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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Tasty Tuesday




Skillet Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, diced, at room temperature



Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.


2. Place the apples in a large bowl. Add the vanilla, brown sugar, cornstarch, zest and juice of first lemon, and cinnamon to the apples and toss to coat. Transfer the apple mixture to a 10-inch cast-iron skillet and set aside.

3. To make the topping, in a medium bowl, stir together the flour, granulated sugar, oats, baking soda, salt, and zest. Add the butter and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour mixture until there are no pieces of butter left larger than small peas. Sprinkle the flour mixture evenly over the apple mixture.

4. Bake for 1 hour, until the apple filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown. Serve warm.



Sunday, October 24, 2010

Daddy's Hands



Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin´.

Daddy´s hands, were hard as steel when I´d done wrong.

Daddy´s hands, weren´t always gentle

But I´ve come to understand.

There was always love in Daddy´s hands. 
 
 





Thursday, October 14, 2010

Beautiful

Last Sunday we had our family pictures taken.  Laura Elliott is from my hometown and in the last year or so has started up her photography business.  We had Laura take Lauren's 6 month photos last February and we were so thrilled with the outcome, that I booked her again before Kevin gets deployed to Iraq.  I couldn't be happier with our result this time around either.  I thought I would share a few favorites from our shoot.  If you would like to see more, you can check out my album on facebook. 












Saturday, October 9, 2010

Cue the Music, Maestro!

My sweet Lauren Grace LOVES music.  She will stop what she is doing if she hears music.  She loves to bop and dance to the beat.  Here are a few short samples of her darling little self!  (Sorry for the poor quality.  This was filmed on my phone, in the car, and at night..not a great combo!)







Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Update: Levi

I received an email update from Jillian this afternoon, and I wanted to pass the information and update on to those who are following my blog and praying for Levi. 
First, she wanted me to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.  Levi is doing really well.  He had his IV's removed, is breathing on his own and they are going to be moving him to a crib and out of the incubator today.  They received the test results yesterday.  Another answered prayer.  The results did still show both Mosaic Down Syndrome and Leukemia cells. People with this rare form Down Syndrome have a higher risk of developing Leukemia and other health problems  The doctors are pretty positive that it is a very mild form of leukemia. Only 20% of children with this condition go on to have chemo therapy treatments  The Dr's have told Jillian that the leukemia cells will be eliminated by the down syndrome.  This does not mean that Levi is out of the woods and the doctors will continue to keep a close eye on him. 
The family feels great comfort now that they have an answer to what is wrong with Levi.  Please continue to keep Levi and his family in your prayers.  I will continue to keep you all as updated as I can. 




Kaelin 3 weeks


                                         










Sunday, October 3, 2010

Prayers for Levi

I writing to all of my friends and family to say a special prayer for a young baby boy named Levi Alexander. 
Levi was born to my very good friend Jillian.  I worked with Jillian at the dental clinic in Bemidji.  We found out around the same time that we were expecting baby #2! 
Levi was born on Thursday September 30.  Shortly after birth, it was noticed that Levi had a rash all over his body.  The doctors ran blood tests, and gave Levi antibiotics for fear of an infection.  He continued to get worse and was having trouble breathing.  He was airlifted to St. Mary's in Duluth where he has undergone several blood and platelet transfusions.  The normal platelet levels are between 250,000- 400,000.  Little Levi's platelet levels were only at 36,000.  They are doing numerous tests while he is in the NICU.  The latest of those was a bone marrow tests.  The doctors have informed Jillian that he could have a form of down syndrome called Mosaic Down Syndrome or possibly even Leukemia.  They will not know the results of these tests until atleast Monday.  I know Thursday and Friday were really bad days for Levi and Jillian.  Saturday was better and Jillian was able to feed him. He ate very well which is a good sign. 
Please pray for strength for Levi to beat whatever is ailing him and please pray for Jillian too.  She had Levi via C-section and was to recover for a few days in the hospital but because of Levi's condition was discharged to be with him in Duluth.  Pray for their comfort no matter what the diagnosis. 
I will try to keep everyone updated as I receive any information from Jillian. 
She knows that I am posting this and is already hopeful and has great faith that God will answer our prayers!







Saturday, October 2, 2010

"Pumpkin Patch" ...not!

Ok..so I SHOULD have known that they couldn't just make a pumpkin patch appear at the park for two days only.  I SHOULD have googled it before we loaded up both kids, both strollers, blankets, bottles, diapers, snacks, cameras, cups, etc....and seen that it was in fact The Pumpkin Patch Annual Arts and Crafts Fair ..NOT an actual pumpkin patch. 
This was the extent of the pumpkins: 


I would have loved to take a look at all of the Arts and Crafts, but it was super busy and trying to navigate two strollers through a crowded barn was just not going to happen. 
We settled for lunch at Applebee's and a quick drive to look at a few prospective rentals for next year.  Then we came home, took a nap and had a delicious dinner, made by Kevin! 
All in all, not a bad day.  Maybe we can venture out and find a real pumpkin patch tomorrow!



Friday, October 1, 2010

Happy Friday!

We hope you all have a great weekend!  I am enjoying my days with my beautiful baby girls.  They are so wonderful!  Kevin and I cannot get enough of them!
"Cheese"

Kaelin: 18 days old

My beautiful girls! 

We are planning on taking a trip to the pumpkin patch tomorrow. Check back in a few days for some more pictures!