Our Valentine's

If you walk into any store around this time of year (really any time after New Year's Day), you will no doubt find everything redone in red and pink, with hearts all over. Eli and I are not so "lovey dovey" about it. As much as we appreciate having a national holiday dedicated to celebrating those you love, we feel like this is something we should be doing every day, not just once a year. That said, we still try and find simple ways to make Valentine's Day special.

Last year, we went on a date the weekend before Valentine's Day. This year we tried something different: Eli cooked an entire meal of my choice, and I baked a dessert of his choice. Sounds like a deal, right!

The delicious meal cooked by Eli himself: steak, cheesy garlic mashed potatoes, and fancy green beans. He even looked up a new way to cook steak - in the good ol' cast iron. Definitely one of the best steaks we've ever had.

From Eli's request, I made my first ever Chocolate Lava Cake. If you have never made one or eaten one, go to the Pioneer Woman's recipe right now and make it. Right now. It's that good! And make sure you follow all the directions. This cake is definitely worth making correctly.

Oh, and be sure to serve it hot with a couple scoops of Blue Bell!

After all of this wonderful food, our bellies were so full and grateful. Then we finished out the night by watching NCIS and snuggling on the couch. Another great low-key Valentine's Day celebration.

So how was your Valentine's Day? Did you do anything special or start a new tradition? We'd love to hear about it.

11 weeks

 Well we've made it to week 11 (11 weeks and 4 days to be exact) of this wonderful 40-week journey called pregnancy! It's amazing to think that for the past 11 weeks a tiny little person has been growing inside of me, and will continue to grow over the next six months. We are both so excited to see what God has planned for our little family!

Lately, Eli and I like to lay in bed before we go to sleep and talk about how my body is going to change, what life will be like when we're parents, things that will change once we have a little one, and just our dreams, goals, and fears of being parents. This is such a sweet time for us and I really love that Eli is as excited as I am about our baby, even though he hasn't personally experienced the physical changes yet.

Up to this point, I haven't really felt morning sickness to the degree that others have. I've been a little nauseous, but only when I haven't eaten for a while, like in the mornings when I first wake up. Thankfully, gluten free crackers and ginger ale are my new friends! I'm just now starting to have a little belly, but if you didn't know I was pregnant, you would think I've just been eating too many cupcakes (which may or may not be true...)

Dear Little One, 

We are so excited to meet you for the first time in just over six months. Right now, you are the size of a plum and you have all your major organs, fingers, toes, eyes, and ears. Please stay strong and healthy, and grow as big as you need to. I promise my belly will make room for you. Your Daddy and I pray for you every day, but we're not worried because we know you're being taken care of by the greatest Father of all. I hope you enjoy all the grilled cheese sandwiches and cheetos you've been getting lately! Maybe you'll love cheese as much as me when you're older!

I love you always, Momma

Coming Soon:

Okay, we've been hiding a secret...


A little baby will be joining our family at the end of August and we couldn't be more excited! It's so crazy and amazing to think that a tiny life is growing inside of me right now! And what's even more incredible, our baby has already developed arms, legs, hands, feet, a mouth, tiny earlobes, and even has its own fingerprints! And it's only 10 weeks old. I am in awe of how God is forming this little one even now.

Eli and I got to see our baby on an ultrasound this past week and it was incredible! We got to see it's little heart flutter so quickly! My doctor told us that it is already moving, and most of its internal organs are forming right now!

We have been praying for this little one since we got married and we are continuing to pray for God's hand to work in this child's life. We know He is busy creating a perfect, tiny person that we can raise to know Him. We are so in love with this baby already, and we are very excited to share stories of its growth and development with you.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

Sasha video fun

Eli's parents came over today to see out little fur ball and guess what they brought?? TOYS! At first, Sasha didn't know what to do with them, and she was afraid of the ball that squeaks. But it sure didn't take her long to warm up to them! When his parents left, she had a blast playing with the ball!!

 

Sasha!

Announcing the newest member of our little family: Sasha!!

We've been wanting a puppy for a while now and finally decided to go look at the animal shelter. Right inside the door, there was a pen with three little female puppies that stole our heart! We took two of them outside to play and we knew we had to take this one home! Sasha is part Labrador- part Australian Shepherd. So cute!!

She is so sweet and loves to play!

 Look at that chubby tummy!

The Jacksons, party of three :)

Over the Weekend

First of all, I can't believe it's already fall! I love the cooler weather, which means sweater and scarf season is here! But i think my favorite part of fall is watching the leaves on the trees change colors. I love seeing the yellows, oranges, and reds. God has a real sense of beauty in mind when He creates!

*****

This weekend, we drove up the road to Waco to see Stephenville HS play against Waco University HS. Since Renee is in the marching band, we got to see tackle hug her! I just want to say that I am so proud of her and everything she has done in high school. A few weeks ago, we went to see her in a production of The Wizard of Oz, Friday we watched her march in the band, she is in more than one UIL event and has gone to State competition more than once, she sews her own clothes and knits scarves... She's pretty fantastic!

So anyway, here are a few pictures from Friday at the game.

Renee plays the second biggest bass drum, but the guy who plays the biggest couldn't play on Friday. So Renee was the biggest one on the field! And if you know Renee, you know she's not that big of a person! But you should also know that Renee has a strong will...!

The band's show this year is called "1776". It's full of patriotic music and tells the independence story. It's a really neat show and they looked really good, but no, I do not miss marching band from high school! Proud of Renee, though!

*****

On Saturday, when I woke up, I felt really motivated and artsy. (uh-oh, you know where this is going right?!) So I decided to create one of the many pins I've added to my Pinterest boards. I've pinned so many things that I want to do eventually, but up until now, I haven't made too many of them.

Saturday was a different story though! I've had my eye on this canvas from World Market for a while now. I even saw another girl's version of it on her blog. I hate to be a copy-cat but the colors are perfect for our dining room, and I just love the design... So I painted my own version!

What do you think? I was pretty happy with the way it turned out!

I absolutely love to paint. I don't think I'm terrific at it, but there's something almost therapeutic about it. I've always seen painting as a way to express feelings and creatively use energy. Over the years, I've painted several paintings that are stored in a closet somewhere, and I've also painted a few things for our walls in our house. I'm thankful that God has given me this gift and I want to use it to glorify Him.

Here's a few closeups. And yes, that's a mini muffin tin with my paints in it! My pallet just wasn't big enough and paper plates soak up the paint and make it dry out quicker. So, I used my resources, which, in this case, happens to be a muffin tin!

 *****

Saturday night, Eli asked me out on a date! Of course, I said yes! We want to continue dating through our marriage. It's a way we can grow closer together and continue to learn more about each other. We went to BJ's for pizza (they have the best gluten free pizza!!) and saw this movie. I'm not really a baseball fan, so this was an okay movie for me, but Eli enjoyed it. Then it was time for winding down at home, which has lately involved a few episodes of Frasier or Golden Girls (yes, we love those shows. Don't make fun of us...) and a cup of hot chocolate!

*****

Sunday, we went to church and then did school work all afternoon...boo. But we decided since we rested and had fun on Saturday, we should get some work done at some point.

 How was your weekend?


Oh, and one quick note: today we have been married one year and three months! We are so blessed every day. 

Pepé Le Pew

Oh the joys of living in the country...No really, we love living out here! Peace and quiet, fresh air, tons of stars, plenty of critters running around like skunks. See aren't they cute?...

(photo source) 

(JUST KIDDING!!) Imagine this little stinker times seven. In your yard. And under your house. EVERY NIGHT. Yes, that's right. We have had this little war going on with skunks for the past few weeks or so. We originally saw them at the church, about 50 yards from our house. They were playing around under the street light, looking for bugs. They're actually pretty cute when they're playing! But don't let their cuteness fool you!

One at a time, Eli (along with the help of some neighbors and a church member) have killed off 4 skunks and chased the rest of them away, hopefully! But trust me, this hasn't happened without our fair share of stinky air around here...

I'll let you know if any more critters come out. Let's just hope the next critters aren't so stinky!