Oh hey! It's me...I'm sorry I totally fell off the planet for four weeks... I guess that's what a newborn will do to you. How, with this being our third child, I didn't anticipate that, I don't know but I didn't. So thanks for being so gracious when I totally didn't finish with the Christmas Carols posts when I REALLY REALLY wanted to. Maybe a goal for this year {Christmas is only 347 days away you know...}. So Happy New Year! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas season and rang in the new year with great flair! I was asleep by 10:30 so I didn't see the great crystal ball drop, but I was up at 2:30 a.m. if that counts for anything... I'm back...or at least, I'm trying to BE back. Emory is almost eight weeks old now (can't believe it really) and I'm getting myself prepped to go back to work in the next few weeks. Before Christmas, literally right after Emory was born, I had someone from Basic Invite reach out to me and ask if I'd be willing to review their stationery... Um, yes. I told him that I am a BIG fan of stationery and would love to see their product(s). He sent me the info and here's what I have to say about them. {If you want to check them out, there's a link over there on the right →} And y'all know what I fan I am of both stationery and a certain few stationery shops. Basic Invite is amazing. Seriously. I was sitting in my room pumping (sorry if that's TMI), looking at the sample kit I'd received in the mail and I truly got school-girl excited. The paper. The colors. The peel and seal envelopes. Really, they had me at peel... So then I got on the site to design a dedication invite for Emory and it was such a great experience! So.many.options. I started off with this invite: Then, I discovered that you can change EVERYTHING. The colors!! Basic Invite LOVES color, which is why you literally have a rainbow of colors to choose from for all aspects of the invitations. Love it or they will either reprint your order … [Read more...]
Christmas Carols : O Holy Night
I remember it like it was yesterday, when Celine Dion's Christmas album came out in 1998. I was 18 years old and I listened to her cd on repeat that Christmas season. The most beautiful voice singing one of the most beautiful Christmas songs ever written. Two forces combined into one...and I couldn't get enough of O Holy Night. Here it is for your enjoyment: Celine Dion : O Holy Night. O holy night! The stars are brightly shining It is the night of the dear Savior's birth! Long lay the world in sin and error pining Till he appear'd and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary soul rejoices For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn! Fall on your knees Oh hear the angel voices Oh night divine Oh night when Christ was born Oh night divine Oh night divine Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming Here come the wise men from Orient land The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger In all our trials born to be our friend Truly He taught us to love one another His law is love and His gospel is peace Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother And in His name all oppression shall cease Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, Let all within us praise His holy name Just 4 days to go until Christmas! I hope as we near the celebration of our Savior's birth that you await His coming! … [Read more...]
Christmas Carols : Silent Night
One of the greatest Christmas Carols, that points us straight to the Savior, is Silent Night. The one often sung at the end of a Christmas Eve service, with candles lit throughout the sanctuary, it is one of the most memorable and moving moments of the service for me and often brings me to tears. The version of this song that I am sharing tonight isn't one that would typically be sung at a Christmas Eve service...but it is one of my favorites of Silent Night. I hope you enjoy this rendition by Mercy Me. Mercy Me : Silent Night Silent night, holy night! All is calm, all is bright. Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child. Holy infant so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace Silent night, holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight. Glories stream from heaven afar Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia, Christ the Savior is born! Christ the Savior is born Silent night, holy night! Son of God love's pure light. Radiant beams from Thy holy face With dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus Lord, at Thy birth Jesus Lord, at Thy birth … [Read more...]
Christmas Carols : Do You Hear
We had our Carols, Candlelight and Communion service last night at church and first of all, it was beautiful. I'm used to a service like that, on Christmas Eve, and wanting it to make the Christmas celebration longer. Having the service last night was amazing, and made this week of Christmas start off with so much more meaning than so many years in the past. As I laid in bed last night thinking back over the service and the songs we sang, I contemplated Christmas Carols. Carols are songs or hymns whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas, and typically sung at the time of Christmas. Christmas as you know, is a celebration of Christ's birth. It's not about Santa, or the Elf on the Shelf, or presents or anything else. It's about Jesus. So...to continue my own heart's worship of this week of Christmas, and the celebration of our Savior's birth, I thought I would share a Christmas Carol with you each day this week. All pending, of course, on the cooperation of one tiny human who is currently lying by my side... Today's Carol is Do You Hear What I Hear: Said the night wind to the little lamb, Do you see what I see Way up in the sky, little lamb, Do you see what I see A star, a star, dancing in the night With a tail as big as a kite With a tail as big as a kite Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy, Do you hear what I hear Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy, Do you hear what I hear A song, a song, high above the trees With a voice as big as the sea With a voice as big as the sea Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king, Do you know what I know In your palace warm, mighty king, Do you know what I know A Child, a Child shivers in the cold Let us bring Him silver and gold Let us bring Him silver and gold Said the king to the people everywhere, Listen to what I say Pray for peace, people everywhere! Listen to what I say The Child, the Child, sleeping in the night He will bring us goodness and light He will bring … [Read more...]
Welcoming Emory
Our sweet Emory is now a month old! And it's about time I shared with you his birth story. Some of you know that we went in for our check on November 9th and were told that he was "a big baby" and our doctor recommended a growth check for the following week's appointment. On Wednesday November 16th we had an ultrasound done and he was weighing in at 7lb 2oz. That part was fine. What the doctor wasn't as comfortable with was the fluid in his little kidneys. Since the first ultrasound where we found out that "Almond" was a boy, we knew there was fluid in his kidneys. Something we were told was "typical of little boys" and to not be worried about it. Well, in this ultrasound, his left kidney seemed to be holding more fluid than it should. We found that out when sweet Dr. Wilcox walked into my room and promptly said, "Well! We need to get this baby out! Tomorrow or Friday?!" You see, they were only comfortable with about 1 cm of fluid in those kidneys and his left was well over that limit. This was her way of saying it's time. Huh!!!? I'm sure she loved the stupid /stumped look on my face. Say What? Excuse me, "M'am?!" I think Andrew and I laughed nervously a little. And then I said something really dumb like, "This literally is the busiest weekend of our lives!" Of course, she inquired. Thursday we had our annual oyster roast. Friday night was our annual Festival of Trees, of which I had ordered a GORGEOUS dress from rent the runway...and also Andrew was to be a greeter for an hour... Saturday the Lucas men were planning to go the USC football game. Sunday was to be our anniversary. Monday night we also had a dinner to attend. So you see, the timing here was not perfect. Ha. Is it ever? So we contemplated. Andrew even asked if we could wait until Monday to induce. She stated she would go check the schedule and let us talk while she left the room. We both sort of stared at each other. And … [Read more...]
Our Sixth Anniversary
Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that Andrew and I have only been married six years now. Other, rarer times, it seems like we just got married and then all these kids appeared out of nowhere. Yesterday was our sixth anniversary, and while the time has been short but long, it's been a wonderful six years. Of course we've had our growing pains, and learning about each others' buttons, but there has been more joy and laughter in these six years than so many more before them. So in preparing for our anniversary, knowing that the potential of our 3rd child being born at any moment around the date, I had to start working on Andrew's gift early. I don't know about you, but we're the type that like to know what the gift idea or traditional gift options are...Hallmark has a great anniversary gift resource in case you need one. Year six is iron. IRON?! You may say to yourself....yes, iron. As I contemplated what to get Andrew, a friend had some suggestions: a golf club - an "iron" if you will. A new grill? Some kind of sign? I was feeling a little clueless. Then Andrew and I had lunch together one day {it must have been a blue moon...} and talked about our anniversary and potential gifts. He told me that Pinterest offered 1,000+ ideas for your sixth anniversary where iron is the traditional gift. I found a really cute, funny card...Thanks for being my Iron Man it said...so I followed the link to Etsy and purchased it! Then I found a cheeky little gift via ScoutMob My husband loves his one scoop of ice cream at night, often just a little spoon full so this was perfect! The last of the items on this little gift list is one that I think is amazing. The guy who makes these tools used to have a son at our daycare and as the world of social media goes, I found out about his website, Wildlife Workshop Fire Tools. So I inquired about a grill spatula... and yes, it's monogrammed... Aside from these gifts, I also gave him a new … [Read more...]
Grammy’s Homemade Southern Biscuits
This is for my co-worker friend Ashley who asked me one day how I make biscuits... I can't remember how old I was when my mom first taught me how to make biscuits, but I can remember how excited I was to be IN HER KITCHEN. My mom didn't often let me in there as a kid, so the night she first introduced me to biscuit-making, it was something to be cherished. I remember standing there in the kitchen of my childhood home, with that old beat-up aluminum pan {they still have it...and one day I hope I get it!}, with all the ingredients set before me... She told me step-by-step what to do...and I was so excited to be making biscuits that night for my daddy! You can make these without a cast-iron skillet...but you'll be missing that crispy bottom if you do! Take a paper towel, cover your fingers with it and get you a nice glob of Crisco to cover the bottom and sides of your skillet. Next, with your sifter in a bowl, use a generous-sized spoon {mine belonged to my Nama and is larger than a soup spoon, but smaller than today's serving spoons}. I usually spoon out 6-8 heaps of Self-Rising flour {pending on how many biscuits you want to make!}. Sift up the flour {don't spin the handle completely around!!!! Just use a back and forth motion...} Once your flour is sifted, grab a fork and that Crisco again and scoop out another generous size {who needs actual measurements anyway?!} With your fork, knead the Crisco into the flour so that you end up with some good crumbles Once you've mixed those two together, you'll add your milk. This is where I would get into trouble as a kid...start off slowly so you don't end up soupy! Ha! Mix as you go so you can anticipate how much more milk you're going to need. Adding more milk will get you the consistency almost like a scone batter. You want the dough just tacky enough to be able to work it into the balls to press into biscuits. Next, grab a little flour to dust on your fingers and then … [Read more...]
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