Do you want to?

Does anyone wanted to get together and do this with me at our next ward talent show? I am looking for plus sized people. Hahaha!!

Carter's Birthday Fun!

Carter had a great birthday. On Sunday, we had a family dinner party. A great time was had by all who felt like coming (haha). I am so blessed to have such a wonderful and supportive family! John and his family came all the way from Huntington. Carter was a little doll. He was so happy and kind. He gave hugs to everyone! I am the only adult that Carter has ever hugged until his party. Grandma Kemple was super excited to finally get a hug from him after all these years.

Yesterday was Carter's actual birthday. He took a special treat to preschool. It was cheese and crackers that he picked out on his very own. We also took a poster of some photos through the years. We went to Super Salad for dinner (he loves that place) then walked over to Jungle Jim's. Carter was a lucky boy and got a ton of gifts. Daddy bought him his very first bike and he has been riding it all over the house today.

Happy Birthday Carter!

My favorite thing about Carter is the love that he has. He is so sweet and dedicated to me. He is also a great big brother to Morgan and loves to kiss, hold and play with her. I am so proud of all the things Carter has accomplished in just one year. He went from a sad, screaming, nonverbal kid to a fun, happy, kind, talking, loving kid. Some of his favorite things are watching movies in his room (his favorite is Wall E), eating macaroni and cheese (has to be Kraft), playing with trucks and trains, saying the word "right" after every sentence, blanket, root beer, ice cream, strawberries, McDonald's, Swimming, Chucky Cheese (help me) and snuggles from mommy. I am so glad that my Father in heaven sent this special spirit to me. I have learned patients, compassion and love from my boy. I have also learned not to judge others because you never know what is going on in someones life.

Happy 4th Birthday Carter!

Valentine Cookie Fun

Whitney wants to eat them now!
Janika is proud of her creation, everything has to be perfect.
Look at Carter's shirt. Can you say MESS?Finished! Whitney dipped and drizzled with chocolate.
I love this recipe that was passed down to my from my Mother. It is the same one that I used as a child. It has sour cream in the dough to make the cookies incredibly soft. MMMMM!

My Favorite Sandwich...

When I lived in North Carolina I fell in love with Bennigan's Monte Cristo sandwich. Bennigan's was an Irish restaurant that had the most amazing food. I was longing for one of these bad boys for years. While in Florida with my brother Kurtis and his family, we came across a Bennigan's and they treated me to one of my old favorites. It was heaven. After returning home I found this copy cat recipe and it is EXACTLY like Bennigan's. I know you can get a Monte Cristo at Dee's or Gardner Village, but trust me you haven' t lived until you have tried it the Bennigan way.

Yes Whitney can be manly when it comes to our favorite sandwich

This is only half of the sandwich. Janika said "I can't get my mouth around it".

Morgan was just happy to be eating Cheetos.

This guy wants nothing to do with anything different so he had a grilled cheese. He is not fond of meat.

Something has to be wrong with Ivan because he doesn't like them. He thinks it is strange to deep fry a sandwich. So the short order cook made him a grilled club.

Don't forget about the raspberry jam. You dip these suckers in the jam and my homemade jam is super!

Here is the recipe. Try it, you'll like it! Warning don't try it if your are on a diet!

Bennigan's Monte Cristo

6 slices cooked turkey

6 slices Swiss cheese

6 slices cooked ham

6 slices American cheese

18 slices wheat bread

Batter

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 1/3 cups water

1 large egg, beaten

oil, for deep frying

Powdered sugar

Red raspberry jam

Assembly of sandwiches: bread, turkey, Swiss cheese, bread, ham, American cheese, bread; cut in half diagonally. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together to blend well. Add water to the egg and add to the flour mixture mixing well. Dip each sandwich half into the batter and deep-fry (oil must cover the sandwich) in oil pre-heated to 360° and fry until golden brown. Remove from oil to paper towels. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with jam.

Crazy Carter...

Whitney took this photo of Carter today. He was in such a great mood. I love it when he is like this! Too bad it couldn't last all day. He had one of his major meltdowns tonight. The kind where people give us dirty looks. Why does it seem to always happen in public? At least the cops weren't called this time. Gotta love Autism (NOT).