A Fun-Filled Weekend!

Stephen and I had a wonderful weekend full of pups, food and friends!  Our good friends, Mike and Amanda were headed out of town on Thursday morning and they needed someone to take care of their pups.  Stephen and I were giddy little kids at the thought of being able to have dogs for a few nights/days, so when they asked us, of course we said "YES!!!"!

Here are the cuties we got to love on: Mr. Bennett the Miniature Schnauzer and Princeton the German Shorthaired Pointer.

As a new pseudo-mom and pseudo-dad of cute little pooches, we began our weekend with a huge smile on our face!  On Friday night, Stephen and I enjoyed a yummy dinner at a fun little Italian restaurant down on Wabash with Stephen's teammate/coworker and her husband.  It was fun to sit and catch up with them as we don't get together as often as we'd like.  We then hurried home to take care of the boys and to get things in order for our big day on Saturday....

Stephen and I are both in our own single-sexed small groups on Sunday nights.  He has eleven guys in his group (including himself).  Every Sunday night, I head over to my small group of six at my friend, Laura's apartment while Stephen is meeting with his at our apartment.  I really love that we have this time to fellowship, have accountability and spend time growing in our relationship with Christ with our friends.  This small group has really enabled me to develop deeper friendships with other ladies who are trying to live their lives for the Lord.  Stephen and I decided a couple of weeks ago that we were going to have a pancake breakfast one Saturday morning and unite both of our small groups and their significant others.  This past Saturday was the day for that!  We had seventeen good friends over and we whooped it up with some good pancakes and waffles (a special shout-out goes to my friend, Amanda for coming over and helping me make the waffles)!  It was SO much fun!  The morning got started as people began to arrive at 10:30ish. We ate breakfast and played games.  Our morning turned into a whole day event as some people stuck around to play Taboo and then Settlers of Catan.  We ended the day-o-fun by enjoying a yummy Chipotle treat over some good conversations.  What a wonderful way to spend our Saturday!  We had an amazing time hanging out, laughing, eating and spending time in fellowship with our friends!

Here is the recipe for the Belgian Waffles that were made for this memorable day.  These waffles are absolutely scrumptious (I even enjoy eating them without any syrup) and could definitely be made as a dessert treat!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder.

2. In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

3. In yet another bowl, lightly beat egg yolks and then add milk, butter, and vanilla, mixing well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold egg whites into batter.

4. Bake in a pre-heated waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions, until golden brown (I have found that with my round Cuisinart waffle press, if I put in a little bit less than 2/3rds a cup of batter, it's the perfect amount and won't end up all over my counter).

This recipe came from Tammy's Recipes and you can find them here.

These waffles are goooooooooood!

What about you?  What'd you do this weekend?