Marvelous Meatballs

I made these for the kids last night while Mike and I went on a date night. They were fabulous and made for yummy meatball sandwiches after church this afternoon.

Marvelous Meatballs

1 15 ounce can of tomato sauce
1 cup bread or cracker crumbs
1/2 finely diced onion
2 lbs. ground beef
1 egg, beaten
2 T. chili powder
1 t garlic salt
1 t dry mustard
1/2 pepper
1 T Worchestershire sauce

Mix in your mixer really well. Scoop into balls and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Top with BBQ sauce (recipe follows) and bake for 5 more minutes.

BBQ Sauce

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 (14 ounce) bottle ketchup
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons liquid smoke
• salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons Worchestershire Sauce
• 3 teaspoons dry mustard
• 2 teaspoons celery seeds
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Combine in sauce pan and simmer for 10 minutes.

Honestly, I think the sauce makes the meatballs. YUM!

In case you haven't heard ...

... suspense ... stalling ... let me give you a few hints ...







and ...







and ...















so, I saved the biggest for last ... can you guess?

We're moving back to our Texas house ... soon ... in fact the date keeps moving up ... which is scary so I can't think too much about it. But this decision comes after months of prayer, counsel and thought. We have not taken this decision lightly. We've been agonizing over it for months. As we've sought God's will we've seen him encourage and spur us on towards Texas over and over again. So please pray for us. Pray that we could easily remedy our transition from our Colorado house (I tear up even typing that) and that Josiah, who will remain here to finish up the semester, will be safe and that his heart will continually turn towards the Lord (ok, so typing that makes me sob ...) When I shared with a friend the struggle I was having with letting go of the ability to physically meet Josiah's needs as we'd be a few states away she said, "now it's time for the Lord to meet his needs." Which, of course, is a comfort but makes me cry even more.

A month since I posted ...

...oh, has it really been a month? Did I really not post about our 20th wedding anniversary, Christmas, Christmas break fun, New Years, the beginning of a new year ... what is wrong with me? Ohhhhhhhhh yeah, it was our 20th wedding anniversary, Christmas, Christmas break ... ha! Soooooooooo, here is the Readers Digest version of the last month.

Five days before Christmas Mike and I escaped to a local Hilton to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. We stayed close because Elijah is so little. The older kids babysat during the day and we picked him up in the evenings to keep for the night. We had a lovely time relaxing, eating at fun restaurants, shopping and catching up. Although, one of the issues with getting married 4 days before Christmas is that for all eternity you will spend some part of your special day obsessing about the upcoming holiday.

We had a lovely Christmas. We stayed home and enjoyed a wonderful day together.

Waiting to open stockings...
Luke, Ben, Lizzy, Rachel, Jacob, Anna and Timothy
There were bikes and skooters "in" the stockings this year ... which in hindsight is weird but since we open stockings first it just seemed fun to have the big things be with the stockings.
Mike and Elijah directing the present opening ...
The kitten (ok, so she's not really a kitten anymore but I can't bare calling her "Sparkles") not wanting to be left out brought Elijah a q-tip for Christmas ... Meowry Christmas!
Timothy being oh so patient.

Anna







Benjamin







Jacob






Mary






Rachel






Lizzy


Josiah and Luke were bashful and didn't want me taking pictures of them in their jammies ... so was Mary for that matter but I got her anyway!

After a big Christmas brunch we took the new bikes and scooters out for a spin on the Cathy Fromme Prairie ... yes we are in Colorado in December and there wasn't even a hint of snow. Most of us didn't even have coats on!

Lizzy trying to keep up ...
Elijah all bundled up in his snowman jammies and his "Baby's First Christmas" Snowsuit.

What a glorious day! I have much more to post ... pictures, fun adventures we've had, recipes I've tried, schedules I've changed but I'm tired and must get to bed. Oh, and I have a juicy bit of news to share (not baby related) so I'll close with that cliff hanger ...