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!!