My kids are officially obsessed with this movie...

I don't even really remember what started it.

It was honestly, probably a desperate attempt to watch anything that wasnt animated or entitled Tangled.

I stuck it in sometime this past September and my kids have been glued. They can almost recite every line. Everyday when Stone wakes up, nearly the first word out of his mouth is "ninch." Its become so bad that I have declared it a 'basement ONLY' movie - which simply means they can only watch it in the basement.

So this is where Stone sits at least three times a week and watches "ninch."





(and please don't just the purple seat that reads "Ellie Kate" that my son is so fondly sitting in. He has his own chair - its just in the garage and hasnt been assembled yet. Maybe for his birthday?)

My girls even chose to be Cindy-Lou-Who for our church's Trunk or Treat.

I am racking my brain trying to come up with a few other holiday un-animated movies that my kiddos might enjoy as much. Home Alone seems too intense. The jokes in Elf are WAY over their head. Maybe The Santa Clause? Suggestions?

And for your parting pleasure, here are my two youngeset (although soon to be my two middle...ahh!) giving their impersenation of their favorite green guy.

Halloween brownies

Every October I am faced with the same dilemma. And the dilemma seemingly grows every year - partially due to the fact that I have new trick-or-treaters every year and the other half attributed to the fact that my trick-or-treaters hand capacity increases annually.

So nearly one week after "national candy day," I am still left with this tremendous pile.

Now for the dilemma. What to do with it?

I went on a google hunt. Found great ideas like cashing it in at your pediatric dentist, sending it to overseas troops, or throwing it away by the fistfuls with each fit my child throws. But then I remembered I was 8 months pregnant. I am not about to drag my kids to the dentist just to have candy-giveaway meltdown. And I love the troops, but I don't even go to the post office when I am not ginormously preggo. And throwing it away by the fistful is against my non-wasteful ways.

And then I hit jackpot. I typed in "Halloween candy recipes."

Up popped an enticing recipe for brownies that included any and all chocolate yumminess you may have lingering in that trick-or-treat bowl.

So I enlisted the help of a little buddy - and we got to work!


If brownies from scratch seem intimidating to you like they do to me, have no fear, its quite simple. As simple as any cookie recipe - and without all the harmful artificial gunk and preservatives.
Next, you tear all the candy goodness into bite-size pieces and throw it into the batter. Oh, and I guess forget what I said about the omission of all those artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. Or just don't think about it. At least that's what I did.

Throw it all into a 13 X 9 inch greased pan and salivate for the next 35 minutes as your house fills with the aroma of chocolaty goodness.

Its better than any Yankee candle.

Do some clean up while you wait. It will help pass the time and pressure to take them out early and dig in with nothing but a fork and a glass of milk.

I must say, these were some of the best brownies I have ever made. It was a different taste with each brownie. Sometimes you got a kit-kat, other times a milk dud, and then sometimes you'd hit the jackpot and taste the perfection of milky-way.

Errrr, I mean, so I've heard. My husband told me that's what it was like. I wouldn't know.

Here's the recipe for all inquiring minds:

Chocolate Grab-Bag Brownies

"Halloween candy brownies"

Ingredients:

2 cups candy bars, chopped ( any combination that you like!)
1 cup butter ( or margarine)
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa, Hershey's
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Remove wrappers from candies. Cut each candy into 1/2-inch pieces; set aside.

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Add sugar and cocoa; stir to blend. Remove from heat. Stir in eggs. Stir together flour, salt and baking soda; stir into chocolate mixture. Stir in vanilla and candy pieces. Spread in prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan and begin to crack slightly; do not over bake. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

Yummy. Happy baking!

Welcome back!

So, its been a while, huh?

Like 6 months a while.

I would say "whoops," but that would imply some sort of regret. And regret it I do not.

Sometimes when we undergo some of the most significant life changes, its important to do it with some sense of intimacy. My little family underwent some enormous ups and down over the past three years, and honestly, I wanted to take these past six months to heal, grow as a family, and just enjoy life with our new set of circumstances.

And enjoy it we have. We really couldn't be happier in life right now, and I am so forever indebted to so many of you for your constant prayer and support. This blog was more than therapeutic for me, and I am so glad I have it to remind me of where I was and who I have become.

But with a 6 month absence, a lot has occurred.

We took an awesome beach vacation, as one last hoop-lah before we embarked on our big move. It was a glorious two weeks filled with sun, family, and lasting memories.
We also took our vacation as the opportune time to announce to all our family and friends the future arrival of another Ramsey.

We found a house - Praise the Lord - and it has already been the foundation of our new journey. It has hosted birthday parties, play dates, and many a youth function. It may not hold our growing family for long, but for now - its a perfect fit.

We started our work in full-time youth ministry again, and we are so glad we didn't abandon God's calling. He is working and teaching us new things everyday and we are so blessed to be called.

We have fallen in love with this little peanut, to which we have decided to be surprised of the gender, and therefore, give our families severe anxiety. You know, it was all a part of our masterful plan. *insert evil laugh here*

We even survived our first snow storm. It really wasn't so bad - except it makes me want to bake goodies and put up the Christmas tree.

Can't wait to get back in the swing or keeping everyone up-to-date on the Ramsey happenings.

Thanks for the continued e-mails I received from so many of you - wondering if we had fallen off the face of the planet. Sorry about that. I blame the altitude.

If you are new around here, and want to stay up to date on everything going on around the blog, just click the "Join this site" on the upper right hand corner of the page.

That's it for now, but until next time...its so good to be back.