Our 1st House

We're HOMEOWNERS!!!!!  We are so excited to make this house our home.  Dean and I desperately wanted a fixer-upper at a low enough cost to make the house our own.  That's exactly what we are doing.  Yes, I married a handyman - hallelujah!  We had a price range in mind and the location of being Johnson County that way I'd be within 20-25 minutes of work and church = 2 of our priorities.  And 6 seperate house offers later --we finally won one!  Let me tell you, that was one emotional rollercoaster!  The entire house hunting process we prayed God would not only find us the perfect house but more importantly the perfect location.  Both Dean and I have felt lead that - this is the place God wants us for now.  That alone brings me so much joy.

Hot Fudge Oreo Cupcakes

My hubs turned 25 on Friday!  Boy was it fun to spoil him!  I surprised him with this AH-mazing dessert for after dinner!  I really wanted to make this yummy dish for his birthday.  It's full of ice cream, oreo cookie crust, homemade hot fudge and cool whip all together in this delightful frozen cupcake.  It's like Heaven in your mouth.  WOW!

take a peek...

Let's get started with this ---

plop some foil baking cups into the cupcake pan.

You will need 1 bag of Oreo Cookies

Put the Oreo's in a Ziploc baggie and grab a rolling pin

Smash, roll, thump... whatever it takes to make chunky MUD (the best mud you'll ever eat)

Add 1/4 cup of melted butter to that MUD!

Toss butter and crumbs together until mixed well

 

Press crumbs firmly in bottom of cup.

I used about 2 tablespoons per cup.

Reserve at least 1 cup of the crumbs for later.



 Plop a scoop of ice cream into each cup.

I used Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream, but you can use any flavor Ice Cream you like!

Take a spoon, and flatten each ball of Ice Cream.

As it softens it gets very easy to do.

Sprinkle some of the leftover Oreo crumbs on top.

Place about 2 tablespoons of cool whip on top of the Oreo ice cream mixture.

Now place that cupcake pan in your freezer.

Let them sit for awhile and shiver while we make

make the Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce.

 

Let’s begin . . .

You will need these 4 ingredients.

1. A stick of butter

2. 1 cup of choc chips

3. 1 tsp vanilla

4. 1 can of sweetened condensed milk

Mix together over low heat in a saucepan, until melted and combined.

I used Milk Chocolate chips – you could use a darker chip if you like.

Once the Hot Fudge is all creamy and melted together.

Pour about 1/2 cup of it into a little baggie.

Let that bag of Hot Fudge cool for about 10 minutes in the fridge.

You don’t want it Hot!

 

 

Once your Hot Fudge has cooled:

GO GRAB YOUR FROZEN TREATS FROM THE FREEZER.

Grab a little pair of scissors

Snip . . . just a little teeny snip off end of Ziploc baggie and then

drizzle that yummy Hot Fudge over the top of the Frozen Cream.

Put a few more of those Reserved Oreo Crumbs on the top of the Hot Fudge.

 

Place the pan uncovered in the Freezer for several hours.

When you are ready to serve them,

simply . . .

Let soften ever so slightly,

Remove the paper liners and eat!

Put remainder of fudge into container for later use!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAN!

 

Molly got to celebrate by enjoying some "doggie" ice cream!

 

Dean's Birthday Gift from the wife!  :)

 

 

 

 



Summer Camping

Have I ever mentioned how much I love camping?  Well I do.  This was our first camping trip of the year and the weather couldn't have been better.  I love being outdoors in the nature and spending time with our God and amazing family.  We went to Hillsdale Lake and found a camp site to pitch our tent!  (Side note: Hillsdale Lake is a very nice camp site and close - huge bonus)  We started our fire, grilled out, and enjoyed conversation while loved watching the sun set and rise.  Best summer weekend yet - on so many different levels!  I didn't take too many pictures because I mainly just wanted to enjoy each others company and soak up nature. 

 Jason, Tarrissa and Carl

Silly guys and there "head lights"

The amazing sunrise!

And Sunset!

Our Apartment Tour

I mainly started this blog so I could "journal" or document D and I's married years!  I figured since we are moving out in a month or so - our apartment is probably done as done gets!  We absolutely loved living in this apartment by making it our home for the first year of marriage.  The management and maintenance is fabulous here at The Dunes at Falcon Valley!  We loved the pool and location!  It's close to highway access, a Price Chopper, and Kwik Shop - I mean what else do you really need?! 
So here goes nothing --- get ready for tour time!  Welcome to our apartment!



My basket that was a garage sale find a year ago with Alina!

 I wasn't gonna show you our laundry room and then I thought - laundry - that's real life! ha (dirtiest room in the apartment)  Plus you can't miss our Pitt State enthusiasm!

Molly is OF COURSE part of the apartment - best accessory!

Small Group Recap

A couple weeks ago ended our small group for the spring.  Love my small group!  We met over at The Clark's and grilled out while the ladies watched the girls play outside in the sprinkers and the men worked on finishing the basement.  WOW have they all done an extremely nice job and put in some hard and long hours.  They even pulled an all nigher that ended around 6am. 

This semester we decided to read a book.  The women read one book while the men read the another.



The guys read:

"In Wild at Heart, John Eldredge invites men to recover their masculine heart, defined in the image of a passionate God."

The ladies read: 

 This book proposes that women have three core desires: "to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, and to unveil beauty."  Captivating is a companion to Wild at Heart, also by John Eldredge, and argues that its model of femininity complements men's innate desires for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue.

I unfortuantly didn't get any pictures of us adults but here are a few of the kiddos having fun!!!

Bubble Time

Getting some Sun!

Take 1

Take 2