I hate goodbyes.....

We had a little party the Sunday before we left with both of our familes. It was SO fun to hang out with everyone and talk and laugh and eat good food and spend some time together......to bad it meant we were moving hours and hours away in 2 days :(

And of course.....our family parties always end up in some sort of UFC wrestling..........

Sooooooo Gooooood!!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchilada Casserole

adapted from the Sister's Cafe

5 T. honey
5 T. fresh squeezed lime juice
1 T. chili powder
1 T. minced garlic
1 lb. chicken, cooked and shredded
1/2 a red onion sliced and sauted
5 flour tortillas
1 lb. monterey jack cheese, shredded
16 ounces(or a little more if you like them saucy!) green enchilada sauce
1/2 C. heavy cream


Mix the honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic together and toss with the sauted red onion and shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour.


Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan, start layering a little sauce, torn tortillas, chicken, cheese, a little sauce, torn tortillas, chicken, cheese 2-3 layers or so thick, saving some sauce and some of the cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Then turn on broiler and let it broil until cheese is slightly brown and crispy!! YUMMMM!!

I served mine with sour cream, pico de gallo, and cilantro.

P.S. I learned the coolest trick for shredding chicken! After its cooked put it in a bowl and use your hand mixer! Works like a charm, and shreds it perfectly! Its so easy.....

The 4th of July

I love love LOVE the 4th of July. We had a really fun weekend! Byron and the kids were in town which made it even better! We went down to Melba for a picnic and to sit and watch the fireworks with tons of friends and family. Melba has THE BEST firework show EVER!! My family started going several years ago, just the 6 of us...and our group has been growing and growing every year since, this year there were over 50 of us!! Once you go to Melba and experience the heat of the great balls of fire and thinking its just got to be the finale at least 3 times..... you just don't want to go anywhere else.

My Birthday Box

I have to show off my husbands handy work. I got the BEST birthday gift from him!

A few months back we went and walked around at the Eagle farmers market, and at all the jewelry booths they had the coolest display boxes to hang all the ear rings. I have quite a few ear rings, I LOVE them! But they all get lost or broken and tangled because I have nowhere to hang them all! Until now! My husband built me one of those boxes with his own 2 hands straight from memory....it was so sweet. He has been going over to his parents house every Wednesday for the past month or two. I thought he was just hanging out with his family, relaxing, and playing the piano...NOPE! He was working on this box just for me! I had no clue! It was such a fun surprise. Love him!!!
Its even more full now...... :)

Arkansas Bound

In less than 2 months we will be packing up everything we own, driving across the country to a place I've NEVER been and unpacking it in the HOT HOT humid weather of Searcy Arkansas. Really???? is still usually what comes to my mind when I think about it.....but then I remember that peaceful calm I once had that led us to this decision, and then I know everything is going to be ok. It still doesn't make complete sense, and all the unknowns seem so scary....but also feel like an exciting adventure all at the same time!

On August 16th Joel will be starting his P.A.(Physician Assistant) program at Harding University. He has worked REALLY hard to get here, and I am so proud of him. We(and when I say we I guess I actually mean HE, but I've been there for support :) have been checking things off the list for quite awhile to get to this point...

-Take all the right, really hard and stressful classes...check!
-Do lots of hours of job shadowing and volunteer work.....check!
-Graduate from BSU....check!
-Fill out really really long tedious school applications.....check!
-Fly all over the country dressed in a business suit, rent a car, get a hotel, go to an interview and fly home the next day....check!

-And much much more!

But we made it! This school was actually the first interview he went to of several and he got in!! So basically we wasted a lot of money flying around to all the others...but they don't tell you whether you're in or not for MONTHS!!! so instead of wasted we'll just call it experience I guess... :)

We joke about what a different experience we are each going to have in our little Arkansas town....I am headed towards some freedom and change, and he(poor guy) is headed towards a couple years of really hard work and captivity. But I KNOW he can do it! He is pretty dang smart if I do say so myself...and I do... :)

This is a big step for our little family. We have had a lot of support and excitement from most everyone we've talked to about it, some sad for us to leave(because we are so great) and a few tilted heads and almost painful looks that say "Oh....Arkansas....I'm sorry" But no matter what the first reaction is, everyone has come to the same conclusion...This will be good for us! We will learn things about ourselves and each other and grow in ways we would never otherwise know or experience without this adventure. We can always come home when school is through. Our families are there for support no matter how far away. We know Heavenly Father will be there for us no matter where in the world we are. So we can do this!

I am excited to know the people we will become after this experience. I know we are going to be the same yet so different when we walk away from these next 2 years....Joel will be
Joel Burch P.A.C. and I hOpeFulLy will be Cassie Burch M.O.M. :) Who knows? So ready or not! Here we go!

Oh How Romantic........

For our 2nd anniversary we went to the Mona Lisa for some fondue.....which was oh so yummy! It was so romantic with all the white lights, and Frank Sinatra....Nora Jones...and Michael Buble singing to us in the background.... :) I can't believe its already been two years!

On March 13th 2010 sister got married.....the weather was a little cold and windy, but other than that it was a beautiful day! Congratulations little love birds!! And welcome to the family Heath!