Valentine's & Garlic Ranch Chicken

A late Happy Valentine's Day to yall! Mr. Parker had a great first Valentine's Day. His daddy wasn`t too sure when I said I was making a V-Day applique shirt, but I assured him it would be boyish.

I mean what could be more boyish then a dump truck?

Parker was invited to a Valentine's Day party that morning. As you can see from the picture, he had a lot of Valentine's! The little girl who is right in the middle (Red & white top w/ white bow) is Parker's birthday twin, Ansley.

On to The Parker Report, we have now moved into our big boy seat. He is still not too sure about it. Every time now I go to put him in it, he cries. But he is now getting use to falling asleep in it, so that is good. We are still rear facing though, and will be I guess they say now till 2 years old.

This is the week before we put it in. I was trying to get him use to it.

If you look very close (sorry it is a blurry photo) you can see Mr. Parker's first tooth! As of last night the second one has broke through right next to it, but you can`t really see it yet.

I just like this photo because I love me some baby feet!

On to the Garlic Ranch Chicken. My sisters, Mother & I are doing a Freezer Dinner exchange today. Each person picks a dinner, prepares it, puts it in some type of freezer safe container, & then gives one to each family. So I will have my meal & then 3 other freezer meals. The food is not cooked, you still have to take it out to thaw & then cook it. But the step of having to prepare the meal is already done. We prepared meals for 5 families (your own family included). This is our first go at it. From what I have read,  a lot of groups do this once a month. I got my recipe from Fabulessly Frugal.

What you need:
For each family - 4 chicken breast, 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of mayo, 1 packet of Ranch dressing mix, & 2 Tablespoons of minced garlic. You will also need gallon sized freezer bags & a sandwich size bag.

Since I did 5 families I timed everything by 5 (20 chicken breast, 5 cups of milk, etc.)

I combined all the ingredients (except the chicken) in a bowl.

Then you take 1/2 cup of the mixture & place it in the sandwich size bag.

Next I put 4 chicken breast in the gallon bag & poured reaming mix into the bag. Lastly you put the sandwich bag into the gallon bag with the chicken & mix. Yes, sounds funny but you put the sandwich bag inside of it. The first time I read it I was like, "ummmm"?? Then stick it in the freezer for later!

I wrote on each gallon sized bag what you do to cook it. Thaw, remove the sandwich bag & stick in fridge. Broil or grill the chicken. Take the mix from the sandwich bag & brush the chicken with it about 5 min. before cook time is up. I`ll show pictures when I actually cook it.


Exciting news for myself, I finally bought SewWhatPro! Matt gave me my embroidery/sewing machine for my 25th birthday. For those who do not embroider I`ll explain a short way. When I wanted to put Parker's name on a shirt I would have to embroider each letter by it's self. Then I would have to make sure I calculated where each letter went. If I was off his name could be not centered or crooked. Really hard & really annoying! The SewWhatPro is going to make my life sooooo much easier! I go on the program & do it all right there, no headache!! So, needless to say, Parker is going to be sporting all my appliques finally I bought for him!

Larry the Cable Guy

http://www.history.com/shows/only-in-america-with-larry-the-cable-guy/episodes/

Above is the link for Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy episode guide. On this episode the Lightsey's ranch is being featured. Their angle is that Central Florida is an unlikely place for a cattle ranch. Which if you are from here, isn`t strange at all. But we have to remember everyone thinks that Florida is just Disney and the beaches.

Anyways, my father, Dr. Gukich (a vet), should be appearing on the episode. I think he shows Larry how to get sperm from a bull or something of that gross nature! It airs Feb. 22nd at 9:00pm, so check it out!

Parks & May May

Parker loves when his cousin, Maysen, gets the hiccups. This is a video of him cracking up every time Maysen hiccups.

Parker's Christening

Parker was Christened at the beginning of this month. This is the church my great-grandparents came to when they first came here from Yugoslavia. My grandmother, father, my sisters & I were all Christened here too.


Parker's Godparents Kendal & Jen. Kendal & Matt grew up together, Jen & I were room mates our freshmen year of college. They are great Christian role models for Parker!

During the service, Parker is wearing Matt's dedication outfit from when he was little. It was alittle snug!

Father Tom Christening Parker

He did really good through the whole thing!

The Brown, Gukich, Lawson, Pumphery, Turner, & Willliams families and Parker's Godparents

My parents

Godparents

Parker is the 5th generation at our church

Matt's Family

Our little family

The Brown Men

Amanda, Jen, Me & Courtney. I have such great friends. Amanda & Courtney gave him a children's bible & a book about Noah. Kendal & Jen also gave him a children's bible & a bible for when he is grown up.

The Godparents. Jen said the whole morning Kendal kept talking like the godfather haha

Matt & I want Parker raised the same way we were, we both come from Christian families. We want Parker to know Jesus & feel at home in our church. Please pray for Parker & all the people in his life that God put there to help him on his walk with God.

My Hometown Baby Shower

My Sisters & my 2 best friends threw me a baby shower when I moved back home. I showed some photos in a earlier post from the shower. It was at one of my sister's house. The theme was cowboy, & was super cute.

My sister Ambrey made the diaper cake.

An arrangement my Mother had made.

One of the tables outside.

Me with the wagon wheel, which now hangs in Parker's nursery.

Jennifer, Lauren, Me, Amanda & Courtney.

Fat girl stuffing her face! It gets better, it broke apart the second I took a bite & fell right onto my stomach.

My sisters & I with Grandma Gukich (father's mother). Ambrey (Left on floor), Brannan (Right on floor), Hayley (Left Standing), Me (Center standing),  & Ashton (Right Standing).

9 Days Left!

That is how many days we are away from my due date! It is so crazy to think! Tomorrow I will be 39 weeks! I went to the doctor today & was checked for the second time. The first time I was checked last week I was maybe a centimeter dilated & 50% effaced. This week I am 2 - 3 centimeters dilated  & 80% effaced. I`m so ready for him to come, I went walking for 20 minutes & am going to go again tonight with Matt. I am between 18-19 lbs now from pre pregnancy weight. But lately I have been killing the sweets because really I have 9 days left, who cares!

I just wanted to share some sweet photos of my 2 nieces! I have so many pictures since I have moved back home but some how just can`t seem to get on here & share them.

This is Miss Finley, she is a crazy lady but so cute! Everytime she sees me she yells, "MEL" in a deep voice. Not sure why she always says it in a deep voice but I love it. And she always feeds me "Num Nums" aka food.

This is sweet Miss Maysen. She is a little bigger then this now. It is so fun to watch her grow. Yesterday she rolled on her side twice! Her & Mr. Parker will be about 3 months apart & I hope great buddies. If he doesn`t always try to beat her up or rope her!

Just wanted to throw in a photo of Matt & I. I actually just got my hair cut yesterday, about 3 inches off! It was a lot but I REALLY needed it. Plus I want to look good in my delivery photos!!

Here is a photo from my LW baby shower my sisters & best friends threw for me. My sister Ambrey (Maysen's mom) made the diaper cake. It was so cute, & is now sitting in his nursery.

So is this wagon wheel my Mother made. It is hanging above his changing table. This was also from the shower in LW, the theme was cowboy.

I still have photos to share from my Lakeland shower & Parker's Nursery. Hopefully soon & hopefully soon photos of him. Matt swears he is coming tomorrow but we will see. I told him though that will be his Father's Day gift, his son. Update on insurance, we do have it, & the state has recognized Matt as being in the National Guard. The only bad thing, we don`t have our new insurance cards yet. But as of now I don`t care, I`m just happy we have insurance! So that is done, my bag is packed, the house is clean, now we are just waiting around on him!

Weddings & Lent

We are back & I`m still catching up on sleep! As always our trip home was very eventful, non-stop from morning to night! But we both loved every minute of it! Also, as always, we did not want to leave.....at all! But as of today we are at 55 days till we move! The weather was great & the time spent with everyone was great. The first night there we stayed in Lake Wales. My oldest sister had everyone over to her house for dinner. The sisters were in the den & all the brother-in-laws were in the kitchen. Us girls were laughing because we swear the boys were louder then us.

Here is a shirtless Grady. Later in the night we got into a deep conversation with Grady haha He was asking Aunt Ambrey where the baby came from, who did it, & when she comes out if her hand would come out first haha We think he thinks the baby comes out of your belly button. It was too cute.

Here is Colton with his Laffy Taffy. I had to run to the store for Hayley & Colton wanted to come. We get to the aisle & he asks for some candy haha a 6 year old & a pregnant girl are not a good combo, of course I said YES!

Here is Miss Priss Finley. Hayley gave her a ponytail. I could just eat her up! She is a crazy lady and she loves her some Uncle Matt. I think it is because he gives her food!

Speaking of food Brannan (my 2nd oldest sister) brought these cupcakes for dessert. They are low calorie, 180 instead of the normal 250. They were very good for being "diet" cupcakes! I think they are a Taste of Homes recipe.

In this photo (L to R): Me, Matt, Jen (Bride/My college roommate), Kendal (Groom/Matt's childhood friend), Paige (9 months pregnant) & Case. Matt, Kendal, Case & Paige all grew up together in Lakeland. The 3 boys also went on to college together at Warner, & lived & played Baseball together. Jen & I were college roommates our freshmen year together at Warner. Matt & I started dating first, then I told Jen she should meet Matt's friend Kendal. They were a perfect match! They are both very strong Christians AND great friends to me & Matt. We have actually asked them to be Parker's God-Parents : )

Matt & I (& Parker) at Jen's & Kendal's reception, it was on Kendal's family's ranch. It was so stinking cute too! It was country chic!

Courtney, Jen & I, she looked so pretty!

Now on to wedding number 2, Matt's mother's! It was in Melbourne at a little chapel. Family & close friends were there as Matt walked his mother down the aisle. I`m so happy Marcia has found such a great man. She really deserved it!

Marcia & Bill after the wedding. We went out to eat at a "hole in the wall" seafood restaurant after the wedding. It was all very lovely and we got to see a lot of Matt's family.

As I said earlier it was all go, go, go, well at least for Matt. I got to hang back in LW an extra day to hang out with my Mom. But since Matt was in the wedding for our friends he was helping anything they needed. Really the first time he & I just got to hang out was Sunday morning, we went for a walk. But we were both very happy with our trip. This time I cried on the way back to LW after Matt's Mom's wedding. But as my husband reminded me, this is our last trip back up to Kentucky. The next time we come down it is for good! Right when we got off the plane Matt said, "the only thing that will make us feel better is to start packing tonight" haha

Lent starts today so this morning I had to make my final decision on what to do! I`m going with memorizing Bible verses. I don`t know how many I`m going to try to do, but I at least know my first one. My first to memorize is 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind". I was watching Beth Moore this morning & she was talking about this passage. I think it is a good one for me to know off the top of my head because I`m a worrier & I have a  lot of fear. This will remind me God has equipped me for other things in life!

We Are Back.....

Vacation is over, we left Sept. 23 for Florida. We came back on Oct. 5, it was a great trip. Long car drive 14 hours (but that doesn`t count stop for the rest areas & gas for the car) with 2 dogs & a cat BUT a great trip. Oh how we missed home so much. We split our time between Lake Wales & Lakeland for the most part, then we headed to North Florida to Matt's Grandparents house, then back to Kentucky. Those 2 weeks went by SOOOOO FAST! Ugh, it kinda makes me mad >:{ We felt like we just never had enough time to see everyone & do everything. Most night we barely got sleep cause we were staying up late with everyone laughing & talking. Here are some photos from the trip:

My niece Finley, she would not come to me BUT she loved Uncle Matt. Little stinker! Every time I tried to get her from him she would cry!

The first night we got there we stayed at my parents. So the next morning I work up early & ate breakfast with Colton, my nephew, before he went to school. I can`t believe he is so grown up!

Matt's sister is a Varsity cheerleader. We went & watched her at the game that first Friday night we were there. Me being a retired cheerleader I was SOOO excited : ) She did great! Maybe a future Warner University cheerleader?!?!

Matt's Mother cooked dinner for us & some of our close friends. It was great to see everyone & get caught up on whats going on in every one's lives!

As always we had a party at the ranch while we stayed in Lake Wales. Nothing better then good friends, a fire & some drinks!

This was our last morning at the ranch when I was packing the car. The dogs use to live at the ranch until I moved them up here. Bama has always loved it out there. I think he knew it was the last time for a while he would see it. Too cute.....p.s. I know we need kids hahaha

This was the morning we left, saying goodbye to my parents. I didn`t cry at all.....until I got in the car & I balled my eyes out. I was so sad to go, I love my family, friends & this town. But I love my husband & I`ll go where ever he goes.

So we are back in Kentucky....blah. BUT I think God knew I would be sad leaving my home, so he gave me this:

Now you don`t see that in Florida! It is so pretty here right now....I love fall!