Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
Chosen Family
We are beyond blessed with an amazingly large diverse group of friends. Our emotional relationships are strong, honest and real and such we call them family. Aunties, Uncles, Nana's, Papa's & cousins all family by choice not blood.
This summer we had the privilege to spend almost 6 weeks with my Cheryl and her family. Technically we are family through marriage. My fathers and her mother were married over 10 years ago. She and I have never lived together until this visit. When our parents first got together she was just approaching her 20's......I had been out running my own life forever at that point. We got on, but didn't have too much in common. She was young and dating, living the life of the average 20 something. I was running a house hold and several side businesses. I almost always had one or more little people in tow and was fully immersed in being an " adult". As the years passed we enjoyed spending time and working out " how our being sisters" was going to look. I'm delighted to say that over the last few years we have grown into best friends ! The gap in our everyday lives is not so obvious. We're both Momma's........ a great bonding element !! She's funny and girlie and intelligent and strong and caring and passionate and thoughtful and dedicated ....she's just stunning inside & out. AMAZING in fact !!!
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Cheryl along with her wonderfully charming hubby Josh have created a beautiful family and inspire me daily with their love and dedication for each other and their shared dreams/goals.
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The 6 weeks just flew by........we went on a few adventures........
In between going on adventures we just hung out. While Cheryl & Josh were at work the kids and I kept busy playing, shopping, cooking, playing, reading, napping, laughing, did I mention playing, snuggling, getting mucky, creating what I hope will life long memories and bonds !!!
You never quite know " How things will go " when you put a large group under one roof. Especially when you throw in some " Special needs/quirks". It went perfectly !!!! We were all dreading it ending. So we decided to make sure that our two families will have these wonderful concentrated visits frequently. Our next one is coming up soon........We'll be having a white Christmas for sure this year :)
This summer we had the privilege to spend almost 6 weeks with my Cheryl and her family. Technically we are family through marriage. My fathers and her mother were married over 10 years ago. She and I have never lived together until this visit. When our parents first got together she was just approaching her 20's......I had been out running my own life forever at that point. We got on, but didn't have too much in common. She was young and dating, living the life of the average 20 something. I was running a house hold and several side businesses. I almost always had one or more little people in tow and was fully immersed in being an " adult". As the years passed we enjoyed spending time and working out " how our being sisters" was going to look. I'm delighted to say that over the last few years we have grown into best friends ! The gap in our everyday lives is not so obvious. We're both Momma's........ a great bonding element !! She's funny and girlie and intelligent and strong and caring and passionate and thoughtful and dedicated ....she's just stunning inside & out. AMAZING in fact !!!
editedbw.jpg)
Cheryl along with her wonderfully charming hubby Josh have created a beautiful family and inspire me daily with their love and dedication for each other and their shared dreams/goals.
edited.jpg)
The 6 weeks just flew by........we went on a few adventures........
we went to zoo a couple of times.......
we celebrated Canada Day !!!
we went on a day trip into Drumheller......
we celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Stampede !!!!!
You never quite know " How things will go " when you put a large group under one roof. Especially when you throw in some " Special needs/quirks". It went perfectly !!!! We were all dreading it ending. So we decided to make sure that our two families will have these wonderful concentrated visits frequently. Our next one is coming up soon........We'll be having a white Christmas for sure this year :)
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Sweet treat to help get us back on track....:)
Wow !!! My last post was way back in July....How crazy is that? All I can say is that we've been off living life. I aspire to catch things up over the next couple of weeks. I thought I'd start with sharing my newest creation. I've been on the search for a good Chewy Macaroon recipe that was allergen friendly. For us that means no gluten, dairy, nuts or soy. After a bit of trail and error I think I've got it right :) So here it is:
Combine sugar and coconut in a large bowl. Make a well. Pour in egg whites & vanilla. Start mixing with you favorite wooden spoon. Mixture will be a mixture of sticky & crumbly if that makes sense. If you find that it's really to dry just add a bit more egg white and stir again. Add the chopped chocolate. Stir up well and then let sit for a bit while your prep your pans and turn on the oven ( 350).. For this recipe I found that using a metal pan lined with Parchment worked best. I used the double spoon method to make my mounds and then with damp finders I carefully pressed them together on the pan. They took about 12 minute to be golden brown. Allow to cool a bit before trying to remove from the pan. I hope you give them a try...there super yummy !!
Chocolate Chip Coconut Macaroon Cookies Shepley Style
1 & 1/2 cup white sugar
6 cups unsweetened Coconut
1/2 cup + carton egg whites
tsp. pure vanilla
1 cup chopped Enjoy Life Chocolate Chunks
Combine sugar and coconut in a large bowl. Make a well. Pour in egg whites & vanilla. Start mixing with you favorite wooden spoon. Mixture will be a mixture of sticky & crumbly if that makes sense. If you find that it's really to dry just add a bit more egg white and stir again. Add the chopped chocolate. Stir up well and then let sit for a bit while your prep your pans and turn on the oven ( 350).. For this recipe I found that using a metal pan lined with Parchment worked best. I used the double spoon method to make my mounds and then with damp finders I carefully pressed them together on the pan. They took about 12 minute to be golden brown. Allow to cool a bit before trying to remove from the pan. I hope you give them a try...there super yummy !!
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