D&BBaumann

This afternoon I was holding Amberlie in my arms. She was at that drowsy stage where she was trying to decide if fighting off sleep was worth it. I started singing “Walk Tall, You're a Daughter of God” to her and started with the 2nd verse...

'Long before the time you can remember, our Father held you in His arms so tender. Those loving arms released you as He sent you down to earth. He said, my child, I love you, don't forget your great worth.'

As I sang this to her I knew that Heavenly Father indeed loves her, even more than I do. His loving arms released her to come to my family. I have a responsibility to help her to always remember her great worth.

Heavenly Father loves all His daughters. So, remember to “Walk Tall” because “you’re a daughter, a child of God… He’s closer than you know, reach up He’ll take your hand.”

I found a slide show of this song on YouTube (here). Enjoy, but be prepared to shed a few tears as you feel the sweet spirit of this song!

p.s. (if you can have a p.s. on a blog!) I actually sang this song one time at a baptism for Connie in South Africa with my missionary companion Ann. It was a wonderful experience (even though I don't sing, no matter what any of my missionary companions say!!!). Do you remember this Ann?

I have been trying to save money on my groceries lately and have tried to start making things from scratch. Instead of buying or ordering pizza I have been making it (except for sometimes we take advantage of Little Ceasars $5 hot and ready deal!). I can also add things like whole wheat flour and other healthy stuff if I have it on hand and I feal better about feeding it to my kiddos. Also, with the cookie recipe below you can use apple sauce for part of the oil and your cookies will be a bit healthier too!

Quick Rolls (These make great hamburger buns!!!)
4 cups flour
4tbsp. sugar
1tsp salt
2 pkg. Yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cube butter or margarine

Blend 3 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Stir well. Microwave water and butter to melt butter. Add milk to make liquid lukewarm. Add to flour mixture. Add the rest of flour. Let rise 15 min. Shape into rolls. Bake @ 425* for 10 to 12 min.

I have not actually made these yet, but Kris made them at my house not long ago and they were delicious!!! Thanks for the recipe Diana and Kris!

Quick and Easy Breadsticks
1 pkg yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
mix together and set aside to rise for 10 min. then add the following and knead well

1 tsp. salt
3-3 1/2 cups flour (I add till the dough slightly comes off the mixing bowl but is still sticky)

3 Tbsp. softened butter spread over the bottom of an 11"x16" jelly roll pan.
Roll or spread dough evenly over the bottom of pan. Cut once lengthwise down the center longwise, then make about 12-15 1" strips (a pizza cutter works well).
Melt 3 Tbsp. butter and brush over the tops. Sprinkle with Garlic powder and Parmesean cheese.
Let rise 1/2 hour or doubled in size.(You can use oven set at 100* F or breadproof button.) Then bake at 400* F for about 12-15 min.

I actually make this recipe and then use half of it for a pizza crust and the other half I use for breadsticks and put it in a 9x11 pan. We love it! Thanks for the recipe Sarah and Chris!!!

Cake Mix Cookies
1 cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs

Mix all together and bake at 350* F for about 10 minutes (or longer if you make cookies bigger than teaspoonful size).
You can experiment with different flavors of cake mix, rolling the dough in powdered sugar and whatever other creative ideas you may have. Cake mixes are usually cheaper than cookie mixes, especially if you stalked up with them last week!!! Thank you Kathy for this recipe!!!

Drop Biscuits
2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup milk

Mix dry ingrediants into a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives till it looks like course crumbs or parmesan cheese. Make a well in the center and pour milk in all at once. Stir quickly with a fork just till dough follows fork around bowl. Knead gently 10 strokes (I just do this in the bowl). Divide into 12 pieces and arrange on a baking sheet. Bake at 450*F for 10-12 minutes.
I make these all the time. They are so fast and easy and delicious. Thanks mom for the recipe!!!

Cheese Sauce
Makes 1 cup
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 cup greated cheese

Melt butter in a glass bowl in the microwave. Blend in flour, salt and dash of pepper. Slowly add milk while stirring constantly (to avoid clumpiness). Microwave for 1 minute. Take out and stir until smooth. Return to microwave and cook for another minute. Take out and stir until smooth and repeat this until desired thickness. Add cheese and stir until smooth.

You can also add tuna, canned chicken and/or peas. Serve on toast, biscuits or rice. You can leave out the cheese if you want just a white sauce ( I have done this to make chicken pizza with white sauce). You can even make mac and cheese from scratch this way! I usually add canned chicken and cheese and serve it on top of biscuits (from above). I also use just the cheese sauce for on top of boiled potatoes. Thanks again mom for this recipe!!!

Here are all three of my toothless grinners. Okay, so one of them does not grin as much!!!

Jakobi and Jaschon are turning 8 this coming Sunday (April 26) and will be baptized on Saturday May 2nd at The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints. We would love to share this day with all our family and friends, so please contact me if you would like to attend.

I love you Schon and Kobi! I can't believe you will be 8!!! I am so happy that you have chosen to follow Jesus Christ and to be baptized. This is a very important decision and will help us to be an Eternal Family!

My brothers found a lot of old pictures to use in a slide show at my dad's funeral. Here are just a few of them. Also, some pictures from the funeral and one from Valentine's Day. Mom and Dad - you have such a wonderful family. We are all very lucky that you decided to have a large family. What would we do without even one of us? And thanks for teaching us about Heavenly Fathers plan and that we can be a 'Forever Family'. I love you all.

This was written by my sisters Marci and Tami...

"This being the beginning of a new year, my heart is filled with gratitude to God that He has preserved my life, and the lives of my family, while another year has passed away." (Joseph Smith, January 1st, 1836)

My Dad, Clifford has been battling Mesothelioma (a cancer in the lungs caused by asbestos) for over a year now. It has been a rough battle, but we continue to fast and pray for his recovery.

Here are some pics with him and my kiddos on New Years Day 2009. Amberlie is his 22nd grandchild (but not for long since Nikki is expecting his 23rd!)

We love you Dad! Keep hanging in there!

Who said Gingerbread Houses have to be cute? Why not put a little surprise with it? That is what Schon decided to do. What a creative mind!!! Can you tell that he loves Halloween?!?

It was such a treat to have some of Duane's family come to our house for Thanksgiving (we missed the rest of you!!!) and for Amberlie's blessing that same weekend. It was fun wrestling with the turkey and watching Duane do some more cooking. He has really been into cooking lately and loves to find and try new recipes. His favorite thing to make is chocolate chip cookies. But he has also made chocolate pie and cinnamon rolls. Thanks for coming and having a great Thanksgiving with us Arthur, Genevieve and Debbie!!!

The Baumann Family has enjoyed the worst snow that our city has seen in 20 years!!! Duane, Kobi and Schon made 5 snowmen and had snowball fights almost everyday. One evening I stepped outside to see two of my neighbors husbands in a snowball fight with my two 7 year olds! They were all having a blast!!!

We had an extra long winter break if you include the 3 snow days we had before it officially started. Almost 3 weeks of being home all together. What a joy, especially since I stayed inside for almost all of it - except for when I was entering the car!

This was Amberlie's first snow. She didn't actually do anything in it, but isn't she cute in that hat and her 'My First Christmas' pajamas?!!

Well, since it is a New Year, I can make a resolution to update my blog more often. It should be pretty easy since I have a bunch of 'FIRSTS' to catch up on with a new baby in our home!

Amberlie Rose was given a name and a blessing by her father on November 30, 2008 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was a beatiful day that we were able to share with Grandma and Grandpa Baumann AND Grandma and Grandpa Lybbert. We were blessed to have Debbie, Eric, Nikki, Diana, Keira, Anna and Becca with us as well. Isn't she beautiful in her white dress?!!