one of the best recipes ever.

Crab-Stuffed Baked Potatoes... From this recipe book.

Ingredients

4 large baking potatoes

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 bunch fresh green onions, chopped

1 (8 ounce) package imitation cabmeat, flaked

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used a little more)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Bake potatoes for 1 hour or until well done. You will be cutting these potatoes in half length wise and scooping out the insides, and my mom told me a little trick that makes this much easier. Before you bake your potatoes, rub some olive oil on the skins, and sprinkle a little salt on the olive oil. This helps cutting and scooping the insides of the potato... Wish I would have known this trick before I cooked my potatoes. Anyway, bake your potatoes! 

3. Halve each potato lengthwise, and scoop out flesh. Leave skins intact. In a large bowl, mash potatoes with butter.

4. Add whipping cream, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon peopper, and your chopped green onions to the potatoes.  Stir in crabmeat.

5. Fill those potato skins with the mixture. Sprinkle with cheese.  Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees and bake for 15 minutes. 

6. EAT!

 

The BIG Move.

Wow! Where has the time gone?! I haven't blogged in ages... Here is where the time has gone:

• Matt got a job working in Texas.
• He comes home from Afghanistan to take the job.
• He heads to Texarkana in search of a place to live.
• After days and days of searching, he finds this apartment complex.
• Christmas comes and goes... (during which we were all sick...)
• Week after Christmas = serious packing.  Thank you to my mom, brother Luke, most-likely-future-sister-in-law Jackie, and best friend Ashley for helping pack. And to the truck loaders: hubby Matt, brother Matthew, Ashley, Jackie, and my mom.  And a BIG thank you to the people who were praying for us and for this move.  God certainly blessed us during this time. We got everything packed, and He even gave Matt and I wonderful people who traveled all the way from Kentucky to Texarkana with us to help unload the truck and move us into the new apartment. 
• Okay, so we make it to Texarkana, AR (we live on the Arkansas side of Texarkana), get moved in, and I am still trying to organize my apartment.  I am the person who will move a basket to 10 different locations until I find the perfect place for it.
• In Texarkana, we have been looking for a church, driving around to find out where places are (i.e. library, grocery stores, banks...) Matt had some time to look for these places, but its all new to me, so Matt, Isaiah and I load up almost on a regular basis to learn where things are around here!
• I have been so incredibly busy that I have failed to blog. 
• I will blog more now that things have somewhat slowed down!

Rock Ranch!

So, this coming Saturday (November 5th) is "Pumpkin Destruction Day" at this little farm called Rock Ranch. The owner of Chick-Fil-A also owns this ranch, and it is a great place to take your family if you are ever in Georgia about an hour south of Atlanta.  Pumpkin Destruction Day sounds super fun (although I won't be attending)! On November 5th the public is invited to help the staff at Rock Ranch destroy any unsold pumpkins!  They are destroyed via "the pumpkin cannon, pumpkin bowling, the hammer smash and the 40 ft. lift crane pumpkin drop, among others. There will also be airplane pumpkin bombers, monster trucks crushing pumpkins (and crushing cars)." This info retrieved from the Rock Ranch website. Sounds fun, right?! Well, the reason I know this is because when Isaiah, my parents, and I visited Rock Ranch in September, I must have signed up for Rock Ranch email updates, and there in my email was an invitation to Pumpkin Destruction Day! Anyway, the whole reason for this super long blog intro was to share with my blog readers some pictures from when Isaiah, my parents and I visited this fun family farm!  I stumbled upon these pictures on my mom's computer, and had to share the fun with you all!  Plus, I don't think the hubby got to see any of the pictures from our visit to Rock Ranch, and being that he's a million miles away, I thought he might like them!  So, here ya go:

First Stop: Pony Rides... this is right before the pony started walking...

Trying to convince Isaiah to stay on the pony... although he looks
like a pro in this picture, he's super nervous about the whole thing!

Two minutes later (Isaiah's pony).

Petting Farm.

Pappy and Isaiah at the petting farm.

More petting farm.

Isaiah's favorite: miniature goats. He got to feed them and he loved it!

Tiny Town! So cute and made just for kids! They had everything from a jailhouse to
a church to a grocery store!

More of Tiny Town.

The bank at Tiny Town.

Tiny Town jail...

more Tiny Town play!

Pappy and Isaiah at Tiny Town.

The Tiny Town church...

Inflatables! Isaiah loved bouncing!

Peddle Cars! So much fun!

Pappy racing peddle cars (I was beside him)... we lost...

Mama and Isaiah!

We didn't make it to the car before Isaiah fell asleep...
and slept the entire trip home.  He had so much fun!

Bittersweet...

So, Daddy left yesterday! And I was a miserable mess. Seriously. I don't know how I drove Little Man and myself home from the Louisville airport. But, we made it. And, at home, well... I didn't even want to go home. I wanted to be anywhere but home! Needless to say, I was feeling horrible! This was so much worse than when he left the first time. I didn't have anyone here. The first time he left, we didn't really know what to expect. And, Matt was working, so I didn't get to see him 24/7 like I did this past month.  And, I was with my mom. And, let's face it those of you who have good relationships with your parents, we need them!  After spending all this time with him, and getting back to a complete family again, it was really, really tough to take him to the airport and leave. But, we did it. And, I was so sad... not just for myself, but more so for him. I thought about him having to be by himself all over again. As hard as it is for me, I still have Isaiah. I have Little Man to look after and take care of.  Well, those of you who have been in this situation, understand. Those last hours we got to spend with him before he had to leave are the best hours, but yet the worst hours.  Then, once the "good-bye" moment is over, you face reality... he's gone. We're separated by thousands of miles... and plane rides... and time zones. And, it is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Seriously. 

So... I got home. Got a plane ticket (thanks Dad). Got on an airplane this morning at 7:00 a.m... and left. I went to Atlanta where my mom picked me up. Definitely last minute. Definitely spotaneous, but definitely needed! I didn't want to be home. And, since I had a choice not to be... I chose to visit my parents since they are driving back to Kentucky this weekend, I figured, why not go spend the week with them and just ride back with them. So, Isaiah and I got onto a 30-passenger airplane this morning... and flew to Georgia. I am so thankful for my parents and the ability to do this. And for cheap tickets. You can't drive to Georgia for the price of my plane ticket. So, here I sit. And, indeed my life is still bittersweet. I am so happy to be able to be here, but I miss my husband terribly. We got to take Isaiah Trick-or-Treating, and that moment was also bittersweet... sweet because it was so much fun and Isaiah was so cute, but bitter because Matt couldn't be here to go with us. 

Daddy... we love you. And we are praying for you as you finish your journey there. We are proud of you for choosing to do this. Proud of you for being the Daddy and husband that you are. We will see you soon. And we will pray for you everyday.  Can't wait to talk to you when you get settled! 

So, Isaiah got to go Trick-or-Treating. And, he was the cutest monster out there tonight! And, at the last three houses, he finally got the hang of it!  So, here is mommy's little monster:

Oh, and he can even walk like a monster too:

Do Away With Dieting.

So I recently read an article featuring a lady who wants to "do away with dieting".  Her argument was that we (women) should just maintain healthy lifestyles. And... I must agree.  You see, our society puts so much emphasize on tall, thin, blonde women. Well, I have the blonde thing goin' for me... but I will never be tall or thin. I will most likely shrink from my 5'1" frame and I'll probably never weigh less than 125 lbs. I will always have a few stretch marks and freckles. My hair is a mess (daily).  My fingernails chip. My toes are not perfectly manicured.  I have a little jiggle (which will most likely get worse in the future). I wear glasses. And I DO NOT look perfectly made-up after a workout.  I am usually a mess. I usually have food stains on my clothes (thanks Little Man), hair in a messy bun, outfits that don't quite match, and shoes that have full contact with the ground. In other words, I will never look like this (except in my mind):

However, I am a mother. I am a wife. And, most importantly I am God's daughter.  I don't know about your god, but my God has a sense of creativity. He thought I should look like Hannah.  He designed me to carry and nurse babies. He designed me to be a perfect fit for my hubby (who, I must say is the best husband ever).  My God is amazing. He created me the way HE wanted. So, why "diet" and try to look like something we're not? I'm guilty too. I want those abs (ain't gonna happen). And I've tried eating salads for an entire week... ugh. So, my fellow women... you are beautiful the way you are!  Most of us could stand to lose a few lbs. (myself included), but the bottom line is, we were not created to look like Barbie. Don't measure yourself to that standard. And, most likely, if I looked like Barbie, I wouldn't be able to run with my baby, or dance with him, or play outside. I would NEVER straddle a fourwheeler in the outfit above... yikes! And, Little Man loves riding the fourwheeler. Oh, couldn't you just see me trying to squat to pick up Little Man's pacifier?! Double yikes! Imagine that walking through the grocery store!  With that said, I'm sure the hubby would love for me to walk around THE HOUSE in that outfit!