Cat was here!~

My friend Cat and her husband Don came through a couple weeks and stayed for the night. They had been on a 2 week vacation traveling the midwest. I was so happy that they could stop by if even it was a short and sweet visit!

This is the only pic I have of Cat and I from the trip.. I think she may have one.. but anyway.. it was good to see her, but selfishly I wish she could've been here for a much longer period of time.. ooo the troubles we could get into! haaWe are soooo cheese! hahaaa. ;o)

While Cat was here she did a photo shoot of Hunter.. I cannot wait to see the pics.. he was such a good little model for her. I will share them as soon as I get them! Also while here, Don got to show Hunter his love for Legos too. Yes.... our house is a LEGO graveyard? junkyard? heap? mountain? fountain of fun? hahahaa... whatever.. it keeps that crazy boy happy! This is something that he made the other night. I have to shamelessly admit I kinda like playing with them too.. well not "playing" but building things.. When Hunter gets a kit we usually build it together... then last night after he went to bed I spent an hour and half creating a helicopter for him. He was sooo freakin' happy when he woke up and found it. {except for I put a Lego girl into the cockpit rather than a boy} hahaa

More goodies to share later.. off to enjoy some of this SUNSHINE!!! ;)

Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot Pie~

This lil boy has become quite the chef lately! Ive been letting him fix his Daddy Sunday dinners.. the week before he made Tuna Noodle Casserole and then last Sunday he made this Chicken Pot Pie! He pinched the edges of the pie crust even! I was so impressed and it makes him SO proud to do something for his Daddy on his own. Seriously all I do is open the containers/cans and he adds it all, seasons it and stirs it up.. I only help with lifting and placing in the oven if needed. I thought Id post this recipe too.. it is easy peasy lemon squeezy!!!!

Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot Pie~

1 set of pie crusts
1 can chicken breast chopped/drained
2 cans mixed veggies drained
1 can mushroom soup
1/2 can of water {use mushroom soup can}
salt/pepper/garlic
1/4 stick butter cut into pats

Instructions: Lay the 1st pie crust out in your pie plate {I used a deep dish pie plate}, use fork to poke some holes in crust. Mix chicken, veggies, soup, water and spices in a bowl then transfer to pie crust. Cover with remaining crust, pinching the edges together. Poke more holes in top layer of crust and add the butter pats. Bake in 350 oven until the crust is golden brown!

Its the easiest and fastest dinner in the west... and Todd could eat the whole thing himself I think! hahaa.
ps: I have tried using the canned beef to make this too, it wasnt as big of a hit as the chicken... so Im sticking to what works right??? ;) Enjoy!

Notes~

Just a little note to let you know that Im still here... just working a lot and when I get home just feeling like crapola thanks to those womanly whoas!

Anyway.. Things are going ok with the WLJ. Ive been watching what I eat, but still need to push the water. I havent taken the vitamins in a while either. I dont see a big huge difference except it did seem that they made me feel fuller in the mornings. Will just have to see. In an earlier post I know I told you guys that I thought I had probably gained back all the weight I lost. Well.... NO, good news I even lost a few more pounds. How. On. Earth. Did. That.Happen? hahaa.. Im happy about it.. but still in disbelief. Maybe its just smarter choices and less Pepsi?

Lastly for today.. I have several friends asking for your prayers.

Please pray for my friend Gina, as her father was diagnosed with brain cancer and has underwent surgery. I havent heard anything as of today, but yesterday she did say that they were able to remove 95% of the tumor and he could recognized the difference between Gina and her twin.. With that positive note.. Im sure they will continue to need more of our prayers for his hospital stay and everything he must endure.. and to the family that is keeping it together. Big hugs out to them!

Please say some prayers for my friend Miranda.. she sent me an email asking that I have anyone I know pray for her and her children. It seems there is some sort of child-support issues going on and family drama. If you have children or have been married and/or divorced you will know how important these issues can be and how they can effect the children. I pray that this goes fast for her and that her children understand the sacrifices that a Mother makes.. She has had her share the past year. She deserves better.

Please pray for my friend Lynn whose husband will be undergoing heart surgery this next week. He has some clotting issues and they are really worried he may have a stroke due to the stress from the surgery and the clotting. But it is something that has to be done to preserve his quality of life. I know that this man came into Lynns life for a reason and she would be so appreciative if he stayed a lot longer. Pray for a successful surgery and speedy recovery please!

Im going to try to post some photos of our adventure last weekend when Preston and Rachel were up for a visit... and.. update on a few other things as well. Hang in there with me..

I'll be back! ;)

Blessings vs. Shamrocks~

Happy St. Patricks Day!!!

Today on Facebook I posted my status as "May your blessings out number the shamrocks that grow." I totally wish this for everyone. I know and am reminded everyday of just how blessed I am, not only with my husband and boys.. my entire family and some very special friends.

Im not a religious person by any means. I am, however, spiritual and believe in God. I pray for strength from him every night. I pray and thank him for watching over my boys-to keep them healthy, happy and safe. I pray for those who are having a particularly hard time. And I pray that He eases the pain for those facing very difficult challenges. I pray for our world and all of those who have lost the battles and that their families have the strength to carry on.

I suppose what Im trying to say is that I have several friends right now that are probably questioning their faith, questioning why God would put good people through such devastation. I wonder that too.. but I keep on believing. I know that we are strong people and good. And I know that miracles do happen every day and I believe that the power of prayer is beyond what we will ever know.

So if you are reading this.... please pray! Pray hard, pray for their faith, strength and hope. I wouldnt ask anything else of you but this today. It would mean so much to me. Thank you!

We are survivors and we can make it... I know we can-together!!!!

Busy as a Bee~

Long time no talky talk huh?... Well I have several different things to cover in this blog so it may take a while.. sit a spell, and hopefully enjoy! hehe :)

1st} I hope that you will join Creative Scrappers in their 2 year anniversary and celebration of their 100th sketch in the month of April! They have 40 guest designer reveals on Tues/Thurs., regular designer reveals on Sunday, a super huge blog hop and greatest of all TONS of prizes! So if you havent joined yet.. do so! psst. Im a guest designer ;) woot woot!

2} The WLJ is on hold. OHMYGOSH have I been bad. I know I have gained back a lot if not all of the 16 pounds I lost. I dont know, Im afraid to look. Ive tried to make good choices even though I knew I wasnt counting calories and tried not to eat out junk food or snack unless it was fat free. But still I have fallen. Im going to climb back up though. I have to! Have you seen the show Ruby?.. its on the Style Network. She and I weigh about the same right now. She is the sweetest thing from the south. She weighed close to 700 or more and lost lots.. and is still struggling. The other day I was watching the show and she said that if she does not journal and watch every calorie/fat gram that she takes in the weight comes back on. And boy can I relate! Im just exactly like that. Its hard knowing that you have to calculate every morsel that goes into your mouth. You just want to be normal. I want to be normal! ;(

3} Preston did it! He finally signed up for Law Enforcement Training @ Mizzou in Columbia, MO. I am sooo proud of him, but incredibly scared all at the same time. He is super nervous about it and doesnt seem to have a whole lot of folks supporting him so I am doing the best I can. Of course this makes me want to move even faster! I just feel like I need to be there for him! He starts in May and was the 20th student to sign up for this session. He is excited and insisting on paying for the whole thing himself.. I so admire him. Its going to be tough, so say a prayer for him if you will. This is something he has wanted since he was 3 years old. So proud!!!

4} Work... ahhh work. I have been working a lot of overtime again. Its the billing season. I did however get everything done and out on time. And it wasnt as stressful this time. I know that when the payments come in it will be stressing me some, but I plan to take some days off here and there to help with the stress. Starting with this Friday. Preston and Rachel are planning a trip up over her spring break. I cannot wait! I love having my boys home with me!

5} My friend Cat and her husband Don came through Illinois on their vacation and spent the night with us. I love having her here and wished she could have stayed longer. We relaxed, ate good food and chit chatted and the next day she set up a photography shoot with Hunter. I cannot wait to see them and share them with you all! Sadly we had to say goodbye too soon. I hope that someday I can come visit her in Minnesota. She is like a best friend to me!!!

In other news... We are still planning on moving, its just a slow process, we have some things {cosmetic} that need to be done weather permitting then we will start advertising. The worst part is that it seems that every other house in this subdivision is for sale ;(. I am going to keep praying though. My goal is to end my job by July 31st. So we will see, this means I have to have a new job there by then. Im scared. Its been a long time since Ive had to do anything like this. This week Im going to do some blog catching up, applying for jobs and scrapbooking. I need to gear up for the CS fun fest.. woot woot. Wow, its going to be bussssyyyyy around the Dawson household.

I hope you have a great week too! ;o)

Hunter-ism~

Last night while Todd was in Target getting my prescription filled- Hunter and I waited out in the car. We talked about many things.. then out of the blue Hunter says: "Mom, I want to go to a bull fight.... a real one,... one where the guy uses a red blanket and says *ho-lay*" heheheheee ;)
Could we have a future Matador? Funny dude!

Im in love~

I know.. blah blah blahhhh ... hahaa but its true.. I really do love my husband Todd so very much! I was just thinking how much I love this pic that we took from this past weekend while looking for Eagles on the Great River Road. I wish I hadnt been in the shadow so much, but its still pretty nice! What ya'll dont see.. is one of the things I love most about Todd-his humor... It had to be cut out of this photo... I didnt even know it, but he was grabbing my boob... the perv! hahaa ;)

In other news.. Went to the doc today ... and the verdict... bronchitis. Just in time it was caught said the doc or it may have turned into pneumonia, which is what Todd was sure I had. Believe it or not this morning I was feeling SO much better. Anyway, I was put on 10 days of antibiotics and hopefully in the next couple of days I'll feel EVEN better!

anndddd, in OTHER news.. remember that celebration that I was telling you about at Creative Scrappers???.... welllll guess what? They had over 170 people sign up and out of that- 80 were picked to be guest designers for April... andddd guess what???.... IM ONE OF THOSE 80!!!! Woot woot!!!! ;) Could this be the creative boost I needed?... Could this be my chance to return to the one obsession that has taken over my life and our extra bedroom?... Could it be???... We shall see... da da dahhhhhhh Im so happy and so honored!!! So stay tuned to CS via the blog and Facebook to see the reveal in April... its going to be amazing! ;o)

Times, they are a changin'~

This past weekend we took a trip up the Great River Road... saw lots of things we've seen before, but ate at a different place this time. And this time... Preston wasnt with us. Still we had a great time and saw some Eagles which was the main objective. I took this picture when Hunter was a baby and decided it would be cool to take the 2nd picture this past Saturday so that thru the years we could compare. Id love to take this trip when it wasnt cold and the colors were brighter... maybe later this summer.. and maybe with Preston. hehe

Not much else to post today, except that Im not feeling good and Todd has finally convinced me to go to the doctor.. so tomorrow at 2pm thats where I'll be. He thinks I have pneumonia .. I just say, same old same old. Ive had this crud for two weeks... its starting to wear on me though I do know that. Im tired today... super tired and generally feel yuck.

Later today Im taking the boss to the airport... when did I get elected to do this?... hmmm I guess its just part of it?... we'll see.. I do know this too... he is going to miss me when Im gone! ;)

Have a great week! :)