The Jolliff Family

Maybe you are planning on going to the Gym in 2011. That is great, but I have some common courtesies to remember when you head out to the gym. 1. Wipe off your equipment- It is the height of cold and flu season, wipe your machine off after your use. Not only do I not want to get your germs all over my hands, I also don't want to put my hands where your sweaty hands have been or ride the bike after you. They provide the towels and the spray, take a few extra steps and wipe off your stuff! It is easy really. 2. Don't talk on your blue tooth- This really drives me crazy (and for the record, I think it is annoying in the grocery store too.) Maybe you are in much better shape than I am, but I can barely breath when using the elliptical, let alone carry on a conversation. And honestly, I don't like hearing your private conversation while I am trying to relax and exercise! Hang it up, it really is ok to be unconnected to your cell phone for an hour of the day. 3. Don...

Yum! And did you just gain 5 pounds by reading the title. I really like red velvet cake. My grandma Purcell used to make great red velvet cake and now my Aunt Martha makes it each Christmas. I decided to make these brownies after seeing them in the December issue of Southern Living. Check these brownies out... First, take a 9x9 pan and line it with foil. Grease it slightly. I used good ole Crisco. Then microwave 4oz bittersweet chocolate baking bar and 3/4 c butter until melted. Stir it about every 30 seconds so you don't scorch your chocolate. It took mine around 2 minutes to completely melt together. After melted, whisk in 2 c sugar. You will then add, four eggs- 1 at a time. Whisk until just blended. Helpful hint, make sure your eggs are room temperature. If you have all your ingredients at room temperature when baking, it will bake more even! Then gently stir in 1 1/2 c flour, 1 bottle red food coloring, 1 1/2 tsp. baking power, 1 tsp. vanilla extract and 1/8 t...

We have had a fun time today and so have the boys:) It is Christmas morning, a day that Sam has been waiting for. However, he didn't want to start opening presents until he had a poptart he informed us. So, after savoring every last bite of his poptart, the present opening began!! First up... a present for the boys! A new waffle maker:) And from there, it was ripping paper and being excited about each gift. He received some more fence, which is good because there is plenty to share and plenty to play with! Andrew opened up his gift from Sam, a new baby calf. Sam picked it out and wrapped it all by himself! Sam showing off his present from Andrew, a Toy Story set. Buzz has been spotted today flying through Sam's farm in his room and Woody is currently watching "Cinderella" with Sam:) Hap getting some assistance from Andrew opening his presents. My favorite present from the guys today was a new body pillow! Yep, I love it:) and I am sure I will sleep better than I h...

Today is Christmas Eve and we celebrated by Hap's parents and brother, Zeb coming over for a quick visit. Zeb was a big hit with his IPad. The boys enjoyed some dinosaur fighting and watching You Tube:) Andrew and Sam received Pez dispensers, which provided entertainment tonight during the Christmas Eve Service! Andrew and Carl are checking it out! Sam received a table and four chairs from Carl and Jessica. He loves to get the little table and chairs out at their house and now he has some of his own. He will enjoy rearranging them and it also provides a great place for his xylophone. Sam says Thank You, Grandma Jolliff and Papa. Zeb also brought over a singing and moving Santa hat. A still picture doesn't do it justice, but Andrew loved to wear it. Andrew also received a farm set from his grandparents. I am sure the boys are going to enjoy playing with this in the months to come! Another picture of Andrew I thought was so funny. The hat was a little big, so he would s...

Today is Christmas Eve Eve and the boys celebrated by opening some presents. My parents came last night and spent the night before heading out to Nathan and Heather's new home to celebrate Christmas with them. They came bearing gifts and the boys opened them up with eager anticipation. The first gift was for Andrew, which Sam helped with! Andrew is an old pro at this present stuff, he has gotten lots of practice for Christmas morning:) A whizz and spin parking garage!! The boys LOVE it!! They have played with it all day long. Seeing the cars go down the ramp is fun for them and they are sharing so nicely! Then it was Sam's present. What could it be? Oh... did I mention we are watching Ned for the weekend. The boys are having a blast with him too!! Andrew can say "Ned" and Sam likes to feed him treats! Back to the presents. Sam received a mega wooden xylophone! Say what? Yep, a mega wooden xylophone. He really likes it, it is the perfect addition for his p...

As the new year is quickly approaching, maybe you are beginning to think about some resolutions that you want to hold to over 2011. If one of your resolutions is to get unhooked from technology and read more, I want to offer you four book reviews of books I have read in the last month or so. Maybe you would enjoy reading one or all of them in the new year! 1. Radical: Taking Back your faith from the American Dream by David Platt - This book will change your prospective on the poor of the world and your role in reaching them with the gospel message of Jesus Christ. The American Dream is all about me, look how I have worked so hard, notice my huge house in the perfect neighborhood, stand in awe of my perfect kids in my perfect vehicle. While having a nice house, great kids and a vehicle isn't wrong, what is wrong he points out in the book is being so comfortable in our situations that we forget there is an entire world surrounding us that is full of need. He definitely isn't sayi...

This past weekend we celebrated Christmas with the Purcell side of the family! My parents, Heather and Nathan and us met in Springfield at a hotel on Friday night. We decided to get a hotel room to try and maximize the time we spent together. Another great thing about a hotel... the pool! Sam, Andrew and Hap swam while the rest of us visited. Check out this cool dude:) Sam had a great time jumping in time and time again, while Andrew was a little more reserved and wanted to mainly watch. Later that evening, it was present time. The boys enjoyed opening up presents again! It is fun to see how excited Sam gets each time it is his turn to open presents. We do need to work on saying Thank You more often, but he'll get it! Andrew's turn at the presents and he was better this weekend! He didn't just rip the paper up, but actually was interested in the presents and not just making a mess:) Sam's favorite present of the weekend: his construction gear. He has played wi...