The Suits Sisters

WHAT'S UP my faithful readers?? (hi, dad!) I realized it was time for an update. Many of you wrote and prayed for us during our Year of Trials and Tribulations  last year and we're grateful for that. We lived with my former roommates of twenty-two years (hi, dad!) from September-January and then moved about 20 minutes away to a small town known for it's chickens and barbecue.  Last January Kent and I talked about ministry and life while sitting in our car eating dessert . He was ready to sign up for a local church planting weekend-long seminar. I was walking at half-speed and all but wearing bubble wrap, trying to protect the baby that we'd just found out about. Towards the end of the conversation, I blurted out, "I have like, no desire to plant a church" Kent said "Good to know" and for that and other reasons, he didn't attend the seminar.  In May, when he was job-less and looking, I said, "Don't you move me to some small count...

I didn't pick a word for 2018 (If I did, it might've been "HALP") and my only two official goals contradict themselves-- bake bread and lose the baby weight.  I did, however, steal  borrow a family goal from Keith and Kristyn . They pick a hymn every month and memorize it with their girls. I bet they memorize the entire thing because they're Irish, musical and awesome, but for us ... we're aiming for the first verse. Kent's a decent singer and I am not. I sing so quietly and badly that I'm waiting for the day when Caris says, "Wait. Is mommy lip-synching?? "  In the past five years of parenting we have STUNK all caps for emphasis at family goals. Tidying up the house, manners, bible reading BUT NO MORE. {Fist pump in the air} This plan is simple... at the end of dinner when you want to curl up in your closet or light your hair on fire, you take a deep breath and announce that it's time to do the song and bible verse. It's qu...

Parents, all you really need for Valentine's Day is a couple of heart cookie cutters in different sizes. Toast! Pancakes! Sandwiches! Pepperoni! Brownies! 

May your Monday be free of doctor visits that result in an ear infection and medicine  But if it's not... may it also include frosted sugar cookies from yesterday's bake sesh and these life-changing almonds.  *Warning, nuts are high in calories and once you start eating these, it's hard to stop. I just ate enough nuts to hike 9 miles of strenuous terrain in Wyoming

We've been hit! (Battleship, anyone?) We're knee deep in thermometers, fevers, tears, piles of tissues that hardly get used the first time and a bored older sibling. I don't want to brag, but I kind of excel at parenting during this kind of sickness. Jammies, Ginger-ale and TV for everybody! ...Until day 4 when I'm suddenly like, Holy Smokies, make it end.

One of my goals for twenty-eighteen is to bake more often so that I can eat my feelings  become a better baker. Originally my plan was to make a cheesecake every month because they're fun and look more impressive than they actually are. I balked on that idea because I couldn't justify buying the ingredients or feeding my kids copious amounts of cheesecake. I switched to bread because it seems more family friendly (and cheaper!) I'm not really a "bread person" but this plan will hopefully ensure that I won't be lying on my deathbed kicking myself for never having made The Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls . Each month I'll rate the bread based on 2 important things... 1. Ease of baking/clean up 2. Taste, duh. January   braided sweet bread Where: The Baker Upstairs  via a Pinterest search warning: sweet bread is also like, cow intestines or goat brain. if you choose to google it, you've been warned...  Why: A lady from our former chu...

BIG congrats to the Eagles on their win last night! We enjoyed watching the game together last night, but only after we ate cheesesteaks ("American wit" Did I do that right? ) and cheesecake (for dad's upcoming birthday)