Thankful Heart

I love the words to this song. As we head into the crazy busy (and slightly stressful- January markets are quickly approaching!) holiday time this song keeps popping into my mind.

Bring your tired. 
Yes, I think I will.

There'll be days I lose the battle.
Grace says that it doesn't matter.
Cause the Cross already won the war.
He's greater.




I am learning to run freely.
Understanding just how He sees me.
And it makes me love Him more and more.

I hope you guys have the most wonderful Thanksgiving!!
Love and turkey.

Happy Fall!

We're having the best Fall! Definitely excited and gearing up for the upcoming holidays. Honestly, it's hard to believe that it's about to be Christmas?! The years a short. I've been making tons of Fall crafts and playing with my little guy. He's at the cutest age. I have so much to be thankful for this (and every, really) year! I'm hopeful for the future and the adventures it will bring.

Hope you guys are doing so well.
Happy Fall, Y'all!

Salt Dough {Halloween Ornaments}

I've wanted to make salt dough for a reeeeally long time now. I'm so, so pleased with the way these turned out. I am a sucker with sentimental crafts for the holidays, especially now that I feel like time is flying and Jonah's getting so big. I plan to do these for each and every holiday and just cherish his little two-year old chubby hand print.

So, yesterday afternoon I whipped up a batch of salt dough. It's easy peasy.
Here's the recipe:

SALT DOUGH-
1 c salt
2 c flour
1 c water

* This recipe made 6 large (5" diameter) ornaments.

Mix all ingredients together and add tablespoons of flour until the dough isn't sticky. Then, roll it out on a floured surface. I pulled up a chair and floured Jonah's hands and feet. He LOVED getting involved in this craft. Standing on the table and stomping on my dough. Yes, it was messy. Yes, we had flour everywhere. Everywhere!! But seriously. Could I replace these cute ornaments? Nope.

So, my method was to press his hand or foot into the dough, THEN cut my shape. It worked better that way for us. Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees and bake for about an hour (until the dough is hard/firm and starting to turn brown).

I free-handed the cut shapes. I am a fan of imperfect. I knew I wanted a pumpkin and candy corn, then I just winged it. The tombstone was a candy corn mistake (true story). And, a hand upside down makes for the perfect spider.

Right before I baked the ornaments I took a straw and poked out a hole for ribbon. Once painted/dry I tied on a cute Halloween ribbon! My favorite part of these are Jonahs hand and foot prints. I pushed down really hard into the dough so they would leave an impression....and I'll always have the size of his little hands.

Thrifty Momma Finds

A couple of Wednesdays ago, while frantically trying to get myself dressed for church AND get Jonah bathed and dressed (a little Mom real talk there, right?!), I realized that Jonah has grown inches. He had ONE pair of casual orange pants that fit him. The rest were way too tight-- so tight that he complained about it when I tried to put a pair on him anyway- yes, total Mom fail moment!! So, I've been pondering how I want to go about getting his fall wardrobe set. 

Normally I buy for an entire season all at one time. It might sound crazy, but honestly it works for us. I spend about $100-$200 on basic play wear (think tees, shorts, casual shoes, etc..) and will add a few nicer pieces (smocked outfits and suspenders/bow-tie sets) for church + dressy occasions as the year progresses. He goes to school five days a week so I always make sure to get things than can be mixed and matched on a weekly basis. It's worked really well for us thus far.

A week or so ago one of my friends posted a photo on Instagram of her PILE of loot that she scored at Once Upon A Child, a child's consignment shop. Which just happens to have a location 4 miles from our apartment. She stopped in and found her little dude a TON of fall goodies and highly recommended that I go. Naturally, I wanted in on the thrifty action so I stopped in.

Jack. Pot.

Here's a fun preview of what I scored, AND what I saved. I mean. This is amazeballs, right?!

The total of all items in the photos is $63.00, y'all. That's sixty three dollars for fourteen items!! An average of $4.50 per item. All of the things that I selected for Jonah are in fantastic condition, hardly even worn actually. The mustard Baby Gap cords look brand new. Of course I'll still buy him new things that I come across, but this is just amazing. I kindof got a thrifter's high after this haul!! I've already washed these babies and they're good to go!! Really excited, y'all!!

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How do you shop for your babes?? 

Hattie Mae

I checked something off my bucket list this month. I bought my first brand sparklin' new car, y'all. 

Meet Hattie. Hattie Mae Hatchback. She's zippy and a little sporty, but mostly sensible. 4 door. She gets 27 city/37 highway miles per gallon, so gas mileage is a dream. Jonah and I are totally loving to cruise around in her. I've been driving Jeremy's Tacoma since I had Jonah so I love, love that I can put groceries in the trunk (I've been awkwardly stuffing our groceries in the front/back seat and front/back floor board. Not exactly easy or ideal), and Jonah can climb in and out! Perfect for our family.

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And, I'm not sure if you followed my vision wall posts from earlier in the summer, but Jeremy and I set a bunch of goals and made some plans and dreamed some big dreams. One of the things that we wanted to do was minimize the amount in our current budget that we allot to our monthly car/insurance category. I'm happy to report that due to a couple of amazing (God) things we are now able to save $500 per month in this category, AND I got new wheels. That's a huge, huge blessing and we are so thankful! God is truly faithful.

Korie Paige

She's here!! She's finally HERE!!!

We are overjoyed for Shelby and Josh!! Korie Paige arrived yesterday at 12:05 pm, she was 8lbs 14oz, and 20 3/4". Shelby had the best delivery, and we are just so thrilled that Momma and baby girl are doing fantastic. They actually get to go home today and I can't wait to get my hands on her again!!! We are proud of you Shelby. You rocked that delivery!! And, we LOVE baby Korie so much already...

And, Shelby sent me a photo of our angel girl early this morning and I thought something looked a little familiar, so I dug up this. Korie and Jonah, both 1 day old. I mean. Definitely cousins!! :)

Love both of these sweet little nuggets!! 

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We can't wait to watch you grow into an amazing, Godly young lady (but not too fast!!) Korie Paige. You're gonna be a world changer. You are SO loved by your Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Lou and cousin Jonah!!! Love and BIG hair bows forever!!

Mini Pun'kin Pies

Isn't any dessert better when it's mini? Especially because you can eat two (or three) without the guilt. Not that I would do that. Ahem.

Introducing Mini Pumpkin Pies. Classic. Mini. Delightful. You're craving pumpkin pie now, so you're welcome.

Basically I didn't do anything amazing here, just rolled out my double pie crust into one huge blob (I used my old faithful pie crust recipe) and cut the dough with a glass (who has time to look for a biscuit cutter?). Then I pushed them down into the muffin pans and filled with classic pumpkin pie filling (Libby recipe). Ya know. Fall delights.

They. Were. Delicious.

"So dewish-us, Momma" (Thank you, sweet Jonah!). I told everyone that I made them for my boys but secretly I made them for myself (I kid. Kindof.). Maybe when I retire I'll open a little to-go bakery of seasonal goodies + treats. How adorable would that be? Your local stop for teacher treats, homemade breads, and I mean. Of course, mini pumpkin pies! ;)
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In other news it appears that I'm still taking a blogging break. Basically I haven't felt the urge to share, so I'm sticking with it. You can follow me on Instagram, although I haven't really felt that creative there either. Kinda a busy/stressful season at work so I'm using all of my energy to make things happen there. Zaps me.

I'll be around. This is my favorite time of year! Lots of pumpkin recipes and photos for you to delight in (right).

Homemade Pretzels

I came across this blog post awhile ago and have had it bookmarked to make for quite some time. Yesterday was the perfect day. It was the end to a long, holiday weekend. One of those goods days that starts with the baby sleeping in (until 9:45!!) and me drinking my coffee + baking in peace and quite. Very good. My perfect kind of day if you add a little crafting + shopping and of course, iced coffee...

So, I made homemade pretzels. And by far, BY FAR this is my favorite treat that I've ever baked. So, so good.

I've worked with a lot of dough in my life, but never boiled any. Pretty cool to watch what happens when you drop these suckers in the water. I was a teensy bit nervous, but they are perfect. The recipe makes 10-13 depending on how big you cut the dough. I made both buttery and cinnamon sugar. I can't really decide which are my fave, but really- is there anything better than a hot, steamy pretzel brushed with butter right out of the oven?

NO.

Jeremy will be requesting these on the daily until I make them again. And honestly, they're so good that I kindof want to make them again today. And tomorrow.

Recipe via Nine + Sixteen Blog.

Two Years Old {A day in Jonah's Life}

I've been feeling like time is flying by lately. Trying to savor every moment of this two-year old stage. Jonah's talking in complete sentences being the funniest, and we just love it. It could be our favorite age yet (but I say that about each new thing)! It is really so much fun.

Jonah's still a great sleeper. Most mornings I wake him up between 9-9:30 and get him ready for school. He sleeps hard and through the night. My working hours are 7:30 - 4:30 right now and am very thankful I can take him to school a little later (rather than at the crack of dawn!). For breakfast he is loving mini pancakes, fruit squeezes, blueberries and bananas. He is totally a little fruit fly and can down a pint of blueberries in two days!!

I pick him up from school and we spend our evenings playing baseball, going to the pool, and playing MORE baseball. Hands down that's still his favorite- he makes me sit in front of the sofa on the floor and pitch to him. If he hits the ball he throws his bat and runs through the breakfast area, kitchen and hall (it makes a big circle) while I cheer him on/chant his name for his "home run". Then he gives me a high five before he finds his bat and we start the process over again. It's seriously the cutest. I love it when he misses and yells, "A SWING AND A MISS!".

We've been going on family walks in the evenings and I love to run through the sprinklers with him (let's pretend it's not sewer water, m'kay?). The evenings go by so quickly- it's dinner, bath and bed.

Speaking of bedtime, he sleeps right in between Jeremy and I. I never thought I would be a fan of (semi) co-sleeping but I totally am. We talk about the day, count to 10, and say our bedtime prayers. Jonah prays this cute little prayer by himself now ("Thank you Jesus, Amen.") then says, "your turn, Momma" and "close you eyes!". So bossy. It's the perfect way to end the day. Jeremy usually stays up for another hour or so and then puts Jonah in his crib before he comes to bed. I love falling asleep next to my baby boy!! Cherishing the time because it really is going by so fast.

As of 8/25/14 he moved into the 2k class at preschool and he is no longer allowed to have his paci throughout the day at school (not even at nap). So we made a new rule- paci at bedtime only. He's adapted to that like a charm. He understands that it's bedtime only now. Something he says that really makes me laugh is- "wanna go night night, Momma", basically because he wants his paci. Smart little cookie!

Just wanted to write this down so I don't forget what two-years old looks like. He's at the cutest age and I love him so very much!!

2k

Jonah moved up to the two-year old class at his preschool yesterday morning (August 25th). He was ready for his "big class", but his Momma wasn't. I get so emotional with each new milestone. Just a Mom thing, I guess. I'm so thankful that his school has video cameras in the classrooms. I logged in and kept it up to check in on him throughout his first day. Love that feature of his school. His new 2k room also has a weekly tumble class in the school gym. Such a big boy now!

Here are Jonah's 2k milestones-

1. He can count to 10 by himself, in sequential order (he always forgets 3, it's pretty funny!).
2. He sings his ABC's by himself, but always out of order and kindof half-sings it. It's definitely not bold/strong without prompts.
3. He knows the following colors by sight and verbal recognition: red/blue/green/orange/black/white (sometimes gets yellow and purple).
4. He speaks really well. He knows exactly what he wants and can make a decision and let me know what he wants. His teachers comment on how well he is talking/communicating.
5. He has great manners! He says please/thank you/excuse me/bless you. We are working on the yes ma'am, and yes sir.
6. VERY strong willed/bossy. Like his Momma. And, a total clown like his Daddy. His favorite thing to say is, "that funny, Momma?" when he tries to make (and succeeds) me laugh.

LOVE my little 2k nugget SO much!

(I love the photo below best because he still looks like a baby love rubbing Cookie's tag on his little face!)