My Mom & Dad Wedding Pictures.....
My mom's brother got a machine that take pictures off of there slides, so she now has all of her wedding pictures. I had to share these because these are so neat. I am hoping to see more pictures. I dad was in the Navy, so he has lots of pictures of that time of his life.

My mom made her bridesmaids dresses. She is a wonderful seamstress and wish I knew as much as she does.

One of those days.....

Noah was into making messes today. I found him this morning up stairs in the bathroom with the door closed and the drawer pulled out on the vanity. This is how the boys lock the door when they don't want anyone to come in. Anyway he was into the toothpaste and had it on the floor, the door, the dog & himself. Then later on in the day I found him in the downstairs bathroom with the door closed poring soap all over. Lastly, while I was visiting with company Anna yelled down saying Noah was in trouble. He was in the bathtub pumping hair conditioner out of the bottle. It's amazing how a little one can find so many exciting messy things to get into. So did anyone else have some exciting things happen to them today??

Fire Trucks.....
We went to the library today and Gabriel spotted one of those busy bags that has books and a toy that goes with them. It was a fire truck theme and so the boy's will have a firetruck to play with for a couple of weeks. Then Gabe has a few You Tube videos he likes to watch, which I thought I would share if anyone is interested.

Fire Truck by Ivan Ulz

Caillou and the Fire Truck

How'd They Build That Fire Truck

How to make a Fire Truck Cake

I am thinking that with Gabe's Birthday coming up in May that I am going to go with a Fire Truck theme. I would love to make the fire truck cake.

Package in the Mail....
The kids got a package in the mail from Grandma Kara this past weekend. It had these fun magnifying glasses and a couple pairs of shoes for Anna. They love to get mail and thanks Grandma Kara for the wonderful items and the note.

Here Noah's testing it out to see if it tastes any good.....

Happy Birthday Noah....

My baby is now 2 years old. He is growing and learning so much every day. He is such a sweet little guy & I love him so much:)

Go here to see his Birthday Video....

Tooth......
Well for the past week I was having tooth pain on & off, so yesterday morning I called the dentist and was able to get a appointment. I took all the kids with me and they did great. After they took the x-ray and took a look they ended up doing a root canal . I thought I had pain before I went in, but after the numbness wore off I really had some pain. They also gave me a prescription for Amoxicillin for any infection I might have and then also Hydrocodone for pain relief, but unfortunately the pain relief medicine makes you tired. I took a couple last night and it didn't take long to make me really loopy. I guess I will be sticking to Ibuprofen for the daytime so that I can at least function. I am just really praying that everything will be better in a couple of weeks and that took care of the problem.

Children's Bible....
Since the end of last summer I have been using this Bible Story Book with the kids that also have a nice coloring book to go with it. We are still working through it and they love it and it's so nice to use at breakfast time. Just recently I came across a Children's Illustrated Bible by Selina Hastings. I was able to get it from the library to see if I would like it and it is awesome. I then went on Ebay looking and found it for $5 with shipping and order it. You can also find it on Amazon. I am looking forward reading it with the kids. Make note that they make two sizes, so if your interested in getting one you will probably want to get the bigger one, which measures 10.5" x 8".

All about John Deere.......

My mother-in-law was so kind to make these wonderful curtains for the Gabe & Noah's room. They look awesome and the boys love them.

On the window sill is a train, roller & truck that Grandpa Ray helped Gabe spray paint. Also the tractor on the self was also painted by them. I got the tractor & roller at a craft fair this past fall and the train & truck I order from Let's Explore which I guess is closing her store, but she has a wonderful blog to read.

Gabe also picked up this calender at Walmart, which mom & dad will be using. Grandma Kara was nice to give use an old John Deere calender, which I was able to frame one of the pictures so far for the boy's room. I also just thought of another great idea for there room. I will show you pictures when it's done and up on the wall. The other great idea about this craft is the kids can help:)

John Deere calender picture was taken by Gabriel...

All Ready.....
What more does a boy need but his hat, boots, a piece of wood & a play gun in his pocket.

Birthday Fun ......
Here are a few pictures from last month. My birthday was on Dec. 19th and the kids helped me make some birthday cupcakes. They then played with some play dough for a while and used crayons for candles. Play dough is so great for the winter time and my kids love to play with it and create. It even keeps little Noah busy for quite some time.

The kids make birthday's so much fun. They have so much excitement especially my little Anna.

More Birthday Fun.....
This is the cake that the kids & I made at my mom's house. It was just a cake for my family to enjoy.

Happy 5th Birthday Anna......
Wow it's amazing that my little girl tured 5 years old and will be starting Kindergarten this coming fall. Her Grandma Kara got this awesome edible princess cake topper and then I made up some butter cream frosting & decorated this cake for my little girl. She loved it & got lots of nice gifts.

Home.....

We made it home last night before the storm. It was a wonderful trip and the kids did pretty well traveling in the van. Today I have been working on getting things put away and catching up on laundry. I hope to get some pictures up soon of our trip.

Greetings from Nebraska from Renee's husband, Brandon!

I told Renee that she smelled like a filthy water buffalo, so while she's taking a shower I'm going to update her blog. What a dutiful husband I am.

Renee and I made it safely to my parents' place late Monday afternoon. It was a long 11 1/2 hour drive. Anna was as good as gold, but Gabriel and Noah fought off and on. Unfortunately, Noah doesn't speak much yet so he shrieks at the top of his lungs when he's mad. Definitely not my favorite sound.

We celebrated Anna's 5th birthday at my parents' house Tuesday night. Renee made a nice sheet cake with some yummy home-made frosting. Grandma Kara ordered one of those edible transparent cake graphics for the top of the cake. It had all of the princesses from Disney movies: Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, Jasmine, and Belle. She was so excited to see her finished cake. We have pictures and video that we'll post later.

Grandma Kara watched the kids yesterday afternoon while Renee and I went on a date to see Avatar at the theater. If you liked "Dances with Wolves" you know the basic story of Avatar. Just substitute 10 foot tall blue aliens for the Sioux and Sam Worthington for Kevin Costner and you're pretty much good to go. The movie was spectacular to see, though. We got to see it in 3D. They weren't kidding about the 3D part either. Awesome.

Mom and Dad have a couple of friends over to watch the Nebraska/Arizona game. Right now (late 3rd quarter) the score is 33 to 0 Nebraska. Ouch.

Tomorrow morning I'm going black powder rifle hunting with my dad. Going after some Platte River Valley corn fed white tails. As I'm from out of state and don't have a hunting permit, Dad will do any shooting. I get to gut the deer, though if we get anything. It'll be like dissecting a frog in high school, only cooler with way more blood and guts. Will post an after action report.

God's Christmas Tree

God's Christmas tree was a blood stained Cross
The shadow of which fell across Christ's Birth;
He was wrapped for death--and laid in a manger
And these Truths--o'er shadow the usual Mirth!!!

For the day of dedication at the Jewish Temple
Surely on this day--only happiness will control;
But no--as the High Priest held the sweet Babe
Spoke to Mary--"A sword shall pierce thy soul"!

From His first miracle--to the Eve of Betrayal
Our Lord Jesus said, "Mine hour is not yet come";
It was a constant reminder--He was born to die
And it was for THIS purpose--our Lord had come!

Oh Yes--dear heart--Rejoice--that Jesus came--
But remember--THE CROSS--is His Christmas Tree;
Oh don't get so buried in--tinsel and trinkets
You forget that GOD'S GIFT is SALVATION--FREE!!!
---lulu b. claycomb

"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness:
by whose stripes ye were healed."
I Peter 2:24

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life."
John 3:16

We wish you a very, very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Heading Out Today....

Well I will be packing up the everything else that I think we will need. The snow is coming down and Brandon's test is not till this afternoon. I sure hope the snow stay's light and the roads are good and it's time to head to my parents house. We will be seeing some of you very soon.

Nutella Fudge Bonbons......

I came across this recipe and I have to give you the link. The reason is I was at a Bible study last week and the ladies were talking about Nutella. There were a few who really like it a lot, so if anyone is a Nutella lover out there here is a recipe you might want to try.

Some of my favorite Christmas Cookie Recipes......

Can be found here..... If anyone has a favorite that they think I should try leave me a link.

Also we will be heading out of town in a couple of days. I will try to post while I am gone to let you know what we have been up too & how the kids have been. I am really looking forward to some time away from cleaning up the house. Unfortunately laundry follows me everywhere, but it will be nice to see family that we don't get to see very often. I know the kids are excited and I just pray that the van ride goes well and the weather is good.

Also lets not forget the yummiest caramel corn and so easy to make. To find the recipe go here. I am planning on making this when I get to my moms house and probably several batches, since we all love it so much.

Christmas recipes:
Here are a few new recipes that I would like to try out.

Vegetable Wreath Recipe

Easy Peanut Butter Cracker Cookies

Christmas Bark

Curtains.....
Last week I had a chance to work on and finish up the curtains for Anna's room. They look so nice. Thanks Aunt Jen for the fabric!

I will be making many of the items that I did not get to last week. I guess we ended up eating lots of left overs last week or sometimes we just are not real hungry for a big meal. I guess that makes it easy for me to plan for this week. To find more meal ideas go here.

Monday: Haystacks

Tuesday: Leftover Haystacks

Wednesday: Ravioli & Sauce, Salad, Garlic Bread

Thursday: Fried Catfish, Rice, Corn

Friday: Breakfast Casserole with toast

Saturday: Super at Fellowship Meeting

Sunday: Leftovers from the week

Hope you all have a great week!

Kids Christmas Books....

I have read a couple books with the kids that I have really enjoyed and may be ones I would like to purchase to have in the house. The first is called, "Legend of the Candy Cane" & the second book is called, "What Nick Holly Found in Grandpa's Attic". Both of these books are such wonderful books to read at Christmas time with the kids and are great reminders for ourselves too.

GIRLS PRINCESS APRON....

I just got done making some princess curtains for Anna's room from this wonderful fabric she got from her Aunt Jen. I then had some leftover and decided to make up an apron to sell. I listed it here if anyone is interested.

Half Apron....

I had this Christmas towel and decided to turn it into a apron. This was a super simple project that would make a nice gift for that baker. I used twill tape for the strings, but one could also use ribbon.

1st Big Snow Fall......
Well we were out early this morning digging ourselves out. What a job that was and the kids were out with us as well, but the only problem is we need more shovels. The kids are now out again this afternoon playing some more. I have a feeling they will be pretty tired this evening.

Our Tree....
The kids had a wonderful time helping mommy decorate the tree and they have all done pretty well at leaving them on the tree. I have caught Ruby, our dog, try and take some off, but luckily she did not get to far with them.

It's been a while since I have menu planned, but I was just sitting here this morning and thought I would just put together a simple plan for the week. It is nice to know were I am going.


Monday: Leftover Brat Soup since Brandon will not be home till late from Clinical

Tuesday: Roast, Mashed Potatoes, String Beans,

Wednesday: Tacos & Spanish Rice

Thursday: Fried Catfish, Rice, Corn

Friday: Haystacks

Saturday: Ravioli & Sauce, Salad, Garlic Bread

Sunday: Leftovers

To find other great menu ideas go here.

Rolling in the Snow......

And then enjoying some hot chocolate while they warm up. There will be many more days like these.

Noah Ray......
I had to post a few of these pictures of Noah because they are just to cute. He is growing up and getting to be such a big boy. He is also talking a lot and saying most words that I do, but it might be hard to figure out at times. He is such a sweety & my snuggler.

Noah was enjoying some hot chocolate after coming in from the cold outdoors.

He also fell asleep one day this week on the couch. I was down stairs doing some sewing and Anna came down to tell me Noah was asleep. This is the first time he has ever done that. Most days he can go all day without a nap.

SNOW.....
It is finally snowing and the two oldest kids are out playing in it. They are so excited and I think this winter they will play out there for longer then just 15 mins. I am looking forward to sledding days & maybe even trying some ice skating with the kids.

Another Knitted Hat.....
I made this for Anna, but it ended up being a bit to small. I will find it a home sometime.

Knitted Hat....
For the past few weeks I have been working on this hat for my hubby. He loves this T.V. series called "Firefly". One of the characters is Jayne Cobb, who is the crew's tough guy. During one of the episodes Jayne's mother sends him a knitted hat like the one I made below. In the show, when Jayne first tries on the hat he says, "Cunning, don't ya think?" So what do you think????? Also this is my first knitted hat and I really enjoyed learning how to knit on circular needles. Brandon also loves his hat. Merry Christmas Hubby! The pattern can be found here and you could use whatever colors you wanted.

Thanksgiving Pictures.....

We had a Streusel Pumpkin pie & Pecan Pie, which were yummy.

The turkey took about 3 hours to cook, and turned out really moist and yummy. The brine added great flavor to the meat and I will definitely do it again in the future. You can find the recipe I used here.

These are just a few pictures of us relaxing after the meal. Brandon invited his friend BJ over to enjoy the meal. The kids had a great evening getting to know a new friend and were ready for bed pretty early.

Hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving and think about who we need to be thankful too.

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1Thess 5:18

"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;" Ephesians 5:20

Here's also a link talking about Thanksgiving.

Cleaning & Planning......
Today Brandon & I decided to rent a Rug Doctor. The carpets down stairs are cream and were looking so dirty that we just could not take it any more, so we spent most of the day working on cleaning the carpets. What a job it has been, but the carpets look awesome now.

I also went grocery shopping with Gabriel to get what I would need to cook Thanksgiving Dinner. We decided to not travel this year, since Brandon is working the whole weekend. It is also only a month until Christmas break and we will be heading out to visit family in Iowa & Nebraska. I'll be spending the weekend with the kids decorating the house for Christmas. I know they are going to be super excited.

Here are some links to a few recipes that I will be using for my Thanksgiving meal:

Good Eat Roast Turkey
Mama's Green Bean Casserole
Tart Cranberry Dipping Sauce
Pumpkin Pie with Streusel topping

Streusel Topping Recipe:
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tb flour
1 Tb melted butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake pie for 15 mins. In the meantime mix up the crumb topping and then put on the pie after 15 mins. This makes such a yummy pumpkin pie.

Other items on the menu at the Kostman home are mashed potatoes, corn & homemade stuffing, which really is only the way to go.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Let me know what your plans are if you have time or share a special Thanksgiving recipe that is a must at your home.

Orchard Craft Sale....

Here is where we headed off to this morning for a little while. We bought some cider donuts, a pumpkin muffin and some homemade soap, which I am really looking forward to using. It was a great day with Anna and Noah. Gabriel got to hang out with daddy for the morning. He had a great time especially since he loves to ride in daddy's truck.

It was also nice and mild outside today and the kids enjoyed playing in the backyard for a bit. It's amazing that there is less then a week till Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to it and then decorating for Christmas. I know the kids are excited about it to. I have also been going through the Christmas list and checking it twice. With having 3 little ones I have to make sure to give myself enough time so I can get all the things done that I want to. I'll be back with some pictures soon of a few projects, but until then have a great weekend!

New Girl Room....

Last week I was busy painting one of the bedrooms upstairs. We had all three kids in one bedroom and it was getting a bit crowded. So I got out some Dried Hydrangea paint and got busy covering the sage painted walls up. Wow how it looks so nice and bright up there now. I love it & so does Anna. I still have a few things to finish up, but overall it is all done. I hope to get a few better pictures, but for now here's a picture of Anna snug in her bed with Gabriel snuggled up next to her.

Free Mattress.....
I was coming home from Madison a couple of days ago and saw a mattress lying near the side of the street. I decided to stop to just check it out. I was surprised at how nice it looked and it was wrapped up in plastic. The lady came out from the house and I asked if it was free she said yes. It is a king sized Simmons pillow top mattress in very good shape. Her husband and son came out and put the mattress right up on top of the van. I then drove home very carefully.

I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to get the mattress down the basement steps, but last night Brandon & I pushed, pulled, folded, and squeezed our way down to the basement. We have so much room now and it sleeps like a dream. The best part is it was free. Praise the Lord for his goodness!

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" Phil 4:19

Daddy's Record Player......
Last night I was looking in storage and going through some containers and I found daddy's record player that he got for his 7th birthday. I have a bunch of records & books from when I was little that I use to listen too all the time. Wow what memories and now it's going to be fun sitting down with the kids and listening to the stories again and dancing around to the music. The kids loved it!