More pics from last weekend’s fishing trip:

Apparently Calla spent the entire day serenading fish with her harmonica…

She came home just a *wee bit* muddy…

Notice she’s still holding her harmonica…

I think we have a little tomboy on our hands–what do you think?

-Abby

As I mentioned in the last post, an interesting situation developed as we were driving home from Albuquerque earlier this week in our borrowed vehicle.  Coasting down the pass from Raton to Trinidad, the RPMs started jumping up and down erratically, and it only got worse the farther we traveled.  We stopped in the tiny town of Walsenburg and discovered we had leaked nearly all our transmission fluid.

After a two hour pit stop at a gas station, it was decided that we would spend the night in Walsenburg and the guys would work on the transmission leak in the morning.  Given the choice between the nearby Anchor Motel and the pricier (and several miles away) Best Western, we went with good old Anchor.

There were no cribs available, so we pushed several armchairs together to make a bed for Hudson.  Sweet boy did pretty well considering his makeshift sleeping arrangements!  After a few hours of sleep, the guys took the car to NAPA to find parts and start working.  The kiddos and I hung around the hotel all morning.  I don’t think Calla has ever watched so many cartoons in a row in her life…

I tried without success to nap Hudson halfway through the morning, but thankfully he stayed happy (although a bit zoned out) despite his six hours of sleep the night before…

We munched on fruit and cereal all morning long…

Anytime the door was opened Hud made a run for it…

But Big Sis was always on door patrol and made sure he didn’t escape!

The guys eventually got the leak fixed and we were able to head home.  And I truly enjoyed spending a whole morning in a stinky hotel room with my sweet babies.  God is good.

-Abby

Hmmm.  I haven’t really felt like blogging lately.  Usually I look forward to sitting down, just the laptop and me, but I’m just not feeling it this week.

We did see an interesting movie this evening–A Christmas Carol.  CG=amazing…and the story was pretty inspiring, as always.  Jim Carrey makes a great Scrooge.  I’d recommend the movie, but don’t let the fact that it’s animated encourage you to take your kiddos.  It’s scary in parts.  I may even have nightmares, but I’m a movie wimp.

Here are a few pics from our quick weekend trip to Albuquerque.  We thoroughly enjoyed seeing family and friends, and as always, the visit was too short!

These two were so cute together (remember they’re only 3 days apart!)…

These two (just 3 weeks apart) were pretty sweet together as well…

This little bozo made a cute peapod…

Strolling through the Botanical Gardens…

I have a few more pics from our last-minute hotel stay on our way home, but that’s an entirely different story and another blog post…coming soon!

-Abby

It’s a snow day in Woodland Park!  I don’t know if we ever saw this much snow at one time last winter.  And it’s still coming down.

Anyway, enough about the white stuff.  This little boy went to bed last night with wet hair, and he was sporting some serious bedhead this morning…

I needed to see my babies’ sweet smiles today.  Yesterday, the engine in our (one and only) vehicle died.  So now instead of owning a nice 4×4 to get us through these crazy snow days, we own a huge pile of junk.  Yesterday was not a good day.

We know God has a plan in all of this, and we’re praying for the faith to truly trust Him.  Difficult situations like this make us even more thankful for what we do have…work, our health, our wonderful family–immediate and extended, our friends, a roof over our heads, and most of all, the hope of eternal life with our Savior.  We have absolutely no reason for grumbling and complaining.  Praise God!

-Abby

I procrastinated.  What else is new?

Last Thursday, October 22, was the last day for entries in the Gap Casting Call, and that was the day I entered both kiddos.  You can visit the website to see Hudson’s entry…

…and Calla’s entry…

…and vote if you’d like!

I’m a little biased, of course, but those are some cute kids.

-Abby

Winter seems to be here to stay!  We had several inches last week and more is expected in the next few days.

Calla had her first real snowball fight over the weekend.  I think there were more smiles than tears.  It ended happily anyway…all’s well that ends well, right?

Snow isn’t so bad.  As long as I’m watching it from the indoors with a hot beverage in my hand.

-Abby

We celebrated Mr. Tim’s birthday over the weekend with lots of friends and lots of food.  Cheesecake, particularly the strawberry variety, is a favorite of Tim’s…so that’s what I made!

I found a 5-star recipe on allrecipes.com and adapted it (I have problems following recipes exactly–maybe it’s my hidden creative side that’s never really found its way out)…

Strawberry Cheesecake (yields 9-inch cheesecake)

• 1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
• 1/3 c. butter, melted
  
• 2 T. sugar
• 16 oz. frozen sweetened strawberries, thawed
• 1 T. cornstarch
  
• 3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 3 eggs
• 3 T. lemon juice

Combine cracker crumbs, butter and sugar.  Press into an ungreased springform pan; refrigerate.  In blender or food processor, combine strawberries and cornstarch until smooth.  Pour into saucepan; bring to boil.  Boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Set aside 1/2 cup of the strawberry sauce.  Refrigerate the remaining sauce (approximately 1 cup) for serving.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Add sweetened condensed milk, eggs and lemon juice; beat on low until combined.  Pour half the cream cheese mixture onto crust.  Drop 1/4 cup of the strawberry sauce by teaspoonfuls onto cream cheese mixture.  Spoon remaining cream cheese mixture over sauce.  Drop remaining sauce by teaspoonfuls on top.  With a knife, cut through top layer to swirl sauce.  Bake at 325 for 60-70 minutes or until center is almost set.  Cool on wire rack 15 minutes; run knife around edge to loosen; cool an hour longer.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Remove sides of pan; serve with reserved strawberry sauce over individual pieces.

(He didn’t really turn 84, but it was a pretty fun joke)

Calla LOVES birthdays and nearly burst with excitement over the cakes and ice cream.

Happy birthday Mr. Tim!  You deserve it!

-Abby