Prayer Needed

First off thank you to those of you taking the time to read this blog and journey with me through the adventures of life sharing our hearts along the way. This past weekend we drove out of state to be with my sister and brother in law. I'd like to introduce them to you...

(Dinner the night before surgery)



They were married a little over 3 years ago and it has been an eventful start to married life for them. About 2 years ago Garon started having seizures. They went to have him checked out and found out that he had a brain tumor. Garon was 28 at this point. After surgery to remove the tumor, he was still having seizures and so they went again to figure out what was going on. It turns out that they were not able to get all of the tumor and still parts remained. So he has been on medicine since then, and now they are going back in. He had his first surgery Friday, I'll spare you the details, but they basicly hooked up electrodes to different grids on his brain and are watching the activity to locate the rest of the tumor.

(Below is right before surgery)


(Below is right after surgery)(you can kind of see the bundle of cords coming from his head behind him)



Saturday morning an intern actually cut the wires to one of those electrodes while trying to remove the wrap on his head (which he actually wasn't supposed to remove). So they had to take him back to surgery again Saturday afternoon.

(Below is after the 2nd surgery Saturday)



It has been an emotional time. They are supposed to take him in for brain mapping this morning to see if they have enough information to be able to operate again to remove the remaining tumor causing the seizures. So as odd as it sounds we have been praying for him to have seizures, and I would love if you would join in as well. They are such a young beautiful couple who love the Lord and I can't imagine how hard this has been for them. They are at the hospital indefinitely but no more than 10 days. Please pray.

To Sew or Not to Sew? That is the Question!

Well I can now answer that because I got a sewing machine for Christmas from my AMAZING husband! In high school I took 4 years of Home Ec and LOVED the sewing part of it. I made pj's, footballs, and even started my own scrunchy business! Man just saying scrunchy makes me feel O-L-D. We just had our 10 year reunion last year, so I guess that does make me a little old...booo!!! Anyway, I have seen some AWESOME tutorials on blogs for sewing projects. Here are a couple that have caught my eye and I can't wait to try!

1. Rose Pillow


2. Breakfast Area Curtains



All the projects also having me dreaming about fabric, here are a few that I adore:

Southern Sausage Gravy!

I have tried and tried and tried to make sausage gravy. It is a staple of southern cooking. I consider myself to be a fairly good home cook, and it just never worked for me....until...my mom posted on her website a step by step recipe with pictures to make sure I was doing it right through each step. Here is a link to her website on the recipe page: Mama's Southern Cooking.







We are on snow day #4, so I figured what a better day to try it! Hot breakfast for a C-O-L-D day! Have to get some energy to finish shoveling the driveway in case we go to school tomorrow, us Georgia folks aren't used to this!

Is there any dish that has been trouble for you??

Valentine's Day Craft

Well today is Day 3 of being Snowed In and school cancelled.


My hubby and I are both teachers and coaches and work long hours during our seasons, so we are actually enjoying getting to see our house in the daylight. We haven't really had cabin fever yet, and I give credit to little things we are doing around the house like this simple Valentine craft using scrapbook paper and frames from my Step-Mother-in-law. I'm hoping I can get my sewing machine that I got for Christmas set up today also. You know in between movies and naps :) Gotta love snow days!



I also have had time to check out other blogs and I think I'll be printing these images out into picture frames for our buffet. These ladies were SO KIND to offer these free printables.
Click here to see the post for the printable below and be sure to thank them!
Click here to see the post for the printable below and be sure to thank them!

Hope y'all have a great week! If you are in the south and snowed in also, enjoy your time off!

Minute to Win It Party!

Well this is our 2nd Snow Day, and from the looks of it, we may have a 3rd! This is crazy for Georgia! But we have been so blessed, we have plenty of food and our electricity is still working! So it is movie day at the Aldridges! I'm also planning a party that we have been thinking about for a couple of weeks now. We are hosting a Couples Minute to Win It Party. I'm working on the invitations, games, and a menu now. Each couple will hopefully play along and come up with a team name and wear matching outfits. I think it will be so fun! It is scheduled for Feb 5, I will try to keep you updated. Please let me know if you've thrown parties like this before! I'd love to hear how they went and any tips!

Lasagna!

One of my most favorite meals to make is lasagna, especially in college, everyone thought I was some kind of an amazing cook. But then again, since many meals in college consist of cereal, lasagna did seem pretty fancy!

I start by gathering the ingredients:
1 lb hamburger meat
12 lasagna noodles (a little less than a whole box)
1 jar Classico Sauce
1 container of Cottage Cheese
8 oz of Italian Cheese
Grated Parmesan, salt, and pepper to taste



I then preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grab a 9 X 13 glass dish (so you can see the layers). Brown the ground beef and boil the noodles. I then use my handy dandy magic bullet to ground the meat after it has been cooked just to put it in smaller pieces. I drain the meat and mix it with the sauce. On the bottom of the 9 X 13 pan, I put a little bit of the sauce to prevent the noodles from sticking. No need to spray the dish. I put noodles down to cover the bottom of the dish, I use 3 noodles. I then begin a layering process as shown by my husband below. I recruited him and he did such a great job! Put your meat sauce down on top of your noodles, then add the cottage cheese, then parmesan cheese, and then Italian cheese. Then begin a new layer by putting 3 more noodles on top and continuing the process to the top of the dish. I always like to add a litle extra cheese to the top to brown with the broiler at the end. Cook at 350 for 35-45 minutes. You should see sauce bubbling on the sides of the dish and the cheese should be melted. Turn the broiler on and keep an eye on it for a little extra browning, I just love that part! And last but not least...ENJOY!




















Not a fancy recipe but yummy! My goal this year is to make crock-pot meals on Sundays. I made my first one this past weekend. I'll be sharing it with you in a couple of days, tasty and not bad for you. Definitely one to try! Until then...

~Coach A

New Year's Day and SSMT

I have been thinking of what verse to memorize as my 1st of 2011 for the SSMT. Not sure what that means, check out Beth Moore's blog. I finally decided on one that was given to me as encouragment from a friend: Psalm 119:114 NIV
"You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word."
My hope is in His Word and I'm excited to be writing those words in my heart as I go down this journey. If you are joining in, I'd love to hear from you and what verse you are doing first!



Another reason I am loving today is all of the great college football bowl games that are on! Today we made buffalo chicken dip. I know this recipe is proabably everywhere, but I took some pictures while I was making it today just in case :).

These are the ingredients needed (chicken not pictured)


I used 3 breasts of chicken and boiled them in water with boullion cubes added for a little extra flavor.


Once the chicken was cooked, I put it on the cutting board and using a fork I shredded the meat. Once I was finished shredding I added a few spices, some rotisserie chicken seasoning, Montreal Steak Seasoning, and a little bit of garlic.


I then combined the chicken, wing sauce, ranch, and cream cheese in the bottom of an oven proof container. The amount of chicken that you use determines how much ranch and wing sauce you use. I always use one stick of cream cheese and I start by using 1 cup of Ranch and 1 cup of wing sauce. I want the mixture to be very chicken-y and not real liquidy. Once the mixture is put into the oven the cream cheese will melt so it adds to the liquid, so you want the mixture to be pretty thick going into the oven. If it does need extra liquid, I tend to put more of the wing sauce in.


I then put cheese on the top and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes (to make sure the cream cheese melts).


Hope you are enjoying the 1st day of 2011! Cheers!