Josh is my Bachelor

At the risk of exposing my shallow side, I'm just going to say it.  I love watching The Bachelor.  I know, I know.  It's ridiculous.  There's so much drama.  And I'm not going to lie.  The drama sucks me in.  But more than that, I love to cheer for love.  I'm always hopeful that the Bachelor/Bachelorette will pick someone worth marrying and that they'll actually have a love that lasts a lifetime.  That rarely happens.  But I'm a hopeless romantic and the ultimate optimist.  So I keep watching and cheering for love.

A question that always comes up is, "What are you looking for in a spouse?"  They always have this "list" of things they're looking for.  I don't believe I ever made such a list.  Josh and I started dating at 15 with NO intention of getting married to each other!  I mean, when he asked me to be his girlfriend, I really wasn't sure if I even wanted to go out with him.  But I also wasn't sure that I didn't want to. So I said "yes, I'll be your girlfriend."  Well 15 years (and exactly half of our lives!) later, here we are.  Happy, married, house, kids, lifelong love, best friends.

But back to that question, "What are you looking for in a spouse?"  Taking Josh out of my thoughts for a moment, if I was looking for a spouse, I would want a man who loves Jesus, who loves me, who wants a family (and loves children!), who appreciates and supports me being a SAHM, who is trustworthy and faithful, and who is willing to work hard to support his family.  And being good looking would be an excellent bonus.  That's quite a list!  Only a very small percentage of men would fit the bill.  Well guess what?  Josh is ALL of those things and MORE!  Guess that's why I didn't look too long!

Josh, I love you forever and always.  I can't believe we've officially spent HALF OF OUR LIVES together. On the other hand, I literally can't remember life before you.  Thanks for being my best friend.  You are my Bachelor.  And I'm glad I didn't have to fight 24 other girls on national television to get you!

Hadley Elyse

My very first niece was born on Monday, February 4th.  My little brother Phil and his wife Erika had a little girl and named her Hadley Elyse!  I got to meet and hold her that night!!  Isn't she cute???  They didn't tell her name before she was born, so this is how they announced it:

Fun with the Gorsch Family

In January, we got to meet the Gorsch family at a children's museum in Bourbonnais for a day of fun.  We had planned to go there during our weekend with them in October, but we had so much fun at the orchard that we never made it.  So, we planned another day trip!

 Hannah will find dress-ups anywhere she goes!

 

 Jacob and I had fun playing peek-a-boo in the tractor.  He was laughing like crazy! 

 Two peas in a pod!

The museum was just the perfect size for us to keep track of our 5 little ones while getting to catch up!  Hannah loves Sadie and can't wait to see her again.  Which works out well because I can't wait to see Kristina again!  (Except the next time we see each other, we'll be kid-free.... Hearts at Home :) )

First Dentist Appointment!

Hannah had her first dentist appointment last month.  We finally added her to our insurance, and we actually had to switch dentists due to insurance as well, so it was my first appointment with our new dentist, Dr. Paap.  Hannah did great and had no cavities!  They did an x-ray of a dark tooth she has from an incident with our end table when she was little.  The doctor said her adult tooth above it looks healthy, so that was good news as well!

Preschool

First Day of Preschool!

Hannah started attending Thursday school in September.  It meets for just two hours a week at East Park Christian Church in Danville.  This is a free program, so I thought we'd give it a try!  She's enjoying it, and I'm enjoying running errands with only one child, even if it is currently my more active child!

In addition to this, Hannah and I were very intentional in reading at home last year.  I got a list of over 225 stories to read to your preschooler, and we just finished that list!  Daddy got to do her Bible time with her too almost every night.  I plan to start working on a new list soon and also to be more intentional about teaching Hannah to write.  She has known all of her letters, colors, numbers, and shapes for some time now, but reinforcing them and teaching her to write better is definitely on our agenda for 2013!

Recipes

About this time 3 years ago, my college girlfriends and I exchanged some favorite recipes and we decided it was time again, so here goes.  These are 3 of my favorite recipes that I don't think I've shared before:

Potato Soup

Ingredients: 6 Cups Chicken Broth, 6 Cups Potatoes Pealed and Cubed, 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper, 8 oz. Cream Cheese (chunked, room temp)
Optional Toppings: Crumbled Bacon, Green Onions, Cheddar Cheese

Combine broth, potatoes, and spices in large pot.  Boil until potatoes are tender.  Smash a few to release starch for thickening.  Reduce to low heat.  Add cream cheese.  Stir until cheese melts.


Mexican Chicken Lasagna

Ingredients: 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves (chopped), 8 oz. cream cheese, 2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese, 1 medium onion (chopped), 28 oz. enchilada sauce, 12 6" corn tortillas, 3 cups cooked chicken (diced or shredded)

Place cream cheese in bowl and microwave on high 30-45 seconds until very soft.  Add cilantro and 1 1/2 cups of MJ Cheese.  Mix well.  Spread 2/3 cup of enchilada sauce over bottom of a 9x13 or Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker.  Pour remaining enchilada sauce into mixing bowl and set aside.  Using tongs, dip four tortillas into enchilada sauce in mixing bowl and arrange over sauce in baker.  Scoop 1/2 of the cream cheese mixture over tortillas and spread.  Top with 1 cups of chicken of 1/3 of the onion.  Repeat layers one time.  Dip the remaining four tortillas into the sauce and arrange over the second layer.  Top with remaining chicken and onion.  Pour remaining enchilada sauce over lasagna and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup MJ cheese.  Microwave, covered, on high 12-15 minutes or until center is hot.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with additional cilantro.  Serve with shredded lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, tomatoes, etc.

Fajitas

Ingredients: 1 each-Red, Yellow, and Orange Bell Pepper, 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 2 tsp. vegetable oil, 1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup salsa, flour tortillas
Optional: Guacamole, Shredded Cheese, Sour Cream, Salsa

Cut bell peppers into 1/2" strips.  Cut chicken crosswise into thin strips.  Heat over medium high heat.  Ad 1 teaspoon of the oil and chicken.  Stir-fry 3-4 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.  Add remaining oil, bell peppers and stir-fry 1-2 minutes or until vegetalbes are crisp-tender.  Add soup mix, water and salsa to bell pepper/chicken mixture.  Cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until heated through.  To serve, place chicken mixture in center of tortillas.  Serve with toppings, if desired.  

2012 Date Nights

One of our goals for 2012 was to go on a monthly date night.  Since I think we went on about 2 dates in 2011, I thought a goal of 12 for 2012 was pretty good!  Here's what we did:

• We ate at Sonic Drive-In so we could make our movie in time.  We saw Moneyball (good movie!)
• We went out with friends (but without kids).  Does that count?  Our small group went to a trivia night in Danville.  It was so much fun our small group ended up hosting our own trivia night at church!
• We ate at Dos Reales (my favorite) and went to Winter Jam, a huge Christian concert at Assembly Hall.
• We went on our first weekend getaway since we had kids.  We went to Chicago and did all sorts of fun things!!!  
• We went to Dos Reales with the Strungas and "Aldermans" (not married yet :).  
• We went to Timpone's for our anniversary (yummy!)
• We went out to eat and to a Colts' Game in Indianapolis!
• We went to the Flat Top Grill and went shopping.  
• We went to the Nail/Shank wedding and reception without kids!
• Our year end was somewhat disastrous.  We used all of our babysitting time in October, November, and December to go to funeral homes and doctor's appointments.  Boo!

Looking back over the year, I'm proud of how many times we were alone.  And I'm not sure I got them all.  But we had lots of fun!!!