Cooking and Pondering

This morning is a good morning. I woke up at 6 to make sure I had time to shower and be ready before having to start my "to-do" list. It is a long one today, but a good one. By 7:30, I had clean hair, fed one baby breakfast, and had two pots of soup on the stove top simmering. I love to cook, and as I was cooking this morning, I had the opportunity to talk with God. As a busy mom, I find myself praying throughout the day at what might seem like the craziest times. I don't have a lot of extra any extra time to make myself sit down and have an actual "quiet time" most days, so I try to make the most of these opportunities when I get them.

Back to the soup...like I said, I have two batches simmering. One for a friend who is having a baby tomorrow, and one for a dear friend who is holding the hand of her husband in the last few days/weeks of his life. My eyes filled up with tears this morning as I was talking with God and thanking him that he is the master who gives and takes away. It is such an ironic feeling to be cooking the same meal as a celebration of new life and a whole different kind of celebration of eternal life. I am so thankful to know that God has everything timed perfectly, and it is HIS plan that is being fulfilled through these situations.

Here is a picture of the yummy soup.  It is my mama's "Trailrider's Stew," and I will share the recipe below.

One of my favorite songs talks about our God giving and taking away. The song seems to fit the death situation better, but I can tell you there are days where a new baby can seem like a "storm" as well! :)

Casting Crowns...Praise You In This Storm

I was sure by now
God You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

[Chorus:]
And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to you
And you raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You

But as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

[Chorus]

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth

I honestly love this song, and I have even told Micah that I want it played at my funeral when I die. Weird to talk about, and he totally blows me off. Seriously though, remind him if I die! :) Ha!

Today I am thankful for my God who gives and takes away. He has given me way more than I deserve and taken away very little. I pray that when my time comes and things are taken that I will praise him through my storms!

My Mama's Trailrider's Stew

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

6 cups water

3 beef bouillon cubes

2 cups sliced carrots

1 1/2 cups chopped onions

1 1/2 cups chopped celery

1/3 cup barley

1 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup ketchup

28 ounce can diced tomatoes (with juice)

8 ounce can tomato sauce

1 can corn (drained)

1 can green beans (drained)

1 can green peas (drained)

In large soup pot, brown ground beef and drain. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Or...until veggies are tender. Remove bay leaves and serve with cornbread!

Messy Faces...

Both of my babies had messy faces today at lunch. These two keep me on my toes, and with Collier wanting to eat now, lunch time is even busier!  Today, he had carrots and Landry and I had a quinoa pilaf. She gets the little pieces everywhere and stuck all over her face, but she seems to like it. :)

Sweet, baby Collier. :) I must be a messy feeder!

Landry with quinoa on her face, in her hair, in her ears, and ALL OVER the floor. Not sure if she ate much or not. Ha!

And, just for fun....here is a picture of Landry with a messy face at about 6 months old. She and Collier look SO different to me here. They seem to have a totally different face shape and different coloring. BUT, Landry looks like she was quite the chunker as well. :)  

I love pictures...what fun memories! 

Happy Monday!

5 months!

Y'ALL....my baby is 5 months old!! I don't even know where the time has gone. Honestly, time went quickly when Landry was a newborn, but time has absolutely flown with Collier. It has flown, and the past several months are kind of a blur. Feeling like this makes me so thankful for the blog and the fact that I am able to look back, read, and re-visit some of those times that have already slipped my mind!

I know I must sound like a broken record all the time, but this little boy is the sweetest baby in the world. Don't get me wrong, he is a little stinker for sure, but when he looks at me with his Daddy's big blue eyes, it makes it all worth it. :)

At 5 months Collier is:

•  Weighing in at 20 pounds. He is in the 95th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for height for his age.
• Squeezing in to size 3 diapers. As soon as we get through our massive box from Sam's club, we will be moving up to 4's. Landry is still in 4's, so that will make it nice to not have to figure out which diapers are his! :) I have also pulled back out our cloth diapers, and they have both been wearing those a lot when we are home. I figure if I am washing for one, I might as well wash for two! Side note....toddlers wearing cloth diapers can get pretty gross. I wish she actually wanted to GO on the potty instead of just sitting there, crying to have TP to "wipe," and wanting to flush. It.will.happen!
• Wearing 6-9 month clothes. Some 12 month tops.
• Has already had his first hair trim! No pictures because it was honestly just cutting the crazy hairs sticking out over his ears. I am sure I will still have "Collier's First Haircut" pictures and post after he is a year old. :)
• Rolling both ways and really trying to sit up on his own. He loves to be in the Bumbo seat or high chair and watch what is going on.
• Starting to teeth. He is chewing on everything and drooling everywhere! We can't feel the teeth yet, but I am sure they are coming!
• Still sleeping in his pack-n-play in our room and ending up in our bed in the middle of the night. EXCEPT...last night we tried letting him cry it out a little bit and left him in his pack-n-play instead of moving him to our bed. He cried for maybe 3-5 minutes twice in the night and put himself back to sleep. He ended up sleeping 9 hours instead of waking up every 3! I remember when we moved Landry to her crib at 8 months, and she started sleeping through the night. It was amazing. At the same time, it kind of makes me sad! I love snuggling with Collier and having him in our bed and/or room. He, obviously, sleeps better being in his own space. I think it is time...or at least getting close to putting him in his own room. I absolutely hate the thought of having to go up the stairs in the middle of the night though. We will see....stop pressuring me! :)  
• Eating some solids. He has tried green peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, mango, and pears. So far, he likes everything!
• Now, the little stinker part...nursing. Collier is still anti-bottle, anti-pacifier, anti-anythingbesidesmymama. To be honest, this is nothing we can't handle, and it is really nice sometimes not having bottles to wash. When Landry was little, she decided she ONLY wanted the bottle, so then I had to take the time to pump, then feed, then wash the bottles. Nursing is a lot faster, and extremely practical for us being home 99% of the time. However, my little angel has decided that he would prefer (aka: demand) that I lay down to feed him now instead of hold him! This is probably a lot of my own doing because I oblige him when we are at home, and he is used to being able to be next to me on the couch or in our bed eating. Until a few weeks ago, this wasn't an issue at all, and he was thrilled to eat with me sitting up when we were at church, out shopping, out to dinner, and other public places. Not the case anymore! He arches his back, screams, and would rather go without eating than give in to doing it my way. We were out running errands the other day, and he went over 6 hours without eating a drop...believe me, it wasn't for lack of trying. I was NOT going to give in and lay down on the floor at the mall or Wal-Mart. Ha!

Anyway, as if I didn't feel like enough of a farm animal being the feeding source for my baby every 3 hours, my dad had to make the comment that I am now like a pig with her piglets instead of a dairy cow. :) Love him.

I know nursing will be short-lived (even if it is a year). I mean, it has already been 5 months!! So, if you have any advice (besides, "stop letting him be in control,") PLEASE share. I love him, but I also love my dignity, and I can picture myself on isle 10 in Wal-Mart with my piglet by my side. I cannot let myself go there....can not! 

So, that is where we are. Loving these babies, having a blast as a family of 4, laughing at ourselves a lot, praying a lot, and making precious memories.

Happy 5 month b-day to our little man!

Melting my heart...

I had planned on doing Collier's 5 month post today, but my brain is not all pulled together to think of everything I want to write. Instead, I will share a few pictures with you from the past few days. Landry is such a sweet big sister, and she is always trying to show Collier new things. She likes to "read" to him, show him how his toys work, tickle him, talk with him, and just be so stinkin' cute. I caught a few pictures of moments that I hope I never forget. I know these two are going to fight light cats and dogs some days, but I just know they are going to be close friends. Love them both so much!

Playing with Collier's "choo choo."

Landry reading to Collier about Jesus. She was pointing at pictures and making the animal sounds. So funny, and he seemed really interested! :)

I hope you all have a great weekend! I am looking forward to 5:00 and Micah being here all weekend. :) We have dinner plans with some friends tonight, and then we hope to spend the rest of the weekend relaxing as a family. Landry LOVES it when her Daddy is home!

On a side note...yes, almost every picture on my blog is of my children in their pajamas. Don't judge me. :)

Friends...

Yesterday, Landry and I had our friends Kari Beth and Elle Louise over to play. They are the best, and the girls had so much fun together (I must say, mamas did too!). You can read about them here. We decided to do an early play date because both of the girls still need naps {desperately...at times.}. KB brought Pioneer Woman's marmalade muffins and I made the coffee. It was nice, relaxing, and perfect. Collier went down for a nap after they had been here about 10 minutes, and he ended up sleeping until they were walking out the door! It really couldn't have been better because it took both of us to keep the girls from choking each other out. :) They are hilarious. Being only 3 months apart, they are right at the same stage. They are both strong willed little stinkers, but KB and I are a lot alike on parenting and discipline. I think both the girls got at least a few "swats" and "talks" yesterday. They are learning, and I hope they will continue to have fun and be good friends as they grow! 

Landry is a little confused about why I always have blankets laying on the floor for Collier. She takes the toys off of them most of the time and covers up with the blanket. :) Makes me laugh.

Sweet, sleepy boy. He only stays awake about 45 minutes in the morning before he is ready to go back down for a nap!

 And, the girls...

Are they not just precious? They played with the kitchen, dressed up, played games on our phones, fought like crazy, and then loved on one another a little. :)

I am so thankful for the sweet friends that Landry gets to grow up with!

By the way, Kari Beth is super creative, crafty, and everything I am not. Check out her new etsy shop. Basically, I am ordering one of everything! Ha!



Christmas Day...

I think I posted about this on Thanksgiving, but I can't remember, and I am too lazy to look back and see...We decided this year to switch off Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day between our families. We want the kids to be able to relax, not rush, and enjoy playing with their cousins and grandparents wherever we are. We celebrated Thanksgiving with Micah's family this year, so we did Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with mine. It worked out perfectly this year though because his family ended up doing their's early...we were able to make everything except for seeing our Jonesboro family. We miss them all, but hope to be able to celebrate with them next year! 

On Christmas Eve, we got up and went to my mom's house for brunch. We exchanged gifts there with my brothers, Mimi, and Papa Marc. Collier and Landry had on sweet, matching monogrammed shirts, but before we even got a picture, he pooped all over it! Little stinker!

After gifts at my mom's, we went to my grandparents and celebrated with them and my aunt's family. After we left there, our little family went to the Christmas Eve service at our church. We only made it through half of the service because there was no childcare and Landry was EXHAUSTED. It is a fun famiy tradition to start though!

We gave Landry the American Girl "Bitty Baby" that was mine when I was little. She got several American Girl things to go with her...a new outfit, a carseat, diaper bag, high chair, and stroller. She was so excited! 

Collier watched on from the walker...:)

Another picture with my honey!

After a wardrobe change, Collier sat in  his bumbo and enjoyed trying to grab all the paper.

Judd got a camera, and thought that it was fun to make people pose for pictures.

They had to get really low for him to get them...:)

Collier with his Great-grandpa Collins

Landry sometimes has such a fake smile. It is hilarious! Rocking, eating a cracker, and watching her baby...

Laurel Elizabeth...love those big brown eyes!!

On Christmas morning, we woke up and kind of did Santa Claus at our house. We got Landry the stroller to go with her baby, but Santa left out the whole set for her to play with. She also got some new pj's. Collier got a seat (that he had already been using for the past month), some pictures for his room, and a few books. I'm really not a big Santa Claus fan, so I don't know how this is going to go as Landry starts to know more about it. We want her to know that Jesus is the reason that we celebrate, and I think that all the excitement about Santa, the elves, and what he is going to do for her can get in the way of why we really celebrate. It works out easily for some families, but I specifically remember asking my mom if Jesus was real after I found out Santa wasn't. Anyway...we will see what happens next year!

The presents all set out by the fireplace.
Landry got up, wasn't interested in the presents at all and just cried for her juice. A big ole' flop! :)

The first thing she did after seeing the stroller was flip it upside down to check out the wheels. Ha!

 We ate breakfast with our little family, lounged around a bit, and then went to visit my Mamaw and Papaw Weir. My Mamaw has been pretty sick, so they didn't plan to have a big family gathering. We went by for a few minutes for the kids to see them.

Collier with Papaw Weir. This might be where he gets the red tint in his hair! :)

The kids and I with Mamaw and Papaw.

After that, we headed to my mom's for a fancy Christmas dinner. She and Marc cook a yummy dinner and then we all hang out and play games. I am pretty sure this is the first year we have been able to make it to this event. It was fun!

My little lady at Mimi's house that night....

Our little family. :)

It was a great, full Christmas for our family. What a blessing it was to celebrate with all the people we love most!

On a side note...Since having children, I think about this a lot (but especially during the holidays)....Jesus was a BABY! Mary nursed him, cared for him, and was charged with the responsibility of raising the Messiah! I look at the faces of my little ones and feel such a burden to teach them and guide them in the way the Lord wants them to go. I honestly wonder if Mary had days where it was tough being a mother. I wonder if Jesus cried uncontrollably at times. I wonder if she ever thought, "I can't do this!" Probably not, but it is interesting to think about. :)

I hope your family had a wonderful Christmas!!

A Gibson Christmas!

Our second Christmas this year was with the Gibson side of the family. We also celebrated a little early, and (again) that made it nice that no one really had to rush off to get to another celebration. Landry was able to play with Jackson and Avery, and that is always a fun time! We all spent the night at Micah's parents on the 22nd, and then woke up to do our small family gifts on the 23rd. That afternoon, we went next door to Micah's grandparents and had the big Gibson Christmas with all the aunts and uncles. It was a full day, but a lot of fun!

My sweet, blue-eyed boy hanging out on Gigi's floor.

Uncle Kyle is one of Landry's absolute favorite people! Here, she was dancing and entertaining him. LOL.

The next morning, the kids watched a video of a child singing "Happy Birthday Jesus" with Gigi. That is Avery's snuggle buddy, Girafee, covering up Gigi's laptop. :)

Then, we opened our gifts. Collier got lots of fun toys that light up. AND, he got a camera for his room that goes with our video monitor. He has slept upstairs in his bed for naps a few times now!

Landry got lots of dress up clothes, a shopping cart, and a tricycle!

Cousin Avery got a kitchen and lots of baby stuff. Landry was very interested in playing with all her goodies! Here, she is trying to fit the baby doll's glasses on her face. Silly girl!



My handsome husband and me at Grandmama and Granddad's. Honestly, we never take pictures with just the two of us, so I made it a priority this year!

Landry and Papa-D

Collier just hanging out and being cute...:)

Landry got a new baby doll from G&G. She stole one of her cousin's new dump trucks and took her baby for a ride. Made me laugh! She is such a girl, but she LOVES trucks!

Pretty little girl with heavy, heavy eyes. She was worn out!

By this Christmas, she was really getting the hang of tearing the wrapping paper!

Micah with his Granddad.

And...I have already shared these Instagram photos on another post, but they were from this trip too!

Chubby little cheeks! :)

Mama's "ice guy."

My precious girl in Gigi's hat.

Two down...one to go! Still sighing with relief that I didn't lose all these sweet photos. I love looking back and laughing about the little things they do. :)