Happy Holidays!

From our house to yours, we hope that your holiday season is filled with love, laughter, and tons of memories!  

SOLD!

We closed on our house tonight!  We are the newest home owners on Elm Street!  Hopefully, the couple that we bought it from will be out in less than 60 days.  We plan on then doing some updating in it and shortly after moving in!  I'm excited to own our house again and I'm even more excited to make this house our home.

Upside Down Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake

1 can apple pie filling

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tube Pillsbury Grand! Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls {with regular or cream cheese frosting…I used regular}

2 tbsp. butter, melted

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Mix together apple pie filling and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon.  Spread a thin layer of the filling onto the bottom of a well greased, 9-in. pie pan.  Set the remaining filling aside.

Now, separate the cinnamon roll dough into 8 rolls {my tube only had 5 rolls, so I cut it into 8 rolls}.  Cut each roll into quarters.

Place the quartered rolls into a large bowl and add remaining apple pie filling.   In a separate bowl, combine melted butter and brown sugar.  Mix well and add to the cinnamon roll/apple filling mixture.  Toss gently to combine.  Now spoon the cinnamon roll mixture over the layer of apples in the pie pan.

Bake at 350 for about 28-32 minutes or until a deep, golden brown. 

Cool for about 5 minutes and invert onto a serving platter.  Now remove the lid from the frosting container and microwave for about 10-15 seconds or until it’s a drizzling consistency.  Then drizzle over the warm coffee cake…

Seriously.  You can’t tell me that doesn’t look like the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen.   It makes an awesome dessert and an even better breakfast!  I definitely plan on making this for breakfast or brunch over Christmas break!!  

Baby E update

I received an e-mail today that said that I had to again update some of our paperwork, but I had a question about one part of it and so I called one of the Ethiopia specialists.  I learned that our date that we were put on "the list" is not June 5, but in fact June 4, 2009.  I know it's only one day earlier, but to me it's one less day that we'll have to wait.  Also, I learned that CHSFS just matched the rest of November 2008 and began December 2008.  Right now families are waiting about 24 months and the specialist said that she predicts that the wait won't extend longer.  She also went on to say that the number of dossiers submitted did decrease also, so that helps me to believe that we probably only have 6 months or so left to wait.  Six months is nothing...we can do that with our eyes closed!  We're so excited...Saturday will mark 18 months officially waiting!