smiling jack

there is something SO endearing about jack in a backwards hat.

or little people with baseball hats on backwards.

or medium people.

or grown men.

heck, i love backwards baseball hats.

just not on girls.

girls should just stick with the bill out front.

but that's just my thought.

the end. 

snow days.....

i love snow days.

i can be inside, looking out.

i make boatloads of hot chocolate and don't feel guilt drinking 3 cups in an hour.

i love how happy my chllin's are when they're out there.

i love how well they sleep after a full day of playing.

these were taken this past tuesday......

my sweet jackson spends a LOT of his life on the ground when doing anything athletic.

 (you should see him on the basketball court)

it's not that he's uncoordinated....he's FAR from it...he's just passionate.

he puts his whole body into every move.

when daddy offers to pull him on the sled, he doesn't do what 'normal' children would do (SIT DOWN), he chooses to STAND.

i love the picture below where rye is laughing that he's once AGAIN, on his backside.

oh jack.....

......................................................

again....oh jack.

i love MANY things about my dear hub but one thing that i ADORE is that he does such a good job of teaching the boys how to have a servants heart.

tuesday night, he loaded them up and drove around town looking for people to help.

even though no one would be at church for the next 4 days, the hub thought they needed a little more exercise.

it's my prayer that our kids will grow up KNOWING that serving others is so much more rewarding than taking.

sad to say but i was disappointed to see the sun....

blue skies and sun can only mean one thing:

NO MORE SNOW.

boo.

i went digging thru some old 'snow pic' files and came across a few beauties.....

maxwell~2007

jackson~2007

samuel~2007

jack and kaid~2007

samuel~ 2005

also taken back in 2005. look how little they are!!

they barley come higher than the door handle.

sam is looking a little freaked out by all the brother loving.

little brother is loving the loving.

you'll wanna dance cake......

i have a dirty little secret.

i'm not a huge chocolate lover. oh, quit your gasping. i have other vices.

it always makes me laugh when people are shocked by that statement. (that i'm not a huge chocolate lover, NOT the fact that i have other vices. NO ONE laughs at that. everyone knows THAT isn't laugh worthy)

don't get me wrong, it's not that i hate the taste.

i don't.

i just don't NEED it the way some people do. if you told me i could never again have another sweet thing (ice-cream included), i wouldn't care.

oh, except for butterscotch. i love butterscotch.

but.....you take away my carbs and heads would be rolling.

when i want to snack at midnight, i'd rather grab a armful handful of chips.

a slice of bread.

pasta.

those are my vices.

salty and crunchy.

crunchy and salty.

salty, crunchy and fattening.

that's my weakness.

however......that being said~

i would possibly give it all up for this:

the world's BEST chocolate cake recipe.

trust me. i'm not lying.

since i didn't create the recipe, i can brag about it.

stinkin' amazing.

there's NOTHING like it.

nothing.

like i said, i may be willing to give up chips for THIS.

thank you Pioneer Woman www.thepioneerwoman.com for adding that extra 5 pounds to my backside last week.

yeah you.

if you have nothing better to do today, make this cake.

no, really, do it.

most of the ingredients you probably have in the house.

like the POUND of butter you'll need.

and the close to 3 cups of sugar.

your backside will thank you.

and...you'll thank me.

you're welcome.

CAKE INGREDIENTS~

2 cups Flour

2 cups Sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa

2 sticks of Butter

1 cup boiling Water

1/2 cup Buttermilk (i don't keep it in my fridge so i add 1 teaspoon vinegar to regular mix to 'sour it'.)

2 whole beaten Eggs

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Vanilla

FROSTING~

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (i don't put these in but if it floats your boat, do it)

1-3/4 sticks Butter

4 Tablespoons (heaping cuz more is better) Cocoa

6 Tablespoons Milk

1 teaspoons Vanilla

1 pound (minus 1/2 cup) Powdered Sugar

get baking....

use a jelly roll pan. (18x13)

~in a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

~in a saucepan, melt butter. add cocoa. stir together.

~add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat.

pour over flour mixture., and stir lightly to cool.

~in a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla.

~Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 mins.

~while cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely. melt butter in a saucepan. add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. stir together. add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm make.

now dance. trust me....that's all you'll want to do.

dance and eat cake.

lots and lots and lots of cake. 

white day

we have snow.
we have much snow.
this makes this mama happy.
it makes this mama very much happy.

i have children that are playing in peace.
oh, i take that back. a snowball fight just broke out.
but i don't care.

i'm warm in here.
i can't hear a thing outside.
have i told you that snow days make this mama happy?
oh so happy.

since it was a scheduled day off, we are now anticipating a REAL snow day for tomorrow.
i can remember, as a kid, laying in bed, praying my blond little head off that this would hear HC IS CANCELLED coming from dads brown, rectangular radio!! (sister, you with me? i think dad STILL has that thing! :)) growing up in West Michigan, we didn't hear those words very often. but when we did, wowsers, we made every min. of that day count.
the roads were usually closed in the little village of Graafschap so my siblings and the 22 neighbor kids would sled right now the middle! we would go inside to eat, otherwise, we'd spend the ENTIRE day outside.

kinda like my kids are now.
those must have been happy, happy days for my mother.

i love having them home but it's SO nice to be sitting here, in the coziness of my lazyboy, watching the DIY channel and listening to their laughter. this morning, during my quiet time, i gave God an extra big Thank you for my life.
i'm healthy.
my kids and hub are healthy.
my extended family and friends are healthy.
we are content.
we are comfortable.
we are Blessed.