well, here goes. the shameless post to get 50 free Christmas photo cards.

we have used shutterfly in years past to order our cards. i have to be honest, we ordered 2 years ago and hated the cards when they came in. we called {or e-mailed, i can’t remember which} and they were VERY gracious and happily re-printed our cards using a different design. they didn’t charge us any additional fees -- they shipped us the new cards with no cost to us. the 2nd design we loved! shutterfly has excellent customer service -- which is probably one of the main reasons we continue to use them.

along with our yearly Christmas card purchase, we also use shutterfly to order a photo calendar for my mother-in-law. this is one of her favorite gifts. she has already been dropping subtle hints to make sure we don’t forget this year! we {try to} take pictures throughout the year and combine them with pictures from reed’s sister to make the calendar. shutterfly allows you to save the dates for the next year so we don’t have to go back and add in the same birthdays/anniversaries every year. the first year took a little time, but now all we do is insert the pictures!

now it’s your turn! click here to find out how to get your 50 free cards from shutterfly. you better hurry, all entries have to be submitted by december 10.

i saw this idea for a recipe exchange on another blog and i thought it was such a fun idea!  since the weather is finally starting to get cold i am "all in" for winter! {you like that not-so-subtle au reference?} 

it's easy to play along!
if everyone will post their favorite winter recipe on their own blog and then copy & paste the link to that post below we'll end up with a yummy list of recipes!  if you have a favorite recipe from another blog or website, feel free to link to that as well!!  the more recipes posted, the better!



here are two of my favorites:
combine the following 3 ingredients in 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a large pot and simmer until onion becomes transparent.

• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 minced jalapeno, seeds removed (i use pre-minced in a jar and just add a very heaping tbsp)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic

add the following, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer 30 minutes.

• 48 oz container chicken broth
• shredded chicken - i use an already cooked rotisserie chicken and shred to bite sized pieces
• lg can of diced tomatoes (do not drain)
• lg or small can of stewed tomatoes (do not drain)
• lg can of whole kernel corn drained
• lg can of fresh cut green beans drained
*you can really add any vegetables or beans you would like

• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp ground red pepper
• salt and fresh ground black pepper

5 minutes before serving you can add fresh chopped cilantro if you have it and like the taste.  serve hot over tortilla chips and shredded monterey jack cheese! 

• 1 pre-made pie crust
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 5 cups thinly sliced apples (1 bag of granny smith)
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 20 caramels, halved
• 2 tablespoons milk

directions:
1. preheat oven to 375°F

2. to make taffy: in a small bowl combine brown sugar, melted butter or margarine, and 1/3 cup flour. mix well and set aside.

3. to make apple filling: place apples in a large bowl. add white sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, cinnamon, and lemon juice. toss until all ingredients are mixed well and apples are thoroughly coated.

4. spoon half of apple filling into pastry-lined deep-dish pan. top with half of caramels and half of taffy mixture. pepeat process with remaining apple filling, caramels and taffy mixture. place top pastry over filling and seal well {this is very important--if edges are not sealed, caramel will leak out all over}. cut steam vents and brush top crust with milk or light cream.
*i always put a baking sheet under my pie pan because i haven't perfected sealing the edges!

5. cover pie with foil and place on a baking sheet. bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. remove foil from pie and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until crust is golden. Serve warm.

now, get out there and post those recipes!

a few weeks ago, we woke up bright and early to fly to the coast for reed's cousin's wedding.

i can't believe i haven't posted this yet, but i made the pregame video for auburn!!

i feel i need to explain my crazy behavior.  the video was actually taken during the 2009 season at tiger walk.  we were all getting pretty hyped up and acting like typical {southern} football fans before a game.  a good friend of ours, jared, told me i better touch chizik when he came through.  so i did.  they caught it on camera.  now i'm the crazed fan trying to grab him as he walks by! 



reed says i've now made the "auburn trifecta" because i've been on a game ticket {lsu to be exact}, been on auburn everyday {the tv show} and now the pregame video!!

while we're on the subject of football, i can't take many more games like the clemson games.  i care way too much about this silly sport.

wde.

isn't she adorable?  we are completely smitten with her.  reed came home with her last thursday night while i was having spa night with some of my closest friends.  molly quickly became the highlight of the night when she came home!  it took us until friday morning to come up with a name, but in the end molly just seemed perfect.  she is 9 weeks old and quickly learning lots of new things. 


1st on the list was potty training.  she's on her way, but not there yet.  she goes to the door most of the time... we're just waiting on it to be all the time!  reed is teaching her to bring the paper inside in the mornings and she's actually done it the past two mornings.  she sweetly walks to the mailbox with reed, he shows her what to do and then she comes bounding in the house to give me the paper.  hopefully she'll pick this one up pretty quickly.

we had plans to be in cullman for most of the weekend so my sweet, sweet parents {thanks mom and dad!} watched molly while we were gone.  we came home saturday during the day and got to spend some good qt with molly, mia & tré.  tré kept wanting to carry her around by her neck like he does with mr. bear -- she suffered through it pretty well!  we started filling up the kids' baby pool at my parents and she just jumped on!! we're so excited she likes water and can't wait to take her to the lake!

for quite some time now {we're talking months} reed has asked every person we know about a shoe he called insta pumps.  he has insisted these things exist, yet not one single person has ever heard of them!!  well, i did a little googling and after a few clicks i found them.  the now infamous insta pumps really did do exist.  i apologize to my sweet husband because i have doubted these things from the beginning!  i mean really, a shoe that has a co2 cartridge, who would have thought?

i'm a few days late, but...

the next few hours were spent with reed digging a grave for us to bury our sweet matilda.  we loved our puppy, maybe too much, but we know she was a gift.  the lyrics to one of matt redman's songs kept playing in my head:

 
Lord, blessed be your name.  as we were crying over our puppy, we were both very convicted about the thousands of men, woman and children who die every day without knowing Christ.  we had such an incredible experience in africa and witnessed so many of God's children who have nearly nothing and worship Him completely.  while we are still missing matilda everyday, we are trying to keep our eyes focused on Him -

after being back in the states for 3 weeks i finally managed to sort through the pictures and videos!  our trip to rwanda is something we will never forget.  our lives will never be the same because of what we have seen.  we are both extremely grateful to reed's work for 1st giving us the opportunity to sponsor muyvuni and 2nd giving us the opportunity to meet him.  

we are very excited to see where God will lead us over the next few months and years.  we have plans of our own, but our ultimate goal is to serve Him.  wherever and whatever that means.  being in rwanda has made us both re-evaluate things in our lives, which is a good thing.  our hearts truly break for the people of africa, but at the same time we are inspired by them.  we are inspired by their joy which can only come from the Holy Spirit, by the obvious presence of the Father in their lives and by their hunger to know and study His word.  they are my daily inspiration for me to seek Him in all that i do.  i am definitely a work-in-progress when it comes to seeking His direction first, but with His help i'm getting there.

if anyone is considering sponsoring a child through compassion international i would say "do it - now."  don't wait.  there is a link in the sidebar -- click on it and a list of unsponsored children will come up for you to see.  your sponsored child will bring you far more joy than you can imagine.  we have thoroughly enjoyed watching our child grow in the last 2 years and can't wait to see how he continues to grow in the next 10 years!  maybe one day we'll get to be the proud sponsors of an ldp student!

the song that is playing during the video is by brooke fraser.  i have loved her music since the first time i heard her singing.  i hadn't heard this song until melanie put the video together, but the lyrics are incredible!