New recipes.

Since discovering the wonderful world of Pinterest, we have been trying out new recipes every week. We have found some wonderful new favorites that I wanted to share. Click the recipe title for the full recipe.

Bay Scallop Gratin

I love scallops but don't cook them often at home. I definitely will now!

Zuchinni Soup

I multi-purposed the recipe by following the directions but adding no water. It was thick like pasta sauce & I mixed some of it in with cooked, whole-wheat ziti and baked it....yum! I took the rest, added some water to thin it out & ate it as soup. Loved both variations!

Pesto pasta with Sausage & Brussel Sprouts

Chris was entirely skeptical about this one, but it has turned out to be our absolute favorite Pinterest recipe find. Even Mr. Owen loves the combination of fresh roasted brussel sprouts with pesto & chicken sausage. It's a must try!

I'll have more new tasty recipes to share soon.

Owen is 1!

We celebrated Owen's 1st Birthday on Saturday, January 29th.
Owen's party was a First Class-themed celebration.

The Story of our theme...
Beginning when Owen was very small, I walked him to our mailbox late every afternoon to collect our mail (I love mail & check our mailbox religiously every day!). It just became "our thing", and now that  he's older, he has learned to open the mailbox and reach in to grab our mail. I chose a "First Class" theme to reflect our love of the mail!

The menu...
Whitt's BBQ pork
Baked beans
Pasta salad with fresh veggies
Chips
Birthday cake & ice cream

The details...
I decorated our dining room where we served the food & where Owen devoured his smash cake.

Inspired by Pinterest, I made the felt party hat and the highchair birthday banner. I used primarily reds and blues and also used Kraft shipping paper to bring in more First Class elements.
I used mini scrapbook envelopes as cards to label the food.
I selected one of our favorite pictures of Owen from each month and hung them on colored paper along with "long" wall of our dining room. I had 4x6 photo frames scattered around surfaces in the dining room & living room for our guests to take one of the pictures from the wall home in their frame.
We also put out Owen's baby book &  photo albums of pictures from the last year for our family and friends to reminisce about our little man.
We asked our guests to start a tradition that we plan to continue each year-We asked each one to write Owen a letter in a journal. We can't wait to share everyone's letters with him when he is older.

Our guests...
Grammy, Grampy, Auntie Abbey, Grandma, PawPaw, Aunt Erin, Pop, Marion, Ms. Laura, & Mr. Steven

The highlights...
Owen loved his smash cake (as evidenced below)...He wasn't just smashing it, he was eating it. The boy knows what to do with food! We in fact had to take it away from him after 35 or 40 minutes because we're pretty sure he would have eaten until he either fell asleep or made himself sick.

We made a day of opening gifts as there were so many. Since Christmas, Owen has definitely figured out a little more about opening presents. He loves the tissue paper & the ribbon.

Owen's First Class birthday was such a fun and special day. We so enjoyed sharing it with our family and friends!

Dear Chris.

January 25th, 2013

Chris,

We have survived the first year of parenthood!
I feel so blessed to have walked alongside of you as we have learned how to be Owen's parents.
I have loved watching you fall in love with our little man and watching him fall in love with you. Owen may look more like me, but I believe he thinks more like you.

It is no surprise to me that parenthood can bring strain to many marriages. I am so thankful that thus far we have parenthood has only brought us closer. We are a great team, and I am so proud of that. Our time together may have changed, but I love the way that we have worked to find moments alone, even if while folding heaping piles of laundry.

Thank you for being a wonderful husband and an amazing father.

Love,

Sarah

Dear Owen.

January 25th, 2013

Dear Owen,

It's so hard to believe that you're now a year old! I remember the moment our eyes first met like it was yesterday. I thought that I could never love you more than I did in that moment, but I have fallen more in love with you every day since. The last year has been a most amazing year, and Daddy and I could have never imagined just how much joy you would bring to our lives. Your precious smile, eyes as blue as the sea, and your blonde hair melt me every time.

I have loved everything about being your mommy, but I have especially enjoyed watching your personality emerge over the last year. You are such a happy, easy-going little guy. You love to play, eat, and are even a pretty good little sleeper. I couldn't have hoped for a lovlier child.

I have also loved watching you learn new things. You are a very curious little man-you like to try to take things apart and try to figure out how things work. I can already see that even though you may look more like your mommy, I think that you think more like your daddy.

We really couldn't be sure of what to expect before you arrived. We weren't sure how to be parents , but with the help of God, our family, and our friends, we have learned so much about how to love you, teach you, and care for you. You in turn have taught us so much about life, about each other, and about love.

Daddy and I are so blessed to be your parents. We can't wait to watch you grow another year older.

I love you little man.

-Mommy

Owen's 11th month.

We celebrated Owen's 1st birthday last Friday!!! The last month of his first year was an fun & eventful one...

• You have taken as many as 8 consecutive, unassisted steps & are trying harder & harder to walk more and crawl less. 
• You enjoy pushing anything around the house, the laundry basket, a box, your toys. You just like to be moving. 
• You have learned to tell Sadie "shhhh" when she barks or makes too much noise. You also "shhhh" other loud sounds (trains, loud trucks...).
• You don't really have any new words that we can interpret, but you are constantly making noises. You make truck noises when you push things around on the floor, you make noises when you look at books & play in the bathtub, you babble when we ride in the car...chatty, chatty little guy.
• You continue to love music. Everything is better when we're playing music!
• You're working on learning to feed yourself with a spoon. You get the concept, but just can't always get it into your mouth quite right. When you miss your mouth, you get frustrated because we all know that you like to eat & you don't like to waste any time in getting your food down.
• You love to give kisses & hugs. You'll do it if we ask you, but my favorite is when you just come over to where we are & love on us.
• You've become very attached to your "Little Bear", the very 1st things we bought you after finding out about you. Mommy bought it at the original IKEA in Sweden. You love to sleep with Little Bear & if we ask you if you love Little Bear, you snuggle & kiss him...precious!
• You've transitioned to drinking whole milk only, 3 times a day with your meals.
• You wear 12 & 18 months clothes.

It has been such a fun  year little man! We love you soooo much!

I know we are blessed.

I have been so thankful for Owen's school since day one, but this week I have reflected more on just how blessed we are to be a part of Woodmont Baptist Weekly Preschool.

It has become such a special place to us and I am so thankful for each of the sweet ladies who teach, care for, and love on each of the children every day. 

I know we are so blessed to be there when we drop Owen off & he's so content to be there...when we pick him up & he's so happy...when the director of the preschool stands by the front door during drop off & pick-up times to say good morning & good afternoon to each child and their parent...when the teachers meet each morning for devotion & prayer before we bring our sweet children to their classrooms...when I can rest assured that Owen's teachers will call us if anything at all goes wrong...when his sweet teachers send their priceless little daily notes home letting us know exactly how many peas, carrots, noodles, etc. Owen ate (P.S. it's nearly always all of them!)...when teachers in other classrooms know Owen's name...when the song of the month is "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands"...because the motto of Owen's school is "Caring hands to show God's love"and the mission is "to provide a loving and safe environment for learning in which Christian principles and values are taught through practice and example".

I could go on & on. I am so thankful that God has allowed us to become a part of such a special place. 

Orange soda & pepper jelly.

This time last year, I was craving orange soda & red pepper jelly (really my only two strange pregnancy cravings). It's so hard to believe that I'm finalizing plans for our little man's 1st birthday party next Saturday!

Where does the time go???

2013.

I have spent a week contemplating a new year's resolution. I heard this song by King & Country for the first time several weeks ago and it really struck a cord with me.  I can think of no better resolution for the year ahead than for my life to be the proof of His love.

"The Proof Of Your Love"

If I sing but don't have love
I waste my breath with every song
I bring an empty voice, a hollow noise
If I speak with a silver tongue
Convince a crowd but don't have love
I leave a bitter taste with every word I say

So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love

If I give 
To a needy soul but don't have love then who is poor?
It seems all the poverty is found in me

So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
Oh, let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love

When it's all said and done
When we sing our final song
Only love remains
Only love remains

Spoken words: If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. (1 Corinthians 13:1-7, The Message)

Let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love

Christmas in GA.

We were fortunate to spend a week at home with our family & friends for the holiday. It was so sweet to be able to share Owen's 1st Christmas with everyone. We made lots of wonderful memories together. I was definitely reminded of just how blessed I am!

Christmas at our house.

We traveled to GA to spend Owen's 1st Christmas with our families.
It was important to us that we have our own Christmas here before we left for GA, so Saturday the 21st was our 1st Christmas celebration.

Here are some pictures of our sweet little man playing with his new toys from Santa.