McBride and the Ride

emilyut — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 15:12:06 +0000

I’ve recently been spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Now it isn’t because I’m a great chef or a magnificent baker but I do enjoy trying new recipes and it is always encouraging when the whole family enjoys them.

For Christmas I received 3 new cookbooks: A Buddy Cake Boss cookbook, a family book written by my Aunt Lydia, and a CakePops cookbook. I’ve really enjoyed baking goodies and decorating them since Perry’s first birthday so getting a cake pops book and a Cake Boss book was such a treat. So far I’ve made cookies and some cake truffles, from these two books and when there is time I’m looking forward to making a cake and decorating it with my new circuit cake decorator…also a Christmas present from my momma.

From Aunt Lydia’s book we have discovered Bacon Cheese Burger Meatloaf, Tater Tot Casserole, Sausage Balls and a failed Peanut Butter Pie (which I won’t give up on). These were all a big hit with all four of us which is exciting because I’m not an exciting cook and I often get bored with dinner. I’m always up for new easy recipes!! I just discovered a new pancake recipe from the ParentLife Magazine that I will share. They are super sweet and do not even need syrup although my two little ones require syrup on their pancakes regardless of what they taste like. Enjoy one of my newest discoveries…

Berry Smoothie Pancakes
1cup vanilla yogurt
1 banana sliced
1/2cup strawberries sliced
1/4cup blueberries
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup 100% whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs

combine yogurt and berries in blender set aside
combine flours and baking soda in a large bowl add eggs and smoothie mixture
…this comes out really thick and I like thinner pancakes so I added some milk till I liked the texture…

Youth Christmas Party

emilyut — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 03:24:55 +0000

We just got home from the FBC Youth Christmas Party. One baby is asleep and the other is on the way. I thought I would take a moment to share about our evening. I realized the other day I’ve never shared pictures or stories from our youth events…probably because I’m not able to attend many of them. Good news, I got to go to the party!

We are so thankful to all those who opened their homes and to the many others who provided the delicious food. We had a huge spread of appetizers at the Culver’s home which quickly disappeared. Perry threatened to stay at their house…I almost let him . We went from here back to church where we were served dinner which was also yummy. After dinner the students exchanged white elephant gifts. I’m not really sure how many students were happy with what they took home seeing as how the budget was $5 or something from home. However, Perry and Macy were thrilled with their gifts. Perry stole used basketball trophy and if I know him he’s sleeping with it right now. Macy ended up with a necklace and Tierra although she didn’t really open any presents. After some good laughs at gifts like a roll of toilet paper, which believe it or not was stolen a few times, and night crawlers we headed for dessert. Once again we were greeted by quite a spread of yummy, gooey, chocolatey goodness.

We really are enjoying our time with the students. It has been difficult for me at times to make connections and spend the time that I want to with them, mainly because I always have 2 little ones following me around. But, the time we do get to spend is full of fun and laughter. I’m very thankful for the way the love and play with PB and MZ, as a matter of fact, Perry will be talking about riding in the church bus with the big kids for a long time! Merry Christmas from the FBC Students.

Girly Girl

emilyut — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:07:41 +0000

Macy is turning into quite the little girl. She usually spends the morning walking around the house with her jewelry on or sporting her new tutu.

This morning I couldn’t help but snap a few pictures as she sat in the rocking chair with her baby and blanket. So, I thought I would share this sweet moment with you!

Disappearing Act

emilyut — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:01:49 +0000

The ornaments on my Christmas Tree have started disappearing. I’ll let you guess who the culprit is…nope it isn’t Perry. MACY wouldn’t leave the tree alone. This girl is fearless and stubborn.

So, I set the little hands in the house to work making ornaments they could touch and play with. They turned out super cute and we had a blast making them together. I guess the looked too cute because I started finding ornaments with lick marks and pieces missing. The homemade ornaments started disappearing because Macy

continued to try and eat them.

Needless to say we quickly grew tired of re-hanging ornaments on the tree and telling little hands no. So, our tree is only halfway decorated. It is KILLING me to have a half decorated tree, but we are much more relaxed so it is probably worth it. Maybe next year we can decorate the whole tree.

“Hoboken Style Baby”

emilyut — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 04:43:38 +0000

Ryan is probably the best “surpriser” I know, and I love him. I could go on and on describing the different ways he has surprised me in the past but I’ll save you the ooey gooey details.

We are big fans of the TLC show Cake Boss. This past Wednesday evening while putting pjs on the kiddos Ryan told me we were going to be seeing someone special the next day. Well I immediately assumed he was able to get tickets the Behold the Lamb Concert and he laughed and quickly told me I was wrong. I kept throwing out what I thought the surprise could be and he kept shooting me down. I had no idea that Buddy the Cake Boss was in Bristol and we were going to go see him!

Flash back to this past summer. Ryan took a group of our high school students to NYC to work with The Gallery Church. He just so happened to be there on our Wedding Anniversary so I made a demand. He was told to go to Hoboken and bring me back something yummy. He delivered. He came home with the best chocolate cake I’ve ever put in my mouth. I told myself while I was eating it that Buddy made this chocolate cake just for us! Ha yeah right I’m sure it was someone else who we never see on TV.

We were very fortunate to have Ryan’s parents watch the kiddos for us at such a short notice. Once we dropped them off we headed to Viking Hall to see Buddy. He’s exactly the same in person as he is on TV. Although I had a little bit of trouble understanding him at times. I guess my Tennessee ears weren’t ready for his Jersey accent. The story of his life and the life of the bakery were very interesting. It was neat to be able to put a face and a story with the cake I was eating. Ryan and I had a great time together listing to and laughing with Buddy the Cake the Boss. Listen to me…I’m talking like we are best friends now. It was a great surprise and a fun Christmas Present date night with my sweet sweet husband.

Starting Traditions

emilyut — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:54:35 +0000

When I was growing up we always went to Cooke’s Tree Farm the weekend after Thanksgiving to pick out our Christmas Tree. It was something I looked forward to and really enjoyed each year. As we got older, having all five of us together was not always an easy task. I have special memories of my family rummaging through many trees to find the the perfect one for our house.

We want to build these same memories with our family! This year we took the kids to a tree farm to pick out a Christmas Tree. To describe Perry as excited would be an understatement. I tried to get good pictures of him playing in the trees but he was NEVER still. Even Macy who has just recently started walking enjoyed walking around all the big tress. Eventually Ryan and I got together and picked out our tree. If we had left it up to Perry we would have paid for and brought home a Charlie Brown Tree. I’m beginning to think he has a special heart for things that are overlooked.Anyway…it just so happened that the tree farm is located right behind the Old Barn Restaurant, and we were convinced to stay for dinner. Sooooo good! I’ll go back next year just for dinner.

Hard Lessons

emilyut — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 19:26:35 +0000

The deadline for Operation Christmas Child is closing in FAST. While creating boxes for children is something that I have always loved, I have never viewed it through the eyes of a toy thirsty 2 year old. Since we have two children, a boy and a girl, we decided to try and make two boxes that another boy and girl would enjoy.

My naivety was showing through when we took our children to the stores expecting them to understand the things in the cart were not for them. Insert crying from the little one and repeating the phrase “I want a toy” from the big one here. My frustration grew as I reminded them for the billionth time who the items were actually going to. Is it so much to expect him to understand this?

Yes. AND No.

My heart and brain combined and I realized that he couldn’t possibly understand the hurt and need that other children experience. He doesn’t know what it is like to be in want or to go with out. We are blessed. I desperately want to teach my children to share that which God has blessed us with and to reach out to others in a time of need. So, we sat down and placed an OCC pamphlet inside 2 year old hands and showed him pictures of children who will receive the boxes. We talked about having a lot and having a little. We talked about sharing what we have. At this point I’m not sure how much sank in his little mind and what he understood, but I know that he calmly walked away and said “ok mom.” We happily filled the boxes and talked about the children they are going to. Then it was NAP time. It will take time I know but I pray this is the beginning of God molding their little hearts.

Tree Climbing Fun

emilyut — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:18:24 +0000

When you think of Perry B what do you think of? I think of the phrase “all BOY.” In fact our doctor just described him as all boy today. He loves to play outside. We go on adventures walking all over the property, which I feel I need to add consists of a lot of big hills. He loves to run, pick up bugs dead or alive, and in his hands sticks are quickly transformed into swords and spaceships. Recently his favorite thing to is climbing trees. Now at 2 1/2 he can’t get very far off the ground, so usually this consists of sitting in the crevices of small trees. Not too long ago however, Ryan decided to give Perry the chance to get really high off the ground. I foresee hospital visits in our future.

Happy Birthday Macy Zoe

emilyut — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:37:43 +0000

Who remembers when Macy was this little, this quiet, this sleepy and this still? It has been a long time, a year to be exact. This little came into the world at 5:38 November 4th and has been a joy ever since. One year late Macy jabbers up a storm although we’re not always sure what she is saying . Her favorite word is HI she loves to wave and tell everyone she sees hello. Macy also loves to talk on the phone, which makes us very nervous for the future when her cell phone isn’t purple and made by leap frog. She loves to eat, is almost transitioned to milk, and is almost walking.

We recently celebrated her birthday. It was a GIRLY party pink everywhere, flowers and polka dots. There was strawberry cake and chocolate cupcakes and chocolate covered strawberries. The best part was all those who came to show love to our sweet Macy Zoe. Here are just a few pictures of her special day…

Pumpkins

emilyut — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:52:12 +0000

We spent some time with my family in Cleveland, TN. While we were there we visited a “pumpkin farm” as Perry so lovingly named it. This was a great trip. The weather was beautiful and we had a blast.

The pumpkin farm had a petting barn full of baby farm animals. We loved looking at the animals, making the same sounds they make, and petting a few. Out of all the baby animals can you guess which one my children fell in love with?!? The cat. First, I’m allergic. Second, I just don’t like cats. P and M would have followed that cat all over the pumpkin farm.

Moving on, there was a Meadow Maze which was so fun. I wasn’t wanting to get lost in the Big Corn Maze . At each stop in the maze there was an activity you had to participate in. Perry loved it. We made it through in one piece and got to ring the bell. The pictures you are about to see depict a very emotional moment on the trip. The big scary slide as we now call it became our least favorite part of the trip. They warned us it was fast. It was fast. At the end Perry said I no slide with mommy again.

We survived the traumatic event and made our way to the pumpkin patch which was full of beautiful big orange pumpkins. Perry seems to be a little against tradition. He picked out green and yellow pumpkins, oddly shaped gourds, and probably the tiniest pumpkin you have ever seen.

Thanks to a sneaky Grammy and Aunt Zo Zo we made it home with 2 pretty pumpkins.
It was a great trip and I’m so thankful for this time with my mom and sister:)