We had a very bad, oh so SAD day....

My last post was about our cute lil kittens we had just adopted. Todays post is about those cute little kittens we had to give back. Sniff-sniff.

It all started with me (Sheri) getting the sneezies shortly after the cats arrived. Then I started getting the sniffies. Then my throat started to swell and become sore. I thought I was getting a cold, but everytime I left the house I mysteriously felt so much better.

Well, I am officially allergic to cats now. Never have been my entire life...why now?? So, I thought, I'll just take an allergy medicine because there is no way I'm taking those cats back!! (I'm pretty sure I wanted the cats more than the kids ever did!) Allergy medicine took away all my ailments except my swollen throat, and a nagging cough. It wore on me and I was just dragging ( maybe the allergy medicine too?).

Gene and I sat the kids down and told them what was happening. After A LOT of tears from EVERYONE we decided to take the cats back. And today was the day we did it. We ALL cried on the way there....and we ALL cried on the way back. Then we went and got milkshakes to try to cheer everyone up.

THEN at family prayer tonight....it was Audrey's turn to pray and she said in her prayer..."thank you for helping us make the right choice, so Mom can feel better." And then all the kids told me not to feel bad, because like all good Broadhursts do, I was crying again. Do I have great kids or what???

Got any ideas about cute cuddly pets other than cats?

New Pets.... :)

We've been promising our kids that we would eventually one day have our own family pets for years now. Austin has been so patient with us seeing how he is 11 now and was wanting a pet when he was 5! Austin is holding HIS cat Oreo (just don't tell the other kids its his!). Oreo reminds us of "Boogie" cat with his personality.


Audrey is holding Pebbles, a sweet lil girl kitty. She has been spayed and is just the sweetest thing. We picked both cats based on their personalities, and both are super sweet and purr constantly. We originally only went to get one girl kitty, but Oreo won over Austin's heart instantly, so he promised he wouldn't be sad if Oreo had to spend most of his time outside if he started marking his territory despite being neutered....sometimes they do that!

Baby Graham...Prayers PLEASE

To all our friends and extended family who read our blog we are asking for prayers. Last Friday Jeremy and Kori Broadhurst were blessed with the birth of their first baby boy (they have 2 lil girls already!) Graham. Jeremy is Sheri's brother.

Unfortunately he was born with a heart condition that prevents him from getting enough oxygen and was life flighted to Primary Children's hospital a few hours following his birth. The next day he went in for heart surgery. So far he is doing well following the surgery, but because he is so little its a "wait and see" kind of situation. We ask for prayers on behalf of baby Graham and his sweet parents...THANK YOU!

If you want to see pics of baby Graham go to my links section and click on "According to Natalie" or "Jeremi and Preston" who have done a better job of documenting what has happened.

So Proud...

Gene and I are just beside ourselves with how great our garden is doing this year! When we were in N.C. those pesky Japanese Beatles ate EVERYTHING! And we didn't want to load our veggies with pesticides. This garden has not required any pesticides. Sometimes we see our neighborhood bunnies hangin out in there, but so far they haven't munched on anything. AND we finally got our beans and cucumbers to climb our hanging wire like the square foot gardener said they would.... :)

King of the Water!

See that lil guy with the water hose? He was the Water King for a day. William had all the kids in the backyard sqweeling at his command and he LOVED it!!

4th of July

It was a rainy, rainy, 4th of July here in Ohio. The kids were climbing the walls because all of our plans got cancelled. So my so so sweet hubby decided he would help the kids do a pie bake-off...whatever kind they wanted to make. Isaac chose chocolate cream, Audrey chose cherry, and Austin chose smore cream pie. William just helped to eat them! :) It was fun...and the rain cleared just in time for the late night fireworks and everyone was happy. And FYI: We DO have the sideboards for finishing off those unfinished cupboards you can see...life just keeps getting in the way... :)

Grilled Chicken Paillards

For any of you that haven't checked out the Pioneer Woman blog, please go to the right side of my blog under Links and check it out. She is funny and I love how she takes pictures of food AND shares the recipes!

Speaking of recipes, I'll be sharing one right now. I only wish I could take pictures like PW does, but I'm not that skilled yet.

The recipe for Grilled Chicken Paillards was given to me by one of my college roomates. She was from Atlanta, Georgia and much more "southern" than this Florida girl...and she could cook! :) I love this recipe because this chicken is GREAT in leftovers...even my kids will eat it the next day and thats saying something! lol! So plan on making a double batch!

GRILLED CHICKEN PAILLARDS
4 to 6 chicken breast halves (you can use chicken tenders too)
Marinade Mixture: (just wisk together)
1 clove garlic (chopped)
3/4 to 1 tsp of salt ( I like less salt)
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 TBSP lemon juice (fresh is best)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 TBSP fresh rosemary, finely minced or 1/2 TBSP dried

Pound chicken breasts between sheets of plastic wrap (or I use large ziplock bags)until they are quite flat. Marinate for several hours in the refrigerator or overnight. We always do overnight. And I just pour the marinade into the same ziplock bags that I pounded the chicken in. Just be sure you didn't pound any holes into the ziplock bags when you were pounding the chicken. Then they are ready to be grilled when you are ready to eat!

Note: Sometimes we like to double the amount of marinade....just try it and you'll see why! :)

Bon Appetite!