Oral Surgery

So...Em is deathly afraid of the dentist. Which is party why we had to have oral surgery today. Because she won't let a dentist come near her. She got it passed on from me. I was petrified of the dentist as a child. I would scream, and they would say, if you don't stop screaming, we'll send your mother out of the room. I just screamed louder. Anyways, when you have a cavity and a dentist can't fix it, bad things can happen. Like an absess tooth. So, because of all the trauma we opted to have her put under. So she had a years worth of dental work done in one shot. Cavities, cleaning, sealants...the whole nine yards. She was convinced that they would not be able to put her to sleep. "It doesn't work on me, Mom!" I heard that for days. So I pulled out all my Mom tricks. We got Princess some scrubs so she could be her other doctor. She was allowed to go with Em the whole time. And of course she got to miss school. And Mom gave her lots of sympathy and coddling the whole time. She did great. Well, after the surgery she cried the whole way home, saying, "I just want to go home, Mom. I just want to go home."

Meeeeeeee too.

"Ready" to leave.

"I'm not getting out of the car."

Daddy gave me heart stickers to be brave. (They should start working any minute now.)

Feeling a little better all dressed up.

Princess is doing just fine.

All woozy and wheeled out.

Funnel Cakes

Yesterday afternoon I woke from a short rest to fluffy flakes falling through the sky outside my window. The girls were about 20 minutes from bursting through the door. And I thought about a line from The Spiderwick Chronicles--I had just seen it the day before. It was about enjoying the magical moments in front of you. So I prayed and asked the Lord to help me make the late afternoon magical. That's when I remembered the funnel cake recipe. A friend of mine had given it to me a long time ago and I had never tried it. I'm getting a little braver with deep frying stuff--its actually not very hard, you just have to be careful. So I hopped up with excitement and heated an inch and a half of oil in a frying pan, and got the batter ready. The girls came in and I told them we were going to make funnel cakes. I didn't have a funnel, so I just poured the batter really thinly into the oil. It was actually really easy. I managed to flip them without spattering a lot of the oil and drained them on paper towels. Then we got out the powdered sugar and Voila! It smelled just like the fair. It was a great treat before they headed out to play in the snow.

Here's some pictures and the recipe!

Pass this one on to Ariana, Joel, and Jason, Mom!

(Uncle Randy might want one too. )

Recipe for Funnel Cake

1 beaten egg

2/3 cup milk

1 1/4 cup flour

2 Tbs sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Mix together into smooth batter.

Heat oil @ 375 or about medium/high. (If your batter browns too quickly its because your oil is too hot.)

Use funnel or large spoon, drizzle batter into oil, flip cake, fry until golden brown.

Double the recipe makes about 3 nice sized funnel cakes.

Enjoy!

Thank you, Tia!

Homemade Valentines are the Best

Grace was really grumpy yesterday, Emily was really getting on her nerves. So I asked Grace if she wanted me to set up her own little table in the playroom where she could work on making her valentines alone. She agreed and asked me if I could come and help her. I sat down and began to cut some hearts out of purple foam. She decided they were suitable for her use, and I asked her if she knew the secret to making the most special valentine. She wasn’t really in the mood for conversation and shrugged her shoulders at me. “The most important part is to make them with love. You have to pour your love in them. That is what makes them so special,” I said. She kind of rolled her eyes at me. “I’m serious,” I said, “That’s what makes me such a good cook.” That got her attention. (The girls tell me I’m the best “cooker”, especially when I make mac & cheese out of the box.) “It’s true!” I insisted, “The best dinners I make are when I think about how much I love the people I’m making it for and try to make it the best I can so that it is really good and good for them.”
“So you should pour your love into the valentine…”
I don’t know if she got it. Maybe it will be like one of those things my mother told me that was really important but at the time I wasn’t in the mood to accept. Things that were simple yet powerful enough stick with me and become a part of me.
Kind of like when she would tell me that I’m a daughter of the King. I know I used to role my eyes at her when she would say that. But it’s a truth I carry with me to this day. I am a daughter of the King. I am royalty. I am His. It has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with Him. In fact, I’m the apple of His eye. Someone told me He says that to all the girls. Yet somehow, it’s still true.
Thank you, Mom, for instilling that truth in me. I’ll pass it on to my girls. And Mom—don’t forget--you’re His daughter too.
By the way this is your homemade valentine.
I love you!

Heartwork

Art by Emily and Grace
Arrangement by Dad

Sarah is so cute

By Grace and Emily (and Mommy)

Sarah is so cute...

When she runs around the kitchen island really fast on her tippytoes about 10 times.

When she gets on Aunt Jean's shoulders and rubs (and pulls) her hair and takes off her glasses.

When she reads books and points to all the pictures and says what it is.

When she sits on Sam.

When she puts on everybody's shoes and walks around in them.

When she opens presents she rips through the wrapping paper to see what's inside. It's like a secret for a baby.

When she talks. We have 3 friends that are sisters: Gabriella, Talia, and Loredana. Sarah calls them all "La la." (But you're supposed to know which one she means. When she asks for "boo boo's" (blueberries) out of the freezer, a "pop" (lollipop), or "coo coo" (cookie) out of the cupboard. When she cups her hands and turns them up in front of her, raises her eyebrows, and says "choo choo" to ask, where is her pacifier? When you take off her dirty diaper and she krinkles her nose, shakes her head and yells, "Tinky Poo!" (Accent on poo.) When she crawls under the covers in Grace's bed and says, "Ni-nite." When she points to the field and says, "Cow! Mooooo."

When she shadows Daddy around the house every moment he's around and calls "Dada" at least every other second. (She's got him wrapped.)

Sarah is so cute...well, always.

Vogue

Grace loves dance. So part of her gift this year, besides dance lessons, was to go to a dance festival. We got there early (so we could sit in the front row) and had a dark stage, a spotlight, and 45 minutes to kill. So we decided to have some fun...

Grace's B-Day

Grace and Rosie

Grace in first place

The wheels on the bus go round and round and round and...

Showin' how to get it done