millie's first birthday.

millie's turned one april 21st.

we almost forgot her birthday...oops. 

at least we started with a dog rather than missing a baby's birthday.

i found a recipe to make homemade dog treats. the ingredients are a little bit bizarre [ i added some bacon grease & bacon to the dough] and they look pretty nasty. but millie thinks they are gourmet. 

justin's mom, sister and grandma were in town last week to visit. 

they saw that millie has destroyed her bowl [and we have been too lazy to get another one]

Lexi and Millie had so much fun playing together. i am fairly certain that they did not stop the entire time  they were together.

the latest victim.

this little bear only had a good 5 minutes in our house before her head was torn off.

i'm 24!

friday was my birthday. not an april fools joke.

we spent the weekend with my parents.

friday night we went to a hibachi restaurant with the entire fam: me and justin, my parents, and my brother and his wife, danielle. we had lots to celebrate: dad's birthday, danielle's birthday, my birthday, promotions, seminary acceptance and my parent's 31st wedding anniversary. how precious!

i am so blessed to get to celebrate with my family. we had a great weekend with family and then celebrating a dear friend's wedding on saturday.

side note: i got photoshop elements for my birthday. can't wait to play around and figure it out! anybody know of good tutorials?

chocolate chip cookie skillet

like i posted about yesterday, we experimented by making this cookie skillet recipe for justin's birthday.

first of all, it was really easy to make. if you can make chocolate chip cookies...this is easier!

ingredients (or use your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe):

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups chocolate chips

and...

a cast iron skillet. i'm pretty sure this one is 12 inches.

Preheat oven to 375.

Make chocolate cookies as normal...yes, i am too lazy to type it all out right now.

Press cookie dough in cast iron skillet.

Bake until edges are golden brown. 40-45 minutes, but make sure to check on it around 25 minute mark-it will probably need to be covered.

Cool, then sliced into wedges.

Serve with ice cream or you could frost like a cookie cake!

seriously, you have to try this. yummy.

2011!!

i can't believe i haven't posted since last year (haha, that joke never gets old)!

i have been procrastinating on writing this post since so much has been going on since Christmas.

we had an early birthday celebration for justin's 24th at my parent's house with justin's dad and stepmom. justin requested we made sandwiches like philly cheesesteaks with his favorite potatoes--which i need to share with you the simple recipe!

for dessert we experimented and made a cookie skillet. justin loved it...even more than a cookie cake. i will post the recipe soon. you will have to try it asap.

every year we go to atlanta Christmas conference, which i posted about last week. we had such a great time with the alabama students...although i am still exhausted from the lack of sleep :)

justin's birthday came during the conference, which is kinda tough. but we had dinner together with the group on his birthday...turned out it was 2 other people's bdays too!

one day during the conference we go out into the community and take supplies to the needy in hopes of initiating a conversation, sharing the Gospel and praying with them. this year we partnered with atlanta urban foursquare church to serve lunch to the homeless and give them care kits. we hung out with a lot of kids and shared with them about God's love and sang songs. it was such a great afternoon, heartbreaking but great!

this little guy, trey was the most precious thing i have ever seen. he sat in my lap almost the entire time. my friend kelsey and i got to share with him and his cousin and pray for them both.

we made a quick run (relatively) to ikea after the conference to pick out desks for our home office/guest bedroom. it was about time...we have only lived here since march?!? the biggest problem? packing all our haul in my corolla to get it back.

now we are back in tuscaloosa with a to-do list a mile long. great Christmas break, but ready to be home and back in our normal routine.