My very 1st purse

 I made my very 1st purse. I started this over a week ago, but it just hard to find the time to sit down and work on it. I wanted something kinda Springish but I am not a real pastel kind of person, so I went with the turquoise and brown and green colors.

I like pockets so I made some for the inside of the purse with polka dot print. There are 3 pockets inside so it should hold all my stuff just fine.

Bowl of Broccoli Soup!!

I love soups but have never really tried to make them before.
I found this recipe of Broccoli Soup that I had and I decided to give it a whirl.

2 cups water
4 cups chopped fresh broccoli (about 1-1/2 pounds)
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion
 6 tablespoons butter, cubed
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups 2% milk
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon onion salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions: 
In a Dutch oven, bring water to boil. Add the broccoli, celery and carrots; boil 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain; set vegetables aside. In the same pot, saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour to form a smooth paste. Gradually stir in broth and milk until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Stir in reserved vegetables and remaining ingredients. Reduce heat; cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Yield: 6-8 servings (2 quarts)

Then while on Pinterest, I came across this recipe for French Bread Bowls:

2 ½ cups warm water
3 tablespoons sugar
2 packages dry active yeast
1 tablespoon salt
5 tablespoons oil
6 cups all-purpose flour
Directions:
Preheat Oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric bread mixer, combine warm water and sugar. Sprinkle yeast over the top and stir. Wait 10 minutes until yeast mixture is frothy. Add salt, oil, and half of the flour. Beat well in mixer or with a wooden spoon. Add remaining flour and mix well until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto floured board and knead 2 or 3 times to coat with flour. Divide into 8 to 10 equal parts, depending on size of bowls desired. Form into large balls and place in small foil pans (small pot pie pans work well). Allow dough bowls to rise for 20 minutes. Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pans. Cut off tops and hollow out insides. Serve with soup. Makes 8 to 10 bowls.

Random pics of the kids!!

Zac at the firestation

Zac and Bailey

Zac with his hands over his eyes with Jason

Kyla and Kaleb

Kyla's daddy daughter dance

Mustache day at school, Kaleb is in the middle

Zac busy cooking

Allissa with Zac sledding

Kaleb making snow angels

Tyler and Molly having Hot Chocolate

Molly getting a fast ride!!

Kyla and Kaleb eating giant snowballs

Molly walking Ivy

Tylers new swing!!

Thats about all LOL They are all cuties in our book!!

This is too funny

Valerie's sewing career~~Launched

Last Christmas,Valerie got a sewing machine and said she was going to sew, which gave us all a chuckle seeing how she is so busy all the time!! Well....she announced that this year is the "Launching of her sewing career!! We all said, yah right!! LOL But she did get it off just like she said. She has her sewing spot all set up, organized and I was really impressed!! This was her first project. Curtains to cover the closet and they look great.

 Valerie found this cute little Bubble-skirt on Pinterest.
So I met her at the fabric store and she bought fabric for the bubble-skirts and several other projects and some pajama pants for Zac. I went over and gave her sewing 101 lesson.

AND.....whoalla......A Bubble-skirt!!! Its a little long so she is going to make another shorter one, but Bailey likes it!!

Valerie also made some Spiderman pajama pants for Zac: He is showing off that Spiderman is on his bottom!! Ha! So....he is enjoying them for Pajama day today!!

It is Fun watching our kids trying new things. :-)

Happy 30th Birthday Valerie

Jason surprised Valerie with a 30th b-day party!!! She had no idea and was totally surprised.

Alot of her friends were there and it was a really fun evening!! Happy 30th Birthday to our baby daughter!!

Employee of the month

Guess who got Associate for the Month of December???

YEP, I am so excited. Since they began it awhile ago, I have never had it before. :-)

First....I would like to Thank .....No J/Kidding!! I even got an Associate of the month lanyard to wear instead of the Michael's one, ewww....coool HUH?? It just made my night even funner! LOL and yes, I know it isn't really a word but it was my night!!