Raspberry Stuffed French Toast

So this morning was one of those mornings were we all got to sleep in and have a good old lazy morning.  These are few and far between these days so it felt very good!  By the time I had rolled around to the kitchen, I really had no idea what to make for breakfast (or more accurately, brunch).  Of course Valentine's Day is heavily on my mind so when I saw my loaf of french bread sitting on the counter I remembered last Valentine's Day's breakfast.
Last Valentine's Day Jonathan and Laura were staying with us (Sniff. Sniff.  I MISS YOU!!!!) so that made it extra special.  I decided to try out a new recipe and I loved it!  Here is my make shift version!

Raspberry Stuffed French Toast

For the French Toast "Dip" I mixed 6 eggs with 1 1/2 milk then added 1/2 sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon and 2 tsp. vanilla.  Whisk together with a fork.  (This ended up being way too much so cut it down if your serving as many people as I was!).  

 

I always mix my mixture in a pie pan.  That's how my daddy always did it, so that's how I ALWAYS do it!

Next I pureed 1/4 cup of frozen raspberries and mixed it into 4 oz. of cream cheese.

Make sure you slice your French Bread thinner than usual as you will be using two pieces for each final serving.

Take one piece of French Bread and spread it thinly with raspberry mixture.

Place a second piece on top and repeat with remaining bread.  ( I was serving my family plus my sister who had spent the night so..... Three adults, four children...... Ten servings... Twenty slices of bread.)

When they are all assembled let them soak in the "dip" for a good minute or so (flipping mid way).

Next fry on a hot, buttered griddle until cooked.  (Don't cook on TOO high of heat so that the eggy bread has a chance to cook.)

We served ours with powdered sugar and whipping cream.  They are pretty sweet themselves so syrup felt a little overkill, but I'm sure whatever sounds good to you would be just fine!

I'm not sure yet what I'll be serving for this year's Valentine's Day breakfast, but if you're stumped, give this a try!

Heart For Home Thursday~ Just Smile!

Is it really Thursday again?  I find that hard to believe.  We've been battling sickness here for a solid two weeks so I guess time has flown by even more than usual. 

Today we have been busy doing school and visiting with Grammie so here I am with the day almost over and I seriously have NOTHING to write about.

When I think about home today, I'm not inspired or challenged.  I don't feel discouraged.  I don't feel ambitious.  I don't feel overwhelmed or overly excited.  Today when I think about home, I just smile.  I am surrounded by a million reasons to smile.

So today I'll just share a few of the reasons I have to smile.  Today, I pray that you'll find the reasons in your home to smile about.  And may your smile be one of the reasons your family smiles about your home too!

Heart For Home Thursday~ Speaking of Hearts...

Did anyone else around here notice that it's February?!?!  If you've been around here much, you know that I love February.  One of the biggest reasons being, I love Valentine's Day.

It's interesting isn't it?  You either love it or you hate it.  I've been told it has to do with whether you actually have a valentine of not, but I've seen that theory proved wrong. My dear sister-in-law has a cousin who is one of the sweetest girls I've ever met.  She blogged last Valentine's Day about why she loves the day even though she is very single and plans on remaining so for quite awhile.  It dripped with wisdom beyond her years.

I've heard many married friends say, "We celebrate our love every day so I don't really care about Valentine's Day."  To each his own I guess!  For me however,  I get giddy just thinking about a specific day just to dwell on the precious gift of love God has given to us as a couple.

This year, my girls and I decided that one day was not quite enough time to get in our full celebration.  Decorations are already coming out and gears are spinning as I look for ways to show my husband how much I love him and how thankful I am to be married to him. 

This is also a priceless time to teach my daughters God's love for us, God's design for marriage, the joy of sharing true love and the beauty of waiting for God's plan to bring it about in each of their own lives.  Even though this holiday isn't really "about them" they say it is one of their favorites.

If you come to our house these days, you will see hearts.  Lots and lots of hearts.  I encourage you, no matter how much you "daily celebrate your love", to appreciate the beautiful gift God has given us and truly find a way to show how thankful we are for the gift of love.

These Days....

These days, everyone is sick.

These days, it's runny noses non-stop.

These days, Mommy feels like nothing gets done.



These days, my babies just want to be held.

These days, I get to kiss feverish heads all day long.

These days, a day doing "nothing" feels like priceless work.

These days, there is nowhere in the world I would rather be.

Heart For Home Thursday~ A Borrowed Idea

The newest change in our family was borrowed directly from my friend, Ginger.  She blogged here about their Hymn Study time.  Not only was her daughter sooooooo adorable, I loved the idea of easily teaching beautiful hymns to my children.

My girls LOVE to sing, so I didn't have to twist their arms to get them to be excited about our new plan.  We picked our first hymn on Monday.  Victory In Jesus was what we chose.  We found a video on youtube that had lyrics so every morning before we start school we gather around the computer and sing our hearts out!

Today was just day three and already my girls have been walking all over the house singing most of the song.  I'm so excited to see how this will take off!

By the way, even my non-readers are catching on super quick!  Give it a try!  Those old hymns are so beautiful and packed full of spiritual truths.

My Beautiful Two Year Old

Dear Ella,
        Last week was your second birthday.  We had the first snow of the year the weekend before so with all that excitement, your birthday sort of crept up on us.  You said you wanted berry coffee cake so that's what we had.  It took you most of the morning for it to sink in that this was YOUR birthday!  When I put you down for your nap you starting calling me and telling me over and over "Birt-day!  Birt-day!".  I then had to convince you that even birthday girls needed to take naps which changed your cries of joy to sobbing, "Birt-dayyyyyy.  Birt-dayyyyyy."

After your nap you got to help Mommy make your pink birthday cake.

And of course, I let you lick the beater!

You were one popular girl that day!  You got calls from great-grandparents, grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and even your sweet cousin Talia who all by herself said, "Happy. Birt. Day. Ella.".  You were so excited to talk to her!

That night you opened your presents that Daddy had gone in the snow to get for you.  You have played endlessly with your "Big Ball".

And you adore you OWN baby doll that you promptly named "Ellie" after your baby cousin.

Then it was finally time for birthday cake!  You loved having us sing to you and you were a pro at blowing out your candles.  Of course your sisters were as excited as you were!

Everyone who came to our house that whole week heard all about how it was your "Birt-day"  and how you were "fee".  It took days of practicing, but now you usually remember that you are really two.

On Sunday we had a party for you at Grandma and Boppa's house.  Sadly, you woke up from your nap with a pretty high fever.  You were still so excited to go to your party!

You thanked everyone for you presents so sweetly and were very free with your hugs and kisses (let's hope no one else gets sick!).

You had such a good attitude all day, even though it was so obvious that you just didn't feel good.

Another cake, another song, more candles and more candle licking!  Now that got you excited!

Mommy and your sisters had made a "surprise" cake that we thought you would enjoy.  Your sisters were dying to tell people about it, but they all kept their secret very well!

Surprise!!!  A rainbow cake!  You loved the colors, especially the orange.

It's hard to imagine a sweeter or more adorable two year old!

Some people call the two's "terrible", but Daddy and Mommy think it's one of the most wonderful ages ever.  You are so full of wonder and your bright mind is exploding with discoveries.  We love to hear you talking more and more every day.  Every word you say delights us.

You are such a treasure to us, sweet Ella Joy.  A true treasure from God.  We thank Him for you every day!  I love you!!!
      Love, Mommy

Where I've Been....

It's just been one of those weeks.  My life is usually pretty low key.  I stay home with my girls.  I home school, blog and everything else that happens in a day.  I do my best to maintain relationships with the incredible people God has placed in my life.

This week it seems that everything has happen at once though.  Friends are starting relationships, friends are grieving and one of my dearest friends in the whole world is moving away.

(Theresa and I at her wedding four years ago)

Theresa and I have been friends since the 4th grade and while life has taken us in two different directions so far, never has it separated the bond we have with each other.  She is so precious to me and even though her move across the states hopefully wont be long term, it breaks my heart to be parted from her.  I'm so thankful however, that this will be just another journey that proves that our love for each other will never fade.

I'm so blessed by the precious relationships God has blessed me with.  There are some weeks however, that they take my TIME.  And therefore, my blog doesn't receive my time.  Thanks to those of you who are still stop by here.  You are such an encouragement to me!