TASTY TUESDAY

CHICKEN TACOS!
6 or 7 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package taco seasoning
1 can Rotel
1/2 cup water

Place chicken in crock pot. Mix water and seasoning; pour over chicken. Pour Rotel over chicken. Place lid on crock pot and let cook 7-8 hours on low! When cook time is up, remove chicken and shred it, using 2 forks. Be sure to spoon the juice and rotels over the shredded chicken. Make your chicken tacos with all the toppings (shredded cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, salsa). Use hard tacos or tortillas; put it in quesadillas or on salad and add corn, black beans and salsa. Yum! This is so easy and I love the smell of Mexican food and trust me, your house will smell like Ted's Mexican Escandido when dinner time rolls around! Enjoy!

(Thank you to my friend Julie for this recipe, I have made it many times!)

Farewell winter weather!

Well, I think Oklahoma might actually be the only state where you can experience all four seasons in just one week! As much as I was enjoying the wonderful warm weather, I have to admit I was glad to have an official last hoo-rah with winter. I am not a big fan of cold weather, but as my precious friend put it "it is easier to deal with the snow when we can be pretty sure this will be the last of it until next year." So, we did it up right. We used the last of our firewood, hot chocolate mix and marshmallows, and spent a lot of time in the kitchen baking up some "tummy yummies" as Price calls it.

Friday, just as the air got really cold and the rain came down, Nana (my mom's mom) came over to make homemade play dough. This was something that we used to do at her house during our summer visits, so I invited her to oversee our project to ensure quality play dough! She is an expert, let me tell you! The play dough turned out great! We had a movie marathon (Cars, Kung Fu Panda and Nemo) goldfish and grape kool-aid! Yeah! Of course the OU game was on for the evening hours. Go Sooners!

Saturday morning, we made homemade blueberry waffles and bacon! Jon was a champ at keeping the fire going and I think I drank crazy amounts of coffee. We went to Spring Fest out at our local fairgrounds. Kind of ironic, huh, with the ground covered in snow? We returned home and our whole family took a nap for about 1.5 hours! Yeah! I made a yummy pasta casserole for dinner, and Jon and Price baked a chocolate cake that Price decorated. We made a special delivery to YaYa and Poppy's house to share some cake with them. What a great weekend. So much special family time. I am thankful for the last snowflakes of the year. Farewell Winter!

Click on the link to see the slideshow from our weekend.

http://www.slide.com/r/IM5lVhPCsD8zJxKp255ndwHfq69PbDuJ?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

No Hurry. No worry.

If you are familiar with the drill of getting in and out of the car with a three year old, it has a tendency to get kind of frustrating. Price will pick up a toy from the floorboard and want to have a discussion about it before he takes a seat. Or he will grab his cup from the cup holder and want to take a long drink before he climbs into his seat to get buckled up. He will sometimes point out the scenery around him or simply have nothing to observe, but take FOREVER to finally park it! I say "come on, buddy", "hop in, lets go", "come on bud, we have other places to go", "move faster please" or "come on Price!" quite a bit. After a few errands, I can feel myself longing to be home bound...no more in and out of the car!
Yesterday, we had a few errands to run. Knowing the possibility that I might get frazzled, I decided there was absolutely no rush. We would take our time. I walked around to his side of the car to let him out, knowing it might take a good 3 minutes for him to find a creative way to exit the car. I stood back watching him, smiling and holding the door open. I watched him slide out of the car and we made our way into the store. He was very good and helpful in the store (as he usually is). When it was time to get back in the car, I opened the door and he took his sweet time getting in the car. I stood and watched patiently waiting for him to sit. I buckled him in, gave him kisses and shut the door.
My point is, why the hurry? I know there is often a time and a place to move more quickly, but a lot of the time, there is normally nothing pressing on the agenda when we get home. Why not take more time? Why rush? I don't know if Price noticed my efforts to move in low gear, but I noticed my patience only grew the slower WE moved. I have committed myself to evaluating the moment and deciding if there really is a need to hurry. Doesn't life move fast enough without encouraging it to do so?

TASTY TUESDAY

SPAGHETTI BAKE
1 lb hamburger meat
1 package spaghetti pasta
1 can Del Monte diced tomatoes, green onions and peppers (all in one can)
1 can cream of chicken and mushroom soup (all in one can)
1 package shredded cheese
1/2 cup milk
grated parmesan cheese (optional)


Preheat oven to 350 F. Boil 2/3 package spaghetti. Brown hamburger meat and drain. Add tomato, onion and pepper into meat. Simmer. Drain pasta. In a 9x13 in dish, put 1/2 of spaghetti. Next, put 1/2 hamburger mixture on top. Sprinkle 1/2 pkg cheese on top of meat. Repeat. Spaghetti, meat mixture, then cheese. Mix soup with enough milk to make it the consistency of gravy or thick dressing. It may not take all 1/2 cup of milk or it may take a little more. Whisk until smooth. Pour soup mixture on top. Do not mix. Cover with grated parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
This dish is so yummy. It is tasty with garlic bread and/or salad. It also makes delicious leftovers. I hope you enjoy it.
If you have questions or feedback, email me at whitney4ou@hotmail.com

Snap!

Price learned to snap about a week ago. I was so proud of him because he had been wanting to snap for a long time; he kept trying and last Sunday he got it. Now it has turned into something that makes me smile several times a day.

Price snaps all the time! He snaps when he sings. He snaps when walking up the stairs....and back down. Each step gets a coordinating snap. He snaps to the syllables in his sentence, which makes him intentionally talk more slowly (it is so funny!). He snaps when he is watching TV and he uses snaps to point at things! I am getting the biggest laughs out of his new trick. The problem is keeping it bottled up behind my smiling face so he won't think I am laughing AT him. He is so stink'n cute! Well, I am off to go get my little "Snappy Snapperton" from preschool!

"Rocky Rocky" Blessings

When Price was a baby he used to say "unna rocky rocky" when he wanted me to rock him. It has always been my greatest pleasure to cuddle my boy. I would drop everything and make my way to the rocking chair. Price would follow me with his blankie, buzz, and bear (all made of the same soft material that he loves). He used to crawl into my lap and I would sing to him.
Well, yesterday I was emptying the dishwasher and Price was rolling around on the kitchen floor. He made his way over to where I was standing and laid still for a moment. He was tickling his lip with his finger, which is what I do when I am tired. When he caught me looking at him, he asked "Momma, you wanna rocky rocky?" OMG! "Yes! Of course I do!" I replied. Price made his way upstairs, and I knew he was going to get his rocking paraphernalia. I put emptying the dishwasher into high gear and was sitting in the rocking chair when he came back downstairs. He slowly crawled into my lap and I snuggled my almost 4 year old boy. He said "will you sing to me?" I sang some hymns and when I stopped Price said "again." I sang some more. His eyes were getting heavy and his body limp. After a few moments, he fell asleep. I stayed there and rocked my preschooler for nearly 45 minutes. As I did, I studied his perfect complexion, LONG eyelashes, his full lips, dark eyebrows, precious hands and his hairline that is just like Jon's. Price's legs were curled up and filled my entire lap. His hands held onto his blankie and buzz; his arm was wrapped around his bear. I remembered a book I checked out at the library. I think the title is "If I had Known It Were Your Last." It is all about a mother recalling her son's lasts, saying she would have held on longer if she had known it were the last time she would rock her son or the last time she would carry him to his bed. She would cherish the times he wanted to crawl into bed with his parents, not knowing when it would be the last time that he would want to. A child grows so fast! I could not remember the last time Price had asked me to "rocky rocky," the last time he had requested to find comfort in my arms and find rest enough to fall asleep. I tried so hard to burn that moment into my memory. I feel so grateful and blessed to have had that moment with my son yesterday. It could have been the last.

Its that time of year!

Price and I left early Tuesday morning for a quick and fun packed trip to Gore Oklahoma. My parents have a pretty spiffy fifth wheel camper at an RV resort called MarVal. It is on the lower Illinois river and is about 7 miles from Lake Tenkiller. They leave their camper there year round, but from March until October they are there nearly every weekend and for 2 weeks straight in July! Their love for all things outdoors and their investment to enjoy it has been a huge blessing to our entire family.
My parents are there all this week, taking a little vacation. They asked us to come visit. My hardworking hubs could not take off on short notice, but he encouraged Price and I to go. Price has been raised on the water, so he is our little "River Rat." He could hardly get to sleep the night before we left. He was so excited! This would be our first trip there since November.
When we arrived after a 2.5 hour trip (Price is so awesome riding long distances in the car), he was ready to play! We hit the playground first. Then went on a bike ride. We threw rocks in the river and took a go on my parents golf cart. After lunch we got our "Billy boots" on (the name comes from the movie The Polar Express). We walked down stream for nearly 3 hours just fishing and throwing rocks in the water. The landscape is so beautiful. The water is clear and cold. We love it!

When we returned to the camp, we flew kites, which was so fun! After another bike ride, a tail hike, a trip to the grocery store, dinner and a shower we were ready for the highly anticipated sunset activity....making a campfire!!! We roasted marshmellows and made smores. We sat around the fire with lap blankets. I love looking at peoples' faces in firelight. Telling stories, laughing and the distinct smell of a campfire are a big part of making such precious memories. Price went to sleep with great ease and slept hard. We woke up in the morning and did it all over again! It is always hard to leave. The one thing that makes it easier is knowing we will be back soon. We had so much fun! Click on the link below to see a slideshow of our fun filled two day get away!

http://www.slide.com/r/_d4g5qxo4T8LcoIQhco2F62aE6abr6sQ?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

TASTY TUESDAY

Garlic Mushroom Chicken
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breast (thawed or frozen)
1 can Campbell's cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg fresh sliced mushrooms, rinsed
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Rinse and pat dry the chicken breast. Put in slow cooker or crock pot. Empty the can of soup into a bowl. Add garlic powder and mix well. Mix mushrooms into the soup. Spoon mixture over the chicken breast. Put lid on crock pot and cook for 6-8 hours on low.

Helpful hint: When chicken is ready to serve, take chicken out. Spoon the soup/mushroom mixture into a bowl and whisk before you pour it over the chicken (the sauce looks prettier).

I served this meal to my family last night with Uncle Ben's wild rice and seasoned summer vegetables. Jon and Price both liked it.

What a weekend!

The border collie shelter puppy named Sam. He is so cute!

Oh no! Watch out!
Wow! They are so big! Digging for dinosaur bones! On Saturday morning, Price and I took a trip to the animal shelter (more about that later). We spent and hour there and headed to a birthday party for one of his friends who is turning 4 years old. It started at 11:00. The party was at Zane's (the birthday boy) house. His mom had chicken nuggets, veggies and fruit for the children to eat for lunch! Very sweet. The boys played ball toss games, sack races and played in the tree house in the backyard. We then had cake and watched Zane open his presents! The party ended around 1:00. We had a great time! We headed home for a 45 minute intermission...
At 2:00 we went to Jacob's birthday party! Also turning 4! This time we got to go skating! Price's first time on skates went really well. He had a hoot! I on the other hand have not been on skates since 1999 and must have looked like the biggest grandma out there on the rink! I did not fall, and that is all I had prayed for! Thank you Lord! After another piece of cake, root beer and a sugar induced meltdown we returned the skates and left the party around 3:45. Price asked to make another quick trip to the animal shelter, which turned into a nearly 2 hours running session with a border collie puppy that Price named Sam. We stopped by the baseball fields on the way home to watch Jon umpire an inning of baseball and went home to eat dinner. PRICE CRASHED!! I cleaned house downstairs and finished laundry.
We went to church this morning. Jon and I are leading Jr. Worship for the month of March, so we leave church a little amped up and tired at the same time...almost wanting to ask each other "what just happened?", but neither of us do! HaHa!! We came home, had sloppy joes for lunch and went to Norman to visit the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History. It was fun! Price is really on a dinosaur kick right now, so it was truly fascinating for him. We stopped by the mall (yeah!) and came home. Dinner is in the oven right now, and Price and Jon are playing baseball in the backyard! Once my guys have full tummies and Pricer is in bed, I am looking forward to a NICE LONG DEEEEP BREATH!!! Thank you God for so many friends to spend our days with!

I found a treasure!

I came across some music I have not listened to in awhile. The artist name is Jennifer Knapp. I was so excited to pop the CD in and when I heard it, I felt my spirit dance! I love her music and especially the lyrics of her songs! They are so truthful , beautiful and real to life. The tunes are catchy and fun to sing once you learn the words. I immediately went to playlist, downloaded her songs and put them on my blog. Jennifer Knapp's songs have always taken me to a place of deep worship and celebration of God's love for me. It has been nearly a year since I played her music. I feel like I found a treasure today!! I could not decide which order to put the songs in, so I am letting my playlist select them randomly. You can click on any of the songs though if you want to hear the others! If you have few minutes, take a long listen and enjoy! I hope your spirit rejoices in the love and grace God has for you!

Guest bedroom

Yeah! I have started redecorating the guest bedroom! I am excited about fixing up this room because it has been the place where all our junk has been dropped for the last year (since we moved in). I am thrilled to have taken control of this space and hope it will be a tranquil and comfortable room for our friends and family who come to visit! All the wallpaper is gone, the baseboards have been removed, primed, painted and put back on! I have sanded the closet doors and trim and plan to prime everything tomorrow! I think the return of this cold weather will help to keep me inside and working on getting it done. I will keep you updated on the progress and hope to post the before and after pics by this time next week!! Maybe?

Like a flood!!!

A year ago, my family moved. We left the city, church and people we love to start a new chapter in our lives. My husband was given the opportunity to be Vice President of Insurance Operations at First Star Insurance Agency (he says his title sounds a lot more important than it really is). Jon was sweet enough to offer to commute, but we knew that it would take away so much "family time." We bought a home in Chickasha and Jon started his job. Insurance is a wild and crazy beast! Jon has been working long hours trying to build his client list. First Star insurance is a subsidiary of First National Bank, so Jon also travels to all the FNB locations (Tuttle, Minco, Newcastle, Blanchard, Cyril and soon a location in Mustang). This is great because he has a large pool of people to draw from that are already comfortable with the FNB establishment. It also keeps him very scattered.
Jon and I have been sending out leads to these towns; mailers that give homeowners a quote depending on the estimated value of their home. A few weeks ago, I began saying a short one liner prayer for each mailer I sealed (this is what I call a "flair prayer"). For instance, "God, let Mr. and Mr. Smith be open to considering changing insurance," or "Let this be the perfect time for Mr. and Mrs. Jones to receive this quote and want to call Jon." Doing this made me realize that Jon's business is something I should be praying about every day. I started putting these thoughts in my prayer journal and petitioning God about it. My words were..."Like a flood, God, let the phone ring, let Jon have the right price and help him to close the deal." Jon knew nothing about my prayers.
A few days later, Jon called me one afternoon and said, "Whit! The calls are just POURING in!" His words gave me chills! I started laughing! I explained to him about what I had committed to do. A few days later, he left a message that said "Your prayer has been answered, it is starting to flood." Praise God! Oh my goodness, the blessings we might miss when we don't let God in on "it"...whatever "it" might be!!! He loves to prove Himself faithful!

A craft with Daddy

Jon, Price and I woke up and went to the Boy Scouts Pancake Breakfast this morning. We enjoyed blueberry pancakes and orange juice! Yum! We made a quick early morning run to Wal-Mart and then headed home to make a craft. I picked up a small wooden bird house yesterday for Price to paint and he and Jon were ready to tackle that project. I got the paint and brushes ready and headed upstairs for a quick shower. Jon and Price painted and here is the final result. When it is completely dry, we plan to hang it from one of the trees in the backyard. Price is proud of his work and keeps saying "the birds are going to love this!"

The games boys play

Often times when Price uses the potty, I hear "Yes!" or "Oh man!" or "Go! Go get it!" or "Hurry!" from behind the bathroom door (it is usually a combination of a few of these, also accompanied by sound effects ). I dismissed it for awhile, but today my curiosity got the best of me. I asked Price what all the chatter was about in the bathroom and he told me that when he goes pee pee he plays a game. Even more curious at this point, I asked what kind of game he was playing. He said that "the first pee pee makes bubbles in the water and the second pee pee chases the bubbles and makes them explode!" Slightly confused, I asked to monitor this game next time he "played." A couple of hours later he reminded me of my request and announced he was going to use the potty. I watched quietly from a distance. He explained the game to me. Turns out the "first pee pee" is the when the stream actually hits the "pond" and makes "bad guys." The "second pee pee" is the remainder of the flow "crashing" the "bad guys" and making them "explode." I felt surprised; surprised that even going to the restroom was an adventure! And if you know Price, you know how much he gets inside his imagination to play! I also felt extremely unfamiliar with all his boyness! We have a lot of girls in our family. (My Nana is one of six girls, my mom one of three girls and I have mostly girl cousins)! My only response was to laugh and remind Price to wipe up his drips, put the seat down, and wash his hands!

Applying Philippians 4:13

What a beautiful day! Price and I have enjoyed it very much! We made a trip to the park this afternoon and played. I don't mean he played and I interacted from the sidelines; WE PLAYED!! He did the small monkey bars and I did the big ones. We made at least 20 trips down the winding dark slide, the tire swing, the swaying bridges, the fireman poles, the balance beams, the regular swings and the rock wall!!!
There was one piece of climbing equipment that Price was not wanting to play on. He encouraged me to go first, so I did. I climbed to the top and looked down at him. He said "I am just not sure I can do that Mama." I told him he was strong and if he would try, I bet he would succeed. I could see him thinking about it for a moment. He quietly and carefully started to climb. I may have looked away for a moment because in about 2 seconds his feet were back on the ground. I made my way down, and kneeled in front of him. I said "You don't have to do it if you don't want to Pricer, but I know that Philippians 4:13 says that you can do all things...(I paused knowing he would finish the verse) and he did..."through Christ who makes me strong." "Do you want to give it another shot?" I asked. "Okay!" And sure enough Price made it to the top! Not only that, but he decided today was the day to tackle all those pieces of equipment that used to cause him pause!! We did it all, and rejoiced over every single one! I was so proud of him! Proud not only because he tried and was successful, but mostly because I noticed a strength of faith, believing that he could! On the way home, we talked more about all the things that seem hard to do, but with God's help we can accomplish them. What a blessing to see scripture working in and shaping our sweet boy!

Breakfast in MY bed...?

Price woke up at 6:15 this morning (about 45 minutes before usual and 30 minutes before I normally get up). He said his tummy was grumbly and he wanted some cheerios. I directed him to his daddy who was already awake and sipping coffee downstairs. He was reluctant to let Jon fix his cereal. He said "you make it the best, mama," which made me smile. I was sleepy, and even though I was flattered, I still encouraged him to ask his daddy. He walked downstairs and I heard his sweet voice asking Jon for cheerios. I thought I had at least bought myself a few more minutes of shut eye. Next thing I know, Jon returned with a small bowl and Price is toting his lap tray. I said "what are you doing, buddy?" "I want to eat in YOUR bed" he said. "I don't think that is a good idea, Pricer." I was picturing spilled milk and soggy cheerios on my sheets. "Please, Mama?" "Why do you want to eat up here in my bed?" I asked. Price pulled his eyebrows together, and cocked his head to the side acting offended that I would even ask such a question. "Because I love you!!" he replied genuinely. Needless to say, that was all it took to convince me to let him pow wow with his breakfast in my bed. Jon grabbed his iphone and took this pic!

Its all fun and games until....

This morning Jon was helping me make the bed. He tossed me the pillows from the floor to put on my side of the bed, except he pegged me in the head. We both laughed and I felt a wave of playful aggression rise up in me! I grabbed the pillow to whack him back but he saw it coming and grabbed one too! I got a good hit in and he got me back! An important footnote to this story is to know how COMPETITIVE Jon is. I knew I had really opened a can of worms! We exchanged blows again! I was laughing and decided it was time to retreat, so I took off running around the end of the bed and stubbed my toe on the footboard! Now I was laughing, crying and hopping around on one foot! Jon of course came to check on me but I didn't feel quite safe until he put his "weapon" down (being wounded to Jon only means you will be a little easier to conquer)! I still have had chuckles about it even though the second toe on my right foot is still red and throbbing!