

A fun and easy recipe for the kids....and the adults loved them too! Markel said she also has made these with ham and cheese and the kids love those as well!

Thanks Markel for the fun idea and a new easy recipe for me to use at home!! :)

A new "space" for my writing!

Most of you may know this already....but if not I wanted to share with you that I now have a 2nd blog! Yikes right?! :)  I have had this blog since 2008, and for the most part I blog about my family....every once and awhile I was writing a more personal, heartfelt post.

But not as often as I would like.

But because of some exciting new developments, I knew that I needed a space where I could focus more on writing and sharing my "story".

And one afternoon, while I was at home baking Christmas cookies, the idea for The Riches of His Love was "born".  I am using a Wordpress site for that blog and it is WAY different than Blogger, and in my opinion, not as user friendly.  So it is pretty basic right now as I try and figure it out.

But I would love to have you stop over and check it out...and subscribe via email if you are at all inclined!! :) I am excited to see where this might take me and I would love to have you all along for the ride!