Giving Thanks

Well, it's Tuesday. I can't believe it's been a whole week since I last wrote on this little blog. And then, on the other hand, it feels like it's been two weeks! 

We have been busy, as I am sure many of you dear ones have been too. 

We joined the Atkins family for Thanksgiving. The crowd was 13 people fewer than normal, but  it still felt pretty large. (there are normally nearly 50 people there...in a small farm house.) I love the people who we see at Thanksgiving each year and I love the traditional game of Hand and Foot. (if you've never played before you should...just don't play with us!)

I  caught a couple of pictures...one of which has less to do with Thanksgiving than  it does with a recent birthday!

Cooking with Grandma Atkins

(cranberry bread)

the Nerf football with Chiefs helmet and jersey from Aunt Melody! it was one of the highlights of our visit. he LOVES it! (and so stinking cute when he'd throw the ball...the helmet would fall down over his eyes.) can you see the chinstrap over his nose?

Hugs with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Atkins. And Tiger, my sister-in-law's favorite dog who she lovingly nicknamed 'underfoot!'

The Dressing That Changed My Life

Really? FOOD that is life changing? Well, I admit that food isn't THAT big of a deal. But it's true. Before I tried this recipe I DID NOT like dressing. At all. (nevermind that I was 8 years old) 

I may have been 12 when I first had this recipe. My mom discovered it somewhere. She MADE me try it. I don't even know if I admitted that I liked it at the time. But, it has stood the test of time. I still love it. And people who try it for the first time always agree that it is the best. 

Not only does it have a fantastic flavor...it's MADE IN THE CROCK-POT. How can you not give it a chance? Who doesn't love a good crock-pot dish?!

I realize this is very last-minute for this year's feast, but if you are searching for something new to wow your guests...look no further (and start chopping!)

My Favorite Thanksgiving Dish

Crock-Pot Dressing:

8 in. square pan of cornbread

8 slices of day-old bread, toasted

4 eggs

1 med. onion, chopped

1/2 C. celery, chopped

1 1/2 TBSP sage

1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 cans chicken broth

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 TBSP butter

(there is a bit of prep work...doing the bread...but that can be done the day before, if you need to save time)

Saute the onion and celery in the butter before adding to the pot. 

Throw in everything and cook on low for 4 hours. You may want to stir a couple of times...and I guarantee you will not be able to resist sampling. 

(*note: I like to let it get really well-done..."dry," but that is a texture issue on my part)

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving. 

Growth Chart

I recently created another craft idea I saw on Pinterest. I actually "made it my own" using a few different ideas. 

I didn't take any "before" pictures, but just imagine a very plain straight-from-the-lumber-yard piece of plywood and you can imagine it for yourself.

Here is the after.

After I decided on a layout.

After I painted and sharpied.

After I kept Jonah out of the middle of all of it!

I used foam letters to spell out that quote I found. 

I used a fancy metal yard stick, fancy ink pen/marker, and a plain sharpie for the lines. 

I hung it so that the bottom was 18 inches from the floor, to ensure that the "2ft" mark was in the correct place. 

I plan to always use that orange marker for Jonah. Then, if we have any other children I'll choose a different color for each of them. In 20 years we will have a very colorfully filled  height chart that can move to any house in which we might live. 

Five for Friday: Poor Advertizing

Have you ever seen a commercial on t.v. or an ad in a newspaper/magazine and thought, oh, my...they need a new marketing staff? I have. Sometimes I think they could do better to hire ME and I have no background in marketing.  So, I compiled a list of 5 advertisements for you today. Four of them are not-so-good. The last one IS! 

Happy Friday

really? you printed that?? your target audience CAN'T READ IT!

to read the full blog someone wrote about that one, click here.

This one is a few years old, but my inspiration for this entire post. You see, a local dealership is offering the very same promotion right now. Jonathan and I were astounded when it came on the other day. It caused us to notice some other terrible advertisements that night.

OK, this one made me laugh a LOT. It is incredible...in a ...well, just see for yourself...

And who doesn't love Flo over at Progressive. 

She gets me every time. 

This one is older, but one of my favorites.

James Andrew Atkins

As I mentioned the other day, Jonathan and I went to visit Daniel and Riss. 

We had a really fun visit with them. We just hung out, went for a walk, and ate some really good food. Typical for one of our gatherings. Oh, wait, that walk...I should say more about that walk. You see, Riss was a couple of days overdue with that sweet baby. I'd teased her about packing a bag and walking to the hospital, so that by the time she got there she'd be in labor! Well, we went for a walk around a nearby lake instead. Jonathan kept wanting to go further, but there was seemingly no end in sight. So, we talked him into turning around...and since no water had broken...I guess Jonathan thought there should be some sort of awkward water situation, so he stepped into a huge mud puddle that covered his foot up to the ankle. 

We went on about our visit-as-usual. 

Jonathan and I were planning to return home first thing (if 9am can be called first thing) Sunday morning. Then we got the phone call. It was Daniel. She was in labor...and had been at the hospital since 1am. (he also alerted me to a text message he'd sent much earlier which read: 'the water broke we are going to the hospital riss says to say thanks')

I have never before been in the waiting room of the hospital when a new baby has been born. There was a lot of anticipation. You see, my sister-in-law decided to go the old-fashioned route and NOT find out the gender of the baby she carried. I have known a handful of people who have made that choice and it is always SUCH fun when the baby is born to finally find out! (makes the pre-planning a bear, but totally worth it in the end) So, there we sat in the waiting room, going back and forth with reasons we could believe it was a boy, or a girl.  Each time the big door opened we were all on alert to see if it was Daniel. When he did come through the door...declaring that Baby James was here...it was THE SWEETEST thing! 

I loved being there for that moment.

Auntie Amy and Uncle Jonathan 

This is right after he told us the news...that is my i'm-so-excited-i-can-hardly-stand-it face. 

And here is baby James. 

James Andrew

8lbs. 5 oz. 23 inches

 Sunday, November 13, 2011

10:45am

Did you see that length? I don't know that I've ever heard of a baby being that long...at least not one that came out of a mama who is barely over 5 ft. tall!! His legs are nearly as long as his mama's already!

He had quite the time getting out into the world. The Dr. used the phrase "tight fit" and there was a vacuum involved. The tight fit is believed to have caused him to have what was discovered to be an acute phemothorax (air between the lungs and rib cage). He came out gasping a bit. Shortly after birth he was transferred to another hospital with a NICU. They took care of the problem easily, but he has to stay there through the duration of antibiotics. 

This is very hard on his mom (and dad, i'm sure). 

They are totally in love with the new guy! I am so happy for them and for our family.

The Canceled Birthday Party

Ok, it really was a canceled party. BUT, we had it anyway. We weren't going to risk spreading chicken pox to the unsuspecting. But, we also weren't going to miss a photo-opp. To this day I am not sure if Jonah had the pox or not. I thought I saw some bumps that could have been...I just don't know. I still feel terrible about the friends that didn't get to come. I'm a big fan of "the more the merrier" and I think this party is just such a case. It could have been LOTS of fun. (we did have our own fun, though)

My mom and dad came up from Arkansas. Mom had done a lot of prep-work (before cancellation). My sister came over from Ozark and we partied like fools. 

 *please note those "birds" on the {angry} centerpiece. my mother did an AWESOME job hand painting some rocks to look like birds. Those rocks truly were my favorite of all the decorations!

 we had birds hanging from the ceiling...

...and roosting atop the cakes.

 setting up the "angry birds" game in the backyard

(you can't see it in the picture, but the balloons have pig features)

...destroyed!

Weekend Update: the Oklahoma trip

This past weekend was QUITE fabulous. It's one for the memory books. EXCEPT I have very few pictures to show for it. So, it's gonna have to be one for my memory banks! (I had my camera...I just didn't use it like I wish I would have). I would like to share some of the highlights with you...one of which I will detail further later on this week.

*Jonathan and I went out of town together

*we stopped in Rogers to drop Jonah with Grammy and Grandpa

Jonah got excited when we turned into their driveway. He started clapping and saying "yay, Gamma's house"

*Jonathan and I road tripped the furthest we've ever driven together. We have gone to Oklahoma before, but we took a longer route this time. Road trips are some of our favorite times to share!! 

*We had a wonderful visit with his brother Daniel and our sis-in-law Riss. We love them. We love sharing their company. 

AND to top off everything....THEY HAD A BABY BOY right before we left town. 

(THAT is the highlight I will share in more detail later on...it's my new favorite story...but I want to get their permission before I share it)

*We got to visit with one of our favorite CollegeGirls on our way home. She was VERY gracious in rescheduling THREE times. We love you, Kaelie. Thanks for being so flexible. Our visit with you was really a treasure.

and now, for a picture. without people. 

(yep, this is where we ate lunch)