One of my favorite moments of the year so far
The joy on their faces is priceless
Category Archives: Ella
Friday Five
Wow! What a week. I feel like I was in my car most of the time going back and forth from all sorts of things that kept me busy, but my life is full and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Here’s five things from my week:
Impacted:
The tornadoes of Oklahoma. So thankful that all of our family is safe and accounted for. Praying for all effected and specifically for those who have lost loved ones.
Inspired by:
love this! those shelves, the simplicity, that couch. summer come quickly!!! Mama’s got work to do!
Real Life:
Dentist appointments and sick days
What we’re eatin’:
Adapted from this recipe
I added red bell peppers and feta cheese.
Loving:
My new Roberto Cavalli Bag
Ready to load it up with sunscreen, sunshades, books, snacks and park it poolside!
Friday Five
1 So thankful for my friends!
(and those that are not pictured )
2 The weather has warmed up and I’m hoping it will stay like this so I can get my garden planted tomorrow. I’m thinking, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, strawberries, green beans, carrots, radishes, onion, sweet potatoes, plus herbs.
3 Ella lost her first tooth!
4 Super excited because today was measurement day for me and I have lost 1 1/2″ off my lower stomach and 1 1/4″ off my natural waist since Feb 4. Whoohoo! Mostly clean eating, lots of water and hitting the gym at least 4 times a week has paid off!
5 New Pandora station recommendation “The Assemblie” . Had a slew of church worship bands that I had never listened to before and I really enjoyed it.
Ella
Yesterday Hayden was asking lots of questions about little Ella, and why she has her scar and what happened to her. We’ve had these talks before, each time in a little more depth. Hayden is always so concerned with what happened her her little sister and remembers touching her through the little hole in the warming bed, when Ella was too sick to even hold. Every time I talk about it, a huge knot jumps into my throat as I recall those agonizing months without her in our home. Fighting for her little life and the desperation that I felt and how much I had to lay it all down at the feet of Jesus.
I am so thankful for her in our lives. She is just precious and goofy . That child lights up a room with her clumsy run and huge grin.
I love her so much and am thankful for the testimony that she is and can’t wait to hear her tell others what a miracle she is and how Jesus saved her. 
What’s Cookin’
I’ve been owing several of you many recipes and no time to blog them.
So! Here they are. Try them. Hope you love them like we did!
(the one pictured didn’t have any peaches)Bacon Cheddar Mashed Potatos
2 1/2 lbs. cubed peeled baking potato
1 cup (4oz) shredded extrasharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup 2% reduced fat milk
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons reduced fat sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
Place potato in a saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and return potato to pan. add cheese and milk; mash to desired consistency. Cook 2 min. or until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly. Stir in onions and remaining ingredients. (makes 8 servings) (Cooking Light Cookbook)
Grilled Sirloin Skewers with Peaches & Peppers
Kebabs:
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
2 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 lbs. boneless sirloin steak, cut into 48 (1 in.) pieces
4 peaches, each cut into 8 wedges
2 small red onions, each cut into 8 wedges
2 large red bell peppers, each cut into 8 (1 in.) pieces
cooking spray
Sauce:
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
Parsley Spings (optional)
Prepare grill. To prepare kebabs, combine first 7 ingredients, and toss well. Thread 3 steak pieces, 2 peach wedges, 1 onion wedge, and 1 bell pepper piece alternately onto each of 16 (12 in.) skewers. Place on grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill 6 minutes or until tender, turning occassionally. Place on a platter, and cover loosely with foil. Let stand 5 minutes. To prepare sauce, combine chopped parsley and next 5 ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Spoon over kebabs. Garnish with parsley sprigs, if desired. (Cooking Light Cookbook)
New Saturday Morning Fave!!
Leek, potato & Gruyere frittata
3 Tbs. unsalted butter
6 oz. small red potatoes, sliced 1/8″ thick
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 leeks, white and lightly green portions, rinsed well and thinly sliced
5 eggs
3 Tbs. heavy cream
2 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded
1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
In deep half of small frittata pan over med-high heat (i just used a small skillet), melt 1 Tbs. butter. Add potatoes, salt & pepper. Cover with shallow pan; cook flipping potatos occassionally about 8 min. Transfer to bowl.
In deep half of small frittata pan over med.-high heat, metl 1 Tbs. butter. Add leeks, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occassionally, 6-8 min. Transfer to separate bowl.
In another bowl, whisk eggs and cream. Stir in cheese, parsley, potatoes, salt, pepper and all but 2 Tbs. leeks. Set deep half of small frittata pan over medium heat; melt 1/2 Tbs. butter. Add egg mixture; cook until just beginning to set, about 4 min.; using rubber spatula to lift cooked edges and allow uncooked eggs to flow underneath.
In shallow half of small frittata pan over medium heat, melt 1/2 Tbs. butter. Place shallow pan upside down on top of deep pan; flip frittata into shallow pan. Cook, covered, 4 minutes. Remove deep pan; cook until eggs are set, 2-3 minutes. Skake pan to loosen frittata; slide onto plate. Garnish with reserved leeks. Serves 4-6. (william sonoma kitchen)
Preslyn’s 1st sink bath. She had salad dressing coated in her hair.
Hummus Sammy3Tbs. low fat mayonnaise
2 tsp. chopped kalamata olives
2 tsp. finely chopped scallions (green onions)
5 Tbs. hummus
4 slices pita bread
6 cucumber slices
2 tomato slices
2 Tbs. Shredded carrots
2 pieces romaine lettuce
Pitted olives, cherry tomatoes, cucumber for garnish
Mix together the mayonnaise, olives, scallions, and a pinch of black pepper in a small bowl and set aside. Spread hummus on two slices of pita bread and the mayonnaise mixture on the other two. Layer the cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, and lettuce on top of the hummus. Top each hummus slice with a mayonnaise one. Cut in half. Skewer together the olives, tomatoes and cucumber with a toothpick and serve on the side. makes 2 sandwhiches ( I doubled the recipe to make enough for all of us.) Perfect Sunday lunch!
I served it with
5 Cup Salad
1 11oz. can mandarine oranges, drained
1 8 1/2 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained
1 cup coconut
1 cup tiny marshmellows
1 cup sour cream
Combine, cover and chill several hours or overnight. Add marashino cherries and/or pecans if desired.
Going to get our free chick fil a meals. Team logo was required. Aren’t they the cutest little fans you’ve ever seen!?! Hayden, Preslyn & Ella
Are you guys able to see the differences between the twins yet???
If you need a little pick-me-up
Ella is here to save the day 🙂
//www.youtube.com/get_player
Hayden is the one screaming to make Ella laugh
Childhood Habits
When I was little I sucked my thumb. My parents tried everything to get me to stop and nothing would work. They painted this nasty stuff on my finger, sort of like nail polish and I learned to peel it off or suck it anyway. Needless to say, I sucked my thumb until I was in the SECOND GRADE! Seven Years Old! People, that is just embarrassing. It came to the point that I would get in trouble for sucking my thumb. So, in the second grade, my parents stopped homeschooling me and put me in a little private school about an hour away from home. Then my dad would drive about an hour back to work. SO, I’m thinking, I’m good and safe way away from home, I’ll just suck my little ole thumb. It wasn’t like all day long or anything, just when I would get tired or sad or whatever. Well after lunch we would always have story time in class. They would turn off the lights and read to us and we could rest or whatever. I sat on the back row and was going about my day, sucking my thumb, and I catch a glimpse of my dad in the doorway, looking in my class. I felt like shriveling up and dying. What was he doing there in the middle of the day???? Why did he have to see me suck my thumb??? I knew I was busted.
So after school that day, I was a talk-a-haulic. I didn’t want my dad to have a breath to bring up the thumb-sucking sighting, so I talked and talked. Well finally I ran out of things to say, and the dooming words that I dreaded came out, “Lindsay, I saw you sucking your thumb today.” Rewind back to the shriveling feeling. I’m pretty sure I didn’t get in trouble, but that was all it took and I was done sucking my thumb forever. That put the fear of God in me.
Fast-forward 19 years ahead, and I’m driving down the road. I get to a light and decide to peek around and talk to Ella (Pres is conked and Hayden is in the far back doing her own thing) I turn around to see Ella, sucking her BIG TOE like no other! Let’s just hope we can nip that in the bud before Kindergarten graduation.
Appendix aschmendix
I’ve got some pics to update but somehow took them in a different format so I can’t get them to download off my camera. I’ll have to work on that. This first one shows how she has been losing her hair since they have to shave it off to give her iv’s in her head. Hopefully her picc line will stay in and not infected this time so she doesn’t have to have anymore head lines.
I just want to thank everyone for their prayers today. Ella went into surgery around 10:30am and we were called back in at 12 saying she was out. That is wonderful considering they prepared us for a 3-5 hour procedure. Every prayer that was prayed was answered today. We prayed for a quick surgery DONE, we prayed for her to not have her colon removed (She made it out with over half of her colon still in tact!!!), we prayed for no surprises, there were none, we prayed for her to be taken off the ventilator post-surgery (she was, but then had to be intubated so she could have some meds for pain. not really a big deal, we are just glad she is not in pain and not having to work hard to recover and breathe.) Once again, we serve a big God and He has once again walked us through a scary situation and we are so thankful for the outcome. Ella was resting peacefully when we left her this evening and they are hoping if her recovery is smooth, that they will start feeds up again very small in about a week.
They only removed two portions of her colon and a small piece of her small intestine, that happens to be attached to her appendix, so that came on out as well. They gave her an ostomy, which is basically her intestine is open to the outside of her body and her stools will come through that and into a bag while her colon heals. This will help prevent infection from her stools passing through the surgical area. She will have another surgery in about 8 weeks to put the intestine back inside and remove the bag.
It was a long tiring day and surprisingly I held up really well and when the surgery was over and I called to give my parents an update that is when I finally broke down, just out of relief. There is nothing like knowing your precious little child is undergoing surgery that could possibly turn out leaving her with long term side effects. But those never came into play and for that I am so thankful. We are relieved to finally be past this surgery and move on to a full recovery resulting in her coming home to us!! We can’t wait!
This is my norm 