Christmas Reel 09'

Unfortunately bubbleshare is no more, so until I find a new slideshow application... please enjoy this nice long holiday ream of pictures! Chris, Piper and I shared a wonderful Christmas in Goldsboro this year with my family, followed by a visit with our PA clan and Chris' dad in Durham. Here is just a small sampling of our favorite shots of the season:

Me and the sis bright eyed on Christmas morning.
Ooooo I just love that sweet puppy face! Of course no Christmas is complete without new kitchen accesories. I just love my new apron and many new kitchen additions-food processor and all :-) Notice the big ol' belly!
The little one even got some gifts on Christmas morning! Thanks Grandma :-)

Pictured below is an after Christmas dinner at the delicous California Pizza Kitchen with Chris' family below, followed by a nice visit with Chris' dad and just one more front porch picture. :-)

We are so thankful for the many blessings we've had this Christmas and praise God for 2009 as we anxiously anticipate the new year.

Merry Christmas!

More pics where that came from!

What's cookin'? Catching up in the Kitchen...

As I was going our camera card(and boy am I behind on printing pictures) I came across these new and old kitchen creations-and crumbles.

I'm especially happy with how these delicous puppies turned out-and even more so because they were super easy to make! Now if I could only figure out the perfect non-stick solution(aka so the brownies don't stick to the pan) then it would be even easier. I made these for our fun church Christmas party last night and they were gobbled up pretty fast, so this one is definitly a keeper for the cookbooks! If your wondering how simple they are to make, think brownies baked in a mini muffin mold, fudge topping optional, with strawberries on top(secured by sucker sticks a la Michaels) and voila!

Back in October I made these pumpkin cupcakes for our Halloween party at work. While they looked good in the end, I was'nt especially pleased with the too thick texture of the icing(my hands got quite the workout!) and the massive mess these left behind in my kitchen....oh the joys of buttercream!

Pictured below is a popular kitchen flop of mine-the unsucessful pan transfer...boy have we had our share of these days lately. Oh well, try try and try again! Eventually I got this right, but not without that extra measure of hard work and determination. Turns out baking is not only theraputic and fun, but also character building ;) Seriously though, any creative non-stick tips? And last but not least, I made these on a whim, just.because.

Now on to holiday cookies and gingerbread houses. Ha! Here's to high hoping :)

22 Week Update and Pictures!

Here is our baby boy at 21 weeks, now 22. I can’t believe were already past the halfway point!
Thankfully, he looks great, is growing nicely and is developmentally on track. It was amazing to see him squirm around in there so much, the u/s tech said he was a “busy boy.” And definitely a boy at that! I won’t post his “boy parts” picture here to avoid future embarrassment, lol, but needless to say they were 100% on the mark and are totally sure that we will be basking in blue. :-)
At 22 weeks, he looks like a miniature newborn and is growing more distinct features(as you can tell by his cute little profile). He’s getting little baby and adult tooth buds in his gums, and working hard developing his pancreas. His eyes and eyelids are completely formed but still lacking pigment, and as I mentioned before is getting very active.

With Christmas around the corner and many new things on the horizon, I know this next half is just going to FLY by.

Nice and Rosy and Comfy Cozy are we...

Complete with pink cheeks and hot chocolate, I’m happy to finally note a hint of Christmas in the NC air lately. Without a doubt Christmastime is my favorite time of the year. I just love decorating the tree, hanging wreaths, wrapping presents and curling ribbon. I love Christmas music and ringing bells, hark the herald angels sing and Charlie Brown specials. Jingle bells and shiny decoration aside, I more than anything love the spirit of joy, thanksgiving and noel that this advent season brings. :-)

If I believed in past lives, I have always said that I would have been a Christmas elf. What a fun job! Elf shoes aside though, we have both been busy busy getting ready for the holidays and closer on the horizon-Chris’ graduation! We are officially under two weeks and counting and it is crunch time! This weekend I checked a huge bullet off of my Christmas to do and sent out our Christmas cards-so much fun! We also enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner with one of my groups at work(the first of many holiday dinners this month!), and Chris and I even found a few hours on Sunday for some much needed Christmas power shopping before another long night of power paper writing(for Chris that is, baby and I went to bed early!).

In baby news, I am 21 weeks today, and feeling great. Sure, it’s harder to squeeze out of the car these days in the too tight parking spaces at work, and yes, maybe I am feeling a bit “doughy” lately, but all things considered-so far so good. Oh, and don't even get me started on that "pregnancy brain" thing, man have I got it bad! On another note, I'm sorry to say that the holidays have given license to my out of control snacking and vanilla coke cravings, so I’m putting myself on a serious water, fruit and healthy living like regimen this week! Poor eating habits aside, baby boy certainly seems to be growing like crazy, and should be packing some fat on his bones now that he can officially swallow and digest directly from the umbilical cord. In other developmental news, hair! I’m hoping to see a few sprouts on his tiny head at our upcoming ultrasound this Friday. But first, we’ve got a birthday to celebrate on Thursday-happy early birthday Chris!

And that’s all for now folks, many more random updates to come :-).