My 29th Birthday

Well it's my last year in my 20's and I must say, they have been very very good to me! Well, better said is that the Lord has been very good and blessed me greatly. Graduated college. Got my first job doing what I loved. Met an amazing man. Got married. Found out we were expecting. Had the greatest joy of my life- Will. Became a Mom. All in all, this has been a very satisfying decade and I must admit, I'm even more excited about the next 10 years!

We started off my birthday by meeting Dada for a special birthday lunch at Cafe Carolina  and it was wonderful! I love seeing my main squeeze for lunch dates! 

Then that evening we met up with my whole fam at Lucky 32 in Cary for a delicious birthday dinner! I could not possibly have felt any more loved!

....and then when I got home Zak had another special card with the cutest coupons that he made for me with things like, "An afternoon out of the house" and "One long foot rub" it was soo kind and thoughtful! ...and then he brought out these four obnoxiously large cupcakes that he had picked up before dinner! To say I have a keeper is the understatement of the year! 

I wish I had taken some pictures, but the Monday following my sweet Mother in law had us over for a special homemade dinner complete with delicious fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls and one of my favorite deserts!

Here's to another GREAT year!

Thanksgiving Take Two!

The Friday after Thanksgiving we headed over to CeeCee and Pop's for a wonderful day of Thanksgiving fun! We played outside, swung on Pop's ridiculously big swing, enjoyed a yummy meal and I had the joy of battling the worst cold ever! But all in all it was a LOVELY day!

Just a few quick family shots!

Me and my sweet big sister Kelley who is due in March with their 2nd little girl! We can't wait!

 No family get together is complete without a good ride on Pop's shoulders!

Thanksgiving Take One!

So this year for Thanksgiving we celebrated with The Shipman's Thanksgiving night with all the cousins and kids at Zak's Aunt Penny and Uncle Greg's house. With three little one's running around there was certainly lots of excitement and PLENTY of great food! Unfortunately though, we didn't take a whole lot of pictures- next year, I'll do better!

 Just hanging with my Aunt Miranda!

Trying to hold a one year old for a pictures is like wrestling an alligator! 

Everything is better with Grandpa!

Look Who's Talking!

I am super late on posting this but our sweet Will is talking up a storm. I definitely wanted to document his speech progress over the next year but at 13 months Mr. Will is saying about 15 words with the number growing daily!

1. Momma
2. Dada
3. Dog
4. All done
5. No No
6. VaVa (Vaccuum)
7. Nana
8. CeeCee (once or twice)
9. Night Night (NighNigh)
10. Ball
11. More
12. Shoes
13. Uh oh
14. Bye Bye (once or twice)
15.   Oh No

Can't wait to see how many words he's using in just a few short months!

Truly Thankful.

As I take a moment to reflect on this past year of life, I am undoubtedly thankful. The Lord's hand on our family, our child, and our marriage has been overwhelming.

This past year was packed with up and downs, trials and victories, tears and laughter that all come with the addition of a certain little green eyed boy who has stolen our heart.

I am so grateful this thanksgiving for Grandma's who offer a break from the cyclical monotony of motherhood, a Dad who is constantly bringing over diaper and wipes (just because), a husband who appreciates all my hard work during the day and actively engages with his little boy when he gets home, a wonderful church that keeps me grounded on the truth of God's word, the fellowship of believers, wonderful friends who know how to make me laugh til it hurts and most of all for a risen savior, Jesus Christ who gives grace abundantly and unconditionally.

This Thanksgiving I find myself very content and truly thankful.

Celebrating

Last Friday night we went out to Cafe Luna to celebrate Ashlee's and my birthday! It's hard to believe that it's been nearly a decade of celebrating birthday's at one of our favorite restaurants! Looking forward to many more to come!

Baking for the Holidays!

A couple weeks ago it was our turn to bring the desert for our Tuesday night small group (which we absolutely LOVE) and so I decided to pull out my recipe for Symphony Bar Brownies for two reasons. One, because they are super easy and two, because they are amazing in my humble but accurate opinion! I will never forget the first time I made these. My first boss, Betsy Ramsey gave me this recipe to take to meet Zak's entire extended family for a 4th of July cookout and they were a big hit!

Symphony Bar Brownies
Ingredients:
1 box Duncan Hines Double Fudge Brownie Mix
1 large egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (I add this to all my brownies just to enhance the taste)
2 large Hershey's symphony chocolate bars

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees for glass or metal pans, 325 degrees for dark or non-stick. GREASE the bottom of the pan with cooking spray.

Next, mix the brownie mix, egg, water, oil and contents of fudge packet in large bowl. Stir until well blended. Spread 1/2 of mixture into greased pan.  Then take both symphony bars and break them up, evenly dispersing them on top of mixture. Finally, spread remaining batter over top of symphony bars.

Bake brownies according to box instructions based on size and type of pan you use. I usually cook 5 minutes less than the suggested time to ensure they are not overcooked. (Don't try the toothpick trick because with the candy bar, it will be gooey no matter how down the brownies are).

Allow brownies time to completely cool and then use a plastic knife to cut. (just an inside mom trick to not have batter stick to knife!)

I am confident these will be as big of a hit with your family as they are with mine! Maybe even give them a shot for Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday Aunt Kelley!

What a fun time celebrating Aunt Kelley's birthday with the fam! ...This was after all our good behavior had worn off at the table and we had to go explore the LongHorn lobby!

Look What's Cooking!

In an effort to change things up a bit in the Shipman household, I decided to head on over to Pinterest for some cooking inspiration. Outside of entertaining, I usually have two goals for meals at our house; tasty and healthy! This delicious recipe for Chicken Pot Pie Soup from SkinnyTaste.com accomplished both! So without further adieu here's the recipe:

Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Skinnytaste.com

Servings: 9 • Serving Size: 1 cup Calories: 169.2 • Fat: 1.2 g • Protein: 18.5 g • Carb: 21.2 g • Fiber: 2.3 g

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup flour (to make gluten-free use 2 tbsp cornstarch instead)
• 2 cups water 
• 4 cups fat free milk
• 1 large celery stalk, chopped
• 1/2 medium chopped onion
• 8 oz sliced baby portabella mushrooms 
• 2 chicken bouillons
• fresh ground pepper
• pinch of thyme
• 10 oz frozen classic mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, corn)
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed small
• 16 oz cooked chicken breast, diced small
• salt

Directions:

Create a slurry by combining 1/2 cup of the cold water with flour in a medium bowl and whisk until well blended. Set aside.

Pour remaining water and milk into a large pot and slowly bring to a boil. Add celery, onion, mushrooms, chicken bullion, thyme, fresh pepper, frozen vegetables and return to a boil. Partially cover and simmer on low until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove lid, add potatoes and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add chicken, and slowly whisk in slurry, stirring well as you add. Cook another 2-3 minutes, until soup thickens, adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Make it tonight! Your family will thank you!

Election Day!!!

Little Gerry's 2nd Birthday!

Last Saturday morning we celebrated my best friend, Shaina's son Gerry's 2nd birthday! The fact that Shaina even put together a party just over a month after having her second child, Kennedy earns her the Mom of the year award! And a fabulous job she did at that. There was a frog theme for the party using the colors blue and green!


The gifts and favors table

Shaina made these super cute frog cupcakes that were certainly a labor of love! Chocolate cupcakes with a marshmallows cream filling. Deeelish!



Ashlee and sweet Caroline (aka: Will's future Mother in law)



Uncle Timothy and Aunt Allison with baby Lawson!

"Momma, can I PLEASE have my cake already!!!???"



Will's latest favorite position- the frog



Cake Time!!!



Saturday was also Ashlee's birthday so Shaina made her a big cupcake to celebrate.

17 years of being "the package deal" and I am so thankful for this friendship!

What a super fun Saturday celebrating Gerry's second birthday!