Jesus loves me!

  Every night when I put little Betsy to bed I read to her and finish our bedtime routine by rocking and singing to her. I have started to sing the children's hymn of Jesus Loves Me. I have come to realize just how powerful the simple song's lyrics are - I had never thought of it that way before. I also was curious if there were more verses to the song that I didn't know. I grew up only singing the first two verses, and today found out there are actually four! I'm planning on learning the whole song so I can sing it all at bedtime.  In case you didn't know all the verses here's the song.....

Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! He who died,
Heaven's gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! loves me still,
When I'm very weak and ill;
From His shining throne on high,
Comes to watch me where I lie.
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! He will stay,
Close beside me all the way;
He's prepared a home for me,
And some day His face I'll see.
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Happy Good Friday!



Grandma's Chocolate Cake

This cake is THE BEST chocolate cake ever. For reals. I could really eat the whole cake- or pretty close. If you are looking for a chocolate fix, make this. You will not be disappointed!


Grandma's Chocolate Cake

2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
1 c. butter
1 c. water, boiled
1/2 c. baking cocoa
2 eggs
1/2 c. buttermilk

Combine butter, boiled water, and baking cocoa in a small bowl and mix well. Combine dry ingredients in big bowl. Add cocoa mixture, eggs and buttermilk (I rarely have buttermilk on hand, so I use milk with a splash of vinegar to sour it). Beat well. Pour into 9x13" greased cake pan and bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

After the cake comes out of the oven, sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts, chocolate chips and sprinkle with a little sugar and stick it back in the oven for a minute or two so the chocolate gets kind of melty. It's the BEST topping.

I personally don't sprinkle nuts the nuts on - not a huge fan - actually my hubby isn't so I leave 'em off.  I don't like frosting, and this shortcut tastes SO good.

Happy New Year!

6 months old!

Lookie who's 6 months old! My little Betsy. She now has one bottom tooth up and another coming in. She weighs in at 16 lbs 7oz and is 26.75 inches long. She is quite the jabber box but still hasn't said Mama and Dada while really KNOWING what she's saying. She's pretty fun to have around and is quite the character!

What a little goof ball!

What's happening lately...

It's fall! I love fall. It's my favorite time of year. The leaves are changing, it smells good...my husband jokes with me and says we are smelling the decay of all the plants...but it's so nice! Cozy. It's actually been HOT here, but everything is beautiful with fall color. I got inspired by Susan Branch's blog to make a little leaf garland...I guess you can call it that??  Here's my kitchen window. Please ignore the dishes piled up in the drying rack...

I just strung up the leaves on some thread. So simple and so cute!

Now whenever I'm out on a walk I tend to walk down streets with pretty trees on them to find some leaves to hang up!

On Saturday my hubby had the day off so we went driving up Spearfish Canyon (part of the Black Hills national forest) to see the trees turning. It's quite the tourist attraction and we went very slow (20-30mph) up the stretch of road.  It's so beautiful! Had to snap some photos to share.

Betsy is a bit over 5 months old now! She is a very active and very talkative, loud, baby. She almost always has a big grin for anyone who will give her attention. She is starting to sit up with a little help, and army crawls EVERYWHERE. I gave her her first rice cereal last night and she just loved it. I was surprised, really. It was fun to feed her and reflect on how big she's getting!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Finally! With the help of my Mom, I have found the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. I have tried five recipes I think, with no luck. I want a soft, chewy cookie...not cakey, not crispy. I think I've got it. Just had to share, in case you all wanted to try it out.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 c. plus 2 T. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
12 T. butter, melted and cooled a little
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 325* F.  Combine dry ingredients in a bowl- set aside.  Combine butter and sugars. Beat in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.
Bake, reversing the position of cookie sheet halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and centers are soft, approx. 11-14 minutes. Do not over bake.

****I followed this recipe to the T. I don't usually do that. For instance,  I never measure out chocolate chips. NEVER. I just put in what I think looks good- about half a bag. But I followed this recipe exactly and it turned out great! They do get a little crispy after they cool down, but the next day they are soft and chewy and oh so yummy.

4 months old!

My darling little baby is now a 4 month old. She was with me out at Grammy and Papa's on the exact date (Aug. 23) and we just happened to take a snap shot or two! Just had to share....

She is kind of a ham..like her Daddy :)

Watching the trees blow in the wind

Have a wonderful weekend!

Plates on a wall?

I have a bare wall in my kitchen. It's been bare since we bought our house last year. I just couldn't figure out what to put on it, and I didn't want to spend a fortune. I thought a big map would be cool, but they kinda get pricey and would need a frame or something too. Then one day I was watching a home decorating show where these bargain hunting ladies were challenged to create a beautiful room with hardly any money and going to thrift stores. One lady used pretty plates hung on the wall for an inexpensive way to fill up the empty space. I thought it was great! Then I googled some pictures of similar things and got inspired by these type of photos- and believe me there are a TON of these out there.

Aren't they neat?! Fun. Funky. Cheap.

Here's my wall- all these plates, save the one on the top right that I got from my Mom, were picked up at my local thrift store. I actually paid more for the plate hangers than I did for the plates.

This is just the beginning I think. I will add to it as I find more that I like.It needs more small plates I think. But I'm just glad I don't have to look at a bare wall anymore!

Happy Friday!