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First haircut!
The rumor is that his daddy had a fit in the barber’s chair and told Jeff’s parents to just bring him on Wednesdays, when the barber is closed to handle him.
I couldn’t stop laughing at Lucas’ facial expressions. So cute!
christmas christmas time is here… time for joy…
Lucas was in his prime on Christmas Eve literally dragging out every toy he received and posing in front of the tree with my new AB800 and large softbox. I have a studio setup now! I am so excited about the pictures I’ll be taking in the future! I had to find the “perfect southern outfit” for the little guy, against his Dada’s wishes (he looks like a girl!), and “Little toddler boys should still look like babies and not miniature men.” I was definitely out of my element at the baby store at The Factory in Franklin. Lucas seemed to like it (yeah, right 
) I love the contrast between the big boy four wheeler and the outfit!
Holiday time is here!
This is definitely my favorite time of the year… probably Jeff’s too! Today was the first day of a heavy frost, and I guess I reluctantly say hello to winter in the next 2 weeks or so and secretly long for summer. But, this is the time of year with great food, great friends, family, and this year even more fun as Lucas is keenly aware of everything around him. His white hair just shines as he bounces and runs with most of us trying to catch him or something he is getting into. I say this every single time. I’m going to MISS this age! 18-19 months is so interesting! We watched the Titans’ game and at the end, I was holding him jumping up and down celebrating Vince Young’s touchdown pass against Arizona. Lucas didn’t understand my excitement at all! I had to explain it to him. It is so neat and overwhelming to watch as he experiences things and emotions for the first time.
He knows his family member’s names… he doesn’t really SAY them all but you can ask him, “Who is Nana?” He knows. He knows who Aunt Missy is. He knows who Linda his nanny is… It’s amazing watching him learn and grow. Sometimes I just want to stop time and just enjoy it because the days turn to weeks and so forth. Just imagine — I only have 16 more years with my son living under our roof. Seems surreal at times at how fast time flies.
I spent quite a bit of time during the first year of his life worrying about various things as I tend to do (sleep deprivation is torture). It’s amazing how the worries I had then are gone. Children take so much time and energy and teach us more than we ever thought we would learn. They teach us things about ourselves. I wonder about a sibling for Lucas and their relationship hoping for a good one. Most siblings I know have good relationships or at least not fractured. That’s my hope for Lucas! I wonder about birth order with him… will he feel like I did growing up? Will he be motivated by not disappointing? It’s a decent motivation but has its issues. I can’t imagine talking Jeff into three children, so I won’t be wondering about the middle child, etc…
We had Thanksgiving here! We’ve all spent a lot of 2009 dieting so needless to say we kept with the theme. OK, I taste splenda! We had a turkey (not fried, boooo!), cornbread, cranberry salad, green beans, carrots, dressing, and so forth. We ended it with a pumpkin pie and had some grape salad, too. At least the girls got out that night to catch New Moon at the theater, and I had some movie theater popcorn to sort of make up for the weight watchers recipes. *laugh* Since that day, I’ve been making up for it though. I have to reel myself back into the watching what I eat mentality. So tough. Easy to eat like I used to… hard to get back on track.
I put the tree up last weekend while Lucas napped and Jeff met a friend at the Titan’s game. Thought I’d share some pictures!
{a recipe for life}
A good friend of mine sent me this and thought I would share:
- Take a 20-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
- Sit in silence for at least 20 minutes each day. Talk to God about what is going on in your life.
- When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, “I am thankful for ________.”
- Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less that is manufactured in plants.
- Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds, and walnuts.
- Try to make at least three people smile each day.
- Don’t waste your energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts, or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
- Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
- Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
- Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
- Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
- You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
- Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
- Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
- No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
- Frame every so-called disaster with these worlds: “In five years, will this matter?”
- Forgive everyone for everything.
- What other people think of you is none of your business.
- God heals everything, but you have to ask Him.
- However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
- Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!
- Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
- Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for ________.
- Remember you are too blessed to be stressed.
- When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You’ll be smiling before you know it.
{thanksgiving meal planning}
Thanksgiving is probably hands down one of my favorite meals to eat! I love Jeff’s fried turkey and this year trying to come up with other ideas to make our meal complete. We’re mostly all on a diet for 2009, so this year we’re going to change some of the usuals to something lighter. At least try to! I thought about making this. It’s a cranberry dish that is supposidely better than the cranberry in a jar that we usually buy.
Make this tangy-sweet sauce up to two days ahead, and refrigerate it. Serve with turkey, chicken, quail, duck, or ham.
Yield: 14 servings (serving size: 2 tablespoons)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice (about 2 oranges)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 (12-ounce) package fresh cranberries
- 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
Preparation
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 12 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Discard cinnamon stick; cool completely.
Laura Zapalowski, Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2007
What about this for a light dessert?
For whipped cream tips, see Whipped Cream Basics below.
Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 stuffed cake slice and 4 teaspoons berry mixture)
Ingredients
- Berries:
- 2 cups fresh raspberries
- 1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries
- 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- Cake:
- 1 cup cake flour (about 4 ounces)
- 1 cup powdered sugar, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 12 large egg whites
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- Whipped cream:
- 3/4 cup whipping cream, chilled
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- Remaining ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- Grated orange rind (optional)
Preparation
To prepare berries, combine first 5 ingredients; toss to combine. Cover and chill 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375°.
To prepare cake, place a rack in the lower third of oven. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Sift together flour, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and ginger in a medium bowl. Sift together remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 3/4 cup granulated sugar in another bowl. Place egg whites in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt; beat until soft peaks form. Add powdered and granulated sugar mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Sift flour mixture over egg white mixture, 1/4 cup at a time; fold in. Fold in 2 tablespoons juice.
Spoon batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, spreading evenly. Break air pockets by cutting through batter with a knife. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan; cool completely. Loosen cake from sides of pan using a narrow metal spatula. Invert the cake onto a plate.
Cut 1 inch off top of cake using a serrated knife; set top of cake aside. Hollow out bottom of cake using a small knife, leaving a 1-inch-thick shell; reserve torn cake for another use.
To prepare whipped cream, place cream in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into bowl; discard pod. Gradually add 3/4 cup powdered sugar, beating at high speed until stiff peaks form.
Spoon all but 1 cup of berry mixture into cake shell; top with whipped cream. Replace top of cake; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar. Serve immediately with additional berry mixture; garnish with orange rind, if desired.
Whipped Cream Basics: For perfect whipped cream, use a bowl that’s large enough to allow the cream to double in volume. Refrigerate the bowl and beaters for at least half an hour, or place them in the freezer for 15 minutes, and make sure the cream is very cold. Use the freshest whipping cream available, and add sugar, vanilla, or any other ingredients near the end of whipping; adding them too soon in the process will decrease the amount of volume you achieve.
Or this?
Prep: 10 min.; Bake: 1 hr., 20 min. You’ll love the ease of this casserole. You can make it ahead of time, refrigerate it, and then bake it while the turkey rests. It’s smart to let chilled casseroles come to room temperature before you bake them.
Yield: Makes 10 to 12 servings
Ingredients
- 1 (32-ounce) package frozen Southern-style hash browns
- 1 (16-ounce) container sour cream
- 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups crushed cornflakes cereal
- 1/4 cup melted butter
Preparation
Stir together first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.
Spoon potato mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with crushed cornflakes, and drizzle evenly with butter.
Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until bubbly.
Note: For testing purposes only, we used Ore-Ida Southern Style Hash Browns.
Chris Bryant, Johnson City, TN, Southern Living, NOVEMBER 2005
Either way, I can’t wait to get started on Thanksgiving with the family!
{… more pictures of Lucas, of course…}
Today is a very special day today because it would have been the 65th birthday (if I did my math correct) of Lucas’ nanny, Deanna. I’m sad that she never got to meet him because I think she would have adored him. I’m sad that Jeff and Missy are probably both having a sad day thinking about today, and I am thinking about them, too. I decided to take Lucas outside today and take some pictures, which was fun, but it would have been more fun if cancer had not won. Grandparents are such big parts of childrens’ lives, and I hate that Lucas is missing out on someone that would have thought he hung the moon just like her granddaughter Paige.
{fall is in the air!}
This is my absolute favorite time of the year. The temps are dropping at night, the leaves begin to change colors (and this year should be spectacular considering how much rain we’ve gotten this month and last), and football season is here again!
We took a trip to Waldon Farms in Smyrna, TN last weekend. We went last year as well and knew this year Lucas would be more interested in the petting zoo and possibly the other activities they have for children.
Last year:
And this year… after a year of recovering and losing 20+ lbs and Jeff losing about 50 lbs. Amazing the difference
theodorable dog {theo}
We’re reminded quite often that we are in the very winter of Theo’s life. Gone is the little rambunctious dog who would take off running across the yard and down the hill on the golf course if he caught the glimpse of a tennis ball in our hand. Gone is the dog who would run up and down the stairs at will. What is left is a shadow of his former self… a shaky dog that cannot negotiate ups and downs any more. He doesn’t chase balls any longer. He cannot scratch his own ear. He is very old and supposidely was born the same year I graduated high school if that tells you how old he is. I decided that I’m going to take some pictures of him and hopefully they’ll turn out ok.
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