Happy Monday

There is a lot to blog about today. First off, this is a very special Monday because it is my sweet friend, JULIE PROTHRO's, 27th birthday! There are really no words to describe how grateful I am that Julie is a part of my life. Even though, we live miles and miles away, she is the friend that calls every week to catch up. Julie, I am so proud to call you friend. Love love you!



Secondly, I am so happy to announce that I am now a Paper Concierge! I am so excited about all the fabulous designers and products that we carry. Check out my website, and stay tuned for specials and giveaways!. I am also in the throws of launching a new blog dedicated to paper and gifs. Cannot wait. Here are some pictures that I used for inspiration for the new design.




My small group is reading Max Lucado's new book entitled Outlive Your Life. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who is trying to learn how God can use you for His divine plan. I wanted to share with you a prayer from the book that really encouraged me today.

My Father, I desire that the attitude of John the Baptist {the chapter used examples from the life of John} might be my own---that Jesus would increase even as I decrease. Give me an even larger picture of you so I might see myself with ever-increasing clarity and reveal each day in your amazing grace. Keep foolish pride far from me, and give me the sense to humble myself in healthy ways that bring strength and joy to everyone around me. Remind me constantly that you hold my life and breath and eternal future in your loving hands and that every good thing I have comes from you. Never let me forget that although without you I can do nothing, in Christ, I can do all things. The difference is you.

~Max

What do you have that God hasn't given you?
And if everything you have is from God,
why boast as though it were not a gift?
(1Corinthians 4:7)

Praise God for those perfect words. Praise God for my friend Julie on her birthday, adn praise God for new opportunity.

Have a happy Monday, friends!

FALLing in love

Fall is in full swing around here. For the Thompson family that means hanging up my fall wreath, being a hostess, cooking chili and cornbread, watching really good television, enjoying the outdoors, and then having to take allergy medicine, scarves, dark nail polish, jeans, the color orange, and of course pumpkin spice lattes. I could go on with all the simple pleasures fall brings. And for Will it means hunting season. I love how he loves this time of year...when the deer are out and about and ready to be shot. ;/
This past weekend he and his dad and brothers went up to the ranch for the 1st Annual Thompson Doe Scramble. Clever, eh? He even made shirts to mark the occasion.
Fall reminds of college. It reminds me of walking slowly to class just to soak up a little more sun. College Station in the fall is very nostalgic for me. I like going back to that place sometimes. I don't know if it's just me, but sometimes when I have certain memories, I can actually smell what it was like. All my memories tie very closely with smell. Like, there is this one floral outdoor smell that I get a whiff of every once in a while, and it immediately takes me back to my preschool playground. Weird.
Sunday, we met a few neighborhood friends at Dewberry Farms. It was fantastic. We picked pumpkins, drove a tractor, saw a bunch of farm animals; Ben was in his element. If only they were opened in March for my two year-olds birthday. Eesh...I cannot believe I will start thinking about his party in just a few short months!!! Enough about that...I'm not ready.
This evening I finally met Erin Woolsey of EE-Photography in person. I have been stalking her blog for around a year now. She drove in from Dallas to do our family photo shoot. We also have a session with my side of the family tomorrow! She is so incredibly gentle and sweet... everything you want in a photographer and friend for that matter. :) We talked about everything including our faith, and I love that she so openly represents Christ in the work that she does.

Happy Fall Ya'll!!!

Pictures to come...my uploader thing isn't cooperating.

If you're Happy and you know it Clap your hands!!!

Hello, again!

It's time to dust off the ole blog.

We have been very busy since March. Once Ben started walking, the world as I knew it, would never be the same. And, I say this with the most positive tone. Ben is a lot more active these days, but I love it because I too love staying busy.
It is extremely HOT outside, so our routine of going on morning walks obviously had to change. Mornings are pretty low key. We go and explore the house, play in the playroom, and then make our way to my bathroom where Ben turns the bath tub water on and off, tries to put Dada's shoes on in the closet, or rummage through my makeup drawer in search for some kind of bottle with a lid on it. Taking lids on and off water bottles, hair spray, tupperware, cans, you name it IS his little thing right now. It's amazing how such a small task can hold his attention.
Today we were having lunch at a nice restaurant with my cousins who I haven't seen in over a year. Towards the end of meal, someone started getting fussy. I gulped down the rest of my peach tea, so I could give the empty bottle and lid to Ben to buy us some time. Sure enough, he was hard at work and quiet once again. This trick also works when I am trying to feed him yogurt in the morning. He doesn't like me to really feed him anymore, but when it comes to yogurt, I am not brave enough to let him loose with the spoon. So, I just give him one of his old baby jars to play with while I feed him his yogurt.
It is a challenge to find stuff to do indoors for Ben during the summer. Well, not hard, but it is usually far and expensive. Which is why we usually find ourselves outside despite the heat.
Ben loves being outside. Rain or shine or sauna he wants to be "ouk." Besides the typical baby's first words, in the last week or so, he has started saying out, good, and Laura. However, "ouk" is his favorite. We have to be very careful when we walk to the door to throw some trash away, run out to the car to grab something, or let the dogs out because when Ben hears the door open, he is grabbing my hand, and wanting to go out. And, how can I say NO. I mean, he learned a new word because he loves it so much! Going up to the pool, or riding our bikes around the hood are some summer favorites.
My absolute favorite is watching Ben's face light up when he hears "If you're happy and you know it." It is his favorite song, and mine too because I get to see that adorable smile!

Oh my, they grow up fast.

Here are some recent pictures of B. Enjoy!

Best Bread Pudding EVER!!!

I made this bread pudding for my dad's birthday the other night. It was PHENOMENAL...and easy!!!



Bread Pudding Recipe
INGREDIENTS
Bourbon Sauce:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup Kentucky bourbon whiskey
Bread Pudding:
1 loaf French bread, at least a day old, cut into 1-inch squares (about 6-7 cups)
1 qt milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar
2 Tbsp vanilla
1 cup raisins (soaked overnight in 1/4 cup bourbon)
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
METHOD
Bourbon Sauce:
In a saucepan, melt butter; add sugar and egg, whisking to blend well. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. (Do not allow to simmer, or it may curdle.) Whisk in bourbon to taste. Remove from heat. Whisk before serving. The sauce should be soft, creamy, and smooth.
Bread Pudding:
1 Preheat oven to 350°F.
2 Soak the bread in milk in a large mixing bowl. Press with hands until well mixed and all the milk is absorbed. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, and spices together. Gently stir into the bread mixture. Gently stir the raisins into the mixture.
3 Pour butter into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan. Coat the bottom and the sides of the pan well with the butter. Pour in the bread mix and bake at 350°F for 35-45 minutes, until set. The pudding is done when the edges start getting a bit brown and pull away from the edge of the pan. Can also make in individual ramekins.
Serve with bourbon whiskey sauce on the side; pour on to taste. Best fresh and eaten the day it is made. Makes 8-10 servings.

Lately

I have been meaning to jot a few things down that I want to remember.
Ben is a year and a couple weeks. He is fascinated with fans. Every time we enter a room, he points at the ceiling as if to say, "Where's the fan?" He also loves wheels and water. He can sign "more" and understand my signing for other things like "bath," "orange", "walk." He plays a pretty good peek-a-boo too. I really should post a video of that..Adorable!

His favorite foods are turkey, chicken, oranges, pears, blueberries, and bananas in that order. He dislikes babysitters and church nurseries.

At the Little Gym, when it is explore the gym time, and ALL the other kids go and play and roll and the mats and walk around, Ben goes straight for the knobs on the equipment. Today he actually unscrewed the knob and handed it to me, which freaked me out thinking the entire gym was going to come crashing down. I was assured this would not happen.

When Ben meets a new friend, he will either pull their hair or stick a finger in their mouth. Nice. He loves sleep like his mommy.

He's giving us around 13 hours at night and will take a 2 hour nap at 1:00, or no nap at all depending on what we do that day. If he even gets as little as a 10 minute nap in the car on the way home FOR nap time, forget it.

Our favorite activity at the moment is riding our bikes with Ben. We got a Croozer trailer for him, so he gets to settle in and enjoy the breeze while mama works her tail off. it can be a pretty good workout, especially if there is wind.

These are pictures from the day we experienced our first "poop disaster." Little did I know when dressing him in such a cute outfit that hours later they would be ruined, and he would be strapped in his car seat NAKED due to the mess. Two things I learned from that experience: ALWAYS have an extra set of clothes in the diaper bag AND never leave your husband to change a dirty diaper in the back of the car without bringing your phone in the restaurant.



Those are my snippets for this week!

Have a good one my friends!

My kid is 1!!!

Yesterday something very special happened. My baby boy turned ONE. This year has been so full; full of love, newness, learning, change, adaption, growth. Ben is one of God's ways of teaching us who we are and who we NEED to be. Plenty of mother's could second that.
A year in the life of a mother goes by really fast...I mean it ZOOMS. I remember the day we brought him home like it was yesterday. I was thinking that may be a reason why mothers are always "mothers." They always see their children as the babies they once were. We "baby" our babies because we love them and want to keep them safe. That is one thing that I am learning right now with Ben. I have to let go. By let go, I mean I have to literally let go of his hand and let him try to walk by himself. It's hard to do. There is a part of me who really gets excited about the next thing that he will be doing, but there is also this part of me who wants him to stay just how he is right at this moment. Next year we'll have to let him go to preschool, and let him go to his first sleepover at Grammy's house. Throughout his little life, we will have to let go, and it all starts with these first few steps.







Ben has experienced a lot in 365 days. He has gone on two vacations to Denver, CO and The Cayman Islands. He has visited our ranch many times throughout the year. His first ranch trip was way back in May when we had our Family Reunion. He has gone to Austin to visit his Aunt Julie and Gina a few times too! Some things we look forward doing this next year are going to the Houston Zoo, taking some swimming lessons, learning to walk, taking another family vacation to a beach somewhere (suggestions welcome), drinking whole milk, eating with utensils, saying DADA. Now he says, MAMA, BABA, and Hi, but no DADA. Poor Will. We will say DADA and he will immediately say MAMA and smile, as if he knows and it's a big joke.
I am so excited to celebrate B and this oh so special milestone along with some friends ad family this weekend.

A LITTLE VIDEO FROM MY PHONE:

Daddio's been baking!

My dad never ceases to amaze me with the plethora of hobbies and interests he has. He will become interested in something, and then that will be his thing until he has exhausted it. Right now, he is dabbling in a few things, but baking is making it's way to the top of the list. Last week he sent me this picture, titled "Daddio's been baking!"


My response: "When can we come over?"

This picture doesn't do this German's Chocolate Cake justice. It was AMAZING. Perfectly moist. He toasted the pecans for the icing and everything. What a gourmet!

Another memorable creation this past holiday season was his fruit cake. Actually, it was Alton Brown's fruit cake, and if you've seen that episode, you would be mad to try to make it. I mean, there were SO many steps! Yet, my dad took on the challenge and came out victorious. I had never had fruit cake, and I was okay with that. But after trying this recipe, I am now a lover of the stuff. One of the steps was to pour brandy over the entire cake every few hours to keep it ultra moist.

Come on!

I think why baking and my dad go so well together is the organization required to turn out a superb product.
My dad is a compulsively organized person. (I DEFINITELY take more after my mom in this arena). He enjoys getting everything all measured out and in place before starting. He does what The Food Network Star's crews do to prepare for the shows. And then, he takes pleasure in cleaning as he goes. This, I can relate to. I cannot stand having a messy kitchen.
My mom is one blessed gal to have a dessert chef as a husband.

Lately, when he's not baking, he is organizing ALL of Mozart's symphonies and listening to them IN ORDER as he runs on the treadmill everyday, creating his own website, or kicking my butt at Word's With Friends.

(After uploading this picture, I realized I need more pictures of my dad).

A mighty good man indeed!