Caramel Rolls

I added some butter and brown sugar to some cinnamon rolls to make caramel rolls for our breakfast this morning. They are rising beautifully! We need the heat as it was -23 degrees this morning.

Mike has been on 32-hour work weeks so the night shift this past week was really nice. He got home at 10:45 P.M. instead of 2:45 A.M. That works for us! However, last night the kids were still partying and a few were still awake when he came home. :)

Nothing is scheduled on the calendar for today. Not even school, but three of the kids have some work to catch up on. Such is life...

Farming

Well, I will have to admit that my free moments have turned to farming lately. I don't have a farm like my friends do; I've been trying to build a profitable farm on Facebook. I get to have a few of the pleasures of having a farm but without the smell. :) If you're on Facebook and have a few extra minutes, please send me some trees and/or animals.

Today we had a family over for lunch before Mike had to go to work. They have seven children and are expecting another later this year. It was lots of fun, and Tracy really enjoyed it because she had friends to play games with her. I made a couple roasts with the potatoes, carrots, and gravy to go with them, and they brought some chocolate chip cookie bars. Of course, the bars went over better than the meal. :)

Tonight the kids and I went to Awana. Melissa brought snacks for her age group so we made and frosted cookies for that and brought grapes too. Emily finished the hardest section in her book (John 10:10-18,) Jason finished his book, I'm not sure about Aaron, and Tracy got to go swimming. She's been helping with the 3rd through 6th grade girls, and those that were at least half way in their books got to go swimming.

Tonight was "Take a Picture with Sparky" night. When Laura and I got back from dropping Melissa off, Sparky was already there. Laura stood there looking and looking and puckering and puckering farther and farther before she finally started to cry. She sat on my lap, holding me with a "death grip" and eventually fell asleep. Later in the evening I happened to mention "Sparky" while she was on the floor coloring. She dropped the crayons and climbed onto my lap again and wouldn't let go. I'll have to say that it was one of the calmest Awana nights having to take care of Laura without Mike there. :) We didn't even try to get a picture of her with Sparky this year because of her extreme fear, but you can see her last year in this post.

Cinnamon Rolls

I think the cinnamon dough rose. :) I was trying to give the yeast a head-start by putting it with the sweetener and water before the rest of the ingredients because it is out-dated. I forgot about that and dumped my regular water in the bread machine after I had the other ingredients in there so ended up with a double batch. I know children like Aaron won't mind, but I think I'll bring a pan over to the family with the twins and make them a meal to go with it.

A Fun Day

My family made a quick trip up to see us today so we had lots of fun visiting, eating, and playing games. After they left, the day seemed kind of boring so Mike and I figured out the taxes since his W-2 came in today's mail. We e-filed the federal as we've done for the past three years, but we still do a paper return for state. It was fun doing that this year because we will get the education credit for the kids' school supplies and music lessons. Oh, the dog has been sulking ever since they left because he wanted to go to their house for a visit.

This evening I sent out several "gifts" to some friends on Facebook and have decided to swamp my mom with cows tomorrow morning when those renew. :) She keeps giving me cow things for gifts and commented recently that she's supposed to be getting cows. :)

Other than that, things are going well. Laura is up and going full-swing because she got a late nap. There's a possibility I may get to babysit the twins on Tuesday while my friends go to a hockey game to hear some other friends of ours sing the National Anthem. I sure hope it pans out. Babies grow so quickly, and I've missed seeing them two days in a row now. :(

Oh, we "fancied" the girls' hair today for Grandma's and Grandpa's visit. It took a lot of time; now I know why I don't do that on a regular basis. :)

Another Day

I would guess I'm spending too much time with the twins because Laura is playing more with Tracy and only using me to nurse.

Psalm 95:1-11

1. Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3. For the Lord is the great God, and the great King above all gods.
4. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also.
5. The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land.
6. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear his voice:
8. "Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness,
9. When your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they saw My work.
10. For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.'
11. So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'"

Put to Work

I put my wide-awake girls to work at 11:00 P.M. :)