This is still February but it's feeling more like the end of March outside!!! We are really enjoying the warmer tempts and more time outside. On Saturday I rake and hoed through the raised garden beds and we are now ready for some seeds! We have also noticed the sun sets a bit later and rises just a little sooner. The extra day light is telling me that Spring is on it's way!!! I didn't believe the ground hog that seen his shadow anyway! Who says we will have six more weeks of winter anyway??? I'll take the sunshine and warmer tempts any day over cold, bitter winter!!!
I love spending time in my kitchen and when I made these blueberry muffins for a tea gathering at Mom Lapps the other week, it was a winner recipe! I love cookbooks but right now if I need a new recipe or when I feel like trying something new, I search Pinterest. These muffins are moist and yummy!!! We have another batch on the counter to enjoy!!!
THE BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFINS EVER:
2/3 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup oil
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup blueberries
About 1 Tb white sugar for the top
Instructions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place muffin liners in pan. Combine the sugar, egg, oil, milk, and vanilla in a bowl and stir until well combined. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Don't over mix. Stir in sour cream. Fold in blueberries. Fill 12 cupcake liners with the mixture and sprinkle with a little white sugar. Bake the muffins for 25 minutes.
Mike and I attended the youth group Valentine Dinner last night! It was a fun night and some very good reminders about marriage were given. But before I get into the details of marriage, I'll start with these pretty raspberry cups. All the youth girls were asked to bring some dessert for the dinner. I took on the fun task (for Hadassah) and again I searched Pinterest for a fun recipe. When I saw these chocolate, adorable desserts, I went for this recipe! I made a remark to Hadassah that if ever I would take culinary school, I would love to specialize in individual desserts. These were fun to make. They made for a pretty display and they tasted great!!!
Here's how I made them. I started by melting dark chocolate and brushing the chocolate into foil lined cupcake papers. Do this a few times and let it harden. Then peel away the foil liners and you have yourself a cute little chocolate cup!!!
Prepare the raspberry puree: Put 2 cups of fresh raspberries and 1/2 cup sugar in a pan and boil for 5 minutes. Sieve to remove the seeds.
Prepare the chocolate raspberry filling: Then I melted 2 cups of milk chocolate wafers (you could also use dark chocolate). Add the raspberry puree. Whip 2 1/2 cups heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold a third of the cream into the chocolate mixture. Then add the rest of the remaining cream!
Assemble the cups: Fill the chocolate cups with the raspberry chocolate filling. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until set. Before serving, top each cup with fresh raspberries and sprinkle with powered sugar! Yield: 24 cups
The desserts were gone in no time at the Valentine Dinner. We did chuckle a bit when people were trying to peel away the cupcake liner! Because there was no liner! You eat the entire dessert!
Mike and I love nights out together!!! Thanks to Mom and Dad for coming to the house and staying with the little kids so we can go!
About the marriage advice. When we arrived, the youth had each couple jot down some kind of marriage tip. The winner was "Be a servant." That really does sum up the ups and downs in marriage. If we serve one another in love, your marriage will be so much better!!! Another advice was given by Jim and Rosetta! "Forgive the weaknesses. Fall in love with the strengths of your spouse!!!" Wow! You could probably make a whole marriage retreat out of those words!!! They had us look into our spouses eyes and tell them that we forgive a weakness and purpose to fall in love with a strength of our spouse!!! I'm taking this as a challenge and to fall in love with the strengths of my spouse has got to bring great marriage benefits!!! Thanks Jim and Rosetta!
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Here's a small update on Dad Lapp. Mom and Dad arrived safely in Mexico yesterday. Dad will start this week with treatments to fight his cancer. More tests will be done and so prayers for Mom and Dad would be greatly appreciated!!! This is not an easy journey and especially with them being so far away for treatment, but we trust God is leading the doctors and will bring complete health back to Dad!!!
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And because the weather has been in the 60's, we got treats at Lapp Valley when we went for milk!!! Austin just matured into another level of toddlerhood. He talks a lot more. He communicates in his own little cute way! We know most times what he wants. He doesn't have a bottle anymore. This is making him eat more foods now and he keeps trying new flavors and variety's of food! He immatates everything. It's so important for the older kids to be good examples and to be extra kind!!! Church is still a huge struggle for this little man though! He just doesn't hold still for very long and it had me so stressed out on Sunday. Between him and Ashlyn, I was about to scream with frustration. It's such a bad parenting problem. I know it starts with me.
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Yesterday, was another Spring like day! Ashlyn was all into being outside. She insisted on putting on sunblock. I watched her ride her bike with a tank top on! It really did feel good outside! She asked me, "Mom, is Nickle Mines open today?" No. Oh, she was wishing to go swimming. We did go for a short bike ride and played on the swings while Mike was enjoying his much longer bike ride!!! Again, this weather is so fantastic!!!
