Reading Goal: The Reason for God

I really enjoy reading. I get on a kick every now and then where I read and read and read, but this usually happens with fiction books. My mother-in-law is a big reader as well and is always bringing me bags full of Christian fiction novels that she's read through. Seriously, I have like three sacks of books that I haven't even cracked open. My kiddos are keeping me busy, and I am even having a hard time having consistent quiet times so I just can't justify sitting down to read a novel. Not that I wouldn't love to!

I also have another problem. I love the IDEA of reading. There are SO many books that I want to read. Not fiction books. Just other books. Books on doctrine. Books on parenting. Books on cooking. Books on Photoshop. Books on Biblical Womanhood. I have started so many books. Started. That's the key word. I have so many unfinished books. I really want to be better about this.

My husband is the polar opposite of me. He also loves to read, but he is so good about being disciplined and finishing what he starts. We were talking the other day, and I mentioned that we (but really, it's me) should make a list of books that we would like to read in 2010. That way, we can have a goal! He thought that was a good idea, so I am going to start working on my list real soon. I am planning to finish a few books that are on my nightstand that I am just a few chapters away from completing.

I do have my first book already picked out. Jonathan just finished reading a book by Timothy Keller entitled The Reason For God. Jonathan said it is a great book to read to remind you of why you believe what you believe about Christianity. That sounds very faith-building to me, and I can definitely use a boost of faith, so I am going to try to read through that book over the next month. I read the introduction yesterday, and already I am excited to read it!

So, question: Does anyone want to read it along with me? No pressure. Just wondering if anyone might want to get in on this with me and read some books over the next year. I don't have a big agenda. I just hope to grow in being disciplined in finishing what I start (in the area of reading).

Never Before Seen Videos

I whipped out my video camera today to get some footage of the kids playing and dancing and being all cute. I am so bad at doing this and catching on video the things they do that we love so much. And, in a moment of randomness that I do ACTUALLY remember to get video, it is rare that I sit still long enough to put the videos on the computer to then upload them to Youtube! I am a slacker, what can I say!

Anyway, this afternoon, I took some time and sorted through some old videos. I mean, these go way back to last spring. There are some adorable videos of Nora at 18 months that just break my heart. I mean, at 18 months, I thought she was such a big girl, but now that she is two (almost two and a half, thank you!) seeing her at 18 months is like looking at her as a baby. **Tear**

Ugh, anyway.

I thought I would do a rendition of Never Before Seen Videos. Here are a few that might make you smile.

I call this one:

"Atleast that hill is good for something!"


Timeframe: April 2009
Location: Bradshaw backyard
Occasion: Cookout celebrating the impending arrival of Baby Liam

Next on the list is:

"Because we're too cheap to purchase a sprinkler."


Timeframe: August 17th, 2009 (right before Nora's 2nd birthday)
Location: Bradshaw backyard
Occasion: Daddy watering plants turns into Nora's fun in the water!


And then there is:

"Chick-fil-a...teaching them young!"

Timeframe: January 29, 2009
Occasion: Lunch with Daddy at his office for his birthday

And finally:

"The Mooch"

Timeframe: March 2009
Location: Our dining room
Occasion: Daddy's lunch turns into Nora's 2nd lunch


And just because I love my boy more than my luggage, here's one of Little Liam:

Timeframe: September 23, 2009
Location: Granna and Geegaw's house
Occasion: Liam @ 4.5 months

Festive Fudge

Jonathan and I watched Julie & Julia the other night! It was such a good movie, and it immediately made me want to jump in the kitchen to whip something yummy up to eat! Surprisingly, Jonathan got the itch too, so he started rummaging through my cookbooks to find something delicious that he wanted to make!

He settled on this cookbook:


He decided on two recipes: Festive Fudge and Hershey's Best Loved Chocolate Cheesecake:



We made the fudge on Monday night and it was so easy and so delicious! Tonight we are going to make the chocolate cheesecake! I'll let you know how it turns out!

Here is the recipe for the Festive Fudge (sorry for the lack of a picture):

FESTIVE FUDGE

3 cups (1 1/2 packages, 12 ounces each) Hershey's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
Dash of salt
1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup Reese's peanut butter chips
1/2 cup whipping cream

Directions:
1. Line 8- or 9-inch square pan with wax paper
2. Melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and salt in heavy saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat; stir in nuts, if desired, and vanilla. Spread evenly into prepared pan.
3. In another heavy saucepan, melt 1 cup Reese's Peanut Butter Chips with 1/2 cup whipping cream. Stir until thick and smooth. Spread over fudge.
4. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm. Turn fudge onto cutting board, peel off paper, and cut into squares. Store covered in refrigerator.

Delicious! And such a great idea to give out as Christmas goodies! Jonathan is not allowed to make things like this in our kitchen only to leave them in the fridge to call my name all day long, so he is bringing a majority of the fudge to his office. (And I think he'll be doing the same with the chocolate cheesecake because it's just not fair to leave it in there yelling at me to eat it all day long!)

Please make some and eat some. It will make your mouth happy!

Random Wednesday

Well, both of my kiddos are sick today, so Liam is asleep and Nora is watching Mary Poppins (her favorite). Therefore, here I am, relaxing on the couch for a few minutes and taking some time to catch on blogging. I feel like we have been in a whirlwind! I mean, we are going.non.stop. Even days where things aren't planned and all we are scheduled to do is stay home, clean house, play, etc., things just seem to come up and away we go for one reason or another. We are having a great time, but I'm exhausted. I am thankful that for the next few days as the kids recover from their colds that we will be taking it easy, lounging around the house, and catching up!

Speaking of catching up, here is (are?) a plethora of pictures from my phone that I have just uploaded. These are from Thanksgiving, New Orleans trip, and other random times. Enjoy the variety show!

Cheesy Family Shots:

Me and My Adorable Sister, Hillary. Isn't she pretty?


Husband and Wife


Nora and Liam


Liam in his early days of sitting up! He's doing much better now!

Meet Samuel Harris Kiel!
He is the firstborn son of one of my best friends from college, Corrie!
Samuel was born the day before Thanksgiving, so we stopped to meet him in person as we were driving through Jackson, MS, on our route back home!

Me, Corrie, and Suzanne (Two of my Jackson Girls)

Liam "riding a horsey" with my Uncle Tom and Aunt Donna

We drove by our old house located in Lakeview (an area of New Orleans). Here it is. We lived in a townhouse/duplex. Ours is the cream/blue one on the right, and our crazy old neighbor whom we lovingly referred to as Queen XL has taken over our driveway! No surprise! Things look just like they did the last time we saw this place!

Our family at lunch at Parkside! My mom grew up eating at this restaurant! They have some of the best fried shrimp I've ever had!

Nora eating fried shrimp for the first time! She loved it! But, I think it is because it was fried, and who doesn't love fried food!?


Nora dressed herself this day!

My two babies! Best buds!

Jonathan trying to eat dessert while Nora mooched and stole a few bites!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Here are a few pictures of our family over the past two weeks. Of course, these are not in the order that I would like to be in, but what's a girl to do!?

Here are some pics of Jonathan and Nora playing in the snow when we had our first snow of the season last Saturday! Nora played in the snow for the first time as last winter she was still scooting around and wasn't ready to play in the cold, wet snow!




Our family before heading out to our Care Group Christmas Party!


Here are some pics of Nora and I decorating our Christmas tree. We did this the Sunday we got back from our trip to New Orleans. Nora and I had a great time putting the ornaments or "apple pies" (as she called them) on the tree. Jonathan worked very hard that cold day to get our lights up outside! I love these family traditions we are starting!





Snuggle time with Daddy-O

Family Pictures with Lillian

Back in November we got our family pictures taken by Lilian Prince. She is so fabulous and wondrously talented! We love working with her and had such a fun time taking pictures! Please check out her website: www.lillianprincephotography.wordpress.com

These are just some of the pictures she took. I can't get enough of them!

New Orleans' Trip in Review (Part DEAUX)

I apologize for the long intermission regarding my New Orleans trip recollection. I'll pick up where we left off:

After Jonathan returned to Knoxville, I pretty much had a week to myself with the kiddos! My mom returned back to teaching school, my sister Emily flew back to NYC, my sister Hillary went back to high school, and my dad worked off and on throughout the week. We all hung out in the evenings, but my days were pretty much just me and the kiddos. This was great because it left plenty of opportunity for us to just relax, let the kids nap, and we also had plenty of times where we got together with some girlfriends of mine and their kiddos!

Tuesday, November 17th, we had a playdate at the Audubon Zoo! It was such a great day! If you ever vacation in the New Orleans area, please do yourself a favor and visit our zoo. It is gorgeous and so well taken care of! It is so kid-friendly, which means it's mommy-friendly!

Anyway, there was a huge group of us:
Stephanie, and her little girl Lydia (2) and her son, Carter (3 months old)
Hope and her baby boy Liam Walter (also 3 months old). (Yes, we have two Liams now!)
Chrissy and her two girls, Ava (3) and Sam (2)
Erin and her son, Aiden (1)
Lauren and her two girls Hannah (2) and Kaitlyn (4 months)
Jenn
Elizabeth (a new friend) and her little girl Lucy (2)
Me and Nora and Liam

I think that's everyone. Needless to say, we probably saw about 1/100th of the zoo due to the grand number of children we were toting around and trying to keep track of. If you count, we had 5 two-year-olds in that mix, which was hilarious! We had so much fun though and I wish we could have stayed longer! I am so thankful that I am able to get together with these girls every time we come into town so that we can catch up and our children can get to know each other!

Sweet Lydia


Jenn & Nora


Jenn, Liam, Lauren & Hannah


Our Entourage


Nora & Liam all bundled up before entering the zoo!


The next day, Steph and I decided to get together with us and the kids since we weren't really able to visit all that much at the zoo. We ordered a pizza and let the girls play while Liam and Carter played and napped. It was a great few hours to catch up and chit chat like old times. I managed to capture a few shots, but not too many.

Nora & Lyddie hugging

Nora & Lydia playing a picnic....Poor Lydia fell down at the zoo, hence the nose! You'd have thought these girls played together all the time the way that got along so well.

Steph & Carter

Liam & Carter


Thursday night I went out to dinner with four of my best girlfriends growing up: Steph, Hope, Abi, Chrissy & Jenn. We went to Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro (divine) and then went to our favorite coffee shop of all time, Caffe, Caffe! So many memories with those girls (But, unfortunately, not one pictures). I had to bring Liam with me, which worked out great because Steph brought Carter and Hope brought her Liam. So, it wasn't a total girls' night out...the boys were with us, and funnily enough, all three boys look just like their fathers. It was like there were spies there: a little Jonathan, little Kurt, and Little Eddie.

By Friday, I was so badly missing my husband and really wanting him to be there. Liam had been suffering from a cold or allergies, so sleep hadn't been going so well for the two of us. We just hung out at the house most of the day, and a good friend, Tina, stopped by to visit for a while, see the kiddos, and capture a few pics! (She's a budding photographer).

Saturday morning, shortly after breakfast, my dad took Nora for a ride to the airport to pick up my hubby! We were so happy to see him and so glad that he survived the week safely without us. To celebrate his arrival, we whisked him away to one our favorite poboy places, Parkview. It's located right outside of City Park and is a poboy place that my mom would go to as a little girl. I just love the history and culture of New Orleans! It's just so rich! I can just imagine my grandparents and my mom and her sisters and brother gathered around a table sharing a "loaf." And now we take our kids there when we come to visit. So neat.

Sunday morning, Jonathan and I took the kids to our old church stomping grounds, Lakeview Christian Center. For a small history, the old building the church met in when we lived there was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The new church building was completed just over a year ago, and this was our second visit to the new sanctuary! It is so beautiful. We love being able to walk through the doors of the church and feel like we haven't been gone for months! Everyone is so kind and welcoming and just loves seeing the kids and how they've grown. It's great to see how God has blessed the church so much in spite of the destruction that Hurricane Katrina caused.

....okay, okay. I'll have to continue this later. Babies call!