Happy Anniversary!

Today as of 10:30 AM, we will have been married 5 years! Time has really flown, and I can honestly say that I love Welles so much more today than the day we were married. He is so supportive of me, loves me unconditionally, loves my family, and is a great "dad" to Missy Lou. walking down the aisle...
Ralph and Ann Dewberry (Ralph is the pastor that married us):

Five years ago, we had a beautiful wedding at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA. The weather was perfect, and there was not one cloud in the sky! Our closest family and friends were with us, and it made the whole weekend so memorable to have a "destination wedding." I look forward to what the next five years brings!

Here's a look back in time...

one of Welles' favorite pictures of me:

and one of my favorite pictures of him:

Pineapple Casserole

YUM! I will never forget the first time I had pineapple casserole! This goes really well with the Spiral Cut Ham recipe in the next post. Can you tell I am thinking about an Easter meal?

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups grated sharp cheddar
2 (20-ounce) cans pineapple chunks, drained, and 6 tablespoons pineapple juice reserved
1 cup Ritz cracker crumbs
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus extra for greasing pan

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a medium-size casserole dish with butter.
In a large bowl, stir together the sugar and flour.
Gradually stir in the cheese.
Add the drained pineapple chunks, and stir until ingredients are well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
In another medium bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, melted butter, and reserved pineapple juice, stirring with a rubber spatula until evenly blended. Spread crumb mixture on top of pineapple mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Spiral Cut Ham

Several years ago, I took a catering class, and this was one of the recipes we were taught. This is a great tasting and easy main dish for feeding a large group of people.

Ingredients:

1 Spiral Cut Ham - already cooked

1 jar of creole mustard

1 container honey

Place the ham (or you could buy two small spiral cut hams) in a roasting pan. Fan the spirals so that the sauce will make its way between the pieces. Mix the jar of creole mustard and the container of honey. Pour this mixture over every inch of the ham. Place in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 to warm through.

This is best served with buttermilk biscuits - I like Sister Shuberts!

Missy's Portraits

Is this our dog?
Missy 1:



















Picasso Pets is a fundraiser including a silent auction for Hand-In-Paw. Welles and I attended this event last August, and silently bid many times for a portrait of Missy. We won, and above is the product. I had already contracted with a friend/co-worker to paint Missy for Welles' birthday, and below is her portriat.

Missy 2:














Painted from this picture:

So - which one is more like our sweet Missy Lou?

U.S.A.

There is a WWII veteran who lives near us. Every day he puts his American Flag up. His yard is one of the prettiest in the neighborhood, and he spends hours in the spring and summer tending to the yard. I thought the flag looked so pretty against the snow-covered trees.

Missy in the Snow

Missy was like a little kid in the snow! Once we would come inside, she would ring her bell to go back out!