Thanksgiving fun!

Ava, Everet, and Anika

Braden and Allie

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love this holiday. It seems that for one day, people stop and think about what they're truly thankful for. I feel that I don't do it enough. I should be thanking God daily for the many blessings He has given me. Here's a few:


My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My life would be completely different if I didn't have Him as the standard for my life. The decisions I make, the attitudes I have, the goals I strive for, are all centered around Him. I'm so grateful that he came to this earth to be the final and complete atonement for my sins.


My husband. Mike is my match completely. He has helped to simmer me down, so to speak. And I feel I have helped to rev him up. Not sure that's a good thing:-) But he is such a great husband and daddy to our girls. He helps out a ton. He loves Ava, Allie, and me so much and tells us every day. He provides for our family in a rough economy and doesn't ever complain. And he plays all kinds of games with me, which if you know me, you know I love to play anything!!


My girls. Ava and Allie are amazing. I can't even begin to describe how much I love them. They bring so much laughter and joy to our lives. Mike and I laugh daily at something one of them does. God has blessed us with two little angels and I pray those angels grow up to honor and love Him with all their heart.


Our families. Our parents would drop anything to help us out. They are so generous and have given of themselves so many times for us. Our brothers and sisters-in-law are the same way. We love getting together with them, whether for holidays, to play poker, or just to hang out. Our sweet little cousins: Joseph, Jace, Nevada, Anika, Everet, and Braden. Ava adores every one of you. I'm excited to see you all grow up together! And our extended families: aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandma. We're very thankful for the time we can spend with you.


The aunties: Katie, Jess, and Katie, whom I've know FOREVER! You three are so precious to me. You sacrifice going out so often on the weekends to come over so our girls can have a bedtime. Thank you for how much you love Ava and Allie. You will be such a huge part of their lives because of how much time and energy you spend on loving them and making them feel special.


Our amazing friends, near and far. We seriously have a great group of friends, many whom we have known a long time, others who are newer. We're blessed to have so many loving and amazing people in our lives that we can call up anytime. So many of them have brought meals after our girls were born, painted our house, helped with construction at the new house, fixed our printers/computers (Todd!), and have just generally been great sources of encouragement to us!


Our church. Grace has helped us grow in so many ways and we're so excited to have our girls grow up in such an amazing family.


Our home. The food that we are provided with everyday. The heat in the winter and air in the summer. Running water whenever we need it. Electricity that doesn't shut off randomly. The freedom to come and go as we please. And so many other things that I take for granted daily.


Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

So happy!!

Allie loves to eat. No matter what you put in front of her, from beef to peas, from spaghetti to pork, she'll eat it all. It's awesome. I thought I would get her in action but when the camera comes out, she just wants to perform!

Big Girl!

Ava is officially a big girl! She has slept in her big girl bed for the first time! She absolutely loves it. She even went to bed all by herself, without us tucking her in last night! I think she feels older. Since Ava got this new bed, Allie is in Ava's old crib which is the one that daddy built. Allie's old crib is going to our good friends Brian and Jackie since they are having twins! A lot of shuffling:-) Oh and if you know of anyone getting rid of a crib, Brian and Jackie could use another!


Allie in her new crib!

Ava and her new bed!

Mmmmmm

So Jess gave me the idea to put some yummy recipes on here as well. Jess, if not for you, I would have nothing to post on here!
Anyway, so my good friend Margaret gave me a recipe for white chicken chili that is the best thing I have ever made!! It's good for you, it tastes great, and it makes your whole house smell good! So here it is. Thanks Margaret:-)

1 T. olive oil
1 C. chopped onion
1 red bell pepper
2 cloves chopped garlic
3 C. chicken broth
2 T. cilantro
2. T lime juice
2 C. chopped, cooked chicken
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. oregano
1/4 t. each of cayenne pepper and salt
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can great northern beans
1 can black beans

Heat oil and cook onion, garlic, and peppers for 5 - 10 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients except chicken. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Stir in cooked chicken. Simmer until hot.

*This recipe can be vegan as well. Just omit the chicken and used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. It's also very tasty! Great with tortilla chips and cheese as well.

Trick-or-treat

Thank you Jess for the videos you took while trick-or-treating! As we were walking along, Aunt Tara noticed that it looked like Ava had more candy than Everet and Anika. We soon realized why! At every house, Ava would go up first and then sort of linger while the rest of the kids recieved their candy. I think some of the neighbors would forget they had already given her some and would toss another few pieces of candy in her bucket.

Happy belated Halloween!

I thought I'd post some halloween pictures. Ava loves halloween. How cool is it that you get free candy from your friendly neighbors just for playing dress-up. We went over to Aunt Tara's and went around with Ava's two favorite cousins! It was a beautiful night. The weather was wonderful. We had a great time. Aunties Jess, Katie and Katie came along too!




All the Cousins!


Angel Allie



Princess Ava and Angel Allie

My little singer

Meet Ava

Full name: Ava Therese Epley
height: Grows too fast
weight: 25 lbs (at 2 years)
Age: 2 years, 9 months, 3 weeks, and 6 days
Likes: Little Einstein, riding her bike, and singing
Dislikes: timeouts, naptime, and bedtime
Looking for someone who she can boss around, play dress-up with, and sing with. Again, if interested contact mommy for a playdate:-)

Meet Allie

Full name: Allie Katherine Epley
Height: 29 1/2 inches (at 9 mo.)
Weight: 22 lbs (at 9 mo.)
Age: 10 months and 2 weeks
Likes: eating everything and anything, taking baths, and cuddling!
Dislikes: Ava pinning her down, getting her nose wiped, bumping her head on anything and everything.
Looking for someone to drool with, point at, and eat puffs with! If interested, contact mommy for a playdate:-)

I have the best friends ever...

I just do. and thought you should know. so there.