This is a recipe I snagged from one of my besties Andrea! It's called Easy Crock Pot Lasagna!! And its so delish and easy!!

You will need:

1 lb of hamburger
1 jar or can of spaghetti sauce
1 small container of ricotta cheese
mozzarella cheese
uncooked lasagna noodles (I used about 8)

First off you are going to prep your crock pot (don't forget to use a liner!!). We made this recipe on Saturday before church service (we went to Easter service a day early!) so we could come home to a cooked meal!

Brown your hamburger meat adding any seasonings YOU like. I like to use Crazy Mixed up salt and pepper!! When hamburger is fully cooked, dump in can or jar of spaghetti sauce. I like to then add in Italian seasonings to make it "taste" a little bit more homemade! Simmer about 15 minutes or till bubbly!

Dump into crock pot enough sauce mixture to just cover the bottom of the crock pot. You will then take your noodles (I do have to break mine just a bit to fit them inside) and spread with ricotta cheese and place on top of sauce.



I fill up the layers as much as I can with noodles! The broken ones don't even get wasted! Top with mozzarella cheese and then do another layer! Do this until all your sauce mixture is used up (remember to always END with the sauce...not the noodles!) you will then top off with lots of mozzarella cheese!



I cooked mine on High for 4 hours! It gets all brown and toasty looking on top! YUM! I devoured mine before I could even take a pic! I figured ya'll didn't need to see the inside of a dirty bowl! Enjoy!

I just have to share that 6 months ago today I welcomed my sweet little Mush Mush into the world! WOW how time has flown!! Mama is alot a wee bit on the emotional side today! I think this will call for a java run!

Today is a day of remembrance for my family. As we celebrate Easter we celebrate the love of Jesus. He gave his life for us. He IS the giver of life. For Him I am forever grateful...


Happy Easter to you and may we never forget. Thank you Lord Jesus. I will forever sing praises to your name.

I have received emails asking...WHERE ARE YOU! I am here! What a crazy week it has been though! The swagger is in the shop and the rental place gave me a BRIGHT blue sardine can on wheels! No joke! If I can reach back to hand my child something while both of us are seat belted in...we gotta problem! The positive side is I spent the entire week with friends! We went to the Tulip Festival in Woodburn, OR and couldn't have picked a better day! The skies were clear, it was fairly warm (say high 50's!) and just plain gorgeous! If you haven't been I highly recommend packing a lunch, extra clothes, a camera and the kids and find a local one! Here are some pics from our day of fun!!



and she doesn't know this but one of my best friends Michelle let me take a few pics of her and her girls! She is a professional photographer so I felt honored and was so proud of how it turned out!!


I am in love with all things country so have to share this last and final picture! I hope your Easter weekend is filled with lots of love, cherished moments and fun. He is risen indeed!!

Let's just say these sandwiches are the bomb diggity (yes its OK for a mom of 3 to use this term...only because I am cool like that!)! Farmhouse chicken salad sandwiches in the house ya'll!



First you will need to take about 1 cup of water and place in a shallow baking dish (I used my lasagna pan!) and place in either 2 chicken breasts or about a pound of chicken thighs (I used boneless skinless thighs as they are juicier and retain more flavor!)



I then sprinkle the mixture as evenly as possible over the uncooked chicken, cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.



In the meantime chop 1/3 cup of celery stalks (about 2-3 stalks) finely and 1/4 cup of green onions (takes about 2!) sprinkle with 1/4 tsp of pepper and mix in 3/4 cup of mayo.



When chicken is cooked through. Remove and "rest" on a plate until cool enough to touch. You will then eat while chop it into bite size pieces.



Put chicken into bowl and stir to coat.



I like to serve mine on cheesy style artisan bread (Safeway has this style for like $1.29!)



And there you have it...yummy farmhouse chicken salad sandwiches!

Well today was a super sad day for me...I was leaving one of my fab 5's houses and her neighbor pulled out of her driveway and backed right into the swagger wagon! I would by lying if I wasn't crying! My gorgeous swagger wagon (I will never own a mini-van...I got'sta have too much swagger for that sorta thing!) all munched up in the front right corner. Emily Grace said "mommy, our car has a crack down the front...we need a new one" and Noah just said to Paul "daddy the car went BONK"! Oh from the mouths of babes! On a good note, everyone is fine. Shook up, but great. Ms. Ava Faith slept the whole time! I was a sobbing mess but made it through all the fun insurance stuff! Next up rental car (bleh!) and body shop! But in dedication to all you swaggers out there...this ones for you:


Now go drink a juice box for the ol' swagger would ya?!

Today I am thankful for the love of my life. My better half. The one person who makes me live for just one more moment, one more kiss and one more hug...my husband Paul.


I met my husband, gosh years ago now! We were just friends in horrible dating relationships and we saw each other through breakups and through the joys of moving forward and then one night while sitting at my dining room table (which BTW is STILL the same table we have today!) we polished off an entire large bag of peanut butter m&m's. We had been talking for hours and I knew in that instant we had more than just a friendship and that I had to have HIM! We actually had friends that made fun of us and said they knew it from day one that we should be together!

We are complete opposites. I am ornery, stubborn (OK that one we DO share!), out going, always on the move, creative and then he is sweet, shy, stubborn (told ya already this one was comin'!), smart, mathematical (I add this in cause I am SO not!) and more slow paced! Somehow we complete each other! We are able to show our children both aspects of life and it works! We rarely fight, in fact I can count the amount of times on one hand in our entire relationship. We do bicker from time to time and its over cheesy stupid stuff! We were meant to be together and this was in the cards! I can not even picture my life without him. I see us being old and wrinkly sitting on our rocking chairs on our wrap around porch watching the sun set. He makes me a better person.

We were married almost 6 years ago this next summer! It was a super hot day and we had to plan an entirely NEW reception just 2 days before our wedding day! The place we had paid for which included our decorations, catering etc. had ran off with our money and left us high and dry! He has an amazing family that pulled together and made the reception of our dreams! In fact it was 10x better than we could have ever asked for! We knew if we could make it through this...we could make it through anything!


This has proved to be true through pregnancy's that involved bed rest, hospitalization, loss through miscarriage (twice), high risk pregnancies, complications with children (Emily Grace's leg, Ava Faith's potential downs and t18). We have been run through the gamete. But you know what, this has only made us stronger. We are survivors and we are stuck to each other like super glue. Yin and yang...he is my penguin for life!

One of the greatest parts of our marriage is God is at the center. We put God first in our lives, our relationship second and then our children. If we don't have a strong connection with God we wouldn't be able to have such a strong and unique relationship with each other. Same goes if we didn't have such a strong connection with each other then our children would be lacking. We have the same goals in life...to be together. To raise our family with love, faith and strong Christian morals. To always be faithful and honest and to be there for one another through thick and thin. We took our vows very seriously.


He is an outstanding father, provider, friend and even better husband. I am so lucky to have him in my life and am forever grateful for his love and commitment to me and our children. I look forward to spending the rest of our lives together and for that I am thankful.

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account wrong doings, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

WOW it's Wednesday already?! Sheesh how the weeks are flying by! Today I had the honor of sitting in a room full of amazing women! When I say a room full think like 60+ women! I go to an amazing church and we have a wonderful moms group called Hearts at Home. We as moms truly ARE the heart of our homes! I have been attending this group for almost 5 years now! I started while I was pregnant with my first bundle of love! I really have no idea where I would be if it hadn't been for this group! I call this my monthly God Spa!

Today we had a talk from an amazing OBGYN that we all love! She was speaking to us about our marriages and how to not only make ourselves happy but that we also need to make our men happy! Her book recommendation was Under the Sheets by Dr. Kevin Leman. Her recommendation was that we read this book AND our husbands read it! The excerpts she was reading were hilarious and truly made us women think!

She said: "If you keep communication and commitment to each other as a high priority, and if you honor and respect each other, you will have love for a lifetime. And somewhere along the way you will find yourselves looking at each other and saying "You know what? What a privilege it is to share life's joys and heartbreaks with you, the person I know and love and understand more than anyone in the world."

Making memories isn't just about this cutie:


Or these ones:


Go out, bask in the love of your spouse and see what kind of memories YOU can make!! I know for us tonight consists of homemade chicken salad sandwiches, How to Train Your Dragon (movie) and the couch...its a cold blustery day here! Great for snuggles, sweat pants and hot tea!

For us in Oregon we have had maybe 2 days since the end of February that it has not been rainy, hailing, cold and in some parts snowing! Today we have brightness and sunshine all around and it makes me giddy with excitement! We have so much weeding to do and so many projects that we would like to get done...but on a day like today its nice to pull out a lawn chair...grab your Venti Classic black iced tea with one pump sweetener (anyone else speak my lingo?!) and sit next to one of your favorite kids and think...not do! Oh the possibilities! Cat at my feet, unfinished play structure staring at me and just a few flowers popping out to say hello around me! How glorious are these days!!

For some reason I have the song "let's hear it for the boys" stuck in my head this morning. DON'T ask! Couldn't tell ya! lol! For today's craft project I did an easy table topiary for the dinner table for the kids to enjoy! I found the cute little "basket" in the Easter section at Target and bought the oasis at the Dollar Store (same with the ball I made the rose topiary with!) The "stick" is a pencil one of the kids got at a birthday party!


First off you are going to take a large styro-foam ball and make crepe paper roses that you will hot glue on. I found this great tutorial here at The Idea Room which is one of my fave sites to follow! I then stuck the pencil into the styro-foam ball and then removed so I could fill the hole in with hot glue. I then stuck the pencil back into the hole and finished covering the ball with the roses!



You will then take your oasis and stick it in the bottom of your "base" of the topiary. I did use hot glue to get it set down inside!



Then take the end of the pencil and make a hole into the middle of the oasis and fill in the hole with hot glue so that the topiary stem will stay put like a tree trunk! You will then fill the basket with any color of shredded paper! I found mine in the gift wrapping section (once again...at Target!)



And here is the finished product! I put it in the center of the dining room table for when the kids woke up to eat their breakfast! I think I might put Easter eggs in the grass of it on Easter morning! The kids thought it was great! Which made my morning!

I found the cutest idea here at Eighteen25 and knew I had to try it out with my Emily Grace! We had so much fun doing it!! She hand delivered them to her friends in a plastic Easter basket!


We found CUTE scrapbook pieces at Joanne's Fabric that were the perfect size for our snack sized baggies! We threw in large marshmallows for the bunny tails (and added in Chocolate Chips for an added bonus...get your mind outta the toilet! lol!) We attached the cute saying to the scrapbook pages that we had pre-folded in half and used good ol' glue dots! Reminds me, I am now out! Gotta add it to the shopping list!



Doesn't the finished product look adorable?!! We sure loved it! And we also enjoyed eating chocolate chips as we added them to the bag! We stapled out cute little papers to the bags! (pink staples...of course!)



We drove around in the swagger wagon while she hand delivered them! She said "Happy Easter" as she handed them over! It was a lot of fun and I think she felt extra proud as she did it herself!

Hoppy Easter!!

Today's recipe is one of our faves! I grow most of the ingredients in my garden, its easy, my family loves it and so far everyone I have made it for loves it as well! The aroma that fills your home...YUM!!

It's called: Marinara! We make it to cover angel hair pasta and serve it with meatballs or I will just make the sauce and use it to make pizza's! No more spaghetti from a jar when you have this puppy! (OK...so I do use jarred spaghetti sauce for some recipes as it is easy in a pinch. But we NEVER use it for actual spaghetti sauce!)

First in a medium sized sauce pan pour in about a pancake sized portion of olive oil. Turn heat on to medium.



Toss your onions into the heated oil and cook about 5 minutes or till fragrant and translucent!
Next is a can of crushed tomatoes! AND I use about 10-12 leaves of fresh basil (yummy!!)
Mix in with the sauteed onions and I also love to add in a large bowl full of meatballs! (I use the bag of meatballs from Costco. They are pre-cooked and frozen...so I thaw a large bowl full in the microwave for about 4-5 minutes) You will let this simmer on medium-low for 35 minutes.



We like to serve ours over angel hair pasta and make garlic bread to go with! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!! Happy eating!!

Today I am most thankful for Noah. He is my only son and so very much a mama's boy. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like that! The months leading up to Noah I was scared. More scared than I have been with any of my children. I was scared about what going from a mom of 1 to a mom of 2 would do. Would I be able to handle this job? Am I worthy enough? Can I love him as much as he should be loved? Will I still love Emily Grace the same way? I used to contemplate these questions as I would hold the hand of my daughter. I had never known the kind of love I have for my children before her.

The day finally came and the moment I heard his cry I wept tears of joy. I felt more love for this child than I ever knew could be possible. He truly is a gift from God.



Words can not describe the moment where your first child meets their sibling. It is magical. This baby is not only yours but all of yours. Noah was the most easy going, gentle, quiet, mild mannered and sweet baby boy. He is ornery which was means he doesn't fall far from the tree! He is a go with the flow, quick tempered, genuine child. His heart is huge and he melts into my arms each day for kisses and loves. Nothing can compare to the love you will have with your son. I was scared to have a boy. But it's funny cause I now wonder what would I do with a boy? I am as girly as you can get. They teach you strength, honesty, humility and to laugh.

I get giddy at the prospect of alone time with my son. There is no other like him. He loves his family and sure takes on the roll of "man of the house" when daddy is not home! We have a life verse for Noah:

"Love the Lord our God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your mind.- This is the first and the greatest commandment. And the second is like it, 'Love your neighbor as yourself'. -Mathew 22:37-39


You may see this picture from time to time as it was one of his first modeling "debuts" taken from a friend who has Happenstance Photography. We have found it as close as the Internet and Missouri to as far away as Europe! This truly shows his personality!



He is a wonderful little brother and looks up to his older sister, but he is an even better big brother and takes care of his baby sister! There is no other like him and I am truly blessed to call him mine.

Today has been a grungy sorta lay low kinda day! My kids are currently still in PJ's. We have watched about a million cartoons (shshshshsh...nobody tell my kids doc!) We have been munching and jammin' and I am currently covered in paint! No I haven't forgotten about you all but I am doing a mini re-do to my bathroom! Let's just say mama is VERY excited! I however needed to take a break in-between coats of paint and decided to show you all a few pictures of my sweet Emily Grace showing us HER britches and boots! She definitely has my country roots! A girl after my own heart! What kind of memories are you making with your children today? All I can say is make every moment count and God bless!

I had the honor of throwing a baby shower for my best friend! She is having a baby boy next week actually and I scoured the Internet for unique party ideas. I was frustrated at the options for boys so I did my own! I hope you like it!

The colors I went with were chocolate brown, light blue and silver. I decided I wanted to do a star themed shower with a rustic twist...you will learn I like to do just about everything with a rustic twist! That's the country in me! My dear friend Michelle of Casual Camera was sweet enough to take some pictures!!

First off I went to Michael's Craft store and found plain white stars out of like a cardboard material. I then painted them silver with the cheapest silver paint I could find. I also bought the Martha Stewart brand glitter glue and silver glitter and then covered them front and back...when I say cover think glitter all over my kitchen! I highly recommend laying down wax paper first for easy cleanup!


I was excited to find clear with silver glitter bracelet style "string" to hang them with! (its the kind that kids can add beads too...mama brain can't remember the exact name!)

I used yellow scrapbook paper and hand drew a moon shape and then cut it out so it hung in-between the stars above the present table.


I used grosgrain ribbon and created a clothes line with onesies and socks for decoration on the opposite side of the room.



I was THRILLED to find silver star edible confetti at Joannes Fabric's and decided to make chocolate covered marshmallows and sprinkle them on top! Don't you just love how they turned out?!!




I found the metal pail in the $1 spot at Target! (I love that store!) and used some of the extra ribbon from the clothesline to decorate around (I attached the ribbon with glue dots). I found a Styrofoam ball at the dollar store that I cut a slice off of to make it sit flat inside the pail (really I should have found oasis so it would have been easier to stick the sticks inside!) I then used decorative shredded paper to cover.
The party favors of course HAD to go with the theme and I love the unique-ness of making the seed packets (view how to here: Shower Favors) I couldn't find a stencil so I made my own and free-handed the stars and moons! I used a raised dot so the moon sat higher than the star and then a silver pen to write in baby's name!





For food we went with crock pot style meatballs (Costco meatballs and add in a bottle of Welches Grape Jelly and a bottle of Baby Rays' BBQ sauce - let melt together and they are yum delish!) Fruit tray with ranch dip. Fruit kabobs and I made a pumpkin dip for the fruit.

Pumpkin Dip:

1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup cream cheese (6 oz)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Beat ingredients together with a hand mixer until smooth and serve with fruit! My fave way to eat it is with pineapple!

We also served a big jug of lemonade that we garnished with sliced lemons and sliced oranges! We served the lemonade in mason jars that had blue striped straws. I also decorated wood letters with scrapbook paper from Joannes to spell out babies name! These were re-used in the baby room!





I worked with a local gal that makes cakes and cupcakes and she was able to make fondant stars and moons with glitter for the cupcakes! I placed them on a tower and it added to the ambiance of the whole shower!




It was so much fun showering Sarah with love. Food, friendship and fond memories for sure! Now we can't wait for her little bundle of love to arrive! Thank you Michelle for your amazing work in capturing the shower!