October/ November 2015

I debated giving up the blog.  But then I decided that I can, and will, eventually catch up. I love having these memories in one place.  So, backing WAY up to October/ November 2015...

In October, the Roosevelts came to Charlotte.  In case you haven't heard of this band (but who hasn't, I talk about them all the time??), they are awesome, and one of the band members just happens to be my baby brother :)  Check them out here.

So fun to have Steve and Claire join us (they are basically like family)

My kids love their Uncle JJ

and "Uncle" James

the whole band stayed with us

Halloween

cutest little Auburn fans around

Then, a trip to Auburn in November.

 

We loved taking our kids to Auburn en route to the beach

mascara applied to her lips

their first taste of cotton candy; thus, the blue tongues

We love to see my grandparents in Montgomery.  I love that my kids love their Meemaw and Papaw

At the kids' well check-ups, Jackson weighed 42 lb, 43.75 inches tall.
Ellie weighed 34.8 lb, 38 inches tall.

Funny sayings:

Ellie: referenced the back of her neck as her "back forehead"

Jackson, listening to a kids' worship CD, said "This is making God dance!"

Young Living

 

 Friends, I just had to share this quick info about my new favorite Young Living Essential Oils!  We have had a Fall full of sickness, colds, viruses, and the like, and I am a pretty desperate young mama trying to keep my kiddos well. So, check out Young Living Essential Oils, their amazing starter kit with diffuser, and their awesome oils (my personal faves are Stress Away, Tranquil--for sleep, Peace & Calming, Lavender, Thieves--antiviral).  Also, there is an amazing promo for the next couple of days.  Check it out here:

http://www.four-eighteen.com/2015/04/essentials.html

And the biggest kicker of it all...my very very very skeptical husband has now started approaching me with statements like, "Hey, where is that oil that calms you down/destresses you," or "What oil do you have for an upset tummy."  Yall, HE BELIEVES now that these work.  Makes me one happy mama and wife. :)

 

Fall Soups

White Chicken Chili

pic courtesy of myrecipes.com

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 medium onion, chopped

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 (15 1/2 oz) cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained

1 (14 1/2) oz can chicken broth

1 tsp salt

1 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 (4 oz) cans diced green chilies

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup whipping cream

1) In a large saucepan, sauté chicken, onion, and garlic powder in vegetable oil until chicken is no longer pink.

2) Then add beans, chilies, chicken broth, and seasonings.

3). Bring to a boil.

4) Reduce heat and simmer (uncovered) for 30 minutes.

5) Slowly stir in sour cream and whipping cream and serve immediately.

*I did not add the sour cream but instead added a dollop I each bowl upon serving. This is an easy and delicious soup. Would be great with a crusty bread.

Serves: 5

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup

3 cups chicken broth.     (I recently substituted with vegetable broth and think it tasted better)

2 cups chopped onion (1 large onion)

2 tsp minced garlic

1 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger (I used dried and reduced amount)

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp black pepper

3 cups cubed, peeled butternut squash (2 lbs)

2 cups peeled, diced apples (2 medium)

Mix all together in a slow cooker; LOW for 8 hours. Then place in food processor to make the soup smooth (or use the awesome immersion blender that my brother gave me for Christmas. Get one...so worth it and makes the clean up easier).

Add a healthy dollop of goat cheese and this soup is perfection.

*if you want to save time, buy the pre sliced butternut squash. SO worth it for time saving.

Off to get children to bed but I'll add more soups later. Had to share two of my favorites to get you started.

Winter, Spring, Summer Fall 2015

How do you begin to recap the past 10 months of this year?  Tough to find a place to start, (plus, the 8 year old laptop that I am typing on, that is still plugging along, is not compatible with my iPhone, thus leading to incredibly frustrating "technical difficulties"....but this should be resolved with our new Christmas laptop purchase) hence the month after month delay of downloading photos, documenting all that has gone on, and dropping with exhaustion most nights.  So, I decided to do a recap of the individuals in our family, for my own memories (and for yours, if you are reading this). ***I might cry...these pictures were showing up for me in my drafting of this post, but now are not showing.  I will leave this bad bad badly designed post up for now, and will hope for genius technology ideas to get this righted.

Andy

This Rock and Leader of our family has been working.his.tail off at work, at home, and everywhere in between.  The work hours have increased since our move, and yet Andy is ON when he does get to see the kids.  He will dive in with wrestling with the kids, and doesn't miss a beat in disciplining and correcting bad behaviors with them.  We love and appreciate his hard work, for how he keeps our grass growing and tends to all the yard and house needs, smokes meat on his new green egg he received for his 33rd birthday in May, makes times for date nights with me, gets up at 4:45 am to go work out with F3, meets weekly with his men's group at church, and did I mention the two cute littles who look up to him and adore him?

Auburn vs. Mississippi State game

September 25, 2015

Andy has enjoyed the occasional golf game with friends in our neighborhood, a work trip to Arizona, friend beach trip to Kiawah Island, and enjoying the new TV on our back screened in porch (cue, ESPN theme song)

Kiawah Club and a FUN beach trip with our friends, the Harbucks

Oh, did I mention we all met Cam Newton?! Dream.Come.True

Ellie got her pic w/Cam too...she was just a little intimidated by all of our excitement :)

Emily

So I realize it is awkward to write about myself, but a small recap of this year....learning how to parent these fun and vivacious and strong-willed children; joining a Life Group at our church, attending the Forest Hill Women's Retreat and hearing Jennie Allen and bonding with my roommates/fellow neighbors, monthly IF gatherings with these retreat roommates, starting Bible Study Fellowship this Fall; entertaining neighbors and friends in our home for dinner, loving our neighborhood and feel God has us here for a reason (and did I mention, we LOVE our neighborhood); reading; visiting my brother and The Roosevelts when they are in or near Charlotte; and just hanging on for this exhausting raced of raising toddlers. (but loving it!...most days)

We love Chick-fil-A day

Having so much fun with my best friends in town July 2015

Celebrating our 9 year anniversary at Fahrenheit in Charlotte

Celebrating July 4th at the Charlotte Knights game

Jackson

Sweet and fun and funny Jackson...where to begin...He loves to look at books, to be read to, to RUN, to play soccer (started soccer August 2015), to play, to sing, to make up songs, to dance, to "shake your booty," to playing with Ellie, to picking on Ellie, to looking out for Tucker, to saying "you're my best friend," and "I love you Mommy."  He just stopped wearing pull-up diapers to bed, sleeps about 8-10 hours/night, naps only 1-3 times/week, can be picky with food one day but then eat random vegetables another day, loves his preschool and learning his letters and drawing and painting.

Checking out the Whitewater Center in Charlotte

On our way to the Charlotte Aquarium

Loving on cousin Keziah in Memphis (he LOVES to hold babies)

YaYa and all the cousins in Memphis

Christmastime in Birmingham

Loving his karate lessons

Working on his letters

Ellie

And where to begin with this fun, sassy, strong-willed, independent, loud, outgoing, and did I say independent, strong-willed, sassy...child :)  We love this sweet girl.  She loves to play with Jackson, pick on Jackson, talk to "Tucky," tell me "you're my best friend mama," loves outfits and clothes and shoes and her baby dolls and taking care of them, loves animals, can be picky about some foods and not about others, loves to wake up early and party, loves to wake up her brother and play, moved to a big girl bed (from her crib) September 2015, potty trained September 2015 (and still working on it), and just "left her pacifier at the Greenville Zoo for baby monkey George) (aka, we cut the thing she loves most), and after several days of lots of crying, I think she is okay that baby George now has her pacis (or that they're in our trashcans in our house). Whew, it has been a crazy few months of all this "training," and it is definitely an aspect of Parenthood that I do NOT particularly enjoy.   Ellie goes to preschool 2 days a week and does great once I leave (she can still sometimes be clingy to me and Andy), and the teachers say she is "Miss Personality" and that she likes to "read" to her classmates. Makes me giggle every time I think of her telling all her stories and "reading" to others.  She loves to draw and do whatever big brother is doing.  I hesitated bringing this up and decided to only touch on it, since I have details documented elsewhere in my own personal journal....she got burned by boiling water February 2015, and is fine now, with many trips to and from Chapel Hill Burn Clinic...but we have been busy/occupied with that, and are forever grateful for grandmamas and neighbors pitching in to take care of Jackson and bringing us meals and loving on us in and through the scary recovery.  (and this is why you'll see her SPF sleeve on her left arm in many of these pictures...keeping it protected from the sun).  Ellie loves to talk talk talk, sometimes talking for hours on end, loves to dance, "shake your booty," is fearless, a climber, and adds an element of loud fun to our family.

Afternoon fun at Old Mecklenburg Brewery

Learning "hands on hearts" as we sang the Star-Spangled Banner July 4, 2015

Summer concert on the Anne Springs Greenway with our fun friends

my IKEA helper

We love Uncle Les and Aunt Ash!

Summertime fun with our best buddy and neighbor Emily

Kiawah with Mae Mae and Baby Maggie

One of my all-time favorite pics:  Ellie wishes she could be on Jackson's soccer time

I spy...

First day preschool First Baptist Fort Mill 

August 2015

Whew, a many-months-dreaded post, painfully and slowly done with ancient technology, but now I can breathe a sigh of relief that I did it and it's over and has caught me up on this year thus far.  I have so many more pictures I want to include, but it is a time-defeating labor of love to get each picture up on the site, so I will wait and maybe have a mad picture rush in the new year.

It has been a fun and full year of time with family, welcoming back my sister Margaret from the World Race, spending time with my brother Jason in Nashville, having grandparent help for some much-needed trips with just me and Andy), visiting Andy's mom and all his family in Memphis; fellowship with Allison and Wade and family, visiting all the way from China.  Meeting new neighbors in our neighborhood and surrounding areas, watching Auburn football games, getting together with our Charlotte friends, beach trips, mountain trips (Highlands in August).  Loving this year and all the Lord is teaching me/us in and through life.

Next post...Fall soups!

Favorite music with toddlers

I am a firm believer in the power of music and songs to teach our kids to appreciate the beauty of music, lyrics, and learning Truths.  Therefore, I tend to invest in music, especially kids' Christian music, to teach my children while they are young.  Here are some of my favorites:

Good ole' Steve Green is from the 1980's, but y'all, his songs are straight Scripture.  They have been a great tool in aiding my kids as we learn a verse each week. The song just magnifies the memorization.  Both can be bought on Amazon.com.

My new fave, and the kids ask for these songs in the car.  I love Ellie Holcomb, her soothing voice, the Truths she sings (check out her station on Pandora...we listen to it at every mealtime), and this CD is chock full of singer/song writers like her. Folksy, bluesy, good.

All of the Praise Baby cd's/DVD's are quiet, soothing Scripture songs. I had my infants listen to this often, and it is great music to get your kids to nod off in the car.

Seeds of Worship. Great, high tempo, songs straight from Scripture. (can you tell I order most things from Amazon?!)

I do focus mainly on listening to Christian music with my kids (and usually we listen to Hillsong and NeedtoBreathe and Chris Tomlin and all sorts of awesome artists that are not kid-oriented), as I feel these little years are so important to instill Truths.  

Now don't get me wrong, I still LOVE love love music, and so I'll definitely throw in some Allman Brothers, James Taylor, Nat King Cole, Earth Wind & Fire, Megan Trainor, Broadway plays, Disney musicals, Mozart, Bach, The Doobie Brothers, hip hop...we listen to it ALL.

I hope you're encouraged by the CD selections for you and your littles (or bigs!).