Our Week In Photos (and scroll to the bottom for a semi-lame request....)

Yay for normal life! Parker started back to school last Tuesday and we have been enjoying the routine again. 

I actually don't have many photos from the last week--whoops.

Here's what I've got:

Lily the photographer. 

We made another trip to the fire truck park on the last day of Christmas break and had a picnic. The weather was perfect and the kids were happy (for the most part). 

We had a BIG day on Saturday because Bryan turned the BIG 3-2! Are we really that old?

We celebrated him with homemade lasagna and Texas sheet cake. 

We sure are thankful for him!!!! He is my favorite.

Our other treat of the weekend was having a very spontaneous overnight visit from the one and only Nonnie! My Mom had flown into Dallas to drive down and see my grandparents, but she also surprised the kids and gave us all a day of fun.

She was there for Bryan's birthday celebration and was also there to sit with us and watch the Cowboys lose (not the best birthday gift!). She also went to church and Uncle Julio's with us before heading off. (And have us lots of play/rest time!)

I am fairly certain my kids wore her out! But I'm also sure she loved it!

Parker was very upset when my Mom had to leave on Sunday night and the next morning when I went in his room to make his bed I found the book that my sister made him to show where our family lives propped open to the Colorado page. So darn sweet!

Other things that happened that I have no photographic evidence of and/or feel are worth the mention:

1. I went to see the Rachel Hollis documentary with my friend Aubree and it was SO good. She also texted to tell me that Rachel announced she is coming to Dallas for a RISE Conference! Anyone want to give me $200 so I can go? ;) (KIDDING.)

2. My friend Tara told us about a new podcast called The Bible Recap that gives you a reading plan to read the Bible through chronologically in one year and provides recaps to listen to after each reading. I'M DOING IT. I'm so pumped! I've attempted to read the Bible through about 45 times and always quit.

Anyways. It is very good and very interesting so far! I highly recommend checking it out on your preferred podcast app and catching up! Tara Leigh Cobble is the host and she is hilarious and just happens to live in Dallas and I'm really thinking there are too many people around this place that I could potentially stalk. ;)

3. Lily is sitting in my lap "talking" on my phone about birthdays and yelling "Bryan! I can't hear you!" Um, where on earth did she get that? (Insert raised hand lady and embarrassed emoji face here!)

4. I made a very tasty one-pot pasta dish last night that was deemed good enough to go in the recipe binder! It is called Creamy Sausage and Spinach Pasta and it is DARN GOOD. I found the recipe right here via Pinterest. (Maybe use normal tomatoes instead of the green chile mix if you don't like spice!)

(via)

5. I finished a book! And I may have read it in one day! Oops. This is why my reading is so sporadic....that whole "live a normal life and be a good mother" thing really gets in the way! Ha. BUT SERIOUSLY. I loved "Where The Crawdads Sing" just about as much as I can love a book. I keep thinking about the characters and I finished it a week ago. It's a little slow to start but the writing is superb (one of those where you feel like you are there because the setting is described so well) and it's got a good mix of heartbreak, young love, and mystery. All good things. 

6. OH!!! IMPORTANT: I've been hard at work on my Etsy shop! It's still FOR SURE a work in progress, but to anyone reading this: could you pretty please click on the link below and click around in the listings in my shop and spend time looking at them??? I know, such a weird request (!) but Etsy analytics and algorithms rank listings in search based on how many times they are viewed and how long each person stays on a particular page and since I don't have a single item from my old shop still listed, I'm really needing some help! 

Pretty please click over to my shop RIGHT HERE. Thank youuuuuu!!!

On a side note: Lily has now moved on from making phone calls to "taking selfies" and then saying things like, "Awwwwww, dat's so cute!"

Bye!!

Our Week In Photos (And A Recipe!)

Last week was a sweet and normal little week over here at the Roberts household. We did a few Christmas-y things (on Friday night we went to Christmas At The Star but I'll do another post for that whole thing later), and have been having so much fun!

And now on to my random photos.

Last weekend I stayed up late to make these babies....

Buttermilk pie is probably my favorite dessert and definitely my favorite pie. Also, it's super easy! Here is the quick recipe:

Ingredients: (Makes 2 pies)

-6 eggs, beaten

-3 1/4 cups sugar

-1/2 cup butter, melted

-1 tsp vanilla

-1 cup buttermilk

-1/2 cup flour

-1/2 tsp salt

-2 unbaked 9" pie crusts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients and pour into pie crusts. Bake for one hour or until pies are solid all the way through. Enjoy with a big cup of coffee! 

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While they were in the oven, I finally sat down and watched the last two episodes (insert crying face) of Poldark. All I will say is: EMOTIONAL. And: DRAMATIC. I am so sad that I have to wait a whole stinkin' year to see Ross and Demelza again (and my favorite good guy, Dwight!)

We made a chilly trip to the park early in the week and watched Hayes be cute and Lily be crazy and helped Parker find GIANT acorns that now live in a pretty bowl on my nightstand. 

I made oven-baked tacos on Tuesday night (one of my favorite easy Taco Tuesday recipes) and just had to take a photo of our Christmas plates (from Target, of course.) This is our second year with these plates and the kids love them and go around the table at every meal time talking about which design they got. I can see them becoming little sentimental treasures for Christmases way in the future!

Lilybug was a busy-bug all week. I couldn't resist taking a photo of this little moment. Cudding and "co-win" as she says (aka: coloring).

Hayes has loved waking up to find new presents under the tree and inspects each and every one of them every morning. It is super cute and he is so happy that he has TWO presents (he really has three under there, but he doesn't believe me). 

I let the kids play with play-doh a few times last week so I guess I'm feeling really good about my Mom status right now. Nonnie got Hayes a play-doh set for his birthday that included tiny soldier molds, but he calls them "babies". Hayes is OBSESSED with them and let me tell you, it is hilarious to hear him talk about "making babies". "I'm good at making babies!", "Aw Lily, you made a girl baby!", "Mom, can you make a baby?" (I'm sorry, is this inappropriate? I hope not! I just think it's so cute and gives me a good laugh during the day!)

We've been getting our first Christmas cards in this week and Lily took some time to gaze at her Lubbock "baby boyfriend", Easton. We miss his cute little face!

On Thursday night, we listened to Christmas music (mostly the "Christmas Eve" song by Trans-Siberian Orchestra which is quickly becoming my LEAST favorite song because it is all the kids want to listen to) and made salt dough ornaments for the kids Christmas tree. This made my list of "semi-stressful experiences", but we got it done and no one cried. Ha!

And that's all I've got! Oh, I also had my Mom to Mom Christmas Brunch on Wednesday morning which was a really sweet time. I am so thankful to have been welcomed into this group--it is at this point, my only real "girl time" each week and I need every bit I can get!