Prayer & Blood - please help...

As we watched the Weather Channel & various news stations covering the tornado hitting AL on 4/27, I had flashback to 11 months earlier when we were hit by an EF-4. Eight people died, the high school I graduated from was destroyed, the police station gone too…


 The picture below was circulated over the national news many times over, it happens to be my mom’s friends home, which has since been demolished & is being rebuilt.

I have been an emotional mess the last week, I’m not sure if it’s PMS hormones or maybe needing an adjustment in my medications, but watching the scenes coming out of AL have made me cry more than once.
I know God has plans for these people and I know the 284 lost lives are now rejoicing because they are home with our Savior, but for the families left behind & trying to pick up the pieces, I pray they do not lose their faith.


Alabama destroyed

 Listening to K-Love yesterday, the deejay asked listeners from the AL area to call in with suggestions for the most needed donations..
I was touched by a listener who called in saying they are in desperate need of blood donations for the tornado victims...
It’s not to say they don't need food, clothes or shelter..but asking for BLOOD - not a material item, a life saving donation.
I wish I could give but because I’m on blood thinners I cannot – thankfully Dennis can AND is giving this weekend.
I know the economy is hard on everyone now, gas prices are $4.15/gallon…but blood is free. Please, while you’re sitting in your comfy chair watching cable & facebooking on your laptop, take a moment to pray, then set the computer down, turn off the tv & head to your local blood bank & help save a life!

Wordless Wednesday - mostly...

Wonder if the teacher will believe 'my cat took my homework for her bed' as an excuse...?

Catch-Up Tuesday

2 Friday's ago, after Dennis' surgery, we headed out to Selena’s to pick up Bry & then headed home. I got Dennis in the house & got him situated, laid B down for a nap & then went to the bus stop to get Cai.
She & I headed to the store for some milk & tissues, then headed to Andy & JoJo’s to take some pizza home for dinner…plus I love going in there to see the cute owners – ha!

We went home & had dinner and after dinner, Dennis laid back down & I took the girls to meet Andrea for ice cream. I really wanted to take them to the park, but it was pouring down rain & chilly. Once we got to Tony’s Cones & Coney’s Cai couldn’t wait to get some ice cream. Andrea’s dad was too kind & let her have TWO ice-creams! First she had a small chocolate cone & then she had a small flurry. She ate both all gone! She’s her mama’s girl for sure – haha!

Bry showed no interest – she gags herself when she eats food that has a soft texture. She’s such an odd ball. After we visited for a little while, we headed back home for baths & bed.

Both girls fell asleep quickly, which was good b/c we had to get up early for Cai’s competition.

When I woke Cai up Saturday morning, she was so excited to go to a competition. She loves them & rarely gives me any problems when she’s getting ready.
We got to Southview & got everything unloaded & went in to wait for Chelsea to do their makeup.

Even though the seniors were not performing, they came to root on their ‘little sister’s’ & Cadence’s super awesome cheer sister, Harley, brought her a super awesome gift!
Check out this cute Barbie duffel bag, 2 barbies, bubbles & beach ball she gave her! Whoa!

I was excited b/c Cai was able to give her the gift from Thirty One. How cute is this little change purse?

Harley’s was embroidered w/her initials hDa.

She seemed to really like it when she opened it – then she asked if I put her initials on there – ha! No way!

The girls looked super cute competing & did a really great job! I was so proud!

After awards (they got 2nd), we went home to relax for a few hours before their performance at the intermission of the Midwest Galaxy Pageants at the Indoor Maumee Theatre.

When we got to the theatre, the girls got to watch the contestants practice…then the show started. It was a long day & not long before the girls performed, you could see how anxious they were getting. After a donation of 1200 pairs of socks were given to Hannah’s socks from the pageant contestants, the girls performed. They rocked it out – AGAIN & we finally were free to go home.

We walked in the door & Cai changed into her pj’s. She was exhausted & ready for bed. So was I. Dennis was sleeping on the couch b/c he didn’t want me to bump his arm in the middle of the nite, so Cai snuggled in bed w/me & we were both asleep w/in minutes.

Around 11 Dennis came in & woke me up b/c his arm was so sore. We woke up the girls, packed them up & took him to the ER. They ended up admitting him & giving him antibiotics for the infection he had. Ugh..
He was released around 5 pm Sunday evening…after picking him up & his scripts, it was back to Sunday’s routine of bathing the girls & getting them to bed.

After this weekend – I really needed a vacation!

My Monday Meal - Cheesy Chicken Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
8 cups fresh green beans
2 cups cooked cubed chicken
1 small can french fried onion rings

Directions:
1. Melt butter in a large saucepan. Stir in flour until smooth.
2. Slowly add broth, milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
3. Stir in 1/3 cup of the Parmesan cheese until melted.
4. Add beans and chicken, combine well.
5. Pour mixture into a greased 2 quart baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle the onion rings on top of cheese.
6. Bake, uncovered, in a 375 degree F oven for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.

What is your Monday Meal?

HAPPY EASTER 2011!!

17

Dear Whitney,


Happy 17th b/day. I can’t believe you’re already 17. I think about what your hobbies are. You loved art when you were with us. I hope you continued drawing. I wonder if you kept up with dancing. It is quite a way from your house now, so probably not there. But you were doing well, I hope that you kept dancing somewhere!

I hope your day is picture perfect and filled with presents and cake.

Happy 17th Sweetie!

Love always,

Dennis, Missy, Cadence & Bryleigh

SORRY FOR THE DELAY!! Willow Creek Winner Announced!

Sorry for the delay in announcing the Willow Creek figure contest! Between Dennis' surgery & overtime at work - I haven't had time to get on here & random # the contest.
I'm hoping I'll be back in blogging business this evening w/a weekend recap & what we've got going on this weekend.

On to the winner...

Brielle Teller. Please email me w/your information & I will get the statue out this weekend! CONGRATS!!! :)

My Monday Meal - Hashbrown Burger Casserole

1 lb Burger (we prefer turkey burger)
1 can of green beans (or any canned veggie would work)
4 cups frozen, shredded hashbrowns
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
Shredded cheese – your choice of flavor
6 large slices of onion

Preheat oven to 350.
Fry & ground burger.
Spray a cake pan w/pam & add all of the hashbrowns
After the meat is cooked, add to the top of the hashbrowns & spread out.
Drain green beans & add to the top & spread out.
Mix milk & cream of mushroom soup & pour over food.
Add cheese – we used abt 2 cups of cheddar & mozz mix, but it’s up to you on how cheesy you want it.

Cover w/foil & bake for ½ hr. Remove from oven & add onion slice on top, re-cover & bake for another 15 mins.
Turn oven off & remove foil. Leave in oven for 15 mins & then serve.

Serve with salad & fresh baked bread. Strawberry jello w/bananas & whip cream for dessert!

What is your Monday Meal?

Lipoma Surgery Day - UPDATED!

Today Dennis is having surgery to remove his lipomas...actually, right now.... I just left him as they wheeled him back to the operating room.
He has 11 in his right arm, but the dr is only removing 6 b/c the other 5 are too small & he said he'd end up in there digging around and causing scar tissue.

Dennis is excited to be getting them removed.  He's had them for years but as of late they have been bothering him.  If he bumps them or the kids jump on him & hit them they shoot pain down his arm to his hand. 

The recovery time will be about 3 weeks and then he'll go back in for his left arm.  He has 4 in that one.  The dr said they'll keep coming back - he's had patients come in and have up to 10 surgeries to remove them...he said it can be 50 - 100 lipomas per person.  Dennis cringed - but right now he just wants the painful ones removed.

After I get him home & settled in, I'm going to take the girls to the park & for ice cream. 

This little guy greated us as we entered the hospital this morning!

Cadence has a competition tomorrow morning for another Cheer 4 A Cure.  I'll have to get her home to get her showered & to bed early.  After the C4AC she will be going to a beauty pagent w/her team b/c the girls will be performing during..pagent 1/2 time - or whatever it's called  :)

I can't wait to see the girls perform tomorrow - they are so cute when they get out on the floor with their hair all done up & their makeup on.  Cai LOVES comps!  Hopefully Dennis will feel well enough to go.

Still another hour before his surgery is complete...guess I'll read my book for awhile...


UPDATE!!!

Dennis is out of surgery & in recovery. I'm waiting to go back to see him. The dr (who is very good looking & has the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen - ahem) said he did great. They were able to remove all 6. The largest one was sitting on top of a nerve, which is why everytime he bumped it, he had shooting pain.
Healing time will be about 3 weeks and then they'll do the left arm!
While sitting in the waiting room, I joyously sat next to a woman on her cell phone talking to a family member about her son. He apparently has moved in to some trailer park w/this trailer trash family - that lives on welfare. She's dissapointed b/c she knows they are going to bring him down. She told the g/f she was a slut & the girls mom got on the phone & told her she was going to kick her ass.
ummm...sweet? sounds like you in-laws are going to get along well. The kicker - the girl told her she was pregnant, but her son denied it. Sounds like a healthy relationship...
Anyhoo....Thanks for the prayers!!

Better late than never & Willow Tree Figure give-away - CLOSED

Last Friday & Saturday were pretty busy, I still don’t think I’ve had time to catch up from them. Friday after I got home from work, Cadence went to Colin’s to stay the nite & Dennis helped Erica move. I watched her kids while they were gone. It was a lot of work for Erica & Dennis & by the time they got back, it was after 12:30! They were both exhausted & sore…I felt bad, but honestly – I’d watch the kids any day over all that physical labor! HA!
Saturday I went to work for about 4 ½ hrs (blah to working on Saturdays!) – while I was at work, Dennis put a new faucet in his mom’s bathroom & helped Erica finish moving. After work, I went home to get ready for Chai’s 8th b/day party at Stephie’s house. We got there a little late, but had a good time anyway.

There were lots of crazy kids running around – Cadence was eating when we walked in…but left minutes later to run around the backyard.

We left Steph’s a few hours later w/our girls & Heaven & Colin to go to a Premier jewelry party @ Aunt Vicki’s. Cai, Colin & Heaven were cracking us up on the way there...they are all lovers of the Bieber...Check this video out of them jamming!

Once we got to Aunt Vicki's it was more running for the kids..including Bry falling down the stairs..oops! Randi was there so that meant cuddle time w/Aiden. Ohhhh…he was so cuddly & sleepy. I didn’t want to share him..i kissed him over & over & over..he’ll probably have a bald spot on his head from all the kissing!

After picking out a pretty necklace & booking a party for May

and visiting with the family...

we headed home....
Even though it didn’t feel like it, we had been there over 2 hrs…so it was well after 9:30 by the time we walked in the door at home.

Colin stayed the nite & while all 3 kids were tired, he & Cai were close to an exhaustion meltdown! Shortly after walking in the door Bryleigh was fast asleep in her crib & around 10:30 Colin & Cadence had crashed on the couch watching the Smurfs.

Dennis & I followed suit in our room. It was a long day & we were probably both asleep before our heads hit the pillows!

Sunday I slept in til 9:30ish…I got up, cleaned up the house & took a shower…it was warm out & I’m not sure if was the fact that it was so warm after being so chilly, but I started getting a crazy, mad migraine. I retreated to my room taking 2 headache pills & downing a pop. It wasn’t long before Dennis was waking me for dinner…I couldn’t believe I slept so long.

Dinner was good & when Alan got there to pick up Colin, he gave me a foot rub…it was fantastic.
Even with a 3 hr nap, I was crawling into bed @ 9 and sound asleep before 10.

Looking forward to another fun filled weekend this coming up weekend too! But before we get that far…

GIVE-AWAY, GIVE-AWAY, GIVE-AWAY!!!!

A friend of mine gave me a Willow Tree figure that she had doubles of…turns out, I also have doubles of it as well! I keep one in the bedroom & one in the family room. So this one needs a new home…



To enter for your chance to win the Willow Tree Figure, please do following & leave a separate comment for each entry:

1.  Become a public follower of my blog.

FOR EXTRA ENTRIES:
2. Comment & tell us what your favorite Willow Tree item is
3. Facebook my contest w/the following link: http://stacey-dellfamily.blogspot.com/2011/04/better-late-than-never-willow-tree.html & then comment w/a link back to your post
4. Tweet about my contest w/the following link: http://stacey-dellfamily.blogspot.com/2011/04/better-late-than-never-willow-tree.html & then comment w/a link back to your tweet
5. Follow me on Twitter- Cadence1228

Please leave an email address if you do not have a blog

The winner will be chosen via the Random Number Generator on 4/19 & announced here that evening.

Thank you & Good Luck!!

Wordless Wednesday

SHHHH…. You’re at Cheer practice!!

Preface: Cai used to cheer for CSE…last March, the owner decided she needed to ‘retire’ to focus on her kids who are getting older & getting involved in different activities. Coaching takes a lot of time, but owning & coaching was practically her life & w/2 little ones at home, she decided she needed to put more attention on them. Everyone was sad, but understood. She’s a great coach – but a better mom!

When this happened, we searched for another team, choices were limited in our area & we finally decided to stay at the gym were CSE had practiced, though were weren’t fans of the owners.

In August, Cai’s old coaches from CSE sent out a letter they were starting a cheer team. Since they were new & small (they started late in the season) they couldn’t afford much. One of the local Church’s lets them use their gym to practice in for free.

After talking to Cadence, we decided this would be the best fit for us & I moved Cadence over & we haven’t looked back.

Present: Yesterday I got a text from Cai’s coach that the girls had to be quiet at practice b/c there was a showing in the Chapel…My heart broke for the family…then she said it was for a baby. My heart broke a little more…

I was unsure how to explain to Cadence why she had to be quiet. I mean it’s easy to say, ‘be quiet during practice’ but it’s practice, they are always loud so being quiet doesn’t make sense.

I debated how I should tell her, do I tell her the reason – the WHOLE reason, or just the showing part? She’s 6, what does she need to know? I debated for awhile before deciding to tell her the truth. I called her before Chels picked her up for practice & told her it was important to be quiet at practice. Even if the other girls were loud, she needed to be very quiet. I explained there was a funeral on the carpet (when they practice in the lobby, Cai says ‘we were on the carpet today’). I reminded her of the many showings we’d been too & how everyone is sad at them. So having to listen to the girls be noisy might bother them. She asked who died. I told her it was a baby & the mommy & daddy were very sad – so please remember that when you’re at practice & be respectful. 

When I got to practice to pick her up, I asked another mom how the girls were. She said they were all very quiet & did a great job! I was so proud of them. It’s not easy for the younger ones (3-8 yrs old) to control their energy after being at school all day & our girls did. Just another reminder of how lucky we are to have such good girls & great coaches!

I looked in the paper to see the baby's obituary.  My heart broke all over as I read he was 10 mos old & had been ill his whole life.  I pray for God's strength for his family during this difficult time.

May you fly with the Angels, Little One...

My Monday Meal...Chicken Cresent Rolls...

I'm proud of myself for coming up with this recipe on my own.  Even Dennis was surprised! 
He kept asking me, are you sure this was all you??  Yes, it was.  I saw other recipes that had a few of the ingredients together, but not one like this.  Pinterest had great recipes, but none put this together and honestly, I don't see a lot with the french onion soup mix.  Man, I love that stuff!

4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts

2 pck crescent rolls

Mozz cheese

French onion soup mix dry

-sorry for the stock pictures - one day I'll add a real one!  :)

Preheat oven to temp listed on Crescent rolls

Brown chicken on both sides in fry pan. Add water to cover chicken, add 1 packet of dry French onion soup mix & cover.

Cook until chicken is completely cooked through.

Cut into chunks.

Open crescent rolls & pinch together seams of 2 triangles to make 4 different crusts. Add chicken chunks & as much mozz cheese as you want. Then add the other package of crescent rolls, pinching seams of 2 triangles together, than placing them on top of the chicken mixture & pressing the top & bottom crescents together.

Bake for 12-14 mins (or as long as the rolls require). Serve w/green beans & salad. Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream for dessert equals YUM!

And really, the combination possibilities are numerous.  We also made these with pepper jack cheese, sharp cheese and colby. 
Instead of French soup mix, we did dry Italian dressing...the crecent roll has the flavor bake right in - it's sooo good!

Winner, Winner - Chicken Dinner! :)

The winner of the $50 Target gift card is: 

Queena @ Queena Our Castle


Divorced Mommy to four beautiful girls…teaching them life is not always what you dream and you do not always need a King to be a strong Queen..

Please send me an email w/your address so I can get your giftcard in the mail to you asap!

Thanks for playing & keep an eye open for another giveaway this week!!

ABC's of Me!!

Saw this on a blog & thought it looked like fun...something random for this random Sunday morning!

A. Age: 34

B. Bed size: Queen, I miss our king size!

C. Chore you dislike: Cleaning the bathrooms – the thought of the germs I’m around while I do it makes my skin crawl

D. Dogs: Quinn, Gizzie & Bella

E. Essential start to your day: Shower

F. Favorite Color: Purple

G. Gold or Silver: Silver

H. Height: 5’6

I. Instruments you play(ed): I played the viola. I quit playing when I transferred high schools. But I loved it!

J. Job titles: The ones that matter are: Mommy, Wife, Daughter, Aunt, Sister, Cousin, etc..

K. Kids: Cadence, Bryleigh & my Angel, Terry Bryce

L. Live: Perrysburg, OH

M. Mom’s Name: Edie

N. Nicknames: Missy, Miss, MSD

O. Overnite Hospital stays: Having the girls, DVT’s, hernia repair & an ICU stay for my heart!

P. Pet peeves: Douche ‘y’ people

Q: Quote from a movie: Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.  Airplane!

S: Siblings: Alan & Lisa

T: Time you wake up: Abt 6:45 – tho I don’t get out of bed til 7!

U. University attended: Shawnee State

V. Vegetables:  Fresh Green beans are probably my favorite!

W. What makes you run late: Staying in the shower to warm up

X. X-rays you’ve had: dental, foot, lungs, back

Y. Yummy food you make: Chicken Crescent Meal

Z. Zoo animal favorites: Appropriately, zebras!

Little Monster Creations

So I have some uber talented family members…from football playing (Jaime) to sewing (Tiffany) they all bring something to the table!

My cousin Tiffany started a small shirt business after she wanted to buy her ‘Little Monster’ a shirt w/a faux tie.
When she saw the price tag, she looked at the shirt & decided she could make it herself for a lot less…and she did!

While she holds a full time job outside of the home, is a mommy to a busy 1 yr old (& one on the way) & a wife at home, she still finds time to create these adorable shirts.

AND girls can wear them too!! Pair this next one w/some black leggings or a jean skirt & a big bow on their head - TOO CUTE!

If you would like to check out what she has and order one (she does customs too!), please check out her facebook fan page – Little Monster Creations
I promise your Little Monster will look adorable in them too!