fa la la la la, la la la la!

Today, Ashley, Karl, Joe and I went to get our Christmas trees at a local "choose and cut" Christmas tree farm! (btw, Ashley's doctor told her she expects her to go into labor on Monday- wooooo!!) We drank hot chocolate, wandered around acres of trees and picked two perfect ones!

I swear to the Lord above, this girl is going to have Quin any freaking moment now.

I thought the candy-cane-striped saw was a cute touch! That's Joe in the background dragging our tree to the road for pick-up!

The tree (and Joe) looked funny all tied up in the living room!

PW's Pumpkin Caramel Gingersnap Cheesecake

... has changed my life. You should totally make this TODAY for your Thanksgiving meal!
Here are a few pics (Who do I think I am? PW herself?)!

First you make the crust! (pecans, gingersnaps, butter, salt, brown sugar)

Then you press it into your 10" springform pan

While that's in the fridge for 30 mins, you mix up the cream cheese, sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs and spices... and drink a diet coke while you do it- because it's late and you're looking at all this food and starting to drool.

Here's what the mix looks like before you put it in the crust.

and because it's Thanksgiving, and you never do it any other time, go ahead and cover the crust with caramel (and sprinkle pecans, too- I forgot to take a pic of that)

and pour the filling in.... mmmm....

Don't let the caramel somehow drip into the bottom of the oven. It's not fun, it doesn't smell nice and it's tough to clean up.

When it comes out of the oven after baking it at 350 for 1 hr 15 minutes, it looks like this! (yes, there are some cracks and yes it did develop a larger crack later, but no one cared. It was THAT good.)

Last step- after cooling it on the counter for 30 minutes, pour caramel over the top and smooth it out.

Then cover it with saran wrap and pop it in the fridge for 4 hours or (better yet) overnight.

I should really de-clutter that fridge huh?
AND being my doofus self, I totally forgot to take a pic of it right before we ate it, but here's a pic of the leftovers this morning.. when I may or may not have eaten a small piece of it for breakfast. What? Who?

I didn't listen to PW when she said not to put whipped cream... I totally did and it was amazing.

In his words:

"Three doctors said I wouldn't make it, but one said I had a chance. I guess God wants me to stick around for something... probably to annoy Carolyn (my grandmama)."

I went by their house yesterday and he was home visiting- walking around! Without a walker!
It is so good to finally see him back to normal! We are so blessed.

So thankful...

Grandaddy is scheduled to come home Thanksgiving morning!

Joe and I have so much to be thankful for!

Also, I love Cohen

Check out those eyes! (only a little Photoshopped!)

Preparing for Quin

This weekend I had the priviledge of doctumenting Ashley and Karl's journey to become parents. These two people hold such a speacial place in my heart and I cannot imagine anything greater than to be a part of their son Quin's life and for them to be a part of my future children's lives.
I have known Karl since I was 14 and since the day I met him my first day at a new school, he has been one of the most caring, kind and hilarious people I have ever met. He has always been a dear friend of mine and I love him as I love my 4 brothers (probably more, to be truthful- he never tried to beat me up!)

When I met Ashley, she and Karl had been engaged for a month.

We were on a camping trip in Brevard, NC- it was 15 degrees and we were in the woods with nothing but firewood, crystal light and a handle of vodka.
Bonding ensued. Ever since, Ashley and I have been extremely close. We have the same weirdo sense of humor and love of all things baby, Hobby Lobby and Martha Stewart.

In April of this past year, I called Ashley pretty concerned- I hadn't heard from her in about a week and was getting worried. I called Karl since I couldn't get her on the phone and he assured me that all was well, she was just really busy with school and work. A few minutes after I got of the phone with him, Ashley called. She told me that the reason she hadn't called back is because she had something to tell me...

"I am definitely.... with child."

I don't think I've screamed so loud into my phone before. Ever since that day, I have been the one that wanted to hear everything about the pregnancy (being baby-obsessed myself), who wanted to help clean up and organize the baby's room, who was willing to do baby laundry and sit and talk. Willing, even to help name the baby! One summer afternoon we were discussing how this child, being male, was going to be the 5th in a line of KJMs. Not wanting to go with either the K or the J name, we finally googled all of the different roots and languages for the word "five" or "fifth". By that afternoon, everyone was settled on Quin.

Karl and Ashley are amazing people who are going to be amazing parents. Here are a few of the pics that we took this weekend.

...more of Callie (and her mama)!

I have 3 concerts coming up to prepare for and my cheerleaders are wrapping up football season tomorrow so I've been a little preoccupied with school, and therefore don't have much to post about lately... But here are a few more pics of the Callie Bug (un-photoshopped so far) to last until I get to take more pics and/or something thrilling happens in my life. :)