painting pumpkins is wayyy more fun than carving them.

Y'all, I LOVE fall. Love pumpkins. Love all things orange. And, I love when we have our pumpkin painting event at our Chick-fil-A. There were so, so many cute kids and the weather was beautiful... until is rained for 30 minutes, but overall it was a great night out on the patio. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the evening...

A truck full of pumpkins, and it was very important to find the perfect one!

Oh. My. So. Dang. Cute.

This little man was so very intent on his paint that he didn't even notice he now had a green mustache. Adorable. 

Little Miss Strawberry Shortcake would have painted every single pumpkin we had if her Mama would have allowed her!

Check out that face. so cute. 

Some great looking fall masterpieces! 

Happy Halloween! 

Proud to be a Tiger

Not only am I so stinkin' proud to be a Clemson fan this season because we are fun to watch in football, but I am also SO very thankful for the wonderful friends that Jay and I have from our days in Tiger Town. Wonderful college memories and more great memories of our weekend reunions since graduating.

Several of us traveled to Maryland last weekend to hold our breath as the Tigers had a scoring battle against the Terps. It was an amazing, nail-bitter of a game, but more importantly it was fun to all be together. And let me tell you, we know how to tailgate...

 Steve Spangler was our grill master - he made sliders and it was yummy as always!

 I learned that I am officially TERRIBLE at Corn Hole, but please check out my husband's face... oh my. He was the complete opposite of terrible, and as usual was very competitive and quite the corn hole champ. 

Look at that form - mad skills :)

Love, love, love this crew! They seriously are some of my favorite people. And I am also a fan of all that orange! We had such a great weekend catching up, laughing and pulling our Tigers to a win! (By the way, we are 8 - 0! Whoop!)

 My sweet college roommates... this picture makes me smile so very much! Baby Girl is going to love her Aunt Nicole & Aunt Leigha at next year's tailgate reunion! 

** A side note: most pictures borrowed from Nicole & John's photos!

three years.

I love that I have been married to Jay for 3 whole years! I have been thinking about our wedding day today and it feels like it was just yesterday. Some of the details are so beautifully etched into my memory that I remember exactly how I felt and what I was thinking. {I really hope I never forget these vivid memories of our special day!}

I have also been thinking about how drastically different our day to day lives are from what I imagined 3 years ago. In a good way. Just so much has changed and continues to change and it sorta makes it feel like we have always been married. Weird how memories and feelings are that way, huh?

I think I have said to Jay {about 10 times already} "Did you think that we would be doing this right now three years ago?" Of course he says no and laughs at me for the tenth time. Of course we have no idea what we will be doing 3 years from now, but as long as we are married and together to celebrate I will be a content and happy girl. I love to celebrate and take advantage of almost any and every excuse! Our marriage is at the top of my "Love to Celebrate" list.

Our "celebration" this year looks totally different from our prior travel based anniversary celebrations. We love to travel and are still trying to come up with at least a quick overnight trip to mark 3 years. Life if just so busy and there are lots of prior commitments that get in the way {not the least of which is this silly little girl in my belly who has made her mommy feel very yucky and very un-willing to spend money on an extravagant trip}. Jay and I have had time to talk and go to dinner and reflect on our life and dream about our goals, and as long as we continue to do that we can stay in Waynesboro and stare at one another :)

We also looked through our wedding album this morning and I wanted to share a few of my favorites...

I am blessed by my husband!

We're All Things PINK These Days!

Guess What!?!?
WE ARE HAVING A GIRL!!!! 
Super excited is putting it mildly. Pretty sure I would have felt the same way if I was announcing that we were having a Boy because more importantly every inch of our little blessing looking completely healthy to our Doctor on the ultrasound. It was music to my ears. 


With that said, I know it is an ultrasound and we could really be having a Boy, but the Doctor was very confident it was a Girl even though the ultrasound was at 14 weeks. 


Now we are discussing and debating and stressing a little over little girls names... we had the boy name of course but our little trouble maker is a girl so back to the drawing board. Everything we throw around seems just okay... I know if I am patient the right name will come to us and it will be simply perfect. 


When the doctor told us that we were having a daughter, my sweet husband prompting informed me that he knew he had purchased that last shot gun in August for a reason. He is already one protective Daddy! 


Oh, and I have a quick, funny Baby Girl story... During our ultrasound, you could see her mouth moving constantly...I mean non-stop! The doctor kept telling us that she is talking away in there and that we are going to have quite the talker on our hands! Haha! Can't wait to meet our little chatterbox :) 

Breaking News from our Hawk's Nest: We're Growing!

Its been a-w-h-i-l-e! I have missed writing in this little blog so much. I have good reason though, and I am pretty positive you will forgive me, and I am working through not being frustrated with myself for failing to keep up with our lives via blog. Anyway, on to the breaking news! Ready?

We are having a BABY! 

I am typing those words and it still shocks me that I am talking about me and Jay. oh my. parents!?! Yup, thats us, mom and dad... wow.

We are SO excited, and a little scared, slightly overwhelmed, and very, very blessed. Jay and I began praying this summer that when we did decide to start trying to have a baby that it wouldn't be a stressful, challenging time... little did we know that God was about to rock our world with quite a surprise. I have had some thyroid and other hormone problems over the past year and we honestly didn't think a baby was possible until things were more leveled out. This was fine with us,  because in our neat little life plan we had fixing up our new house next on the to - do list {not buying baby furniture!} In the middle of August we figured out that we should have been praying for our little one and not for the possibility of a little one!

We mainly feel so blessed because God has given us a child in his time, not ours. What a relief, because my neat little life lists never work out anyway. We are just trusting God's timing and thankful for His hand in our lives.

You want the basic short and simple fact list?

Due Date: April 4th, 2012
How far along now: Almost 12 weeks!
Boy/ Girl: Jay thinks Girl, and I think I am thinking Boy... I think about it for to long and convince myself of the opposite. A doctor in our OBGYN is a ultrasound specialist so we should hopefully find out in a week and a half!
Family Reactions: THRILLED! They are all so excited and we are beyond blessed to have their love and support in our lives.
Morning Sickness: oh. my. It is all day sickness and it has been kicking my butt! It was been so, very terrible and kinda scary at times. I keep trying to remind myself that great things take lots of hard work... and Satan likes to steal all the joy from things that God has ordained. Jay and my sweet Mama have been taking good care of me and our little one.

Anyone have any tips, thoughts, or suggestions? This new mama is itching for all the information I can get!

No Bake Cookies!

Hi, my name is Katherine and I am exhausted. Too exhausted to blog recently, and too exhausted to tackle the project of editing all the many before and after photos of our newly painted up-stairs. So instead I made cookies. But to be honest I was too exhausted to even make cookies that you bake, so alas No Bake Cookies!

I am sure you have had a delicious variety of No Bake Cookies in the your life, and you may even have your own recipe {if so please share... always looking for different variations to try!} but this is our recipe and they always turn out awesome. They are Jay's favorite, and I love that they are so simple and easy!

One of my roommates from college, Leigha, made these cookies often, and I still think of her when I make them :)

3 Cups of Rolled Oats

2/3 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter

1/2 Cup Butter

2 Cups Sugar

1/3 Cup Cocoa

1/2 Cup Milk

2 tsp Vanilla

First, measure out your Oats & your Peanut Butter and set them aside. Also get a couple of cookie sheets covered with wax paper or aluminum foil will work too. {Makes for really easy clean up!} 

Melt Butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add Sugar and stir to combine. Add Milk, Cocoa, & Vanilla. Once mixed well, add Peanut Butter, stirring until melted. 

Remove from Heat and add Oats. Quickly drop spoonfuls onto cookie sheets and cool on the counter or in the refrigerator. Makes 4 dozen cookies. Enjoy!

our life updates in a random list.

1. WE CLOSED ON OUR HOUSE! A week ago today we signed the papers and became legit homeowners. We are thrilled and loving having our first Virginia home! {On a side note it took me 2.7 seconds to walk inside the door of our new house, up the stairs, and begin tearing Mickey Mouse off of our bathroom walls.}                                                                        

2. We have now begun what I am fondly calling "de-gold-ifying" our home. It basically consists of removing every inch of lighting, kitchen hardward, door knobs, outlet covers, and anything else you could imagine being gold in a 1980's home from our sight. It is freeing and uplifting to my soul. 

3. Earlier this week, around midnight, Jay and I decided it would be much easier to simply throw our almost-shag teal carpet out the second story bonus room window onto the driveway, instead if hauling it down the stairs and through the kitchen to the garage. It was MUCH easier! And its gone! Every inch of ugly carpet is gone. As for our rational in the timing, I really am still unsure as to why we began this at such an odd hour. I think we were hoping our neighbors would be asleep and unaware of the craziness of their newest neighbors. 

4. I am going to Bolivia. A woman at our new church opened a hospital in Santa Cruz, Bolivia about 10 years ago called Mission of Hope. I am blessed with the opportunity to go for a week in september in a surgical trip with about 30 other nurses, surgeons, and translators to assist with GYN and General Surgery procedures. 

5. I am obsessed with my new Shark Vac then Steam Mop! It seriously has revolutionized my cleaning. I know that sounds intense but it has been that amazing. It is SO easy to use and gets up lots of dog hairs and crumbs and house remodeling dust. The steam heats up quick and you just throw the mop portion in the washing machine and reuse. I really am unsure as to how I lived without this vacuum for so long. 

6. I get to meet my sweet nephew in less than 2 months! I'm counting down the days till our little Gavin arrives :)

7. No Pudge Brownies are rocking my world. My bff Kate told me about this bright pink box of single serving brownies and I am in love. It is a quick, 1 person dessert that is semi-healthy and easy to make. 1 scoop of plain yogurt, 2 scoops of brownie mix, and 1 minute in the microwave. Try. It. Tonight. 

8. My biblestudy just started a new book and it is so great so far. Have you heard of "Bad Girls of the Bible"? Just like the above brownies, it has also been rocking world. I am extremely blessed by having a group of women who enjoy fellowship and God Word! 

9. This blog has been such a fun way for me to keep a log of all the adventures and changes and updates to our life. It always amazes and humbles me when I hear people share with me {in real life or in blog world} that they enjoyed reading my ramblings and thoughts and projects. If you read my tiny little blog, I would love to have you as a follower and to hear from you too! Just click on the followers link {and I will do a little dance in our newly painted un-mickey mouse house!} Thanks :)

10. House update photos coming very soon!  

Chick-fil-A "Unplugged"

One of my favorite events from our crazy 1 year anniversary celebration at Chick-fil-A was our "Unplugged" concert. Bethany had a vision and it was awesome! If I didn't think she loved us so much, I would be concerned she was pursuing a full-time job in concert planning. 

We had four awesome bands / musicians play and they all did amazing. Caleb from the band Brightwork joined us {and if you've never heard of them you should most definitely check them out!}. We also had a few of the Young Life leaders in the area who are students are JMU play with some of their high school students from Waynesboro HS. Nathan & Justin Williams who work for us at Chick-fil-A are super talented and played with two of their friends from church. It was a great variety and so fun to hear all the awesome talent. 

It was such a successful night and so many people in the community enjoyed the event that we are planning another Chick-fil-A Unplugged part 2 for October!

Also, all these neat photos were captured by Bethany!