Tagg is ONE!

May 10th marked Tagg's FIRST BIRTHDAY.

{I. Just. Can't. Believe. It.}

Here's a look month by month:

ONE MONTH

 TWO MONTHS

THREE MONTHS

FOUR MONTHS

FIVE MONTHS

SIX MONTHS

SEVEN MONTHS

EIGHT MONTHS

NINE MONTHS

TEN MONTHS

ELEVEN MONTHS

ONE YEAR

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby!
He has added joy to our lives that we didn't know we needed.
Sweet.
Happy.
Loving.
Precious.
Smiley.
Tagg.

Here's a sneak peek where I used his month to month pictures at his birthday party....

(More on the Mustache Bash and the Little Mister's Bow Tie Party next week!)

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Lasts

Today marked the LAST of several things for our family......


Reese is done with SECOND GRADE!
~Last day of school~

Graham is done with PRESCHOOL!
~Last day of school~

And Tagg is ready to move to a 'big boy seat'!
~Last time in his infant carseat~

When I started having kids, one of my aunts told me to remember to write down the 'lasts'. We always capture the 'firsts' in baby books and in photos, but don't forget that the 'lasts' can be just as special!


Thank you Yellow Bliss Road for those super cute 'last day of school' papers. Print yours free here.

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Teacher Appreciation Gifts

Here are 10 easy and quick Teacher Appreciation Gift ideas.

I can PROMISE that they are easy and quick because I've made them all!

1. "We are so thankful that God PICKED you to be Reese's teacher this year!"

Strawberry scented hand soap and hand sanitizer make a nice change from the expected 'apple' scented teacher gifts. Put the soaps in an empty fruit container box to make it that much more special! (For this gift, I also included a gift card to a local produce market.)

2. "An excellent TEACHER never falls to PIECES."

  I filled a Target dollar spot glass jar with Reese's Pieces candy.
What a neat little jar to keep at the desk when the teacher might need a little something sweet!

3. "You are one POLISHED teacher."

4. "I have to ad-'mitt' you are a great teacher!"

Find a cute oven mitt and all you need to do is print and attach THIS label!
(This link is for another 'ad-mitt' label. Right now, I can't find the one I used.)

5. "You are one 'soup'er teacher!"

 It's as easy as pie.... even though it's soup!
I bought a gourmet bag of soup and attached a simple, handwritten label.




6. "We need S'more teachers like you!"

 This was the yummiest teacher gift I have ever made.
Mix a bag of mini marshmallows, a box of bear shaped Graham Crackers and a bag of Hershey's Milk Chocolate Drops. Since the marshmallows will dry out, be sure to place your mixture in an air tight container and be sure to use THIS cute tag.

(I almost substituted the Drops for a bag of milk chocolate chips and I'm SO glad I didn't! The Drops make this so delicious.)

Who doesn't want to eat S'mores by the handful????

7. "Thanks for making me one smart cookie."

 Everyone has their favorite cookie recipe. And I haven't met a teacher that doesn't like a good cookie!
Attach THIS cute card (and maybe even the recipe!).



8. "You deserve a hand."

 I picked a yummy smelling hand soap and traced my daughter's hand to make this simple card.



9. "You're an A&Wesome teacher!"

 I'm sure you've seen this gift around Pinterest. And believe me, the printable tag HERE makes this gift even MORE A&Wesome!



10. "There is no 'sub'stitute for you."

It doesn't have to be a gift card with a ton of $. 

5$ at Subway can get a teacher a lunch! You know that saying, "Every little bit counts."

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Easter 2014

Our Easter went by so fast. I see a trend here.... these years of my kids being little are just flying.

 (Tagg's FIRST Easter)

We didn't get Easter eggs colored, or even a family picture of the five of us.... but we spent the day in Church and with family- both things that are hard to beat.



The cantata that our Church Choir performed yesterday was, by far, my favorite book we've done. Resurrection Sunday is so powerful itself, but singing amazing songs to a worthy Savior is humbling.

(The Easter book we sang from was 'The Day He Wore My Crown' arranged by Russell Mauldin.)

I'm thankful for all the practices we did and for needing to pay attention to the part I was singing, otherwise, I would have been a sobbing mess on stage. The words of these songs were so powerful.
My favorite song was Man of Sorrows. It was the song my husband did as his solo. If you'd like to listen to it, you can here: Man of Sorrows.


I hope you had a fabulous Easter Sunday.
Spending time with family, making memories and
remembering the SAVING end of Jesus Christ's death.


"Sent of Heaven, God's own Son, to purchase and redeem. And reconcile the very ones who nailed Him to that tree.
Oh that rugged cross, my salvation, where Your love poured out over me, now my soul cries out Hallelujah! Praise and honor unto Thee."

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Easy Lemon Asparagus

Do you need a new side dish to throw into your dinner rotation?
Well, Lemon Asparagus is just about the easiest side dish I've ever made.
It's refreshing and yummy.
(Even my 4 year old gets excited when I make this!)

-Trim your asparagus and line them up on a baking sheet.

-Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and gently roll to coat.

-Squeeze one half of a lemon over the asparagus. 

-Slice the other half of the lemon. Line the lemon slices on top of your asparagus with 3 Tablespoons of sliced butter.

-Bake at 400* for 12-18 minutes or until cooked as you like them!

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Monkey Bread

As promised (yesterday in my Disney Countdown Movie Night) here is the Monkey Bread my family is in love with......

 Doesn't it look delicious? Well, this picture isn't lying!
If you've never made Monkey Bread before, stop everything RIGHT NOW and go make some.
Then come back and thank me for changing your life. Okay... I'm kidding... or maybe not....
Seriously though, here is an easy recipe to try. YUM.

Start with a can of Pillsbury Grands Homestyle Butter Tastin' biscuits.
You can use another kind of biscuit, but I have and I'll tell ya, it's just not the same. Since I always have the other ingredients on hand that are needed for this recipe, I don't mind splurging on the Grands!

 Pop open the can and cut each biscuit into 6 pieces.

Let your biscuits hang out on the cutting board for a minute while you mix 1/4 cup sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon in a gallon size bag. 

When your sugar and cinnamon are mixed, add your cut biscuits to the bag. Close and gently shake it around until all the biscuit pieces are covered.

Next, you'll need to melt 1/2 a stick of butter or margarine and then add that to 1/4 cup brown sugar.
This is the sticky yumminess that your monkey bread will be sitting in. It might just be the best part!

When you've mixed the melted butter and brown sugar, you'll need to spoon some into each of your 8, sprayed, muffin cups. It evens out to (almost) a tablespoon of butter/brown sugar goodness per muffin cup.
Now you need to divide your coated biscuit pieces evenly between your 8 muffin pan cups. Each muffin cup will have 6 pieces of biscuits.
(If you have any extra sugar/cinnamon mixture in the bottom of the bag, sprinkle it on your biscuits.)

I place my muffin pan on a cookie sheet for baking. I've have it bubble over into my oven one too many times!
Bake in a preheated 350* oven for 15-18 minutes (or until the centers are not gooey- we don't like gooey dough around here.)

 Let them rest a few minutes in the pan before you turn them over and let them plop out. (I use my cookie sheet for this so I don't have to wash another dish.)

  Plate and serve! (There usually isn't time to plate them... little monkey hands take their bread right off the warm pan!)

I used this recipe as my dessert on our Disney Countdown Movie Night. I called it 'Abu's Monkey Bread' since we were watching the Disney movie Aladdin. But to be honest, it's usually a weekend breakfast treat. 

Morning, Noon or Night, you are sure to enjoy!



Monkey Bread
Here's What You'll Need:
1 can Pillsbury Butter Tastin' Biscuits
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar

Here's How:
1. Preheat oven to 350* and spray 8 muffin pan cups with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Cut your biscuits into 6 even pieces.
3. Combine your granulated sugar and cinnamon in a zip closer bag. Add your cut biscuit pieces and shake gently to coat evenly.
4. Combine your melted butter and brown sugar in a small bowl and divide even among the sprayed muffin cups. (About 1 Tablespoon per muffin cup.)
5. Divide the coated biscuits evenly among the muffin cups. (6 pieces of biscuit in each)
6. Bake for 15-18 minutes until the dough is cooked through. Allow the monkey bread to cool slightly in the pan before you turn them over onto a pan or serving platter. 

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