Please Pray for Rosalie

Yesterday , one of my former students (Rosalie) gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. My heart has been heavy for my dear Rosalie. She has no mother, no husband, and no real support system. She has two jobs to support herself and her baby - braiding hair and helping at a nursing home. Please pray that I will know how to help Rosalie. My goodness . . . raising a baby is hard work! I wish that I lived closer (she lives in Virginia) so I could help her out a little.

Rosalie came to live with John and me for a week during the summer after I had her in the fourth grade. She lived with us so she could attend the Vacation Bible School at our church. She is very special to me. Please pray for her. Thank you!!

Snowy Day

Last night we got about 5 inches of snow, which I was really happy about since all of the snow in our front yard had melted. It was THE PERFECT snowman-building-kind-of-snow . . . finally!! It is usually way to cold for snowmen . . . the snow usually just falls apart. The kids and I had soooo much fun building this guy today.Caroline built a little snowcat for the snowman.
Luke had so much fun just playing in the snow. I built huge snowballs for him to demolish.

Our snowy day snack was fondue. (or "fundue" as the kids like to call it)

Snowy days are blessings!! We had so much fun!! (now if Jake and Daddy would only have a snow day!!)

Luke's Valentine Party

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Great Grandma Race

This weekend, John's Grandma Race passed away. We will miss her.

We are glad that we got to spend a little time with her at Christmas and John was able to go see her a few days ago to say "good bye" before she passed away.

One thing that I will remember about her was that she took each one of her grandchildren on an overseas trip when they graduated from high school. What a special gift. She said she wanted to give them the gift of her time. John went to Italy with her when he graduated and he has very fond memories of their time together.

We will be headed for Michigan on Friday for the services.

Upward Basketball

Lately, our Saturdays have been very full. John is leading a basketball league called ALOOO (A League Of Our Own) at the school in the mornings and then he coaches Jake's and Caroline's basketball teams in the afternoon. They are part of a program called Upward Basketball. It is a Christian basketball league that is so much fun. It has been so good for the kids. They are learning a lot about the sport in a Christian environment.

Caroline is getting better every week. Today she made TWO baskets!!! How fun! We were sooo proud of her!

Luke is good about being patient and sitting through all of the games and practices. He is actually starting to cheer and pay attention, but Jake's Nintendo DS sure comes in handy every once in a while. ;)

John is so good with the kids.
I just love that Caroline has such a good time playing.Jake's games get pretty intense. He averages about 5 baskets per game. His height is definitely an advantage!!

This is one of Jake's friends, Grayson . . . he can jump!!

We are blessed to be a part of such a great organization.

Comforting Casserole

I made this casserole today and thought I would share it with you. My Nonny (my Mom's mom) used to make it all the time, so it is very much a "comfort food" for me. :) It is very simple and delicious. (I think)

One 16 oz. bag of frozen broccoli florets

(I always use florets, otherwise there are so many stems) Run the broccoli under warm water for a minute and let the water drain off completely. Place in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

One pound of cooked chicken, cut into cubes

(I boil chicken breasts in water with cut up onions, carrots, and celery leaves, with a dash of pepper and salt . . . for a little extra flavor). Cut up and place over broccoli layer. (you can cook the chicken the night before to make the prep time a lot less the next day)

2 cans of cream of chicken soup, 1 cup of mayo (I use light Miracle Whip), and 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Mix together in a bowl and spread mixture over chicken layer.

One cup shredded Cheddar cheese

(I don't measure this. . . I just use as much as it takes to cover the soup mixture)

3 1/4 cup Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing (cannot be the cubed kind) and 3/4 stick of butter

(I told you it was a comfort food!!) Melt the butter in a pan and mix with stuffing. Sprinkle over cheese mixture.
And while you're at it . . . make two!! The recipe is a cinch to double and
I'm sure you can think of someone to give it to . . . I did!! ;)

Super Bowl Champ

"Who Dat?" with the big old smile?? That's my former fourth grade student, Jermon Bushrod, and he has plenty to smile about. :)

AP Photo

We had so much fun rooting for him on Sunday. I have never been so emotionally involved in a football game before.

I found some old photos of him in he fourth grade that I will be posting as soon as I can figure out how to make them digital. (I'm a little behind the times in that area.)