I'm Finally Back....Or Trying to Be!

Hi Ladies!

I bet you're completely surprised by this post! I know, I know it's been such a long time and I am so sorry that I've been horrible at keeping in touch with you all. I do miss blogging and all of you ladies! You're wonderful!

So let me fill you in on all the craziness that has been going on.
First, my computer is FINALLY fixed! My husband and I have no idea what happened. Somehow, the main start-up/boot file disappeared and that prevented me from getting anywhere on my computer. Mackenzie worked so hard to try and fix it for me. It even got to the point where I had given up and came to the realization that I was going to loose ALL of my pictures. I was disappointed but had become at ease with this knowing, at least my wedding pictures and other important ones had been backed up.

So, Mackenzie said he was going to completely reinstall everything on my computer. He did ONE last check and guess what? He by a complete fluke, was able to save every one of my pictures!! Praise God! He does great things! I know it seems small, but pictures are so important to me....so many memories! I am so thankful to God and to my husband for all the work he did!

On to the next problem that has made it difficult to blog....
I work full-time as a Behavioral Support Specialist to kids who have behavioral/emotional disorders. I love my job but it is so exhausting! By the time I get home, I just want to relax. However, I am going to back to school to finish my Bachelor's degree. It is an all online program, which takes a lot of focus on my part. In addition to work and school, I'm trying to fit in time to spend with my husband, family, friends, and working on music! AGH!

I really enjoy blogging and I want to be back and consistent with my posts and visiting all of you! I've spent a lot of time, months even, thinking about what I should do. I've decided that I want to continue blogging!

Please be patient with me as I try to figure out a schedule that works. I'm planning on posting just a few days a week and visiting all of you as much as I can!

Here are a few pictures from our 1 year anniversary, this month! We spent the night at the coast and it was wonderful! I'll do another "update" post soon...with more pictures!

Thank you, Ladies, for your wonderful friendship and support!

Baby Silas

Here are the pictures! I'm sorry I'm late in getting around to posting these...I said I would get them posted by Wednesday but I failed in that! :( I'm trying to get used to this new work schedule, taking an independent study class (can you say procrastination? haha), trying to be a good wife, and keep the house clean. Oh yeah and have somewhat of a social life! I know it can be done! I'm just trying to get organized with it all!

Anyway, presenting Baby Silas!


I love this picture of the sweet family.
He was born on Sunday (Mother's Day)! Baby, Momma and Daddy are all doing so well! Due to the c-section, Alisha is still in the recovery process but she's making so much great progress and got to go home with Silas on Wednesday! I've been trying to see them as much as I can!

Here's Erick with his mom coming out to tell us all "It's a Boy!" He was beaming with joy!

Getting swaddled and ready to hold, 6 pounds 5 ounces.

Here's Grandma getting to know her new grandson.


The happy family! Can you believe how much hair he has? So cute! Hope you all have a great day! I'm planning on visiting them after work today...gotta get my baby fix!

Pay it Forward Challenge - WINNERS! and...a Baby Update!

ANNOUNCING: THE WINNERS!

1. Carol at Carol's Heirloom Collection
2. Molly at Hope for the Hopeless
3. Charee at Held in His Hands

Congratulations Ladies! Remember to host the Pay it Forward Challenge on your blog as well! Also, remember that I have 365 days to send you your gift! Although I'll try not to procrastinate too much! Please email me your mailing addresses at brittany.sweetnothings@gmail.com!


Also my sweet friend Alisha gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby boy, Silas, Sunday afternoon at 3:38pm! He had to be delivered via c-section due to his umbilical cord being wrapped around his shoulder...with each contraction, his oxygen count was going down. They got him out and he was just perfect! Baby, Momma and Dad are doing great! Mom is tired and sore but she is glowing! I will share pictures tomorrow!

Have a blessed day!

A New Life!

My best friend is being induced this afternoon! I'll be going to the hospital at noon today to wait for the precious life to come into this world! I'm so excited!

Alisha called me yesterday evening to tell me that she was being induced today due to minor preeclampsia. The doctor's didn't want to risk anything, and since her original due date is May 19th, everything should be just fine. Please keep Alisha and her little one in your prayers today! She decided to wait to find out the sex of the baby until he/she was born so I'll let you know that tomorrow! The names they have decided on are Jovi if it's a girl and Silas if it's a boy!

Have a blessed day!

Afloat

Good morning! Thank you so much for all of your comments on our cabinet! They were so encouraging!

Today I wanted to share the first official music video for some friends of ours.

They are Caleb and Sol and their song is called "Afloat". They are twin brothers who have recently released their first album. Their mission is to spread the Gospel through music. They've been traveling around to local churches sharing their music. They charged nothing for their CDs at first. They just wanted to get their music out there. I think it's so awesome that they were able to do that.

Caleb and his wife Betsy used to be a part of our worship team at church. They are such a wonderful couple with an amazing heart for the Lord. I pray that God leads Caleb and his brother Sol and accomplishes His work in them. As a side note, the guitar player and violinist are also friends of ours and they agreed to help record and play in Caleb and Sol's album for free. Such an awesome ministry this group is doing! I hope you are blessed by this song as much as I am!



You can also visit their website at www.calebandsol.com to learn more about them!

Check out this giveaway!

My blogging friend Jen over at Tatertots and Jello is hosting a giveaway to celebrate her
200th post!

She made some really cute decoupage crafts to giveaway. A barn star and 3 picture frames. Go to her blog here to check it out! Leave her a sweet comment as well!

Easy Appetizer

We had friends over last Friday night and of course this was the only picture I took! I'm so bad about taking pictures sometimes. I served Pesto Pasta with Chicken, they brought a salad, and we had this amazing bread and vinegar/olive oil for dipping.

I love this appetizer because it is so simple, yet so good! It's served at many Italian restaurants in our area. You can use any kind of rustic or artisan bread. I bought a Kalamata Olive bread from a wonderful little bakery nearby. For dipping, you simply pour 2 parts olive oil in a bowl or on a plate and 1 part balsamic vinegar. You figure out what you like best and adjust it accordingly! I added a tsp of chopped garlic and a little salt and pepper to taste. Yum! It really makes a great presentation as well.

I hope you have a wonderful day today! After work, I'm going to catch up on laundry and work on an autobiographical essay that I need to submit with an application to a local bible college, that I'll be starting at in the fall to complete my bachelor's degree. They have a great program for working adults. I'm actually really excited to start the program and finally finish my degree.

Have a blessed day!

Happy Monday!

Actually, it's not so happy because my spring break has ended. :( That's ok though. Can I just tell you that I can't wait to be a Stay at Home Mom? We're not planning on having children any time soon because we want to spend a few years with just the two of us. I've gotta say though, It's always been a passion of mine to be a wife and mother. I'm content with where we are now and love having the freedom to travel or just pick up and leave for the weekend but am also so excited for the day when we have children and I get the chance to stay home with them, God willing.

Anyway, today I want to share about my sweet best friend Alisha and helping her set up her nursery for her sweet baby's arrival in May.

Above is Alisha, she's got about 8 weeks left! They have decided to let the gender of the baby be a surprise to them on the delivery day. I can't wait to find out what it is! I'm sure they're even more excited to find out! It's such a special thing for them to wait but I've told Alisha, that I would not be able to! I'd want to find out as soon as I could! That's just me though! :)

When I went to help her set up the nursery, there actually wasn't much to do.
We hung a mirror and a tapestry on the wall, and then we actually helped her in their sunroom, cleaning and putting up lights.

Above is a quilt that Alisha's grandmother made for the baby. Since they aren't finding out the sex of the baby, she and her husband decided to go with an Indian Elephant theme. Full of bright colors that would work for either a boy or a girl. It is so cute and really reflects on the style of Alisha and her husband, Erick. They ran in to a bit of a problem though trying to find baby bedding that had Indian Elephants. So, she found fabric and asked her grandma, who is an excellent sewer, to make one. I think it turned out beautifully.

Here is the tapestry we hung, which matches the quilt.

I am SO excited for Alisha and Erick! I can't wait to meet their sweet baby and spend time with him or her!

Worship and Praise Sunday

I hope you all have had a wonderful week!
It is my goal to come visit each of you today and tomorrow. I have such a nice, relaxing spring break and am a bit sad that I have to go back to work on Monday. Oh well!

I was able to get a lot done this week but also was able to spend some time lounging on the couch! It was so wonderful!

An overview of my week:
Sunday, I went to IKEA with some of my girlfriends. I got a cute end table for our living room and some other small things.

Monday, I was able to help my best friend set up her nursery to prepare for her baby's arrival in May.

Tuesday was laundry and cleaning around the house. Also, Mackenzie and I went and bought two area rugs for our living room and dining area. It really helps the house feel more cozy.

Wednesday, Mackenzie and I both had the day off and we spent half the day in bookstores and other cute shops around town. That evening I went to a friends house for a "Twilight" party. We watched the movie and had dinner. It wasn't my favorite but fun to be with friends.

Thursday, I spend the day with a former mentor of mine and her kids. She is the photographer friend of mine and we took some more pictures. This time, they were outdoors. Fun!
Friday, I got some errands done and was able to clean and vacuum my car.

My husband worked on our guest bathroom this week. He hung a new mirror and I added some decorative details to it. I loved the way it turned out. We are still planning on tiling it within the next couple months.

I will share pictures of this past week in future posts. Now on to Worship and Praise Sunday!

If you'd like to join...see here to read the first post and why I started. Also, read the guidelines below to know how to participate!

• Share a favorite worship song by either a video (i.e. youtube, etc) or the lyrics of the song.
• Share a bit about what it means to you.
• Whether it be you or someone else, please give credit to the artist who wrote it.
  
• Publish your Worship and Praise Sunday post on your blog.
• Please offer a link back to the main page of my blog, so other readers where know where to join in.
  
• Copy the "permalink" from your Worship and Praise Sunday post and add it to Mr. Linky.

This week I am sharing Our Great God by Fernando Ortega. This version has both Fernando Ortega and Mac Powell.



Eternal God, unchanging, mysterious and unknown
Your boundless love unfailing, in grace and mercy shown
Bright seraphim in ceaseless flight around Your glorious throne
They raise their voices day and night in praise to You alone

Hallelujah! Glory be to our great God!
Hallelujah! Glory be to our great God!

Lord, we are weak and frail, helpless in the storm
Surround us with Your angels, hold us in Your arms
Our cold and ruthless enemy, his pleasure is our harm
Rise up, oh Lord, and he will flee before our Sovereign God

Let every creature in the sea and every flying bird
Let every mountain, every field and valley of the earth
Let all the moons and all the stars in all the universe
Sing praises to the living God, who rules them by His word

This song is a favorite of both Mackenzie and I. The words are powerful and moving. I hope you enjoy it and are blessed by it.

Spring Break

Hey there!
I hope spring has sprung in your area. I'm still waiting for the sun to shine consistently here! I'm tired of the rain!

I guess I just need to be patient. :)

Anyway, it's spring break in our area, which, because I work in a school-based program, I have a week off! Woo hoo!

I've decided that I'm going to take a week off of blogging as well. I've been slacking in spending time in the Word with the Lord so that will be my focus this week. Also, I would like to do some outdoorsy (sp?) things with my husband as the weather permits, and today I'll be helping my best friend set up her baby room! I'm so excited!

So, I'm sorry to leave all you ladies for the week but I will do my best to stop by your blogs as much as I can. I will be back on Sunday (Saturday Evening) for Worship and Praise Sunday! Thank you so much to those of you have participated in this. It is such a blessing hearing all the music for the Lord and learning new songs as well!

I pray you'll be blessed this week and please pray that I can get focused and set up a plan that works for me to spend time with God, each day.

Wordless Wednesday

It's Wordless Wednesday! Hosted by Dixie at French Lique. Visit her blog for more wordless Wednesday posts!

Today's theme is Dance!

Have a blessed day!

Wordless Wednesday - Friends

Today I'm participating in Wordless Wednesday hosted by Dixie. See her sweet blog and more wordless Wednesday posts here!

Dinner with Friends and a Recipe!

We had this crazy, fun couple over at our house for dinner, about a week ago! This is Alisha and her husband Erick. Alisha is my best best friend! We've been friends since our junior year of high school and moved up to Oregon together, right after we graduated! We've been trying to find a time to have just the two them over since we've been married and finally found the night to do it!

Alisha and I always have something to talk about and Mackenzie and Erick are becoming closer friends. So,we had such a great time!

The funny thing is, I actually met Mackenzie through Erick. They grew up a town apart and knew each other from Campus Life events. Anyway, Erick was coming home from a study abroad program in Spain. We through a welcome home party for him, and Mackenzie showed up! I remember he stayed pretty late and we talked about politics with everyone...funny, huh?

So, I made dinner for the four of us, Alisha brought dessert and we talked and played monopoly! That game really goes on forever... We really enjoy having our friends over at our place. I enjoy the fellowship and even the preparations for dinner...I love to cook and bake!

Here's Mackenzie cutting the dessert. He was getting pretty annoyed with me taking so many pictures so, to get back at me, he acted silly in every picture! Man our husbands deal with a lot of pictures for the blog, don't they?

I wanted to share one of the recipes that I made for the dinner with you!

On the menu, Italian Sausage Lasagna, Ceasar Salad, and Rolls.

Here's the recipe for the yummy Lasagna!

Italian Sausage Lasagna – serves 8

1	pound bulk Italian sausage (hot)
1	medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1	garlic clove, crushed
3	tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1	tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1	teaspoon sugar
2	cups Progresso® diced tomatoes (from 28-oz can), undrained
1	can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
12	uncooked lasagna noodles (12 ounces)
1	container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese or small curd creamed cottage cheese (2 cups)
1/4	cup grated Parmesan cheese
1	tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2	cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)
1/4	cup grated Parmesan cheese

1.	Cook sausage, onion and garlic in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink; drain.
2.	Stir in 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, sugar, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally; reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered about 45 minutes or until slightly thickened.
3.	Heat oven to 350ºF. Cook and drain noodles as directed on package.
4.	Mix ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, remaining 1 tablespoon parsley and the oregano.
5.	Spread 1 cup of the sauce mixture in ungreased rectangular baking dish, 13x9x2 inches. Top with 4 noodles. Spread 1 cup of the cheese mixture over noodles; spread with 1 cup of the sauce mixture. Sprinkle with 2/3 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat with 4 noodles, the remaining cheese mixture, 1 cup of the sauce mixture and 2/3 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining noodles and sauce mixture. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
6.	Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake about 15 minutes longer or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

Now, typically, you would cook the lasagna in a 9x13 pan. However, since it was just the four of us. I decided to divide the recipe into two pans. I bought a square foil pan and put half of the ingredients into it. Then, I froze it for a quick and easy meal down the road!

Have a great Friday! I'm working today and going to relax with my hubby tonight. Maybe we'll watch a movie! Tomorrow, I have worship practice at the church and later, Sharon and I will be going to a jewelry party for one of her co-workers! It should be fun! Praise and Worship Sunday is coming up! I hope you'll join me this week!

By the way, thank you all so much for your input and sweet words about the photo shoot pictures! Also, thanks for all the suggestions on ways to cook the fish! I'll let you know what we try and what we like! :)