Baking Ministry

First you get all of the ingredients (yes just two)


Then you get a cute helper!

You pour the cake mix in.

Then add a can of pumpking.

Mix well.

Lick the beater

Then you have a nice, thick batter. You put them into a muffin tin. The consistency is kind of like Peanut Butter. You fill the pans as much as if they were regular cupcakes. They will bake as lumpy as the batter looks in the pan so you might want to shake it smooth.

Then bake at 350 for about 15 minutes and voila!

I made some homeade cream cheese icing to put on top. (they really need that bit of sweetness) I let Riley attempt to ice her own :)

This semester I decided to start a baking ministry. We feel so blessed to be a part of the LeTourneau community that I wanted to try and give back. Each week we (Riley and me and sometimes Sam and Dad) are givin some "lovin from the oven" to a department or office here on campus. I hope that I can hit every department by next spring! This is our third week but only the first time I remembered to take some pictures. (We will deliver them later after we finally get dressed :)

I am hoping that we can use this opportunity to learn about a lot of things. I hope to teach my kids about the joy of giving and how it is always good to thank others for what they have done. I hope the cooking will lead to many "math moments". As well as learning to follow directions, maybe how to bake, and how to work together.

I also enjoy trying out new recipes. So PLEASE feel free to give me some ideas! I would love to bake something new! So far we have done cookies, strawberry cream cheese pound cake, and today, Pumpkin Spice Muffins. As you can see these muffins are REAL easy and great for the Fall!

-Oh update on my kiddos: Riley had a much better night, but poor Sam had a rough night. However, overall we are slowly getting better!

Teamwork

I love watching how Riley and Sam play together. They both have Croup and have been pretty whiny and sick the past few days. Poor Riley and I haven't had hardly any sleep the past two nights. So, when we got out of the house today I couldn't resist a new toy to help with being stuck inside. They were actually playing with one like it at the Dr's office. They have a little system worked out. Riley opens, and Sam closes. (partly because so far he only knows how to close) I was glad to see that they figured out a way to play together since I could only buy one :) This is most certainly the start to a beautiful friendship.

Randomness...

Both of my kiddos this morning. Even though they don't feel good, I thought they looked SO cute in their footies!



No matter how Sam feels, he will always flash that big smile. It is going to be a heart braker one day...



This is from the night before last. I just love this "i'm not so sure about crawling" face.




I just LOVED these pj's.

We love our play time with daddy right before bed!

We finally got outside for a little bit earlier this week. They both LOVE to play with these toys. (Thanks GG and GGP. Oh, and the second one is our neighbors :) However, that was really the last time we have been out this week. Sam has been under the weather, but yesterday Riley woke up with a terrible cough and wheezing. She is not feeling well, especially not after the long night we had last night. She was crying and wheezing and gasping for breath because of all the congestion. Neither one of us got a lot of sleep last night but she is currently laying down for a much needed nap.

I sure hope they get to feeling better soon. It is hard on this momma. I have class on Tuesday and Thursday and I hate to leave them. I want to be home and hold my babies. But hopefully, we will have a better night than last night and all will be well soon. I hope everyone else is staying away from the "crud" that is going around...

This is the closest thing to a "good picture of the two of them that I could get.


She is such a big girl now!

I included this picture for those of you who heard about Sam's accident. You can barely see it but it is MUCH better :)

Here is our Sam man!

It is hard to believe that Sam is almost 8 months old and Miss Riley is about 22 months old!

They are growing so much. They are only 9 pounds different from each other! Wow. Sam is "crawling" now. He does more of an inchworm crawl. Despite his big sisters efforts to show him how it is "really" done. Ha. Riley is becoming quite the chatterbox. (Really, I don't know where she gets it) She is the BEST helper. I always thought it was just a developmental thing, but the older she gets the more I think that is just her heart. She is the best little helper and she LOVES to do it. (I think secretly she is trying to lead up to just taking over completely. Again, I don't know where she gets it)

All in all, they are growing fast and it wont be long before we have a 1 and a 2 year old on our hands.

Celebration Dinner

This is everyone who was there! For my first surprise party, we had a GREAT turnout!



Riley found a friend to help in her mishchief!



Me and Christy! (and Joshua Taylor)

This past Friday evening I (and Christy's husband) put together a surprise Celebration Dinner for my friend Christy. This will be baby #2 and they already have a little boy so that have everything that they need. So instead of a traditional baby shower, we threw a celebration dinner with diapers! I was glad we were able to pull the surprise off! We had a great time just fellowshiping with each other and celebrating with them on the upcoming birth of Joshua. As a matter of fact, we all expect for him to make his big debut sometime this week! I love you and we are all praying for you guys Christy!

Rainy Days...

I don't know what the weather has been like where you are, but these past few days have been full of rain, rain, and some more rain. (drizzle was thrown in every once in a while) This causes us to get very irritable seeing as we have no where to "stretch out" so to speak. However, we have most certainly taken advantage of the few moments where the rain has stopped and we get to go play in the puddles :)
This semester is full of many new challenges for both Ryne and I. We are both continually taking on more and more and trying to figure out how to make things work. We have been so blessed to have such a great support group of our friends and family. However, blogging has most certainly been put on the back burner. Even though I would LOVE to blog more, there are so many other things that are more important. If I have caught a quiet moment from the kids there is homework to be done and on the off chance that I have no homework, you can bet I have a pile of dishes to wash. That being said, I will update when I can.

Fun with a Box

Obviously, it was a bit hot outside



Of course, we had a window for our box house.



Riley decorating the exterior

Corban and Riley hitting the back side of the house

As you can see, we had hours of fun with our "box house" Corban, Riley, and Vincent all play together quite often. So they all had a blast coloring their new house. Of course the square footage was not quite compatable to the needs of 3 small children, so I got out the duct tape and taped the flaps of the lid together to give em' atleast and extra square foot :)

They had tons of fun until the house was flooded just a couple of days ago. So until someone buys something in a really big box.... it was fun while it lasted!

Trip to Clifton!

I think when we come to visit, this is my dad's favorite part!



Josh and Sam hit it right off. Look at that smile!


I love this! Riley had been rolling all over Sam in the floor. When I told her to settle down, look who got the guilty look. Ha I am sure this is the first of many...

I loved this picture. Look familiar? That is so Sarah, Hannah, Leah and I with Grandaddy Wayne. Since we were very sternly told NOT to ask for food, we didn't. We just stood there watching him eat and lets face it, who can resist?

Well, not my father :)

Lovely Leah and Sir Samuel!

Dara, Greg, and I

Ebu, Pac and their adopted grandkids

Us on the way to Hannah's dorm. Ha, love you girls!

Hannah and Leah before the game.

Hannah and I before the game. GO CUBS!

This is the only picture we had of her standing still and smiling in her oh-so-cute outfit (thanks mom) I don't have any idea where she gets it...

LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture.

My mom and Sam. He wasn't to sure about he Pep Rally that week.

Me and the kids

We had a GREAT trip to Clifton a few weeks ago. This time I finally got some pictures! (cough)

Anyways, the trip was two fold. It was in part to see my family, go to the game, see Hannah's dorm room etc. But it was also to see Greg and Dara before they left to go to Singapore. As a matter of fact, due to the delay in this post, they are in the air right now flying that way. Dara will be back to tie up some loose ends, but that was the last time to see Greg for a while.

-Ebu and Pac, we love you SO much! Thank you for loving on my kids like your own and for loving me like a daughter. I can't wait til Ryne can fly us all to Singapore.... :)

My visit with my family was wonderful too. However, it was slightly different not having Hannah at the house. Although we did get to see her! We had a WONDERFUL meal for Labor Day. (Thanks pioneer women) I just wish I could have gotten a picture because it was beautiful! Yum!

Honey and Preacher, thank you so much for letting us come and visit. We all love you and can't wait to see you again.

-Oh and on this trip Riley started saying "Preacher, Honey, Cait, and Hannah" (We already had down some of the other aunts) Yah for an expanding vocabulary!

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit!

Riley LOVES to play with the rocks at the park. We just have to make sure that she doesn't eat the rocks :)


Riley and Sam both LOVE the swings. I love this picture of all four swinging!

Heres Sam chillin in the swing.

I love how infectious (sp?) Sam's grin is.

I am not sure why, but I really like this picture. I think it is because I love how Riley can do anything and Sam will laugh!

While they were here we even got to go feed the ducks at the pond. If there hadn't been so many ants, it would have been perfect!

This is probably Sam's favorite sleeping position: in someone's arms!

This is a few weeks late, but we were so excited that Ryne's parents got to come down and visit for a weekend. Thank you SO much for coming to see us. We love and miss you. We had a great time!

My very first Apple Pie!

I was so excited to attempt to make my first homemade apple pie! (crust and all) My friend Angie gave me this WONDERFUL pie crust recipe and Ryne likes apple pie, so it seemed like a good fit! I have not attempted a two crust pie yet but it is on my to do list. So instead those are "crumbs" on the top. (brown sugar and flour cut into some butter) I forgot to take a picture of the final product but it sure did taste good! Since then I have already made another pie and I even attempted my first chocolate pie this past Sunday. I think I am starting to fall in love with pies...

Some things that make me happy...

Ryne received a promotion at work and he now is a "black shirt". This happened a while ago but I am just so proud of him. He is always working so hard to provide for us and I was glad to see that was being noticed on the work end as well. You're my favorite Team Leader Ryne! I LOVE YOU!


Riley and Sam have been SO much fun. It is so amazing to see the way that they play together and can make each other laugh. I feel so blessed that Ryne and I can work out our schedules so that I can enjoy my children instead of paying a sitter. The older that Sam gets, the more that they do together. I love when I hear them talking to each other in the mornings before I go into their room. I love how Riley gives Sam a big kiss each night before she goes to bed. My heart is running over with Joy!