Cute 2-story home with a view...

We were invited over to the Buck Family Annual Gingerbread House Making Party the other night, and as you can see we had a great time creating our very first Christmas gingerbread house! I had never gotten to really make one before, so Husband and I went crazy, letting the creative juices flow....What can beat Christmas candy, hot chocolate, and friends? Oh, and they hired a babysitter to watch the kiddos-so we also had uninterrupted "adult time" for an hour! Lot's of fun.
Our lovely 100% edible home
Our little Peanut entertaining us on the hearth with his Christmas toy that sings, sings, and yes sings some more-all by the push of a little button!

1st Real Snow

So today marked our first official "snow day" of the year, and definitely made the season feel a little more like Christmas. Here are some pictures of our home and the snow outside. I feel like I'm not quite ready - and am dreading doing my Christmas shopping last minute along with everyone else. But, I feel constantly reminded of how blessed we are, and how amazing our Lord and Savior is! I hope that you all are enjoying this time and allowing Christ to fill your homes with his abundant love. We want to wish you all a very happy (early) Merry Christmas!
a look out our front door at the new snow...
My first year of having a nativity set to put out-I was so excited!
fun festive stockings!
And I couldn't leave out an updated photo of my adorable niece Big Mak and her awesome pink hat! How cute is she?

Thanksgiving on the coast

Hey all-sorry it's been awhile since my last post, I'm blaming on a nasty sinus infection that's had me down since Thanksgiving! So, here are some pics from our wonderful holiday trip to the coast of beautiful Newport, Oregon to visit Husband's folks Jerry and Judy in their lovely home. Husband's 2 aunts, grandma and cousins all made it over for Thanksgiving dinner so we had a great time!
The family day at the beach
Aunt and Uncle Hogan with our little rascal
The "boys" on their big pheasant hunting day!
Husband and I trying out our rusty piano skills
Our little munchkin looking for more to eat...We don't feed him much...:)

Last week in a nutshell...

So, it has been a while since my last post-so to make up for it I am going to dazzle you with pictures and even some video footage! So, hang on to your hats-here's a glimpse into the lives of the Kinney Clan!
This is Big boy. He is full of energy, life, song, dance, and yes-Mischief!
This is Peanut. He is full of love rolls, laughter, "uh ohs" and yes-trouble!
This is Mona Lisa Fondue Resturant where Husband took me on my Birthday last Wed. night-can I just say my man knows how to romance! We had so much fun eating good food, talking uninterrupted, and enjoying eachother!
This is a glimpse of our sweet little Big boy singing and swaying to his "abc's" and other misc. songs! Enjoy!!

Yummy soup recipe

So I love new soup recipes, especially around fall time-so I came up with this one and thought I'd share it with you! As some of you know, I cook with alot of leftovers-and improvise tons, so if you're going to try this recipe out-I hope you won't be too frustrated at the ingredients! Okay, here it is....

Rotissere Chicken and Rice Soup:

3/4 Rotissere Chicken (I used leftover ck after having it for one meal)
1 cup mashed potatoes (again leftovers from the ck dinner the night before)
1 can green beans
2 carrots cut up
1 box Uncle Ben's Broccoli and Cheese Au Gratin Rice Box Mix
1 cup additional rice (I used long grain white rice)
1/2 Onion diced
2 garlic cloves minced
2 cans Chicken Broth
5 cups water
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Heat oil in large skillet and add carrots and onions until tender, then add garlic and salt and pepper to season. Once mixed add the chicken broth, mashed potatoes, green beans, the Uncle Ben's rice mix and the additional rice. Add one cup of water. While that heats up, shred your chicken and add it to the pot. Continue to add the remaining water at this point. Cover and let simmer on low for about 10 min-allowing the rice to cook. Stir occasionally-and once the rice is cooked let sit for a few minutes to set up (it will continue to thicken as it sits.) Wal-la! Makes quite a bit for leftovers-so you can either put back in the fridge or freeze for later! Enjoy! This is really good with a thick chunk of bread :)

Yeah for Halloween!

The Kinney Family stylin as usual!
Mr. Serious!
Big boy taking a breather from all of his trick-or-treating!
Aunt Korri holding our little Tex

So this year was the first year that Big boy ever really "got" Halloween. It was pretty funny, actually! His first house that we went to trick-or-treat at, once the door was opened, he just went on in to the house like "what's up? Where's the party?" From then on he did better at waiting his turn for getting some candy-and stayed away from going right on in to the people's homes! We are constantly laughing at our boys-they are such a joy!

Happy Birthday Mom!

That's right, today was the day-54 years ago that my mom came into this world! Alot has changed since then-3 grandbabies just to name a few! Big boy had to help her blow out her candles and open her gifts. He kept saying "pumpkin" when he saw the cake I made (so I was thankful that even a toddler thought it looked like a pumpkin, whew!) Anyways, Happy Birthday Mom! We love you :)

Bag lady?

So I've gone and done it....I've ventured into the world of bag making! For those who know me real well, they can attest to the fact that I can have up to 5 different project going at one time-none of them ever really getting done. Well, for whatever reason, I decided that I needed a new "mommy-bag" (aka-a very large bag able to fit diapers, wipes, my purse, and small animals...) so with my creative cap on, I dove into this project and 4 hours later I have my new bag! I'm so excited!! It's one thing to attempt something new, but to actually have it all sticking together without any large holes or messups-I think I've scored one for the creative team. I was amazed at how many free tutorials there were online to figure this out. So, enjoy and always go for the creative outlet when you can! It's amazing therapy :)

Follow the red shorts...

So, to my dismay, our little guy is starting to become more adventurous lately-and is definately into stair climbing. I just wish that I was into stair climbing as much as Peanut seems to be these days! Maybe it could help me lose those 8 unwanted pounds that have been hanging around for way too long! So, enjoy the chase up the stairs, following those cute red shorts.

Cheese please!

As you can see, we have plenty of cheesy grins to go around at our house these days! Just thought I'd share them with you!

I survived 13.1 miles!

The race begins...
One of many pit stops
My faithful fans!
My faithful friends Missy and Lisa
My Bro and I at the finish
News from "Race Day"...
It couldn't have been a more picture perfect day-weather was great, and over 200 volunteers manned the streets so that we could run right down the middle of the road-downtown Boise! There were probably 400+ people running the 1/2 marathon, so it was definately fun to "people watch" as we ran. I had unfortunately gotten sick the week before, so I was battling my breathing-but my knee (which was my worst fear) stayed in great condition throughout the whole race! Praise the Lord!! But, I can honestly say, that it was one of the hardest things that I have ever accomplished. Ask me in a few months if I'll run in next year's race...My race time was 2hrs and 29min, and my brother ran it in 2hrs 13min. I am definately happy with that! Thank you all for your prayers, they were definately felt and greatly appreciated!

33 years young

That's right, 33 years ago my handsome husband entered into this world kicking and screaming (I'd like to say alot has changed, but....) And today he is 33 years old! Happy Birthday Sweetheart, we love you so much!

One week and counting...

Okay, so for those of you out of the loop-I've gone and done one of those crazy-spur-of-the-moment things, that hits us once in a while (or for those "sane" people probably never at all). I took it upon myself to go and sign up for a 1/2 marathon that in one week's time will take place here in Boise. I've been training for this for the last 12 weeks-and unfortunately I really feel like I could be WAY more prepared-but, can you ever really be prepared to go and run 13.1 miles? So, those of you reading this that may have some spare prayer time in your day-I could definately use a little! My biggest hurdle will be whether or not my knee will be up for the run-but I've determined it will be fun whether I'm running or limping along! Oh, and I also talked my older brother Scott into running this with me, and he graciously is doing it-probably to repay me for all of the grief, and early childhood jokes played at my expense.....Stay tuned for Race Day!

September Baby #3

Three baby girls in 3 weeks all in the month of September!!! Congrats Ed and Missy on your beautiful bundle of joy-and welcome to this world Libby Marie Veeck! 8lbs 4oz 21 1/2in. She is beautiful!!

Take a moment...

Yesturday was one of those days when you get reminded of what is truly important in life. A kind of soul-searching type of moment. Husband and I were fortunate enough to attend the funeral of a lady in our church-whom neither of us knew real well, but we know her son and daughter quite well. It was one of those things where you're there for moral support-figuring that you'll be in and out and all happy inside for being a good friend. Well, God had other plans for us in showing up to the service. It was such an amazing time of celebration over a mother's life that was well lived and loved. I found myself taking mental notes at some of the stories her son told about her-in how she made a difference in his life. So, I challenge you to take some time today to tell someone close to you that you love them-and why they mean so much to you. I can't imagine my life without my husband or 2 boys-or for how long I will have the chance to tell them and show them my love. So, here is my tribute to Nancy Graham, who lived a life modeled of Christ and was an amazing mom to her kids that I hope to do half as well as she did.

Coastal Living-for 4 days...

The Kinneyclan has officially left the beautiful Newport coast and is now headed back to a much drier Idaho climate. Husband and I packed up the boys for another road trip over to see Husband's mom and to meet with Carlos and Robin Rodi from Extreme Nazarene about our upcoming Argentina trip in January. Here are some pics from our stay...
One of our most important visits was to Chowder Bowl-which is one of Newport's best kept secrets for amazing clam chowder and fish and chips...
Here is Judy, Husband and Peanut on one of our many beach ventures...
Our cutie pie Big boy-He LOVED the beach!
Husband and Peanut learning about waves...
This is the boys at the marine science center-where there is alot of "hands on" exhibits where they can actually touch fish and marine life.
This is Husband and I cruising one of the docks at dusk-it was beautiful weather!

Welcome Baby Sophia!

Sophia Isabel Marchant
9lbs 7oz 23in-Beautiful Baby Girl!
Proud Parents: Dan & Candee
Baby Sophia
Candee, Her Mom, & Sophia
Korri & Cutie Pie
I Had A Hard Time Giving Her Back!
Congrats Dan & Candee!! You did good!

Park City Adventure

Posing at the chairlift that runs right into downtown!
One of the many moose sculptures in the city.
An athlete training at the ski pool at the Olympic Park
Daddy and Big boy
The Famous Olympic Park
The Kinney Clan just returned from a 5 day road trip to Park City, Utah. After receiving an amazing deal from the Marriott, we decided to pack up the boys and head out! It was absolutely beautiful! The fall colors were just starting to come out in the surrounding aspen trees and bushes. And we got to go and see the Olympic Park and watch athletes in training-pretty cool...Oh, and we definately hit the outlet mall-also a must if you are needing a little bargain shopping! Peanut threw us a bit of a surprise by getting sick the first night there-103+ temp-and miserable! But we pushed through and it worked out as good as it could! Husband and I have decided that it is just a different way of vacationing when kids are involved! Prepare for the unexpected for sure :)