Our Favorite Dessert

Tonight Hannah and I made what we call Pumpkin Fluff. It's seriously one of the best desserts of all time! It's so simple to throw together, and apparently it's not too bad for you either.

Our version is a tad different with the way we spice it up, but here's the original Weight Watchers version. (I think it's like 1 point, in case you're interested.)

Pumpkin Mousse
Ingredients

• 15 ounces canned pumpkin

• 2 (3 ½ ounce) boxes fat-free sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix

• 1 ¾ cups skim milk

• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

• 2 cups fat-free whipped topping

Directions

1. Combine pumpkin, spice, and milk in a mixing bowl.
2. Mix until smooth.
3. Add pudding mix and beat for 1-2 minutes.
4. Fold in whipped topping.
5. Chill well before serving.

Twirly Girly Skirt

I whipped together this little twirly skirt for Hannah Banana to get ready for Valentine's Day! I think her Chuck's are a nice touch. :)

Here's a final look at the skirt (laid out on Hannah's quilt, which my Mother made when she was my age). It's a reversible black polka dot and solid black skirt with a red yolk.

This isn't the first go round with this skirt as I've made her two in the past as you may remember, and I'll probably make her a few more for as long as she's interested in twirling. :) I love my girly girl!

The Ruler

I love that she's so involved in whatever we're doing. She wasn't very helpful in cutting fabric, but she sure looked cute counting the numbers on the rulers.

Sneak Peak

Um, how cute is this pocket? Way cute right?! Imagine the dress it's going to go on!

Family of Chucks

Hannah Met Santa

Thursday, Santa and Mrs. Claus stopped by Hannah's school to visit with the kids. At first, Hannah was terrified of Santa, but eventually stood in line to go meet him. She absolutely did not want to sit in his lap, but decided on her own that she wanted to ask him for candy canes. She immediately warmed up to him and talked his ear off! She had all of the grown ups laughing as most of the other kids had very little to say and she apparently had lots. He asked if she was really just 2-years-old because of how well she speaks. :) I wish we could have heard everything or videoed, but here are a few pics!

Let Them Eat Steak

Our Thanksgiving Day was off the chain. We relaxed all day long. In fact, I don't think Hannah ever got out of her jammies! It was so nice to spend quality time together, and especially nice to enjoy a good Southern meal for our Thanksgiving feast. Fluffy mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon, big juicy steak. Mmmm.

Pity Party - Table for One

Bah. I'm like the Ebenezer Scrooge of Thanksgiving this year. While everyone I know is daily updating their Facebook or Twitter with the things for which they're thankful, I'm counting down the days until this month is over. Bah.

Don't get me wrong - there are many things I'm thankful for.

We've got a beautiful family.

We're all healthy.

We have a roof over our heads... for now.

We have jobs... for now.
We live in the best town ever!
We live so close to our dearest friends... who have abandoned us this week! (How dare they.)

Our church is growing slowly and steadily.

But really, I'm stuck wallowing in my own self-pity, and all of these thankful people are reminding me that I should be giving thanks right now. And I kinda don't wanna. Our family has had so much up in the air for so long, that right now I'm really exhausted with all the unknowns and getting my hopes up. I know I'm being a little near-sighted by not considering all that God has in store for the future, but it's time I say it out loud that I'm discouraged.

So for Thanksgiving this year, we're foregoing the turkey. We're having steak and potatoes, dangit. And maybe when this month is over, I'll put my big girl panties on and be a little more thankful. But for now, I'll be at my own pity party.

Dirty Thirty

You only turn 30 once, and there's no better way I could have celebrated my birthday than with my family! Chris, Hannah and I met my parents at my sister's house in Charlotte, North Carolina where we had an amazing and memorable week. There's so much to recap from the trip that I don't know where to start! So here's a run down of moments I won't forget:

• Running the fastest I've run in my adult life through the DFW airport to make our connecting flight to Charlotte.
• Watching Tangled with Hannah over and over again on our iPad, right before she dropped it and cracked the screen. Yup. And we were just about to sell it.
• Finally landing in Charlotte and discovering that Hannah soaked the seat she was sitting in. The poor girl warned me, but we were landing and the 'Fasten Seatbelt' lights were on!
• Being greeted by my family after a long day of traveling.
• Pulling up to my sister and brother's awesome house for the first time and being reminded that we're all grown up... mostly.
• Staying up late and watching Hannah and Gina paint each other's toenails.
• Chasing Mia around the house and snuggling with her on the couch.
• Visiting my sister at work and seeing my Dad hug her boss. :)
• Going to an incredible petting zoo called Lazy 5 Ranch and almost losing a finger to a giant cow deer monster thing... with fangs.
• Painting pottery with the girls (including Cindy Crawford) and meeting some of Gina's best friends!
• Going out way past our bedtime to hang out with the Fambroughs and the Buehlers... who don't appreciate Ferris Bueller jokes.
• Sharing a full size bed with my toddler who throws punches in her sleep. 
• Having Siri tell me Happy Birthday.
• Attending my first ever NASCAR race - WOO! I've never been more proud of my brother-in-law! This actually deserves a posting all of its own with a paragraph dedicated to how my sister nearly threw down with a she-man who was three times her size. It was awesome.
• Listening to my little girl lead our family in singing Happy Birthday to Mommyyyyyy.
• Eating the most amazing chocolate birthday cake.
• Laughing harder than I've laughed in a loooooooooong time.
• Going to my sister's church and helping her teach first graders in Sunday school. I especially appreciated hearing how they would be willing to help their friends through hard times, which for some reason centered around simultaneous hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and floods.
• Eating dinner at Pike's Soda Shop - a diner where a scene was shot from Shallow Hal.
• Watching Hannah gradually warm up to Mia to the point that she actually snuggled with her while watching Tangled.
• Spending an evening out at the U.S. National Whitewater Center!
• Passing President Obama on the Interstate on the way to the Biltmore Castle.
• Going to the Biltmore and having more fun playing chase in the garden than site seeing inside the castle.
• Packing up and saying goodbye without crying like a baby.

I think it's true what they say - absence does make the heart grow fonder. My family is close, so you can imagine we cherish every moment we have together. I have to say that this trip was one for the books! See more pictures from our amazing trip HERE!

Old Town Soloist Draws a Crowd

There's nothing better than playing outside out at the Oak Street Plaza water playground in Old Town. And better yet, the Pianos About Town are still on display, so Hannah had the opportunity to debut her solo musical career featuring the song, "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". Naturally, she was a hit.

Little Pig, Little Pig

A Tribute to Don Juans

One of the highlights of our trip to Tyler was the Mexican food, namely, Don Juan's. We ate there twice in one week, and it truly wasn't enough. So yes, this is a whole blog post dedicated to us enjoying Don Juan's.

July Birthdays

While in Tyler, we were able to celebrate the birthdays of my niece, Kayden, and nephew, Andrew. I can't believe how quickly they and their big sister, Sydney are! We had a blast watching them open presents and sharing birthday cupcakes.

Only in east Texas do you need a giant knife to open toy packaging.





Who Doesn't Love Blue Bell?

The Strout Wedding

We had the privilege to take part in Tyler and Samantha Strout's wedding. Ty and Sam were in our Oasis college ministry starting as freshmen, and we've been so blessed to watch them grow up. It was fun to watch them fall in love, and now we look forward to watching them grow together in their marriage. Chris officiated the wedding, and Hannah and I sat in the back of the sanctuary so we could discretely wave and make faces at all of the wedding party as they walked in. The best part of the wedding to me was listening to Chris tell stories about the bride and groom. I married the greatest story teller, and he so accurately described some of the greatest and funniest memories we share with Ty and Sam.

The great thing about doing life with so many great folks is catching up with them and celebrating even after you've moved across the country. Here are a few pictures from the rehearsal and dinner.





Some of our former Oasis students, Andrew Aubrey, Devin Brown, Samantha Strout and Aaron Handley at Bruno's.

Me and my silly man... and some random people in the background.

Hannah, Papa and The Flamingos

My parents and I decided to take Hannah to the infamous Caldwell Zoo. But because of the heat, we barely lasted an hour! Despite the short visit, we enjoyed ourselves. Hannah especially liked the flamingos.

Here's the one picture I got from our outing.

The Drama Club

Our family just took a trip to Texas for a friend's wedding. With 19+ hours in the car, Hannah and I got bored...

My Favorite Room

Check out Hannah's big girl bed. It's a queen, which overly accommodates her, but also our out-of-town guests ever so often. (Don't worry. We've got a water-proof mattress pad.) The quilt is one that my Mom made a way long time ago, so it's super soft. Chris and I used to fight over it, but I guess in the end Hannah wins. Her room has to be my favorite room in our house.

Rain Rain Time to Play

The Freemans at the Farm

We took Hannah to The Farm at Lee Martinez Park on Saturday and had a blast. This place is super hands on and interactive, so Hannah got to feed the chickens and goats, moo in the face of the cows and even take a quick pony ride. We had such a fun day!

Yeeeeeehaw y'all!