Darling Nativity Scene

A Nativity Scene was erected in a churchyard. During the night the folks came across this scene. An abandoned dog was looking for a comfortable, protected place to sleep. He chose baby Jesus as his comfort. No one had the heart to send him away so he was there all night. We should all have the good sense of this dog and curl up in Jesus' lap from time to time. 

This is too sweet not to share. No one mentioned that the dog breed is a "Shepherd!"

Kenwood's Football Dream!

Kenwood's Room is coming along slowly but surely!  We haven't switched him to a full bed yet, but we will before sister gets here.  That is the ONLY thing left is getting the actual mattress! Until then, his room is DONE!! We did a Vintage Football theme in his room--a theme I think will grow with him for awhile!  We found this great OU Football calendar at the mall and took the pictures out of it and placed them in matted frames.

So this Calendar:

 And these matted frames:

Turn into an ultimate BOYS football room:

The Joys of Cleaning

Ok, so let's be honest.  There are some people out there who actually enjoy cleaning at any point in time and they are some of the most organized people I know.  I, for one, am not one of those people.  However, let it be known that when I get in the "mode" to clean...I am unstoppable!  Something about the smell of a clean house and getting to use all of my cleaning supplies (I seriously LOVE to buy cleaning supplies-which is weird I know) gives me some sort of high.  Maybe it's the chemicals?! But, honestly, I love the anticipation of a clean house!  Don't be fooled, I don't get in this "cleaning mode" often.  But, I do get in it when I know I'm having company over or my house has become such a disaster zone that I (Or my husband) can  no longer stand it.  Which brings me to today.  I am in "cleaning mode" today.  I have already finished 2 loads of laundry, fed my birthday boy his breakfast, and intend to keep it moving!  I am so looking forward to the moment that all the toys are off the ground, out from under the furniture, nothing is on the counters, and I can proceed with my Pledge & Pine Sol in hand.  Which, I will follow with a good sweeping of the hardwood floors and a nice vacuuming in all the rooms....Does this put anyone else in the mood to clean?! Whooo hooooo

Pepperoni Stromboli-280 calories?! YUM!

Dillon and I are trying to eat a little bit healthier since he wants to lose weight and I've hit the 30lb pregnancy weight gain already with 10 weeks still to go! YIKES...at this point last pregnancy I'd hit about 50, but I started about 20 heavier this go 'round so I'm right on track to be as ginormous as last time.  So, I stole this cookbook from my mom called "Quick and Easy Healthy Main Dishes"...it has sooo many great options for REAL (pregnancy craving) food! I have at least 8 recipes marked for us to try.  Tonight: Pepperoni Stromboli--Pizza on a diet? Yes, please!

13 oz Pillsbury Pizza Crust
1 3/4 c. spaghetti sauce, divided (I didn't use NEAR this much)
30 slices turkey pepperoni
1 c. reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese (Ok, so I used a little more than that....I like cheese on my pizza people!)

Preheat oven to 350. Roll out pizza dough. Spread spaghetti sauce over dough (I just barely did this b/c I don't like a lot of sauce). Layer pepperoni and cheese.  Fold dough over to create a pouch.  Seal up edges, then bake seam down for 20-25 minutes.  Use remaining spaghetti sauce for dipping.

Makes 6 Servings; Per Serving: 280 calories

This sucker is HUGE...we'll be lucky to finish half of it between the three of us (Kenwood eats like a champ) I think next time I'll load half of it with olives, peppers, and lots of veggies and Kenwood and I can split that side! I'm definitely looking forward to dinner tonight! YUM!

Happy Birthday Week Kenwood!!!

My precious angel is turning TWO this week!  I cannot believe he has been here for two whole years and at the same time I feel like he has always been a part of our lives!  For those of you who don't know the whole story behind our little miracle baby, I'll give you a brief overview:

Dillon and I got married February 2008...on our wedding night we VOWED we were waiting FIVE years until we started a family.  Well, God had a plan far bigger than we could have imagined and FIVE WEEKS after our wedding day, we had a positive pregnancy test! Well, well, well.

In April 2008 we announced the news to our families...my dad had made the comment that "this baby is a blessing, it's the circle of life guys, when God takes a life he brings in a new one."--This was supposed to be directed toward the recent loss of Dillon's grandfather...but again, God's plans were much larger than we could imagine.

In May 2008 my Grammy passed away...a few days later, my precious Daddy(who was my best friend) was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and given only a few months to live.  So, needless to say this precious little baby that was in my belly was a blessing in disguise and our sole reason to go on living with a positive attitude towards our future....it was a very stressful and emotional 9months!!

On December 4th, 2008 our little blessing, Kenwood, graced us with his presence.  A presence that we all knew would have to fill a hole that would inevitably left in our hearts in the near future.  On December 11, one week to the day after Kenwood was born, God took my Daddy to Heaven.

A year in review:

 Kenwood's First Birthday

 One year photos

 February 2010

 Easter 2010

 Kenwood's gonna be a BIG BROTHER!

 Summer 2010

 Always a good eater!

 Fall 2010

 Fall 2010

Kenwood at Two Years:

Favorite Food-Hot Dogs, Spaghetti

Favorite Shows-Mickey Mouse, Dino Dan

Favorite Toys-Figurines, he loves all of Dillon's old plastic cowboys and horses

Favorite Animals- DOG, Horse, Dinosaurs

He says his prayers every night, and the first thing he thanks Jesus for is his dog...then Daddy...and sometimes we'll get lucky and Mommy will get in his list of Thanks!

Favorite Book- Dinosaur Numbers, Counting with Elmo

Favorite Place to go- School or Church....or of course Zeezi's house and Mimi&DonDon's house

Words he uses everyday- Dog, No, Eat, Mick (aka Mickey Mouse), RAAAAR, Saur (dinosaur), Coke(aka drink), Cars, Night Night

I am amazed everyday by the grace of God and by his divine presence in our lives.  He has plans for us that we may never understand but He has a purpose for everything.  I am so thankful that He chose me to be Kenwood's mother...this sweet little boy has made Dillon's and my life complete.

Thanks be to God!

I wish I could blog about all the things I was thankful for more often than around the holiday season and sporadically throughout the year.  But, I know you all don't really want to hear it over and over again. However I am going to do it now...it is Thanksgiving Eve after all!!  Dillon and  I sat down the other night on a "date night" not knowing where to eat on our night off and finally settling at a Chinese Buffet....yes, you read that right.  No, it was not that good.  Yes, we regretted our decision immediately when we walked in the door.  Yes, we still ate like pigs....a pregnant pig for me :)  Anyway, we sat there stuffing our faces and lovingly gazing into eachother's eyes (Ok...not mushy like that we are not that cheesy) and talking about if we had the chance to go back in time what would we change. Dillon's answer was proudly "That you and Will Francis would have decided to go to the Tri-Delt formal instead of the SAE/PiKap Swamp Party" (This was obviously a sarcastic remark because Dillon and I met at this so-called Swamp Party and had it not been for me taking an SAE to my date party, we would have never decided to ditch the formal and go to the much more casual, much more swampy, and much more fun party...that I would inevitably meet my future husband at).

Anyways, beside the point of the multi-story telling...we both sat there in awe of the fact that our lives had turned out to be far more than we could have ever imagined.  I have a husband that I could only dream of--that makes me laugh, takes care of me, teases me, loves me, worries about me, a husband that is such a wonderful reminder that most girls will marry a man like her father. And, I see everyday that Dillon is a father that Kenwood will strive to be and that Olivia will want his characteristics in her future husband one day as well.  There is not a single thing I would change about my past, because I couldn't bear the thought of not ending up exactly where I am.  I am so beyond blessed that I cannot even put it into words.  Well, there is my cheesy, mushy, thankfulness speech for the holiday :)  Hope it didn't bore you too much!!!

Crib Project: Part1 Complete!

Part 1: Crib Skirt-COMPLETE!!

I worked all day on Olivia's bedding today! We moved Kenwood's toys upstairs and I got out plenty of stickers and "crafty" stuff for him to do while I worked on the sewing machine.  It was actually a pretty productive day!!!  I am not using a pattern for any of the bedding, just kind of taking measurements and working from there.  I finally taught myself how to sew a ruffle (for the bumpers) the other day which took me SEVERAL different tries and about 3 different techniques.  Of course, the easiest was the last one I tried!  So, I mastered the ruffles and finished those today as well as pre-washed the "fabric"/blankets for the bumpers.  Once I mastered the ruffles, I moved on to the crib skirt...same "ruffle" technique in a much larger scheme!  BUT...it turned out BEAUTIFULLY!! I am so proud of myself :)  Here is a sneak peek at the crib skirt...bumpers are next on the list!

Finished skirt close up....

  No mattress yet, so I had to lay down a blanket to get a better idea of how it will look...

  I am sooo excited!