my guys...

Since it is valentines day I thought I might give a shout out to the guys in my life...

The newest addition is Benson. I am falling more and more in love with this little life. He is so cute and little. I love watching him smile and he is starting to giggle too. Oh, it is too precious. I am beyond blessed to have this little guy.


Josiah is so dear to my heart. I love watching him explore the world and figure out what it is all about. He makes me laugh so hard sometimes, especially when he is telling me a story in his own language. I have no idea what he is saying but it makes my day that he wants to tell me about it.



And to my true valentine, Joey, the most incredible husband and friend.

When I was a little girl I use to tell the Lord what sort of things I'd like in my future husband. Over time I gave up thinking I would find someone who really fit the bill, but then the Lord blessed me with Joey. Seriously he is such an answer to prayers prayed long ago. He is a man of godly character, with a heart that desires to follow our king 100%.
He is an incredible father. He loves our boys so much.

He is a man of purpose and hard work. He works incredibly hard to provide for us and to care for us in big and little ways. All of this and he is handsome too!! Am I blessed or what?! There so much more I could say, but I'll save it just for him...I really am the luckiest girl ever. Praise the Lord for his blessings!

Did I mention he makes me laugh?!

6 Random Things

Well, my good friend Jodi tagged me for this little thing over a week ago and here I am finally writing things out. Every time I sat down to write I couldn't remember a single thing. See, I don't think of myself as too quirky so its easy to forget what is quirky to other people. My wonderful hubby helped me take stock of what might be considered quirky to others :-)

1. I am addicted to Google. Seriously, its almost that bad. I love to sit down and Google any subject. I'll find out all you want to know about anything, and stuff you didn't want to know too. From what to do for a fever to who won the 1987 world series (The Minnesota Twins by the way). So if you're ever wondering, let me know I'd LOVE to look it up.

2. I make stuff up. This one is related to the one above. Everything I read on my Google searches I like to share with anyone I can find. See thats the problem with being addicted to Google, you believe what you read! Then, since I believe what I read, I can tell you the information in such a way that you believe me too, even if its not true! I am learning to communicate my sources on these things so that not too many people are led astray.

3. Call me "Paula Planner". I am always planning things out. I love calenders and getting them all color coordinated with various events highlighted. When I was in school I would remake my class schedule multiple times throughout the semester. I also love to make lists, mostly to do lists. I will plan out an entire project with a list only to move on to the next thing. The Lord knows these things about me though because he put me together with my amazingly "fly by the seat of your pants" husband. Together we balance each other out pretty good.

4. Pass the bulk Cheerios please. I love plain ol' cereal. No sugars, not too sweet. In fact my favorite it the bulk cheerios that you get at WinCo. Unfortunately there isn't a WinCo here in Washington, so I'll just have to dream about those amazing cereals. Yum! And as Joey pointed out, I'd pick cereal for breakfast over almost any other breakfast choice. Shoot, I'd have it for dinner if I could! Lets say it again, Yum!

5. I'll have a slice of Cheese Cake with a side of salt. Strange but true, when I eat sweet things I like to follow them up with something salty. The classic story goes like this: Joey and I are at the Cheese Cake Factory enjoying some incredibly yummy cheese cake. Well the couple next to us was having dinner and they had some amazing looking French fries. I desperately wanted some. But Joey wasn't about to ruin his cheese cake with French fries. So I did what any "normal" person would have done. I licked my finger and then dumped some salt on it. Then I proceeded to lick the salt off my fingers. Not as good as a French fry, but hey it hit the spot. This strange quality is genetic just so you know. I have on many occasions found my mom enjoying a bit of cake with a couple chips. At least someone understands me!

6. "A gun rack?! I don't even own A gun..." I am always quoting movies and songs. Beyond that I actually understand life situations, conversations and even scripture based on movies I've seen or songs I've heard. Most of the time I keep these little quotes in my head, but sometimes they do slip out. "That's like that one movie I saw where the guy runs into the burning building..." The strange looks I get are enough to fill me in on the fact that my brain runs in a whole different direction than a good chunk of the world.

Well there are my 6 random/quirky things, there are quite a few more where these came from! Lets see now I am suppose to tag a few peeps for this... how about Kati, Laura & Amy. Have fun, but no worries if it doesn't happen!

Happy Valentine's-Father's-Mother's-Birthday Day

Joey's parents are getting ready to head overseas on Thursday. They will be gone for at least 6 months and we will miss them terribly. Since they will be missing all of the important holidays we decided to throw them a party. It was so much fun to all be together one last time. We laughed , prayed and ate. It was great!

Joey's sister Sarah made the main dish - a yummy pasta with shrimp and sun dried tomatoes. Joey's other sister Becky made the salad and pop overs, plus she opened up her home. I was in charge of the dessert and it turned out wonderful if i do say so myself. I thought I'd share the recipe with you so you can enjoy the yummyness too!

I got the recipe from my favorite recipe spot allrecipes.com. One of my favorite parts about the site is that it includes reviews from all sorts of people who have tried the recipe. Based on that I made a few changes to the recipe below. I quadrupled the custard and had some left over. I also used lady fingers instead of sponge cake (you can get them freshly made at the Safeway bakery only $1.25 for 24). The other thing I did was mix and match my fruit. There were blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and peaches. It was so yummy! I hope you get a chance to enjoy - hey try it out for your super bowl party, the fans will be extra glad you did!

English Trifle to Die For

Submitted by: Polly Welby Rated: 5 out of 5 by 26 members

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 30 Minutes

Ready In: 2 Hours 45 Minutes Yields: 8 servings

"Sponge cake painted with raspberry jam and topped with fresh raspberries, homemade custard, whipped cream and toasted almonds."

INGREDIENTS:

1 (9 inch) sponge cake, cut in cubes 1 cup seedless raspberry jam 8 ounces fresh raspberries 10 fluid ounces heavy cream

3 egg yolks 3 tablespoons white sugar 10 fluid ounces heavy cream 2 ounces sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Spread a little jam on each piece of cake and place in the bottom of a large glass bowl. Sprinkle raspberries over cake.
2.	Heat 10 fl. oz. cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat. While the cream is heating, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until pale yellow and smooth. Strain yolk mixture into a clean bowl. Pour hot cream into egg yolks and stir vigorously. Return mixture to pan over low heat and cook, stirring, until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
3.	While custard is cooling, whip 10 fl oz. cream until soft peaks form. Place almonds on a baking sheet and toast, in a 300 degree oven or toaster oven, stirring frequently, until golden, 2 to 10 minutes.
4.	Spread cooled custard over cake in bowl. Top with whipped cream and toasted almonds. Chill 2 hours before serving.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2007 Allrecipes.com

from Allrecipes.com 1/29/2008

Time Flies When You're Having Fun.

Another week has passed and once again there was so much to write about, I didn't write about any of it. So here are a few pictures of life and what we've been up to. Things here in America are good, cold, but good. We're glad to be back and continue to adjust...

Benson is getting huge, he loves sitting and looking at things. He is smiling now and just the cutest little thing!

We went for another skiing day! It was great! I made it all the way down the mountain without falling - amazing! I can't wait to get back up there and try and get better so I can finally race Joey down the slopes. Isn't Mt. Rainer beautiful!

There is a trampoline outside our back door and Josiah is in love with it. He stands looking out the sliding glass window and tries to jump (he hasn't mastered that skill yet). He loves to bounce around out there and giggle till his belly hurts.

One of the greatest parts about being in the states is getting to spend time with family. Amos and Simon are my two oldest nephews and they are so good with Josiah and Benson. They love to kiss the boys' cheeks and take them places. They live just down the road so we get to see them a lot. It is such a blessing. We're looking forward to many more play dates in the future!

Time for Mom

Just before we headed overseas last year I had the opportunity to attend a "mommy group" that my sister-in-laws and some of their friends had started. It was a lot of fun to visit with them and a great way to be sent off on our adventure.

Well today I was once again blessed to see these incredible women. It was so great to listen to their hearts and laugh with their stories. Each of us are at similar places in life with young kiddos and lots of adventures. It was nice to talk with one another share the various things God is teaching us without the structure of a book or paper. As the Lord brought to mind various subjects we shared and encouraged each other.

Josiah liked playing with the other kids, although he is still trying to figure out how to do that exactly. I am excited for the weeks to come and the opportunity to get to know these ladies better as well as the opportunity to be mutually sharpened. God is so good isn't he?! Providing encouragement and challenge through friends and loved ones! It doesn't hurt that we get to eat yummy food at the same time too! Praise the Lord!

Winter Fun

I grew up as a skier, a water skier that is. Joey however grew up as a snow skier and his family has a long family tradition of skiing. In fact his Grandfather was a founder of Crystal Mountain ski slopes here in Washington. So when winter hits we hit the slopes. Now the first few times I went skiing it was definitly a laughing matter. I spent more time on my bottom than on my feet. Joey fell down a couple times he was laughing so hard! Needless to say it wasn't the most fun I've ever had and I wasn't sure snow skiing was for me.

Well its been two years since we've really had a chance to go skiing. Babies and living overseas have kept us off the slopes until this year. Last wednesday we bundled up the babies and gathered the gear and off we went. There were 18 of us including 4 kiddos under the age of 3. I was anticipating huge rubbish parties but it ended up being one of the best times I've ever had on the mountain.

Since there were so many kiddos who wouldn't be joining us we decided to alternate taking runs. I was able to head down the mountain twice. The first time, in the morning, I was my usual scared self. I tried to think positively but all I could think of was my buns hitting the snow as I jumped off the chair lift. Miraculusly I never fell off the chair lift and I even made it down most of the run upright. The very best part is that now when I fall down I can get myself up! No more rolling around in the snow desperatly trying to get my legs under me. I've finally gotten pretty good at getting up!

Me, Sarah & Gretchen ready to take a run.

So for my second run I made it without too much fear and without too much falling! It was great. I loved it. The kids had fun too. Benson didn't know we weren't at home, things are pretty much the same wherever he is. And Josiah survived with no nap and a few cold fingers from the snow. His favorite part was going up and down the stairs with Gramps. All in all it was a great trip and I can't wait to hit the slopes again!

Josiah and his cousin Thomas eating Oreos, cookies make cold fingers warm again!

Christmas Photo Extravaganza

The whole Easley clan at Christmas dinner

Ooohh, whatcha get?

Cheesy stocking face

All the Easley cousins, James(3), Josiah(14mo), Simon(5), Benson(7 weeks), Amos(6), Judah(8), Esther(3) & Thomas(18mo).

Benson in new Christmas clothes, too cute!

Sitting at Grandma Langton's counter

All the Langton Cousins, Benson (7 weeks), Josiah (14mo), Kallen (2), Kynlee (6mo)

Gotta love the swing!