Busy Bishop's

In case you haven't heard...

2011-05-15T14:58:00.002-04:00

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-09T19:59:00.003-04:00

It's been forever since I've updated my blog and since I just took some new pictures of Blake I decided it was time. I love this pic. My little boy is growing up. He seems like he is getting taller all the time and I seem to notice it the most when he is dressed up. Getting a Mama's day kiss. He thought this was great fun. It was, but I'm sure glad he didn't fall and rip his brand new pants.

Tupperware

2011-01-20T21:58:00.004-05:00

Hi friends! I just became an Independent Tupperware Consultant. If anyone is interested in hosting a party or becoming a consultant, I would love to talk with you. You can email me your information at www.dorcasbishop@my2.tupperware.com and I will contact you with more information. The first 5 people who book a party with me and mention this post, will receive a free gift.

You can visit my website at www.mytupperware.com/dorcasbishop. If you are a modular mate fan, now is a great time to purchase those. They are on sale for 40% off. The sale ends on February 11.

Hope to hear from you!

Chocolate covered pretzel wreaths

2010-12-16T13:31:00.006-05:00

Every Christmas I like to give my husband's choir members a little something homemade for Christmas. I don't think any of them read my blog so I think I'm safe to post this. The party is tomorrow night.

I recently brought home a few Christmas cookbooks from the library. I found a really cute idea to make pretzel wreaths but decided to make it my own way. This is what I came up with.

You'll need a bag of white chocolate chips (I found this will make about 5 wreaths). You could also use white bark, which is probably cheaper, unless you find a good deal on chips. You could use any kind of sprinkles you wish. I thought this holly and berry mix was really cute.

11-12 small twist pretzels per wreath.

Melt chips in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until melted and smooth.

Using a fork, cover pretzels in chocolate, letting it drain well.

Place each pretzel on wax paper connecting them in a circle.

Place 6 pretzels in a circle for the first layer.

You can use 5 or 6 pretzels for the second layer, overlapping the pretzels on the first layer. (That doesn't sound quite right, but I can't think how else to say it LOL)

Add the sprinkles before the chocolate dries. I put them in the freezer for a few minutes so they will get nice hard.

These aren't the greatest pics but this one has 5 pretzels on the top layer.

This one has 6 pretzels on the top layer.

You could add a ribbon at the top or add a bow.

Merry Christmas to You!

2010-11-30T20:39:00.003-05:00

Can you believe it's almost Christmas? Time is just flying! The next few weekends are so busy but I know it will be a lot of fun too. My prayer is that in all our busyness we will remember and celebrate the true meaning of the season. Merry Christmas to all you three readers! (It might not be that many anymore LOL)

This was pre-haircut, but the ones I took after are turned to the side and for the life of me I can't remember how to turn them.

Finally! A new look!

2010-10-28T23:28:00.003-04:00

I finally took the time give my blog a little facelift. The only problem is now I can't figure out how to change the color of the writing so that it is easier to read. Can anyone please help me?

Gaitlinburg, Tennessee

2010-10-04T20:02:00.005-04:00

We love going to TN and were there just last week for vacation. How I'd love to move there. It's just so beautiful. We drove out to Cade's Cove and drove around looking for animals. We were disappointed that we didn't get to see a bear but we did see plenty of deer, wild turkeys, and horses. Our friends Matt and Joy Barnett joined us half way through the week and we had a lot of fun. We went to Dixie Stampede again because we love their food and it is a fun, clean show. I found a recipe online that is a replicate of Dolly's creamy veggie soup. Can't wait to try it. I love that stuff and Blake does too. One of the highlights for us was going to Dollywood on Wednesday and getting to see Dolly Parton. Blake keeps calling her Dolly Partner. While we were there Blake celebrated his 5th birthday. Since we already had a dragon cake I made him a cookie in the shape of a 5. We went to the Ripley Aquarium and had pizza to celebrate the big day. He has been so excited and tells just about everyone that he was 4 but now he's 5. He's been asking a lot of questions about God lately. He and Philip were talking recently about Jesus living in our heart and he asked, "Is there a chair in there?" He also has been wondering if God loves bad guys and bandits and has been praying about God changing our hearts. Love it. Hope that his little heart is always tender towards God.

Blake received a card that plays music from some of our church friends and he loves it. I got a video clip of him singing along.

Happy Birthday to Blake!

2010-09-21T22:22:00.004-04:00

I'm so dreadfully behind on blogging that probably no one is checking my blog anymore, but thought I'd post just the same. We've had a busy but fun summer. In August we went on an Arnold family vacation. We met up with my parents, and 2 of my brothers and their families in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We had such a wonderful time together.

Next week Blake turns 5. I know all parents think this but I just am wondering where the last 5 years of my life went. We celebrated with Philip's parents and Grandma this past Saturday night since we wouldn't be able to get together again for some time.

To save myself some frustration I'm not going to post comments with the pictures. They always seem to be in a different order than what I thought I put them.

No promises but hopefully I will do better. Facebook is just so much easier.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-05T20:40:00.005-04:00

So much has happened since I last posted. We have become "crafty". I say that with a laugh because, as you can tell by the picture, my creativity is rather lacking. We had fun though so I do believe that is all that matters.

We've had a lot of fun in the past two months but we've also experienced a deep sadness. Our dear friend and former pastor, Dr. Whitaker passed away. It still doesn't feel real and we miss him so much. We had the privelage of singing "I've Just Seen Jesus" at his funeral. He requested that song everytime we would go back to the church to sing. The morning I heard that he had passed away I immediately thought of that song and how now he was seeing Jesus. It's been interesting to hear Blake's perspective. Philip had told him that Dr. Whitaker's heart had stopped. Later he told me that his heart broke. He wondered where Mrs. Whitaker was and if she was going to go and get Dr. Whitaker. Just the other day we were talking again about how Dr. Whitaker is in heaven with Jesus along with others that we know. So glad we have the hope of seeing them again.

One of my best friends, Amy Balty and her family, came to the funeral. Even though the circumstances were not as we would've wished, it was so good to see her for a few short hours.

Well we had to throw another birthday in there for me. They aren't nearly as fun as they used to be but I did have a wonderful dinner out with Philip at Maggiano's and then Blake and I had a piece of ice cream cake that they had bought. It feels like I should still be in my 20's but they are long behind me and even though I'm not 40 yet for several more years it's not that far off as my Dad so sweetly reminded me the other day. Bless his heart!

Can't have Easter without coloring eggs. It was the first time that Blake had done that and here he is with the finished product.

I wanted to get a family picture taken on Easter Sunday but only ended up with Blake by himself. I need to get professional pictures taken of him before he outgrows this suit. It amazes me that he is happy to wear it. He likes looking like his Daddy. He had to get a new white shirt and he was rather pleased about that.

Hope everyone had a blessed Easter celebrating the our Risen Savior!

Snow Fun!

2010-02-07T20:17:00.005-05:00

Blake has been enjoying the snow. I have to be honest and say I didn't quite feel the excitment that he did! LOL Today I let him play on the deck while I watched out the window. It was a great plan.

Yesterday he did a little sledding. Some friends from church gave us a runner sled. Thanks Mr. Don and Ms. Ann. Can you tell he was enjoying himself?

More sleds thanks to Dr. Fred!

After all that cold we warmed up with homemade buttermilk pancakes. We decided to get creative. It's a dinasour, can't you tell?

English Muffin Bread

2010-02-05T23:31:00.007-05:00

When Philip was in graduate school in Louisville, Kentucky, we had the honor of meeting and becoming friends with Dr. and Mrs. McClaren. They treated us like we were their kids. Sis. McClaren passed some delicious recipes onto me and this is one of them. I love English Muffins but do not usually buy them unless they are on a really good sale. This bread tastes so much like them and it is super easy to make. I felt a little like the "Pioneer Woman" as I was taking pictures of the process. (You need to buy her book if you haven't already). Anyway, I thought I'd share because this recipe is to good not to share.

English Muffin Bread

About 5 ¾ c. all-purpose flour
2 pkg. dry yeast
1 T. sugar
2 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking soda
2 c. milk
½ c. water
Corn meal

Measure flour by spooning lightly into measuring cup. Combine 3 c. flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking soda into mixing bowl.

Heat milk and water on the stove until it reaches 110-115 degrees. I just guessed since I can't find my thermometer.

While I waited I prepared my pans with Criso spray and sprinkled with corn meal.

It always helps to have a 2 liter of Coke Zero handy with a large glass of ice.

Add milk/water to dry mixture and beat well. I actually ended up putting on the beater attachment to make sure it was really mixed well.

Stir in enough flour to make a very stiff batter. I switched back to the "paddle?" attachment since I thought that would be more like stirring.

Help arrived! Woohoo! A big hug and a "I love you berry much mom" was inserted right about here.

Spoon into 2 prepared loaf pans. Sprinkle tops with corn meal.

Cover and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes (or longer). I found it helps to put it in the oven (not on) and put a bowl of hot water in also, then close the door. The bread should about double in size. Take out the bowl of water, turn on the oven to 400 degrees and then bake for 30-35 minutes. It should have a nice golden color and sound hollow when done.

Turn onto a cooling rack. If you don't want corn meal all over the place you'll want to sit it on a cookie sheet.

Want to come over? I'll share a piece. BTW, it is wonderful toasted.

Christmas with the Bishops

2010-01-05T20:40:00.008-05:00

We celebrated Christmas with Philip's family on New Year's Day at his sisters house in Indiana. It was a fun day with great food and fun presents. Blake received his fair share of loot and was happy as a lark. He really likes this present thing. He can't wait to go to his Grandma Arnold's house this weekend because "she has presents". He's gonna face reality soon because the present spree will then be over and his birthday isn't till September.

Blake and his cousin Janae. I was going to say "in front of the tree" but I think that is rather obvious. :-)

Blake and his cousin Jared received matching jammies complete with snowman slippers. Blake loves them. Even slept with them on the other day when he took a nap. They do look pretty cozy.

I love this picture. They were so full of energy. Can't you just feel it?

Blake got a lite brite. I had one when I was a little girl. Of course you had to plug it into the wall way back then . Well now they are battery operated. 3 D batteries of course. I think I need to go into the battery business. Thanks to Uncle David who saved the day. He happened to have 3 D batteries in his garage. I think he even sacrificed one from his flashlight (You have no idea how long it's taken me to remember that word. I even asked Blake. He was no help. I think 9 hours sitting in a very small office today has taken it's toll on me.)

Isn't this little girl just the cutest? She is almost always happy and full of smiles.

Don't you just love this mug? I love this mug. First, it's red. Second, it's Longaberger. Third, it's red and Longaberger. Makes a great combination. It just makes me happy. Thanks to my MIL for my Red Longaberger Mug.

Blake received this sweater from his Great Grandma. I thought he looked so cute. Of course I'm a tab biased. LOL

We've had an addition to our home. These cute little farm animals joined my Willow Tree Nativity. If you've read my previous posts you will remember that Blake was looking for the cow when we put out the set. Since we didn't have one he added his own. Well now we have a cow and a goat to boot! Yes, $27 and some cents later we now have a cow. We also have a happy little guy. All is good!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T23:27:00.006-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone! We had a fun, quiet day with just the three of us. Blake told his Daddy, "Thank you for buying my presents for Santa." Philip surprised me with some beautiful serving dishes and also sent me on a treasure hunt which resulted in 3 gift cards with instructions that they are for me and not for groceries.

Where, Oh Where has the time Gone?

2009-12-07T21:45:00.003-05:00

I'm dreadfully behind in my blogging. Facebook is much easier, but I do enjoy looking at other blogs, so I really must do better about keeping up my own. My parents were here in November and we had such a nice time together. Blake loved having them visit. They spoiled him (and me too). We looked forward to it so much and now they've already been gone for about 3 weeks. We are now looking forward to seeing them and the rest of the Arnold clan in January. We plan to be there for part of the PA Farm Show. Can't wait for those delicious potato doughnuts and piping hot french fries.

This Friday we are hosting our annual Christmas Choir party. Seems there is still so much to do and not enough energy to get it done. It looks like I should have Friday off of work so that will be a huge help in finishing up those last few things. Can't wait to make the food... stuffed shells, stuffed mushrooms and Buffalo Chicken dip are on my menu. I'm sure lots of other yummy things will be brought too. Covenant choir does not lack for good cooks, that is for sure!

Somewhere inbetween now and Friday we must also get in a zoo trip for Festival of the Lights. There was much weeping and wailing when it was discovered that we were not going tonight. Plans are currently in the works to hopefully go with some church friends on Wednesday.

The other night Blake and I put up the Christmas tree and put out my Willow Tree Nativity set. As we were getting the different pieces out of their boxes Blake kept asking where the cow was. Finally we found one with the shephard but it was just a calf and not very big. All of a sudden he got a "bright" idea and said, "I know, I'll get my cow". It doesn't quite fit, and yet I'm not sure I have the heart to move it.

In case it's another 2 months before I post again, let me wish everyone of my 3readers a very Merry Christmas!

It's been so long...

2009-10-07T20:24:00.004-04:00

since I've posted. We had our church picnic in September. Here is Blake with his friend, Jack. We were headed to the park and I couldn't resist taking a picture of these cute boys. Jack was so sweet when he asked if I'd take them to the park. He called me, "Blake's mommy". It worked. He was perfect the whole time.

Aunt Carol took her grandaughters, Natalie and Sadie Mae, Blake and I to Chuck E Cheese for Blake's birthday. They had a great time. We went to the mall afterward. They were so full of energy.

Blake turned 4 on September 28. He helped me make his birthday cake. I made a Canasta cake (with Blake's help) and it turned out so good. Part of Blake's present was a Playmobile set and so I just washed it up and used it for on top of the cake. He was a happy boy.

I was just thrilled to find a suit for Blake at JCPenny the other night for $19.16. It was originally $53.00. He was excited to wear it since it "looks like Daddy". It's slightly big. I hope to have my mom hem the pants and take in the waist when she comes in November. That job is certainly not in my list of abilities. In the meantime the shoes keep the bottom of the pants from dragging the ground and so far they haven't fallen down. It's to bad they don't make them adjustable waists. I tell you whoever came up with that idea was brilliant (and probably rich too).

2009-09-05T11:28:00.003-04:00

It's been forever since I've posted anything. Philip has had a birthday, we've celebrated our 10th anniversary, and we are fast approaching the 4th birthday of our sweet little guy. This is Blake after he got a new haircut. I love it this short. Hopefully we won't need it done again for awhile. The other day as I was folding laundry he asked if he could help. When I said yes, he gave me a big hug and said, "You're my best girl in the whole world". He's definately a keeper!

A hot day in June

2009-06-25T22:25:00.004-04:00

Today Blake and I went to the zoo. Talk about hot. Wow! It had rained a little and I was hoping that it would cool off, but no such luck. Our pass ends the end of August so we need to take advantage of it, hot or not. Blake fed the giraffe and we watched the elephant cool himself off by spraying water all over himself. After we left the zoo we came home and it rained like crazy. Our friend Anne gave Blake some sidewalk chalk and so he wanted to go outside. I had told him earlier that we'd have to wait until it stopped raining. I was hoping to head off to bed early, but he remembered and said, "It stopped raining, how cool is that?" So outside we went, chalk in hand. I'm hoping this video is the right direction. I can't remember how to turn it if it's not right. Enjoy the pictures. I think they are self explanatory.

June Fun

2009-06-06T00:10:00.003-04:00

Tonight we went to our friends house for dinner. Debby made us an excellent meal and then she and Ken introduced us to "their ducks" down by the river. Blake had a grand time feeding them and even let one of them eat right out of his hand.

Blake has been enjoying blowing bubbles. He finally got the hang of it and only got bubbles in his mouth a couple of times.
Last Friday night we went to a tractor pull with Philip's parents. Blake and his Grandma stayed for awhile and then left and went to a friends house.

Are you "werm" enough?

2009-05-28T19:02:00.006-04:00

The other night Blake was cold and said to me, "Mommy make me werm". His speech is pretty clear but I love the way he says certain things like werm for warm and ferk for fork. It reminds me that he's still my little boy even though he seems to be growing so quickly in so many ways.

We were able to spend some time with Aunt Carol and Natalie the other Sunday. Aunt Carol made homeade pizza and let the kids help put it together. I have to admit that I was glad that it was baked after those little hands were all over that pizza. They had a blast though and it sure tasted good.

Blake loves to do puzzles and this past Sunday he was working on the butterfly puzzle where you have to match up the capital letters with the lower case letters. I helped a little, but he did most of it himself.

So proud of himself! I was proud of him too.

2009-05-07T22:23:00.007-04:00

Last weekend Blake and I headed to Pennsylvania to celebrate my Grandma's 90th birthday. We had a great time with our family. We left early Thursday morning around 6:00 a.m. Blake woke up when we left and did not fall asleep until a few minutes before we got off the Lebanon exit. We had about 20 minutes left to get to my parents house. Blake got a tractor ride that evening and loved every minute of it. He thought he was pretty big stuff "driving" the tractor.

Look what Walmart has started selling!

4 Generations. Celebrating Grandma's 90th birthday. She didn't know that we were coming. It was fun surprising her.

Pappy and Blake still in the Sunday finery.

I was so pleased to find this outfit at Kohls, ON SALE! Yeah! I had a $10 certificate to use and after that I owed $4 for this complete Chaps outfit. The shorts have adjustable waists and I had to take it in like 5 button loops on each side.

Mommy and her sweet boy!

Blake and his cousins, Derrik and Makaela. Aren't they just adorable?

2009-04-28T22:08:00.003-04:00

Tonight I was getting such a kick out of Blake dancing to this little snowman's music. It was so funny how he was trying to dance and tap his foot at the same time. Wish I could move like that. If I could I sure wouldn't put it on here though ~ LOL! Definately wouldn't be near as cute. You'd never visit my blog again, I'm sure!

Mirror, mirror on the wall... wait it's no longer on the wall...

2009-04-18T23:30:00.003-04:00

it's in a million pieces, big and small! Tonight I was laying down with Blake and I think he was asleep and I was semi-asleep when we heard a huge crash. Blake and I both sat straight up. I wondered if someone broke into our house. I was almost afraid to go look. This is what a found in our hallway bathroom.

I'm so grateful though that it didn't happen earlier, since Blake was taking a loooooong bath in there. I really didn't like that mirror since it doesn't (I mean didn't) have a medicine cabinet behind it. Well, it's now cleaned up and my heart beat, I think, has returned to normal. Good night friends!

New outfit!

2009-03-21T10:30:00.004-04:00

Last night Blake we were reading books and he went to get more out of his room, but instead of books he brought me his tie and cowboy hat. He wanted me to put his tie on for him. I thought he looked so funny that I had to get a picture. Normally he doesn't like to wear his hat, but not tonight. Blake gets the biggest kick out of watching himself on video's. I think I already posted another video of him singing this ABC's but he paying much more attention this time. I know his Pappy and Grandma Arnold will enjoy this.

I just love this...

2009-03-17T20:06:00.004-04:00

This picture is for Mrs. Perkins, Blake's Sunday School teacher. He got new jammies on Saturday and wore them that night. In the morning he wanted to wear them to church to show Mrs. Perkins. I was able to convince him that we could take a picture (even though he doesn't look to thrilled about it) and show that to her instead of wearing them to church. I couldn't believe how tall he looked on the picture. (Blake saw this picture on my facebook page tonight and said, "look at that cute guy!" He just cracks me up)

Tonight when Blake and I were outside, totally out of the blue he said to me, "I prayed to God and thanked Him for my bicycle." It makes my heart glad to hear him say things like that. I can't help but think that God loves to hear it too.

2009-03-12T23:12:00.003-04:00

My parents were just here for a few days and Blake just loved every minute of it. I have quite a few pictures that I'd like to share but for now I will share this little video clip. My Dad taught Blake to ask "what are you doing, boy?" in dutch. It is so cute.

Dr. Suess and other things

2009-03-05T23:06:00.005-05:00

The other day I decided to eat some cereal. Later when I went to the fridge this is what I found....

Blake loves to play chase and hide and seek. He now has a new "hiding place" under the piano. I'm sure I'll never see him there. Here he is coming out of hiding. Just love that smile.

Tonight we went to "Pajamma Time" at the library. Since Monday was Dr. Suess's birthday we read some of his books and then made this cool hat. As you can tell, Blake was quite pleased with his creation.

The Greatest Show on Earth

2009-02-28T20:13:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Aunt Carol and Uncle Bud, Blake and I went to the circus today. What fun! I think I was more excited than Blake. He thought we would be seeing camels, bulls, and baboons, but we saw elephants, horses and tigers. It was so fun to be with our very special "family", Aunt Carol, Uncle Bud, Jeremy, Cheryl Dawn, Natalie and Sadie Mae. I won't try to put comments with the pictures because it always seems to put them out of order. I think they self-explain.

Chuck E. Cheese

2009-02-10T22:32:00.001-05:00

Blake was recently introduced to Chuck E. Cheese. He loved it. Who wouldn't love crawling around in a tube above mom's head and knowing she can't crawl up there to get you? Aunt Carol took us there one night when she had her grandaughter for a few days. The kids are not quite a month apart and have such a blast together.

Introducing Blake, Natalie and Chuck E. Cheese...

Ha, ha, you can't get us!

Getting ready for the Kentucky derby!

Hey Mom!

Blake received this puzzle for Christmas. It is one of his favorites and he really does well putting it together (with some help, of course).

Yeah for Tupperware!

2009-02-05T19:50:00.003-05:00

What you see is a Tupperware explosion that happened at my house last Friday. It was so exciting. My friends helped me have a wonderful party and I was able to get a ton of stuff. I did pay some out of pocket but I was able to get much more than what I spent.

This has all found a home in my cupboards, Yeah!

The camera is back in action

2009-01-20T21:19:00.006-05:00

About the time we were heading for PA, my camera's battery charger came up missing. Yeah! Not to bright on my part leaving it in Philip's office. Well it was "discovered" the other night. Today Blake and I had a lot of fun taking video shots of him singing, telling stories and taking silly pictures. If no one else enjoys them, I know the grandparents will. I wish I had him telling his Grandma on the phone his story of the hyenas and lions. It was not only ammusing to listen to, his hand motions were hilarious. But alas, the camera is never in hand when the best shots could be taken so we had to reenact. Enjoy!

He emptied his laundry basket and wanted to wear the handles over his shoulders. He said it was his "backpack".

At night we always lay in his bed to read stories. This was the best of the bunch. I had to make sure there wasn't a "double-chin" in those pictures. LOL

The classic "ABC" song for your listening pleasure!

This is a very short version of his hyena and lion story. A lot of it I can't understand, but when he gets excited he just makes up words. It was obviously a christian story because at the end he mentions the little Lord Jesus. The End!

I know I'm going on and on here, but I wanted to share a few things he said today because I don't want to forget them. When we got home today he was standing at the door waiting for me to unlock it and he said, "It's beautiful". I replied, "What's beautiful?" He answered, "Our new house is beautiful". It was so sweet.

Tonight while eating his supper, I was praising him for how well he was eating and I said, "You will be so big and strong." He replied without hesitation, "like a man". Now where in the world did he come up with that?

My little Shepherd boy!

2009-01-18T22:25:00.002-05:00

I directed the children's program again this year at church. I was happy with the way it turned out. Normally we start with kindergarten on up but this year we included the 3 and 4 year olds too. They were the shepherds and angels and sang "Away in a Manger" with the motions. Blake did a great job. I wasn't so sure that morning at practice. He cried the whole time and did not want to wear a costume. Somewhere along the way that afternoon he decided he'd do it. (Might be the fact that he learned he'd get a prize) LOL! Since I was directing and Philip was playing the piano I asked another lady to take some pictures for me. Unfortunately I had to many pictures on my camera and it said that it was full. I had to delete some and so this was the only picture I got of Blake. This was at the end when the little kids hand out treats to everyone (the reason for the santa's hat).

Our family Christmas!

2008-12-30T23:57:00.006-05:00

Philip had to work on Christmas Day so we waited to open presents until he got home that afternoon. Blake was very excited about his gifts. Now that he is getting older it is so much more fun.

My sweet little guy patiently posing for a picture.

Daddy and Blake check out the animals.

Do you think we have enough play-doh?

Blake loves puzzles and does really well putting them together.

Blake gave his Daddy the Willow Tree figurine, "Father and Son".

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T22:18:00.004-05:00

Merry Christmas to all of you!

My baby is growing up...

2008-12-14T17:27:00.004-05:00

Blake received this outfit when he was a baby and it was put away. Fortunately I found it when we were moving and just in time too. It fits great. I wasn't sure how Blake would react to wearing a dress shirt and tie, so I made a big deal out of dressing like Daddy, and it worked. He was so excited. He said, "Daddy will be so happy" (and he was - a little proud I might add). To top it off, his Daddy had given him a haircut on Friday and so he now looked like a little man again. His hair was getting so long and if you've been reading my blog you already know what a nightmare haircutting is for us. Philip bought one of those haircutting kits and did a great job.

Thanks to our friend, Debby, we have some pictures as a family. Hopefully one of them will make it on a Christmas card this week.

Supper Conversation

2008-12-09T19:11:00.001-05:00

Blake: Mommy, what's that?
Mommy: It's an almond, they're nuts.
Blake: For squirrels?
Mommy: Watch, I'm going to eat one.
Blake: You're a squirrel.
Mommy: I'm not a squirrel.
Blake: I think so!

Oh My!

2008-12-07T22:03:00.002-05:00

Last night Philip was getting ready to leave the house to go into the church and he came to kiss me goodbye. After he walked out of the room, Blake ran after him to give him a hug and kiss. When Blake came back he said to me, "I'm a good kisser".

2008-12-06T22:54:00.006-05:00

A lot has happened since I blogged last. We bought a house and we just love having our own place with a lot more space. My parents arrived in town last Friday and we moved the next day. It was so nice having my parents here. They were a big help with Blake while we tried to get everything in order. We are still a long way to being done, but it's getting there. We went a few days without appliaces and that was a real joy (insert a sarcastic laugh here). My fridge was a couple of coolers on the deck. I did 4 loads of laundry the day my appliances arrived. After using quarter operated machines for the last year and a half, I am more than excited to have my own machines again. It's almost fun! One day while my parents were here we went to the Children's Museum. Blake had a blast showing Grandma and Pappy all the wonderful things to do. For Christmas they have the "Holiday Junction". There were gobs of train set up and then there was even one the children could ride.

Of course Blake made a liar out of me when I told my Dad that he didn't really get into the water part. He absolutely loved it this time. They have these cool dinasours out front of the museum. You might have to click on the picture to blow it up so you can see Blake. Thursday night we went to the Kentucky Horse Farm in Lexington. For $15 we were able to drive through the park and see all the beautiful lights, enjoy a very cool petting zoo, take a train ride, see the horse museum and train display. We enjoyed a not very big bag of delicious kettle corn for $3. Unfortunately my camera died while I was there so I didn't get as many pictures as I wouldv'e liked.

Hmmm...

2008-11-25T20:12:00.001-05:00

Blake is taking a bath and I had given him orders to not drink the water (for obvious reasons). Just a little bit ago I heard what sounded like slurping. I asked him what he was doing. He said he was "drinking his fingers"! Hmmm...

Swagbucks

2008-11-18T15:34:00.003-05:00

Want a new way to make a little extra? Sign up with Swagbucks and use it instead of google and you will earn points that will turn into giftcards for great places like Amazon or Starbucks. You can read more about it on moneysavingmom, but if you decide to sign up please click here and then I will also recieve points for you signing up as well as whenever you do a search. I just signed up and really haven't tried it yet, but it sounds like fun. Why not make a little extra for something you already do?

Walgreens and Play-Doh

2008-11-12T19:57:00.004-05:00

Blake has been introduced to the world of Play-Doh and he loves it. His sweet Sunday School teacher gave him a little container of it and he has had so much fun with it. The other night he was playing and he told me he made an alligator. I couldn't believe how much it really looked like one. Now grant it, if he hadn't told me, I might not have guessed, but when he did, I really could see it. I made Philip get up out of the chair and look.

Blake with his alligator and snake.

Tonight at Walgreens I got all this for 60 cents. I'm really bad at linking things, but if you go to money saving mom and under the Walgreens post, you can print off coupons for $1.10 off the Progresso soup. You can only print 2 per computer. They are on sale for 4/$5 (in-ad coupon) so it ends up making them 15 cents a piece. Walgreens is normally higher in price, but without coupons they would've been $3 a can. Also, the baking powder and cornstarch we on sale for 2/$1 (in-ad coupon) and there was a coupon in this past Sunday's coupon stash for $1 off 2. Makes them free. Can't beat free.

2008-11-07T18:40:00.005-05:00

I am so excited about my shopping trip tonight. If you have a Kroger close by and you are a coupon user, then you need to check out their sales this week. I got a lot of help from www.moneysavingmom.com and the links that were on her post regarding Kroger. I love to have them ring up all my stuff before giving them my Kroger card. It is fun to see how much I saved from the store sales. I did that tonight and everything in this picture rang up for $27.88. They have a deal going on that if you purchase 10 participating items you automatically get $5 off. Then I had coupons for everthing, which they double up to $1. After sales, $5 off, and coupons, my grand total was 73 cents. The people helping me almost acted as excited as I was. Now that is a FUN way to shop!

2008-10-30T22:34:00.002-04:00

Maybe these stories aren't as funny to you as they are to me, but I got so tickled at Blake tonight. I was being really stern and telling him that he better come to me immediately (he was needing to take his medicine) and of course he was heehawing around, messing with the laundry basket, taking his good ole time. All awhile I'm giving him the sternest face I could muster, when he gets this grin on his face, starts pulling the basket and singing "Row, row, row your boat". I couldn't help it, I just cracked up. BTW, he took his medicine like a brave boy. It's a good thing too, because he sure gave me a way to go tonight about eating supper. He told me that I was just grumpy. Yeah, whatever!

This picture has nothing to do with the post, but I just thinks it's hilariously cute and I hadn't posted it yet.

Look into my eyes...

2008-10-30T08:13:00.003-04:00

I know I posted this picture before but since I don't have access to my pictures on this computer I thought I'd just use this one again. When I want Blake's attention and want to make sure he is really listening, I tell him to look into my eyes. Well, last night we were sitting on the couch watching a movie and Blake said to me, "look into my eyes". I just about cracked up laughing. I guess he really is paying attention to what I have to say.
.

Just had to share the happy news!

2008-10-22T21:28:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was a good CVS day! I made 2 stops and with coupons and extra bucks I didn't hardly spend a thing. My first trip I bought 4 bags of candy, 1 Scrubbing Bubbles,and one Pledge for $1.03. The second trip I bought 1 Windex wipes, 1 toothbrush, 1 toothpaste, 3 bottles of Excederin and paid 37 cents. If you haven't checked out www.moneysavingmom.com you need to. Oh, and I also recieved back $4 in extra bucks.

This was from a K-mart stop that I made a few weeks ago when the had their double coupon deal going on. I can't remember the exact total, but it was a little over $3. The Pert Plus ended up being 99 cents each and one of the Dove products was 49 cents. The rest was free. K-mart has been doing this every now and again, although the Cincinnati stores do not always participate. Money saving mom always advertises when the sale will happen but you have to check the listing to see which stores participate.

We've had a lot of fun since my last post...

2008-10-22T20:52:00.011-04:00

We have been enjoying the Children's Museum so much. They now have a Clifford Exhibit and Blake loves playing there. Here he is sitting with Emily Elizabeth and he might just take a spin down Clifford's tail.
Sorting the mail

Filling up Clifford's bowl

We found a new place to play at Berger's Farm when we went for a pumkin.
Don't you just love this smile? I was hoping to get a good picture of him coming off the slide. It is a tunnel slide and it made his hair just about stand straight up.
This was a fun teter-totter. You could sit in the middle and rock back and forth or two people could sit on either wing and go back and forth. Blake wanted me to do that with him. Ha!
Blake with the finished pumkin. I roasted the seeds. I need to find a better recipe...the one I made up didn't taste that great.
Philip's sister and her family were here last weekend so we enjoyed the museum again. Here Jared is taking them on the city bus to who knows where.

Is Clifford big enough? Who are those little people?

I can't believe we got them all looking at the same time.

WooHoo!

2008-10-09T18:35:00.003-04:00

Today when Blake and I were on our way home on Columbia Parkway all of a sudden there were gobs of cops coming from the opposite direction all with their lights on. I couldn't figure out what in the world was going on until I saw a big bus coming with the words McCain/Palin! Woohoo! Wouldn't you know, I didn't have my camera! What a bummer. Blake and I had a grand time chanting "McCain/Palin, Woohoo!" a good part of the way home. That made my day!

Happy Anniversary!

2008-10-05T08:36:00.002-04:00

Today I would like to wish my Mom and Dad a Happy 45th (I think) Anniversary! They are wonderful parents and grandparents. There is so much to say, but I'd be late for church and since my Dad is a preacher I'd better get a move on! :-)

Yeah for Our Cinti Children's Museum Pass!

2008-10-02T22:57:00.004-04:00

The reason for my title is because there were many tears as we exited the museum today. Yeah, because we can go back, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Bishop for giving Blake a pass for his birthday. I can already tell that we will spend many afternoons there. Fortunately for me it is only minutes from where I work and Philip brings Blake to me 4 out of 5 days a week. For those of you in Cinti, they are opening a Clifford exhibit on Saturday (another reason for the tears). You can see it all through big windows, but it was a little hard to understand that it was closed... see, the lights are out... the door is locked... Ahhhhhhh! Oh, and the Clifford exhibit is until January. I'm not sure yet if it is included in the pass. I'm sure hoping so. After the museum we headed to Walmart and then to Johnny's Toy Store, McDonald's and Grandma's. We signed Blake up for Johnny's Birthday program. They sent him a little key to bring into the store. He used his key to open up the castle and then was able to pick a toy from inside. They had nice stuff too, not just junky toys. Blake picked a Thomas the Train card game. Along with the key they sent a coupon for a free Happy Meal at McDonald's, a free child's admission to the Cinti Zoo and Newport Aquarium (with an adult ticket purchase). Minus the tears it was a great day! Hope I didn't bore you all to death, but I know Blake's grandparents will enjoy the pictures.

Happy Birthday Blake!

2008-09-28T12:50:00.007-04:00

3 years ago today, the cutest little guy entered our world. Blake Ryland Bishop has surely changed our life, but only for the better. Yesterday Aunt Carol treated him to his 2nd birthday cake so far and a fun day at Discovery Gardens. Aunt Carol's daughter, Cheryl Dawn, and her 2 girls, Natalie and Sadie, were along also. Natalie is only a few weeks younger than Blake and they are so funny together. This in one of the conversations we heard in the van on our way home.

Natalie: Is your mommy a grumpy old troll?
Blake: No
Natalie: My mommy is a grumpy old troll.

We laughed our heads off. I think they've watched too much Dora! I'm glad my son doesn't think I'm a grumpy old troll, but he sure did embarress me when one day at CVS he called the manager who was helping us a grumpy old troll. You just never know what will come out of their mouths.

Blake's yummy dairy queen birthday cake.

Here are the kids at Discovery Gardens. One of the rare moments when they actually sat still.

This was the fun tree that had all kinds of tunnels and places to crawl through.

I love this picture. You can tell he is working so hard to get the water to come out. The kids loved this. They would put water in their pails and then proceed to water the dirt rather than the vegetables or plants growing everywhere.

They had this little pond where there were lots of frogs. It's a wonder Blake didn't fall in.

There was a building where they had little nature talks and the kids learned about frogs and then later there were fun puzzles and books on the tables for them to play with.

Here is 6 week old baby Sadie Mae. She was so good and enjoyed a good part of her visit to the gardens, sleeping.

Cheryl crawled up this little space to get some pictures of the kids.

Aunt Carol got in on the fun too.

Thanks for the fun day Aunt Carol.

This and That

2008-09-21T23:24:00.003-04:00

Blake and I kind of dressed alike last Sunday for church. I was taking the picture and this was the best of the bunch.

Fun at the park... again!

Being silly in Walmart while waiting in line for our prescription. I've found out since that you aren't supposed to take pictures in stores. Guess we'll know for next time. It at least entertained Blake till it was our turn.

For 50 cents you can ride this train with the pink pather for as long as it plays the Pink Panther song 2 times (I think).

What I'm eating right now!

2008-09-21T23:03:00.003-04:00

I just love these little sandwiches. I made them for fellowship at church and hd some ingredients left over to this is my just before midnight snack.

Bagel recipe

2008-09-20T10:24:00.002-04:00

Here is the bagel recipe that I found online. I used all-purpose flour because I didn't have bread flour.

Mmmm...bagels

2008-09-18T22:53:00.004-04:00

Tonight I tried somthing new... bagels! I don't buy bagels often but I do love them with lots of cream cheese. Blake likes them too so the other day I googled "easy bagels" and found a recipe that didnt' look to difficult or to many ingredients. They turned out pretty good for my first try. Even though I greased the pan they kind of stuck so I think next time I'll use parchment paper. I'd like to get a little more creative and use seseme seeds or try cinnamon or cheese. Anyway, maybe I've found my new profession (not that I'm really looking but one never knows).

Boiling them before baking

Getting ready to go in the oven

All finished

Ready to consume...yum!

Whose little boy is this?

2008-09-13T22:47:00.003-04:00

Last night we took Blake for a desperately needed haircut. We hardly know him. He was starting to look pretty shaggy (note previous posts) and I was teasing him that we would have to put barrettes in it. He hates getting his hair cut so badly that we put it off until it just can't be put off any longer. This time we had Philip get his hair cut first and then Blake. Blake cried but sat pretty still. We've come a loooong way let me tell you. We kept telling him what a good job he was doing and the lady probably thought we were nuts. If she only knew... This isn't the best picture but I told my mom that I'd put a picture on so she could see his "new look". I think he's pretty handsome!

Yeah! A New Park!

2008-09-07T21:21:00.004-04:00

The other day a girl at work and I were talking and she mentioned a park that she goes to sometimes and wouldn't you know it is basically just down the road from us. I was so excited to discover it. There was a concert that night and there were kids everywhere but it was still fun.

I kept calling his name but he wouldn't look at me. I guess there was just to much going on to take time for a picture.

Labor Day

2008-09-01T20:43:00.002-04:00

Today Philip, Blake and I went to a park with Philip's family to grill out. It was a beautiful day. Blake had a great time with his Grandpa taking walks and checking out the playground. I wish I could bring this picture in closer. Blake was wearing Grandpa's hat and pretty proud of himself.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2008-08-16T12:49:00.004-04:00

Nine years ago today we stood before lots of friends, sang together, committed our life to each other and started out on this adventure called marriage. Nine years later we still have each other as well as a sweet little guy, Blake Ryland. Unfortunately we both had to work today. We did see each other for about a minute this morning and then a minute this afternoon as we did the child exchange. Blake and I "celebrated" with ice cream and a trip to the library. Philip and I have started a tradition of eating at the Precinct for our anniversary. It is our once-a-year splurge. It is every bit worth the money and the whole-year wait. Hopefully we'll be able to go their soon although it'll have to be on another day. I've included some pictures, however we do not have a scanner at home so they are pictures of pictures.

I think we look like kids even though we were 23 and 25. Goodness! How skinny we were. One child later, I fear I will never be as I was before.

I must say that I loved my dress. I would buy that dress all over again. It was the 2nd dress I tried on and once it was bought I quit looking.

Happy anniversary Babe! You are still my very favorite husband! I love you!

Hide-n-seek

2008-08-12T23:11:00.003-04:00

The other day I couldn't find Blake. I looked and looked and called his name with no answer. Finally I found him with his laundry all on the floor and the basket upside down with him in it. What a funny boy. Another day I couldn't find him and here he was in my closet trying to hide behind the clothes. What a funny boy although I think he is trying to give me heart failure.

Happy Birthday to Blake!

2008-08-11T22:26:00.003-04:00

My parents can't come to Blake's birthday party this year and his aunts, uncles, and cousins haven't been able to celebrate with him yet, so we had a little party. His birthday isn't until September 28, but he has been talking about birthdays for quite awhile now. Recently he said to Philip and I, "I want a birthday, please!"
We bought a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. They are so good. I just love that mixture between the chocolate and vanilla layers. Here he is with his cousin Makaela who was so sweet to give him one of her bears.

Blowing out the candle!

Opening the fun presents!

Kind of embarrassed at all the attention.

The night before we came home, my parents, Blake and I went to visit my Grandmother. She is the best! I have many wonderful memories spent with her. She is an incredible cook and baker. She has some of the best recipes that I hope to learn to make someday. For some reason they never turn out as good as when she makes them. Beef ribble(spell?) soup, chicken pot pie, fried bread stuffing, angel food cake with pink icing (it cannot ever be yellow and taste the same), diamond cookies, mmmmm.... I could go on and on!

PA Part 2

2008-08-07T23:09:00.006-04:00

On Tuesday we went to Dutch Wonderland. What fun we had!! My brothers and I went there as kids and it was so fun to go back again. I don't care much for amusement parks but I enjoy seeing the kids have a good time. My parents, sister-in-law, Lorinda and her kids and Blake and I went.

This is the front entrance of Dutch Wonderland.

We've taken pictures on this pretzel (or at least one like it) since I was a little girl.

I just love the look on Blakes face. He was having a blast. I wasn't to sure how he would do, so he rode with big cousin Derrick, who kept a protective arm around him. Blake had the biggest grin flying around those corners.

This ride was a little slow. There were levers that he could pull to make the plow go up and down.

I rode with the kids on this turtle ride the first time. The whole ride went in a circle, but then each turtle went in circles too. Lots and lots and lots of circles. Gracious! I was quite happy to get off. Later Makaela told her Pappy that she wanted to go on a ride but he didn't know what. She took him to the turtle. He rode with her and then later rode with all the kids. He said he'd do anything for his grandkids. I love them too, but one ride on that turtle was enough to last me a loooooooong time.

Ever since I can remember they had these yellow train cars that we could ride in and we could ring this little bell. I was sad to see that they no longer have that ride. The fun part was that in it's spot they have a "Thomas the Train" show. It was cute, but kind of a let-down. It wasn't nearly as exciting as I had hoped. There was a lot of singing which was fine, but I don't remember ever hearing any of those songs on his DVD's and we've watched quite a few. I figured they do things that were somewhat familiar. I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too!

This picture didn't turn out the greatest, but you take what you can get, especially when you have a long line of other kids waiting their turn.

At the back part of the park there is a pretty stream, pond, lake, whatever... anyway,on the other side of it is a farmer's field and while we were there, these beautiful work horses came for a drink.

This was close to the end of our day. They were getting tired and obviously weren't up to picture taking. Derrick and Makaela were so sweet to Blake. He absolutely loved every minute with them.

That evening we were barely down the road when Blake fell asleep with a piece of butter bread in his hand. When we got home I changed him, put on his jammies, put him in bed and he barely stirred. Thanks to my family for such a fun day together.

PA trip part 1

2008-08-05T22:29:00.002-04:00

Blake and I recently went to Pennsylvania to see my family. It will probably take me several posts to share our trip. We started out early one morning and had a pretty uneventful trip until we stopped for ice cream at one of the turnpike plaza's. Blake decided that he didn't like the cone and gagged and lost ALL his cookies right there among fellow travelers eating their lunch. I think that I was just so intent on getting out of there that it didn't seem to bother me. It's a blessed wonder that I didn't lose mine too. At any rate, after cleaning us up in the bathroom, I noticed that the area where we were sitting was pretty much cleared out. I sure hope that the plaza cleaner person gets an extra star in their crown.

Blake got to spend some time with his cousins who have a new puppy and kitty. That was quite exciting for him. Monday night we went with my brother, Matt, his wife Lorinda, and kids, Derrick and Makaela to the Lebanon County Fair. There was a petting zoo, lots of cows, sheep, chickens, rabbits, and best of all yummy food.

Here is Makaela, Blake, Derrick and my sister-in-law getting ready to watch a show that turned out to be really dumb and we left. I think Blake looks like Makaela. What do you think?

Blake enjoyed sitting on the tracter.

Petting the goats.

Aren't these minature donkeys so cute?

I'm no kin to the monkey...

2008-07-22T23:45:00.004-04:00

Have you ever sung that song? Today Blake and I were at the zoo and we were checking out the gorillas. They have the cutest little baby gorilla. Anyway, I remembered that "good ole hymn of the church" and Blake and I have been singing it ever since. I sure wouldn't rate it up there with "Holy, Holy, Holy", but it's fun to sing and I'm sure glad that we aren't related to those lovely creatures! "...I don't know about your ancestors, but mine didn't swing from a tree!"

The zoo recently added a new giraffe exhibit. There is an entrace from the parking lot right beside the giraffes and it has been so handy to park and get right in. The great part is that we get to see them twice. Blake just loves the zoo. He would go everyday if he could. Today as we were getting into the car after traipsing all over that crazy place, he says "I want to go to the zoo". I tell him that the animals have to go to sleep and that they are tired of people looking at them. Wouldn't you be?

Blake loves to go into the gift shop and look around. Unfortunately it is near the train so when I'd rather ride, he'd rather check out the store. He does really well though. He looks at lots and lots of things, but he never fusses to get anything. He just puts it back and looks at something else. By the registers they have a big snake. I think that this is the first time he was interested in sitting in it.

"Sundae" Sunday

2008-07-08T19:27:00.003-04:00

Every year around the beginning of July, our church has "Sundae" Sunday! It is held at the park just across the street from our church. Each year a police man will come on his horse for kids and this year the fire truck came too. Blake thought he was pretty something sitting up in that big truck.

Hey! How are you all doing? I'm just on my way to a fire and thought I'd wave at everyone!

The horse's name is Joseph and he loves ice cream. It was so hilarious to watch him eating out of that ice cream tub.

Pappy's boy in training

2008-06-12T00:35:00.003-04:00

This past Saturday, Blake and I spent a good portion of our day with Aunt Carol. Blake helped to plant some flowers and to mulch. Then we cooled off in the swimming pool. We thought of Pappy often since he loves to garden. Blake would make a great helper.

For Great-Grandma!

2008-06-06T18:08:00.003-04:00

Blake and Daddy love to laugh. The other night I heard them laughing and Philip said that he didn't know why they were laughing. One just started and they just kept laughing at each other.

Stylin' in Mama's shoes

2008-05-30T22:21:00.003-04:00

Don't you just love the combo of Thomas the train jammies and my sandels?

Can you tell that he likes to laugh?

No, he's not praying. We were playing hide and seek and he is counting while I hide. He does pretty good, although he likes to peek sometimes :-)

Hmmm!

2008-05-25T17:54:00.010-04:00

Blakes latest saying is "What are you doing here?" Hmmm... I live here!

Daddy and his little sailor!

Mommy and Blake having a cuddle!

Good Friends!

2008-05-25T17:54:00.003-04:00

Last Monday night we had Seth and Heidi Wetherald and their girls over for supper. It was such fun. The kids got along really well. Blake was sad to have them leave.

Heidi and I traveled in a college trio together and she became like my little sister. Seth and Philip traveled together in the college quartet for a few years, the last year I traveled with them too. It was the first year we were married, they needed a piano player and Philip said he wouldn't travel unless I could travel too. So I sang tenor in a men's quartet LOL!! It was fun, but what an experience!

They were all in their jammies by the time we thought to take pictures!

Blake's first debut singing online

2008-05-21T20:56:00.007-04:00

Every time I try to video Blake, he says that he wants to see the pictures. Hopefully you can understand him. He actually can sing better than that but it's usually when he's in bed, its dark and no way to video. Please excuse the grocery bags to the left. I should've cleaned up first :-)

I love CVS!

2008-05-10T12:39:00.002-04:00

I have been inspired by reading how people are saving money at CVS. Who woulda thunk it, right? CVS?!?! If I want to save money I don't usually go to drug stores. Well, I'm hooked. CVS has a program with their Extra Care card. On certain items each week/month, they give you "Extra Bucks" which you can use towards anything in the store. On Friday, because of coupons and extra bucks I bought everything in the picture for less than $10. What you see is almost $80 worth of merchandise. I also have 2 extra buck coupons for next time, each worth $3.99. For information how to shop at CVS visit Crystal's blog. Her site is so helpful in explaining how to shop there as well as alerting you to special deals and coupons, not just for CVS, but lots of other places as well.

Corn and Potty Chairs

2008-05-10T12:27:00.002-04:00

This was our first homegrown corn of the season (Florida homegrown that is). Actually it was quite tasty. As you can see, Blake loves eating corn.

We had put Blake's potty chair away because he had no interest in using it. He just wanted to drag it around the house and use it for a chair. The other night, I made the mistake of making mention of his potty chair. There was no rest until we got it out. Of course, he doesn't want to use it, but he did find out that it makes a great hat!

Zoo time... again!

2008-05-04T23:05:00.000-04:00

Natalie was with Aunt Carol for a few days and so we took the kids to the zoo. We spent around 3 hours there and by the time we left they were so tired. I told Aunt Carol that they would probably both fall asleep as soon as we left. Yeah right! We put them in their seats and they talked and talked. It was so funny, Blake had a book about bears and had dropped it and said "Bear book". Natalie responded with a disgusted tone, "Stop it". They went back and forth like that for awhile. I told Aunt Carol that this is what it would be like to have twins. After we arrived home, Blake finally went to sleep a little after 6:00 p.m. Woke up around 8:00 p.m. but wanted held and kept falling asleep so I put him in his jammies and then to bed. He slept until almost 8:00 the next morning.

This was actually taken when we went to the zoo with my in-laws. The flowers were so beautiful. Blake and I stopped by the zoo this past Friday and most of them are already gone. Tulips sure don't last very long.

Yeah for the zoo!

2008-04-30T23:23:00.000-04:00

We have really enjoyed living so close to the zoo. The other week, Philip's sister and her family were here and we went to the zoo. The kids had so much fun together. I wanted a good picture of the kids with the beautiful flowers but this was as good as it got. They were wanting to keep on the move.

Jared loves sharks so this was right up his alley!

Miss Janae enjoying her ride!

I love this picture of the kids walking together. Jared kept telling Blake that he loved him. It was so cute!

Thanks to Carrie...

2008-04-16T22:35:00.004-04:00

you will learn more than you cared to about me.

What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was getting to ready to graduate from GBS and had just started dating Philip.

5 Things to Do Today:
1. Considering it is going on 11:00 p.m. I should go to bed. My list will have to be done another day.
2. Empty and reload the dishwasher.
3. Send pictures to my mom.
4. Prepare for Friday's voice lesson
5. Figure out how I'm going to get started with saving money at CVS!

Snacks I Enjoy:
I don't even know where to start. I just love food. Tonight I succummened to a doughnut from Kroger. I'm really bummed because yesterday I drove to Duncan Doughnuts to only find out that they no longer make my all-time favorite.

If I were a Billionaire, I would:
1. Buy a house.
2. Put money back for Blake and any other children we may or may not have. (I don't want to give anyone any ideas)
3. Give money to the church, Christian schools and to missions.
4. Give money to my family.
5. HIRE A MAID!!!!!

Bad Habits I Have:
1. Procrastination
2. Eating because I like to, not because I'm hungry
3. Philip could probably list a few, but we're not open to comments on this subject LOL

5 Places I've Lived:
1. Mt. Pleasant Mills, PA
2. Lebanon, PA
3. Cincinnati, OH
4. Floyds Knobbs, IN
5. Louisville, KY (Absolutely LOVED this place)
6. Cincinnati, OH - AGAIN!

5 -Scratch that- 10 Jobs I've Had:
1. Delivering the Merchandiser (I was just a child! We didn't know anything about child labor laws - LOL)
2. Bagging groceries (14 yr -what was I thinking, I've had to work ever since)
3. Waitressing
4. Working at several different Farmers Markets
5. Babysitting
6. GBS Cashier
7. GBS Music Department Secretary
8. Dental Assistant (If I can help it, never, never again!)
9. Office Depot Cashier
10. Receptionist at a Mental Health Office (I probably should be a patient)

Now Tagging:
No one in particular. Consider yourself tagged if you want to share your life history!

Here fishy, fishy...

2008-04-11T22:44:00.004-04:00

Blake loves Goldfish crackers, and well... so do Philip and I. You can be sure though that I'm not interested when they charge $1.69 a bag (a very small bag, I might add). Well, anyway here's my deal. Kroger has them on sale for $1 bag along with many other items at $1. If you buy 10 $1 items, you automatically receive $5 off. So I bought 9 bags and 1 Excederin (which I had a $2 off coupon that didn't specify size) and got the whole kit and kabootle for $3. That's 30 cents a piece. Woohoo! I imagine that I paid some tax in there somewhere, but not sure since I bought other things as well. In fact my bill was $24 and some cents and my reciept said that I saved over $27. Kroger has some really good deals and especially if you have coupons to go with it. If you haven't signed up with Vocal point (see link on the left hand side of my blog), you should. I recieved a whole bunch of coupons for $1 and $2 off 64 oz. bottles of Welsh's Grape Juice. I was able to get one for 50 cents today. Now that's my kind of shopping!!

BTW, I would take a picture of my good fortune to show you, but alas, the camera cords are still in hiding. It's a good thing my head is attached...

New Post

2008-04-10T23:14:00.000-04:00

I can't find my cord to load new pictures so I decided to post one of Blake when he was 3 days old (I think). I just love the way his little finger is curled around that pacifier. It's hard to believe it is 2 1/2 years later.

Our funny boy

2008-04-01T08:07:00.003-04:00

I love this video clip of Blake laughing. Philip was reacting to Blake hitting his hand on the table which was causing all the laughter. The funniest part to me though is when Blake looks at his hand and says "ouch" but then keeps hitting it.

Blake laughing Dec 2007

Especially for Pappy and Grandma Arnold

2008-03-26T09:35:00.005-04:00

I am so excited about finally figuring out how to add videos to my blog. This is especially for my Mom and Dad. Natalie and Blake had tried on their Easter finery and were sending special Easter greetings to my parents. Sorry it's a few days late, but better late than never, right? (don't forget to click on the picture and then click on slideshow)

Easter Greeting

Gotta love those cows!

2008-03-26T09:13:00.005-04:00

Finally....I have figured out how to get my videos on my blog. Click on the picture and then if you click on slideshow, I think that it will work. Blake loves watching this and listening to himself talk.

Got to love those cows!

Easter 2008

2008-03-25T18:27:00.000-04:00

As you can see Blake was not to thrilled to be posing for his picture.

Blake and his Great-Grandma Hough. He loves her so much.

Blake and his Daddy having a snuggle.

Last night we bought Blake a potty chair, since he has been talking about it. He was so excited when we took it out of the box and wanted to sit on it right away. Of course, this was with all his clothes on, but it's a start. He said "picture", so of course we had to take a picture right away. We tried to get him to use it when we were getting him ready for bed, but then he didn't want to sit on it.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-22T23:12:00.000-04:00

Are you thankful for your sins?

2008-03-16T21:40:00.004-04:00

I got your attention, didn't I? Tonight Blake and I were having soup for supper. I started praying, "Thank you Jesus for our _________." Blake was to fill in the blank. He always wants to just say Amen so I gave him a hint by saying the "s" sound for soup. Instead of soup he said "sins".

Quick trip to PA

2008-03-10T22:49:00.000-04:00

This past weekend Blake and I made a flying trip to Pennsylvania. (Flying as in quick, not as in airplane - I hate to fly!) A long time friend of mine, Bradley Spitler, died of cancer on Wednesday, March 5. I was so glad that I was able to go to his funeral. He was the kind of guy that everyone loved. He was very talented, especially musically. He played over 20 instruments and did it well. He left behind a wonderful wife and 3 darling boys. I know that they will miss him terribly. Please pray for this family.

I enjoyed being with my family over the weekend as well. I wanted to share some pictures of Blake that I took while there. He enjoyed wearing "Pap's hat". Don't you just love this smile? He was looking up at his Pappy.

I had to share a picture of Blake's favorite barn animal. My Dad has 8 steers that he is raising for beef and Blake just loves to go see them. You can about bribe him to do anything if you tell him that he will get to see the cows. I was able to video a clip of him counting and calling to them, but I haven't the slightest of ideas to how I can put it on my blog.

Guess who lives at our house?

2008-03-03T23:15:00.002-05:00

The other day, Philip was shaving and had shaving creme on his face. He looked at Blake and said, "Who do I look like?" Blake grinned real big and said "Noah"!

Please pray...

2008-02-27T08:10:00.002-05:00

for my friend Amy. I'm not good at explaining anything medical so I encourage you to read her last few posts. Most of you who read my blog would not know her. She is a beautiful Christian and one of my dearest friends.

My 2 favorite Men...

2008-02-26T20:17:00.000-05:00

I thought it was about time I did a new post so I went through the archived pictures and picked one of my favorite of Philip and Blake. This was obviously Blake's first Christmas. It is amazing how fast time has gone.

If you are a Mommy, you must read...

2008-02-13T23:11:00.002-05:00

"Living with a Three Year Old" on my friend Sarah's blog. I'm too dumb to figure out how to link it to my post and too tired to take the time to have Philip show me right now. Just click on her name in my friends list.

Eeeek! I Creak!

2008-02-11T08:29:00.002-05:00

This morning as I was getting ready for work I'd hear this noise when I'd lean hard on my leg. I thought that maybe it was the floor! Ha Ha ~ the joke is on me! Later in the elevator I thought I'd try that again. It was me! I creak! Ok folks, I'm not that old. I should NOT be creaking!

Blake with Pappy and Grandma

2008-02-09T13:25:00.000-05:00

Blake having lots of fun with Grandma and Pappy! Was he ever a sad boy when they went home! Oh my! He cried like his little heart would break. It made the rest of us want to cry too.

Newport Aquarium

2008-02-07T19:17:00.000-05:00

My parents came to see us last Thursday evening and stayed until last night. We had such a nice time together. They wanted to do something fun with Blake so we decided to go to the Newport Aquarium on Monday afternoon. Blake just loved it. His eyes would get big and when he'd see something new sometimes he'd do this little dance and make this funny but happy noise. It was so hilarious. Unfortunately I never got that on video but we did get some cute pictures.

Beneath the Cross of Jesus

2008-02-04T09:27:00.001-05:00

This morning on my way to work I was listening to the Getty's CD and thought I'd share a part of my favorite song from that CD.

Beneath the cross of Jesus, I find a place to stand
And wonder at such mercy that calls me as I am
For hands that should discard me, hold wounds which tell me come
Beneath the cross of Jesus, my unworthy soul is won.

This morning I feel comfort knowing that the hands that should've pushed me away are instead inviting me to continually come to Him, not only for salvation, but for healing, comfort, peace and love.

My little helper

2008-02-03T13:00:00.000-05:00

I thought I needed a new post. I've had a hard time getting picasa to work for me. It keeps telling me that I have an error. Well this time I decided to just keep saying yes I want to continue and this is how far I got.

Blake is really doing well in the "help" department. He likes to sweep and he helps get the laundry to and from the laundry room. He also picks up his toys pretty well. I love the picture of him talking on the phone. The other night he was watching Bob the Builder and Bob and Wendy were talking on the phone. He decided that he needed the phone to talk to Bob and Travis (the tractor).

These pictures were taken before Christmas. Excuse the hair please. He was in desperate need of a haircut.

2008-01-22T21:10:00.000-05:00

The icing is the best part!!

Mmm, mmm good!

2008-01-21T18:35:00.000-05:00

Tonight for supper I made homemade pretzels and tuna casserole. I thought I'd share the recipes and some pictures to go along with it. The tuna casserole is easy as pie and is from my friend Joy. Use one box of Kraft macaroni and cheese and make as directed on the box.

Then add one can of cream of mushroom soup, one can of tuna, drained, and peas if desired.
Note: I did add a little extra milk and I put the peas in with the macaroni the last few minutes of cooking time

Pretzel recipe:
2 tbsp warm water, plus 1 1/3 cup warm water
1 pkg dry yeast
1/3 cup brown sugar
5 cup flour
1/2 cup baking soda
kosher salt

Mix 2 tbsp of water with yeast. Disolve and then stir in remaining water and sugar. Use dough hook and gradually add in the flour. Mix until it forms a ball. Turn on a work surface and knead until smooth. Form into pretzel shapes or twists. Bring a large kettle of water and the baking soda to a boil. Drop the pretzels into the boiling water for about 30 seconds. (only do two or three at a time). Bake on parchment paper or a buttered baking sheet at 475 for about 8-10 minutes (till golden brown). This recipe is so easy and fun to do. I found this online at the Food Network. I tried to link it but I couldn't get it to work.

This is after I rolled them out. I decided to try to make a "pretzel loaf" and it turned out great.

Boiling the pretzels.

After boiling them, sprinkle on the salt. I use Kosher salt. I would like to use some that is a little more course, but this works great too.

The finished product. The recipe makes a lot more than this but I refrigerated some dough so that I could make some later. I haven't tried that before, but hopefully it will keep.

Philip likes to eat the pretzels with this...

Pennsylvania Farm Show

2008-01-12T10:21:00.001-05:00

This year we were lucky enough to be home when the PA Farm Show started. It was always a highlight for us kids when we were young. Dad, Philip, Blake and I went up on Saturday afternoon. It was such fun. Blake loved the animals and the tractors. I loved the french fries and the donuts! When I stepped on the scales this morning it showed just how much! LOL!! Anyway, we also saw many friends and the best part was that we ran into some of my cousins that I wouldn't have otherwise been able to see this trip home.

They had this big fake cow that the kids could "milk". I wish I knew how to turn the pictures the right way.

They had so many pigs and they were so huge.

They had lots of sheep and we were able to see some of them getting haircuts.

Saturday was their rodeo. The kids participating were from about 12-18. It was really interesting and Blake loved to watch too.

They had a carousel and so Dad and Blake took a ride. It was pretty long and they went pretty fast. Blake loved it and was not too happy about not getting another ride when we walked by later.

Various Pennsylvania Pictures

2008-01-11T19:05:00.000-05:00

My family live in Pennsylvania and we always go there for a Christmas celebration but usually we celebrate around New Years Day. So on New Years Eve we headed for PA and then spent the week. Below are several pictures of some of the fun things we did while we were there.

My Dad loves canned peaches so this summer my sister-in-law canned some and gave them to Dad for Christmas. Talk about a labor of love.

Blake already had Thomas the Train stuff, but received more from my parents. He had a grand time playing trains.

On Thursday afternoon we decided to go to Shady Maple. (For those who don't know what Shady Maple is all about you don't know what you're missing. It has to be one of the biggest buffet restaurants that I have ever been to and their food is not your normal tasting buffet food. It is good ole Pennsylvania Dutch cooking. Well, we arrived around 3:00 in the afternoon, only to discover that they had just closed to have their Christmas party for their employees. This wouldn't normally be a big deal except for the fact that we had driven 45 minutes to an hour to get there. We were pretty disappointed but fortunately there is another restaurant close by that has a buffet and is also very good called Yoders. This picture was taken just outside where they were advertising these handy little tractor things.

Christmas jokes

2008-01-11T18:55:00.000-05:00

Every year one of my sister-in-laws gives Philip a gag gift for Christmas. The funny thing is that she always acts like she doesn't know anything about it. Anyway, this year was no exception. He received a gift without saying who it was from and so we knew she didn't forget. You might have to click on the picture to be able to read what it says.

Christmas morning 2007

2008-01-09T00:59:00.000-05:00

Christmas was so much fun with Blake this year. He sure knew what was going on! A friend gave us a gift and we let him open it early and he kept saying, "oh my goodness, oh my goodness". He is totally into Thomas the train right now and so the majority of his presents were Thomas. He got Thomas jammies, Thomas sippy cups, a Thomas train carrier, Thomas trains and DVD's and some animals to add to his collection. He could hardly contain himself until I put something to drink in his sippy cups. He enjoyed opening not only his own, but our gifts as well. I made out like a bandit and received a new digital camera and Philip got DVD's and chocolate covered cherries. Here are a few shots of our morning.

This is one of my favorites

New Thomas Jammies ~ they really do cover his belly!

Blakes train carrier. I think we will soon need another.

Check out this website

2007-12-21T13:43:00.000-05:00

I was looking for a coupon online for Toys R Us and I found a great website called Mom's View. So far what I've found looks pretty great. There are lots of coupons for stores and restaurants, a listing for free catalogs and it looks like tons more. You can find the link under my lists of "other interests". Tell me what you think. I haven't looked at it thoroughly so hopefully there isn't anything questionable. I wouldn't think so though since it is for Mom's.

Blake and Natalie

2007-12-13T16:13:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my Aunt Carol (not really my aunt, but she might as well be) invited me over to her house for supper and to spend sometime with Cheryl Dawn and Natalie. We had a delicious supper of baked chicken, baked beans, baked potatoes, stuffing, green pepper and bean salad, and fried oysters. I'm sure you are having the same reaction as Cheryl Dawn and I about the fried oysters. Actually I tried one and it wasn't all that bad, but when you see them before their cooked, it sort of makes you not want to eat them. We topped off the meal with ice cream cake, celebrating Uncle Bud's sister's birthday, who was also there. Here are some pictures of the of Blake and Natalie. Blake is about 2 weeks older than Natalie. They sure had a grand time together and it was so fun to watch them play. Aunt Carol let them jump on her couch and they would jump and fall down and laugh at each other. It's just to bad that we don't live closer. I think they'd be great friends. I'm sure that they would enjoy getting in trouble together.

They enjoyed playing "duets" together. I love this picture of them looking at each other. At one point while we were in the kitchen, we heard them playing and Natalie was singing "Jesus Loves Me" really loud.

Aren't they just the cutest?

This is one of the moments when they weren't getting along. Natalie tackled Blake and he wasn't too happy about it. It was so funny looking though that I had to get a picture. I rescued him right after. He didn't hold a grudge though and they were soon playing again.

Natalie looks just like her Mommy did when she was little. I love her smile. Don't look to close at her runny nose! She had a runny nose and Blake had a cough, so they were quite the pair.