Another clip

Here is another clip...

Darren's Baptism. I didn't check to see if I already posted this, but if so, you can enjoy it again! :)

 

Video Clips of the kids...

Hello Family and Friends!

Here are a few recent video clips of the kids that I thought you might enjoy. They are growing up WAY to fast. I still cannot believe that our Darren man will be starting school this fall! We love the little people God has given us. Enjoy!

Singing The B-I-B-L-E...



Ashlyn Talking. She tries SO many new words every week.

I will post some more on a separate post since I am not sure how many I can upload to one post and don't want to lose all of this one!

Easter Pictures...

Hello Everyone!

We had a great time last weekend for Easter at our church with a great crowd and several saved. I had a contract to finish up some editing work by this past Friday, so I am now able to get around to posting a few Easter pictures!

Enjoy. We love you all!

Our family, Easter 2012! Darren 4 years old (almost 5!), Ashlyn 16 months old.

Daddy and Darren on the bus route Easter morning.

Mommy and her little Peanut, Ashlyn Rose!

Darren's Easter teeth...

Crazy cousins at our house...

Video Clip...

Here is a video clip I have had for a while but was just now able to get it off of my phone and post it to my blog. This is Darren's reaction to the box he received a while back from Nana and Papaw containing his cap guns they mailed out from Christmas time and some Easter goodies. He is definitely our living exclamation point! Enjoy. :)

Easy Yummy Crock Pot Supper!

Lots of times, if I see a cut of meat on sale in the store I will try to change my menu and buy it instead. This last visit, I had planned to make a slow cooker meal with beef. However, there was a package of pork steak on sale for half the price per pound as the beef. I bought the pork and decided to see what I could come up with.

My slow cooker meal is usually on Wednesdays which are a very busy day for me. Here is an easy way to fix the pork with just a couple easy ingredients and very little time.

Ingredients:

Pork Steaks (I used about 2 1/2 pounds)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
a little water
chopped onion
chopped garlic

(You could easily leave this step out if you are in a big hurry and don't want the mess. I think, however it adds GREAT flavor to your meat and your sauce for little effort.)
Heat a pan to high heat. While your pan is heating, rinse the meat and pat it dry with a paper towel. Salt and pepper each side of the meat. Dredge the meat lightly in some flour, shake off the excess flour. Add about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of oil to your hot pan and sear both sides of the pork, this takes about a minute and a half per side if your pan is super hot. You just want your pork to have a nice crusty brown color.

Place the pork directly into your crock pot so you don't lose any juices.

Chop half an onion (or a whole if you like lots of cooked onions) and 2 cloves of garlic. Put them on top of your pork.

Stir some water into your cream of mushroom soup till it can be easily poured like gravy. Pour this over your meat.

Turn your crock pot on low for 6 to 7 hours. Your pork should be fall apart tender and already have it's own gravy! (Be careful about super fatty pork or you will have a pretty greasy sauce.)

I turned on the rice maker when the pork was about 20 minutes from being done and made a simple salad.

Serve the pork over rice with a simple salad and...Easy Yummy Meal! Enjoy.

Because She is CUTE!

Here is a video of our little peanut. She was singing the B-I-B-L-E on top of the coffee table and showing some of her vivacious personality! She is so much fun. Just thought we should share. :)

I LOVE my family!

Hello to all our family and friends! Everything is well in the Callaghan world. We have had a great week and enjoyed meeting our new nephew just a week ago. We have also enjoyed having Bro. Paul and Mrs. Beverly Williams, Angie's parents, here for a week to meet their new grandson. We were able to go out as a family to Fuddruckers for Mom Callaghan's birthday. I tried the Elk Burger! It actually didn't taste too much different, but I can now say that I have eaten Elk. :) I have to say that I like the Buffalo better.

I just found out last night that the amazing man I married has planned a surprise get-a-way tonight and tomorrow for my birthday!!! So I get to enjoy a couple days with my Babe, what a treat! I am also very thankful for a mom and sister who are willing to watch our kids for us. They are amazing! Love you, Mom C. and Karen!!

Here are is a picture and short video clip for you all to enjoy. We love you all!

Darren holding his new cousin Mark for the first time at Wednesday night church. Can you tell he was excited?! LOVE my little man. He is ALWAYS passionate about everything he does.

Here is a little video clip I took while both of our kids were enjoying book/coloring time yesterday. I had to chop off a little of the beginning and the end so I could receive it in my email. Hopefully you will still be able to enjoy it! 

The Little Peeps...

Here are a few pictures and a short video clip of the little people! Enjoy...

Our crazy little peanut! This is how she walked into the kitchen. She is so much fun!

Darren LOVED our trip to Tilden Park to ride the miniature steam trains! We had fun on a mommy and kids day out!

Little clip of the steam train trip!

A New Nephew!!!

I have a new nephew! Mark Edward Callaghan was born to David and Angie Callaghan on Thursday, March 15th. He weighed 9 lbs. 1 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. He is sweet and perfect! He arrived into this world VERY quickly, so we are thankful that God allowed a safe delivery for mommy and baby. We are so happy for this new addition to the family!

Apples and pancakes?

Want a breakfast (or dinner!) that looks like you have slaved for hours, but just took a few minutes? Here is a fun solution!

You need:

Pancake Mix

Cinnamon

One Apple, peeled and grated

1/4 teaspoon of vanilla

Measure out your pancake mix according to how many you plan to feed. Before adding the water, sprinkle some cinnamon and whisk it into the dry pancake mix. (I used about 1 1/2 tsp. to feed 4 people. It is better to start with a little and add more. You can't take it out! :) I just add it till I can slightly see the speckles all through the dry mixture.)

Add your water; stir slightly. Add apples and vanilla and stir only till combined. Don't over stir or you will have yummy, but rubbery pancakes!

Heat up that griddle (or skillet), spray some cooking spray and drop them on! I suggest adding a little bit of butter to the pan, just enough to coat the bottom. The butter flavor with the apples and cinnamon takes it over the top! When they are bubbly and looking a bit "dry" around the edges, flip them and cook just a minute or two.

Serve hot with butter and syrup. YUM! Tastes like you have slaved for hours. :)

I usually serve with Sausage and a plate full of fresh fruit. Delicious!

You can try this for dinner when you are in a hurry but still want to have a quick home-cooked meal. Add some fast scrambled eggs for extra protein. Happy Cooking!

Darren Got Saved!

III John 1:4 "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."

On Tuesday, March 13th, Darren Paul Callaghan asked Jesus to come into his heart! What a joy as a parent to know that your child is on their way to Heaven someday!!!

He has been asking a lot of questions about Heaven for quite a while now, so I have been doing lots of explaining over the past several months. This morning a little while after he walked into the living room he asked me, "Mommy, when are you going to Heaven?" I told him hopefully a LONG TIME from now when God decides it is time for me to go and live with Him. Then he asked, "When is Daddy going to Heaven?" I told him the same thing. He thought for a minute, then he said "You and Daddy are going to Heaven, Faith is going to Heaven and Addie is going to Heaven." (These are his 2 cousins) He frowned and looked like he was going to cry and said, "I don't want to be left out."

I told him that I didn't want him to be left out either! I put Ashlyn in her playpen and we sat on mommy and daddy's bed. I read him all the verses and explained them (with much vivid animation :) for about 20 minutes. Every question I would ask him he knew the answer and definitely seemed to understand. I told him that night at devotions we would let Daddy talk to him and if Daddy felt like he understood he could pray and ask Jesus in his heart. So for evening devotions after Ashlyn was tucked in, Daddy did some explaining and question asking. We both felt that he really understood and was ready to make that decision. We all held hands and Dan led him in prayer; it brought sweet tears to my eyes!

So thankful for the wonderful privilege of being able to share this special decision with our son.

Happy "Spiritual" Birthday, Darren!

YAY! We're back up and running!

Hello to all!

FINALLY! My blog is back up and running! I have been unable to post anything for several months. We finally resolved the problem, so...Let the POSTING begin! :)

I will be posting some pictures and videos soon!

We love you all!

I LOVE AMERICA!!

In honor of the Fourth of July and the celebration of our nation's independence, I would like to say THANK YOU to our military personnel for their dedicated service to our country! I have the utmost respect for those who give a portion of their lives to serve and protect our country.

Here is a recent picture of our family with Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Johnson who attend our church. Mr. Johnson is a WWII veteran who was aboard a battleship that was sunk during a naval battle. He has an amazing story.

I think it is SO special that my son and daughter had the privilege of being in a picture with a WWII veteran! Not many kids his age will have that privilege! I admire this man so very much. It is a privilege to know him and his sweet wife.

I LOVE AMERICA!!

The Little Peanut...

Our little cutie is getting big! She was enjoying her new bouncy seat this morning! She still has to have a blanket tucked around her in order to stay upright :).

She has just started sticking her tongue out. Ha! Then she sucks on her bottom lip. Wondering if she is getting a tooth. She slides her tongue along her gums. She is starting to make lots of new little noises and she loves to scream like a little girlie girl when she talks! :)

Anyways, she is so sweet! We love our little peanut! (and we love Darren too!)


Sorry that the blog looks a little "rough." I am working on a new format.

Darren loves to sing!

Darren is learning a song. Here is the first verse and chorus. He is my cute man! Enjoy!

-Helen

Pictures because they are just TOO Cute!

I LOVE my little people! Thank you, Babe, for working so hard and allowing me to stay at home and be mommy. These young years to teach, train and share only come once in a lifetime. Enjoy...

Darren's air-freshener rights have been revoked...

Let me explain....


Thursday evening we found a puddle in the bathroom and a little on the edge of the bathroom sink. It had been POURING rain for the past several days in succession. We were afraid the roof had begun leaking at some point. We looked all over, but saw no sign of water leakage in the bathroom.


The next evening I found a puddle in the same place again but found that the bathroom mats were also slightly damp all over. Hmmm...This took place shortly after Darren had made a bathroom visit. As I was cleaning the puddle, I smelled an "apple cinnamon" smell. As I smelled the rag I was cleaning with, I discovered that the puddle I was cleaning was an incredible amount of our bathroom AIR FRESHENER that had been sprayed QUITE excessively! Nice!


I had given Darren permission to spray one quick spray of air freshener after his bathroom visits. However, he must have sprayed for MUCH longer than one quick spray. So, thus, his "air freshening rights" have been revoked! Gotta love 3 year olds!


AND...yes, Ashlyn has found her thumb!

Our Sweet Little Blue Eyes...(Picture...Courtesy of Aunt Karen!)

Hello everyone! We are doing great and BUSY!

Our teen snow trip was this past Saturday. I stayed home with our little lady this year, but Darren got to be a BIG boy and go with Daddy and the teens for the first time this year. He was scared to go down the hill (which is pretty steep and fast for a 3 1/2 year old. Some of our teens were even scared the first time!), but had a good time anyways!

We also have our Annual Teen Winter Revival coming up in a week and a half. We are excited and so are the teens! Looks like we will also have several visiting teen groups as well. We are excited to hear Bro. Bob Gray II preach, he is so great at preaching to teens. Our ensemble sang this past Sunday morning in church as a "practice run" for Teen Revival. The teens did great! Please pray for lives to be touched and life-changing decisions to be made.

We also had all the teens over to our house last Sunday night for pizza and a crazy game of Cranium. Love our teens!

If you want to try a yummy low-fat pancake and syrup recipe, click on the link on the top right of my blog. It will take you to the recipe on my Youth Pastor's Wife blog.

The kids are growing, changing and doing new things ALL the time. My days at home are ever busy! Here are a few pictures of our fun little people. Enjoy and have a wonderful week!

Hmmm...Guess that flash was kind of bright, huh, Ashlyn?!!

Always Looking around and studying; afraid she might miss something!


My two little "Jammie Kids"...Darren and Ashlyn. Love how she is looking at him!


Little 30 second video of Ashlyn just being cute!

Yes, I have the CUTEST kids ever!

Sorry, people, it's true! Here are a couple recent pictures of my two CUTE little peoples! Love, Love, Love them! Thanks, God!

Cool man, showing off his "tattoo" sent in a belated Christmas package from my family. He was quite proud of his "full steam ahead" from the Thomas stickers!

An "itty bitty smile" from an "itty bitty girl!" She is SO precious!!

A beautiful sunny morning, a steamy cup of Decaff Coffee and quiet time to pray for the 2 sweet little people that God has entrusted to our care. Psalms 127:3 "Lo. children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward."

Praying also for the mates that God is preparing for them some day and for the parents raising those children as well.

What a huge responsibility as well as a GREAT privilege to be a parent. God please grant me your wisdom every step of the way.

Our sweet Ashlyn Rose

Our handsome Darren Paul