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Pumpkin Butter

1 3/4 cups solid pack pumpkin puree
1 cup applesauce
3/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix solid pack pumpkin puree, applesauce, apple juice, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer approximately 1 1/2 hours. Transfer to sterile containers and chill in the refrigerator until serving.

ENJOY!

Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

This is a healthy snack that you and your kids will love. It even has spinach in it but i would keep that to yourself (:

Ingredients
nonstick cooking spray
2 cups old fashion oats
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup balance trans-fat free margarine, chilled
1 cup no-sugar-added blueberry spread
1/2 cup spinach, puree


Instructions
Preheat oven to 375?. Coat an 8" x 8" baking pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and vanilla and stir to mix well.
Add the margarine and cut it quickly into dry ingredients with two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal and is no longer powdery. Do not over mix?bits of margarine will still be visible.
Set aside about half of the oat mixture; press the rest firmly into the pan. Bake until lightly browned at the edges (but not fully baked), 13 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the preserves with the spinach puree in a small bowl.
Spread blueberry mixture over the partially baked oat layer, then sprinkle with reserved oat mixture. Bake until topping is slightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool completely before cutting into 12 bars

after the butter is added

puree the spinach

eat & enjoy

Carrot cake

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup crushed pineapple with juice

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1 pound confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 9 inch round cake pans.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa, set aside. In another bowl, stir together the eggs, vanilla and oil. Stir in the dry ingredients until they are completely absorbed. Fold in the carrots and pineapple. Pour the batter evenly between the three prepared pans.
Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese, butter and confectioners sugar in a medium bowl. Beat until smooth, then stir in the coconut and nuts. Frost cake when cool

serves 12 people

Good Luck

Wish me luck!!!

I have entered in my first give away for $25 on tatertot & jello

If i win i will chose a new camera strap!!!

Banana nut bread

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 medium bananas, slices

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the butter mixture until smooth. Finally, fold in the sour cream, walnuts and bananas. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely

Free at last...

Brayden is at his Nana's tonight, I'm in deep need of some free time! At the same time I miss him.

For the past week he has turned into a little booger... I guess he is in that terrible two stage, even though he is only 18mo. Now when he doesn't get his way he lays on the grown and kicks his feet and "cries" and he even makes fake tears come...Crazyyyy huh? Its really stressing me out because he was always the best little boy and never cried or anything. Now he hit and stuff. My baby is becoming a little boy.

Garden is still growing....

So we FINALLY got the garden planted this weekend! Everyone in the Cole family helped out, even Brayden!

We had to use nine and a 1/2 bags of the soil. I swear we have spent so much money on this garden, it better bring me some yummy beautiful veggies! :) So this is what we planted onions, jalapenos, cilantro, okra, 2 tomato's plants, squash, and bell peppers

How did her garden grow?

I told my husband that I wanted to do a vegetable garden, what does he do? Goes out an gets the stuff to build me one! How sweet is he?

Building it was a very long processes. It pretty much took all day. If I might add I didn't hear one bad word out of his mouth.:) He usually gets aggravated when he is putting things together but not this time. Maybe this is a stress reliever thing for him?

Workin hard

Brayden loves helping daddy

Happy Mothers Day

I had a great Mothers Day! I sent it with my mom, dad, Phillip, and Brayden.

First we went to church and we went to Pappasito's. It was so busy...but I didn't mind the wait because they had tables under a tent with chips & salsa and drinks. yumm...They also had side walk chalk, bubbles, a sand box and other fun things for Brayden to play with. I got a charm bracelet with two charms. They are beautiful and I love them. My sister got the a heart that means "a mother love" and

Phillip got me one that is a pair of booties and on the bottom i am going to have it engraved.

After that we went home a relaxed for a bit before going to the store and then doing some yard work.

Mothers Day Pictures

Mothers Day Surprise

My friend Taylor had asked me to take a few pictures of her family for Mother's Day as a surprise gift for her mom.

This was my first "photo secession" and I think I did an alright job.

Lane, Taylor, Jake, Kameron, and Kayden

Jake

Taylor, Kameron & Kayden

another Family picture

Now, this beautiful little girl..I mean young lady is Kameron. I have known her since she was born. I cant believe she is getting so old..that means I am getting older as well. She has always been so cute but now she is getting so beautiful!

IT'S NOT FAIR

Am I the only person that sees an old friend or someone you know who had a baby and is now SKINNY and thinks "ugh that isn't fair?" Well, almost every girl I know that has had a baby is skinner than they were before they became pregnant! I not mad that they are i just wish i was one of those girls!

So now I am going to start a diet. Okay not a diet because i am not the dieting kinda person . Only because I can't stick to it and can't say no to fast food!

I am also going to get a friend/mommy to do a fitness plan with me. We are going to try and work out every other day and rest on Saturday and Sunday. We both want to look and feel better about ourselves! Wish us luck and pray that we stick to it!

A mother, there to support you, and hold you up whenever you need her

Family is the most important thing. Well, to me it is. Maybe because mine has always been there for me.

I'm sure my sister will kill me for putting this picture on here but oh well..lol. It's the only one i have of us together. (L to R)Meghan, my mom & me

My mom has to be the best mom in the world. I am for real! She is such an amazing person and I hope to be 1/2 the mother to my children as she was and still is....I love you momma

Sunday Funday

This weekend was a very busy one. It was Phillip's 29th Birthday!! Yes, the whole weekend :) He deserves it. He is a great husband, a great provider and a great friend. I love him so much!

Also, we took Brayden to the beach for the first time!!! He hated it. Brayden doesn't really like sand or dirt. When the waves came he ran straight to daddy....I don't really like the water either.. its just so dirty and sandy. He's like his mommy.

I love this picture of our little family

Happy 29th Birthday Phillip

Happy Birthday Phillip, I love you!

I am not good a surprises! I mean not at all. I am the person that will tell you what I got you for Christmas or your birthday because I'm just that excited!!

Well, some how I was able to keep this a secrete. Well, with the help from great friends and my big sister. Taylor got there early and told everyone to wait inside and then Meghan got the cake.

Overall, I think he had a good time. No, I know he had a great time. I asked him about a million times.

THE END

Spring is here

Isn't he so cute!! We went to take pictures with the bluebonnets but Brayden wasen't having it! He just wanted to run run run! He played with his little ball and kicked it so good. He's going to be a little soccer player like his mommy. Oh I love him. He's so stinkin cute!!

Doesn't she look so cute! I got some good pictures of her and her mommy!

The Love Dare

Day 3

Love is not selfish

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor-Romans 12:10

Today's reading is about not being selfish. Today the world teaches us to focus on our appearance, feelings, and personal desires as the top priority.

If there were a word that meant the opposite of love, it is selfishness. Unfortunately, it is something every person was born with. Almost every sinful action ever commited can be tracked back to a selfish motive.

Why do we have such low standers for ourselves but high expectations for our mate? The answer is a sainful pill to swallow? We are all selfish.

When a husband puts his interest, desires, and prioritesin front of his wifes, that is a sign of selfishness.

When a wife constantley complains about the time and energy she spends meeting the needs of her husband, that's a sign of selfishness. But love "does not seek it's own"(Icorinthiands 13:5) Loving couples- the ones who are enjoying the perpose marriage. are bent on taking good care of the otehr flawed human they get to share life with.

Love also leads to inner joy. When you priortize the wellbeing of your mate, there is a resulting fulfillment that cannot be duplicated by selfish actions. When you relinquish your rights for the sake of your mate, you get a chance to lose yourself to the greater purpose of marriage.

The Dare

What ever you put you time, energy, and money into will become more important to you. It's hard to care for something your not investing in. Along from restraining from negative comments, Buy your spouce something that says, "I was thinking about you today."

The Love Dare

Day 2

Love is kind

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving to one another, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.-Ephesians 4:32

Today's reading was about kindness. Kindness is love in action & love makes you kind. And kindness makes you likable. When you are kind, people want to be around you. They see you as being good to them and good for them.

Breaking kindness down.

Gentleness- When you operating from kindness your careful how you treat your spouse, never being unnecessarily harsh. Your sensatice and tender

Helpfulness- Being kind means you meet the needs of the moment.

Willingness- Kindness inspires you to be agreeable. Instead of being obstinate, reluctant, or stubborn, you cooperate, you stay flexible. Rather than making excuses.

Initiative- Kindness thinks ahead, then takes the first step. When acting from kindness, you see the need, then make your move. First

It is difficult to demonstrate love when you feel little to no motivation. You will never learn to love until you learn to demonstrate kindness

THE DARE

In addition to saying nothing negative to your spouce again today, Do atleast one unexpected gestureas an act of kindness.

The Love Dare

I am reading a faith-based book "The Love Dare." It is a 40-day challenge for husbands and wives to understand and practice unconditional love. Each day you will read a new understanding what it means to genuinely love someone while learning more about the design, nature, and source of true love. Each reading includes Scripture, a statement of principle, the day's "dare."

Day 1

Love is patience

Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2

Today's reading was about being patience with your spouse. Love will inspire you to become a a patience person. When you choose to be patience you respond in a positive way.

No one likes to be around an impatient person. It causes you to overreact in foolish and angry ways. Anger almost never makes things better. But patience stops problems in their tracks.

Patience makes us wise. It doesn't rush to judgement but makes us listen to what the other person is saying. It calms us down. Patience helps you give your spouse permission to be human.

THE DARE

For the next day, resolve to demonstrate patience and say nothing negative to your spouse at all. If the temptation arises choose not to say anything. It's better to hold your tongue then to say something you'll regret.

Isn't it crazy how a persons words can affect you?

That just happened to me!!

I have been in a christian ever since I can remember.

That doesn't mean I have been the best Christian but I know I want to become a better one and teach my son to always be faithful to God.

I was reading a blog that Mandy wrote (God and America) she wrote something that touched me and i wish everyone would read it. I know it will open you eyes and think wow! She is my only blog follower so it wont be hard to find!!