Elsie meeting Bandit!

Jessie and Elsie stopped over yesterday because in the wind and snow storm we had they lost power. It was Elsie's turn to meet Bandit! I think they both enjoyed it!

Oil and Vinegar Chocolate Cake

Stacy called me last night and said that her computer crashed. She was concerned because she wanted to get the recipe for Oil and Vinegar Chocolate Cake per the families request. So, she asked me to post it for her.

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Oil and Vinegar Chocolate Cake

3 cups flour 2 cups sugar
6 Tblsp cocoa 1 Tblsp baking soda
1 tsp salt 2 cups cold water
3/4 cup oil 1 Tblsp vinegar
1 Tblsp vanilla

Mix all together and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

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My mom says she likes to frost it with flour frosting so here is that recipe too.

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Flour Frosting

3 Tblsp flour
1/2 cup milk

Cook flour and milk together then cool in refridgerator.

Mix in a bowl
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup crisco

Mix everything together - whip -
last add 1 tsp. vanilla

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Yumm yumm

Happy baking!!
xxoo Jenny

Jo's boo boo

Josie came in from playing in the snow today and slipped coming in the door. She scraped her hand and this is how she spent the rest of the evening. She won't use it won't bend it nothing!! She just holds it up in the air!!

This was Josie at 11:00 when I checked on the girls before I went to bed. It is hard to see from the photo but her arm is straight up in the air. I thought I mentioned before that she was a tough little girl...guess she's tough until blood is involved! (It wasn't that bad of a scrape- she was fine.)

More pictures from our visit.

My mom Rick, Ben and Russell looking pretty sharp.

My cousin Becky, (she is big sister to 8 younger siblings and has one older brother, and yes that is 10 children!) is naturally a natural with kids.

Emeline found Great Grandpa's cane very intriguing.

Trip to the GREAT Grandparents

We spent the day at my Grandparents' today.

This is a sweet moment caught between my Aunt Joann and my grandfather reminiscing.

Isn't this adorable of Emmy playing with Great Grandpa?

Some found the ping pong table downstairs. Brad said Russell was pretty good.

The Great Grandchildren LOVED their visit with their Great Grandparents!

A couple more "tight" places!

These picture speak for themselves. :)

I better say for the sake of saying- I didn't let her get hurt and I was right there just so she could get stuck and then I "saved" her. Hmmm I don't know if that explanation sounds any better than not giving one at all!!

More pictures from Grandma's

Here is another of those predicaments I was talking about. Instead of going around the chair at Grandma's Em decided to go through it??
Josie is a gamer and she GREATLY enjoyed playing a matching game with Grandma.

Uncle Ben got down and played with Emmy. What a great God-father you are Ben!!

Hangin' out at the G's

"Oh Grandma you make me laugh."

"Grandma what the heck are you doing to me!! Hay wait a minute this is sortta fun!"

Going forward can get you into trouble!!

Emeline has found herself in many a predicament now that she can go forward. I have a couple other pictures of her in "tight" places to post later!!

**This is NOT a hoax**

I am referring to Jessie's post ( www.ourelsieraeofsunshine.blogspot.com )about Elsie walking around in her crib :) Emeline was crawling around while Josie was coloring on this little table. I wateched her pull herself up and stand there so she could see what Josie was doing!! "Emeline you are driving me nuts. You can't grow up too fast."

Blind Art

Every once in a while we do a tolerance/empathy lesson. Josie learned about blindness yesterday. Her picture actually came out fairly well. I too wore the blindfold.

Rosary for Grandma S.

I just finished saying the rosary for my Grandma S. who passed away in 2001. Today is her birthday. I love you Grandma. I remember your smile and the good times I had playing at your house. Also- I remember your "Grandma S. face" that I used to imitate to the pleasure of my family!

We seem to give them back to thee, O God, who

gavest them to us. Yet as thou didst not lose them in

giving, so do we not lose them by thier return. Not as

the world giveth, givest thou, O lover of souls. What

thou givest, thou takest not away, for what is thine is

ours also if we are thine. And life is eternal and love is

immortal, and death is only an horizon, and an

horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight. Lift us

up, strong Son of God, that we may see further;

cleanse our eyes that we may see more clearly: draw us

closer to thyself that we may know ourselves to be

nearer to our loved ones who are with thee. And while

thou dost prepare a place for us, prepare us also for

that happy place, that where thou art we may be also

for evermore. Amen.

Bede Jarrett

What's the best part of making brownies? NOT eating them after they are cooked according to Josie.

I thought I would let her "lick" the bowl this time too and I found her here after 15 minutes making sure she didn't leave a crumb!

I forgot to add this photo of Georgia abandoning her crutch ice skating the other day. Both girls shed the walker after a while. I wish you all could have seen the scene. Just picture Bambi on ice and you get the picture. SOOO comical to see their little feet scrambling to get a grip.

Ice Skating.

We visited an open house at an ice skating rink yesterday. The girls impressed me and they had tremendous fun. Instructors were there to give a mini-lesson and I think the girls are hooked!! These pictures are them starting out just minutes after getting on the ice.

What a GREAT Dad!!

Dad has enjoyed playing "Pretty Pretty Princess" and by the way the girls are sporting their jewelry it looks like the "traditional" way of wearing earings is getting boring. Note Emmy again!

....Maybe slightly dorky, but they don't come any better!

I (WE) LOVE YOU BRAD!!!

p.s. I shouldn't be one to talk. I could possible be referred to as slightly more than slightly dorky!

How big is the baby?

It seems Emmy is learning more and more at a very rapid pace. Her latest trick is "How big is the baby?". Her first attempts looked like this - with one hand behind the head. She has gotten the hang of it now though!

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I am going to use this platform to speak about something that concerns me. If you haven't heard already, Governor Eliot Spitzer has submitted legislation Bill #16 (S.5829) called the "Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection" act. This bill seeks to:

1- prevent informed consent of mothers considering an abortion

2- disallow parental consent

3- Disallow current protection for viable infants (premature births, at an stage where the baby could live, if given help) by allowing a doctor to unilaterally decide not to use life-sustaining equipment to save the child's life

4- Force Catholic hospitals and institutions to provide abortions and contraception

5- Not allow doctors, nurses, other healthcare professionals to refuse to provide

abortion or contraception on the grounds of their conscience

Senator Joseph Bruno
Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247

The above information and further information can be found here:

http://www.nyscatholic.org/pages/news/show_newsDetails.asp?id=343

More from our walk.

The Stream is a good place to look for critters but to Josie's disappointment there were none around!

One of the things the kids like to do is have stick races under the bridge. Josie gave it a try in the super fast water.

A mid-winter nature walk!

We unbelievably were able to take a nature walk today. 60 degrees in January!? Believe me I'm not complaining. The hike started out by Josie gravitating toward this large puddle in the yard.

We traveled to a corner of the meadow out back where there is a patch of evergreen trees. We found lots of rabbit and deer tracks amongst the trees and figured it must be a comfortable place for them to find shelter. While we were there we saw a rabbit scamper away. Josie thought this was the perfect picture spot.

Along our hike we spotted this beautiful tree with arms outstretched. We figured because it was so beautiful and so seasoned it must be a a"Grandpa tree".

One of the fun things we did was take a peek at all of the waterways around our house. This is by a little bridge that Dad and the girls (Russell and Ben maybe too) built for me to cross the horses over to another pasture. You can see the water beside Josie flowing down the hill quite quickly. We have NEVER seen the water flow in January!

There is another (sort of) waterfall behind Emmy here. I couldn't quite get it in the picture without fearing I might lose her over the edge. You can spot a portion of it. Emeline LOVED it outside. We can't wait for Sping!!!

Make-up fun!

Georgia got a make-up set from her godmother Lori.

We had some fun dolling eachother up this afternoon.

I LOVE the look Emeline is giving me-this is the first my lips have been this color!

A snow fort

We drove all over trying to find a place to ice skate today to no avail.

So, we played outside instead. Grandpa B. and Dad helped the

girls make a really cool snow fort.

Josie

We were out and about yesterday and stopped by Mom's to pick up some gifts from the party we missed Tuesday. Josie received an extremely cute book and stuffed animal set from her godmother Becky. The book goes back and forth between two rabbits as they try to "outlove" one another by saying things such as the little rabbit saying-"I love you this much." and the bigger rabbit saying- "Well I love you this much!". When the book was through, I asked Josie, "How much do you love Becky?" and she answered, "From Florida to Texas!"
Jo finished a paint by number the other day. She is persistent. I thought it would end up one swirly mess but she took breaks on her own and everything.