Happy St. Patrick's Day from Your Favorite Redhead

"When Irish eyes are smiling, sure 'tis like a morn in spring.

In the lilt of Irish laughter you can hear the angels sing,

When Irish hearts are happy all the world seems bright and gay,

And when Irish eyes are smiling, sure, they steal your heart away."

~Chauncey Olcott and George Graff, Jr.

Christmas Tradition #7: BB's Tractor Collection

For those of you sick to death of this series, this is the last post!

We love tractors around our house. This is no surprise when two farm kids are in charge. The Boy from Texas collected John Deere toy tractors, and used to asked for a new one everytime he went to town.  He has a huge tub of them to show for it.

So when it came time to go shopping for BB's first Christmas, his dad made sure the first stop was at the John Deere house to start his very own toy tractor collection.

We analyzed and thought and were there for almost an hour picking out the right size and the right first tractor. In the end, we went with the 9560R.

His Aunt Shana added some mini tractors to the collection as well!

We cannot wait for BB to have shelves full of tractors and to play with them!

Christmas Tradition #6: Gran's Nativity

Growing up, Christmas always included setting up Gran's Nativity.  Sometime after Thanksgiving, Gran, Little Brother and I would go to the well house and dig out the barn and get things started.

This barn was made for Gran, by her brother (my Great Uncle). He wanted her to have something for her Nativity for her grandkids.  He made it by hand and the wood was from the old store.  (My great grandparents traveled to NM by wagon and had a little store and eventually gas station in Caprock.)

After we gathered the Nativity barn, we headed to the real barn to gather up straw to put in the Nativity. 

Finally we unpacked the figurines--Baby Jesus, the shepherd boy, camels, donkeys...she had quite the collection. As we set it up, we always talked about the Christmas Story and Jesus and why he came.  

This year, my dad gave me Gran's Nativity for Christmas. I brought it to my house and promptly set it up, even though it was the day after Christmas.

I love than BB will be the fourth generation to enjoy this Nativity.  And today would have been my Gran's 93rd birthday, so I bet she'd love me sharing this story with all of you!

Christmas Tradition #5: Christmas Eve Jammies

I have always loved pictures of families all dressed up in cute jammies on Christmas morning. So we wanted to start a tradition with BB.  

Every Christmas Eve, he will be getting a package to open with new Christmas jammies and a Christmas book or movie. This hear he got the cutest Baby's First Christmas jammies and a book called "Out Little Deer."

  

And why not get mom and dad in on he fun?  Dad found a Christmas sweater with elk on it and mom found some long johns (on major sale from Victoria's Secret!) 

I can't wait to continue this tradition in the coming years.  

Christmas Tradition #4: BB's Christmas Ornament Craft

One tradition I really wanted to start was a homemade ornament by BB every year.  Thanks to Pinterest, I found a great idea!

Off to Hob Lob I went to gather supplies. I bought ceramic ornaments, paint, a paint pen, and a sponge brush. At home I already had a couple sharpies.  All half off, of course.

I then prepared the area. We did this bright and early about 7:00 one morning.  BB is happiest in the morning so I figured that was our best bet. I distracted his hands by letting him lay on his play mat and putting down a trash bag for any dripping paint. 

I put a little paint on a paper plate and brushed it on his foot.  Then I just stamped each ornament with a footprint. 

We then took a bath. Even being careful we had green paint on both his feet and his knees. It was easily cleaned except for between his tiny toes...that was a bear! A q-tip ended up being very helpful. 

Once the artist was all cleaned up, had a fresh diaper, and a comfy outfit, he was exhausted and needed a nap. It's hard work being an artistic genius. 

While the boss slept, I turned back to the project. 

I used a gold sharpie to write the year and a red paint pen to write his name. This was MUCH easier than using paint and a brush!

Then on the back, I used a fine tip black sharpie to write a little message. 

And we were done!

Total time needed: 30 minutes (nap time not included!)

Total cost:  Less than $10

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Tradition #3: Yearly Ornament

For a while I have been collecting Christmas tree ornaments to represent major events of that year. It's fun every year to look back at the collection and remember those fun times.  We have a couple of wedding ornaments from last year, an ornament from our Canadian honeymoon, an NRA ornament to commemorate our first date, ornaments from football games and trips and the list goes on and on.

Obviously BB was the feature of this years ornament. I had a coupon for a free ornament from Shutterfly so I decided to order a photo ornament.  On the back it says his name, the year, and "Baby's First Christmas." 

I love how it turned out and can't wait to continue our collection!

Christmas Tradition #2: Tiger Butter (and Newlywed in the Kitchen #33)

When I was a kid, my Gran made the same Christmas candy every single year. Since she "went on to her reward" as she called it, I have tried to carry on the tradition. I can't wait to carry on this tradition with BB.

This recipe is super quick  and super easy. I am counting it as Newlywed in the Kitchen Recipe #34. The Boy from Texas doesn't like peanut butter so he didn't rate it. 

Tiger Butter

1 package of vanilla almond bark

1/2 C crunchy peanut butter

3/4 C semisweet chocolate chips

Put almond bark in microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave for 1 minute and then stir.  Then microwave for 45 seconds at a time, stirring each time until melted (it only took me 2 times).

Add in peanut butter and stir. Spread out on wax paper or fool. 

Place chocolate chips in microwave-safe bowl.  Cook for 1 minute and stir. Cook another 45 seconds and stir. (Keep going if not melted, mine were). 

Pour chocolate on top of the almond ark/peanut butter and use a spoon to swirl. 

Let it cool and then break into pieces. Place in fridge to harden. 

Christmas Tradition #1: Giving to Others

For BB's first Christmas, I wanted to be sure and start some of our own family traditions.  I will recap some of those here on the blog and hope we can continue each year! 

Hands down the most important tradition for me was this one...giving to someone less fortunate. This is something we have done for years, whether it be Angel Tree, nursing home, or giving money randomly to someone who deserved a little Christmas surprise....giving is a must during the holidays. 

This year, a friend of mind from law s hook headed up an "adopt-a-family" project for homeless students in Albuquerque. There were 60 families up for adoption and their stories were heartbreaking. As a mom myself now, I can't imagine how these moms must feel, struggling to give their children what they need. 

We ended up with a family who recently lost their house in a fire. Their dad was killed in the blaze. A mom and four kiddos who needed a little happy this holiday. 

So shopping we went! A basket full of shoes and books and toys and diapers layer, we had the loot! 

I sincerely hope these gifts bring some happiness to this sweet family this Christmas! And I hope that we can continue this tradition as a family for years to come! 

How Grown Ups Spend the Fourth of July

"We're adults.  When did that happen?  How do we make it stop?"  ~Grey's Anatomy

When I think about the Fourth of July, I immediately get visions of water skiing and burgers and fireworks and fruity drinks.  And then, at least this year, I snapped right back to reality.....I'm pregnant, The Boy from Texas is on call for work, we've got a million things to do around the house, and we're really trying to stay on a strict pre-baby budget.  Some days, I sort of forget that I'm an adult.

So instead of fun in the sun and acting like teenagers, we spent our weekend like grown ups.  Here's the run down.

Fixer Upper Inspired Project

The Boy from Texas has been talking for a couple of weeks about wanting to knock out a certain wall in our house.  He's got vision that I don't have, because I never would have thought of doing it.  So, on Friday, he convinced me it was time to undertake this project.  And, having watched enough Fixer Upper on tv, I knew that taking out walls was a legit thing to make a house look cooler, so I obliged.

We trecked to the hardware store where we bought wood, trim, a crow bar, saw blades, paint, and some other stuff I didn't keep track of.  We came home, and he got underway.  Mostly I handed him the saw when he wanted it and stayed out of the way.  We find this generally works best for projects of this nature.

Before...

...during...

....after.

Y'all.  I cannot tell you the difference getting rid of that one little wall made in the house.  It looks and feels SO much bigger and more open now!  

Baby Clothes Organization

I think the nesting phase has begun.  I'm dying to get things organized--not just for the baby, but in our house.  However, until our addition is finished (hopefully 2-3 weeks!), I really can't do much.  One thing I decided I could do was sort through the MOUNDS of baby clothes people have given to us and organize them by size.

My rationale for this is that I don't want to try and keep a year's worth of clothes out in his room at one time.  Instead, I'm planning on only having a couple of sizes but away in the closet and dresser with the larger sizes waiting in tubs for the right time.  When he outgrows one size, we'll bring in the new ones, pack up the smaller ones, and be on our merry way.

Here were the clothing piles.  Can someone say spoiled?

Helplessly Looking Through the Disaster of a Garage

Our garage is packed to the gills of junk.  Boxes of my stuff from College Station.  Boxes of The Boy from Texas' stuff from his old house.  Furniture that won't fit in our house at the moment.  Furniture owned by Cousin Swiss Mister that somehow magically appeared in our garage.  It's enough to make the Type-A person in me go completely nutzo.  I am telling you, if it kills me, we are getting this thing cleaned out and stuff either sold, given away, or thrown away.

Selling Old Cabinets

After realizing that the cabinets we tore out behind the removed wall were in really good shape, we decided to do our first "for sale" post on a Facebook page for our little community.  Within 4 hours, we had sold the cabinets.  When I can finally clean out said garage disaster, I plan on utilizing this knowledge again!

Community Fireworks

We did at least get a little festive on Saturday night when we noticed lots of fireworks being shot off in town.  We loaded up Angus and headed to check out what was going on.  We found that at the city park, pretty much the entire town was gathered.  Most people were sitting on tailgates watching the fun, while apparently every family in town who brought fireworks gathered together to shoot them off.  While the festivities lasted for over two hours, Angus was not a fan, so we only lasted maybe 20 minutes before we took that little guy home and hoped that all the loud noise didn't cause any permanent harm.  Judging from the look of things, I think he's fine.

Clean Sheets

Is there anything better than going to bed after a busy day on fresh, clean sheets?  I think not.  On Saturday I got all our laundry washed, our bed made, and even managed to get the throw pillows placed just so.

Singing "God Bless America" at Church.

There are lots of great things about our little, small town church.  But on Sunday, with only maybe 40 of us in attendance, the pastor began singing, acapella, God Bless America.  By the end, we had all stood, joined in, and the American flag was brought down the aisle.  It's so easy to get caught up in all of the strife and opinions and party lines and politics and forget that we really do live in the greatest country in the world.  That song in that church was a pretty darn good reminder for me.

Reading Babywise

I hear good things about this book and approach to parenting an infant.  I'm about 3/4 of the way through the book now and have done lots of dog-earing and highlighting so far.

Had you told me this time last year this is how I'd be spending my long weekend, I'd have called you completely crazy.

Good Friday and Embracing Our Cross

If you've read this blog for, oh, maybe 5 minutes, you know that I am a Saint John Paul II devotee.  He was a Godly, good, powerful man.  He helped bring down communism.  Bravely survived Nazism.  He was an athlete of whom you've probably seen photos skiing or kayaking.  He seemed larger than life.

Ten years ago on Good Friday, my favorite photo of Pope John Paul II was taken.

Photo via Pinterest

It shows not only a powerful Pope holding a crucifix, but a child of God, embracing his cross.

During his earthly life, Pope John Paul II greatly suffered.  He lost his mother at a young age.  Then, his brother.  He lost many friends during the Holocaust.  There were two men that attempted to take his life during his time as Pope.  And then, came Parkinson's disease, that eventually succeeded in doing what those two men could not.  And yet through the struggle and the pain, he remained faithful.
He must have understood that which is so hard for us to comprehend....sometimes, maybe oftentimes, God uses suffering to draw us closer to him, to make us more holy.

As we remember the events of the first Good Friday, as we recall Jesus embracing his own cross as he carried it up the hill, as the nails were drilled into its wood, and was it was risen into the sky, let's remember the importance and value of embracing our own cross.  Whatever that may be.

And when Sunday comes and we celebrate the Savior who defeated the cross, let us remember that our suffering, our cross, is only temporary.  And that the reason we have that assurance and hope is that Jesus willingly embraced his cross all those years ago.

Wishing you all a blessed Good Friday and a joyous Easter!

Remembering the Green River

All the way back in 2012, I checked off a bucket list item by celebrating St. Patrick's Day in Chicago.  Today, my only celebration will be trying to get down a green smoothie containing spinach, so I thought it would be fun to look back and remember seeing the green river.

In case you don't know, every March, they dye the river green in Chicago to celebrate St. Patrick.  But more than that, the whole city turns out for a massive party.  Pubs open at 8:00 am.  There are parades.  Irish music everywhere.  Everyone wears green.  Green beer flows freely.  If you don't have this on your bucket list, get it added right now.  You won't regret it!

Looking back at these pictures make me smile.  ND Friend and Tiny Dancer had not yet started dating.  Today, they are less than 2 months away from welcoming in their first baby.  I had no idea The Boy from Texas even existed, and now, we're hitched and knocked up.  A lot can change in three years.  But I think if you're doing life right, at whatever stage, you can look back on great memories and look forward with anticipation for even better ones.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!

I Will Remember

Last Sunday, we went to church.  We walked right in the door.  We sat in the pews.  Prayed.  Sang songs out of the hard-backed red hymnal.   "Oh come though long expected Jesus...."  We professed our faith. "I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth...."  We stood as the Gospel was read.  We freely gave our tithes and offerings.  We listened to a homily given from a pulpit.  We shared aloud of own prayer requests.  We were blessed with the sign of the cross and told to go in peace.

At the same time, around the world, twenty one men were beheaded for their beliefs.  They were not able to sing hymns in church that morning.  They had no opportunity to place money in the offering plate.  Instead, because of their beliefs--the same beliefs that I hold so dear--they lost their lives.

While we repeated the Affirmation of Faith, they lived it.  And lost their lives because of it.

Today, as we celebrate Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, I want to remember these men.  I want to remember all of those around the world who are persecuted, beaten, and martyred for their faith.  As I prepare to celebrate Easter, I know that remembering their story will change my heart.

When I don't feel like reading my Bible, I will remember.  When I feel too tired to pray, I will remember.  When going to church seems like a drag, I will remember.  When I want to curse, I will remember.  When I take for granted my freedom to worship, I will remember.

Pope Francis put it best.   "The blood of Christians is a testimony that cries out to be heard. It makes no difference whether they be Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant. They are Christians! Their blood is one and the same. Their blood confesses Christ."

Advent 2014

"What has happened to the old-fashioned, spiritual Christmas? The cause is our disregard of Advent. The church set aside this four-week pre-Christmas season as a time of spiritual preparation for Christ’s coming. It is a time of quiet anticipation. If Christ is going to come again into our hearts, there must be repentance. Without repentance, our hearts will be so full of worldly things that there will be ‘no room in the inn’ for Christ to be born again.…We have the joy not of celebration. Which is the joy of Christmas, but the joy of anticipation." ~John R. Brokhoff

The season of Advent is upon us.  This is a time when Christians prepare their hearts to celebrate coming of Jesus.  I absolutely love this season and look forward to it each year.  I thought I'd share a few of the things I will be doing to prepare for Christmas this year.

Adoration once a week.  Much to my delight, Super Mom informed me about a parish here in my new town that offers perpetual adoration.  You may remember from this post, leaving the beautiful adoration chapel in College Station was one of the things I thought I'd miss most about the move.  Lucky for me, I can continue my practice of attending here.  Because I am a person who is always going, always doing, never quiet or still, adoration is the perfect way for me to really stop, reflect, and listen.

Blessed Is She Advent Journal.  This one, too, is thanks to Super Mom.  She is also doing this journal and recommended it on her blog.  I ordered mine and so far, two days in, I'm absolutely loving it.  It offers daily readings and reflection questions. 

Random acts of kindness.  For years now, I have made this part of my Advent celebration.  Each year, I select one person who I anonymously send a rather substantial (at least in my mind) monetary gift to brighten their Christmas.  Additionally, I make it a point to try and seek out folks to gift with smaller presents.  This includes giving money and/or food to the homeless anytime I can.

Bible.com studies.  My sweet friend, ABJ's Mama, suggested that I get the Bible.com app on my phone.  It offers different Bible Studies  that you can select from.  Most of the ones I've seen are about 7 days long.  So....I plan to complete three of them during this Advent season.  I'm starting off with "From This Day Forward" which is a study about marriage.  Good timing, huh?

Advent prayer as my lock screen.  Another friend---man, I've got good ones!--Meg, posted a beautiful advent prayer and suggested that people set that as their lock screen on their phone.  This way, every time you want to unlock your phone, you pray the prayer.  I absolutely loved this idea and the prayer....so of course, I joined in.

Living with grace.  More often than I'd like to admit, I'm impatient.  I snap at The Boy from Texas for no reason.  I am easily annoyed.  So I am trying consciously to focus on this and really focus on doing better.  When I feel annoyed or impatient or start to say something rude or to pick a fight, I'm telling myself, "Give grace."  Will it work perfectly?  Certainly not.  Will it at least be a start?  I hope so.

Weekly blog updates.  To keep me on track, I am going to share something that I learned or that really hit me each week.  Hopefully this will be inspirational to all of you during this season as well.

Do you celebrate Advent?  What are you doing this year?

Why My Parents Are a Bad Example

Yesterday, my parents celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary.  As I looked over the dozens of comments on Facebook, many of them mentioned what a good example my parents' marriage is.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that they are actually a bad example of marriage looks like.

Because they make it look too easy.

And from what everyone tells me, marriage is hard.  It takes work and dedication and effort.  Every single day. You have to learn to accept and forgive and sacrifice.  There are times you want to beat the other person with a frying pan, and times you want to just walk away.  I've seen other couples speak hatefully towards each other or about each other to people.  I've seen relationships full of lying and deceit and plain unhappiness.

But not these two.

They started out with a single wide trailer house, a wedding dress from Sears and a hand me down engagement ring.  And 35 years later, they are always happy.  They are always laughing.  They harass each other a lot.  I can probably count on one hand the number of times I have honestly seen them fight.  They still act like teenagers when they go to Vegas.  They always seem to know the right thing to do.

They just make marriage look more like fun than like work.  

And that's why they are a bad example.

But maybe they know the trick.  Maybe it is this.  Maybe if you marry the right person, 35 years later you look back and even the work seems fun because you're doing it together.

It worked for those these two kids 35 years ago.

Fourth of July Weekend

Well here we are, back in the real world after a lovely three day weekend.  Sigh.  How is it that time off always goes by SO dang fast?  Here is a photo recap of the weekend around these parts.

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Let's start off with the amazing engagement gift that sweet ND Friend and Super Mom had delivered, piping hot to my door on Wednesday evening.  My friends are better than yours.  No question.

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On Thursday, Teacher Friend called and said I had to get to Hob Lob right away...50% off sale on burlap wedding décor.  Off I went on my lunch hour.  Here are a few of my finds.  Act surprised when you see them at the wedding.

{3}

 

The Boy from Texas and I spent Friday afternoon at two stores, a couple of wedding gift checklists, a scanning gun, a few Dosaritas....but we survived registering for gifts!  He was quite the trooper.  I have to admit, that as someone who hates shopping, I was not real excited about this.  But it was really fun to get to think about what our life together will look like and pick out stuff for our future house.....for about an hour.  And then it got a bit tedious. 

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The aftermath of said Friday afternoon.

{5}

We checked out the fireworks at the George Bush Presidential Library and were quite impressed.  Yay, 'Merica!

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On Saturday, we had lunch at the mecca of all things good....J.Cody's.  This bbq joint has a "side bar" rather than a salad bar, so all of their amazingly yummy, butter soaked sides are all you can eat.  Why do I ever eat anywhere else?

{7}

 

 

I had planned a little surprise road trip for The Boy from Texas since his birthday is coming up next week.  I wouldn't tell him where we were going or what we were doing, but we ended up in Gruene where we met up with one of his best friends and his family, along with "the ring guy" who helped The Boy from Texas put this shiny rock on my finger and his family, for dinner at Gristmill.  This place is amazing....the best food, on the Guadalupe River, seats 1,000 people, tons of fun.

{8}

Saturday we spent lots of time (but took no pictures) cuddling with Baby Liam and hanging out.  We also bought ourselves a new memory foam, some other fancy words, mattress for when we are finally married and living in the same zip code. Not gonna lie, I thought about seeing if I could smuggle it home with me right now because it's so dang comfy!  We then stuffed our faces with amazing burgers.  (Anyone sensing a pattern here?  I'm never gonna fit into a wedding dress!)

{9}

Then I dropped The Boy from Texas off at the airport to go back home.  I'm going to start a countdown of how many more times we have to do that...hands down my least favorite part of distance is having to say goodbye at the airport on Sundays.

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I am going to get back on a workout/eating right/not being a pig routine if it kills me!  That's not really related, but I feel as though I should end with 10 rather than 9 and maybe if I say this out loud, it will happen.

Happy Mother's Day

“But there's a story behind everything. How a picture got on a wall. How a scar got on your face. Sometimes the stories are simple, and sometimes they are hard and heartbreaking. But behind all your stories is always your mother's story, because hers is where yours begin.”~ Mitch Albom

When I think back on my childhood, I realize my mom spent most of her time in the trenches.  She did so much for us, but it was usually the unseen.  Ironing shirts so we didn't look like little bums.  Walking pigs every night during the summer.  Slathering on sunscreen so we didn't die of skin cancer.  Cooking dinner every night even after she had worked a full day.  Teasing my hair so that I wouldn't look so "blah" instead of like Miss Texas.  Sitting through countless volleyball, basketball and football games.  Proofreading the hundreds of speeches we gave in 4-H and FFA.  The list could go on and on.

Her job wasn't glamorous, but it was important.  And we were lucky to have her do it.  Happy Mother's Day!