Family Update - End of 2015

Well, you have probably noticed that I haven't posted since Little Man's birthday back in April. We have been so busy lately blogging has been pretty much the last thing on my mind. Hubby had his busiest summer yet with the youth group, and since then we haven't stopped moving. Our little man is growing so quickly it is really hard to believe how much he has changed over the last 6 months. Here is a little recap of our life over the summer, fall and winter of 2015.

Choo-Choo Carsen is Two!!

Purchased here

My little guy turned 2 last weekend. It is so hard to believe, but we had an amazing birthday party on Saturday with family and a few friends.

Little Man is into EVERYTHING that moves, any kind of transportation or balls. We watch Thomas and Friends, Chuggington, Chuck the Truck, etc on repeat. I knew I wanted a train themed party this year to honor his love of "Choo-Choos". I contacted our local train museum and set up a party. We had to pay per person instead of per kid like most places, so we decided to keep it small this year. Which ended up being a good thing because the party room was actually in a real train caboose, and there was very limited seating, in fact the 15 of us could barley fit inside all at once to sing "Happy Birthday".

 The party turned out great and the best part was that they had over a dozen real-life trains that you could climb on and explore My heart was exploding with happiness when I saw just how excited he was when he saw all the trains in the yard.

 He is becoming more and more interested in the potty (pi-pi as he calls it). He kept looking down the
whole and saying "I see you". What a Nut!

         



 My friend Melissa iced cookies for me they turned out so cute.



My dad used to make my birthday cakes growing up so I asked him to continue the tradition and this is what he made. I think the clouds are my favorite part. Little Man loves licking the icing off of the trains.

The entire gang.

I purchased these train hats on Amazon for less than $20 and everyone was excited to get to have one of their own. They are advertised as child sized but they have snaps in the back so they adjusted well to fit all of us. 

It was a great party and I would suggest hosting one of your own or even visiting the Great Plains Transportation Museum if you are in the Wichita area.

Spring Update

We have been very busy among these parts. I keep waiting for things to slow down, but as Little Man gets bigger and more mobile, it just seems like life is on the fast track.
We are about 90% unpacked in the new house. There is one room that I haven't even touched, my "sewing" room. I basically put all my boxes of fabric and and notions in the room and shut the door. I haven't gotten up the courage to go back in, but I know it needs to be done.

We spent Memorial Day weekend celebrating Hubby's Best Man getting married. We both grew up with him and he really has picked an amazing women to be by his side. God bless your happy union Adam and Emily!!!

The wedding was held outside of Chicago so while Hubby was off doing groomsmen duties, my parents and I explored a little bit of the city. And no trip is complete without a stop Giordano's Pizza. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get my favorite spinach pizza, but really with all that cheese, you can't go wrong.

Little Man has discovered watermelon, and it has become his first love. He cannot get enough of it. Funny thing is my sister was the same way when she was his age.

We took Little Man on his first boat ride last weekend and he was just too cute! My parents own a boat and we are on the lake most of the summer. Last year he was just too small for the life jacket so we kept him on the beach most of the time. I was so excited to finally get him on the boat. At first he was just very stiff and really not sure about the whole thing, but once we pulled out the goggles he was just laughing and talking up a storm. I can't wait till the water is warm enough and we can try pulling him on the tube, very slowly and with me at all times of course.

We are really enjoying our new home and enjoying some time with just us. Little Man is just getting smarter and smarter every day and is always cracking me up. This picture is him trying to "call" his Gammy by putting the phone on his head. He is so close to walking. He takes a few steps in between things maybe 5 or 6, but has not just started to walk the majority of the time.

Mom's Night Out

Friday was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. It started off by not being able to shower until 3pm because our sewer line was messed up in the new house and there were plumbers here tearing up a huge hole in my new back yard (luckily we haven't planted grass yet). I spent numerous phone conversations trying to explain to the contractor that our tub doesn't drain properly and that the sewer water has seeped into our downstairs bathroom and got the carpet all wet. PS who puts carpet in a bathroom? ...just saying. I dropped my glasses in the toilet while trying to put in my contacts, then proceeded to lose one of said contacts and therefore had to wear toilet glasses for the rest of the day. My son has entered this new phase where he just likes to scream. Some are short burst, some are long and drawn out, some because he is happy and some because he is mad. Oh but don't forget about the ones he does just for fun.

I tell you this not to complain (well kinda, don't we all just need to vent some times), but to tell you the happy ending. My husband let me off the hook for the rest of the night. He helped me take care of the baby, got me Chinese take-out and I got to just chill and let go of the day. Then Saturday night I got what I really needed, no not a foot rub, but some nourishment for my soul.

My mom, and grandma went to see a movie called "Mom's Night Out" starring Sarah Drew and Patricia Heaton. In the movie three moms who just need a night for themselves decide to go out for some fun. During their girl's night they run into some interesting characters and get into some rather unrealistic trouble. But in the end they all reaffirm themselves as moms.
I could relate to all three characters, Allyson, the mom who constantly feels out of control, Sondra, the preacher's wife who feels she needs to be perfect in everyone's eyes, and Izzy, the one who is constantly reminding her husband that he won't kill the kids in the 3 mins he is watching them. I have felt all of these things in the past year of Motherhood. Some more than others (Hubby is such a great dad, don't take me wrong, but those first few months there was a lot of reassuring) but it is a constant struggle to remind myself just as Allyson learns in the movie, that God made me his masterpiece. I am perfect just the way I am. I do not need to live up to anyone else's standards or compare myself to the other "Pinterest" moms out there. I am learning everyday how to become a better mom, sometimes though, it is  through mistakes.
I recommend going to see Mom's Night Out, it is wholesome and funny, and I promise you will enjoy it. I hope you take away just as I did that God gave our children the mommies they needed. He personally chose you and me to raise these children to be like him and to bless our lives in the process.

So happy Mother's Day to all of my fellow mommies who need some encouragement, who need some support and who need to know that ...

Happy Mother's Day!

Family Update

I am sorry it has been so long since I have posted anything on the blog. We are in the process of closing on our first home. And boy has it been a process.
After a lot of difficulty, confusion, and 3 different scheduled closing dates we were able to get early occupancy of the house and finally got to move in last weekend. We are scheduled to close next week so hopefully everything goes smoothly from now on.
We have an amazing group of friends who all volunteered to come over and help us load and move all of our stuff. Then Monday some of my girlfriends came over and helped me go through all my kitchen boxes and get them all put away. If you remember from the last time we moved I was 36 weeks pregnant and not allowed to actually pack anything. All of our stuff was packed by my parents and grandparents. So when we were opening boxes it was like a treasure hunt to see what was inside.
I have been working all week to get the house in order, since we have family coming in town for Mother's Day and I know they will want to see the house. It is so nice to finally have a place of our own, although I can't thank my parents enough for letting us use their basement for the last year.
Once the house is set and the last lingering box is removed I plan on doing a home tour so you all can see the house. We are really happy with it and think it is perfect for our little family.

Easter Weekend 2014

We were very busy this weekend in Kansas City at the Leadership Training for Christ Conference. We took 18 kids ages 3rd grade to 12th to participate in different events to help prepare them for a life of a Christian Leader. They competed in events from song leading, sermon delivery, Christan Art and more. I was the coach of Christian Banner and those 5 girls did amazing! They created a 5.5'x2.5' banner recreating the life of Moses. They all won a gold and I can't wait to make another one next year.

We also celebrated Easter this Sunday. I was so excited for Little Man to experience his first egg hunt. He wasn't too thrilled about it though, most of the time he was upset about being on the grass. Although once I emptied the eggs and gave them back to him he had a blast rolling them around.

 

I brought back my Easter dress and facinator from two years ago. Hubby wore one of his new suits and we got him a pink shirt to match. I found Little Man's blazer at a consignment sale and paired it with khaki shorts and white button down. I couldn't find a tie that I liked so I stopped by Joann's and found a peach and cream chevron pattern and made a bow tie. I think it turned out pretty good.

What are the Mommy and the Minister up too?

I have a confession....Lately I have not felt the blogging bug. I have continued to post our regular updates and a few other posts, but I have not really had the urge to write any posts. I hope once life slows back down that will change but in the mean time, just bare with me.

In the beginning of the year I  talked about getting a new job. I became a part-time assistant to a local event planner. Unfortunately, she has not been as busy as projected and she can no longer afford to have me on staff. I'll be honest, I was really sad. I love event planning, and for the 2 months I worked for her I loved it! Hopefully another door will open for me in that field in the future, I am leaving it in God's hands.

But in good news Hubby and I have put in an offer on a new house and it has been accepted!!! Pending inspection we should be closing around the end of April. We are just so excited. After living with my parents for the last year, we are ready to have our own space. I'm so excited thinking about the house that Little Man will spend his early childhood. We have big plans to make an awesome outdoor space for entertaining and a playset for Little Man to play on. Please keep us in prayers as we venture into homeowner-ship. (If you follow me on Pinterest you can see all of the great ideas I have planned for our new home.)

I have made some really great friends since we moved back a year ago and I am having so much fun getting to know each of them more. My friend and I decided to take on freezer meals. In theory this was a fabulous idea. What we didn't think about is 4 kids + 2 hours at Sam's = total chaos and we really underestimated the time it would take make all of these meals. But at the end of the day we ended up with 46 meals for 2 all around $225 each (we spent $450 but made 92 meals that feed 2 people), which comes out to under $5 per meal. Now you have to add sides to that but the main entree is taken care of. Most of them are crockpot ready  and can be put in frozen. Seriously this has been amazing. I don't have to plan out our meals a week in advance and I also no longer have to call Hubby on his way home to stop by the store to pick something up that I don't have. I have actually forgot to pull something out or put it in the crockpot in the morning so I let it soak in hot water in the sink and it was ready in just a few minutes to put in the oven.
We decided to make presized meals for 2 by dividing each recipe  in half and putting those ingredients in a bag. Most of the recipes we quadrupled and then divided so we actually go 8 portions out of each recipe.  You could portion yours to feed the whole family but we split it up because she has picky eaters so she is only cooking for 2 and when I'm cooking for Hubby and my parents I just cook 2 together. When we move out my parents and I will split the remainders of the meals so we are each cooking for 2. I think we are planning to do it again in a few months, but this time we will learn from our mistakes, like pre-seal all of the freezer bags (we used a vacuum sealer) and to not brown all of the meat at the same time because 1. Its hard to stir 10 pounds of meat 2. It just sat until we could get to that particular meal.

I hope to spend the rest of the month getting ready to move out and get the summer ready for Hubby's youth group. He is going to be very busy this summer with 3 camps and tons of other activities. Hopefully I will get my blogging bug back, but I promise to keep up with the updates, and also to post about Little Man's big birthday party in a few weeks!

Our first Mommy and Daddy ONLY Vacation

 

 Hubby and I traveled to Florida last week for a Youth Ministry Conference. NCYM is the National Conference on Youth Ministry and host around 200 Church of Christ Youth Ministers and their families for a week of worship, learning and fellowship. We spent almost an entire week in Daytona Beach, and even though the weather was not what we had hoped for, we still had an amazing time. 

We have a few Youth Minister friends from Georgia who came as well. We hadn't seen any of them since we moved so it was great to catch up. I was the only wife of our group of friends that came, but I had a blast being "one-of-the-guys" for the week while I hung out with them. The worship at this place was awesome. Something I needed so much, you just really don't get that feeling outside of camp or something, so it was great to get it this weekend. The lessons we good, we learned some new teaching tricks, and some helpful apps to make teaching teens better. Also we met some very inspiring men, who have given their life in dedication to pursue God's purpose. It was great to hear their struggles, and the way they used them in their journey to find God. Overall I would say this Conference was much needed, and we are hopefully going to go again next year. 

 

This was our first trip alone post-baby. Little Man was left in the hands of his 3 grandmothers that live in town. Fortunately he got to sleep in his own bed every night, and didn't seem to mind being passed around. I am so thankful that we have family here that can help us out, and give us some much needed time alone.

Little Man and his "Poppy"-my dad

2013 Year End Review

It has been an amazing and life changing year for us, and we thank all of you for the love and support throughout the year. Here is a little re-cap of our year. 

March: moved from Georgia to Kansas-I was 36 weeks pregnant

April 11th: Welcomed our Little Man into the world

He quickly became the highlight of our lives, and the blog

May: Celebrated my first Mother's Day with the great women in my life

July: Little Man got to meet my Dad's side of the family at my cousin's wedding

August: Family vacation in Branson

October: Celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary

October: Little Man's first Halloween

November: Thanksgiving with Family, and got to meet our friend's little babies

December: Little Man met the big guy in red

December: Our first Christmas as a family, and the best one by far

This year's biggest posts were:

Little Mans Baby Shower 

DIY Boppy Cover Tutorial 

36 Weeks Brings Big Life Changes

My Ease into Mommy-hood 

My Bittersweet Goodbye 

The Unexpected Moments in Marriage and Growing Together 

My wish for 2014 is to continue to grow as a Christian, a wife, a mother and friend. I wish for a happy and healthy family, a home all our own, and the continued love and support from all of our readers, and hopefully more in the future. 

Thank you and I wish for all of you to have a Happy New Year too!

Our Christmas 2013

 We had an awesome Christmas with both Hubby and my family. My grandparents came in town for the week and we got some real quality time in. We love to play games and so we spent most of the time that we weren't cooking in the kitchen playing games. We are big fans of spades, rummy, The Logo Game, and more. The best game was the Redneck Life that Hubby got from my parents. It is basically like the game Life, but you become a redneck and get a redneck name such as "Bubba Jr" or "Bertha Jane". You end up with TONS of kids and at the end of the game the person with the most teeth wins. It was not politically correct in anyway, but really is a funny game to play. My favorite part was my Grandma really getting into the part and speaking in a country accent the entire time.

You can find the game on Amazon

 We got to have a white Christmas this year and Little Man experienced his first snow. I'm not sure how he felt about it. I sat him down in the snow and he just sat there like a bump on the log, not really playing with it or really caring about it at all. He wasn't a fan of the snow angels though.

Playing with an ornament from Great Grandma's tree

 We had an amazing Christmas Eve Dinner with my family, and then had Christmas Day lunch with Hubby's family.

 Opening presents with Little Man was so much fun. His favorite part was the tissue paper. He tried to eat all the paper in sight, but loved his new toys. He got an activity table, a little drum, a walker, a car, and a portable high chair. Really he was spoiled. We really are so blessed to be surrounded by so many people that love our little guy.

 I think he was so happy to have his Daddy home for a week straight. It really was great to have some quality time together. 

 Overall I think this was my favorite Christmas EVER! Hubby spoiled me too (I gave him a wish list and he went above and beyond and got me almost everything on my list). Having a little one to share the holiday with really makes it so much more magical. I can't wait until next year when Little Man will get to experience Santa, and the anticipation of opening presents.

 I hope you all had a great Christmas, and I hope you have a Happy New Years!