Happy St. Pat's Day! ....and a "Wild Game Feed"!

      We really don't celebrate this holiday...but I went to St. Patrick's Grade School way back in the day...and it was a holiday...no school!  So I always liked March 17th when I was a kid! 
       It's a special day this year for our church...Blackduck Evangelical Free Church....we're having our first "Wild Game Feed" tonight...a community ministry with a speaker, meal and prizes!  Steve and I are going to help serve...and I'm sure we'll get to sample some of the foods offered.  Our church gave away 250+ tickets to this event!  The cost is a free will offering to fund this specific ministry and hopefully make it a yearly event.
       We've had a busy winter at our church...we built a huge addition that is now finished...and the project continues as we gutted the old part of the building and are re-building it!  This project should be finished in the next couple of months.  Here's a few pictures...

This is our wonderful new kitchen...so much space and beautiful!

2 new stoves and another oven in the center...if you cooked on our old stove, you would be so in love with these new stoves!

Commercial refrigerator with lots of room!

We never had a dishwasher...now we have a dishwashing room!

Pantry/storage closet off the kitchen...room for everything!

And this is the "mother of all coffeepots"...we should never run out!

Here's the guys in the old part...cutting the old copper into 3 foot lengths to get the best price when they recycled it.

So...that's our church progress so far.  We're off to pour coffee and clean tables for the evening! 

74 degrees in this northern MN town today!  Is it really only March??

Catchin Up for February!

     So...I'm a little behind in my postings...bear with me and see what we've been up to.

I made my own laundry detergent...trial & error and only about a penny a load!

Baby Olivia came to visit with her family...she's grown by leaps and bounds since this picture was taken in February!  Such a cutie, but we are biased in that opinion!

Jill trying on Nana's wedding veil...she felt like a Princess.  Her Mommy had her hair rolled with that headband around her forehead...see next photo...

The result was wavy curls all over...very cute...

We celebrated this little guy's birthday...

and his sister's too!

They had a "pirates & pixies" birthday party together...their Mommy is very creative!

Nana with Will, 9, Greyson, 5, and Miss Tate, 2.  Papa and I are going to Disney with their family very soon!  We can't wait to experience all that fun through their little eyes!

We went to our state capitol in St. Paul with 40+ other resort owners in February to lobby for issues important to our industry...here's the lodgemaster taking a break with a crossword while we waited to chat with another legislator. 

And...wrapping up February with this peek at Olivia's quilt in progress.  My cousin beat me with her finished blankie, so I know O is staying warm while I finish this one!

My New Bathroom!

So....the story goes that when you own a resort, you don't just have a home...you have 14 homes!  Well, at our resort anyway.  We have 13 cabins and our residence...now do you know what that means when you get out the "honey do" list?  Your livelihood depends on renting those cabins, so your first priority is to keep them updated and remodeled and furnished in such a way that your guests come each year to see "surprises" in their cabin!  Sometimes it's new mattresses, a new couch, Dish network, etc.  This year we added screened porches to 2 of the cabins...I can't wait for those guests to come and enjoy them!  Anyway, you get the picture...my home...the one I live in...is usually the last one to get something "new".

We've lived at our resort for 25 years, so my house is starting to look pretty darn good!  I got a brand new kitchen about 4 years ago...2 years ago I got a remodeled living/dining room...this winter I got a new bathroom and new sewing room.  The sewing room is not "organized" yet, so no photos.  The bathroom is done...and I'm excited.  It's hard to have the remodel project take place in your house as opposed to a cabin.  You don't have to live in the cabin while it's being remodeled...no one does...so it's not in your way every single day.  This bathroom project was brutal, but the finished room is awesome.  Thus...photos...

We put beadboard on the bottom of the walls and on the ceiling...painted both a gloss white.  I found an awesome 2" white blind for the window on clearance at Menard's.  Made the valance from scraps from Anderson Fabrics!  Bought cute brown baskets at TJMaxx...one of my very favorite stores!

Our trusty carpenter/friend Kurt built this linen cupboard to just fit the space...and he even put beadboard in the doors.  He's really good that way!  More TJMaxx baskets on the shelving.

The walls are a light blue, very subtle, so subtle that my husband says it's concrete block grey...I beg to differ!  It's blue...guys just don't have that color realm that women do...it's okay...that's why we pick out the paint colors!  I bought that cute towel hook medallion hanging on the wall at TJMaxx.  See the little box above the light switch?  Yep...floor heat!  It is awesome with these cold Minnesota winters!  Love it!

The vanity and top are from Menard's.  The vanity is taller than normal...I like it.  Some of the grandkids are too short, but we have a stool for that!  Tile floor...did I mention the floor heat?

Here's the last view...shower curtain and all.  Bought it at Walmart, along with towels to match. 

Bathrooms are tough rooms to have torn apart for very long...at least we had a second bathroom to use!

Still working on that sewing room, but pictures to come soon!

And the weatherman says winter storm warning this weekend...maybe we'll get time to get finish my room!

Christmas 2011/celebrated in 2012...

     Our family Christmas was celebrated in January this year...

This is what "Christmas" looks like in January with no tree...it sure didn't dampen the spirits of these little ones...

We were just thrilled that 10 little bodies were healthy at the same time...sure, runny noses abound sometimes, but we know as our family grows that there might come the day when somebody is sick for our Christmas!  These 10 little blessings are the product of the last 9 1/2 years...our kids are doing a wonderful job of filling our life with joy, don't you think? 

This is the youngest born on December 27th who delayed our Christmas...but did we care?  No!

Olivia Basil arrived healthy and loved by all!

Here's some of the chaos and joy of Christmas with 10 under 10...

Every year I think we're going to unwrap just one present at a time...yea, right...the excitement outshines organization...and that's just fine!

Here's Steve and Sara working on the brunch that day...it was wonderful!

Here's all the kids enjoying their meal...they always want Uncle John to sit with them...and he obliges!  He'll be a great Daddy someday!(with lots of practice with all his nieces & nephews!)

Papa built some fences for each family...thanks to Nana's suggestion(from pinterest)...

Tate & Lu tried them out first...

then Calvin & Will decided fencing was a great way to play a game without "interference"...

Jillian was excited to hold her new cousin....

and Nathan is such a baby lover!  He already seems to have his family planned with a little girl in his K-1 class...and he's asked his Mom if she'll babysit "Baby Stony"!  This kid has a great imagination!

And here's our newest granddaughter...

Olivia, O, Livy, is already 6 weeks old!  Where did the time go?

We treasure these times with our little ones...my own children were just babies, weren't they?  The days and years seem to fly by...I am thankful for this precious time with grandchildren!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your family!  You can see that we sure did!

Pioneer Woman

     I recently purchased something just for myself.....

     It is Pioneer Woman's cookbook!  Every stinkin recipe has a picture!  I love that kind of cookbook....and her recipes are so down-to-earth simple.  If you've never heard about her, you might live in a box...well, maybe not....her website is one I follow on my blog list.  She has an awesome website HERE where she shares her life as a wife, mom, cook...and lots of recipes.  She also has a show on Food Network that's fun to watch.

     So...I am browsing her website this morning and lo and behold...she has a brand new cookbook coming out soon.  Check out her website, you can browse her cookbook on amazon...or purchase your own copy.  I found mine on half.com for a deal...makes me think I need to sell some of my cookbook stash on there...

     This winter weather makes me think of trying new recipes.  What are you up to this winter?  I'd love to hear from you!

     On another note, I have joined the ranks of pinterest and have a button on my sidebar where you can follow me...it's a fun site where you can create "boards" or categories for anything that is interesting on any website...and then you can follow other people and see what their "boards" are filled with.  I love it because I'm old and forgetful and now I have all my web ideas in one spot...PINTEREST!

     Now to go try a new recipe....

Healthy Brownies!

     Have you ever heard those two words together???  Well, I'm here to tell you that you are one lucky dude today...I made them and have been told several times that they are really good!  I happen to be on a 21 day fast from sweets and pop...so...I have not tasted them yet...come Sunday I will find out how good they are!

     Here is all you need to make these brownies...

      I pureed the beans, juice and all, in my magic bullet...you can use your blender, mini chopper...you just want the beans to be lump-free.  Spray your pan...I used a 7 x 10 glass pan to make the brownies thicker.

I sprinkled these little goodies on the top of the brownie dough before I baked them.  If you don't like mint, you can use mini m & m's or chocolate chips, peanut butter chips...you get the idea...

Mine baked almost 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  I only let them cool about 10 minutes...then cut them with my trusty expensive plastic knife...remember me telling you many blog stories ago about how neat the plastic knife is when cutting warm brownies, cake, bars, etc.  It's amazing!

I know, it looks like I'm all ready to eat this scrumptious plate of brownies with milk...it was a set-up just to let you see how thick and chewy they look...I put them back in the pan...just until the 22nd day...and then I drank the milk!  Just wasn't the same without the brownies!

     You can figure out the calorie count/WW points for this food by using the dry ingredient calorie count on the box, this one was 100 calories, plus the can of beans...figures out to 110 calories per 1/20th of a pan...not bad...no fats, no cholesterol...just chocolate!  I swear you can't taste the beans, but the fiber content makes it a reward to eat.   Enjoy!

Happy 2012....and a new baby!

     Blogging gets put aside as the Christmas season progresses...so much to do and never enough time!  Well, we were stopped dead in our tracks this year...we had a new grandbaby coming on Dec. 27th!  We took Wrigley to the doggy hotel and left for the cities on Dec. 23rd.  We played with kids, celebrated Christmas Eve services, spent Christmas morning with little ones...and welcomed our 10th grandchild and 4th granddaughter, Olivia Basil, on December 27th.  She will forever celebrate her birthday during the Christmas season, but I think she'll have no problem with that!  Here's a photo montage of our week....

We attended Christmas Eve services with our son and family at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, listening to Leith Anderson preach his last evening before his retirement.  Very moving service.

Captured a photo after church of Sam's family...before baby's arrival 3 days later!

Spent Christmas morning and day with these munchkins and their parents.  We don't deserve this much fun!

     On Tuesday, Dec. 27th, we arrived early to take care of our grandkids while Sam & Roz left for the hospital....Olivia Basil arrived that evening, surprising us all with who she was...her gender was a surprise to everyone, except probably the doctor!

I got to hold her within an hour or so of her arrival....love those fresh babies!

While Roz was in recovery, Sam & I took Olivia to their room and checked out all her teeny little parts.  She was perfect...of course!

Note the Daddy's face...he's mesmerized yet again by his fourth little one!  So cute!

Big sister, Monica, got her own "newborn" baby from Mommy when we went to visit her new sister.  She was very excited and aptly named her "Baby Weeva"  as she called her sister.  Ben, 5, was so in love when he met his new baby.  Lucien is here...but more interested in his Mom's tubes and wires!

Ben & Lucien introducing Papa to their new baby sister.

We are blessed to be grandparents to Olivia...and 9 more little blessings!

"Little Sister" trying to wake up and see the world...

I'm not saying anyone was tired on the trip home from the hospital, but....

We had a ball with these 3 kids for the 4 days their Mommy & Daddy were in the hospital.  I brought my pink DS, which is always a treat for Ben & Lu...the microwave timer was our new best friend...setting 10 minutes and letting the boys share play time and their sister content to sit and watch.

Sometimes electronics just do their thing when a Nana needs time to clean the kitchen or get dinner ready!

     We left our little charges and drove home on New Year's Eve, hitting a "warp speed" snowstorm when we were an hour from home.  It was beautiful and a rare sight this winter....

I captured this "blue" snowfall when we arrived home...breathtaking...and we were glad to be home!

I can't end this post without sharing our 3 kids up north!  They celebrated Christmas with their other Papa & Nana.  We will have our family Christmas next week with everyone...and I hope to get a picture of all 10 grandkids!  Stay tuned....