Meet the Shaneyfelts

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Before I get to today’s post, I want to mention a link up in January that you’ll want to be part of!  I love to read, but if you’re like me, you’re always searching for another book to add to your reading list.  I love getting book recommendations from people, and I’m ready to start my reading list for 2016.  Because of this, my blog friend Victoria, who blogs over at Victoria Strader, and I have decided to do a link up in January of great book recs so you can start building your reading list for the next year. 

 Mark your calendar for Thursday, January 14, 2016!  You will need to link up a post highlighting a good book (or books) you’ve read that you would recommend to other bloggers (this can be an older post, too–or even multiple posts of book reviews).  I can’t wait to see all of your recommendations!

I love baking so much, and so it’s not unusual for me to whip up something on a whim.  That’s how these cupcakes were born.  This past Sunday, my church rescheduled worship for a 10 AM worship service without Sunday school.  I woke up at my usual 7:30 AM and decided to try out a new bundt cake combination.  Right before I greased my bundt pan, I thought, “I wonder how this would turn out as cupcakes?”  I grabbed my muffin pan, threw in the cupcake liners, and voila–they turned out fantastic!  (Actually, these were so good that I had to give them away to keep myself–and Dustin–from eating all of them!)

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes


1 box white cake mix
1 large box cookies-n-cream Oreo pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup water

1.  Preheat oven to 350 and put cupcake liners in your muffin pan.
2. Mix together all ingredients above.
3. Using a small scoop (I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup and only filled it half full….you could use an ice cream scoop), fill cupcake liners about 1/2 to 3/4 full.
4. Bake 19-20 minutes.

Allow these to cool fully before icing.

Icing
1 container of white icing
1/2 package of the large cookies-n-cream Oreo pudding mix.

1. Mix icing and pudding mix together in a bowl.
2. Spoon mixture into a quart size freezer bag and cut the tip off.
3. Pipe icing in a swirl motion across the top of the cupcakes!


These would be really great to make for New Years Eve snacks!

Weekend Recap: Christmas 2015 Edition

 (Warning: This post contains LOTS of pictures!)

Christmas was so much fun this year.  I love the anticipation of Christmas–the build up of excitement, and trying to enjoy as many Christmas-related activities as possible.  This Christmas season was much different though because of the weather.  This has been the warmest Christmas season ever–as in 75 on Christmas day.  Of course, I can’t forget the floods on Christmas day, too.  I wish I would have thought to have taken pictures of all of the flooding because this is something I’ll want to look back on someday.
Dustin went into work on Christmas Eve for a couple of hours, so I soaked up as much time in front of the Christmas tree as I could…..while watching the Today Show 🙂
I did a little baking–Peppermint and Chocolate Bars.
Dustin and I started a tradition our second Christmas together (we had only been dating a month our first Christmas) where we exchange a small gift on Christmas Eve.  It has to be under $20.  He’s holding our gifts now.  I get so excited about our Christmas Eve gift!
You can’t see very well but we got each other CDs!  haha  I got him the newest Eric Church CD and he got me a Led Zeppelin CD–our tastes in music are very different!
I went and got my nails done Christmas Eve and came home to this.  He was tired and needed to rest up for the festivities that night!
We always have a candlelight service at church on Christmas Eve.
Dustin had to work regular hours on Christmas Day (5:30AM-5:30PM), so we had Christmas EARLY that morning!  His alarm went off at 3:00AM to shower and we started opening gifts around 3:15 since he leaves at 4:15 for work.

Yay for new camo!  Matching pants not pictured.
The rainboots were a perfect present since it literally flooded that day.  Unfortunately it was too warm to wear my new North Face.
For my entire life, we’ve had Christmas Day breakfast with my Gran and Popo at their house, their three kids (my dad being one of them), and their kids.  Now that my Gran has passed away, the setting has changed and new people have been added, but the tradition is still the same!  We always play Dirty Santa, and feelings get hurt when people take gifts you want (like Page taking the gift card I so badly wanted last year)–no mercy here!
My mom and stepdad came to get me after lunch because we had Christmas dinner at their house and I couldn’t drive my car with all of the flooding.
Ready to eat!
My sister got Dustin cake icing (white–so important!) for his low blood sugar since she has experienced that now.
Mom got a new tripod for her camera so we played around with self-timer.

Rachel fell off the stool here!

The day after Christmas consisted of me reading the new cookbooks Rachel got me!
And taking down all of the Christmas decorations.  Curtains have been ordered and I’m on a hunt to find decor to decorate the mantle with now that fall and Christmas are over.
I did some baking to blog about later.
And wore my new North Face from my dad to go see Sisters–we laughed a lot during that movie!  (I took this to send to my dad!)
I love Christmas because it means I get to spend so much quality time with family and I can’t wait to do it again next year!

Linking up with Biana today!

Merry Christmas!

I’ve been participating in the She Reads Truth Advent Devotion this year.  I’ve really enjoyed the reading each day–especially the first twenty days or so because it showed the different types of Christ and how Jesus was always better–Jesus is the true and better Adam, Abel, Abraham, Melchizedek, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Passover Lamb, Moses, Manna, Job, Boaz, David, Esther, and Jonah.  I can’t pick a favorite devotion because they were all so wonderful!  I really loved the commentary from day 23, and I wanted to share it with you:

“Since Adam and Eve ate the fruit God told them not to, every generation has groaned with the pains of childbirth, longing to be delivered from the effects of their first parents’ fall (Romans 8:22).  And now, our deliverer has come.  He is the hero of our story, the perfect spotless lamb sent to adorn the doorposts of our hearts with his own blood (1 Peter 1:17-21, Exodus 12:22).

He is the descendent from Eve sent to crush the head of the deceiver (Genesis 3:15).  He is Isaac’s ram caught in the thicket, God’s perfectly timed provision of a substitute (Genesis 22:13).  He is the heir of Abraham’s line–born by a miracle and filling the world with laughter (Genesis 22:18).

He gave Jacob the gracious gift of a limp to remind him of his weakness (Genesis 32:25).  He is the new Joseph, the forgotten brother, unrecognizable in a foreign land (Genesis 42: 8, John 1:11), though He alone possesses the resources needed to satisfy our spiritual famine.

He is our new Moses, sent by God to deliver us from the land of our slavery into our promised inheritance (Exodus 3:7-10).  He doesn’t just deliver God’s Law to us (Exodus 34:29), He fulfills it on our behalf–perfectly (Matthew 5:17).

He is the faultless judge who rescues His people from our own waywardness (Judges 2:17, 2 Corinthians 3:4-6).  He does what no other judge is able to do–He takes our hearts of stone and gives us hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19–this one is my favorite!).

He is the King the Lord promised to David, a ruler from his own body whose kingdom the Lord would establish forever, ancient and strong (2 Samuel 7:12).  He has courage deeper than David (Luke 6:1-5), wisdom greater than Solomon (Luke 11:31), and faith firmer than Elijah (Matthew 4:1-11).  He is the remnant growing beneath the smoldering ruins of Judah, the Son to be given, the child to be born (Isaiah 9:6).

He is Immanuel–God with his people (Isaiah 6:13).”

As the Christmas season ends after tomorrow, I hope you haven’t forgotten the real reason of why we celebrate–that God sent His son to live a poor and humble life, but a perfect life; to be our perfect substitute on the Cross; to take the wrath from God that was meant for you and me.  Celebrate this!

I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas!

Merry Christmas,
The Shaneyfelts