Day 9: Place I've Visited...

I lived overseas my whole childhood, so I been to a lot of places and seen a lot of amazing things. It's hard for me to choose one place to write about. Lucky for you, its a snow day, so I will write about most of them (in summary). The first place I lived was Sierra Leone, Africa. We didn't do much traveling there because my sister and I were so young. But, I remember many trips to the beaches there. The next place we lived was Frankfurt, Germany. While living in Germany we visited Holland, Berlin, Rotenburg (may have spelled this wrong) and many castles and other exciting places. After Germany we moved to Amman, Jordan. This was by far my favorite place we lived. Its unfortunate that the media only shows the bad sides of the middle east because I have never been or lived in a place where people are more caring towards you and want to make sure that you are taken care of. Jordan is such a beautiful country with beautiful people and amazing history. While living in Jordan, we visited Petra, the Dead Sea, the Red Sea, Jordan River, Mt. Nebo, camped at Wadi Rum, Damascus, Israel, and Egypt. My heart breaks for the craziness happening in Egypt right now and pray that it ends soon. I am sure I'm forgetting several places I've visited while living overseas, but once we returned to the US, I have traveled to Brazil, Mexico, Disneyworld, D.C, and several beaches in Florida and Texas. I wish I could post some pics of all these amazing places, but unfortunately they are all at my parents house. I love to travel and see new places and look forward to traveling with Hannah so she can have great experiences too.

Day 8: Pictures of Friends

I have been blessed with many friends. Some have been life long friends and some have been in different chapters of my life. Either way they have each helped me become who I am. I am thankful for my friends.......(cue the friends song)



Day 7: Favorite movies

Today's topic of favorite movies is a hard topic because I don't really have a lot of favorite movies. I like a lot of movies, but in order to be a "favorite" I feel that it has to be a movie you can watch over and over again and not get tired of it. This is one category where Conrad and I are so different. He loves movies for the way they are made more than what its about. Therefore, I love the chick-flicks, funny movies, and those that make you cry. Some of you may laugh at my favorites, but I'm not ashamed :)
My all time favorite movie is  Yours, Mine, and Ours. Not the new remade one, but the original with Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda....I've seen it a thousand times....seriously. Other favorites in no particular order are:

-Parent Trap

-Bruce Almighty

-Cheaper by the Dozen (1&2)

-The Notebook

-The Princess Diaries

-Mean Girls

-Sweet Home Alabama

Happy Monday Everyone!

PS-I did not add Twilight to the list b/c while I enjoy the movies and like them a lot, I think the books are way better.....

Day 6: Happy 5 Months!

Well day 6 of my blogging is supposed to be favorite picture day. So here is one of my all time favorite pictures.

I know you're probably thinking "Why would she choose this discusting picture of herself as her favorite picture?" Well I love this picture for many reasons and the way I look is not one of them. This picture shows love. The love that Conrad has for me, the love that I have for my daughter and the love that God has for us by bringing us all together. This picture was taken exactly 5 months ago!

Today Hannah is 5 months old and I can't believe how time flies! She is getting bigger every day, discovering new things, and it is all happening so fast. I hope as she grows, she will know how much her mommy and daddy love her and care for her. Here are just a few things that she is doing at 5 months



*eating rice cereal and oatmeal

*rolling from front to back and back to front

*trying so hard to sit up straight (right now its more of a lean)

*laughing, giggle, baby-talking

*her favorite toys include Chiming Charlie, her exosaucer, stacking music stars, and talking elmo

*she has found a love for our dog peanut and watches his every move

*sleeping through the night (most of the time)

*she started going to "school" aka Moms day out 2 days a week

I love you Hannah Elizabeth!

Here are some pictures taken this morning at 5 months :)

Day 5: Favorite Recipes

I try to cook dinner every night, so I have a lot of recipes. But, I'm having a hard time deciding what my favorite ones are. So, I asked Conrad what were his top 3 favorite things I make and I will give you those recipes. :)

1. Chicken Spaghetti
Either 4 chicken breast cooked and shredded, or a whole chicken cooked and deboned...either one works
1 can chicken broth
1/2 pkg of spaghetti
1/2 lb of velveeta
1/2 lb of shredded cheddar cheese
1 small jar of pimentos
1 lg. can of stewed diced tomatoes
garlic powder-dash
onion salt-dash

In large skillet, add cooked and shredded chicken, tomatoes, pimentos and can of chicken broth. Sprinkle with garlic powder and onion salt. Simmer 30-45 mins once it boils. Add cheeses, then add cooked spaghetti with chicken mixture. Place in 9x13 dish and bake at 325 for 30 mins.


2. Stuffed Pasta Shells
18 large shells
15oz container of ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 1/2 c. of mozzarella
1/4c parsley
1/4c Parm cheese
1/2 t basil
1/2 t oregano
1 jar (15 oz) spaghetti sauce
1/3 c water
Cook shells according to pkg. Combine all ingredients in bowl except water and sauce. In a different bowl or large measuring container, mix water and sauce. Pour 3/4 c. of sauce into bottom of 9x13 dish. Fill shells with cheese mixture using a spoon. Place in pan then pour remaining sauce over shells. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 375 for 35 mins

3. Sour Cream Enchiladas
1 lb. of shredded chicken breast
1 can cream of chicken
1 8oz container of sour cream
1 small jar of green chilis
shredded cheddar cheese
12 flour tortillas

Mix ingredients together. Fill tortillas and roll them up and place them in 9x13 dish. Spread remaining sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Cook at 350 for 20-30 mins or until bubbly.

Hope you enjoy these!

Day 4: My Parents

I have to say that I was pretty blessed in the parent department. I was blessed with amazing Christian parents who helped shape me into the person I am today.
I'll start off talking about my dad...a lot of dads out there are consumed by their work and bring it home, stay late, work weekend, etc. But, my dad cared more about his family than work. In fact, he left an amazing job for his family and not many men/fathers would give up a job they love for their family which says a lot about my dads character. Growing up I loved playing with my Sesame Street playhouse and I remember my dad dropping whatever he was doing to play with me. For some reason that memory has stuck in my head and I think about that a lot. :) My dad made sure that we grew up to love God and follow his word. He has been an amazing Christian role model and I've seen him do and make some hard decisions because of his faith. He is someone that I have always known I can go to for anything. He has always been the leader, provider, and structure of our family.
Now onto my mom...I was blessed to have had a mom who stayed at home with me, my sister, and brother. As I sit here and write this, I am having a hard time putting my thoughts into words (surprise, surprise). There is so much I could say about my mom that I don't know how to say it. One of my favorite things about my mom is the fact that we always had a homemade meal at our dinner table every night. I am trying to be the mom to Hannah that she has been for me and my siblings. She is my best friend and I don't think a day goes by I don't talk to her on the phone.
There is so much more I could say about my parents but this post would be forever long. Love you mom and dad!

Day 3: My first love

Well Im not sure how old I was (we'll say 7 or 8) but I was in love with a boy, no a man. I loved to watch him throw a football, I wrote him love letters, wrote songs for him and had his picture all around my room. I would like to say this love died over the years but I'm not sure I can. I still get to see him a few months out of the year but mostly on Sundays for a couple hours. He was my very first love and yes his name is Troy Aikman.
With that said, love is not the word I would use to describe him anymore, more of just a crush. I am so in love with Conrad and could not be happier. I also never believed in love at first sight until I had Hannah. So she is my first love at first sight.