24 Days 'Til Christmas!

I know this isn't anything spectacular, but even though it's no 8 foot tree, I like our little 2 foot Christmas tree. Mark & I both had Thanksgiving and the day after off of work and school, so I busted out the Christmas decorations and music as soon as it was legal to do so! :) Now as soon as we get home in the evenings, the Christmas lights are the first ones to come on and they make me smile... what can I say, I like Christmas!

Emery Rose

This is our beautiful niece Emery Rose Lemaire! I wish I could take credit for the picture, but credit for that goes to Danny Lemaire... I just designed the page because I couldn't resist.

Tasty Tortilla Soup

I don't know why it's called tortilla soup since it doesn't have tortillas in it, but it's still good, so I thought I'd share it. Mark & I have made this a couple times and really like it. It's super easy since it's made in the crock pot and for those of you who don't like working with raw meat it's great since the chicken goes in frozen and comes out cooked! Enjoy! :)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

- 1 (10 oz.) can whole, peeled, drained & mashed tomatoes

- 1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen corn

- 1 can black beans, drained

- 1 small onion, chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chili peppers

- 1 (10 oz.) can enchillada sauce, mild

- 1 tsp. cumin

- 1 tsp. chili powder

- 1 tsp. salt

- 1/4 tsp. black pepper

- 2 frozen chicken breasts

- 1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken broth

- 2 cups water

- 1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro (opt.)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in crock pot, cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours (or on high for 3 or 4 hours). Remove chicken and shred, then add back to the pot. Serve with chips, cheese, sour cream, guacamole or anything else that sounds good... now wasn't that easy?! :)

Salt Creek Falls

free entertainment

Incase you haven't seen this you should check it out. It's pretty funny even without the sound. Be prepared to be amazed... well, maybe just surprised.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv5zWaTEVkI

Jill's first attempt at carving a pumpkin

I know this may come as a shock to you, but I'm 25 years old (that's not supposed to be the shocking part) and until last week i'd never carved a pumpkin!... or maybe that's not too shocking. Anyway, last Wednesday night at jr. high we did pumpkin carving and I got to try it for the first time. The funny part was when we asked one of the other leaders if she was going to carve one and she said probably not because she wasn't very good at it. So I told her I'd never done it at all before and then she jumped up and grabbed a pumpkin to carve! Well, I thought it was funny. So here's a picture of my first attempt. The one with the scary face is Mark's, it was a multiple personality pumpkin and there was a happy face on the other side. Enjoy!