Does he look 35 years old to you? We got to spend all day with the Birthday boy due to the snow and ice outside. Brian took the 3 older kids out to play and shovel snow for a couple of hours while...
Hope sat and watched the fire in the fireplace...
I made one of Brian's favorite dishes - Beef Taco Bake (yikes, my oven is dirty) ...
and watched out the window in awe of the beautiful blanket of fresh white snow and sparkling branches covered in ice.
Later, the kids all made Birthday cards for their daddy and we enjoyed dinner with my mom and Cassie.
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Topic change...
Brian has declared this to be my best week of cooking ever. A couple of nights ago, I made some pancakes to have on hand for the kids' breakfasts. They were just from a boxed all purpose baking mix. Brian grabbed one off the counter and ate it with his hands (no syrup or anything) and said they were "Awesome - best pancakes he's ever had, etc.
Last night I made wild Rice and Ham Chowder and had my parents over to eat with us. This is going to be a new favorite at our house. I am really excited to have a dish that EVERYONE liked! I wanted to post a link to the recipe but I can't remember which blog I found it on.
I just remembered, last week I found a really good recipe for Enchiladas on another blog. They were delicious!
I also made some pumpkin muffins (recipe courtesy of my friend Kelli) in anticipation of a power outage. I figured they would be a good stand-by breakfast or snack if we were left in the dark! I've made them before but once again, Brian couldn't stop talking about how good they are.You may be catching on by now that I'm not all that good in the kitchen. Thankfully, these few successful attempts are enough to distract Brian from the less than exciting menus I usually prepare. I'm a lucky lady (for many reasons)!
Hope is now a normal part of our everyday life. We no longer find ourselves forgetting that we have her when she sleeps quietly in the corner. 
