Big changes

I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged.  To be exact, it's been over a year, and in that year, so, so much has changed. For one, our family of 3 is now a family of 4. That's right, since the last time I blogged I've gotten pregnant, had a child, and have seen him grow to a plump and happy 5 months old. We'll touch base on that later. Sadly, our two lovely dogs have left us. One for greener pastures with a family that could take better care of him and one to the dog park in the sky. Poor Toby was old and ready to go. We are getting used to being a no-dog family, but we all have our moments where we miss our pups so much.

Now, back to the whole family expansion thing. Mountain Man and I found out we were expecting in August of 2014. Our due date was April 20th, 2015. We found out in November that baby was a boy and our Bunny girl was so excited to meet her baby brother. Bubba was born 5 days after my due date, on April 25th. He has brought us so much joy in the short time he's been here and we are so happy to have him. We all feel like our family is now complete, although Bunny does ask for baby time to time. Bunny is a wonderful big sister and loves helping me take care of him. Despite our worst fears, she has grown into her role as a big sister and has never held any ill will towards him, which has been a huge blessing. If at some point I get back into regular blogging, I will definitely share his birth story. It is nothing short of amazing.

I think that brings everyone up to speed on what's going on in my life right now. I miss writing, miss sharing my thoughts, & I miss having an outlet. I hope that I will be able to continue blogging on a regular basis again. I am at a place in my life where I am so content with where God has me and I would just love to share that with you. I'm pretty sure that the future of this blog will always look the same.  I will never be in it for money, I will never be in it for fame. I know I am NOT the next Pioneer Woman. But I do know, that God has given me a gift and an outlet through which to share that gift, and I would be honored if He would allow me the time and motivation to do so.

Missing This

I miss this sweet, little blog, my place for expression, unloading, and reflecting on life.  We have a lot of life going on right now, so I don't know if I'll be back any time soon, but I hope I can be.

Just as an update, here is a recent pic of me, MM, and Bunny. 

Fall Reminiscing

I know, I know.  "Enjoy the summer, it will be over before you know it."  The Star household's reply to that is, "Good riddance"!

Why do we love the fall so much here?  It could be the cooler weather.  You see, we live in the part of Texas that actually experiences 4 distinguishable seasons.  It could be the return to felt Cowboy hats (as opposed to the Spring/Summer straw), handmade scarves, jean and Carhart jackets, and warm hoodies.  It could be all the fun holidays.  Maybe.

I think it all boils down to one thing: togetherness.  In the fall, we naturally slow down.  The nights are longer, so the time together seems, somehow, longer.  We are together as a family of three and together with our loved ones more in the fall.  We celebrate every day, every decrease in the thermometer, every new Halloween decoration, every Thanksgiving recipe.  We celebrate a lot in the fall, and we do it together.

For me personally, another perk of fall is the guaranteed return of MM's beard.  MM wears his beard well, and he's, well, just more "MM-y" with it.

A look at falls past give a good clue as to why fall is, well, "our" time of year:

Homegrown & homemade pumpkin puree for various fall delicacies!

The ultimate chicken roast with parsnips, potatoes, and homemade pan gravy.

Crowbar, Munky, & I Halloween weekend.  I hope they make it out this year; it's just not the same without them!

Downtown in our town, enjoying Gallery Night.

The beer floweth over.  MM and "that Forest Service guy".

 

My MM illuminated by the glow of the fire with a glass of white wine..  Yum.  My favorite fall treats.

My fall wardrobe...layers, layers, layers!  Hoodies under baggy jean jackets are the way to go.

Our fire ring.  We spend many a fall night out here.  I can't wait until Bunny's old enough to (safely) join us. 

The Autumnal Equinox is Saturday, September 22 this year.  Well phooey on that.  According to the "Star Calendar", Autumn starts on September 1 each and every year.  The food gets heartier, the baked goods are full of pumpkin and spices, and everyone around here has a pep in their step that just isn't present in the dog days of summer.

The only problem with Autumn is that it only last 3 months out here.  After that, the biting cold of winter sets in along with the threat (or promise, depending on your philosophical bent) of snow and ice.  Maybe that's why we love it so; it's here for such a short time and then it's gone for another year.  I'm already planning our fall "bucket list".  It'll probably be annoyingly long and cliche and impossible to accomplish, but just the thought of s'mores by the fire, family around the Thanksgiving table, and turkey hand-print crafts with Bunny sets my heart aflutter.  Ah, Autumn, how we love thee!

It's Been A While...

But I'm here. Surviving. Living life. Since the last time I blogged not that much has happened. We did have an unsuccessful camping trip, which I plan to blog about later, but that's about it. Right now I'm at work and obviously not working. I've been having trouble focusing on the tedious tasks that lay before me. Hopefully my productive spirit will come back soon.

Sunday myself and three coworkers leave for yet another class in Austin and I really can't wait. It can be hard work, but it usually ends up being a break from dishes, dog duty, cleaning, cooking and etc. It doesn't hurt a bit that I'll enjoy the company of my family at least one of the nights I'll be there.

Jason and some of my family members have long-heralded my cooking abilities. They are all slightly biased, but I guess my food is at least edible by most. I've finally started finding inspiration in cookbooks rather than straight reproduction and sat down today and wrote my first "real" recipe. I'm itching to give it a go, but will have to wait since my Mexican Chicken Soup is in the crock pot as we speak. I guess that's why I finally decided to post something again. It gives me an incentive to try out my new recipe and maybe post the delicious results here. Or maybe I can recall for you the horrors of the meal it ended up being. Either way, coming up with my own recipes to feed my family with has long been an ambition of mine and it looks like I'm going to dive in head first and tell you all about it!!

Here's to you and yours and the epicurean adventures to come!!

Robots and Christmas

This Christmas was quite fantastic, really. Button stole the show on Christmas morning. He's such a ham. Jason and I miss seeing him as often as we used to. Now that he's really grown into his personality, it's especially hard. We love our nephew to pieces!

We left last Tuesday for Corpus, to stay with Jason's dad and brother and Button, of course. We braved a few stores; Academy, where we both stocked up on Under Armour and Half Price Books, where I stocked up on, well, too many books again. We also braved the mall the morning of Christmas Eve and it was surprisingly dead. Bath and Body Works was packed, but I made quick work of that store and we were off. We spent the remainder of the day lounging around and playing with Button. We went to see Jason's grandma and exchange gifts with her. She's such a sweet woman, with a true love of her family and the Lord. She's just a blessing to be near. We also took Button to see the Christmas lights around town. He wasn't disappointed at all. Any house with at least one strand of lights was "Awesome!"

We spent Christmas morning opening presents with Button, Dad-in-law and bro-in-law and had a lot of fun doing so. We're so blessed! Button was spoiled rotten, but being the only grandchild, what do we expect? We left Corpus for Jason's mom's ranch and arrived just in time for presents with her new fiance and his family. That was a lot of fun as well. (Although I was a bit chagrined to receive the Twilight Soundtrack at the same time my 13-year-old and 16-year-old sis-in-law's did, but what am I going to do? I love Twilight!) Christmas lunch was a feast with turkey, ham and all the fixin's. We got to kick back and watch the Spurs beat the Suns with a last-second three-pointer from Roger Mason. (YES!!)

Saturday was our day to head back to the Pine and I'm glad we went, but I'm glad we're home. Having happy families on both sides is such a joy and a blessing. I know that not everyone is as fortunate as we are. We've had our hard times with some, but those things pass. Family is forever...

I believe that this is pretty much the coolest robot ever. His torso spins around while he's looking for attackers. Awesome.


Button being, well, Button. He was showing me how strong he was after working out with "Uncle Jason".

Blessed Life

Today I want to send a simple wish of happiness and blessings to all who venture here to read. May your Thanksgiving be full of fun and family and a wonderful time!

Some things I'm thankful for today;

1. My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the sacrifice He and our Heavenly Father made for us.

2. My beautiful marriage and my wonderful husband.

3. My relationship with my family; we all REALLY like each other!!

4. The freedoms we celebrate in the great USofA!

5. All the abundant joy I have in my life!


Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures
forever;
his faithfulness continues through all
generations.

~Psalm 100

Getting ready to go

I can't wait until tomorrow! The house is clean, the bags are packed and the car is full of gas. We're ready to hit the road!

Today has been a great day. Work wasn't all that eventful and I made it through despite having taken a muscle relaxer about an hour into the day. My back was just not quite ready to hold me up as I sat at my desk all morning. I got through it with the aid of the muscle relaxers and getting up and walking/stretching every 30 minutes or so. I was feeling so much better that I was able to bundle up and go on a leisurely walk and do my back strengthening moves/stretches after work. I'm hoping to be back to my regular workout by next week.

Anyhow, now I'm sitting here, staring at my luggage and wishing I was more tired than I am so that tomorrow will be here sooner! I feel like a kid, but I'm so blessed to have such a close relationship with my parents and sisters. I cannot wait for the fun we'll be having the rest of this week! Instead of doing the Black Friday thing, we're all going to Dublin to visit the Dr. Pepper plant. It's the only place in the world that uses the original Dr. Pepper formula and uses pure cane sugar. That's great for my dad who's allergic to corn products. No corn syrup in those DP's! That's going to be a lot of fun!

Well, Jason and I have plans to watch "Big Bang Theory" in a few minutes and I want to be sure the house is decent before it starts!

Good night and blessings to all!