Weekend Recap- Popper Party

We had another great weekend that included time spent with some of our greatest friends. Although I didn't get any pictures of our "popper party" (grrr), it was so much fun and will be a great memory for years to come! 

Friday:

I had a beautiful view on the drive home from work on Friday. It definitely made all the traffic a little more tolerable.

FINALLY got some photos behind our window hanging in the laundry room! If you didn't see the post about our colored powder photo sesh, check it out here.

Remi and I enjoyed getting the space heater out of the attic and vegetating in front of it for a while.

Saturday:

We cleaned, cleaned, cooked, and cleaned some more. We were so exhausted Saturday night, but it was SO worth it. On top of trying to get our house spotless and everything cooked for our friends who came over on Saturday night, we (and by we, I mean WILL) were in the middle of re-doing our bathroom. Whew! I was tired just from watching him work so hard on that bathroom! That will be another post for another day.

So you may be asking yourself, "What is a popper party?!" Let me fill you in. Remember when I mentioned that Will killed a deer a few weeks ago? (still so sad) He and his friends have always loved making "deer poppers" or "duck poppers." And while I don't care for venison, I must say, these things are pret-ty good. Will and I had a popper assembly line going between the two of us on Saturday and got them ready to grill in record time. A popper consist of a small piece of meat, add a jalapeno, wrap it in bacon, and stick it with a toothpick. Oh and marinade. And then grill to perfection. We made close to (if not more than) 200 poppers!

Also on the menu for Saturday night was venison/deer chili (both spicy and regular), banana bread cookies, Chili's copycat salsa, apple dumplings, cheesy bacon oven chips, and a delicious fudge pie that our friends brought--still warm from the oven--YUM.

We had old and new friends there and it just made me think of how thankful I am for all of them. I have written before about how I prayed and prayed for other "newly married" friends after Will and I got married and God has definitely answered my prayers.

Sunday:

Another wonderful Sunday at ICC and evening with our small group!

Our afternoon was full of R&R!

And this morning I woke up to this:

Needless to say, it was hard to get out of bed this morning!

Happy Thanksgiving Week!!

Could We With Ink The Ocean Fill...

We have a Friday treat today! I asked Will to write something short for this post. When he spoke at the Glenmary Retirement Home a few weeks ago (mentioned here), he briefly talked about the old song "The Love of God" and I've had these words on my mind ever since. 

So many emotions come to mind when I read these words. The vastness of creation- the depth of the oceans, the length of the open sky- though breathtaking in their splendor, all pale in comparison to the overwhelming joy that's found in God's love. His love is beyond anything that we know, and yet it is so knowable. His love surrounds us, fills us, transforms us. Breathe in deep the love of God today and know that He is enough. He is the only one that fills our souls to satisfaction. So many people spend their lives searching for more, when all the while it's all around them. The beauty of the heavens is but a shadow of God's goodness. Through Jesus Christ we see with radiance God's love in full. Let Jesus fill your heart, your mind and your soul. And every time you look to creation, remember that the love of Christ is far more breathtaking. It is unmistakably everything we need.

Weekend Recap: Horsin' Around

It was a great weekend! Will and I spent most of it riding horses...something that I LOVE to do, but haven't been able to do in a long while.

Friday night we had dinner with my parents and finished it off with some Muddy's cupcakes. Yum!

On Saturday Will went bow hunting and got a buck. He was pretty excited considering that's the first one he's ever gotten with his bow. I was sad. Poor deery.

On Saturday and Sunday afternoon we went riding. SO FUN.

PHOTO OVERLOAD COMING YOUR WAY...

Notice the big horse tongue!

Chicken Chili

This chicken chili turned out much better than I thought it would. I have been trying to expand my archive of "throw it in the crock pot and leave" recipes and this was one I found on Pinterest. I decided to "alter" the original recipe a little just because I'm not a fan of cream cheese. I substituted the cream cheese for Velveeta...and once I had it all in the crock pot I started second-guessing my decision because it just looked weird. I told Will to prepare to have take-out that night because I didn't think the chili was going to come out like I had thought. Much to my surprise, the crock pot worked its magic and the chili was great. It would be good on some tortillas or as a dip too!

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, still frozen
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can corn kernels, do not drain
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix
1 T cumin
1 t chili powder
1 t onion powder
8 oz cream cheese (I used 16 oz Velveeta)

Put the chicken in the crock pot.

Top with the tomatoes, corn,

the drained and rinsed beans,

ranch dressing, cumin, onion and chili powders,

stir to combine then top with the cream cheese (or Velveeta).

Cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring one or twice

 to blend in the cheese.

Shred the chicken into large pieces

and serve over rice.

Can also serve in tortillas or taco shells.

Serves 4

via

Enjoy!

Sundrop Soulmates

Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Last night we went to ICC's Fall Fest on the island. I helped with face painting. There were moon bounces, games and lots of food! We love our church and our community. We had a blast!

Shrek, Bert from Mary Poppins and a Harlem Globetrotter

That's some serious face painting!

Robby's sweet new puppy, Roman- a Great Dane

This is everyone in our Couples Group that meets on Sunday nights

We love them!

Ken and Morgan

Sundrop guy and Bert

After all the kids left we had races through the obstacle course! Fun!

Hope everyone had a fun, safe night last night! I've loved seeing all the costumes!

And in case you've never seen the Sundrop soulmates video....