Tough Crowd

Y'all. Bean will not do her all-out-smile for the camera!



And she has the sweetest smile.  Her eyes both go up into half-moons, she crunches up her nose, and her mouth is a wide open grin.





So, I pull out the camera and she humors me...





Throwing out a little half smile here and there, but, not the big guns.





Ah, well. We'll get you yet, Serious Bean.




Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! We have some good friends from college flying in tonight, can't wait!

And, for now? You can bet we'll be doing this all afternoon.



and... I just have to brag on my husband about our anniversary one more time...

Did you know that daisies are the "5 year flower"?



and, that 5 years is "wood"?



Thank you, M!

Ok... I'm done. :)

 

5 Years

5 years ago today, M and I said our vows in a small ceremony on a Friday afternoon at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Auburn, Alabama. (Why Friday at 2pm? Little thing called the Iron Bowl that weekend... we are nothing if not practical.)



Reception at Greystone, Auburn, AL.

2005 was a whirlwind.

Our first date was just 11 months prior to that November day, January 14th to be exact.



Spring 2005- Alpha Psi rodeo. I LOVED the shaggy hair. Little thing called "a real job" got in the way...


Our first real conversation was December 2004- the night before I left for the Christmas holidays. The night before M graduated.  I would have said "yes" had he asked me to marry him that night. (Turned out, I didn't have to wait too much longer.)



Summer 2005- one of many trips to Rosemary Beach with friends

I worried the opportunity was lost over the break... but, come January, an out of the blue phone call for a Friday night date changed everything.



Honeymoon, Nov 2005

We spent every single day together from that January 14th date on. The first day we didn't see each other was in May when M rode home with his brother to Macon. To buy a ring, I would later find out.



Wedding shower in Macon, GA.


He was set to stay through the weekend... but, I drove to Macon and picked him up early.  The next night, May 19th 2005, M asked me to be his wife on the front porch of his college house.



Five years later, and we have 2 kids! We often sit and reminisce about how we met. How God perfectly orchestrated the unlikely timing and circumstances.  How He was so gracious and merciful to put us together.  How thankful we are that we share the same world view.



1st year of marriage... our little duplex in Auburn.

M, you are my favorite.  Your work ethic and devotion to our family still impresses me.  Most of all, you love grace. It's how I knew I could marry you after 1 hour. For that, I will ever be thankful.



Rehearsal dinner... J Williams, Auburn, AL. November 17, 2005. Excuse the purple teeth... and the duct tape on M's finger. He sliced it open with a knife (trying to remove a pen top, if I remember correctly) at Amsterdam's having dinner with my parents. The photographer had a hard time getting her obligatory "ring" picture.


Our children will see how you treat me- I thank God that J has that model to follow, and that AP will know what to look for in a husband someday.



October 2010

The song below was the (instrumental) recessional at our wedding.  My hope is that we are always keenly aware that our family is an undeserved mercy from God.

Thy Mercy, My God

Thy mercy my God is the theme of my song,
The joy of my heart, and the boast of my tongue.
Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last,
Hath won my affection and bound my soul fast.

Without Thy sweet mercy, I could not live here.
Sin would reduce me to utter despair,
But through Thy free goodness, my spirit's revived
And He that first made me still keeps me alive.

Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart,
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart.
Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground
And weep for the praise of the mercy I've found.

Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own
In the covenant love of Thy crucified Son.
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine.
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine.

©2001 Same Old Dress Music (ASCAP).

Happy Anniversary, M! I love you.

Our House Lately... and Bean is 2 months!

Please join me as I make terrible segues into unrelated topics...

It's getting cold outside.  "Get your winter booties on" cold.





(Watching Monsters, Inc., no doubt.)

TWO MONTH OLD Bean has stayed pretty snuggly, herself.



This little bundle had her 2 month check up yesterday... my, how time flies.  She was 10lbs 1oz and 23" long.  Our little string bean. Just smaller than J at this age.  I didn't get "post doctor's pictures" because little girl couldn't keep her eyes open, and was not too pleased when she was awake... but, all is well now.  Dr. P said she's doing great- a little peanut, all petite. :)

Bright-eyed-little-Bean







AP is a bit camera shy, so I'm having a hard time catching her sweet smiles.  But I can tell you, her little grins can make your day.  She always wants to talk and coo when she wakes up. Bean is also starting to do a cute little laugh... gush, gush, gush. :)

And finally, a shot I got of J when I asked him "to say cheese". Little ham.

He can reach the pedals now, p.s.





More later! We've been making Christmas ornaments! :)

Italian Minestrone & Happy Gray Skies

I seriously might run away with this soup.

Our family loved it, even J. Both times he has requested "more" 2-3 times.  (Of course, I do stir in cheese and sour cream for him.)  Warning: this makes A LOT.  We are having it for 3 meals, and I gave some away.  I would think a good 12-14 servings.  And, it's HEARTY.  So, halve it, plan to freeze it, eat it for 10 days, have it for company, and use a huge pot.  I almost ran out of room using my 8 quart stock pot.

Adapted from myrecipes.com from Food & Wine magazine.

Italian Sausage Minestrone

Ingredients

1. 2 tablespoon olive oil


2. 2 pound mild ground Italian sausage


3. 1.5 onions, chopped


4. 3 carrots, chopped


5. 3 clove garlic, minced


6. 1 teaspoon dried thyme


7. 4 (15oz) cans drained and rinsed cannellini beans


8. 8 cups chicken stock, plus 2 cups water


9. 1 large (28oz) can diced tomatoes with their juice


10. 1 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper


11. 2/3 pound kale, chopped, washed well (I used 2/3 of a 1lb bag, pre-chopped, pre-washed)


12. Grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over moderately high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring frequently, until browned. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon. Set on paper towels to drain.


2. Reduce the heat to moderate. Add the onion, carrot, garlic and thyme to the pot and cook in sausage grease, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, about 10-15 minutes.


3. Meanwhile, combine 2 cans of the beans and about 4 cups (2 small cans) of the chicken stock in a blender and puree until smooth.


4. Add the tomatoes, the bean puree, 2 remaining cans of beans, the remaining chicken stock and water, the salt, and the pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, skimming any foam that rises to the surface. Stir in the sausage, the remaining 2 cans of beans, and the kale. Simmer until the kale wilts and you are ready to eat. Serve the soup topped with grated Parmesan, and pass more Parmesan at the table.  I let it simmer for hours to make sure the carrots were soft and the flavors had come together. The kale holds up well.

Enjoy!

In other news... today is a little bleak outside.  Which kinda sends me into a panic.  In the mornings we usually take a walk, go to the park.  Key point here is WE GO OUTSIDE.

So, I tried my best to get creative.  Might need to stop by the store to help my creativity out.  My friend, Holly, said something very profound the other day: "its just to the point, where as a mom I need to have pipe cleaners on hand all the time".  Truer words never spoken.















Happy Weekend!!!

To-Tofu or not Tofu

Or something like that. AP was up a lot last night, so forgive me if that title makes little sense.



Shaking things up a little around here with a RECIPE! It's been a while.

Maybe it's because I'm bound and determined to lose those last baby pounds keeping me out of my jeans, or maybe it's because M and I are doing P90x and Tony-I-don't-eat-it-if-it-has-a-face-Horton keeps harping on the importance of nutrition, or it could be because J has a peanut allergy and I should stop eating PB&Banana EVERY DAY while nursing AP... whatever the reason, I looked to tofu.  I actually used to eat it quite a bit when we first got married, then M kindly asked that any meatless meals be relegated to lunch.

Whatever your thoughts on tofu, here are the facts:

1. High protein, low calories, low-fat

2. CHEAP. 1 package for less than $2, has about 5 servings

3. Organic, obviously "good for you"

4. Easy to prepare- it essentially tastes like NOTHING, so you can go to town on seasoning till it tastes like something you do like. :)

Anyways, there's my case for tofu.

I decided I needed a protein packed healthy lunch while IN the grocery store today, so if I had any foresight I would have made a more extensive ingredient list. Oh well (next time I'll add a chopped tomato and cucumber).  When I got home I remembered that my friend from high school, Laura Merrill, had posted some chick pea something on her food blog, so I went with the lemon and rosemary thing.

I plan on eating this with fresh spinach tossed in... I think it would also be good in a pita. Without further ado...

Tofu and Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed


• 1 package extra firm tofu


• 1 green bell pepper, chopped


• 1/2 red onion, chopped


• 3 T olive oil


• 3 T red wine vinegar


• 3 T lemon juice


• 2 tea minced garlic


• 1 tea dried thyme


• 1 tea dried rosemary


• 3T parm cheese


• S&P to taste

Method

• Drain tofu and cut into cubes


• Over medium heat, spray pan with non-stick cooking spray and "fry" the tofu with half the thyme, rosemary and S&P. Let cool.


• Throw all other ingredients into a bowl, add the rest of the dried herbs, toss with tofu.


• (Season to taste)


• Serve with greens or in a pita

Stick it all in a rubbermaid, refrigerate and it's ready to go all week!



Got any of your own tofu recipes?? I'd love to hear them...

Enjoy, and GO VOTE!!!

A Tiger, LadyBug and Bob the Builder

(J refused to wear the tiger pants. I think they might be itchy. Those are his new running shoes, by the way.)

Sunday night we set out with 3 toddlers and a tiny baby to trick or treat.  Lauren & Malcolm hosted us in their new house and neighborhood. J (Tiger), Allie (LadyBug) and Wells (Bob the Builder) all caught on way faster than we could have imagined. Never underestimate the power of treats.  The only part they didn't understand was why on earth they couldn't go in the houses of these nice people.

There was a wagon. The "skull" is on loan from Malcolm's college years.  This badly prepared Mom had only brought along a last minute paper sack.





Love Wells' expression. Just chillin'.



Here we go...







I realize I'm bias. But, you've gotta smile a little bigger when this what you see when you open the door.



Success!



Whatcha get?



Getting towards the end of the street...



and getting impatient.



Thanks, Dad.



Our hosts- Lauren, Allie & Malcolm. Thanks!! We had so much fun! I wish I had taken one of Matt, Suzie and Wells!



Our family... our little pumpkin did quite well on her first trick or treat, too.



And, one last close up of our little tiger. Rrrawwwr.  Little history for the books: M taught him to rawr a while back, so Momo and Popo surprised J with the tiger costume.  For a while he would wake up from naps, point to the closet and saw "rawr".



We labeled our first trick or treat a success, and headed on back for pizza and cider.



Guess now we can bring on the Christmas.