Happy Mardi Gras!!

Just wanted to post a few photos of our family on Mardi Gras!  Momma went all out with fab decorations and food!  We dined on chicken and sausage gumbo, bread, and blend of the bayou (this is so wonderful that I will give yal the recipe!  It will make you slap yo' granny!  FYI, I know that is assault, but my MamMaw used to say that all of the time when she would prepare a recipe that was out of this world! 

My Moss recently mailed the recipe to me, so you too can enjoy!!

Blend of the Bayou (for the longest time I thought it was Belinda of the Bayou)

1 pkg of cream cheese

1 stick butter (yes, 1 stick of butter)

Those are for the 1st mixture

1 lb of shrimp (peeled)

1 large onion- chop it up girls (to help with the tears, but a piece of bread in the roof of your mouth)

1 bell pepper- chop it

2 ribs of celery

2 tablespoons of butter, gotta love the butter!

Saute all of those things (veggies and the shirmp in the butter to make the 2nd mixture)

1 can mushroom soup

1 can mushrooms

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp tabasco (this is hot yal)

1/2 tsp red pepper (make it hot-ter!)

1 pint crab meat (I get this in the can, cause I do not live by the ocean and am not believing that it is fresh here in B-town)

3 cups of cooked rice and 3/4 cup of uncooked rice

That is all of your 3rd mixture!

Then the last ingredient is..........cheese (sharp grated)!!

So, melt yo cream cheese and butter using a double boiler (what is that, no idea, so I used a skillet!)

Saute shrimp, onion, pepper, celery in 2 T BUTTER, then add it to your 1st mixture of crm cheese and BUTTER!  Add your soup, mushrooms, seasonings, crab meat, and rice(s).  Mix it up!  For some of you, this might look a little like you could shape and mold it into something, so I think a little bit of chicken broth could be added here, to the make it the consistency that you like (seriously, add some!)  Top it with the cheese.  Pop it in the oven 350 degrees for 20-30 minutos and VOILA!  Have your own cajun party with Belinda of the Bayou!!

We all had such a great time!  We wore hats, crowns, and beads!

Momma and Jason

Aron totally humored us by wearing a crown and robe (for this photo)!

Me and my Sweetie Pie!

Sophia even wore a mask!

We had a Kings Cake (it is pretty much bread with sugar, and I love bread and sugar!  In the cake a baby is hidden, and I totally got the baby!  Not sure what it means but I got it a took a picture of it!

I just had to post these pics of our little tiny dancer!

Love yal!

Caryn

Thursday to do list!!

Things to do tomorrow...

1.  Smile in the mirror for 5 minutes.  Totally awkward, I know.  I used to practice my hello smiles all of the time.  Especially when I knew I would be seeing Aron, I would look in the mirror, pose, smile, say hello.  Weird...yes.  Haven't you ever done that??

2.  Be kind (smile, say "hello") to everyone you see (the bank, Wal-Mart, in traffic, ect.)  This may freak some people out, but you just might make someones day a little bit brighter. Just today, I smiled at an elderly man at a stop light.  I think he thought I was loving him, but whatever!

3.  For the entire day, pretend that every word you speak is being recorded on a hidden tape recorder and will be played in public.  This is so hard.  Be positive, be joyful, be gracious, be friendly, build one another up.

4.  As Lionel would say, "I just called to say I love you."

Tell someone how much you love them.

5.  Send a card filled with sweetness to a friend you are missing.  Everyone loves cards, it is so great to open the mailbox and see a card and not a Visa bill!!

6.  Hug a friend!  If you are totally brave hug a stranger, but beware that this could be seen as invading someones personal space.  Some people do not like this very much.  Last year, I was not paying attention at Wal-Mart, and rammed my buggy into the backend of an old man.  His wife turned around looked a me with a what are you doing look.  Mortified and so sorry, I went to pat the man on his back and apologize, he drops his cane bends down to get it and I patted his booty!!  So BEWARE, with the love pats and hugs!!

*We are going to a dinner party tonight, so watch out!

 Just have to share something that I heard in bible study yesterday!

Fish were made to swim.

Birds were made to fly.

People were made to be loving and kind...

I just love that!!

Okay, a few more photos!! 

Love this of my SIL and Sophia!!

Momma and the snow bunny!!

God is so Good!!

Love to you all!  I love you, and you, and you, and you, you too, and you!! 

Love ,

Caryn

Oh, What a beautiful mornin'!!!

Oh, What a beautiful day!!

I got a beautiful feelin'

Everything's going my way!!

Well, it is 23 degrees out this morning, bright and sunshiny.  It is so lovely.  I do believe that the flowers are blooming...

Sorry we have not posted lately, but with Little Miss being sick and me trying to entertain her at every moment, I have been a little crunched on some extra time.  When I would finally get a moment, I decided it would be best to do the laundry, cook meals, and shower!  Oh, the exciting life of a stay at home momma!  Would not change it for anything!

It has been a busy few weeks...my baby sister, Katie (Aunt Kitty Kat) turned 12 years old!!  We celebrated by going to FastLanes!  This was such a treat.  I had never been before and it was so much fun.  There are games, go carts, bowling, and laser tag.  I could not tell who had more fun, me and Aron, my bothers, my parents, the Butlers, or the 12 girls!!  We were all over the place....

Such a fun time!

Valentines Day was so nice for us!  We started our morning meeting the fam at Copelands for Valentines Day brunch.  So yum!

Then, we went to celebrate Ryan and Abrams birthday at Las Fajitas!  Aron and I were so full by the end of the day, but we had such a great time with them!

Annalee made us all Valentines.  She is reading the one she wrote to Sophia!  She is so precious.

After all of that food, I had to burn off all of the calories!  You so know that I ate deserts everywhere I went.  So I painted another tree for Lovey. 

I hope that everyone is well! 

Ugh-oh, Sophia is awake.. gotta go!!!

Stop back by tomorrow, I am sure I will have something to chat about...

Love yal, 

Caryn

She's Some Kind of Wonderful...

So, tomorrow I will be 6 months old!  I am so happy I can hardly see straight! 

 Lets see...what have I been up to?

• I weigh 17 lbs and have just graduated into the size 3 diapers

Eating time is like my most favorite time:  in the morning I munch on rice ceral with a fruit, lunch I have a veggie and a fruit and then the same for dinner.  My mother says that I have a very healthy appetite.

• I can sit up all by myself
• I can roll from my back to my front and then my front to my back
• I like to work on standing
• I am so close to crawling, I can feel it.  Look my momma even caught me in action today...

• I like to get out as much as possible (weather permitting).  I have been to church, playgroup with some of my buddies, I have seen the inside of a doctors office a lot more than I like to speak of (cold and an ear infection, I am turning into Steve Urkel), Abuelo's for my daddy's birthday dinner, I frequent my Honey, Granddaddy's, and Aunt Kitty Kats house, I have attended a few PEO meetings (these are my momma sisters (we have a large family?)), and a birthday party for my friend Harper!

I have been to other places, but I am only 6 months old, and I cannot remember some of the other places I have gone.

I am working on my dancing skills.

I can wave my hands in the air,

I wave them like I just don't care. 

I am getting 2 of my bottom teeth, talk about rough stuff.  I am such a drooler as you can see.

I am sleeping in my own bed!  This is so awesome to have your own room.  My momma and daddy are still having a hard time with this, but as long as I have my MamMaw Bear, I know that I am okay.

I am really growing up!!

We are so thankful for Sophia.  She is some kind of wonderful...

Love, Aron and Caryn