He Made It!

I am so proud of my little brother!  He just graduated from Freed-Hardeman University tonight and is going to be filling in as a teacher starting in January.  When I say that I am proud of him, I don't mean only for graduating.  He is one pretty cool kid all the way around.  I love you Brian and so excited for the things coming up for you!

Counting My Blessings

So I've told you before about my awesome family, right?  Well, I've got some awesome friends as well!  They braved the ice and the cold to help me celebrate my birthday tonight.  So glad everyone made it home in one piece, especially Jenna!:)  Seriously, I had a wonderful day shopping and getting my massage and then celebrating with my extended family after church tonight.:)  I could not have asked for a better birthday.  Love you guys!

Thank you also to my sweet husband for planning a surprise for me.:)  

Exciting Things

I'm so excited and I want to tell you all about it!  I was reading another blog recently which echoed the same feelings I have about writing about birthdays.  My birthday is tomorrow and I hesitate to write that because what do I say...Happy Birthday to me?  Send me presents?  No.  That's not why I'm telling you.  I'm telling you because my birthday is tomorrow and I'm excited about it.  Excited that I'm going to be 25!   OK, I'm caught and I will tell you the truth.  I'm going to be 31.  Whew, saying it doesn't seem quite so bad.  In fact, I love birthdays, no matter what age, and I LOVE birthdays in December.  Everyone puts up twinkle lights and pretty decorations for my birthday!:)  How thoughtful of them.  What I am really excited about, though, is the card I got in the mail yesterday.  It was a birthday card but it wasn't just any ole birthday card!  Inside was written a message from my Mom, brother, and sister telling me that I have an appointment on my birthday at a spa here in Knoxville!  What?  Yes!  A one-hour massage that is already paid for and the tip is paid!  How did they know that it would be one of the most perfect gifts EVER?  How did they know?  Because they are the great Mom, brother, and sister EVER!  So come tomorrow around 4 o'clock pm you know where I'll be.  Don't call me.:)

 

Snapshot Saturday

Cookie Swap:  6 dozen cookies that I took + 6 dozen cookies that my mother-in-law took = 12 dozen cookies in this house!!!!  This is not good math!

It's Time to Bake!

If you know me at all, you know I love to bake!  You also know that I love chocolate.  Sooooo give me the chance and I will bake something chocolate! Here's my chance...we are having a cookie swap on Saturday.  I needed to bake 6 dozen cookies!  Really, this is my kind of challenge.  I'm revealing to you today the Deen/Hughes Chocolate Cherry Christmas Cookie.:)  OK, yes, this recipe is really Paula Deen's.  It is her chocolate gooey butter cookies recipe.  However, I added a couple of ingredients which make them special and make them "Christmasy".  I love them and I just hope everyone else does!  Here's the recipe:

1 block cream cheese, softened

1 stick of butter, softened

1 egg, room temp

1 t. vanilla

1 box chocolate cake mix

1/2 bag white chocolate chips

1 cup candied cherries, chopped

Oh yes, did I mention that there are candied cherries in these cookies?  Surprise!  They are the kind of cherries that are normally in fruit cakes. (yuck)  I decided to try it, though, to add a little touch of red for Christmas.  Think-chocolate covered cherry.  I really like them in the cookie and think they give them a little flair.  If you don't like them-leave them out!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix butter and cream cheese together with mixer.  Mix the egg in and then the vanilla.  Add the cake mix, a little at a time, until incorporated.  Don't overmix.  Fold in the white chocolate chips and candied cherries.  Chill dough for 2 hours.  Form tablespoon-sized balls of dough and put 1-1 1/2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.  I use a little cookie scoop which works really well.  Bake for 10-12 minutes-cookies should still be shiny on the top.  They should stay gooey!!

   Aren't they pretty?  I made them "Christmasy" but there could be tons of variations such as adding peanut butter chips, Andes mint chips, or nuts instead of white chocolate and cherries.  Let me know if you try them!

Let the Festivities Begin!

Do you know what this means?  The semester is over, grades are in, I've got a nice long Christmas break, and then it's on to our last and final Spring semester!  Feels good!

Turn Your Eyes

When I left for school this morning it was snowing-big soft fluffy snowflakes.  It was very quiet and peaceful and at first I imagined that I could hear every soft snowflake hitting the ground.  I drove to school and took my last final for the semester.  One more semester to go!  My test was hard but I know that I did well enough.  I'm so excited to be finished for a little while and have more time to spend with Chris.  It's been a hard year in so many ways and I feel that the close of this semester gives me the opportunity to start new and fresh for the new year.  When I got home today I took my Bailey-boy for a much-needed walk and one of my favorite Newsboys' songs came on my iPod.  I'm sharing it with you to remind myself and you, if you choose, where to focus our eyes.

"When you're dull from all that glitters, when your thoughts have a hollow ring, when you can't escape from the feeling you're getting it wrong.  When your foolproof plans seem foolish, when your status is status quo, all you really need to know is where you belong.  Turn your eyes upon Jesus.  Look full in His wonderful face.  And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

I was used to the cold for so long that I couldn't feel anything and I shivered instead like a beggar who won't lift his hands.  I was lost until He touched me.  I was deaf until He heard.  I was senseless til I met the one who understands.  Turn your eyes upon Jesus.  Look full in His wonderful face.  And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."