donuts!!

dear Hannah enjoys her time creating in the kitchen.  her parents and siblings are glad she does, and we are all reaping the extra calories benefits of her delicacies.  the latest recipe~ old fashioned sour cream glazed donuts.  i know.  enough said.  one day (in like 15 years if i let her) she will have an extra grateful husband and kids if she keeps this up.

  

 

i'm already prepping Layla, trying to excite her for the summer ahead and attempting to pass on the "baking bug" from Hannah to her, for when Hannah is away.  so far, she's not convinced.  there's still time, i'm hoping for the best.  Adam is more into creating beverages, like smoothies or homemade egg nog, so whose to say i can't sway him a bit too.  i would love more hands on deck this summer to keep up with the ravenous masses.  it's a bit of a project!  it's a good thing full stomachs give me a full heart. 

april fools

i have vivid childhood memories of April Fools Day. not even sure that i was annually pranked by my dear sweet mother, but it seems that when she did succeed in fooling us kids, it made an impression.  there were several jokes that caught me~ the overly gullible one....mostly, i remember saran wrap under the toilet seat (i believe that horrified me), and once an all-purpose cleaning sponge cut into cake-sized pieces, placed in individual bowls, and covered completely in yummy frosting with sprinkles on top, served as our after-school snack (i've always loved my cake, so this prank caused great elation followed quickly by a giant letdown upon first slice). 

so, this year, as a tribute to my mom, it was time to do the same to my own kids.  seeing as i have zero original creativity, i consulted Google.  Google came through.  only two or three of my crew are really easy to trick anymore.  and tricked they were!  although, the call upstairs for warm brown "E's" did get Hannah.  she had it coming to her.  besides, i was kind enough to follow with real warm brownies later...

AJ actually finished a WHOLE OREO cookie with the sweet filling replaced with toothpaste, before declaring they were awful.  halfway through he began blowing deep breaths through his pursed lips, because of the strong minty flavour, saying "i don't really like the mint OREO's as much as the regular kind..."  he was trying to like it, he really was...Layla knew the joke, so the two of us just about died laughing at him.

Hudson was equally disgusted.  they both were great sports though.

this kid...

this kid is sooo funny and sweet...loves to be right nearby, always happy and content to play as long as i'm in sight.  often he will pass up the toys for the contents of the cupboards i'm closest to.  sometimes i open the cupboard full of lunch containers and let him topple over the stacks.
    

sometimes it's the baking tins (noisier!), sometimes the cupboard where the odds and ends of my food processor reside.  

small dude likes to tinker around, putting things in and out, on and off, open and closed.  often right by my feet.  i know he feels most secure when we are near.  can't say i blame him, and of course we don't mind a bit.  sometimes we have conversations, sometimes we sing and dance, sometimes we make sounds and sometimes we mimic facial expressions or actions.  too cute.  who knows, maybe something in the culinary field awaits this fella one day...

heartwarming link

a link i enjoyed, right here .  so worth the read and listen.  a story of friendship, adoption, and crazy unusual outcomes that can only be chalked up to God.  just God.  in People magazine, no less!  People's writers don't exactly give the credit to God in the text, but i'm taking the liberty to do so here, because that's what i believe happened in this story.  a reminder to me once again of the beautiful way God's heart bends to the orphan.  He sees their plight.  He cares about the details of each and every fragile life.  He orchestrates the outcomes in such a way that undeniably shouts of His great love for us all, orphaned or not.  Psalm 68:6 says "God sets the lonely in families..." and in this case, He sure did! for these two boys, i guess you could even add on the end of the verse "and within a mile of his best friend."  love it so much....

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i've mentioned here before how much our Hudson enjoys his friendship with a Haitian friend of his. they are from the same orphanage but missed eachother by a few months i think, yet even still they have a unique and special bond that is sweet to see.  they know where they came from.  they know their stories are similar and unique when compared to other friends they might have.  they seem to re-connect in a special way even if months go by between visits.  i hope they are friends for life...

anyway, hope you enjoy! and happy Tuesday!