Happy Six Months

Today Denson is six months old and boy are we thankful for an incredibly happy and healthy baby. I enjoy staying at home with him and seeing each developmental stage. A few favorites include when he learned he has a voice which he can use loudly, sitting up (mostly unassisted), holding his sippy cup and putting his paci in his mouth. He is most definitely our inquisitive child, which most people agree babies are curious but he has to be looking around and involved in the action or he gets flustered. As we are settling in our new home here in Georgia, Jonathan and I delight in our special bond with him as a family of three and how we are blessed with extra, uninterrupted time. We go to our new pediatrician tomorrow and get another round of shots. I'll be going solo which will be fun trying to fill out new paper work and transfer medical records. Hey, single moms do it all the time and with multiple kids so I can't complain, right? :/

As Denson becomes more aware of the world, I am encouraged to pray for him and with him. Jonathan and I say a little prayer with him at night and thanks to sweet friends from church in Bham, we have a great guide, the book Praying the Scriptures for Your Children. As we worry about our kids growing up and experiencing difficulties in life, we have to equip them with courage and confidence. Prayer is a powerful tool which I hope Denson will use not only in the early years but as he becomes a young adult. His little mind is soaking up every emotion, picture and word that surrounds him which is powerful; and because we are far from perfect, we have to be intentional in our efforts. 

Side note: I just cleaned the fourth blow-out diaper for today...Solids are too much fun! ;) Thank you Dreft Stain Remover. 

We're here

House closing complete

Movers packed us up

Headed to the beach

Packed everything that would fit 

Tears driving away

Smiled as we laid on the beach

Baby got a cold

Enjoyed late night dinners

Drove to Auburn

Spent the night with the uncles 

Dinner date with hubby

Saw a best friend

Drove to Vidalia

Swam in hotel pool

Ate fast food 

Went to Lowes

Closed on new house

Carpet installed

Appliances delivered

Watched bachelorette

Hubby started work

Hung out in hotel with baby

Two more nights in hotel...

Waiting for movers to deliver furniture

So instead of including many boring details, this documents the past two weeks of our lives. It has been challenging and fun...Jonathan has been with us for two solid weeks and we have loved sharing nap time moments and cuddly mornings with him. Yet I can agree that we are better together after spending individual time during the day. Stay at home parents is too much... especially in a hotel room. We laughed about it though so all the nitpicking subsided.

This is a small town with charm that I believe grows on you the longer you stay. I have to say everyone here adores Denson. And when I say everyone I mean everyone... these people are so sweet and how they delight in Denson is a great lesson in how they treasure their own families. I have to brag that he is the best child who greets each person he sees with a grin, happy shouting and lots of kicking and waving. A baby's smile can brighten anyone's day and I am thankful for that joy. I've walked through the hotel a couple of times with him in the bjorn and it's like he knows all eyes are on him. I am grateful he has been sleeping well and we have a comfortable place to be while we wait to move in our house. Pictures from the past weeks...will post about the new house soon! 

                    Excuse my eyes 

A few favorites

Williams Sonoma Fleur de Sel soap and lotion. Love how the fragrance lingers on after you wash and the color adds to the bathroom too.

The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan. Story is inspired by Edgar Degas's Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. An easy read set in Paris that brings the painting to life.

Another book I just finished is The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley. Be prepared for lots of tears if you read this...Mom didn't suggest this book until recently because the plot in addition to pregnancy (pre or post) hormones would have made me overwhelmingly emotional. With that said, it is an outstanding story with a courageous dad that has to battle with taking his wife off life support and keeping hope for the future.

Gucci Flora Garden Fragrance Collection is amazing! Currently wearing the Gorgeous Gardenia. 

One of Denson's toys that I'm loving lately is the Whoozit. We take this everywhere and it keeps him entertained. Now that he's grabbing things and pulling, it's more enjoyable. 

Life in fast forward

Ephesians 2:8-10 

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The greatest lesson Jonathan and I continue to learn is that God IS in control and will take care of everything. We get busy, stressed or distracted and forget that our Creator is handling every minute detail of our lives. It doesn't mean we can expect things to always be easy or workout how we want; we simply learn to trust Him. Selling our house, buying a new home, handling Denson's needs, working through struggles, dealing with finances, working on our marriage etc. Life has been a whirlwind lately...finishing touches to stage our house, trip to Georgia for house hunting, trip to west Alabama for a family reunion, killing time while our house is being shown (LOTS of circling the neighborhood), visit with the in-laws, pool time, Father's Day, multiple doctor visits, turning 4 months old and trying to keep the house clean. It's been fun and exhausting but things are falling into place. We received an offer on our house four days after listing and found a house in GA that we put an offer on last week. I am thankful to wake up each day and see Jonathan and Denson's sweet smiles...it's not always roses around here though and it's okay to struggle. 

Quick recap on Father's Day: we had a relaxing morning sleeping in, having coffee and orange rolls in bed and playing with Denson. He took a solid two hour nap at 10 so Jonathan and I laid out on the deck and read. We made a quick Target trip and headed to the YMCA to swim. Aunt Lacy was working so we got to see her too. Later, we had another nap and got ready to go to an early dinner at Slice with Dad, Kathy, Zach, Ethan and Lacy. We missed Eric who is traveling for work in Malaysia! I am blessed to have two incredible men in my life. My husband, who is the best dad to Denson and my dad, who is always there for us and has taught us so much. We love you both!

With little time to blog lately, I'm turning my posts into iPhone dumps. Hoping the last details and paperwork of our homes are finalized this week and we will officially have sold our house and have an address in Georgia! 

Road trips

We've been quite busy the past two weeks. We made our first trip to Vidalia Ga to house hunt and with Denson in tow, it was a 7 hour drive. We were pleasantly surprised as to the options of homes and attractive neighborhoods. We were only there one night and it was a whirl wind...especially for Denson. We were in the car for 7 hours but that doesn't include the other hours spent driving around to look at homes. He pooped almost every outfit we brought...or maybe just each time we stopped to look at a house; I lost count...I'm thinking this means he doesn't want to move. As Jonathan discussed potential offers with our realtor, Denson spit up all over himself and J. Of course the burp cloth was in the car at this time. I think this two day trip completely messed up our routine and the time change didn't help either.

We celebrated Memorial Day at the lake with dad, Kathy and bunch of other family. The weather was p-e-r-f-e-c-t. We even took a boat ride over to see mom who was also at the lake for the weekend. Denson loved rocking on the porch, the cool breeze and all of that attention. [Lacy & Eric] It's about time for a cousin so Denson is not the only great-grand child and grand child on both sides. No pressure ;)

In between, I've tested out new recipes, taken Denson to the doc, J has worked on the house (which has taken up most of our time), watched the braves and survived the no-nap strike which has thankfully come to an end. House hunting also continues and we will be making another trip soon. I'm thankful for the time we've been in Birmingham and look forward to making memories in Vidalia. Jonathan and I agree that "home" is really just us three being together so it doesn't matter where we live or what material things we have. We're ready for God to show us the way to our new house and friends...we ask that He teaches us to embrace the distance from family by learning to better appreciate the time we spend together. 

I'm sure there will be lots of face-timing and more frequent blog updates with pictures of Denson. We are having a blast with him and love watching his personality develop each day. He entertains himself now and if we are walking by doing chores, he glances up but then goes back to his business of drooling, hand-chewing and grabbing toys. We spend so much time just staring at Denson's little face. I couldn't have imagined how much love I would have for Jonathan and our first baby...my heart is full.

           Daddy/son time after work

           One of our fav houses in GA

              First boat ride at Dad's

        Boat ride (we missed you Ethan)

           Poppa & Great Uncle Glenn

                        Uncle Zach

   Mom aka BeeBee with Denson at Doc

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Mediterranean Chicken & Brown Rice Casserole

Submitted by: JULIAKELLY 

Courtesy of: Spark Recipes

Introduction

Easy to make casserole that's healthy!

Number of Servings: 14

Ingredients

2-3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts or 6 small ones
1.25 cups feta cheese, crumbled
6 cups cooked brown rice
1 10 oz package frozen spinach thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
1 28 oz can tomatoes, diced or whole with juice (if they are whole you will have to break them up yourself)
 


1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
 


4-5 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup grated romano cheese
salt, pepper, basil, and oregano to taste

Directions

Put olive oil in large pan, cold and add garlic. Turn on heat to medium, this way the garlic flavor really comes out if you start it in a cold pan. When the garlic has started to soften, add chicken and par cook, about 3 minutes. Add can of tomatoes, turn heat on low, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes or so. Remove chicken breasts and set aside to chop up into rough bite sized pieces when they've cooled off a little bit. Add sun dried tomatoes and herbs. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the romano and mix thoroughly. Place in a large baking dish and sprinkle with grated romano. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is brown on top.