Look what Patrick got....

Meet Lou Grant Evans

he is a 5 month old male Yorkie

Our kids cornered him under the ottoman and wouldn't let him out for a while
So, Patrick has had him for 1 day and I am already babysitting! Patrick has to work until 9:00 pm tonight and he didn't want Louie to be alone on his first day in his new home. It would not be a problem if our kids weren't so spoiled and needy!

I had to post this picture because it is so cute I think! (You don't need to read this part if your last name is Maddux!) Just a little while ago Brad called and said that he was on his way home from work. We never see him anymore because they are working on the 2009 appraisal at his office day and night. So I was talking to the kids (Baby and Buddy) and I was telling them that Daddy was coming home early tonight while we were still awake! Buddy kept looking at me like I was crazy and I told him that Daddy was really on his way, he called from the car and he was almost here. I went to the kitchen for something to drink and I saw him looking intently out the window waiting for his Daddy! He is still sitting there even after I took the picture. So if his Daddy doesn't walk through that door any minute, there will be some unhappy folks around here! Of course prissy Baby just has to watch Buddy like a hawk to make sure that he is not touching anything of hers or that he is not to close to me!

Last night I cooked one of the great chicken receipes that Leslie has sent me. I haven't made it since Valentine's Day 2008 but I ran across it and decided I would fix it in case Brad came home for dinner. It was delicious and Lauren put on some green beans and baked potatoes to go with it. Lauren and I ate and watched American Idol but Brad did not get home until after midnight so he had to heat his up. Patrick came by and got a plate when he got off work at 11:30 last night but I was fast asleep and never heard him stop by. Both guys reported today that they enjoyed it so in case you want to try it, here is the receipe:

Chicken Elegante

Preheat oven to 275 degrees, makes 8 servings

8 chicken breast filets

8 thin slices of deli ham

1 (10) ounce can crea, of mushroom soup

1 cup sour cream

1 (4) ounce jar sliced drained mushrooms

Rinse chicken and pat dry, Wrap with ham and arrange in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spoon mixture of soup, sour cream and mushrooms over chicken. Bake at 275 degrees for 3 hours.

Yum-Yum

How great is ........

steak and gravy, baked apples, real creamed potatoes, butter peas, rolls and

Yellow cake with chocolate icing, all made with love by Mama

and sharing it with Patrick!

I think I guilted Mom into my favorite home cooked meal that I always get for my birthday. I guess she thought that since I had such an extravagant birthday celebration, she was off the hook. I happened to call her house Sunday and found out that she had cooked a thank you lunch for Jacque and Wayne my favorite meal. Now don't think I was jealous or anything , but I dropped a few hints. Jacque and Wayne are forever helping Mom so I couldn't complain like I would if it had been anyone else! So, yesterday she called and asked if Brad could come by on his way home from work and pick up our dinner. I told her Brad was working late but Patrick would be happy to come pick it up. So we had dinner around 3:00 yesterday afternoon and it was fabulous! Thanks Mom!

Birthday and a Snowday!

Today is Brad's Aunt Peggy's Birthday! For her celebration, she is having surgery on her wrist. She fell Monday and broke her left wrist and she is left handed! Please pray for her speedy recovery!

When I checked my email today I found that our little ones are excited about the snow we got this morning. Here are our Clarksville boys minus Cord who was sleeping. (Connor, Russell, Cannon)
Here our Hendersonville Snow-Bunnies Anni, Will Carter and Maddux
and here is a picture of what is playing in the snow in our backyard! I took this picture through the window so in case you can't tell, it's a bunch of turkeys!

Meat Cupcakes for Dinner!

I found this receipe on another blog today and we decided to try it out for dinner. Now that I don't have to work nights, we can all have dinner together again.

Meat Cupcakes
INGREDIENTS:3/4 LB. GROUND BEEF
1/2 C KETCHUP
1 T MUSTARD
2 T BROWN SUGAR
1 CAN BISCUITS
1/4 C SHREDDED CHEESE
DIRECTIONS:PREHEAT OVEN TO 400 DEGREES.BROWN THE BEEF AND DRAIN.MIX KETCHUP, MUSTARD, AND BROWN SUGAR TOGETHER TO MAKE A BARBECUE SAUCE.ADD THE SAUCE TO THE BEEF.SEPARATE DOUGH INTO BISCUITS.FORM DOUGH INTO CUPS ON THE MUFFIN TINS.SPOON THE MEAT INTO THE DOUGH CUPS.BAKE AT 400 DEGREES FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES(OR UNTIL THE BISCUIT DOUGH LOOKS DONE).SPRINKLE THE TOPS WITH CHEESE.AND DINNER IS SERVED!

"America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

This was the ending from the Inaugural Speech by President Obama. I could not believe the number of people that attended the ceremony.

It does not matter if you voted for him or not, he will need all of our prayers.

2nd Post for today!

Yesterday, my sisters celebrated my 50th birthday by honoring me with the most perfect party! I had no idea where it was or who would be there when I arrived. Mom and Sara picked Lauren and I up at 11:45 and off we went. I realized that we were heading to Hendersonville but I did not know the location until we turned down Anderson Lane and I knew we were going to Nita's house. When we pulled up there were cars everywhere and I was trying to identify the owners of the vehicles when Corinne greeted me at the car and helped us in. As I came through the door, there was a room full of very special people, all waiting for me. The tables were set with the most beautiful flowers and place settings. Leslie made a CD of songs I love as well as from the year I was born that was playing in the background. After lots of hugs, the sisters had the group circle up, we counted (25 total) and Tracey prayed the sweetest prayer. We were seated and served our delicious lunch. While we were eating our lunch, each one would get up and share a story or a memory that we shared. I was overwhelmed with the kind words that were said to me and about me. We had birthday cake and ice cream with coffee and then I opened the most marvelous gifts. Each gift was so thoughtfully chosen and things that I love given so generously by such dear friends and family. Leslie made over 100 pictures while Emily, Nita, Corinne and Jacque worked cleaning up and washing all the dishes. It was such a special time and no one seemed rushed or in a hurry to leave, they were there to celebrate me.

A very special memory was made, one that I will treasure for the rest of my life!

Fifty things about me at 50....

in no particular order.......

1. I am blessed to have been born to wonderful parents, Patsy and Billy Cline.
2. I believe that laughter is the best medicine of all.
3. I love waking up in the morning and having coffee ready and waiting on me prepared by my sweet husband.
4. I love having sisters that are my friends.
5. I love anything and everything animal print.
6. I love that my husband is my best friend.
7. I love blogging and keeping my picture a day journal.
8. I appreciate my health more than I ever have in my life.
9. I hate unloading the dishwasher.
10.I think the greatest accomplishment of life was having Patrick.
11. I am bigger than I have ever been in my life and I am dealing with it.
12. I love my Mother. We are best friends and I think she has wonderful advice and she is fun to be around.
13. I have learned to say "no" to unrealistic expectations or commitments.
14. I have learned that I can go to sleep if there are a few dishes in the sink.
15. I look forward to the mail coming everyday.
16. I love reading my Bible and being in Beth Moore Bible studies.
17. I don't mind cooking because Brad thinks everything I cook tastes good.
18. I love taking pictures and capturing everyday moments.
19. I have learned that it is better to focus on what is clean in my house instead of what is not clean.
20. I love our home and I don't mind that I can go a week or more without leaving.
21. I love rearranging my office and finding new ways to organize my supplies.
22. I love making to do lists and marking everything off on the same day.
23. I love looking at my completed scrapbooks.
24. I hate folding clothes from the dryer.
25. I love being a friend and while I do fall short sometimes, I try really hard to keep in touch.
26. I love going through my magazines and cutting out ideas and recipes that I want to try.
27. I have learned I would rather put money in the bank than take it out.
28. I no longer purchase by "how much down' and "how much a month".
29. I love to sleep! I have been a night owl all my life and now I know the more rest I get, the better I feel.
30. I have learned it is more enjoyable to focus on good in myself and others than to dwell on shortcomings and flaws.
31. I have to have my purse sitting near me at all times.
32. I love family traditions.
33. I love my other names, Hazel, Sweet Pea, and Kimmie.
34. I love anything sparkly, flashy or monogrammed.
35. I love the taste of diet coke and sometimes with Crown Royal in it!
36. I love reality shows on TV.
37. I do not like driving in the rain or in traffic.
38. I love that I can wear cute pj's to work.
39. I love quite time.
40. I love that my husband is so affectionate.
41. I love family gatherings and celebrations.
42. I love sitting down to a home cooked meal (especially if it is at Mom's).
43. I don't like text messaging and I don't want to learn how to do it.
44. I love clean sheets with fresh shaven legs.
45. I love a good hair day!
46. I am more thankful than ever before.
47. I am blessed with so much and by so many, more than I could ever deserve.
48. I know that bad days and bad times pass much quicker than good days or good times.
49. I have learned the true meaning of GRACE.
50. My goal in life is to be able to go to bed each night knowing that I am at least, a little tiny bit better of a person than I was when I woke up that morning.

Finally updating.......

Well I have certainly let my blog slip as 2009 started. I have not even posted the birthdays or anniversaries so I will do that first off.

January 2, 2009 Corinne and Mark celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary

Also on January 2, 2009 was Cassie Smith's Birthday

on January 11, 2009 Brigham Lee Angela turned 21 years old

On January 15, 2009 John Jackson Routh turned 33 years old!

and today our little man Jackson Smith turns 5 years old !

The past few weeks have been pretty uneventful compared to the weeks of December. I have been connecting with friends that I have not talked to or seen in a while and that has been very nice. I received 2 very sweet notes from 2 special little girls this week. Emma and Ava sent these thank yous for the Kimmie party we had after Christmas. I do believe that Emma may pick up my scrapbook love based on the way she decorated her card. I sure hope one of the little ones will someday be as passionate about it as I am.

Last Sunday Brad and I went to get me a new desk for my office. We were looking for something that would be conducive for my job as well as scrapbooking. I found just the one I wanted and Lauren agreed to put it all together. It has a rolling cart that fits under it to hold my office supplies and files and it is perfect! I love office supplies as much as scrapbook supplies so organizing everything was so much fun. It took Lauren and Brad (mostly Lauren) all afternoon Sunday to put it together and at 10:30pm we called Patrick to come up while I was on break and move the old one out and the new one in. I spent the rest of my shift taking Comcast calls while I was setting up everything. I was very annoyed at all the people in Michigan that kept calling and interrupting me!

Today I went and got my hair done and I am so excited about my 50th birthday party tomorrow. I do not know any details other than Mom is picking me up at 11:30 to take me! I am sure I will have pictures and details posted by tomorrow afternoon!