afton's growing up!

one of my favorite pics from this past week. wednesday afton wrote her name for the first time ever, and she did it all by herself! here it is:

and a fabulous video, afton pulled out daddy's scriptures and started "reading" i wish you could hear the words a little more clearly, but it's still great:

elaine's recipe tuesday part 4

Pepper Steak


1 lb round steak, sliced thin (or whatever's on sale)
1 Tbl paprika
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 cup sliced onions (green or yellow)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 bell peppers, sliced (any color)
2 Tbl cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 large tomatoes, sliced
rice

sprinkle meat with paprika, brown meat and mushrooms in a little oil. add garlic and onions, cook til browned. add broth to meat. in seperate bowl combine: cornstarch, water & soy sauce (don't add yet). add peppers to meat and broth, cook about 5 minutes. stir slurry into pan, cook til thick. add tomatoes, cook til warm. serve over rice.

fat tuesday

in honor of fat tuesday yesterday, i took a picture of myself :) 28 weeks down, about 12 to go :)

hooray for baby x

(who gives meaning and excuse to being fat on mardi gras)

valentine's day

we had a fun family valentine's day this year, starting with new valentine's socks for the girls (which they had to wear to church... perhaps not exactly usual, but definately fun). we took treats to some of our friends, and we had a "fancy" dinner, which the girls absolutely loved. it wasn't really that exciting, except we had "special pasta" (aka ravoli), and candles on the table :) and a couple little toys for the girls, and candy in the treasure box for dessert :)

rayna got a little boat and one of those velcro balls to make catching easier. afton's little toy was a ribbon wand thing, which she proved very adept with: (sorry the video seems to be really dark)

my valentine sure loves me though, i didn't do any dishes on valentine's day :) love you paul!

hope you all had a lovely day too!

HAPPY (late) VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

elaine's recipe tuesday part 3

Tortellini Soup

6 cups chicken broth
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp each paprika and italian spices
4-6 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 onion, diced
1 big package fresh tortellini (i like chicken and herb more than cheese)
14 oz can diced tomatoes (or 2-4 fresh diced tomatoes--whatever's handy)
+/- other veggies*

bring first 7 ingredients to boil, then lower heat and simmer about 1 hour til veggies soft. add pasta and tomatoes for last 7 minutes til pasta done. salt and pepper if needed. good with parmesean cheese, rolls, toast, etc... especially good when it's cold outside :)

(*i like adding frozen corn at the end too, or other root veggies at the beginning, whatever i have in my fridge)

a funny:

after church today, coming in the back door, afton paused by the diaper pail (we keep it just outside the back door for obvious reasons), opened it and stuck her face in it--almost all the way. then she stepped in the house and announced

"it smells funny out there."

duh?!