Lord have mercy....

...on my soul!!! WE ARE HAVING ANOTHER BOY! We are both definitely excited and I'm a little shocked! I think I'll spend the next 18 weeks praying for a mellow little guy!

We had our "big" ultrasound today and everything looked good and the baby is healthy. I got a glimpse into Avery's little head too - she thought we were going to the doctor so we could bring the baby home today...and when I tried to explain that we were just going to take some pictures of the baby and find out if it was a boy or a girl, she asked if she could just hold the baby for a minute before we came home! This is just such a mystery to her!

Chicken 'N Dumplins

Here is another yummy recipe. I made this last night for the first time and it was so good. Brent is a southern boy so this was right up his alley - and it was super simple (and used the crockpot) so it was right up mine as well! And perfect for a cool day....

Crock-Pot Chicken 'N Dumplins
3-5 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 Tbsp butter, melted
2 can low sodium cream of chicken soup
2 soup cans of water
1/4 tsp pepper
1 (12 oz) can refrigerated biscuits

Place chicken in Crock-Pot. In a bowl, combine butter, soups, water, and pepper. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. An hour before serving, tear chicken with a fork into bite size pieces and add back to crockpot. Cut biscuits in half and add to crockpot. Cover and cook on high for 40-45 minutes or until biscuits are done in the center. Gently stir to cover dumplings with sauce.
*Your chicken can be frozen when you put it in the Crock-Pot.

Fall Leaves

Avery has been talking for weeks now about "jumping in the leaves..." We're not sure where exactly she learned about this small pleasure in life, but she has had it on her mind none-the-less. This weekend we were all home and the ground was fairly dry, so Brent spent a few hours raking leaves and the kids had a blast. Griffin watched Avery a few times before he dove in but they both ended up loving it!

Griffin even tried to do a little raking himself...

Asparagus Pasta with Toasted Pecans

This is a recipe that we eat pretty frequently and both really love. Its vegetarian but hardy because of the pecans....and I'm posting this per my hubby's request! (its one of his favs)

Asparagus Pasta with Toasted Pecans

16 oz pkg penne pasta
1 bunch fresh asparagus
2 TBSP olive oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 TBSP minced garlic
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 TBSP fresh basil - chopped
3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided
2 TBSP butter
1 cup pecan halves, toasted and divided

Prepare pasta according to pkg. Rinse and drain.
Snap/cut tough ends off asparagus and cut into 2 inch pieces.
Saute asparagus in hot oil over medium hear for 4 minutes.
Stir in red pepper and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes, or until asparagus is crisp tender.
Stir in salt/pepper.
Toss together pasta, asparagus mixture, basil, 1/2 cup cheese, butter, and 1/2 pecans.
Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and 1/2 cup pecans. Serve!

makes 6 servings

another picture

I forgot to add this picture....

Trip to Colorado

Brent and I joined Mom/Mike and Haley/Joel in Colorado Springs for a long weekend retreat. It was a marriage conference and parenting seminar sponsored by Focus on the Family. We stayed in a fancy hotel called the Broadmoor, ate wonderful food, heard some inspiring speakers, and enjoyed some time with family. It even snowed that last night we were there!

We went out for a nice dinner at one of the restaurants at the resort. It is a 5-star restaurant - and a really cool experience. It was little bit of a flashback to an old-school, old money type of place. There was live music and a dance floor with couples who actually knew how to dance! We ate incredible food and just enjoyed an entire evening together.

On Friday afternoon, we went to the Focus on the Family headquarters and took a behind the scenes tour. We had a great tour guide who shared a lot of personal stories and gave us an "insiders look" into the ministry there.

Focus has an absolutely incredible children's area. There is a 3 story slide, an old fashioned soda shop, dress up clothes with a stage to perform on, padded areas for toddlers, etc.

Brent actually got to sit in Dr. Dobson's seat where he does radio and television interviews!! How cool!

This was the first time in about 18 months that Brent and I had been away from both kids....and it was wonderful! Not that we didn't miss the little rugrats - but I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping all night, eating an entire meal while sitting down, not cooking those meals, taking a long leisurely shower, having complete conversations, and going potty by myself!!! Also, this was the first time in a long time that Brent and I were able to be "intentional" in our marriage and discuss new things and just spend time focusing on our relationship. It was a much-needed and much-appreciated trip!!!

Thank Goodness for Gammy!

Gammy came up to visit us last Wednesday and is leaving tomorrow. Her primary purpose in coming though was to give Brent and I a few days off!!! He and I flew to Colorado for a marriage retreat that Focus on the Family was hosting. The kids have had a blast with Gammy and have definitely been spoiled! They made trips to Chic-fil-a and Dunkin Donuts and even had their first Wendy's Frosty! I am 100% positive that they have worn Gammy out. Gammy helped the kids do several new art projects and even helped Avery work on using scissors.

Griffin's Birthday Party

We celebrated Griffin's 2nd Birthday this past Saturday with a party at Lickity Split. It is an ice cream and gourmet hot dog store in Meadowmont Village. They have a train table and shelves of books, games, and puzzles for the kids to play with. We had hot dogs, chips, and fruit punch first. Then the kids each got to pick out their own flavor of ice cream - and let me assure you that they picked based on color, not on flavor! Lots of Duke blue (cotton candy), bright green (mint choc. chip), and swirled colors (rainbow vanilla)!! They added their own sprinkles and chowed down! Everyone seemed to have a blast. Griffin got a little pouty faced when we sang happy birthday - but cheered up as soon as we finished! Maybe he's like his momma and doesn't like the spotlight!

I don't have many pictures yet - our camera is dying so a friend of mine took a ton of pictures for me. I'll post them soon! Here are the few I do have...

Go Blue Devils!

Creighton and Christa invited us to go to one of the Duke pre-season exhibition games last night. I hadn't been to a basketball game in years, literally. We enjoyed the time out with friends and getting to experience Cameron Indoor Stadium (I think that's what its officially called...).

Halloween

Avery's school had a little fall festival yesterday so after naps, we took the kids there. They got to "trunk or treat" in the parking lot and jump in the bouncehouse. Avery played shy and wouldn't say trick or treat but Griffin ran right up and dug in the buckets of candy! He acted like he knew exactly what he was picking even though he had never even seen most of the candy before!

Princess Snow White enjoying a sucker (one of many!)

Superman enjoying a cupcake

Griffin, Avery and Katelyn

After the festival at Avery's school, we met up with several other families to go trick-or-treating and have pizza at the Likes. We were quite the crew - several wagons, strollers, and kids on the loose! After the first few houses, the kids really got into it! At times, Griffin was more into the "pretty moon mama" that he kept spotting in the sky! And Avery asked when were going to find the eggs with candy in them - guess she has her holidays confused! We didn't really limit the candy consumption so both kids had their fill!

part of our motley crew

Avery and Katelyn