Banana Mini Muffin Recipe

I really love bananas, but they seem to morph into the over ripe category faster than they are eaten around here. I've made banana bread, but it's not really a favorite. Muffins also have been tried, but they aren't all that popular either, so I found a recipe on recipe.com that looked really good and decided to make them into mini muffins. They were a hit! They have a crispy crust that makes them irresistible. In fact, I cannot keep them in the house more than 24 hours. It has become a family favorite, especially for Ryan - so I thought I'd share...

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 bananas, mashed

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.

In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

**They are also really good if you freeze them. Everyone here loves them as a frozen treat as well! Enjoy!!**

Here is the link to the recipe - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/banana-crumb-muffins/

Wedding Favor

There is a lot involved in planning a wedding/reception. If you look on Pinterest you are quickly inundated with ideas that overwhelm the average person...that's me. I'm not a wedding planner. I've come to realize how limited my resources(ideas) really are in the last few weeks. We are somewhat in the final stretch of getting things finalized, and making favors is one of those items on the "to do" list. These just might be my favorite - our way of including Cody in the celebration! #codyonastick

Wedding Planning

We are planning a wedding over here folks! We have a busy summer ahead of us. Kaitlyn & Alex will be getting married at the end of July. We've had a short amount of time to plan a lot of exciting activities, and we are looking forward to all of the fun festivities to come! Invitations are forthcoming - Love these two!

Graduation and Such...

It was a busy week around here. Kaitlyn graduated from the University of Georgia - Yay!! She had her Art graduation on Wednesday that we all attended, followed by a delicious dinner. The overall UGA graduation ceremony was Friday, which we skipped - super long and super crowded, so she opted out of that one but it was a great week filled with lots of fun and celebration. Andy graduated this past October with his Bachelor's degree as well, but with Casey's accident and everything that followed we didn't have a chance to celebrate, so we took this past weekend to party with both graduates. The weather was amazing and we enjoyed great food, great company, and lots of pictures!!

Alex also came home from his 2 year church mission in Paraguay!

He joined in on some of the weekend festivities - So good to see him!

Josh's birthday is coming up, so we decided to have a small celebration while everyone was here as well - Such a cutie!

We also took some selfies

And last but certainly not least, it was Mother's Day weekend - which meant we got to skype with our missionary in Canada!

He is doing so good and enjoying his time in each area he is called to serve. He sounds like a true frenchman. We love and miss our Cody, but we sure do enjoy his weekly updates and are thankful for his example as he continues to work hard as a missionary. And because it was Mother's Day, I knabbed a selfie with our missionary!! ---Happy Mother's Day to me!!

It really was a perfect weekend! Can we have a do-over?!

Strawberries!!

Yes, it's that time of year again. I always get excited when it's time for strawberries! It's been so rainy here lately that I was worried this season was going to be a washout. There were a lot of berries that were lost due to the weather, but there was also still plenty for picking! I went out one day last week by myself when they were having a pick 2 get 1 free sale - rainy day special - so I picked 3. We ate on those for a few days and made some yummy treats.

Last night we went back for family night and picked 10 more!! And I spent the next two days(with the help of a few volunteers) making jam and syrup for our yearly supply of strawberry yumminess!!

We ended our trip with some delicious homemade ice cream!!

I'm sure we'll be back for at least one more picking party!

Coping

The one question I have been asked the most these last 6 months besides how Casey is doing is how am I doing? I really appreciate all of the love and concern we have felt from everyone, but I remember the first time someone asked me that question - my first thought was, I'm fine. I wasn't the one in an unbelievable amount of pain, facing what seemed like the unimaginable task of recovery. It was compounded when Casey and I both went to our family physician soon after the accident and the doctor addressed Casey's needs and then turned to me and mentioned if I needed anything to not hesitate and call. I knew we had just experienced the hardest, most difficult trial of our married life, but all I could think of was how much worse it could have been. It REALLY could have been so much worse, and I knew how close we had come to that reality. I really was fine. Was I physically and mentally exhausted? Yes! Was I wondering if life would go back to normal, ever? Of course! Was I coping? If you search the internet you will find a variety of suggestions for coping with any sort of problem imaginable, but I've always been one to find coping mechanisms in my life - thanks (in part) to a mother who always bought herself a piece of clothing or chocolate when things weren't always easy in her task of raising a family of 7 children - haha! We all have our own ways of coping, and I found mine in a variety of activities over the course of the days, weeks, and months that we were traveling this unchartered new way of life - each one taking me to a place of comfort and peace that I needed at that particular time. I loved my morning runs. They were/are my meditation times. I have felt more promptings and inspiration on my runs than in any other times or places. I also received many texts and phone calls from friends and family members checking to see how things were going, as well as a few lunches out-Sometimes it's just nice to talk and have someone there to listen. On some days comfort came while immersing myself in making(and sampling) chocolates - the most delicious coping strategy, and I used it many times! Music was also a source of comfort-taking me to a happy place, or I had many times when I was led to a scripture that brought understanding, or feeling the loving arms of my Heavenly Father as he sent me messages from Heaven reaching out to let me know I was not alone. As hard as it was, it was also the most uplifting and awe inspiring time of my life. My family was and continues to be my greatest source of strength. They are my treasures on earth and in Heaven. I know we were watched over and lifted by those here and those who have passed. I felt that we had experienced a miracle of sorts and we were lucky to be where we were in our lives. I'm so very thankful for my faith, family and friends. You all have been such wonderful examples of service, kindness and love. Thank you for helping me cope!!

Bye-Bye Blood Thinners

As of Tuesday of this week, Casey is no longer on blood thinners. Woohoo!! They did a scan, shot some dye into his veins and everything is A-OK, and we are VERY thankful!!

However, he did gain a new "toy" to help him regain full rotation back in his wrist. He is to do it 3X/day for 30 minutes. He's at 75%...only 25 more to go!

Ryan also thought it was pretty cool and had to try it on - It's always more fun if you aren't the one who actually needs to use it.