My girls

These are my big girls, Ally and Meghan. I could not be more proud of these girls if they grew up to be presidents. They are my gifts from God. They are living proof that if we take the time to train our children, they will use this training to God's glory and our benefits.

Starting last Saturday, morning sickness (or more accurately, all day sickness) began. It has gotten steadily worse each day, until no longer does food sound good and even slightly rocking in the rocking chair is enough to make my stomach turn.

I have been slightly less sick first thing in the morning, so I've been trying to quickly get myself and the babies ready, my bed made and the laundry going. Their school schedules are not difficult because I can make those from my chair.

When I was pregnant with the boys, I was so ill that I was completely bed-ridden for the first and last trimesters. This time around, I am trying my hardest to get myself prettied-up and down to the recliner if for no other reason than to be an adult presence for my kiddos.

In spite of this set back, I just walked downstairs where I found a sparkling house, happy boys, the washer and dryer both going, fresh banana bread baking, and dinner in the oven.

My girls wanted to see me happy and they have been successful.

I remember when they were little and they wanted to help cook or wash the dishes or do the laundry, thinking "I could do this so much faster and so much neater by myself!", but I would take the time to stand over them showing them how to do their jobs well. I was not always patient mind you. I still get frustrated when a job isn't done the way I like it done. Nearly six kids and I'm still way too uptight:-(

The rewards I am now reaping have made those hours well worth it. The girls do a better job at keeping house than I do. They sing while they work, they play games to while away the hours spent at the kitchen sink, they quote favorite movie lines. There is a general attitude of cheerfulness and contentedness while they go about their work.

God promises us that if we "Train up our child in the way he (or she) should go, when they are old they will not depart from it." Although my children are not old yet, I am already seeing Him fulfill His promise to me.

I am so proud of my girls, and so grateful that God gave them to me!

Delicious Dinner!!

Every time I sit down here to write, my first thought is "I wish I had time to do this more often." But life just seems to keep getting in the way of computer time!
Christmas was extremely busy, even though I kept on looking for ways to make it laid back. I will say, that this was the best Christmas our family has ever had. We enjoyed each other so much. Jonny got to take off work basically the entire week of Christmas, Nate and Steph came with their precious babies, the food was delicious, all five little ones were completely quiet while Papa read Luke 2, we got so many gifts that we kept losing children under all the wrapping paper, we watched all the Christmas movies, I made toffee three times due to the high demand, we were all healthy.
I felt God's blessings this year more than I ever have.

I don't usually have as hard of a time going into January as I have this year. I was really sad to see the Christmas decorations come down, to take down the lights, to stop baking, and to have to stop the general attitude in the house of vacation.
Starting school this year has been a little difficult for me and for the girls. This could be partially attributed to the fact that I discovered the day after Christmas that the sixth Jeppsen baby is on their way.
This particular pregnancy has exhausted me so far. No sickness as of yet, just that weary feeling that starts when my eyes open in the morning and lasts until they close again at night. Maybe it's because I'm getting older:-(

Well onto the purpose for this post. I mentioned tonight on Facebook that we were having a feast for dinner, and was asked to put the menu along with recipes on here. So here we go.
Tonight I made Roast Beef with pan gravy, mashed red potatoes, glazed baby carrots, broccoli with cheese sauce, rolls, and chocolate layer cake. I should technically be cutting way back on the fat intake after a rather rich December, but I just love cooking in January! Not to mention that I got a new double oven that I couldn't wait to use.

The recipe for the roast is on one of my first posts entitled "Regarding Roast" and the chocolate layer cake, I'm sad to say, was from a box, but the rest of the recipes I will put on here for you.

Glazed Baby Carrots
Put about 4 cups of baby carrots into a skillet full of boiling water and let boil just about five minutes. Drain the water and add a half a stick of butter to the carrots. Allow the butter to melt and then put in a cup of OJ and 1/4 cup of honey and let simmer about ten minutes stirring every couple of minutes.

Mashed Red Potatoes
My entire cooking life, I have used Russett potatoes for making mashed potatoes. That is until I went to my in-laws the week of Christmas and had my mother-in-laws mashed red potatoes. They were so delicious that I new I had to change my ways. I'm not exactly sure how she made hers, but I just scrubbed and boiled about six pounds of them until they were easy to cut. Then I drained them and put them in my mixer. I had to use the bread hook because they were to thick for my whisk attachment to handle. Then I slowly poured in enough whole milk to make them nice and creamy and added way to much butter and salt to tell you about. You put in as much as you like. They were amazing!! We poured the pan gravy over them that I made with the help of my sister-in-law, using the roast drippings, gravy mix, salt, pepper, and beef broth. Delicious!!!

Broccoli with Cheese Sauce
I just steamed a bunch of broccoli in the microwave for about six minutes and then made the best cheese sauce I've ever tasted. I've always just melted Velveeta and added a little milk to it, but this was a million times better! You put about a cup and a half of extra sharp cheddar cheese, a block of cream cheese, and four slices of American cheese into the food processor. Add about 3 to 4 tablespoons of whole milk and about 5 drops of Tabasco sauce. Blend it until it's completely smooth and then put it in a double boiler and slowly melt it stirring with a whisk until it's nice and creamy. Then pour over the broccoli. Even Jonny liked this recipe and he really prefers his broccoli without cheese.

It really was a delicious dinner although it took me about three hours to make, not to mention the time it's taking the girls to clean up from it. I usually try to keep the kitchen clean while I'm cooking, but because the girls were at art class and I had all three babies by myself, not to mention about ten different foods cooking at the same time, the place looks like a hurricane ran through it. Thank goodness for big girls;-)

I am off now to sit on the couch and try relax despite the fact that the boys destroyed the living room while "watching a movie" this evening. The question is, can I actually sit and ignore it, or will I have to clean it up first. Hhhmmm.....
Off to clean up!