Happy Easter

Just a precious picture of me and my love.

Sounds like life to me: The Power of the Cross

You see that video above, yes, click on it.  It's only about 5 minutes but the lyrics and the "main character" in the song is truly the reason I'm alive and breathing today, same goes for you, even if you don't want to admit it.

I'm so glad you're here! This says a few things to me:

a) You're a follower of mine and you check my blog regularly... bless you! hahaha
b) You randomly stumbled upon this post because you saw me post it on facebook and you were bored so you decided to click on it.
c) You were curious and decided to check it out even though you don't know me or share my same beliefs.
d) You googled something and my blog randomly came up, yes, that happens often... WELCOME!

(Yes, there are many, many more reasons you could be here but regardless of that reason, you're here and I've got some pretty amazing things to say today... so please stay.)

I'm not afraid to share my faith with anyone, family, friends, a complete stranger... if there's something you're that passionate about, you shouldn't be ashamed to shout it from the roof tops!

This is one of those for me.  

Jesus Christ

Son of God

sinless

perfect

God and man 

born of a virgin

was shamed

beaten

put to death on a cross

placed in a tomb

3 days later rose again

He is alive today!  

Did all that just sound like complete and utter nonsense to you? Are you someone that thinks, "yeah, great story but it's not for me, glad you like it, but please, don't shove it down my throat." Or was it more like "Kim, this is complete and utter craziness, he was just a guy people made up, you're wasting your time learning about him and following him. You're going to live a crappy life even though you've "drank the Christian cool-aid", your life is probably pretty boring and you Christians are too happy, sappy and nice. Thanks, but no thanks."

or

Did you think. "AMEN! Yes I know that man, I know him as my Lord, my Savior, my God! I know and believe what the Bible says and I follow that risen Savior with reckless abandon because I know, through his life, death and resurrection... and my admission of his existence, belief in his power, confession of my sin I will have eternal life in Heaven once I leave this Earthly life!" 

As you know, this weekend we celebrate Easter.  To some, Easter is all about pastel colors, eggs, bunnies, new dresses and spring.  To me, it's about remembering THE MOST AWFUL and THE MOST BEAUTIFUL event in all of time.

So once again, from my heart to yours...

1. God created the world, it didn't just happen by chance or a "big bang".

2. He also created you and me and everyone and everything else that is or has ever been alive.

3. Life WAS perfect, Garden of Eden... heard of it, Satan tempted us, we gave in, the perfection was destroyed and we messed things up.

4. Jesus was born and sent to Earth for one purpose, to save the world from the sin we created.

5. Jesus was alive on earth for only 30 some odd years but he came bringing good news and he made friends and foes.

6. He was publicly beaten and put to death on a cross.

7. He died.

8. Was put in a tomb.

9. Rose from the dead and now reigns as King of Kings and Lord of all in Heaven.

10. He is my Lord and Savior and I do hope you know Him as the same.

Please, if you want to comment, comment, if you want to email me or call me, I'd love to speak with you.  If you still think, after all this, that I am crazy and wasting my life and my life... so be it.  I will be praying for you because, dear friend, I would hate for you to die and spend eternity in Hell. And you know what, if I'm wrong and this whole Jesus thing isn't true... at least I lived my life having hope and faith in something that caused me to think beyond myself and positively impact people around me. 

From our kitchen to yours: White "Mexican" Cheese Dip

mMm okay I LOVE the white cheese dip from Mexican restaurants but, y'all knowing how cheap I am... I HATE to pay for it.  Really it's like $3.50 or more for a tiny bowl, and you can buy it at the grocery store and it's over $4?! REALLY!?  So, one time, when I was at my hometown favorite Mexican joint, I asked them, "What kind of cheese is this? Is it some secret, addicting Mexican delight?" The waiter laughed and told me it was actually, WHITE AMERICAN CHEESE.  

No, I'm not kidding.  Seriously... THIS STUFF

So, I decided to give it a try.  

"Mexican White Cheese Sauce"

1. Unwrap 3 to 4 slices of White American Cheese.

2. Tear cheese into smaller pieces and place in a microwave safe bowl.

3. Microwave on high for 15-18 seconds.

4. Take out, stir, add in a splash of milk.

5. Heat for another 12-15 seconds.

6. Take out, stir, add more milk.

7. You're trying to get a nice, thin melted texture, so keep repeating these steps until you have your desired consistency.

8.  Take bowl in hand, open a bag of chips and enjoy!  

Seriously, THAT EASY! A whole package of white American cheese is less than $3 and you can get about 4-5 batches, or 8-10 servings out of it.  Yeahhhhh, take that expensive cheese dip :) 

Sound like Life to me: Baby Dedication

I remember getting the phone call from my sister one hot June day, (haha I was laying out in my plastic swimming pool in our backyard) that they were headed to Baltimore, MD to adopt a precious newborn baby girl.

One of the first pictures my sister texted to me of her new bundle of joy!

Prayers immediately followed that call and haven't stopped since.  My sister is a beautiful woman and she has been so blessed with an amazing husband and now, baby girl! Tinsley Ellison is a joy and a delight and I am so thankful she is a part of our family!  Yesterday, we all joined them in a celebration of God's goodness in dedicating Tinsley to the Lord.  No, this was not a baptism, it was a beautiful way for my sister and her husband to share, before family and friends that they were committing to raising her in the ways of the Lord. 

Beautiful balloons at their church.

Momma and baby girl at Longhorn Steakhouse.

Can we say "ADORABLE"

Kisses from the easter bunny!

What a joyful gift she is! 

The precious Osborne Family!

Grandma and Grandpa Hartofelis

Aunt Kim and Uncle Charles

Tinsley Ellison, WE LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH!  Praise God for your beautiful life and the amazing family you were hand picked to be a part of.  We pray daily that you will grow confident and strong in the ways of the Lord and follow Him all of the days of your life.  I can't wait to see you grow and mature, and we look forward to sharing and making many precious memories together.  

love, Aunt Doodle

From our kitchen to yours

I love sweets! Charles, well, he likes some sweets and he's mighty particular about how and when he eats them.  I saw this recipe for Caramel Toffee Latte Cupcakes over at a blog I read Kevin & Amanda and I had to make them!

Okay, Charles HATES coffee... scratch that.  Ehhh lets use the IDEA of this recipe and make something semi-homemade and "Charles friendly".

You can go to their website above and follow her directions... I didn't, but basically, you need chocolate cupcakes, toffee bits (heath bar), homemade Caramel buttercream, and chocolate to drizzle (I just used left over "can" chocolate frosting).

So here's my home-made Caramel buttercream recipe I made up that is TO DIE FOR!

1/2 a bag of square caramels

1/4 cup of Great Value Brand Creme Brulee Coffee Creamer

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Melt caramels over a double boiler (or a heavy bowl over a saucepan of almost boiling water) until smooth.  Remove from heat.  Add in 1/4 cup creamer and stir until well incorporated, let cool.  Take butter, that has softened to room temp, place in stand mixer bowl and beat with the wisk blade.  Add in caramel solution, 3 cups of powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Whip until it forms medium peaks (about 5 minutes).

Seriously, this is some of the best buttercream I HAVE EVER TASTED! No need to refridgerate. Just DEVOUR!

Oh, and in case you were wondering... CHARLES LOVED THEM! I have never seen the man eat a cupcake that fast in my entire life!  Success.



From our kitchen to yours

As you could tell from our last post, we have a plain jane fridge/freezer... no ice maker, no ice/water dispenser in the door.  Well, we do have an ice bucket. But, it doesn't hold ice... it holds fun size Twix.   Don't be jealous, you can do this too :) haha we're terrible

Home Sweet Home

So sorry it's been so long since I posted :( I started a new job and I've been pretty consumed! Here's a little bit of my life lately! haha Charles and I decided to do some early spring cleaning!  Our house is super small and our kitchen is super, super small. Having been married for a little over 3 years, we noticed we were accumulating way too much stuff in our little house, see pictures below.

Yep, emptied out all the drawers and cabinets...

Yikes! That's a lot of stuff!

We had items on the counter, that needed to be hidden ...

Here she is, all neat a tidy!

Organized!

Cleaned up corner

This looks so much better and it's so much easier to find things!

These were full, now there's room to spare!