Thursday, July 30, 2009

Happy Birthday, Emily!

My mom and I realized tonight that amongst all the busyness of the day, we had forgotten to call to wish you a very happy birthday! :( So, I decided to write a short post, hoping your day was filled with blessings. We all love you very much and are so glad that you are a part of our family! I had an extremely fun time with you and Scott over the 1st week of July. I can't wait to see you again!

Much, much, love,
Katie :) <3 :) <3

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Why go to Caribou?

We have recently found a new delicious, inexpensive, and easy way to use up leftover coffee--coolers! They are a perfect summer treat for anyone who doesn't want to waste perfectly good coffee. I just throw these ingredients together in a blender and blend until very small ice chunks remain:

(all measurements are VERY approximate. I don't measure anything, so just eyeball it and experiment until you find the amounts that you like the best)

1 c. leftover coffee (it doesn't really matter if it's fresh or old, hot or cold. With hot coffee, though, you will need plenty of ice to make it cold enough)
1-1/2 cups of ice
1/4-1/2 cup powdered milk
A splash of milk
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. sugar

I will warn you that there will be a thick layer of foamy stuff on top and the really good coffee-y stuff on the bottom--both are good, but I never drink all the foam. If you want to, you can skim off some of the foam in order to make it more concentrated. Sometimes we add chocolate syrup to make a Mocha Cooler. Mmmmm...

Pictures of this delectable drink coming soon!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Funny little tidbit...

My mom has been planning our 2009-2010 school year recently. One of the things that she is planning to teach the younger kids about is the Revolutionary War. So, as preparatory material, she checked out the entire "Liberty's Kids" series of T.V. episodes from the library. Has anyone ever watched that show? It's an animated show that aired on PBS (I think). Each episode covers a different important issue during the Revolutionary War. There are three kids that live with Benjamin Franklin and are really involved in everything going on. Anyway, I remember watching it several years ago, thinking that the teenage girl was beautiful, but never really understanding the plot of each episode. The kids had already watched a few episodes, and then yesterday I was reading the back of the box it came in and saw that there were actually a bunch of famous actors that guest-starred in the show! Actors such as Ben Stiller (as Thomas Jefferson), Billy Crystal (as John Adams), Whoopi Goldburg (sp?) (I don't remember who she played) and--here's who made me want to watch it--SYLVESTER STALLONE! (as Paul Revere)!!! So, I was like, "Can we watch the one with him in it? Please??" And so we did. It was HILARIOUS! Kind of. I mean, I was really used to him as Rocky--you know, his signature slightly slurred, heavily accented way of speaking that is so endearing. But as Paul Revere, the slur and accent were (mostly) gone. It was still him though. I mean, his voice is always really deep, and it still sounded like him. Anyway, it was fun. =)

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Birthday week

In my family, the week of the 4th of July is a birthday week. My birthday is on June 26, Erin's is July 1st, and Allie's is July 2nd. We were blessed to have Scott and Emily here for Erin's and Allie's (they were actually able to stay through the 6th!). Here are some pictures of my celebration. If Allie and Erin permit, there will hopefully be posts of pictures from their birthdays. ;)



My mom totally surprised me with this gift--it's a cookbook that my aunt helped to compile. I have grown up with a bunch of the recipes that it contains, and now I have a copy of my very own! It is called "Sassafras" and it is amazing. Every single recipe was tested 5 times and each time every taster had to give it 5 stars in order for it to get into the book. So, pretty much everything that you make out of it is awesome. I think she got it from Amazon.com. Go buy it! Also, notice my purple-with-white-polka-dots apron. Isn't it lovely? You can't tell from the picture, but the bottom is all frilly. :)




Mmmm...Frozen Mocha Cheesecake! It was SOOOO good! In fact, that recipe is from Sassafras. Doesn't it look delicious? Don't you want it right now? I do!

My dad was proud of the fact that he got this picture of me with my cheeks full of air and the candles 1/2 blown out.

The necklace that I'm wearing was amother present from my mom. I LOVE it!


Thank you, my dear family, for making my 15th birthday so special! I love you!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Allie, Ben, and Gideon are gone

Today, Allie and Ben and Gideon moved into their own apartment. I am so incredibly happy for them and I LOVE their apartment, but it is definitely a bitter-sweet thing, you know? Here are the top 25 things that I'll miss about them living here (in no particular order), and yes, I'm planning on seeing them a lot, so I'll still have some of these, but it won't be as much.

1. Hearing Ben's laugh as I'm about to fall asleep
2.Gideon being downstairs sometimes when I come down in the morning
3. Gideon's smile
4. Getting Gideon to laugh by saying a random word that he likes over and over (such as the word "surprised")
5.Talking with Allie about getting married and married life and babies
6. Talking with Allie about what kind of person my husband will be and possible prospects.
7. Allie coming into my room to borrow something before I'm awake when she's getting ready for work
8. Borrowing and lending clothes from and to Allie
9. Hearing them come up our steps after I'm in bed
10. Hearing them go up their steps after they get ready for bed
11. Talking to Ben about philosophy late at night
12. Allie's teasing and calling me a dork
13. Ben's teasing and calling me a 'towelhead' when I wrap my head in a towel after a shower
14. Watching Rocky or School of Rock while eating Little Debby Snack Cakes
15. Eating dinner with the whole family and talking
16. Ben asking me not to set the alarm at night because he is going downstairs to make Mac&Cheese or Ravioli
17. Driving with Ben to the grocery store or to pick up fried rice
18. Having a big brother in the house
19. Having a big sister in the house
20. Talking about pimples, makeup, and clothes with Allie
21. Brushing my teeth at night while Ben waits and teases me.
22. Allie coming into my room in the morning right after I wake up and asking, with a mischievous smile, "what are you doing today?" hoping that we can do something together
23. Holding Gideon all the time and watching Allie try to eat while holding him
24. Allie commenting on pretty much everything that "it'll give you cancer"
25. Allie talking about how much she loves 1/2 price appetizers at Applebee's

There you have it. (And yes, I did just have a long, hard cry ;)

Friday, July 10, 2009

Morning and Evening--Evening of July 10

What an amazing encouragement!

"And the evening and the morning were the first day." -- Genesis 1:5
The evening was "darkness" and the morning was "light," and yet the twotogether are called by the name that is given to the light alone! Thisis somewhat remarkable, but it has an exact analogy in spiritualexperience. In every believer there is darkness and light, and yet heis not to be named a sinner because there is sin in him, but he is tobe named a saint because he possesses some degree of holiness. Thiswill be a most comforting thought to those who are mourning theirinfirmities, and who ask, "Can I be a child of God while there is somuch darkness in me?" Yes; for you, like the day, take not your namefrom the evening, but from the morning; and you are spoken of in theword of God as if you were even now perfectly holy as you will be soon.You are called the child of light, though there is darkness in youstill. You are named after what is the predominating quality in thesight of God, which will one day be the only principle remaining.Observe that the evening comes first. Naturally we are darkness firstin order of time, and the gloom is often first in our mournfulapprehension, driving us to cry out in deep humiliation, "God bemerciful to me, a sinner." The place of the morning is second, it dawnswhen grace overcomes nature. It is a blessed aphorism of John Bunyan,"That which is last, lasts for ever." That which is first, yields indue season to the last; but nothing comes after the last. So thatthough you are naturally darkness, when once you become light in theLord, there is no evening to follow; "thy sun shall no more go down."The first day in this life is an evening and a morning; but the secondday, when we shall be with God, for ever, shall be a day with noevening, but one, sacred, high, eternal noon.

p.s. sorry that some of the words are stuck together! I hope you can still make it out--

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Father's Day (a little late, I know)

For Father's Day this year, Allie saw on a blog the idea to take pictures like these and put them in a three-picture frame. We took so many pictures, but here are the ones that we finally chose to put in the frame:







I
t was so fun and easy, and Daddy loved it! I think Allie bought the frame at Wal-Mart. Anyway, I always have a hard time coming up with a meaningful gift for my dad, and this is a really fun idea! I hope others try it. It was great.


Monday, July 6, 2009

Gideon--3 months old!

Today is the day that Gideon turned 3 months old. He is gaining more control over his arms, hands and legs, and is turning into quite the chub. Here are some pictures (I think some of them were taken several weeks ago, though) to prove it:


Just like his daddy: he loves his hoodie!


Check out that double chin! This lil' Maurer loves baseball. See his outfit?



"Hello, ladies..." (actually, he's just about to get into a fuss, but I think it looks like he's flirtin' ;)



What a handsome boy!


Asleep in his bouncy seat.


A close up of his chub.

For more pictures, you can go to Allie and Ben's blog: http://www.teammaurer.blogspot.com/.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

4th of July!

Happy Independence Day!!! I thank God that we have this wonderful country, and pray that He would change the hearts of our leaders so that they glorify Him in all they do. God bless you!