Milestones

Perhaps only a parent could TRULY appreciate this...but this morning when I went in to get Jaxen, he was staring up at me with his googly eyes and silly grin. Most of you that know me - know my kids sleep on their stomachs....what this means is that...HE ROLLED OVER!!! :)

He's also holding his bottle with 2 hands all by himself. It's so precious! These are the freeze frames I try to take w/ my camera in my head - things I want to be able to see clear as day when I'm 80.... :)

Pumpkin Carving Night!

We had a great time - and a great mess! I had looked up all these low-fat pumpkin recipes - b/c I wanted to try to make something - but they all said not to use field pumpkins! Oh well...we stuck with pumpkin seeds!

Ohio and Georgia

We had a HUGE week/end of traveling with 2 children! They did WONDERFULLY! Last minute - we decided to take a trip to Ohio to see Jon's side of our family. It had been awhile - and we are much further now! It took us 10 hours (with stops) on the way...and 11 (with a stop for dinner with friends) on the way back. I couldn't believe how great Kennedy did - Jaxen is easy...suuuch a good baby! She watched Backyardigans, Elmo, Wiggles and Little Eiensteins - picked out trees and cars and trucks and buses...and slept. :) While there - we were able to hang out w/ family and see cousins!


It was great! Jon's sister is getting ready to have twin boys...and man - she is ready to pop!! They aren't due until Dec. 20th - but I have a feeling they will be coming soon!!! :) We can't wait! This will be #15 and #16 of the cousins on that side!! Whew!! Also - Grandma Georgia and Lisa decided to buy Kennedy's 2 year b-day presents early... and sing...she didn't know what to think! :)


We got home Sunday night from Ohio and literally went straight to bed. Monday morning - we got up and re-packed and left for Atlanta. Jon had some work to do there...and one of my best friends lives there now. :) We were able to meet them for dinner - and then her and her husband kept my 2 kids and my new puppy! What a grrrreat friend Mandy is!!! :) I just KNEW she'd have a sleepless night...but all 3 of them slept and stayed asleep until about 7:30am. :) That next morning - Jon went to work and Mandy, the kids, and I - hit up IKEA. Oh my goodness. I forgot how much I looove that place! If you haven't been...make the drive. It's worth it! :) I was able to get some great decorations for our guest room - and some other ideas that Jon can probably make on his own!!! IT's the CHEAPEST place EVER...to get things. I can't even begin to describe...but it makes Walmart look pricey! :)

We are back - safe and sound - after a total of 30 hours on the road in 5 days...
Jon and I were talking about how much we'd LOVE to figure out how many hours Kennedy has been traveling since birth....it would be ridiculous...more to come on that...maybe...

Vegas

We have a new addition to our family!!! No - I'm not pregnant...we got a puppy!!!
She is sooo cute - and we named her Vegas. She is SUCH a good dog...doesn't bark at all! Kennedy is LOVING her...she carries her around and Vegas sits with her in her carseat. It's fun for Kennedy to have something to "boss". :)

Kennedy's Masterpiece

Today was a rough day in the life of one little Sawhook. You can probably guess, by the title of this blog, who that would have been! Jon and I both ended up on the phone earlier today - Jon with work - and me with a call for a reference for a job for one of my closest friends. Both calls were necessary - however, this left our children unsupervied for about 10 minutes. WELL...that's all the time it took. After we hung up from our calls - we all left to run errands and have lunch out to enjoy this nice day. Kennedy was being SOOOO good. She rode in the cart nicely, said please and thank you...even told Jon "Thank you..lunch". We kept commenting on how well behaved she was being today. When we got home from the store -we found out why. :) You can see in the pictures below - her nice artwork. Not only did she color all over the walls...but she also picked away pieces of the drywall. Jon and I were both so shocked...this is our first real encounter with something more than talking back or not being gentle w/ brother. Looking back...she probably should have gotten a spank...but...instead - she got the scolding of a lifetime - and her pencils and color books thrown in the trash. She was devistated. She uses those pencils ALL the time...she LOVES to draw...and will take any opportunity given to do so! You can also see where she grabbed a baby wipe and tried to clean the walls off.... hehe...these are the stories we will look back and laugh at ... but for now - we have to figure out how to paint over it. :)

CEREAL!

Jaxen had is 4 month appointment. He weighed 17 lbs and was 26 inches long! What a big boy! The Dr. said we could start cereal on a spoon - so we took our first attempts. :) Miss Kennedy had to be Mommy's big helper..and she can't stand a mess - so after every bite - she was wiping Jaxen's mouth! haha!

Fall Fun!

We have had so much fun the past couple of weekends! Last weekend we went to a pumpkin patch and sunflower field. It was so fun and all free! We were able to pick out our own pumpkins and take some great fall pictures! :) After the patch we had some old friends from West Virginia come down for dinner. It was fun - there were 14 of us at Red Robin! It was fun to see everyone's kids and catch up on life! ;)

Then this past weekend - we had 2 fall festivals. The first one was in our shopping center (1 mile from our house). It was AWESOME! EVerything was free...they had food from all the restaurants (of course I didn't eat a thing!) and they had pumpkin painting and a parade and face painting and characatures...(however you spell that)...Then our neighborhood had one with a free cookout and moonbounces and all of that fun stuff! :) Yesterday - I played w/ the church band for the first time.
They are REALLY good! It will take me some time to figure out how to work all the equipment and get used to how things are run. I am playing on a synth w/ one hand and a keyboard with the other. It will be a great opportunity to grow as a musician....when you play with people better than you - all you can do is get better! ;)
Then last night - we tried out a homegroup - and LOVED It. Everyone was so nice - and there were 2 other little girls Kennedy's age. We just really loved it...and are loving our new church. It's amazing how connected we already feel here. We've honestly done more in 2 months - then we did in 2 years in our previous state! :) We are grateful and thankful to be here...even though we miss our dear friends.

Crosspoint

Well - a few of you have asked for an update on our church situation. :) We are soo excited to say that we have found a church home! It's a super long story about how we ended up here...but we KNOW 100% that it was NOT an accident! We had planned to be a part of the Teays Valley Chuch plant in West Virginia...and were so confused as to why God had laid that on our hearts and why we were being pulled in that direction...only to find out that we were moving out of state!

We now know EXACTLY why we went through that! He was burdening us to be a part of a great ministry here in Charlotte. THe church is only 18 months old - but we feel and see that it is about to explode! God is doing great things in this work and we are ecstatic about partnering with them in this endeavor!

We have only been attending for a month now - but we have already been to the pastors house to play Poker..ha!...and to a small group and I will be joining the band this week! :) Didn't take us long at all! The main thing we love about the church is their vision. They are passionate about not just GOING to church once a week - but actually BEING the church in our community and surrounding area every day. We love their serving spirit and know that we will be on a huge journey of growth here as a family and individually as well.

Thanks to those who prayed for us in this decision!!

www.crosspoint521.org

BIG GIRL BED!

Our baby girl (she'll always be my baby girl) is sleeping in a "big girl bed" now!! :) We didn't force it - and were actually keen on the idea of keeping her in her crib as long as possible. However, with all of our traveling, she has grown quite accustommed to sleeping in big beds...so she started asking to sleeep in the twin bed in her room. We started out w/ naps - but after day 2...she wanted in there all the time! So far - so good! She hasn't tried to get up even one time - and she's been sleeping from 8pm to 8am!! LIFE IS GOOD (right now!).

It was so cute when after the first morning - Kennedy came walking into our room w/ a glowing smile on her face...she came and got in bed with us and was just so proud that she had been a big girl all night! Jon commented that one of his dreams of having kids was seeing them run and jump into bed with us in the mornings...and we have been able to experience that the past few days. :) Yesterday - Jon took apart the crib and put it in the attic. We thought perhaps Kennedy would react badly...but she was overjoyed when some of her toys from downstairs were able to be moved into her room!! (SO WAS I!!) :) So far - so good!

...and now for the finished product!

Organization!

So I got a little crazy this week...Made out a menu for the whole month and did all the grocery shopping (minus bread and milk and veggies) for the entire menu! I also tried a new recipe and will be trying one soup and one new recipe per week this month! In my ongoing efforts to get organized...I also cleaned up my pantry...which was necessary in order to know what was in there - and what was needed at the store! I'm embarrassed to show you how bad it was - but let's celebrate the finished product! :)

Ice Cream Cones!

We discovered something brilliant this week. When we have icecream - we usually give Kennedy a little dish with a spoon. However...it always ends up being the "mess of the year" - with sticky from head to toe!! :) Jon had the idea to try a cone....I of course thought this would be SOOO much MORE messy - thinking about the cone breaking and ice cream dripping everywhere!! I have to say ... he was RIGHT!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is SOOO Yummy!!! It tastes just like the restaurant kind!!! :)

Ingredients
Olive Oil
10 4" Corn tortillas
1 onion
6 Garlic Cloves
1 small bunch of Cilantro
2 - 14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes
8 cups of chicken broth (I use the 99% fat free kind)
2 cups of frozen corn
1.5 Tablespoos ground cumin
1 Tablespoon chili powder
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper (or cayenne)
juice from 1 lime (optional)
Avocado (optional)
Cheese (optional)

I usually bake my chicken breasts ahead of time...usually on 350 for an hour....then I stick them in the refrigerator to cool...sometimes overniht.
Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Wash and towel dry the cilantro, remove stems and chop.
Pour Chicken broth into large pot. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and saute' the onions and garlic for a couple of minutes. Now add the cilantro, stir, and cook for one minute more. Add to chicken broth.
Next add the canned tomatoes with their juice and the cumin, chili powder, corn, and pepper.
Shred the chicken breasts with your hands and add them to the pot as well as the lime juice. I let it simmer for about an hour or longer if I have time - just to let all the flavors mix well. Then serve with fried corn tortillas (cut into strips), freshly diced avocado, grated cheddar cheese (I use Fat free), and Fat free Sour cream. This soup is GREAT for a meal, party, or dinner and the leftovers are just as good! Enjoy! :)

New purchase!

Check out our latest purchase! :) Kennedy LOVES sitting next to Jaxen. She pats his leg and tries to hold his little hands. It's sooo sweet!! :)

The Future...

Check this out! (3 videos)

http://www.microsoft.com/surface/index.html

A little "soapy" story

Well - this story is not for the weak stomachs in the room...just warning you!

Jon and I are living in a hotel (again) this week in DC, where he is working while Ruari (his boss) is out of town. Jon had the opportunity to take the first shower during our stay, and he took it at night. The next morning - I woke up - and hopped in the shower. As most of you know - Jon and I are COMPLETELY BLIND when it comes to seeing w/o glasses or contacts - you can forget it. Well, I was frantically searching around the bathtub for the soap bar that Jon used the night before b/c I had forgotten my body wash at home. I finally found it on top of the shower ledge...above the faucet that the shower water comes out of. Reaching up high...I grabbed the soap and continued my shower. After I got out - I decided to give Jon a hard time about where the soap was. I was like - "Uh - way to hide the soap clear up high on the shower..."...

Now here's the nasty part...he DIDN'T!!! Ick - I am throwing up in my mouth just thinking about it. Apparently the maid must have missed it from the person who stayed in our room before us!!! UGH...YUCK...ICK...BARF...
Jon keeps telling me "It was soap...it has to be clean!"...but still...