Snowy Day

It's gonna be a long winter...so far I don't think I will mind. I love cozy days, bundled up in the house. However, I might change my mind come February =D

Our Day at Princeton

Yesterday my sweet husband surprised me with a day trip to Princeton, New Jersey. We went with our neighbors and dear friends, the Rogers. The guys took a day off of work and both families loaded up in a van and headed an hour north to the beautiful town of Princeton. It was a perfect day filled with great food, beautiful weather, amazing history, gorgeous sites, uplifting conversations, and happy babies!

The girls loved running through the graveyard. The had no idea what they were running around, but they didn't care.

Recipe-White Chicken Lasanga

lasagna noodles  (I used whole wheat and used 12 noodles!)

1/2 c. butter

1 onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

ground black pepper, to taste

2 c. chicken broth

2 c. nonfat milk  (Trust me, the white sauce was totally creamy!)

4 c. mozzarella cheese, divided  (I didn’t actually measure out my cheeses… just use what looks good to you!)

1 c. shredded or grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. oregano

1 c. part-skim ricotta cheese, or cottage cheese

1 1/2 c. cooked and shredded chicken

1 layer of fresh spinach (you can use frozen)

Around 3 cups butternut squash puree ( you can use frozen)

Melt butter in a large saucepot.  Add onions and garlic and cook over medium heat until translucent.  Add flour, salt, and pepper.  Cook flour mixture 1-2 minutes.  Add chicken broth and milk.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir 1 minute.  Turn off heat and add 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese.  Stir in dried spices.

Lightly spray a 9×13″ baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Ladle some cheese sauce onto the bottom to thinly cover.  Add a layer of lasagna noodles.  Layer with more cheese sauce, the chicken, and the ricotta cheese.  Add another layer of pasta.  Top with cheese sauce, spinach, and 1 c. mozzarella cheese.  Add another layer of pasta.  Top with cheese sauce.  Using a spoon, spread the butternut squash puree over the cheese sauce.  Top with remaining 1 c. mozzarella cheese and 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese.  Add final layer of lasagna.  Top with remaining cheese sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and continue to cook until bubbly.  If cheese doesn’t brown on top, turn on the broiler for the last couple minutes.  Allow lasagna to sit about 15 minutes before serving for easier slicing.

I made this for our neighbors and we all loved it!

Fall into Fun!

We have been having an amazing fall week. Filled with all kinds of fall goodies! And to top it all off Sawyer Beth is becoming so much fun!!! I can't believe how smart she is getting. I can ask her to go get things from her room and she will walk back to her room and get them!! It's amazing to me. She is also starting to enjoy so many things. For example, the trees blowing in the wind, dogs barking, our pumpkin on our porch, little pieces of paper...the list could go on. AND her vocabulary is growing. She points to the oven and says in her little way "hot", and she points to our pumpkin and says "pum pum." One last thing...she is loving putting stuff on, especially mommies necklaces! I don't mind because it's a very easy entertaining tool when I"m cooking =D


I have to add these pictures too, the first is of an a Halloween outfit my mom got her, the leggings and so cute with bats, and spider webs. And the other outfit is an adorable fall outfit, Susu (my MIL) got her that hat and she wears it almost everyday!


This last picture is of Sawyer waiting for her Daddy to get home. She will stand by the door and say "da da da da" =D Melts my heart


I'm loving these fall days. I want these next few months to go by so slowly =D I'm already planning our menu for Thanksgiving, and I'm starting some things for us to do as a family for Advent this year!!!!! Ahhh Christmas...but first Fall, and then Thanksgiving. Okay I am done rambling.

Louisville Trip

Well we've been home for almost a week. It's been a crazy week. Clint got sick on Tuesday, he said home from work Wednesday and Thursday. And Sawyer still is not 100%, going on a week of diarrhea. So I have not really had the time to sit and update the blog. But as Sawyer is taking her nap, Clint is watching football...I thought it was the perfect time to update on our life and mainly our trip to Louisville.

Well it started out perfect...I mean we had some wonderful days, and the weather was perfect. We stayed with Clint's mom and step dad first. I could tell as soon as we got there that Sawyer felt comfortable and at home, having Riley the puppy dog helped too! Here are some pics of our time with Susu and Paw Paw Steve:





Then we went over to Clint's Dad's for breakfast...Sawyer great-grandma Doris was there! They were loving there time with Sawyer and she was such a good girl for them, and she loved her Papa Bella's breakfast!!! Here are the pics of our time there:




Then we went and spent some time with one of my best friends Tereza, and her sweet boy Gabe. Sawyer loved playing with all the new toys, and I loved my time with Tereza:




When Sawyer was napping I went over to Amy's, my sister-in-law, house and loved on her sweet boy Zeke! We had a great time!!!



Later that day Chad, Amy, and Zeke came over to the Blanchards ( Clint's parents) and we walked the boulavard. It was so sweet because I spent the first 5 years of my life walking and playing on the boulavard!!! Here are some awesome pics we captured:












Oh my goodness I am already tired of typing and uploading pictures and I am not even half way through the week =D We were busy girls! On Tuesday my dear friend Hannah and her little girl Lydia came over. Hannah and I always have so much to talk about!!! Here are our sweet girls:




Then we headed to my parents house. Sawyer did amazing as soon as we got there, it was as if we had never left and she still lived there!! Too sweet!!! She got to go on a walk with her Grampy, her great-grandmother loved on her a ton..she was living it up!





Then we had Sawyer's first birthday party. It was perfect! All the kids who came were amazing, the food was delightful, the weather was ideal, I could go on and on. I laid in bed that night with such a full and thankful heart, I couldn't stop smiling! And I think Sawyer felt the same way. I didn't take a ton of pics but here are my favorites:






I got lazy the rest of the week and didn't take any pictures! I'm so mad that I didn't. I went to see my best friend from college and her little boy Colt. It was great to see them and there new little house! And then we headed over to my uncles and hung out with his family. Sawyer loved her 2nd cousins. They picked her up and carried her around and all had a blast! Then my mom and I took Sawyer to get some professional pictures taken. Sawyer did great! I can't wait to see the results!!! And I started to get ready for one of my best friends weddings. We had the reception Thursday night. It was perfect!!!! Then things started to make a turn for the worse. I started to feel sick Friday afternoon...my mom got sick Friday morning. My worst nightmare came true. I had the stomach bug!!!!!!! I had to miss my best friends wedding...I couldn't believe this was happening. Sawyer went and stayed with Steve and Susan ( who got sick later). She did great with them, which was such a blessing. We had to re-schedule our flight for Sunday instead of Saturday because I still didn't feel well. The Lord's plans are different from ours. I still can't believe I missed her wedding, my heart still aches and I am so dissapointed. But what do you do???? Okay I am tired of typing...it's nap time in the Casabella house!!!! I'll try an do a post later for Sawyer's 12 months!!!

Happy Birthday Sawyer!

Well Sawyer just had her first birthday party, the only thing that could have made it better was having her daddy here!!! We missed you so much Clint! But some how we still managed to have a blast, even though the daddy couldn't be a part of it.

Sawyer did amazing, I mean she was such a trooper! I was so made of her! You could tell she felt good being surrounded by all the people who love her so much.