Enchilada Casserole

1 lb. hamburger
1 pkg corn tortillas ( I got the 24 pack)
1 can ranch style beans
1 can rotel
2 cans cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sliced colby cheese (I used sliced pepper jack)
1 onion, chopped ( I used green onion)

Brown hamburger, drain. Lightly grease bottom and sides of your casserole dish and layer corn tortillas on bottom and up the sides.
Layer the following ingredients on top of tortillas:

hamburger
chopped onion
ranch style beans
sliced cheese

Add another layer of tortillas covering the top. Mix soups, rotel and green chilis together and pour over the top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

You can substitute cooked chicken for the hamburger. I think I will try it with the chicken next time. This was really yummy! We added it to our 'have it again' list.

Enjoy!

Quick thoughts.....

1.)I prefer my toenails in the summer time and perfectly polished over the nakedness of them in the winter. They are u.g.l.y without polish!

2.)Wednesday night after our connect groups Keith and I were talking with a friend in the lobby area when their 3 year old niece said something to me that I didn’t understand. I asked her what she said, but still didn’t understand (I hate that). ‘Auntie’ asked her again and she said “you danced with him”, talking to me. For goodness sakes, this little girl remembered Keith and I dancing at our vow renewal reception. How sweet!

3.)Michele took Rylee on a mother/daughter shopping trip this week. Evidently Rylee prefers lip gloss and bling over clothing. During their trip she would walk into the store and if there wasn’t any lip gloss she would say ‘I’m done, let’s go”! Her store of choice on this trip was Claire’s.

4.)Jaedyn turns 3 this month and will be having a Minnie Mouse party.

5.)Surrendering control of my life to God is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign of faith.

6.)I am ready to decorate for Christmas….Keith is not. :-)

7.)I am enjoying all my new relationships that I am building through Wednesday Night Connect.

8.)Keith and I went to a Mustang/South Moore football game with some friends. This is our first HS football game since we moved here 12 years ago…sad isn’t it. South Moore won, 22-19...it was a great game! We ate at Chilis after the game...didn't get home and in bed until after midnight..broke curfew..LOL

9.)Keith and I will be reviewing our budget/finances for next year. We want to live off less than we make, give more and save....be better stewards of our money in 2010. If you need to learn how to honor God with your finances I recommend the new series that our church is in called Green Peace. We have 3 experiences for you to choose from- 9:00, 10:30 and 12:00. See you on Sunday…come ready to be blessed!

10.)Emery turns 4 this month and his party will be all about Spiderman

Have a blessed weekend!

Family Pictures

We met a friend/photographer at Hafer Park in Edmond and had family photos taken. This is our first time to do this and we had a blast. It will now be family tradition! We did some posey posey pictures, but the rest were candid photos of us playing. We hid behind trees and threw leaves. Jaedyn wanted to climb a tree, so we put her into one. Keith climbed into it a little later and then pulled me up....old people in a tree.hmmmm. However the little kids thought it was great and a couple of them let us pull them up with us, those will be great photos. I am excited to get them back and will be sure to post a few. After about little over an hour of picture taking and running around the little kids were done. So we called it a day and headed to Steak ‘n Shake….great food and shakes....and of course awesome family time. Keith and I got different burgers and then shared…the Guacamole burger was my favorite. I finished my meal off with a Peppermint Chocolate Shake….YUMMY.
Once again, another fun family adventure.

I love my family

Halloween

The family met at Matt and Christy’s house on Halloween for pizza and we walked the kiddos around their neighborhood. We had some great costumes this year. Snow White, Mulan, Spiderman and a Fireman were this year’s costumes of choice. I love to see them dressed it. I bought some costumes after Halloween for dress up at Nana and Papa’s house…can’t wait! We headed out after dark, which wasn’t our plan, but we had a pizza issue that I won’t go into! LOL As soon as we stepped out the door Emery said, ‘Nana, I am going to be scared’. I took his hand and told him it would be alright, I wouldn't let him be scared. He doesn’t like the ‘scary’ things about the holiday and steers clear of them. There were several houses that he wouldn’t go to because there were ghosts or ghoulish characters in the yard or on the porch, but those people were all very nice and came down to the street to give him his candy. There were also a few occasions that we had to stand between him and a scary costume so he wouldn’t see it. However, when he would see a carved pumpkin, he would say ‘It’s okay, it’s just a pumpkin.’! Not his favorite holiday! The rest of the gang did fine, although no matter how many times you said ‘don’t run or you will fall’ they all ran and we did have one accident. No major injuries, just total wipe out on a drive way. We also worked on them saying ‘thank you’, which was usually said as they were running away to the next house! It makes me laugh now at the memory of it.
It was another great family evening….

Fall Family Fun

We enjoyed a trip to Orr Family Farm early in the fall season. We wanted to take advantage of the warm October weather and spend some quality time with our kids and grandkids. What better way to do it then take them to a place with every kind of fun imaginable. It seemed this year they had added some great fun things to do. The carousel was a hit for the girls, but neither of the little boys would ride a horse, they choose to sit in the benches. But they rode it twice, so the motion doesn’t bother them, just the horses. They played a little in the park, petted a lot of animals and the girls rode the ponies….again the boys weren’t thrilled with the horses! We rode the train….it took a long time and went really slow…not sure what exactly we were looking at. Saw a house, some grass, a pond, maybe a horse or two and some more grass! The kids loved it though, especially when we went by the pond. There were these giant ‘pillows’ for you to jump on…I didn’t jump, but took pictures instead. Everyone else enjoyed a little bit of time on that and then we headed over to the giant bikes. That was a huge hit. We saved the hayride for last so we wouldn’t have to lug around our pumpkins. There was a corn maze that we paid extra to do, but once inside realized it wasn’t an activity for pre-schoolers. They all wanted to be carried after only a few minutes inside. Luckily Matt had taken a picture of the maze map with his iphone before we headed in and he was able to get us out in record time. We did the micro version of the corn maze! I was very thankful for his great navigational skills!

We ended our day at our house with a hot dog/sausage cookout and pumpkin painting. The little kids were very artistic! It was an awesome fall adventure.

Diamond in the Rough

There was a time in my life, really not so long ago, that I thought I was nothing special. I felt as though I was beneath all those that I came in contact with and would probably never amount to much. The enemy would like us to hang onto the things of our past and never attain the true knowledge of who we are in Christ, but God’s word tells me that I am more valuable than silver and gold. I am above and not beneath, the head and not the tail. Most of all I am a conqueror! Today I heard the words diamond in the rough and I felt like that was a good definition of who I am in Christ. I ‘googled’ it and found the following definition:

Someone that has hidden exceptional characteristics and/or future potential, but currently lacks the final touches that would make them truly stand out from the crowd.
The phrase is metaphorical and relates to the fact that naturally occurring diamonds are quite ordinary at first glance, and that their true beauty as jewels is only realized through the cutting and polishing process.

Over these last few years (weeks and months) I have allowed God to work and form me into the woman that He designed me to be. At first glance I might seem ordinary to you, but God doesn’t design ordinary. We are each individually crafted and designed into the gem He wants us to be. Each of us will shine in a different way and have unique ‘cuts’ that allow us to shine in specific lighting. I have come to realize that through the cutting and polishing I am a new jewel, treasured by the Jeweler, carefully crafted and gently polished so that I can shine for Him. God treasures me enough to help me find my hidden potential and make me stand out from the crowd. The cutting and polishing may not always be comfortable or enjoyable, but when all is said and done I will shine. The shining isn’t about me or who I am…but instead it is all about Christ and who I am in Him.

I can continue to allow the past to dictate who I am or I can allow the Jeweler to continue to cut and polish until I am the precious stone that He knows I am. I choose to be cut and polished, I choose to be a Diamond in the Rough. How about you?

Hamburger Stew

It's my favorite time of the year when it comes to cooking....well, not really....I love to barbeque as much as I like to make soups and stews...LOL  Tonight I threw together one of my favorite quick dinners, Hamburger Stew, so I thought I would share the recipe.....

1.5 lbs. hamburger
1 large can of large cut Veg all (don't drain the juice off)
1-15 oz can of small cut Veg all (don't drain the juice off)
1- 15 oz can creamed corn
1 small can of original rotel
1-15 oz can beef broth
1 package of spanish rice mix (the kind in the pouch) ( I use the walmart brand)
1-11.5 oz can Snap-E-Tom Tomato & Chili Cocktail (you find it by the tomato juice)

Brown your hamburger with a little onion and garlic powder....dump in the rest of the ingredients..simmer until the rice is cooked and eat!  It is really yummy and quick! We enjoy it with cornbread.....