I Killed Rudolph

I'm sorry to say that this year Santa will not be coming as his red-nosed guide was killed on Friday night. That's right I (Carissa) killed Rudolph on Friday night.
Well, not really Rudolph but I did kill an 8 point buck with our Camry!! Nick and I were coming home from a Christmas party and I was driving in a wooded, secluded neighborhood. All of the sudden I hear Nick scream "WATCH OUT!!!!!!" I slammed on my breaks and screamed, then....BAM!!! It was all over in a matter of seconds. I sat there in disbelief with my hands gripping the wheel. "Nick, did I just hit a deer?" "Yeah, I think you just killed a big buck!" "I just hit a deer...oh my word, I just hit a deer"(Me screaming in terror) We had to pull up a little ways to get out of the way of other cars. I was glad for this reason because I did NOT want to see it!! Nick got out and checked out the car. It was for sure damaged but we didn't realize how much until we got home. We didn't go back to see the deer because it was dark and I just wanted to be home at this point. We could tell it was not in the road so we weren't worried about it being a danger to other drivers. The deer just ran out in front of the car and I'm not sure what I would have done if Nick would not have seen it coming or if I was alone! When we got home we saw that the front grill was pretty much ripped off and the front of the car on the passenger side was dented in pretty badly. The next day Nick went to get it checked out to see how much it would cost to fix it and the estimate was $2600!!! Ooops!

God was definitely watching out for us that night. I have heard so many stories of deer coming through the windshield, totaling cars etc. I made myself sick that night thinking about all the things that could have happened to us. We are so blessed and thankful God had his angels protecting us!

The next day Nick's parents took a picture of the poor deer as they live in the area. That's when we realized that I hit an 8 point buck! Nick was joking that he drove 3 1/2 hours on Thanksgiving weekend to go hunting and didn't kill anything and I drive our Camry at night and get a huge deer!!! HAHA.

For those of you worried about Eden in the car, no worries! She was sound asleep at home with her GG watching her! :)

Poor Rudolph!!


Poor Car!

Check us out!

My friend Katy had this on her blog and I just had to see what we would look like.
Check us out!!!

*Be sure to pause the music at the bottom of the page before you start the video!

-Carissa

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Giving Thanks!!

God has done many amazing things for us this year and we have lots to be thankful for. Last night Nick and I exchanged what we are thankful for this year and this is what we came up with. We are thankful for our beautiful daughter Eden - for her health, her safety, and all the JOY she brings us!! I am personally thankful for my incredibly amazing husband and I know he is thankful for me. We are also grateful for good health. We are thankful for food on the table everyday, for a roof over our heads, for cars that take us where we need to go, and for our jobs. We are also thankful for family and friends!
The thing we have come to realize more than ever this year is that not only do we have these things, but they are not just the bare minimum. We don't have things that are top of the line, but we don't have clunker cars and we don't just have a place to live - we have a home, and we have AMAZING families and incredible friends. They are all nice things and for that we are so grateful. What we remember this time of year is that there are people out there who don't have even half of what we have and it's time to be grateful each day, not just Thanksgiving, for the abundant blessings God has given us and to share those things with others!! Nick and I like to look at Thanksgiving as a preparation for the holiday season because it puts things into perspective for us. It's a day to remember what God has done for us and to get us refocused so we can celebrate Christmas with Christ as our focus and not gifts!

Thanksgiving 2008
To start off how our Thanksgiving went, I first have to share about the night before Thanksgiving. Every year everyone in my family brings an item for the Thanksgiving feast. This year I was to bring homemade yeast rolls, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, and chocolate pie (which I actually was making 2 chocolate pies - 1 for my family and the other for Nick's family). I realize now how much that is to accomplish - but I was up for the challenge and I love cooking!! I was a little concerned about how I was going to do all of this with Eden around. She loves it when I put her in the front carrier and cook dinner, but I wasn't sure how long that would last and I had a lot to do in the kitchen that day. Thankfully, Nick got off work super early - like around 2 so he took Eden to run some errands and then played with her while I cooked. Before it was time for me to put her down for bed, I had finished the pumpkin pie, rolls, and the sweet potato casserole. All I had left was the chocolate pies, which on paper didn't seem too hard. After I put her down, I started on the pies. I had made the pie crusts from scratch earlier in the day, so I rolled them out and put them in the oven to pre-bake. I got the chocolate pie filling going on the stove and realized that I needed to get the crusts out of the oven. The filling for the crusts have to be continually stirred and watched and I couldn't do both. I asked Nick to come stir while I got the crusts out. As I pulled them out of the oven he was saying - "oh those crusts look good etc, etc" and not paying attention to the pie filling. About that time I looked over and the pot was overflowing with chocolate pie filling all over the stove. It mush have gotten too hot and just bubbled up and out. We got the mess pretty well cleaned up and continued with the stirring. Thankfully, we didn't loose too much mixture so we didn't have to start over. The next step said to add 5 egg yolks and stir until thick. Now, if I wouldn't have had so many things on my mind I would have realized that it's important to temper the eggs before putting into a hot mixture, but through all the commotion, my brain just wasn't working as well! Soon enough the eggs started to cook in the chocolate pie mixture and we ended up with scrambled chocolate pie filling! In an attempt to save our pies, I drained out the eggs and put the mixture into the homemade pie crusts. Right before I put them in the oven I realized I had missed 2 ingredients!!! I sighed out loud and told Nick this and he says, "Oh yeah, the Sisco!!!" I busted out laughing because I knew what he meant - the Crisco!! We decided to melt the Crisco and pour it and the vanilla into the filling. We immediately saw the Crisco form little oil balls all over the top of the pies! What a mess. I ended up calling my mom and we decided to pour the mixture back into the pot and stir it up and let it thicken again. We did this and then put it back in the pies, but they ended up not working out because there were not enough eggs left to hold it together which caused them to be all runny!!! Lesson here - temper your eggs and watch the pot!!!!! HAHA!

Thanksgiving day we did our annual Turkey Trot! This year we did the 2.8 mile family walk because you can't take strollers on the 5 mile run. This year it was my mom, Nick, myself, Eden, and my little brother Connor. It was a lot of fun. Eden stayed in the stroller about half of the walk and then slept in the front carrier on Nick the rest of the way.
After the trot, we got cleaned up and went to my grandparent's house for the yummy meal!! It was delicious! After Eden's nap we went to Nick's family's house for pie! Yumm-o!!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Here is a cute slideshow of our Thanksgiving.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Trip to the Zoo!

Today we took Eden on her first trip to the zoo! Nick has Tuesday's off, so we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and have a family outing. Being a week day, there was not a whole lot of people there and since it was cooler, all the animals were out sunning. We got to see all of the animals and it was so neat to spend the day together. Eden's favorite animals were the big ones like the elephants and giraffes. She also loved the aquariums and the reptile house. I think she liked all the colors and things moving around. We carried her around in the front baby carrier and she kept making these cute noises and kick her legs and flail her arms when she would get excited about seeing something. She also liked seeing all the kids on field trips running around (I think that was probably more entertaining to her than the animals). We had a blast and she was totally worn out when we got home.
Here are some pictures from our fun family day!

Collin & Kristin

I have been meaning to post about my brother and sister-in-law, Collin & Kristin, for a while now and just now have had the chance. Two weekends ago they came into town and we hosted a baby shower for them. We also took their maternity pictures that morning. It was such a great weekend. We had so much fun spending time with them and getting to see them again. As mentioned in a previous post, Collin and Kristin used to be our neighbors, but in October they moved to Fort Worth. We have missed them so it was nice to see them! I made my first attempt at baking and decorating a cake and I think it turned out pretty good. My friend Jenni, who is an official cake decorator, gave me lots of pointers and great tips (I would have had her to do it but she doesn't live near us). The shower theme was "ABC - or alphabet." My grandfather created their baby's name (Cayden Glenn Day) out of wood and it connected like a train - it even had an engine and caboose. We put it up on the mantle and it looked so cute and went well with the theme (I didn't get any pictures of it). As Collin & Kristin opened their gifts we had whoever's gift they were opening to give a piece of advice - but the fist person had to start their advice with the letter "A", then the next person "B" etc etc. It was cute and surprisingly everyone was actually really creative and the advice was great!
We are so excited for Cayden to get here. Just another couple months and we will see his sweet face!

Here are some pictures from the weekend!

Maternity Pictures

The Alphabet Cake


I made these letters for the shower and for Collin & Kristin



Have a great week!!
-Carissa

What I woke up to this morning...

Eden usually wakes up at 4:00 to nurse and Nick gets up to get ready for work at 5:00 so I just keep Eden in our bed until she wakes up for the day. This morning she woke up around 6:30 and I was not wanting to get up so I just ignored her for a little bit. She was talking and playing and when I rolled over to talk to her, this is what I saw!!!




Isn't that so funny! She didn't have any toys to play with so she created some with her socks. She looked like a little puppy wanting to play fetch! Hehe!

-C

Our Little Pumpkin

We finally got a chance to take Eden's 6 month pictures. We figured out that Eden really does not like the grass, but luckily we had an A&M blanket in the car. We didn't have a whole lot of time but we definitely got some cute ones. Here are some of our favorites!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!
I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween! For Halloween this year we went to a block party hosted by our friends from church Tim and Mel. We didn't get to stay long because it was Eden's bedtime, but we had fun helping set up and get ready for it. For her first Halloween Eden was a little ladybug. She was so cute in her little outfit. She wasn't so fond of the hat (her little ladybug antenas) - she kept taking it off and putting it in her mouth. She did pretty good until we tried to take pictures of her. We discovered that she really does not like grass - haha. We sat her down in front of some hay bails and pumpkins they had set up in their yard, and she sat in it only for a moment before she let us know she wanted up!! On the way home from the party she cried pretty much the whole way home letting us know we kept her out a little too late.
When I was growing up, my parents created a Halloween night tradition that we always looked forward to. When we were little, we would dress up and go trick or treating, but once we were a little too old for that - we enjoyed this tradition. We would always go to our favorite chinese restaurant, Panda Garden, then go to Barnes & Noble. At the bookstore we were allowed to get one book. This was always so much fun and a great childhood memory. Since we didn't get to stay long at the block party, Nick and I ordered some chinese from Panda Garden and enjoyed a part of my family's tradition as well!!

Here are some pictures from the evening!

*ps...sorry we haven't posted Eden's 6 month photos, we are in the process of getting those done. We were suppose to do them last weekend, but Nick got sick and then passed his cold onto me, so we will have those up soon. Thanks for staying tuned!

Happy Half Birthday, Eden!

Can you believe it? Neither can we. Our little bundle of joy is now 6 months. I was watching some video we took of Eden when she was just a few weeks old and it is AMAZING how far along she has progressed since then. As of now, she is still the VERY busy girl she always has been except now she is doing the following: rolling over, grabing anything in site, jabbering (all the time), trying really hard to sit up (I give it one more week and she will be doing it on her own), scooting (she hasn't mastered the arms so it's just the legs pushing her around with her face to the floor - haha) starting solids, oh yeah and TEETHING! That's right Eden sprouted 2 teeth last week! One has come through more than the other and it's so cute. She's been quite the handful as I'm sure it bothers her, but so far not as bad as I think it probably could be. We have been so blessed by her and can't picture our lives without her. She is so much fun and it's so amazing to see her growing and learning beautifully!

Here are some pictures I took of her this morning. It was chilly which made me excited because I got to put her in this cute little outfit - perfect for the weather. Enjoy and stay tuned for Eden's 6 month photo shoot!

I've Been Tagged!

I have been tagged by my sis-in-law to post the 6th picture off the 6th file of my pictures on my computer. This is a pretty funny picture. It is a little blurry, but this is Nick and I at his fraternity's (BYX) formal in December 2006. I think it was like a couple weeks before we got married. We are so crazy on the dance floor, but we always have so much fun!!



Erin, Jenn, and Melanie...tag your it!!!!

Eden's 5 Month Photo's

Last night we took Eden's 5 month pictures. It was so fun. She did great and we got some great shots of her. We took her to this little park with fountains and pretty bridges and they turned out soo cute. Here are several from the shoot - the rest we will put up on my website in the next couple days. Click HERE to check them out!

Yummy, easy, and healthy crock pot meals!

I just LOVE my crock pot!! We use it at least twice a week. Here are some yummy recipes that are super easy!! I am all about easy recipes with easy ingredients that are pocket friendly too. So here they are...



1.) Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients:
-1 can 98% Fat free cream of chicken soup
-Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
-1 Can bisquits (any kind, I use grands or HEB brand)

Directions:
-Pour cream of chicken soup in the bottom of your crock pot
-Fill empty can of chicken soup with water, add to crock pot
and stir
-Lay chicken breasts in crock pot and sprinkle with salt and pepper
-Cook either on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 3-4 hours
-30 minutes before you eat use 2 forks to shred chicken in crock
pot, then add biquits (cut up to size of dumplings you like)and
allow to cook for 30 more minutes,then ENJOY!

2.) Pot Roast
Ingredients:
-Rump roast
-Potatoes (opt.)
-Carrots (opt.)

Directions:
-Season roast with salt & pepper or your choice of seasoning
-Place roast in crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours (My mom
cooks her's on high for like 45 minutes first and then switches to
low for the rest of the time and it's great that way, but if you
don't have time it turns out great the other way too)
-*You can also slice your potatoes and carrots and put with roast
and they turn out really yummy. ENJOY!

3.) Beef tips (Thanks to the Mosiers)
Ingredients:
-1 package stew meat
-1 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
-1 packet french onion soup mix

Directions:
-Pour can of cream of mushroom soup into crock pot
-Fill half of the empty can with water, pour in crock pot and stir
-Add stew meat and stir
-Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8
-*Serve over rice or egg noodles ENJOY!

4.) Love Soup (stew)
Ingredients:
-1 large can stewed tomatoes
-1 can tomato paste
-1 large can tomato sauce
-1 package stew meat
-2 potatoes (chopped into bite size pieces)
-1 cup carrots (chopped)
-1 cup frozen corn
-1 cup frozen green beans

Directions:
-Add all ingredients to crock pot and stir together
-Cook on low for 6-8 hours
-*Serve with Jiffy cornbread (a great fall time meal!) ENJOY!

5.) BBQ chicken sandwiches
Ingredients:
-Boneless skinless chicken breasts
-1 bottle of Masterpiece BBQ sauce

Directions:
-Place chicken in crock pot and smother with BBQ sauce
-Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours
-*You can shred this up and serve on hamburger buns or just
leave whole and eat with your favorite veggies or salad

***You can make almost any kind of chicken in the crock pot. Just buy your favorite marinade, mix together honey and mustard, or just pour some good ole' cream of mushroom on top and there you go!

- I hope you get to try these recipes and ENJOY!!

Joyfully His,
Carissa

Bittersweet

Saturday was a bittersweet day for our family. We said goodbye to my older brother and his wife Kristin and their baby on the way (Cayden). Collin and Kristin were our neighbors and we loved being so close to them. Collin took a new job in Fort Worth and I know that God has amazing things in store for them there. We will miss you guys and we love you!! Pray for them as they transition in the coming months to a new city, new job, new house, and new baby. That's a lot so keep the prayers coming!!

Love ya'll!

Carissa, Nick, and Eden

After a long day...

We CRASH!!


I just LOVE it when Eden falls asleep on my chest. It's so cute and I just want to freeze time and hold her forever.

Here are some new pictures of my sweetie pie!! Notice she is getting more hair - yay!

Having a baby changes everything!

Oh yes it does! Our lives have done a complete 360 since baby Eden arrived nearly 5 months ago. That's right, our baby girl will be 5 months next week. I can't believe it! She is growing up so fast. Here is a list of things that I have come up with about how our lives have changed since having a baby.

- Nick and I usually never eat at the same time. We have a perfectly orchestrated system where one of us holds Eden while the other eats, then switch. Usually I am first to eat because my husband is such an amazing servant!! At home it is getting better because she likes to play with her toys now, although there are some nights she is just too fussy to put down. Eating out is a little different becuase she does not like to be in her car seat if we are not in the car MOVING!

- Our house is now a baby sanctuary! We have had to move furniture out of our living room just to make room for baby toys!

- Nights usually involve about 4 feedings! I haven't had a full nights sleep since before she was born. Baby Eden likes to snuggle and eat all through the night.

- Grocery shopping is a 2 person task. I used to go to the store during the week before Eden was born and Nick never had to step foot in a grocery store, which is great because he really doesn't like it. Now, we go together on the weekends - which is fun for me because I enjoy the company. While we are talking about grocery shopping with a baby, I will share a funny story. Usually when we go to the grocery store, Nick carries Eden in the baby Bjorn front carrier and walks through the store with me as I shop. It's usually about an hour trip and the store is not that far from us. Last time we went, I left the diaper bag at home and just brought my purse. (I think you know where I am going with this story) We were almost through with our shopping when I hear Nick saying, "Uh Carissa, I think we have a problem." I immediately knew what he was referring to. I looked over and all over Nick's hands was Eden poopie! I looked down and it was seeping out of her diaper. I quickly finished my shoppig and paid for my groceries. Luckily I had brought a burp cloth so we used that to protect her car seat. When we got home it was the worst poopie diaper she has ever made. HAHA. It was all the way up to her belly button!!

- Getting ready usually takes a lot longer than it used to. I used to could go from sleep to out the door in about an hour...now it usually takes Nick and I around 2 hours to get ready for church and if I go somewhere by myself during the week when I don't have Nick's help, I usually start 3 hours before I have to leave.

- I usually don't get to take a shower until Nick gets home from work. It just gets so busy around here durig the day trying to get laundry done, dishes clean, dinner ready, and get my work done all while playing and taking care of a baby that I usually forget to shower. By the time Nick gets home from work I usually reek of breastmilk complete with spit up stains. Oh the joys of motherhood :) I have the best husband though because he still makes me feel beautiful regardless of the mess I am when he gets home.

- Dinner is usually a crock pot meal. It's been a while since I have gotten in the kitchen and cooked a meal all from scratch. I am on a crock pot kick and it just seems to work for us these days. I will share some crock pot recipes in my next post so stay tuned (they are GOOD!)

- Lastly, my body!! Oh how I would love to be back in my "skinny" jeans. Loosing the first 15 pounds of baby weight was a snap. Now I am on those last 10 pounds and it is driving me crazy. I am going to start Weight Watchers next week and I'm really excited about it. I will keep you updated on my progress.

I love our life with a baby! I wouldn't trade these things for anything else, but it makes me wonder sometimes what in the world we did before Eden was born!?!?!

What are some ways your life has changed since having a baby??

ps...stay posted for Eden's 5 month photo shoot!!

Time for an update!!

WOW! So, things have been crazy around the Vann household!!! I promised that our next post would be an update on our lives and not just pictures, so here it goes!

God has definitely been good to Carissa and I, blessing us with a beautiful and healthy baby girl is what we are most thankful for. However, we are also extremely excited to be joining a new church. We had both felt God calling us to change churches for a while and as we prayed about the decision, there was only one church that would come to mind and that church was Crossbridge Community Church. So, our first Sunday was last Sunday and from the minute we walked in the door we knew that this was where God wanted us. Carissa sang on the worship band at Crossbride in high school so we knew the worship pastor(Tim) and his wife(Melanie). They have two beautiful girls and one baby boy who is a couple of weeks older than Eden. They invited us over for dinner last Friday and we told Eden all day that she was going to have her first date!! We had a blast with them and are so excited about getting involved at this amazing church.

Eden is developing quite a personality! When you put her on her tummy she squeals, squeaks and laughs until she has had enough, then she definitely lets you know she is done! We are pretty sure she is beginning the teething process. She is CONSTANTLY drooling and chewing on her hands. When we go out, her outfits are usually soaked before we get to our destination from all of the drool!! It's hard to believe that she is already four months old!! Time is flying by so fast. Here are pictures from her four month photo shoot. (Didn't Nick do a great job with these!!)









We have two new babies arriving soon. Collin and Kristin, Carissa's brother and sister in law, and Carissa's best friend Hayley and her husband Alex are also having a baby. Both are due in January within a week of each other. When we found out we were pregnant we kind of felt alone in the process as most of our friends had decided to wait a couple of years before they began the endeavor, so we were incredibly excited to find out about the new babies!! Collin & Kristin and Hayley & Alex both find out today if they are having a boy or a girl. So far we have heard from Hayley and Alex and they are having a BOY!!! Possibly Eden's future husband? Are arranged marriages legal in the US???
Check out Collin and Kristins blog to find out what they are having!!

(Collin and Kristin)


Last but not least Carissa turned 24!! WAHOO!! On August 1st my beautiful and amazing wife turned 24! She said this was the first year that she wrote her age on the calender and felt her heart skip a beat!! We spent the evening celebrating with friends and family at the Cheesecake Factory. It was a great time!! I am so blessed to have her as my wife and partner in parenting. She is the most incredible Mom and it has been a true blessing to watch her with Eden.



We both feel so thankful to have found an amazing church, been blessed with a beautiful baby girl and have friends and family to go through the trials of parenthood with. God always provides for us exactly what we need and we are so greatful to have someone much bigger and sovreign then ourselves to trust in!
Beyond Blessed- Nick and Carissa (this post was a joint effort) :)

Oh how I miss Jamaica!

Last night our neighbors, Aaron and Heather, came over to visit for a little while. When they walked in I noticed how tan they both were. They had just recently been to the beach and fishing and it got me missing being able to lay out or go to the beach. This summer has definitely been different with an infant around! I wouldn't trade this summer for anything, but I do miss being able to go out in the hot Texas sun every once in a while! For our honeymoon, Nick and I went to Jamaica! It was a blast and I am dreaming I am there today!! :)