The BIG Arctic Storm (fail) of 2011

We woke up this morning READY for some SNOW!

The night before, the weatherman had promised some of the white stuff in the form of a couple of inches, so we were ready when the sun came up!

BUT....when we got up, all there was was rain.

So....we sat by the window and watched and waited..... got bored with waiting, so we napped......
then we baked cookies....
then we watched and waited some more....

and FINALLY! It started falling!
WE HAD SNOW!!!
But as quick as it came......it was outta here even quicker....
and this is the only snowman we got today!

But BABY is it COLD out there!!!

Valentine's Idea.

Need a cute, easy, cheap Valentine's Day idea?

Try this.....

Get in your car and drive to the nearest Hobby Lobby.

Buy a 3 pack of the colorful Chinese Paper Lanterns that they have for $7.99.

Stroll on over to the gift wrap aisle.

Pick up some $3.49 (pink or any other color) cellophane roll.

Then hit the 50% off ribbon rack.

Check-out in the shortest line you can find (this can be sometimes difficult at Hobby Lobby)!

Head home.

Assemble the lanterns.

Wrap in the cellophane wrap.

Tie cute ribbons on the ends.

WA-LAW!

Now you have cute, large Valentine Candy to hang!

Happy Happy Birthday!

To my Beautiful Mother!

Thank you for all that you are and for all of the ways that you bless us daily!

We love you very much!

Meet Mo!

Introducing the newest member of the Cruson family!

Mo!Santa was good to us this year!

We are so excited to have this new baby as a part of our family!

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and have a Happy Happy New Year!

My Favorite Christmas Recipe!

NeNa's Homemade STRAWBERRY BREAD!

(that's NeNa in the middle)

This is my FAVORITE Christmas Recipe and the ONLY thing I can make from scratch...seriously!

It's is my sweet little Nena's recipe from a long time ago. I still have the original recipe that is written in her handwriting and I still use it when I bake this at Christmastime, it still makes me smile everytime I pull it out.

It is so yummy, I just had to share it! So get out those pencils and recipe cards and get to crackin'!

Nena's Homemade Strawberry Bread

Mix:

3 cups of flour

2 cups of sugar

1 tsp soda

2 tsp cinnamon

Then add:

4 eggs

1/2 cup cooking oil

(2) 10 oz. pkg. of frozen strawberries

1/2 cup of chopped pecans

Mix well. Bake at 350 about 40 minutes.

It makes 3 of the big aluminum bread tins or around 7 of the extra small tins.

(And it's REAL good for you too!!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

It's Been a While......

......Since our last official Family Photo.....almost nine years to be exact.

This family photo was taken one month after we nearly lost Hallie. It has always meant alot to me and has always hung in our front entryway. It is a constant reminder to me of the gifts that God has so richly blessed me with and allowed me to keep. I will forever treasure this portrait as it captures a time in my life that I never want to forget.....

a time of darkness and fear,

a time of completely putting myself at the feet of my Lord and begging Him to heal my baby,

a time of absolute trust in the Lord as He worked in our lives,

a time of actually feeling His arms wrapped around me and my child as she struggled,

and a time of Rejoicing as He has made His presence known in so many special ways.

This portrait will always be our "first Family photo" and will always hang in our home, but over the years.... WOW! how we have changed and when a very special lady http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ who went through her very own struggles of nearly losing a child, announced she was visiting Texas to do photoshoots...I knew it was time.

I can not wait to meet MckMama in person in the morning and have her share her incredible talent with my family!

39.....

FOREVER!

Today I turned 39.

It will be the last official birthday that I will ever be celebrating......

(with the exception of receiving gifts, this I will allow to continue).