Merry Christmas to All!

What a year! I can't believe it is the eve of Christmas Eve already. Just wanted to pop in and send anyone who is still checking this blog a very blessed Merry Christmas. I plan to get back to blogging soon. (Yea, I know, I said that back in August but I've been reinspired to start again!)

Please remember while unwrapping all the gifts on Christmas morning that the real reason for the season is the birth of our Lord and Savior.

Be Blessed!!!

Amy

Easter Fun

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day, mostly sunny and just a few sprinkles. We were able to get up, get movin' and get to 1st service for church which gave us some down time between church and dinner at my mom's. Emily had a wonderful time hunting eggs in the morning at home and then again at mom's house with her cousins. She received more candy than a little girl needs and I'm sure she will be enjoying it for weeks!

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Miami Vacation 2009

Yes, we have already had our summer vacation for the year. We were supposed to go to Hilton Head, SC in August but due to Sharon's pregnancy and being due just a few weeks from when we were supposed to be gone, we bumped it up a bit. And, as you can see from the post title, we went to Florida AGAIN!!! This time, however, we went down to Miami. All I can say about Miami is....NEVER AGAIN!!! I would rather go to Disney World every year for the rest of my life than go back to Miami. It rained and rained and rained. And this was not your typical "Florida rain", no, it hung around pouring for hours at a time. Every time Sharon and I stepped foot outside in out bathing suits, within 30 min. the clouds, thunder and lightening were there, few people spoke clear English and I do not know any Spanish. But, I can say that dispite all the bad, we had a good time spending the week with the Shew's and I'm sure that Emily appreciates not being the only child on vacation with boring mom & dad.

So what did we do you say? Well let me tell you.

Our first desination was an overnight in Nashville then up at the crack of dawn to set out for Savannah, GA. Delmar made a point to allow time for us to be able to eat at Paula Dean's restaurant, "The Lady & Sons". Sharon and I were so excited and I think Delmar was too. Well, we got there and the first thing I notice is the sign saying that they were taking no more reservations for the night. :o( BIG DISAPPOINTMENT! But, we did end up eating at Uncle Bubba's Oyster and Seafood House which is her brother's place and then we went back to downtown Savannah to have our pics taken in front of Paula's place and shop in her store.

The next day, we headed to Miami. While there, we went to Miami Beach (it was cloudy the whole time), went to Key Largo and road a really big glass bottomed boat out to a coral reef and saw a bunch of coral, fish and even a shark. I believe that night I came down with food poisoning and spent the night nausious and vomiting and was out the next day too. While I was down, everyone when swimming. We spent a day at a really cool indoor/outdoor mall-of course it was sunny while were there in the morning and we went back to get into the pool and it started storming again. GGGRRRR!!!!!!! One night, the resort offered a sitter service for the kids and we adults went out to eat. Emily and Alexis enjoyed spending time with Gloria, the lady that was on staff to do crafts and stuff with the kids. They got to do face painting, make a wind chime and several other things. She was really good with them and would just come out of her room to the pool and ask if they wanted to come in and do something.

By the time Friday rolled around, we were ready to head home. Delmar also arranged for us to have extra time in Chattanooga, TN to stop at Ruby Falls and Lookout Mtn. We had talked about doing it for years but we were always too tired to stop. So allowing time to do that was good and we all had a great time going down into the cavern and then walking up to Lookout Mtn.

Here is a video I put together of our trip.


Sandage/Shew Vacation 2009
Click the above link to see video.

Have a blessed day,

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

As we usually do, we got Emily a couple of gifts and Delmar got me a couple of somethings...poor guy, he only got a card. However, one of the gifts he got me was really for both of us.

Emily received some candy, a book-Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink and a Dora the Explorer earmuff and glove set that she has been eyeing at CVS.

My Valentine got me my FAVORITE candy-Ferrero Rocher and the movie Fireproof. He did good!!!

Today is a quiet day, nothing planned. Just spending time together with nowhere in particular to go. However, at this moment, I am enjoying a silent house and a little mom time. Daddy took Emily to go to see a basketball game that one of her classmates is playing.

Last night we were able to go out with some friends for dinner and a comedian. Emily enjoyed getting to play at Kyla and Lilly's house. They have seen so little of each other thru the winter, they got along really well.

Have a blessed day,

Facing Resistance

As you may know, I've begun baking my own bread. I began with a simple loaf of white "farmer" bread. A recipe that was in my bread machine cookbook. It was OK but not great. Next I went with an oatmeal recipe. I LOVED it, my mom LOVED it, my family did not. My grandiose idea of making healthy bread for my family has taken a nose dive. So, today I baked another white bread recipe. It is an Amish recipe and was so simple. And, I got to use my new baking pans that I bought at Beachy's last week. BONUS!!!

A few simple ingredients:

Proofed yeast:
Ready in the bread machine:

Risen and ready to bake:
A beautiful loaf of white bread:

I'll let you know if the family approves.

UPDATE: The family LOVED it. First thing hubby noticed when he walked into the kitchen was the loaf of WHITE bread.

Have a blessed day,

A Day in Amish Country

Today I was able to spend the day with my mom. We've been saying that we need to spend a day together since my babysitting job became temporarily part time back in June of last year...ok so we are a bit behind. Anyway, we decided to take a trip to Arthur and go to Beachy's. Now, I've heard of this Amish store quite a bit over the last couple of years but had never been. It is basically a bulk food store where you can buy practically everything under the sun! Some of my purchases included:*dehydrated marshmallows-the kind you find in packets of hot cocoa

*mini animal crackers-Emily loves these!

*ice cream sandwich cookies for making your own ice cream sandwiches

*dried cilantro-will be nice to have around

*a new book for Emily entitled "We Should Be Thankful" about a little Amish girl who learns to be thankful after having the mumps and not being able to play outside for weeks
*spice gumdrops for Delmar
*mustard pretzels for me :)

*steel cut oats in bulk-I've paid over $4 for a 1 pound bag of Red Bob's steel cut oats but these puppies were only $2.65 for 3 3/4 pounds!!!!! CRAZY!

Now, not everything was a great deal but it was worth the trip just to see all of the unique stuff. Of course they had the usual Amish fair, noodles, homemade bread, pies, etc.

My other purchase/investment was a set of new stainless steel bread pans. I'm so excited to be able to use them next week!

After shopping, we had a great lunch at Yoder's Kitchen-an Amish buffet. YUMO!

Thanks mom for a great day!

Have a blessed day,

First Snow of the Year

Yesterday, Emily was dying to play in the snow that she had watched falling all afternoon and into the evening. She finally convinced Delmar that they needed to go out and play in it after supper. I choose to stay inside where it was warm and take pictures from an open dining room window.

So, since we had our first snow on the 30th, does that mean we'll have 30 snows this season????

The Stomach Flu & Riding the Polar Express

Emily has been throwing up again. This happened about a month ago and she threw up for almost 36 hours just about every 20 to 40 minutes. So, this experience is all to fresh in her mind. But let me tell you, the girl can aim. Not one mess made by her. (We won't talk about the one that dad made when he forgot that the bucket had about an inch of water in the bottom of it.)

Anyway, this time it only lasted for about 24 hours so we were all most grateful.

The bad part about the timing was, we had purchased tickets almost 6 weeks ago to ride the Polar Express last night. Emily threw up about 8:20 yesterday morning and started to perk up throughout the day. So, we decided to take a chance and go.

We met Mike, Sharon, Bryce and Alexis there. The kids were all able to wear their pj's just like in the movie. It was awesome and we are both grateful that she didn't have to miss it. Here are some of the highlights:

All Aboard!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We go NOWHERE without Woobie!
The Shew'sThe Sandage'sDancing to the "Hot Chocolate" song.

Emily receiving her bell from Santa

The trip was awesome! The music, the dancing, riding a train for the first time, hot cocoa and cookies, the reading of the story, all of it. We could not have asked for a better evening. Perhaps the beginning of a new tradition? Next year will tell.

Thankful for....Family

My dad and Carole have had Thanksgiving dinner for the last couple of years at their house and we always have a fun time. My step-brothers are great as are their family's. It also usually gives me time to chat with my sisters two oldest boys whom I don't see very often.


You know how sometimes with "step" families, the two sides "stick with there own", not at this dinner. Carole has us draw numbers for seats so you don't get to pick who you sit by. The first year we we all complained but now I think we all enjoy getting time to talk to people other than our immediate family. Except for Delmar and Angelic, somehow they manage to sit by each other EVERY year...hhhmmmm.


Chow time! Emily & Grandpa JackThanks for letting the kids play on your computer Christopher!
Me and my buddy Angelic.Emily has had about as much fun as a girl can have.


The whole clan...

Pumpkin Patch 2008

This year we went back to Black Bart's Pumpkin Patch in Warrensburg. Last year we went to the local patch and weren't impressed to say the least. Owners were not expecially friendly and not much of a selection or things to do.

Here are some pics from the outing-ENJOY!

The end result.

Emily's Birthday Party

On Saturday we had Emily's birthday party. Last year, Emily's friend Lilly had her party at Kiwanis park here in Clinton and it seemed like a good idea so we tried it this year. What an awesome idea! I didn't have to clean my house and we didn't have to worry about all of the dirt in the backyard (from the pool installation). You can't reserve the parks here so you do take the chance of someone else being there but it worked out for us this year. When we were done, we just folded everything up in the table cloth and threw it away!

Emily's theme choice this year was Hello Kitty. She's all about it right now.

Here is the cake:

Playing before her friends got there:

Her BFFs:

The motherload:I think she had an awesome birthday party. She got lots of neat presents and some money too so we will have to go shopping soon.