GAME ON.......

we had a family game night the other night per jaden's request. His game of choice was Settler's of Catan, which is a favorite around here. If you haven't heard of it- check it out (think Risk/Pit/Monopoly), you can find it at Toys R Us among other places. But, I will warn you- as fun as it may be, it also has the ability to get very intense and bring out some crazy emotions- so BEWARE! But we had a great time- and got some fun pictures in the meantime. Let me know if you have a favorite game- we're always looking to try something new!

Christmas Crafts....

Here's some of the crafts that we did over christmas... i was very impressed with how they all turned out- my niece painted the coffee cup and my sister made the felt flower

 on the headband- soooo cute.... and very, very simple....

THE RUFFLE FLEECE SCARFE:

Need fleece- 58-60" long, 7-8" wide. 

Fold fleece in half and cut slits angled down towards center leaving 1" of no-cut zone in center, alternate the cuts from side to side- it will form a continuous "Z" formation. (see photo) From one cut to

 the next it should be 1-1/2 to 2" apart. 

Trim factory ends and cut in slits how desired. 

Shown is the European Knot, cuts can be customized once on to see where they are needed. The FELT FLOWER: shown on scarf was purchased as a set of 4 from Hobby Lobby- however, the one shown on the head band was made out of multiple layers of felt hot glued together with a gem glued in the middle. 

DOT-PAINTED CHINA:

This idea was from the Martha Stewart website- there are different templates you can download or create your own design. We used Porceline Food Safe Paint, ceramic mugs, plates, bowls, etc...., black transfer paper, pencil and toothpicks. 

First you get your design- place the transfer paper on your dish, place your design on top, use a pencil to trace over the design. This will transfer the design to the dish. You then poor a dime size amount of desired paints and use your toothpick to "dot paint" on the design.

Once your finished, you place your items in a cold oven and bake at 375 for 20-30 min. These will need to be hand- washed.  My sister did this for teacher gifts for christmas- what a GREAT idea! 

What's Cookin?

so for the past two months my neighbor and i have been getting together on the first tuesday of the month and cooking up some food. Today was number 3 of getting together and our other neighbor and good friend joined in on the fun and it was amazing- we whipped up Bruschetta Chicken Bake, Chicken Pot Pies, Three Cheese Chicken Casserole and a roaster full of Chili. The kids were all down for naps and 2-1/2 hours later we had 8 or so meals apiece. I LOVE MY NEIGHBORS!!!!! If you know of any great freezer recipes, feel free to email them- we'd LOVE it! :) 

HBC NEWS - LIVE....from the red carpet

so this is the video from our first annual christmas award show, hosted in an exquisite coliseum in the beautiful sunflower state. Join in as an HBC news reporter checks in with all the celebrities there....a good time was had by all. :)

My New Years Resolution.....

Watch more How You Live videos on AOL Video

....i saw this video in church, sunday and it brought me to tears.... it's so easy to get wrapped up in the day to day of life, to have our own agenda and time line and lose perspective of what really matters and what's really going to last-so, what if, we dared to live this way? what if we dared to slow down, laugh more, judge less and live presently...... what if that was how we defined success?

....i'd like to at least give it a try.....

...ten little fingers...ten little toes...

...so i was able to photograph my cousin's little boy the other day- soo fun. He was so sweet, so adorable and so happy. Not to mention he has a pretty cool big brother, too! - who even serenaded us a bit in the background.....loved it! Great fun catching up.

it's all about the details....

...so this is pretty cool.....laminin....check it out!