Giveaway winner and answers to questions

The winner is Jenn!! Please email me at efamilyblog@gmail.com to let me know which gift card you would like and where to send it!

• Amanda asked: What is your favorite thing to do when you get "mommy alone time?"
  Good question! Too bad there’s so little of it! :) One of my main “me times” is my lunch hour. I usually try to run errands or use this time to meet up with friends and catch up sans worrying about another person. I’m trying hard to limit how many times per week I do lunch out, so I come home a lot. It’s nice to have about an hour of time to myself at home to do whatever I want! When I do sneak in a little alone time otherwise, I enjoy just getting out and heading to browse at stores!  I also enjoy settling in with a good book or movie!    

• icitea asked: whats your favorite recipe?
  Hmmm.. I really enjoy cooking and have lots of favorite recipes. I’ll share one meal that we enjoy fairly regularly at our house – it’s super easy and yummy!

Swiss Chicken Casserole – from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 6 slices Swiss cheese
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cups herb-seasoned stuffing mix
• 1/4 cup butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Arrange chicken in a greased 12 x 8 x 2 baking dish. Top with Swiss cheese slices.
3. Combine soup and milk and stir well. Spoon mixture over chicken and sprinkle with stuffing mix. Drizzle butter or margarine over crumbs.
4. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 minutes. Enjoy! 

• Emily asked: what's Ava's favorite food?
  Ava really isn’t a picky eater, fortunately. Things she never turns down are fruit snacks and yogurt. Other things she always enjoys eating are fruit (especially blueberries and strawberries) and pretty much all protein (chicken, turkey, ham, beef, eggs, etc). Another thing she loves to eat is chips and salsa! Smart girl!
  
  
• Alycia asked: Why did you start blogging?
  I started blogging a few months before Ava was born because I wanted to have a detailed record of her life. I love looking back at this journal of our family and seeing the things we’ve gone through and how we’ve grown and change.
  
  
• Emily asked: And (a little more personal) how many kids do you want to have?
  Lyndsey asked: Do you want to have any more children?
  We definitely want more children (though on tough days with Ava, I wonder!) I’m really not sure how many we are going to have. I grew up in a family of five children and before getting married, I always thought I’d love four kids! However, it’s so sad to say this, but I’m not sure we can afford that many. If we didn’t have the expense of daycare it might be a different story. That being said, we’re taking steps to set ourselves up for a better financial future in hopes that we’ll be able to do more in the future. That may or may not translate to more children! I would say that when we have a 2nd, if it’s a girl, we may consider one more because Zach would really like a son. If our 2nd is a boy, I really have no idea if we’ll consider more. I think we’ll just see how we feel after 2 and of course, we know it’s ultimately up to the Lord!
  
  
• Jenn asked: Knowing that in life there are things that you HAVE to do and things you GET to do, what are some things you have to do in life and some things you get to do in life?
  Wow, that is a great question.
  Things I HAVE to do:
  1. Go to work (thought in light of all that’s happened recently, I am trying to view this as a GET to do!)
  2. Clean my house
  3. Pay bills
  4. Set an example for the type of woman I want Ava to grow up to be
  Things I GET to do:
  1. Spend time with my family and friends
  2. Go to church and worship Jesus
  3. View the world through the eyes of a 2 year old little girl
  4. One of my favorite things ever – travel!! 

• Lyndsey asked: Also, what's the best thing and the hardest thing about being a mom?
  One of the best things about being a mom is when I hear that sweet little voice say “love you mama!” I love knowing that I’m who she wants to make everything better. Two of the very hardest things about being a mom: seeing your child sick and not being able to take away their pain and the other is disciplining, especially a strong willed child like ours!

• Liz asked: Who is your all-time style icon?
  I wouldn’t really say I have an all-time style icon. I don’t know that I have a particular style. If something catches my eye, then I try it on. My style is mostly finding clothes that I feel comfortable in (meaning, feel as though I look decent).

• TIffany: I want to know how you get followers and where you got your blog design.
  My followers have slowly grown over the years I’ve been blogging. Most of them fall into the categories of either people I know or people I’ve met through blogging, by reading and commenting on their blogs.
  My current layout was done by Jen Gets Fancy. She is currently not accepting new orders as she’s getting ready for the birth of her 2nd daughter, but if you have questions you can contact her and see when she’ll be accepting new business.
  Recently, I’ve had a few friends get makeovers from Diamond Doll Design and the layouts they have are PRECIOUS! You might check her out if you are wanting something more quickly! She has a special going on during the month of March!!

Several people asked the story of how Zach and I met. I’m actually going to save this for a separate post. There’s a nice little story behind it and it could get a little long so it will be a post all it’s own. Watch for it soon! :)Thanks for all the questions!!