OUT of the House!

This afternoon Louis Dean cleared the ice off the car and we loaded up! We broke OUT of the house!

Now I don't drive on ice. Like AT ALL! Today, however, I acted like an adult and drove us to Quadville. It took twice as long as usual since I didn't go over 45 mph at the MOST! The roads were in pretty good shape if you stayed in the tracks made by the morning commuters. There were a few patches of rough cobblestone ice - which scared me but I made it! Once we got over here in the area we eased into the Wal-Mart parking lot. We shopped for some groceries and all those pillows I need for the gifts I am making. Lots of shelves were bare or scarcely stocked. You can tell the trucks have not been able to make their rounds.

Amber bought a couple of play cell phones for the quads and they were adorable today playing with them!

She bought two so they had to share.......which is a good thing to learn!

They do very well with giving things to each other!

Already looking like teenagers!

See what I mean?

Of course they see US with OUR cell phones all the time.

They knew just what to do!

No telling what technology will be like when they really ARE teenagers!

Kailey stayed pretty close to Granddad all afternoon and evening!

The girls have so much fun with each other!

There's just nothing like hearing a child's laughter!

I tried out one of the recipes I have seen on Facebook recently.

I love cooking in Amber's kitchen!!

It turned out to be delicious!

1 stick melted butter

1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 T crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp garlic powder

1 Box Ritz Crackers

Toss a box of Ritz crackers with all 5 ingredients. Bake in 300* oven for 15 minutes.

You could use oyster crackers too.

Smells as yummy as they taste!

Amber got a break from cooking tonight!

I fixed an old fashioned supper and I was generous with the bacon grease - perfect for a winter's night!

Since we got OUT of the house we decided to make the drive worth our while so we're spending the night.

The house is quiet with three of the four babies asleep in bed. Only Kailey finds herself not yet ready to call it a night. I think she is teething again. Granddad is rocking her here in the living room. I think as soon as she decides to call it a night - so will we!

Sunday at Home

It is so icy here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area that even the churches are closed.

This morning we had our coffee by the fireplace and watch Ed Young, Sr from Katy, Texas on TV.

That was the church we attended last year when we lived in the camper down there.

After THAT sermon I watched Fellowshiplive.com where Ed Young, Jr is pastor.

Louis Dean fixed a hot breakfast complete with sausage, eggs, biscuits, jelly and MORE coffee!

Then we did our regular Bible reading and study.

It was a good Sunday morning!

We spent the afternoon watching football. 

I can only watch SO MUCH when I decided to work on some Christmas gifts.

I have planned all along to make pillows for the quads to go with the quilts I made them for their first birthday. I had to be inventive because Kailey's quilt was black and white with zebra print. No more of that print left so I was looking through my stash of stuff to see what I could use.

Would you believe I cut up the very NICE and very EXPENSIVE shirt Louis Dean wore at our wedding?

He has always HATED that shirt! It was soft as air but he said it didn't FIT!

No worries! I used the strip down the front with buttonholes to make the 'K' for Kailey.

I used even MORE of the shirt to make the front cover of Logan's!

The 'L' is made from the buttonhole strip of one of MY favorite shirts.

Since the front of her pillow looked a little plain....

I added some pizazz to the back!

I need to pick up some more fiberfill but mostly they are done!

Just finish stuffing, sew them closed and launder!!

Win! WIN!!

I have not been successful with the gifts I have made or even purchased for the 3 older grands in recent years.

When children are small they seem to like anything but as they grow more sophisticated it gets harder and harder to find something they like or want and that we can afford!

I have planned on a family gift card to their favorite restaurant and in addition I think I will sew pillows for ALL my grands! I'll buy inexpensive fluffy bed pillows ( my favorite kind, anyway!) and make covers with their initials. They ALL have denim quilts from when they were little so it would make a nice set to use for watching TV or playing video games.

I am so looking forward to Christmas Eve. ALL eight of my grandchildren will be here for dinner!

Second time this year I will have all of them with me at the same time!

Okay! I may be ready for the ice to go away now.

I need to go to the store!

Warm and Cozy

We have been tucked away here at home since Thursday afternoon and it looks like we will be staying in for another day or two! We are covered in ICE!!

It's cold outside but warm and cozy INSIDE.

We have the heat on and are eating comfort food - 

tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for a winter lunch!

Between meals we sip hot chocolate by the fire and watch movies.

Before the weather event arrived we had roses in full bloom!

They are now encased in ICE!

This is the honeysuckle bush which is usually loaded with birds!

ALL the bushes are frozen so the birds are finding refuge in the grapevines up in our porch.

We have gone out the last two mornings to fill the feeders.

Louis Dean used a mop to dislodge some of the ice on the gazebo.

We don't need that to come crashing down on all the Christmas 'debris' I have out there!

He didn't stay out there long with no coat or gloves!

Our water fountains continue to bubble even if most of the water is frozen.

It's the perfect time to start a jigsaw puzzle!

I used to have one going all the time.

Louis Dean enjoyed watching some football this afternoon while I worked on my projects.

All my rosemary salt and rosemary infused olive oil is packaged and ready for gift giving.

My next project is pillows for the quads to match the quilts I made them for their birthdays.

I made one - for Trystan! Three more to go......

Lucy has not been eager to go outside! She didn't know WHAT to think about the frozen ground!

We only lost power for 10 hours or so. Summer lost theirs Thursday night and it just came on again this morning! All in all we have stayed warm and safe! We have much to be thankful for.

No slipping around on ice for US!

Tonight Louis Dean grilled some steaks and I added baked potatoes and candied carrots for our dinner in front of the fireplace while we watch Doris Day and Frank Sinatra in 'Young at Heart.'

A good way to end this day!