Spicy Magnolia

A Texas Winter Wonderland (of Sorts)

Girls in white dresses and blue satin sashes; snow flakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes…These are a few of my favorite things.

Oh yes, friends, for all you in the frozen tundra up north who are aching for spring, this southern girl prayed for a long, cold winter, the coldest we’ve seen in years. Well, ladies and gents, I’ve been blessed; it’s been a nice, long winter and God gave me one more winter gift: snow! Fluffy, gloriously large flakes of white softness fell from the sky off and on during the day. It was a day to sit in wonder, staring out the window in silent awe. It was also a day to go outside and play, to introduce Brennan to the phenomenal white stuff that graces these parts once in a blue moon.

We didn’t stay outside too long because after recuperating from last week’s viruses, little Brennan woke up with a fever that reached to nearly 102 degrees. So back to the doctor we went. It’s been a good 9 years since I’ve driven in snow living in Chicago. But it wasn’t that bad, and the doc confirmed that he picked up a new virus. So we’re staying put for a couple of days. Before I get to the pictures, I wanted to mention that for at least the next few weeks, I’m taking a break from reading other people’s blogs. Hence, no comments on your blogs. But maybe I’ll catch you on Twitter or Facebook, or better yet, face-to-face!

Take in the beauty, or if you’re sick of snow, just amuse me for awhile <grin>:

Everyone in town was probably sitting on pins and needles waiting to know if school and work were going to be canceled. Matt kept refreshing his work email every five minutes to no avail. We waved goodbye to our special man, who was at least able to see the flakes through his office window (which he didn’t have for many years at his other job).

 

 

A Texas Winter Wonderland

 

 

Kids aren’t the only ones who like the snow. Big, furry Labrador Retrievers like it, too. Eventually, her muzzle wasn’t the only thing white on her.

 

 

Here’s a boy who doesn’t feel well and is ready for a nap. A boy who was happiest today in my lap reading books.

 

 

When Daddy wrapped up work, he couldn’t resist bundling up his boy to make Brennan’s first snowman. Evan, our 3 year old neighbor buddy made the cutest snowman you can see in the left-hand corner.

 

 

It’s February. And there is snow on the ground. There is something seriously wrong with this picture.

 

 

Brennan’s first snow/grass man! Isn’t it handsome!? Brina is a little girl who lives across the street. She loves to come over and play with Brennan and Molly when we’re out front. She made the head. Unlike Evan’s complete snowman, ours lacks eyes. And a nose. And arms.

 

 

 

I’m actually not quite sure who the boys are, but these three kiddos made this snowman on the other side of our yard that got a decent amount of the white stuff. So we have three awesome snowmen in our near vicinity that make us smile. They won’t last as long as Kelly’s snowman though, no sir-ee. We will bid farewell to them tomorrow.

 

 

Getting warm by the fire. After his bath, this is what the scene looked like again in our house except that I was holding Brennan and all the lights were off so he could fall asleep while we said his bedtime prayers, thanking God for the snow! What a delightful day, even with a sick lad.

 

Now that we’ve had a solid winter, complete with snowflakes that stayed on my nose and eyelashes, the silver white winter is welcome to melt into spring.

 

Project Life: February 9-15, 2010

What a fun-filled week it was! It was a whirlwind and all the days seem to blend together, but these pictures will hopefully trigger at least some semblance of memory.

 

Tuesday, February 9

Brennan’s love for Molly keeps growing and growing! She’s his little playmate. He’s learning how to play tug of war with Molly’s pull-ball.

 

Wednesday, February 10

We went to a special four year old’s, Harrison’s, birthday party at Chuck E Cheese! It was Brennan’s first time there and he was on stimulation overload! He was also afraid of the big mouse, as you can tell from how tightly he’s grabbing hold of my shirt. Harrison is such a big boy now! He stopped using his paci and as a special moment to commemorate this right of passage, he gift-wrapped his paci and gave it to Brennan, wanting to pass it along to Brennan until he gets big. Harrison knows how much Brennan loves his paci. <grin> It was so precious! And way to go H!!

 

Thursday, February 11

It was cold and rainy all last week, so we did a lot of things indoors. Over the past week, Brennan has become infatuated with reading and books! He comes to us regularly with a book in hand, ready to crawl in our laps to read, and it’s so fun! So I decided it was time we hit the library. Plus, I wanted to check out some of the books my friend, Emily, recommended after she read my last Project Life post. While I tried to focus on finding certain books to check out for him, I had a little boy who was more interested in exploring. I was out of breath by the time we left that place; I couldn’t keep up with him fast enough! He was most fascinated with the children’s computers and played a coloring game on one for awhile.

Austin was nearly one of the only cities, so it seemed, that didn’t get any snow in last week’s Snowmegeddon. We were pretty sad about that. Matt’s folks sure got enough for all of us though. Nana got creative with her snowmen, making two snow grandsons (Brennan is the one with the blue eyes) that she sent a picture of. You can tell she’s grandson deprived! <grin>

 

 

Friday, January February 12

This was a special, special day. On Thursday, Brennan initiated feeding himself his oatmeal with a spoon. It was messy and thrilling and exciting and sticky. So we captured a photo of it on Friday. Notice how close my hands are to alleviate any unnecessary messes. <grin>

Brennan and I met up with Pops and Meems and our life-long, dear family friends, Ron and Tycha, at Panera’s. My folks came up for the night to be with Ron and Tycha who were in town visiting family. And Brennan and I were blessed to join them for the morning. Brennan was quickly declared their adopted grandson, and I couldn’t be more delighted! Tycha has battled breast cancer over the last few years, and Ron is currently battling an inoperable lung cancer. Their zest for life has always been an inspiration, and all the more so now. Their attitude and outlook is amazing, and a true example to me. I cherished the moment when Ron walked me and Brennan to the car, and as he shielded Brennan from the brisk, cold wind, he loved and kissed on him so tenderly. Ron stayed with me the entire time I loaded Brennan, and I will treasure that moment all my life. Brennan and I then had lunch with Pops and Meems at Chick-fil-A. It was Pops and Meems’ first time seeing Brennan walk, and I think Pops was worn out!

On Friday night, we joined Chris and Jill, Jillie’s folks, and Harrison and Haddie for an Olympic celebration dinner complete with Canadian bacon/pineapple pizza, salad, and amazing fondue (cheese and chocolate). We took Brennan’s pack n’ play to put him down so we can party as late as we want. I fell asleep around 9:30, however. What can I say? Every party needs a pooper.

 

Saturday, January February 13

All week long I’d been trying to make head-way cleaning this house from top to bottom, a thorough spring cleaning of sorts that was badly needed. Trust me, I had at least 12 filthy rags to prove it was needed! Brennan’s naps weren’t that great and I could only get so much done when he was awake. So Matt was kind enough to take care of him all day on Saturday so I could finish cleaning. I kid you not, I worked from 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. cleaning this place. I crashed! And felt completely satisfied afterward. <grin> The last time I’d cleaned like that, Brennan was not mobile. Mobility makes a big difference, ya’ll! Anyway, Matt took Brennan to a little play area in the mall that I go to sometimes. It was Matt’s first time there and he got to see Brennan in action. The boys loved their day together!

 

 

Sunday, January February 14

He loves his books! This is a regular sight in our home these days.

Monday, January February 15

Matt and I like to go to dinner to celebrate Valentine’s Day on any other day besides the holiday itself; restaurants are too crowded. Matt surprised me and made reservations at the Eastside Cafe and lined up our babysitter for a wonderful evening out. The food was awesome! If you’re in Austin, I highly recommend a visit. Their garden, where they grow most of their own produce, was incredible! And Matt was such good company, you’d never have known he didn’t feel well. I delved into this Ghirardelli brownie for dessert, my last one for a good long while. It’s a must. An absolute must to both eat this brownie sometime and for me not to eat such an indulgence for awhile. The irony! The painful irony that I need to settle on the latter.

I have two sick boys on my hands, so I must tend to them. Hope ya’ll have a great week!

Project Life Tuesday: February 2-8, 2010

I recently told you about Becky Higgins’ Project Life Kit that I started for 2010, and it’s been a lot of fun, and so much simpler than the traditional scrapbooking I was doing before. I’m trying to snap a photo a day after for my album, and thought it would be fun to join The Mom Creative’s weekly Project Life Tuesday. So here are the photos from the past week:

 

Tuesday, February 2nd

Fridge Art from our weekend with Eric and Kim. The Mexican food restaurant, Chuys, rocks. ROCKS! (Marla, if you’re ever in Austin, me taking you to Chuy’s is a must. It beats out Chipotle and Freebirds, hands down. And I love Freebirds, which means that Chuy’s simply rocks!)  And “Burn” is a phrase Eric and Kim’s small group in CO uses a lot as a “na na na na boo boo” kinda thing. And because Matt and I are such cool people (ahem!), we were taught its meaning. I used it every chance I got, whether or not it was the proper intended use of it. So there: burn.

 

 

Wednesday, February 3rd

Playing with the pots and pans while I fixed dinner. He’s my little chef who loves to be in the kitchen with me rummaging through the pantry or mixing things with the wooden spoon. He baked some amazing chicken pot pie that night!

 

 

Thursday, February 4th

While Matt is not a coffee drinker, his daily energy buzz is hot chai. He’s holding off buying some from Sam’s to help our budget a bit, but I had some spare change to swing by Starbucks last Thursday and pick up a chai latte for our special hubby/daddy. We surprised him and swung by his office to drop it off before I took Brennan to get his first pair of real tennis shoes. The blurry writing on the lid is a love note, so it’s ok if it’s blurry and you can’t see it clearly. <grin>

 

 

Friday, February 5th

The big boy in his new shoesies! By the way, the boy is going to be severely made fun of because he’s learning all the nouns that I put “y” or “ies” on the end (i.e. doggies, horsey, shoesies, sockies). We went to Sandy’s Shoes and found out that Brennan has a large foot for his age, which should come as no surprise. He’s a size 6, and the gentleman that helped us was amazed at how good he was at walking having just taken off a week ago. Although, he might just tell all his toddler customers that. So far, the shoesies stay on better than his sockies.

 

 

Saturday, February 6th

What a cute little hiney! Ever since Brennan was born, after Brennan’s bath, Matt would bring him to me all wet, wrapped up in his towel to give me kisses. The fresh, clean baby smell is totally irresistible and I’d nestle into Brennan’s cheeks while Matt held him all bundled up. But this weekend, surprise, surprise! Matt sent the character out me walking, buck n*aked! It was hilarious! And there’s something about being in only a diaper or completely n*aked that Brennan absolutely loves. He giggles, he’s frisky, he’s foot loose and fancy free! I hope we don’t have a future streaker on our hands. And don’t worry, I’m still nestling into his proper cheeks. Ok, bad, bad joke, I know! <grin>

 

 

And for kicks, one more picture for Saturday:

My tennis shoe lovin’, jean wearin’, casual hubby decided on his own, that he wasn’t going to get tennis shoes to replace his worn out pair. Instead, he opted for these brown shoes. Ya’ll, this is big. This is huge! I promise with everything in me that I have never mentioned to him how cool I think it would be if he wore something like these over tennis shoes as his every day shoe. Not once. So when we were at the outlet mall a month ago and he said he was thinking about brown shoes, I was stunned. And when we were actually ready to buy a pair this weekend, with no prompting from me (and he can attest to this), he chose these. I was flabbergasted and excited and swooning! I’d still love him in his old tennies, but folks, the southern belle in me is lovin’ these handsome loafers.

 

 

Sunday, February 7th

Super Bowl Sunday with my boys.

 

 

Monday, February 8th

Five months have passed since I dusted our bookshelves, so I think it’s about time I get out the trusty dust rag and Pledge, don’t ya think? It was another rough Monday for me and Brennan. So much so that I spent more time than I would have liked going through Antique Mommy’s and Amanda’s archives for any glimmer of hope from posts they may have written about their experiences with their toddlers. Brennan isn’t a monster, please don’t get me wrong. He’s far from it. But my type-A, need-to-have-a-plan kinda personality really clashes with how parenting is constantly changing and full of so many unknowns. I know I’m not the first one to say it, but if only God gave personalized instruction manuals when a child was born, the world would be a better place. Or at least I’d be a better mommy. Someone, just tell me what to do and I’ll do it. Steps 1, 2 and 3!

I also am deeply battling insecurity and a raging desire to be more than just a mommy, both of which are gnawing at me incessantly, so bring on the guilt as well. It’s no coincidence that I’m reading Search for Significance for a women’s Bible study at church and Beth Moore’s book, So Long Insecurity, which I can’t put down. But at the same time, I don’t want to read another word because it’s too much to take in all at one time it’s hittin’ so deep. I’m not looking for comment affirmation here, just sharing for a moment. And now I’m feeling insecure about writing that last sentence. Should I have or shouldn’t I have? Oh, Lord, rid me of this malady if it kills me!

As I was dusting the bookshelves, I came to the shelf that has these two giraffes and next to them a book called Tall Blondes. While I was in Africa, I fell in love with giraffes. Their grace and gentleness, their strength and their beauty. I brought home these two wooden giraffes not only to remember this magnificent creature that graces the vast expanse of Africa, but even more so because of their stance: a baby giraffe stretching her neck as much as she can to gaze into the eyes of the larger giraffe whom she knows protects her, cares for her, and loves her more than she could possibly fathom. These giraffes symbolize my time in Africa where my eyes were fixed upon Jesus in a loving gaze that nothing could take my eyes off Him, a real mark in my life with Him. They are a tangible reminder to me of where my eyes always need to be.

And the book? Given to me by Gaga, my grandmother, who knew of my love for giraffes as a going away gift when I left for college. In it is a note penned with her chicken scratch saying how much she’d miss me and pray for me when she talked to God. Oh, I miss her so.

These giraffes are for a day like yesterday, when I need to remember not only how my eyes should be fixed upon Jesus who alone satisfies all of my needs and knows the deepest longings of my heart, but also how His eyes are on me. I cannot flee from His presence and nothing can separate me from His love. Even in my weakness, my mixed up priorities, my lack of knowledge of how to be a mommy, or my raging emotions and insecurity, nothing can separate me from His love, from His constant gaze upon me. I just need to keep my fixed, intent look upon Him.

A Paper Lover in a Digital World

A few years ago when I was putting together ice-breaker questions for a small group of college gals, I came across the question, “If you found $100 in a store, what would you do with it?” I happened to be the lucky one who drew that question out of the hat and enthusiastically shared that I would spend it in a stationery store, proceeding to tell these girls who had just met me about my love for all things paper. Silence. And bewildered looks were on their faces. How come the conversation quickly halted? Then one of the girls boldly asked, “You wouldn’t take it to the cashier and said you found lost money?” Huh? Thoughts of how their discipleship leader just admitted she wouldn’t care one hoot or try in the least to find the rightful owner of a large sum of money probably quickly turned into, “Why did I have to get stuck with this girl for a leader?” My face flushed bright red having realized my cockeyed, yet innocent, answer. I laughed at myself, trying to regain composure and redeem the first impression that I just blew through an ice-breaker question. I thought it would be eye-opening to see what a person would spend $100 on. Who knows what those girls got out of that evening, but they undoubtedly knew I was a lover of paper, with a level of integrity yet to be determined.

But we live in a digital world. Everything is stored on the computer, which is wonderfully convenient. But this girl has to have something tangible, something to hold onto that is a physical document to touch, to pass down to the next generation. Because all of the pictures and blogs just don’t seem real otherwise. Anybody gettin’ what I’m sayin’? For awhile, scrapbooking was a main hobby of mine. Forget $100; I’ve probably spent at least $800 over the past seven years of scrapping. Once I completed Brennan’s baby book documenting my pregnancy through the main events of his first year, however, the srappin’, at least in a traditional sense, was a thing of the past. Don’t feel badly for the child. He is going to probably know more about his childhood than he ever hoped. Since his birth, I’ve completed a book called Love Letters to My Baby, which was a guided journal for thoughts from the beginning of pregnancy to a few months after birth. If we have a second child, I’ll want to get another copy; I loved that book. Then I kept a “Baby’s First Year Calendar” which marked all of his firsts, growth developments, special events, and daily happenings I wanted to record. I cropped my favorite pictures and had a collage for each month. Thirdly, I write briefly in a daily journal about my favorite moments of the day, what we did, or what I saw him do that was exciting. I even have the gumption of writing about the awful days, like this past Monday and Tuesday which led me to write, “If we have a second child…” just a few sentences above. Where has my sweet, sweet baby gone? He has morphed into a toddler. Granted, he’s been feeling awful, which doesn’t help matters. But since turning one, he is a new child. Oh, he’s still the sweetest thing on earth to me, but the jury is still out as to whether I like this new stage. I digress. Finally, there is the blog, where I record more than some readers would like to know.

Like I said, the boy is not short of journals, pictures and documentation about his childhood. I realize I went overboard. Way overboard! Please know it’s more about my abnormal compulsion for all things paper, and a deep-down desire to want future generations to know about our life, and well, a love for writing. And the four-fold documenting will not likely be repeated for the second child (if there is one) <grin>.

The thought of even the blog remaining in the nebulous place of cyberspace is unsettling to me though. If anything ever happened to it, I’d be heartbroken since it has, more or less, become my journal and scrapbook. At least the main one. <grin> So I turn it into a book! I know, I am crazy. That’s the “scrapbook project of sorts” I worked on in Houston during my down time. You may have heard of the program: Blurb. It has its idiosyncrasies and major bug issues that are nothing short of frustrating, at least for a Typepad user. It took me eight hours to fine-tune my blog imports from July-December, staying up till 1 a.m. I know, I know. I sure hope they improve it. But it’s the only software I know that I can use to turn the blog into a tangible book to take up more room on the book shelf. If anyone knows of something else I could use, by all means, let me know.

And as for my pictures, I still have the itch to have something for pictures all on their own, but traditional scrapbooking takes too much time. I’m so excited about something I came across recently through The Mom Creative: Project Life. Designed by Becky Higgins, her words describe it the best: “it’s a way to capture your memories in a format that is simple, pre-designed, and ready for you to add your personal photos and stories.” I’m trying it for the first time this year, and after receiving the kit in the mail this week, I am in love! I can still be creative, but it’s pre-designed in such a way that I am not drained by trying to think of something creative to do for each page, like traditional scrapping. For those that like to put pictures in an album, it’s basically that but with the option to add journaling cards and the provision to make it colorful and pretty. There are all sorts of ways you can use it. It’s a great deal, too! It only costs $40; that leaves me with $60 to spare after finding someone else’s money in a store!

The kit allows enough space in its page protectors to take a picture a day, and that’s what I’m trying to do. I haven’t succeeded in that yet, but I’ve already enjoyed the fruit of having it in my mind to grab a picture a day; it causes me to have my eyes opened more to the special, even subtle events of the day I’d like to remember. One problem I may run into, however, is deciding which picture of the day to choose, like yesterday’s options:

Brennan learning to brush his teeth

 

or Brennan’s first bubble bath

Which do you think?

Seeing as how Monday and Tuesday made me want to cry at the end of the day and bury my head in the sand, I might just end up using both of these pictures because I was in survival mode and forgot about the camera. Yesterday was better though. The little fella even crawled over a ways to me to give me a kiss because Momma asked for one. And that will be the favorite moment of the day to write about in my tangible journal.

Sweetness

Well, I went away for a weekend, leaving my boys and girl for the first time, and everyone survived! I guess that means I can take getaways more often. <grin> Just kidding. I wouldn’t be able to survive as I would die of homesickness. The picture of Matt & Brennan standing out front waving me goodbye with Molly’s eyes glued to my disappearing car was enough to slay me. They were in the same position when I got home, and boy, was I beaming. They were, too. Kudos to Matt for holding down the fort excellently, even with a sick baby (who’s only gotten worse with a fever and off-the-charts crankiness). The one upside of a sick baby is that he loves to snuggle. After his morning bottle, he stayed in my arms for an hour and a half, fading in and out, a wretched cough being the culprit of his restlessness.

Where was I? Houston. For what? A celebration. What was I celebrating? Faithfully memorizing 24 verses throughout 2009 with the Living Proof Live blog community. And what a sweet celebration it was!

After feeling like we’d been going non-stop since Christmas, we made the decision that it would be nice for me to go to Houston by myself. Since I’m an introvert, that works well, being that it’s a key way I rejuvenate. And from the moment I got in the car to head south, to the time I drove back in our driveway at home, the Lord was clearly with me and blessing the weekend every step of the way! I was able to meet up with a friend, Lydia, who was in a discipleship group of mine from a few years ago. We ate lunch at Té on Friday and enjoyed some hot tea, even though it was 78 degrees outside. All the ladies who flew to Texas from the north, LOVED the warm weather. I, on the other hand, am praying for a reversal of the warming trend we’re experiencing. My daffodils should not be sprouting yet! The hotel I stayed at even let me have the special group rate, even though when I’d made the reservation they’d given all the special rate rooms away! On Saturday afternoon, I was also able to catch up with my cousin, Nicole, and her hubby, which was a sweet treat as well. Aside from my first and (prayerfully) last time driving on the wrong side of the street towards oncoming cars, which was one of the worst feelings ever, I navigated through Houston pretty well.

I was ecstatic to have time to do fun things I don’t normally have the free-time to do: reading, tweeting, getting caught up on a scrapbook project of sorts. You’d think sleep would have been something I’d taken advantage of catching up on, but nope, I tried to get as much accomplished in my time alone as I could. The Siesta Scripture Memory Team celebration started Friday night and lasted until Saturday at noon. It was incredibly special from the get-go! The LPM staff loved on us so well with all that they planned. I was able to meet some special bloggers, like Amanda, whom I’ve wanted to meet for a long time, and it was such a gift to me to meet her! Then nearly en-route to Houston, I found out that Big Mama and Marla Taviano were going to be there as well. Bonus!  Granted, I probably came across as a psycho wanting to hang out with the three of them as much as I could and of course, I’m the type of person who gets all nervous when I meet people I respect and admire. It’s rather a nuisance, because I feel all unnatural and like a stalker. So who knows what they think of me. But I think all of them are super, incredibly gracious and warm, and I still have a dream to get to know them better. That might just be possible if I don’t come across as psycho. <grin> Or should it be <muahahaha>?  I loved getting to meet several sweet ladies whom I talked to in the taco line or who welcomed me to sit next to them since I was by myself. My Scripture memory buddies, Brennan and Miss Molly, weren’t with me this weekend, but they were sure a part of the journey of feasting on those 24 verses as we’d work on them on our afternoon walks. Instead, a nice lady, Deborah, let me share my verses with her. It was such a great group of “siestas”, and it was an honor to be there!

If you want a run down of the weekend in detail, I highly recommend you read Amanda’s post here on the LPM blog. It gives a fun overview of the events. There are a number of things about the weekend that I am savoring and treasuring in my heart. Most of all, it was a weekend to celebrate the culmination of how the Lord has shown me His faithfulness and goodness to me over the past year, particularly as He’s helped me be a momma. Beth Moore was right when she said that if anyone got a hold of our spirals with all the verses we’ve worked on, someone would have clear insight into what we’d walked through, wrestled over, and rejoiced in all year long. I leave you with the very first verse of 2009 that I memorized, and one I deeply held onto all year long:

And He will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is his treasure.

Isaiah 33:6 (NASB)

 

Oh, and how could I resist not leaving you with a couple of my favorite pictures of my boys from the weekend (they had a blast together!)?

Here are my boys helping me practice my verses on Friday morning before I left (Matt still has sleepy eyes). <grin>

And then there’s this character:

 

 

I tell you what, while the weekend away in all regards was sweet, there is nothing sweeter than being back with my boys!

Team Spirit Bred Young

We prep our younglings early on to know which colleges and universities we love and which ones are our nemeses. A bond to a school might even run generations deep. If you haven’t seen the The Blind Side yet, you must, or you’ll miss out on one of the top three movies of the year. If you have, then you know it’s quite possible to breed generations of specific school lovin’ fans. We’ve got it goin’ on in this household, oh yes we do. Cause’ we have team spirit, how ‘bout you?

We’ve got our own youngling choosing between the TX A&M Aggies, Gig ‘em!…

 

The Wheaton College Thunder…crash, boom, rumble. Don’t get me started on having thunder as a mascot…

 

The Arizona State Sun Devils, Fight Devils!…

 

The University of Virginia Cavaliers, Go Hoos…

The North Carolina Tar Heels, Go Tar Heels! (we still gotta get our hands on some Tar Heel paraphernalia)…

And last but not least,

The University of Arizona Wildcats, Bear Down, Arizona! (but the family member rootin’ for them hasn’t bought Brennan any Wildcat paraphernalia yet)…

And then there is the unmentionable one, the nemesis of our family. The one whose name is on the unframed masters diploma of my hubby’s. The one who is playing in the national football championship tonight. The one who’s sparked a flutter of team spirit throughout this city, even in the grocery store. The one I will be forever branded as a “betrayer” if I cheer for them tonight. The University of Texas Longhorns. Hook ‘em!

We have no Longhorn paraphernalia. For a reason. And maybe Brennan’s facial expression in this picture shows that he’s not all that into the Longhorns either. But those cakes and cookies sure look good.

We’ll watch the game. And I will cheer for the Texas, Big 12 team, just this one night...because I got true State of Texas spirit! But if it gets too late, you will find me in bed like the last time UT played in the national championship…and we were awakened by firecrackers and bottle rockets.

Brennan has a plethora of schools from which to choose, well, namely five. That should make the decision for him easier. I just had one school on my list that I wanted to attend (yes, I put all my eggs in one basket), so five already seems overwhelming to me. And as his mother, who’s to say I would be upset if he wanted to live at home to attend UT, or better yet wanted to attend UT to live at home? <grin> If that’s the case, well then, dadgummit, hook ‘em!

A Luminario Maker in the Making

One of my most special Christmas traditions is making homemade luminarios with my Daddy on Christmas Eve, which we put along the walkways and light when it gets dark. I don’t remember how the idea originated, and good golly, we’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember. My brother used to be a part of the tradition, but you could always tell he was somewhat disinterested. He’d maybe help with a bag or two and then go off and do his own thing. Eventually, he came outside for a few minutes to watch us then go back inside to do who-knows-what. And now, he doesn’t even grace us with his presence. So it’s a Daddy-Meggie tradition these days.

This year, we welcomed a newcomer. We have to start him out early so he sticks with it through the years and eventually passes down the tradition. In other words, we’re deeply hoping he shows more interest in it than Mac.

Supplies you need:

paper bags, candles, rocks or dirt, a candle lighter, and a helper

Like grandfather, like grandson.

Next year we’ll have to get him mittens which allow him to use all his fingers. It’ll help keep the bags intact. Although, who am I kidding? That’s not gonna really help the bags, is it?

 

Already skidaddling. Please, please don’t be like Uncle Mac looking for something better to do.

The dirt was boring. The bag was even more boring. Maybe this box of white things will be more fun.

How’s that wax tastin’? Must not have been very good because you spit it up five minutes later by the front door.

Candle quality control is vital.

There ya go! You’re an official luminario maker.

You keep clapping for yourself all the way through life, buddy. I’ll keep clapping for you, too.

Checkin’ out our progress. Pops, we gotta line the bags up better. You’re slackin’.

I don’t think Seymour would like wax either. But way to share!

Job well done, fellas! I think we have a new life-time luminario maker in the family. At least he will be if he knows what’s good for him.

 

Morning with Brennan

Howdy, dear Internet peeps! How was your Christmas? After spending a week and a day in San Antonio with my folks, we are back home as of late this morning. I am working like a mad woman putting all of our Christmas decorations away, organizing and cleaning before 11 p.m. tonight. I’m afraid, however, that the cleaning will have to wait until tomorrow…only because I don’t want the loud vacuum waking Brennan up once he goes to bed. But I might go ahead and do it. I know, it’s a risk. But the peace of mind having everything done may very well be worth it. I can’t rest until it’s all done. You can pity my husband whom I put to work until it’s all done…and to my satisfaction. Again, because my mind can’t settle otherwise. It’s a good thing they don’t have husband labor laws because I would be in violation of every single one of ‘em and be thrown into the slammer until the end of time.

While I ask of my hubby to put his nose to the grindstone on my behalf, he doesn’t ask of me anything. Instead, he blesses me with projects he selflessly works on into the wee morning hours, like this one I received for Christmas. It’s a humdinger and worth five minutes of your time. Although I might be biased. But trust me, it’s worth your time.

Enjoy!

Link Love

Hey, all! I got home not too long ago from lunch with my friend, Emily. We planned on eating at Thundercloud Subs with our boys, but we made a last minute change and went to the Cheesecake Factory. What a treat for us two moms to enjoy a tasty lunch and cheesecake (of course!) with some good little boys, who enjoyed playing outside in the dirt just prior to our meal. If I was quick enough, I would have taken a picture of the boys crawling together; Parker (1.5 years old) reverted back to crawling to play with Brennan and encourage him along. It was awesome!

I brought home a piece of cheesecake for Matt, but I have yet to determine if I’ll actually share that bit of information with him. If he reads this before tonight, then I’ll let him have it. But if somehow that cheesecake gets left in the fridge through the night, well, too bad, babe. <grin>

I just have a few, fun random links and quotes to mention to you that you might find interesting.

I’ve immensely enjoyed some of Pioneer Woman’s recipes lately. They’re simple and yummy. If you’re in the mood for a filling soup to warm your innards, look no further than her Simple, Hearty Chicken and Rice Soup (the only thing I omitted was the food coloring). I’ve also tried her pot roast, which was simple and so good. The meat was very tender and flavorful. It was delightfully aromatic as well. Brennan was most keen on the carrots in the pot roast and absolutely loves the chicken and rice soup.

My dear neighbor has made these pretzel treats for us for some Christmas goodies, and I am IN LOVE! Last year, I ate the entire bag she gave us before Matt got home from work. Do you see a trend here? He either tattled on me or I confessed my addiction to those suckers (I don’t remember which it was) because she sweetly made us more! This year, I made sure Matt got a couple. Literally. They were gone the same night she gave them to us though. I have since made some for gifts and yes, for me to munch on occasionally, too. They are amazing. And terrifyingly addicting! Are you all making any Christmas treats that you love?

I know it may seem like I just emerged from a cave, but I recently discovered Pandora, the live music stream radio through the Internet. I have a whole new slew of Christmas music to listen to! Do you all have any favorite stations you listen to?

I mentioned in my last post about the Advent readings we’re going through as a family. Last Tuesday, the theme of the Scripture verses (Isaiah 13:9-14; Matthew 24:27-32; Revelation 6:1-3, 12-17) was “The Coming of the Lord”. Along with the verses was a quote from Dietrich Bonheoffer's The Coming of Jesus in our Midst. It was stirring and thought-provoking, definitely worth pondering:

We have been so accustomed to the idea of divine love and of God’s coming at Christmas that we no longer feel the shiver of fear that God’s coming should arouse in us. We are indifferent to the message, taking only the pleasant and agreeable out of it and forgetting the serious aspect, that the God of the world draws near to the people of our little earth and lays claim to us. The coming of God is truly not only glad tidings, but first of all frightening news for everyone who has a conscience…Only when we have felt the terror of the matter can we recognize the incomparable kindness. God comes into the very midst of evil and of death and judges the evil in us and in the world. And by judging us God cleanses and sanctifies us, comes to us with grace and love. God makes us happy as only children can be happy. God wants always to be with us, wherever we may be—in our sin, in our suffering and death. We are no longer alone; God is with us.

Ok, I need to start keeping a running list of random musings so I’m not relying on my increasingly unreliable memory. But this will have to suffice for now. We’re headed out for a walk with Miss Molly, and for fun, I think I’ll put her Christmas jingle bell collar on. She might hate me forever for it, though.

 

 

Wrangler and Ree Sightings

This little homebody ventured out by herself last night. Whoa, Nelly! Since Pioneer Woman (PW) announced the cities on her book tour weeks ago, I’ve had my calendar marked for the big day. She recently published a cookbook entitled The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl.  And as you probably know, I’m a sucker for a good cookbook. I’ve made a few of her recipes, all of which have been scrumptious. Her magnificent, detailed action shots of the cooking process are quite helpful. PW has written about each of the cities she’s visited for book signings, and as the day approached for her to be in Austin, I found myself getting more excited…and more nervous. I always get freaked out about meeting people I respect, admire, who are authority figures, or people I may not personally know but dream of being friends with one day. I’m a little weird like that.

The signing started at 7 p.m., and I knew people were already arriving as early as 3:45 p.m. to get in line. Simply knowing that made me want to forego the whole thing. But I fought the desire in me to stay home all nestled in with my family. I braved the cold, faced the Austin traffic and the crazy parking situation at the bookstore, and got there at 7:05. As I was squeezing my not-small-enough car into the tight “small car only” space with part of my wheels tucked tightly against the curb, I literally thought to myself, “Oh, Lord, I don’t want to do this. What am I doing here?” But in I went, against all of my own wishes. I felt so out of place.

I entered on the first floor level, was directed to the cashier line to buy the cookbook I’d need in order to get a ticket, and saw in the corner of my eye a familiar face. Is that him? Is that Pioneer Woman’s husband, Marlboro Man? He was behind me browsing some of the book tables so I didn’t have the best angle on his face, so I checked his feet first: yep, cowboy boots. Then I did something I can’t believe I’m going to admit, but it was the first thing that popped into my mind, and I blame it all on Pioneer Woman herself. She writes every now and then about how Marlboro Man’s back end, clothed with a pair of Wranglers, makes her swoon. And then she posts a big ol’ picture of him from the rear for all the world to see. I wish I had the time to search her archives to prove this, but I don’t. Shamelessly, the second most natural thought entered my mind: Look at his bum. Maybe I’ll recognize it from his picture. I. Kid. You. Not.

So my eyes traveled to those pair of Wranglers to see if that would be his tell-tale mark, thanks to his wife. Nope, I didn’t recognize it. Finally, he turned in a direction I could catch his face and confirmed that yes, it was indeed Marlboro Man. Thank goodness that the only man I’ll be able to recognize from his bum is my own husband’s!

I ventured upstairs to receive my purple wristband and came upon hundreds of people, standing and sitting, waiting for Ree to make her appearance. I knew immediately I wasn’t going to stay to get the cookbooks signed as my purple colored wristband would be the last color group to be called upon. If I were 20 again, without a baby to wake up to in the morning, I’d stay. But I’m not that young and vibrant anymore. Simply being swept up by the crowd and anticipating getting to see PW in person was enough for me. And well, there appeared Marlboro Man right before me again. If I’d had the nerves, I would have asked him to sign the book, like several other women did:

My eyes never, never again ventured to his Wranglers!

Ten minutes later, the lovely lady herself appeared to answer a few questions. She would be a delightful person to have for dinner sometime. Would it be rude to make her do the cooking? The Q&A session lasted about 15 minutes, time which allowed us to glimpse her beauty in character and feature, yet unpretentious in demeanor; her humor; and her authenticity. Her four “whippersnappers” were there as well, but this is such an awful picture:

Two questions were asked that I’ve been the most curious about myself: 1) does she read all of her comments (some posts generate up to the tens of thousands of comments) and 2) how does she do it all (a mom of four, wife, homeschooling, blogging about 4-5 posts a day, running a cooking website, etc..,). I’d still like to know. It’s mind-boggling to me all that she does. She works hard, and it’s obvious she has a lot of fun with it, too!

After the Q&A session, I left without anything signed, but content and glad this homebody ventured out for an evening. It was worth it, Wrangler sightings and all.