brownie goodness...

Seriously so good that I had to share them with everyone! I got the recipe off of Hershey's website (I also have it in my Hershey's cookbook). I made a few changes that I will share in the recipe. If anything, I would suggest making the frosting for something. It was SO yummy!


Ingredients: (I doubled this to make a 13x9 inch pan of them)

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 eggs
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa (since I doubled this I used 1/3 cup regular cocoa and 1/3 cup dark chocolate cocoa)
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 cup chocolate syrup (this was my own personal addition, the recipe did not call for it)
* 1/2 cup chopped nuts(optional) (I did not add nuts, but lots of people said they added chocolate chips or peanut butter, which I think would be good)
* CREAMY BROWNIE FROSTING(recipe follows)


Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan.

2. Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in nuts, if desired. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.

3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Prepare CREAMY BROWNIE FROSTING; spread over brownies. Cut into squares. About 16 brownies.


CREAMY BROWNIE FROSTING (doubled this recipe too, best frosting EVER)

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
3 tablespoons HERSHEY'S Cocoa (I wouldn't use dark because it is so sweet already)
1 tablespoon light corn syrup or honey (I used honey because that is what I had on hand)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Beat butter, cocoa, corn syrup and vanilla in small bowl until blended. Add powdered sugar and milk; beat to spreading consistency. About 1 cup frosting.

emotional blogging **Updated**

I just have to do some emotional blogging because I think that maybe it will help me start to think clearly again. Do you ever have those moments? Where you just need to get your freaking out over with so that way your mind is cleared of all of it and you can think clear again? This is that morning for me.

You see when I was pregnant with Ian I had to do non-stress tests. Basically they hook you up to a monitor to monitor the baby's heart beat and to monitor your blood pressure. This can take anywhere from 10 minutes to when ever they remember you are in there. I am seriously not kidding. One time I was there for about 45 minutes because they had forgotten about me. I understand that they are busy, but don't you think it would help them out if they just got me out of there so they could have the room for the women who are actually in labor?

This brings me to my freak out moment of the week. I have several people who are willing to help watch Ian for me. Which is so great! I am so blessed by that (see I am already thinking more clearly). However if I remember correctly from last time it would really work best if I had the same appointment each week. However, my babysitters can't all come the same time each week. There is no way I will take Ian with me because if he is stuck in his stroller for a long time then he will start to get frustrated which in turn will cause my blood pressure to go up.

I just wish I didn't have to have this done. Everything has gone well with this pregnancy and my ultra sounds show that Owen is growing like he needs to. My thyroid is at the right level and has been the entire pregnancy. I have had one doctor appointment with high blood pressure and I am pretty sure the reason was because it was hotter than all get out in the office that day. So with that being said, WHY IN THE WORLD DO I HAVE TO DO THIS? This is causing me more stress, which isn't good.

Well ok, I am still stressed out, but it feels good to get this out. If you think about it please pray that this will all come together and that I will be able to get my babysitters lined up and not have to end up taking Ian with me to the non-stress tests. Pray that I will begin sleeping better because that too causes my stress level to go up. Thanks for all of your prayers, they are much appreciated.

**Peeps I have the best husband in the world. In fact I feel sorry for all of you who have to settle for second best, but not sorry enough to give him up! (I actually hope that you think your husband is the best too, although you would be deceived, I hope you at least think it). He emailed me in response to this post and offered to take time off work to be with Ian while I did my non-stress tests. I told him it shouldn't come to that but was frustrated because they only do them in the mornings or after 5. He then responded by saying we could just do them in the evening and he would hang out with Ian (good father/son time). I hate that our evening time together will be interrupted but I feel it is for the best for right now. It will just be once a week for about 8 weeks (unless baby decides to make his grand entrance early). I can't tell you the relief I felt after we got this worked out! I love my husband so much. I am not sure what I did to deserve him, but I sure am glad I did it. I think God truly had us in mind together when he made us!**

Love conquers fear...

Lately I have been really convicted about staying open for opportunities that God is giving me. I say this not to brag on myself, because I am far from doing well at it, but to become more accountable to others. It is a tough thing stepping out and doing what God says, especially if it is to a stranger or someone you might be intimidated by. Believe me, I may be out going at times, but when it comes to sharing God's love I let that fear come on me like nothing else! For this reason I want to share with you a paragraph from the book Life on Purpose for Mothers. It is a devotional book, that to be honest I haven't been very consistent at doing, but I really enjoy the readings when I do. I hope that this encourages all of you as it did me this morning!

"In both 1 John 4 and 1 Corinthians 13, the word translated "love" is the Greek word agape, which refers to God's love. First Corinthians 13 gives us a definition of love and, therefore, a concise description of God. A deeper look at this definition helps us to better understand this weapon that will always conquer fear.

Perhaps the chapter's final description of love, found in 1 Corinthians 13:8, illustrates its power best: "Love never fails." According to Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, this means that love never "fall[s] overcome by terror or astonishment or grief or under the attack of an evil spirit or of falling dead suddenly." It never "perish[es], i.e come[s] to an end, disappear[s], cease[s]. It never "lose[s] authority, no longer having force." It is never "removed from power by death." Love never, ever stops under any condition whatsoever. It always was, always is and always will be. It is completely unchanging and unconquerable, because it is God himself.

This love, this powerful force that cannot be stopped, is the weapon that always conquers fear, and it resides in us because God's spirit resides in us. When the spirit of fear tries to enter our homes, we can kick it out in the name of Jesus. If we will continually invite into our homes the presence of Love Himself, Jesus Christ, we will be able to watch every fear melt away."

This was a great reminder that when Jesus died on the cross for us that was it, that is the love that conquered ALL fear! Why am I afraid when given an opportunity to share God's love then?

11 years ago...

Eleven years ago yesterday my life was change forever! I should mention that 11 years ago I graduated high school, but that is not the life changing event I am talking about.

The birth of my first niece! I remember sitting at my graduation ceremony wishing the people who were speaking would hurry up so I could get to the hospital and see her. I spotted my family and they signaled to me that she was born and how big. After the ceremony people were wanting pictures and all I wanted to do was get the heck out of there and see this sweet girl that had entered the world!

You would think that with the other two nieces and one nephew that have been born it wouldn't be as exciting, but I love being at the hospital when they are born! I love all those kids so much. I hated that when my most recent niece was born I was on bed rest (while I was pregnant with Ian) and so I had to wait till my hubs got home from work to take me to the hospital, but thankfully we got there before she was born!

I can't believe that it has been 11 years since I became an Aunt. I told my niece on her birthday that she has to stop growing older and she said "get ready Aunt Jessica because it is going to happen"! Ha what a grown up answer she gave me. Not at all like my 9 year old niece who very graciously agreed to stop growing up. ;)

This picture is over a year old but it is so hard to get all of them together at the same time for a picture! Love those kids! (Kylie, Jacob, Kaitlynn, Ian, Elise)

garage sale Friday...

I am seriously lovin' garage sales right now! I have had so much fun every Friday morning going out with my friend Misti and her son Calvin. It really is one of the highlights of my week.

As I mentioned in a previous post Misti and I have felt led to try and use this time as a time of ministering to those who host or even those out and about looking at the garage sale. This week was a particularly good week I thought because the one lady I talked to became emotional, not that that is our goal, but I feel like maybe it will get her thinking about where her faith is. Today I decided to pray that if they do know the Lord then perhaps our asking them if we can pray for them will prompt them to do the same to others.

As far as deals go...this week we hit the jack pot! And it was all at one garage sale! If we had more money we probably would have spent it at this one place! The stuff we got was in good condition and priced low!! I purchased 5 shirts for Ian, a pair of shoes, a kids Bible story book and an Elmo flash light. Then I got Justin and I a couple's devotional Bible. Total cost $8.50!

Poor little boy...

Ian took a really long nap today, which was so very nice for me, however when I picked him up he was burning up! I should have known something was wrong when he stayed in bed that long during the day. Poor little guy was running a fever. He was so snuggly for the rest of the day. He is now in bed and I am hoping his fever will go down rather than up (it started at 99.9 and was 100.6 right before bed).

Here are some pictures depicting just how pathetic he was this evening:

When ever I got up to do something he would head over to the gate and just lay there till I came back :(

I think he wanted to play, but just didn't have it in him so he just laid by the toys instead.

Snuggling with Daddy (Daddy is the best to snuggle with when you don't feel good, just thought I would share that).

Suffering well...

I heard someone at my doctor's office say "my worst day is better then some peoples best day". Hmm, this is something to think about. I mean my bad days usually consist of telling Ian "no" a thousand times and him crying and screaming and hitting himself or it is usually a bad day because I am selfish more days than not and when things don't go the way I want them to then I get upset.

On Saturday I had decided it should be a day all about me, after all the next day was mother's day and well why not make it into a whole weekend holiday? I should mention that I didn't share this with anyone else, so the fact that things didn't turn out to be all about me shouldn't have surprised me. Communication is SO important in any relationship. I suffered very poorly on that day. But late in the afternoon we put in a DVD that we had purchased for Ian at a garage sale earlier that morning. It was cheesy and probably made in the 90's. But the message was good just the same. It was Bible verses put to music. Get this, one of the verses was "Do everything with out complaining, do everything with out arguing" Philippians 2:14. Um that put me in my place!

Then on Sunday the sermon was about suffering well. Making the best of your times of suffering. I am realizing that my suffering isn't suffering at all, but selfishness. And even when it is suffering, my worst day is probably better than some people's best day!

It is a tough thing to swallow. I think because we are by nature very selfish people. I am glad for the man who said this today at my doctor's office. I hope I can remember this each day when I am spanking Ian or not getting to take a nap. I need to remember that I am blessed to have a kid I can spank and to be at home where I can even try to take a nap.

I hope this wasn't just a bunch of jumbling of words and that you guys understand what I am trying to say.

When one door closes, just open it again...

Ian is getting to be so big! The last few days we have gone and played in his bedroom in the late afternoon (I will admit it is because there isn't much on TV after 4:30). Today he opened and closed his door for most of the time we were back there! He has been able to do this for a while, but it was hit and miss. Sometimes he could do it and sometimes not. Now though he is pretty much able to open the door! Thank goodness we have door knob covers on most of the doors leading anywhere dangerous.

getting more and more crafty!

Have I told you lately how much I LOVE Hobby Lobby? Well I do! I will admit that today I broke my own rule and paid full price for a few items, but non of them were over $5, so I excused myself. Plus it was my birthday money I was using so I didn't feel as much of a need to save money. Although, if I had known that I was going to make a trip to Hobby Lobby today I would have printed off my 40% coupon. Perhaps I should just print it off and keep it in my wallet each week.

Here are my latest crafts for Ian's room! I am so proud of them. I can't wait till they dry and I can hang them up.

This picture frame was plain wood ($4.99) and the scrapbook paper ($.59), used some good ole' Mod Podge to put the paper on the frame. I have this handy dandy tool (picture below) to cute the edges nice and straight. Also, I love the little type writer key looking things for Ian's name! They were $4.99, kind of pricey but they were the only thing that I liked, so I splurged. I also used Mod Podge to attach the letters.

So this plaque is the one thing I got that was 50% off! Original price $5.99. The little vehicles were like $.67 each, so not so bad on those either. Again, used Mod Podge to attach the wooden vehicles to the plaque. I was going to cover the plaque with some other paper I got, but it wasn't enough, so I decided it was cute just as it was and went with it. What do you think? Should I have covered it or does it look ok white?

This is my handy dandy cutting tool, Target for $4.99 (I think, I got it for Christmas, but this was my first time using it).

Monday...

If your Monday has been anything like mine you need a good laugh to end your day. And really I can't complain, I know people were praying for Ian and me. Our day wasn't so bad when compared to what it could have been. Thanks to all of my friends and family who prayed for rest and peace for us today!

Enjoy this video. It is hilarious!

cheapo beapo decorations!

As you know we have been working on getting Ian into his big boy bedroom with his toddler bed. Well this weekend he officially got his new room! It is all cleared out and has his bed and toys in it now.

I was inspired to try and make some cheap decorations for his room. I mean the pictures that go with the bedding cost $14.99 for one! So I went to good ole' Hobby Lobby and bought two 8x10 canvases. I then found some pictures online and printed them out, cut out the picture and then mod podged it on the canvas. It was so much fun making them! Then I decided to add some words to them and that was a little bit harder because at first I cut out each letter and so when I mod podged them on they moved a little, but I was able to get it to work out. And by the last one I just cut out the whole word rather than letter by letter. I think they turned out good and I am very pleased with them, plus SO much cheaper...$3.99 for the canvases with an additional 30% off! I already had the mod podge, but it cost about $6.99 (I am sure I got some percentage off because it was at Hobby Lobby and you shouldn't buy anything there with out it being on sale or using the 40% off coupon you can get online).

Sorry about the bad lighting, not sure what I was thinking. I would go take better pictures, but I have hurt my back and well frankly I don't want to get up. ;)

Here is a reminder of what his bedding looks like.