I love my cousin... AKA Maternity Pictures :)

Let's face it, maternity pictures can easily be some of the most awkward pictures...ever.  Luckily for me, I happen to know an amazing photographer who is not in the awkward maternity picture business!  My cousin Lesley is amazing.  Her talent never ceases to amaze me and I am so blessed by her work, time and time again!  Hope you enjoy these shots as much as we do! 

Homemade Taco Yumminess

This weekend I made a fantastic pantry stocking staple which I am very excited about!  In our home, we are often busting out a packet of taco seasoning to go with our ground turkey or ground beef for many different recipes: tacos, black bean soup, Mexican jambalaya, etc, etc.  Although I always purchased the 'low sodium' kind, I didn't stop to think about all of the fillers in that small little packet...until I found this on pinterest.  As the pinner said, it's "Simply Spices!"  The result, pre-shaking, was like a beautiful {edible} sand art, reminiscent of 3rd grade.  

I wanted more than one serving, so I made a whole jar full with the following: 
4 TBS chili powder
4 TBS ground cumin
4 TBS garlic powder
4 TBS onion powder
2 TBS crushed red pepper (although it called for less, we like it hot in our house, so I doubled it)

I also saved a few bucks on this by purchasing the spices at Aldi in larger containers, making the 2 whole jars cost just $5!  That is at least 20 servings (depending on how much you use each time) for less than $.25 each...a fraction of what those little packets would cost you.  I do love a good bargain ;)

Spice it up, friends, and make it a great day!

Friday's Letters {5}

Dear Friday, took you a while to get here, but I am oh-so-glad you've graced us with your presence.  Dear Max, your appetite is almost uncontrollable...I am pretty sure you might arrive into this world as a 10 pounder ;) On a serious note, I canNOT wait to see your handsome little face!  I have so many kisses to give you, sweet boy!  Dear Lesley, you're talent combined with sweet spirit is unlike any other.  I am blessed to know you.  Thank you for the shoot yesterday, I am eager to see the results :)  Dear sniffles, can you go away?  I hate feeling a cold coming on.  Oh, and take this sore throat with you when you go.  Dear follower who left me, sorry I bored you so much that you had to go.  Dear last few weeks of pregnancy, I look forward to being kind to you with donuts and cake.  Maybe some french fries too.  Dear John Legend, thanks for ruining my weekend with your tour cancellation.  Wish you had planned your schedule a little better so I could have a romantic night out with my husband, but I understand...you're a creative, musical genius with a beautiful voice.  I will wait until next year if I have to.  Dear lunch, get. in. my. belly.

Make it a great day friends!
XO

Dear Mom...a Birthday Letter

Dear Mom,

It's hard to begin a letter to a woman so amazing.  How do I really capture the magnitude of the impact you have on everyone you meet?  Simply put, I can't.  You are my most favorite woman in the whole wide world and you always amaze me with the grace and kindness you show those around you.  The passionate love of Jesus seeps through your every pore so loudly that you don't even have to speak His name for people to know whom you serve.  I am never surprised at people's reactions when they find out I am your daughter... "Oh, I just love your mom!!" "You're so blessed to be Melanie's daughter!" "You're mom is so sweet!"  ...the list goes on.  Through my childhood you worked so hard to make sure all of your babies were very well taken care of and rarely sad or hurt.  You protected our hearts, our minds and our spirits, always pointing us towards the savior.  You often use the phrase "it's not taught, it's caught" and you live this out beautifully every single day, using actions to show love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.  You are my hero, mom.  I am so excited about the adventure of motherhood that I am about to begin and feel all the more prepared because of the example you have set.  I have often said, "if I can just be half the mom that my mom is, my kids will be set!"  I pray that I am able to pass along these same qualities to my children, just as you continually do.  Other moms are wonderful, no doubt, but no one is as great as you!  Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do for not just me, but everyone you meet.  BL, Max & I wish you the happiest of birthdays today, and a very blessed year ahead.  

With love,
Chrissi    

What I'm Loving Wednesday!!

Today I am loving a lot of things…mostly things I see every day that God has opened my eyes to, reminding me of just how very blessed we are!!  

I am loving these last few weeks with BL as a two person household.  Hard to believe we’ll be welcoming a {noisy/lovable/fun} baby into this home so soon and I want to cherish this time with just BL because we both know our lives will never be the same.

I am loving the crisp fall weather.  I do live in Georgia, so I do realize it will get warm again before it really stays, but it is nice to see the seasons begin to change.  An ever-present reminder of how wonderful our God is and how magnificent His creation is!

I am loving my family.  We are huge.  We are loud.  We are crazy.  We are awesome {tee-hee…but seriously}!  I am so blessed by the family I have. Parents, siblings, in-laws, nephews, nieces, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, cousins; there are a lot of people in my family and I am so thankful for each of them!   

I am loving my blog friends, whom I really consider true friends.  Take Leigh, for instance, all the way up in Canada, sent me the most adorable moose shirt for Max.  How awesome is that?!  And seriously, thank you!!! XO

I am loving full panel maternity skinny jeans & leggings from Old Navy.  They are my bestest pals right now & I may need two more pairs of each before Max comes because I wear them so darn much!! 

What are you loving?  Go link up and share....

Make it a great day, friends!!

 

Weekend Recap

We had a great weekend! 

Friday night one of my best friends had her second baby boy, sweet Fletcher!  I loved getting to see him Friday night, but I really loved getting to hold him on Saturday!  Congratulations Sara :) Couldn't be happier for you & I can't wait for Max & Fletcher to be buddies!

Saturday morning I spent a good amount of time sorting through awesome hand-me-downs for sweet baby Max.  I am so thankful for my sisters for collecting such great clothes and passing them along for Max to use!  We are a blessed family indeed.  PS, could tiny socks be any cuter?!?

Saturday night we went to an art show for my Uncle Johnny where his art was on display at a gallery in Tallapoosa, GA.  We were all very impressed with the art he completed & I hope he has a great month on display, selling many paintings :) 

After the art show I made it home to watch BL cry mope over the brilliant GAMECOCK VICTORY over the GA Bulldogs.  Yippee!!  I love to see two things: Gamecocks winning & GA losing.  Sounds like a win, win to me ;)

Sunday we went up to my parents' and sisters' church for service and stayed for a very special occasion.  My BFAM {Brother From Another Mother} was ordained into ministry by the pastors and elders of their church.  What a special event to celebrate!  We are so happy for what God is doing in their lives! 

The rest of our Sunday was spent doing laundry, watching the Falcons win (WooHoo!), clipping coupons and making s'mores with our small group!  It was a wonderful weekend, indeed.