Doggie Therapy

We jokingly referred to Andrew's learning not to be afraid of the dog as doggie therapy.  Well we have another kid that is afraid of dogs and we are helping her face her fears.  However we are missing Tina girl.

 She was an incredibly patient dog.  And as the picture shows with time Andrew overcame his fears.  Well Tina girl is gone but we have found two incredible dogs who happen to be rescues to help us out.  Yesterday was the first day.  Angela was willing to be in with the dogs but didn't want to be down but by the end she was willing to get close to the dogs.  She was bravest when she was downstairs and they were upstairs.

 This is Samson and he is 3 years old and super mellow.  He isn't used to kids but was great because he stayed in one place so Angela could watch him and the boys loved petting him.  He is in training to be a service dog.

 This is Zippo and she is a sweetie.  She is 6 year old boxer.  She loves to be where the people are and to play.

Aaron and Andrew want to know why we can't go back again today but we will be going back weekly for a while so Angela can get comfortable with dogs.  So if you think about it say a prayer that doggie therapy goes well.

Cheesy BBQ Rice One Pot Meal

It was a put together what is in the refrigerator night and this is the result.  After we added the crunchy chips it was voted a hit.  So I am sharing.

3 cups water
1 and 1/2 cups rice (we use Korean short grain but any will do)
2 cups of frozen veggies (we had corn)
1 container of pulled bbq chicken from the refridge section of the store (Lloyd's is one example)
1 and 1/2 cups of cheese
1-2 cups of crushed tortilla chips

Bring water to a boil.  Add rice and veggies and reduce heat to simmer and cover.  When rice is almost done (about 15 minutes) , add chicken.  Heat through about 5 minutes.  Top with cheese and chips just before serving.

So here was our dinner in a pot served with applesauce on the side.

Side note for the Pampered Chef people.  I made this in my new Rockcrok.  It worked great.

Buckeye Brownies

I made these brownies up and this is what used.  A lady used to sell these at work and I always wanted to try to make them.

You need a 9 x 13 pan of brownies.  A box mix is fine or this is a super fast and easy recipe from Hershey's.  Don't make the icing. https://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipe-details.aspx?id=98.

To make the topping I used another Hershey recipe.

3/4 cup butter melted
1 and 1/3 cup peanut butter
3 cup confectionery sugar

Mix together until smooth consistency.  Set aside.

Melt 2 cups chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons of Crisco until smooth.

Top brownies that have cooled for about 10 minutes with peanut butter mixture.  Carefully spread.  Then pour chocolate over top.  Spread evenly and let cool.  Cut and serve.

North Carolina visit

This was our first long trip with 3 kids and overall they did very well.

 Perry's Dad made a fabulous meal for actual thanksgiving day.  We also enjoyed visiting with great grandparents.  It was a relaxing few days.

 Friday evening we had a Thanksgiving with lots of extended family.  The kids had a great time playing with all the cousins both old and young.

The days flew by and Perry had to return to work.

Intro to Snow

We had snow early this year.  We lost two days of school and the boys have had several delays due to very cold days.  Angela's first response to snow was "white rain."  Pretty good description for no exposure to the stuff.  She likes the sled riding but is not impressed with brothers throwing snowballs.  She did try her hand throwing them at mommy.

 Aaron

 Angela

 Andrew

 The icey stuff made for great sledding and skating on the back porch.

Swimming and sleeping

 Angela has loved her swimming lessons.  We are taking the month of January off but will return in February.  She tries to swim in the tub.

 Mr. Verne spends many Sabbaths with us and Angela crashed out in his lap one week.

Angela cheesing it up in the our churches small nursery.

Visit to Great Grandpa's

We had an enjoyable but busy Christmas.  Andrew's birthday is two days after Christmas so it makes things exciting but busy.  It has become my habit to go out to WI after Christmas with a child not in school to see grandpa Graffius.  It is always an adventure with the weather but always a lot of fun,  Angela charmed all the people at the home where grandpa lives.  Great grandpa had a great time giving her sweets and playing with her.  They created a game with a grabber tool he uses and she loved the seat belt on his power chair.  We got to stay two extra days due to weather and that resulted in a chance to check out a small museum in Madison.  She liked the rocks but the dinosaurs were two big scary.  Overall a great time was had by all.