Lilla Rose Giveaway Comming Soon

     Just wanted to give everybody a heads up.... I will be doing a Lilla Rose giveaway here on my blog sometime during the first week of January. Three people will be winning $15.00 gift certificates to spend in their store. This giveaway is being made possible through Independent Lilla Rose Consultant, Dawnita Fogleman. You can check out their website (Here) if you want a sneek-peek, but do not sign in as customers, as that is part of qualifying for the giveaway.:) I have both a flex-clip and Hair sticks, and love them both!!

Our 'Lil Bean

This past Moday I had my first doctors appointment and got to see our baby on the ultrasound for the first time.... It was an amazing experience!! Also, got to see and hear the heart beat.:) I have been sick a lot and getting to see the baby helped make it feel all the more worth it!! Today marks 8 weeks for me.

Special News Alert

     We found out almost a week ago that we are expecting our first child to arrive in July.:) It was a mixture of excitement and a little overwhelming fear of the responsibility of being a parent, but mostly excitement!! :)
     The cake in the picture is how we told Michael's parents.... We wish we could have done something cool to tell the other grandparents, but phone calls had to do. They were all very happy to get the news.:)
     So far, I feel pretty good. I get tired easily, I'm very aware of smells, and get a little queasy at times, but nothing very bad!! We are thanking God for the little blessing He is sending our way...
 

Sweet Potato Casserole.

     I came across an amazing sweet potato recipe the other day and thought I would just share the link to it on here in case anybody is hunting for one.:) When I made it I omitted the nuts and sprinkled a little cinnamon and nutmeg into the potatoes when I mashed them.

Click  Picture Perfect Cooking for the recipe. The picture is off of her blog.

A Giveaway.:)

Check out this awesome giveaway over at 21Rosemary Lane.

 

**Click Here to Enter Giveaway**

Michael Preaching

I thought I would post a video clip from our Church's Facebook page for my family and friends who don't have FB to see. Michael doesn't preach that often, but does sometimes to let our pastor enjoy a Sunday morning off... especialy since he is still struggling with post-concussion symptoms. Michael did a great job and I was very proud of him.;)

A Friendly Visit

     This past weekend was so much fun because one of my best friends and college chum, Rachel, came down for a visit. {I just wish she could have stayed a little longer:)} She got here Friday night...We spent Saturday shopping a little, going for a walk out at a lake, then in the evening we went out to eat and a little more shopping.:) Sunday on our way home from church we stopped to take a couple pictures.....That night after Kids Club, we had a great time over at Marcus & Mandy's house and laughed so much our sides hurt.:)

September....

     Where did September go?? It was a very busy month for us...Hang with me because I have a feeling this is going to be a very lengthy post! :)  It started out celebrating Labor Day with most of the Evans family at a lake/park. We had a lot of fun riding boats, walking trails, etc. Then we all came back to Pop and Mama's to grill burgers.
     We then flew out for British Columbia on the 5th to see a bunch of my family. It was Michael's first time flying, which made it even more exciting! I don't know which of us was more excited... him to finally fly, or me to have him experience it for the first time. He really liked it, but said he'd rather drive places. He hated not being in control and making connecting flights.:)
    We spent the first couple days of our trip in Vancouver with my Pops, Karen, and two sisters, Tajanna and Talia. We had a blast and they did a great job showing Michael around and taking us to the Vancouver Aquarium, down to the ocean at White Rock, and seeing the city. We enjoyed our stay with them a lot. It was Michael's first time to meet them and I hadn't seen them in 5 years or so.
    Saturday Morning of our trip, Brittany, Sean, and Lauren (my sister, bro-in-law, and niece) picked us up for the 12 hour drive up north to Chetwynd and Moberly Lake, the place where I grew up and where they and Mom and Dad live. That trip went by pretty quick however, we stopped to see several sites along the way and we had almost 2 years of catching up to do! :)
    In our short week we had up there, we did lots of visiting of old friends {Carveths, Mercedes, Paula to name a few:)} and spent time with family. My brother drove in from 8 hours away where he is living to see us for a day and it was a total surprise to me. Last we had talked he wasn't going to be able to make it and next thing I know he just walks in the door... I will admit there were a few tears of joy on my part!! :)
    I had so much fun dragging Michael around my "stomping grounds" and explaining everything to him! He was a pretty good sport about it but probably not quite as excited as I was. Dad took us bear and moose hunting one day and did some target shooting as well with some of his bigger rifles. It was good to be moose and bear hunting again, and I was glad to see that I could still shoot pretty decent and Michael did great too.:)
     We flew back on Saturday, the 15th, but had some flight issues do to weather and did not end up getting home until noon on Sunday, instead of 9:00pm Sat. :(  Monday we celebrated our two year anniversary together and went out to eat at one of our favorite places, Carrabbas. It has been a wonderful 2 years... the second even better than the first!
   I know I have left out so much that I could tell about our trip, but this is way to long all ready. Since I can not possible post all the pictures on here you can Click Here for Part 1 Pictures and Click Here for Part 2 Pictures . Thanks for hanging with me! :) October looks like a busy month as well... but I hope to get it into a couple smaller posts this time....

Cinnamon Waffles

     It is almost fall right?? I am starting to get excited about it anyway....cool breezy days, leaves falling, candles, fireplaces, lots of football, and of course, lots of yummy warm drinks and fall food!  I came across this idea the other day while on the net... I honestly don't remember if it was a blog or where...and I guess you could make them anytime, but they seem kind of "fallish" to me. :)
     Anyway, now for the idea!! Plug up your waffle maker, take a can of cinnamon rolls, spray the plates like normal, and place a roll in the center of each square. Close tight and cook for 90 seconds, and there you'll have easy cinnamon mini waffles. You could eat them with syrup just like a regular waffle, or I just put the cream cheese mixture that came with them on top and ate them more like a sweet baked good.:) You could use them for either occasion I suppose. If you need something sweet in a pinch and don't have a lot of time, this is your fast solution...especially on one of  those cool crisp fall days coming up! :)

PS. If anybody who is familiar with blogger can tell me why my comment box is no longer showing...I'd appreciat it.:) I have tried to figure it out...It is still there if you click to the right of the time I posted each post, but won't show up.

9 Months Later....

     August 1st marked the end of Michael's probation period at work. During your first 9 months as a University of NC employee you are on probation....you can not ask off, they can fire you for no reason, etc. In some ways it is hard to believe it has already been 9 months, {because at the beginning of that time period you thinks that 9 months is never going to end.}..and yet on the other hand, it seems like he has worked there forever. :)
    Michael spent his last week of probation doing training. They did a lot of class work, but some of it was hands on. They put pads on and beat each other up with batons,  were pepper sprayed and tasered. All this was done so they would be certified to carry and use them.
   Also, a couple months ago he was required to take a test that most people fail at least once, sometimes 2 and 3 times. Well, he just got his results back and not only did he pass, but got a 90% on it! I was just a little proud.:)
    We are so thankful Michael has a job that he loves and works well with our schedule. With jobs being so hard to come by, so many people have to settle for something they don't like, or pretty much, just whatever they can get....So, we are counting our blessings!




Pepper Spray...The patch was on his one eye because it was still messed up from his Bells Palsy, however, it didn't do any good... the spray just went right on through.



Practicing shooting the taser.

Friends

     It seems to have been kind of crazy around here lately for whatever reason.:) Last week we had a great VBS at our church  and our Pastor and his wife, Marcus and Mandy Evans, (Who also happen to be my amazing bro & sis in-law) did another outstanding job!! We averaged 37 kids every night. We also started doing a kids club every Sunday night and used VBS to kick it off. Last night was the first time with 26 kids. It is all very exciting even though working with children isn't one of my strongest points! :)
     Friends play an important part in everybody's life, and although we don't  have a ton of them that we get to hang out with very much {especially when it comes to girls:( } we do try to get together with Caleb  and Jordan once in a while. Below are some pictures of their last visit, which was also kind of a little birthday celebration for Caleb. Jordan took the pictures for fun but you can check out more of his photography at his blog Tickle Photography . {You can make the pictures below bigger by clicking on them.}

Caleb and Michael grillin steaks.

Jordan running around takin pictures.

The amazing food! :)

Crazy people....

West Anniversary :)

  Happy 5th Anniversary to my amazing sister and brother-in-law, Britt and Sean.:) Love you guys!!

Chick-Fil-A Lemonade

    I found this recipe for lemonade that tastes just like Chick-Fil-A lemonade... I promise!! :) It is really easy and the best I can tell, originated over at Good Cheap Eats . I have a feeling I will be making it several more times before the summer it over....

Lemonade
 1 1/2 Cups fresh squeezed lemon juice (Aprox. 8-9 lemons)
 1 1/2 Cups Sugar
 5 Cups water

Combine lemon juice and sugar, stir well, then add water. Serve over ice...Enjoy.;)

A Summer Weekend

     On Friday night we had a grill out for to celebrate Michael's 23rd birthday! {Any excuse to eat some amazing food is good.:)} We had steaks, cheese stuffed burgers, camp fire style potatoes, baked beans, deviled eggs, choc. covered strawberries, fresh squeezed lemonade, and Butter Finger trifle....

     Also, on Saturday we found and amazing yard sale bargain.... a bead frame with head and foot boards. All we have had since we've been married is a metal frame on wheels... I have been looking for a cheap or free bed set, but never could find any close to home. This one was a mile down the road.:)

PS... I think I want to paint that book case sometime here in the near future. Any color suggestions?? :)

Baby Watkins Shower

     This past Saturday we had a baby shower for Debbie and Nathan while they were down visiting. It is probably the last time they will make the trip before the little bundle arrives.:) They are doing the nursery in a jungle theme, so that is how we geared the shower..... I  think it turned out well and they got a lot of nice gift, which I'm sure will come in very handy!! I posted an album on my FB because there are so many pictures. I will just post the link on here and you can go over there to see them.... Click Here to See Pictures. :)

Chainsaw Carving Championship

     Every spring since 2005, the International Chainsaw Carving Championship has been held in my little sleepy home town of Chetwynd, BC. According to their website there are currently over 100 carvings in Chetwynd. This year Sean & Britt (My bro-in-law & sister) took all the pictures of the finished carvings... the ones that will be in magazines, post cards, etc.... My sister emailed me these little sneak peak shots at some of the carvings....

Crab

Fighting Roosters

Wheel

Britt and Sean also had their booth set up the whole time selling their pictures...Sean does awesome nature photography and Britt is pretty decent herself.;)

~ 25th Anniversary ~

   I just wanted to wish my parents a Happy 25th Wedding Anniversary.:)

Recital 2012

     Saturday evening we had a recital for the two students I teach privately. It was tons of fun and the girls did very well. Chace has been taking lessons since the fall, and Shayla just for the past couple months. Both are doing  an exceptionally  good job at learning! :)

Our little reception for after.

Shayla playing one of her songs.

Chace playing one of her songs.

The girls with their certificates and roses.:)

Shayla gave me a dozen roses.:)

My sweet sister made up my bulletins for me!

Memorial Day Memories

     We had a really fun and relaxing Memorial Day. Nothing to complicated, just a cook out at our place with Pop and Mama, Marcus, Mandy, Shayla, and Shane. It was a beautiful day so we spent it in the pool and eating. Marcus and Michael cooked the most amazing Shish Kabobs ever, and had lots of good food to go along with them.:)

It started with a sleep over Sunday night.:)

The amazing food!

The great grill-masters.....

Enjoying just relazing:)

One of the pool-babies...We didn't get a picture of the other one.:(

Simple people find simple things very entertaining.:) {Inside Joke}

Lauren ~ 18 Months

     Here are a couple pictures my sister sent me of our youngest niece, Lauren, at 18 months. However, she won't be the youngest for long.:) With Debbie and Nathan having a girl in August and Britt and Sean having another bundle in December... Our families are growing... I think she is a doll!! Lauren and I "talk" on the phone several times a week, She always has lots to say.:)



Styling in her "Toque" as we call them in Canada.:)