Have a Very Merry Christmas!

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!! I hope your holidays are filled with lots of fun, good food, good presents and quality time spent with family! And if your holidays are stressful, just take a deep breath and try to enjoy!! Then turn on Alivin and the Chipmunks Christmas music, and that is bound to make you feel better!!

Love you all!

Wes, Stacy, Preston and Baby

Time Out Austin!

In preparation for the birth of our next little boy, we thought it would be a good idea to get Preston a baby doll that he can take care of as I take care of Baby Cook. (Ok, it was all my idea, but hey, he's going to be an androgynous male when he grows up.) When I was in Memphis, I found this cabbage patch from when I was little and I thought it would be perfect! I know, I know, the doll is wearing pink but that's only because I haven't had a chance to get any boy clothes for him. His name is Baby Austin, named after Preston's favorite Backyardigans character.

Well, today Preston was put in time out for jumping up and down on me and screaming while I was talking on the phone....yeah I know, he's a hooligan. Anyway, after he got out of time-out, he headed straight for poor baby Austin and said "Time Out!" and put him on the couch with the timer that we use for Preston's time-outs and proceeded to set it and leave. I felt bad for little Austin, but he just kept smiling it and it never seem to get to him!

Nana's Cinnamon Bread- Taste Test Tuesday

For Taste Test Tuesday today, I'm going to attempt to make a favorite childhood recipe of mine. Every time we would go over to my Nana's house, I would hope that she would have some cinnamon bread that we could have for breakfast. She would toast it up and slather butter on it and it was so yummy!

So, let's see how I did!

Here's the recipe:

Nana's Cinnamon Bread

2 pkg. yeast

1/2c. warm water

1 tablespoon sugar

1 c. boiling water

1/2 c. shortening

1 c. cold water

1 c. sugar

1 tablespoon salt

2 beaten eggs

7 1/2 c. flour

1/2 stick of butter or margarine

cinnamon & sugar

Frosting: powdered sugar, milk and vanilla.

In a small bowl, dissolve 2 pkg. yeast in 1/2 c. warm water and 1 tablespoon sugar. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine : 1 cup bowling water, 1/2 cup shortening, 1 cup cold water, 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon salt and 2 beaten eggs.

Once combined, slowly add half of the 7 & 1/2 flour, then add the yeast mixture and then the remaining flour. Mix until dough forms into a ball.

Let rise in a greased bowl covered with greased plastic wrap or a towel, about an hour in a warm place.

Put out on counter top and knead until all the bubbles are out. Next divide the dough into 3 equal parts.

Here's how my dough looked

Then form into a square, not sure how big, but about this big! :)

Spread with butter and then sprinkle heavily with cinnamon and sugar.

Once you have done this, roll into a loaf with seam side down. Make sure to tuck in the ends.

Place in a greased loaf pan and let rise for 1-2 hours depending on the heat in your house. It took mine a long time to rise. You will want it to be about an inch above the top of the loaf pan.

Repeat this process 2 more times.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes and the top sounds hollow when you tap on it.

Here's my finished loaf. Pretty huh?? Well, it wouldn't be right of me to keep from you that 2 of my other loaves were not so pretty. Here's a picture.

The picture really doesn't do it justice, but it was definitely flat and not as beautiful as my other one. Don't worry though, it still tastes good!

Lastly, combine powdered sugar, milk and vanilla to make a yummy frosting.

Here's the finished product from my reject loaf. Yummy!

Old Navy Outerwear Sale!

Here's a good deal I stumbled upon....

Old Navy has their outerwear for Baby Boys 0-5T and Baby Girls 0-5T for under $20!! They have some really nice coats in the boys section for $15! They also have snowpants and boots.

You can also get free shipping with the code: JOY (This code lasts until the 16th)

Girls Link: http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/category.do?cid=37220&sizDivReset=true

Boys Link: http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/category.do?cid=37192

I like to buy ahead and so I figure maybe I'm not the only one! Enjoy!

A Lazy Woman's Christmas Card

(Nothing says Merry Christmas like a big cheesy grin!)

I decided today that we're not going to send out Christmas cards this year. I love getting them from others, but I think I'm going to wait until our new baby is here and then send out a picture of the whole family! But, I figured it's been a while since I've updated everyone on what's going on over in our neck of the woods so here goes!

Baby Cook- He is doing so great. He is kicking and moving a lot! I'm getting bigger and bigger everyday and starting to feel uncomfortable. And I still have a ways to go...... I found out that I was slightly anemic at my last appt. so I've been trying to eat more red meat and also taking iron supplements. I guess it's a good excuse to get Wes to take me to Logan's Roadhouse! Baby Cook's due date is still March 11th and we are looking so forward to it! Maybe not the birth part, but at least from after that point on! And no....still no name. Thanks for all who participated in the poll, but Wes is not ready to commit yet.....hopefully by March 11th!!

Preston- He continues to be a combination of funniness, naughtiness and cuteness all rolled in one. Winter has been really boring for us since there is not much we can do except go shopping or do stuff like that! He also has become severely independent this past month. He feels that he is too old to sit in a high chair or booster seat, he doesn't think the carseat applies to him anymore and he also wants to walk everywhere we go instead of going in the stroller or cart. Now you can understand why we never leave the house!

But he is talking a lot more, which is fun. He loves Christmas lights and riding on Wes' back like he is on a horse. He even says Ye-haw. He also has developed a love affair for trains and will go around the house saying "Toot, Toot, All Aboard!!" The greatest thing he has done lately is staying in his big boy bed. The transition was way less painful than what I expected. He still waits for us to get him out of the bed in the morning. It's pretty cute.

Wes and I- Wes and I volunteered at our church to flip pancakes for the meeting they were having and everyone was so impressed how creative Wes' pancakes were. Mine on the other hand were not so good. Oops. Maybe I need a Taste Test Tuesday on how to actually flip pancakes! We are in a Bible study on Monday nights and then we joined a small group at our new church that meets every other Friday night. We have had a lot of fun at both of these.

We also continue to pray for Wes' job as times are a little scary right now. They laid off 30 people at his work last week, but we're hoping they are done for awhile. There is a lot of employees (200-300) but it's still a little scary! We do know that God is in control and that is what keeps our attitudes up.

We are hosting all of my family at our house this Christmas which we are really excited about. All of us should be there, which is a first in a long time!

Well I will be writing more before Christmas, but in lieu of a Christmas card....here you go!!

I love getting up early!!

Don't know why the picture is sideways but these are our free movie tickets!!

Okay, I really hate getting up early, but today we had a really great excuse! Yesterday I read on my slickdeals website that I frequent for good deals that Old Navy was offering 4 free movie tickets to the first 50 in line with a $20 purchase! It just so happens that Wes is in desperate need of some jeans so we thought this would be our chance to get some!

We got up at 7:10 and woke up Preston and got all bundled up and showed up at Old Navy at 7:30. We were about the 5th car but thankfully everyone stayed in their cars until 7:45. We had a parking spot right out front, so Wes went in line and then I was able to wait until they opened the doors to get Preston out. So, by 8am there was only 11 people in line so I was able to get out of the car and go straight in and get my free tickets too without having to wait in line.

Wes got 2 pairs of jeans and we got 8 free movie tickets!! We were so excited that everything went smoothly. We were back home by 8:20am. I love good deals!!!

Applesauce- Cinnamon Ornaments- Taste Test Tuesday

Ho ho ho!! Merry almost Christmas! For today's Taste Test Tuesday, we are making a treat that I guess you could say is edible, but the purpose is to make your house smell wonderful, like a Christmas wonderland!!

Here's the cast of characters:

The Recipe: Applesauce Cinnamon Ornaments (froms COOKS.COM)

1 c. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 c. applesauce

Mix dry ingredients. Add applesauce a little at a time. Mixture should have the same consistency of playdough. If too dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of applesauce. Roll 1/4 inch thick on ungreased surface. If too sticky, sprinkle with ground cinnamon. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on level surface to dry 4-5 days. Insert fine wire at top of ornament before drying. Tie with ribbon. Yield 2 dozen.

Today I had a little helper elf in the kitchen.

Here's the mixture before you add the applesauce.

Here's the mixture before you roll it out. I wasn't really good at measuring out the applesauce, I kinda just eyed it. But you want it to be pretty firm so you can roll it out.

Here's what the mixture looks like all rolled out.

Preston did a pretty good job at his first run as chef in the kitchen. We did Gingerbread Men as our cookie cutter and unfortunately there were many legs and arms that were amputated by the little blond boy. I tried to save some, but I couldn't save them all!

They smell so good when you're finished...I just love them! Enjoy!

God Still Works Miracles!!

I just wanted to relate to you guys what happened at church this Sunday as proof that God is still working in people's lives! We had a sermon about the fear of dying and why it is normal to fear death, but also that if you are saved, you have no reason to fear because you are immediately ushered into God's prescence.

Well, at the end of the sermon, our pastor gave a VERY clear message of salvation, saying you can know for sure if you are saved and that there should be no confusion. He said that you do not have to wait until you are good enough or have your life in order and that today you can accept Christ. They played the invitation song and right at the end of the invitation song, an 88 year old woman came down the aisle to give her life to Christ! The whole church sprang to their feet and applauded her! Can you imagine being 88 years old and realizing you had missed God's call your whole life? So, she said her confession out loud and she even finished repeating it before the pastor said it...she was so excited.

Wes and I, being the softies that we are, were so touched! I had tears running down my face and Wes apparently had something in his eye. Haha. :) So, whether you are a Christian or not, please be encouraged especially during these tough times that we have a God who is bigger than all of our problems who is waiting for us to come running back to His arms! Even if you are 88 years old! It's not too late.

Mimi's House--A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Hey, it's Preston here! I have had such a fun time at my Mimi and Bapa's house. Here's a few of the things I did.....

Bathtime at Mimi's house is so fun because I can bring all of the play toys from upstairs into the tub and she doesn't care!!

Today Mimi and Mommy are busy making Christmas cookies so I'm trying to make it as interesting as possible.

I keep begging my mom for more cookies because they look so yummy. I even climbed up on the dining room table to snatch one, but my mom caught me. Sigh.

Did you know if you disobey your mom and play with the chocolate chips anyway, that they can spill on the ground all over. I thought it was pretty cool until my mom made me clean them up. It's not easy being two.

Other things I have learned while at Mimi's house:

1. If you get babysat by Grandpa (Bapa to me), he lets you jump on the furniture! How cool is that!?

2. If you see a bowl of ceramic balls, do not try and bounce them on the ground. They make quite a mess.

3. If you see Mimi's Ipod, it also does not bounce. Good thing it worked again because my mom said something about not having Christmas presents for the next few years..........