Hannah Morrison

Knox is TWO!

And just like that, my baby is a toddler. It makes my insides ache, but I also couldn’t be more proud of the kid he is growing into. Being Knox’s mom has been the best adventure I have ever gone on. He is sweet, gentle, thoughtful, obedient, silly (so silly!), strong-willed, and tender. It’s funny, the first birthday is so sentimental and reminiscent. A celebration of “we made it a year without dying.” But this one, it’s sweet in such a different way, because it’s actually celebrating a little boy with a growing personality. For weeks we have been working up to K’s Polar Express birthday party, asking him if he’s excited and who he wants to see. And he ACTUALLY has friends he says. Ugh, it’s so fun. I love being his mommy.

This morning, as Paul and I sat anxiously waiting for him to wake up so we could give him his gift, scrolling through old photos and videos of baby Knox, I had this overwhelming realization. Here we are, pouring tons of effort and excitement into making this one day as special as possible for our son. We love him so much that we want every single little detail to feel exciting and special for today. Of course, we want him to feel special and loved every day of the year, but a birthday just is different. We got his favorite foods and invited his best friends over to celebrate him. I meticulously laid a tape choo choo track on our wood floors from the door to the living room, and we bought him an electric vintage Bronco. And it was on the couch this morning that I realized, giddy and heart racing with excitement for him to start rustling in his crib, that this is exactly how the Lord feels about us every single day. He has gifts, new mercies, and intentionally laid out opportunities for us to see Him and know Him more every day. To experience just how much He loves us and all simply because He DOES. Every breath we take is an intentional, thought out gift from our Creator. He gets giddy as we rise in the morning thinking, “Look at all the great things I have laid out for them today!”

WOW.

It’s truly incredible how I feel I learn more and more about God’s character through my son. Whether it’s his pure joy and love for people that I want to be more like, or the way he pulls out in me a glimpse of the same kind of love our Father has for us. Motherhood has rocked my world. It’s made my eyes a little darker, the creases on the sides a little deeper. It’s tested my patience and made me a little crazy at times. But it’s also made me happier than I ever thought possible. The lack of sleep, the nagging “mama” as I try to ignore being asked for the same snack 300 times in a row, the kid on the bathroom floor while I just try to pee in peace… it’s all worth it. Every bit of it. My heart has been morphed into a reflection more like Christ’s all because of a little toe-head boy with a crooked, toothy grin over the last two years. I may lay my head on my pillow at night exhausted and ready for sleep, yet I also find myself scrolling through videos and aching for him to be awake again. Isn’t it funny?

Knox Chandler, you will change the world. Here’s to your third year of life and making it special. Thanks for showing me Jesus every day.

xoxo, Mom

Also, y’all… This Vintage Bronco is the BEST GIFT. I honestly can’t believe the price, especially after seeing this thing in person. It’s huge and has so many amazing details. Knox played on it all morning and I can’t wait for walks in the neighborhood with it.

What Makes Me Smile

Merry Christmas! Today I have teamed up with an amazing service called Smile Generation to share what makes me smile this holiday season.

 

To me, enjoying the holidays means slowing down to actually enjoy it. Gone are the days of saying “yes” to everything and flying by the seat of my pants, barely making it through the holiday season with so much as a single night home to enjoy my tree. I don’t want to live like that, and I hope you don’t either. Life is too short to live by other people’s expectations and obligations! 

What makes me smile are slow nights in my home with cocoa, a fire, and Christmas pajamas watching Knox play with his choo choo by the Christmas tree. It’s watching my favorite Christmas movies with my husband. It’s dancing to Ella Fitzgerald’s Christmas album in the living room. It’s making my favorite family dishes and forgetting to count the calories. It’s driving through neighborhoods and pointing out our favorite Christmas light displays. It’s saying “hello” to the stranger at the mall or buying them their cup of coffee. It’s eating our traditional Christmas Eve meal around the table on my great grandma’s China. It’s setting up Santa Claus after Knox has gone to bed. It’s baking cookies and eating that third one just because it’s Christmas and you can. It’s calling your family Christmas morning that you don’t get to be with. It’s watching their face light up when you see them open the gift you knew they wanted the most.

So many things make me smile at Christmas time, and you can find me grinning ear to ear all season long. I feel like a little girl all over again during the holidays, and especially so now with a son to celebrate the magic with. I am proud to partner with Smile Generation, because they take the burden off your shoulders of trying to find the very best for your family. Every mom wants the best for their kids, and now you can find it without the pesky (and sometimes pricey) trial and error. We’ve had our fair share of bad doctors and dentists, and I certainly never want others to have to go through the “sifting through” process like we’ve had to do. Smile Generation has done it all for you, finding the best dental and oral cosmetic offices for you so you don’t have to worry about it. Whether you need just routine care for your family (those twice a year appointments!!), whitening, braces… you name it, they can help you find the best! And with less worry, you can focus more time and attention on the people you love most. And that is something you can always smile about (with pearly whites, might I add)!

 

The Best Gift to Give YOU

I get it. We’ve been there before, too. When people ask if you’re enjoying your holidays you think to yourself, “No, because I haven’t even been able to.” Rushing from one party to the next, trying to make everybody happy, and putting your own hopes and desires or your Christmas season on the back burner. And before you know it… It’s December 26th, you’re exhausted, and a little over it all.

Can I encourage you? Stop. Like, for real, stop. This is your year to take the reins on your Christmas season and saying intentional “yeses” ONLY for things you actually want to go to with your own family. It’s tough to say “no” to things, and especially things that are seemingly fun. But, if it keeps you and your family from accomplishing your personal list of hopes and expectations for Christmas, say no. Creating a Christmas you actually love is the BEST gift you can give yourself.

How do you do this? Glad you asked. 😉 MAKE A LIST, CHECK IT TWICE! You have 25 days, or now just 9(!!!), to make the Christmas season of your dreams happen. One that isn’t marked by franticness or chaos, but rather intentionality and joy. We have a list of 11 things that are non-negotiables for us this season. 7 bucket list items for my family, Knox’s birthday party, and extended family traditions. These are things we want to do and wouldn’t miss for the world. If you do the math… that means our weekends are basically claimed along with a couple week nights a week. Put these on the calendar, budget them in, and stick to the plan. Then, if fun opportunities come up that don’t interfere with your list of non-negotiables and it won’t be stressful to say “yes”, then go ahead and add something to your calendar!

A Couple Other Suggestions for Gifts to YOU (In addition to the list):

  1. Spend 20 minutes going through your “Follow” list on IG/Facebook. Unfollow anybody who doesn’t make you a better you. Whether their account can boil up insecurity or jealousy in you, or they just maybe aren’t part of your life anymore… Scroll through and see how you can declutter your IG feed. If I see an IG handle I don’t recognize, I unfollow.
  2. Plan a special lunch with a few gals at a fancy restaurant and wear your favorite dresses for the heck of it. I suggest Toulouse if you live in DFW. It feels like stepping into France.
  3. Clean out your closet. Again… declutter. Decluttering your life is the best gift to you, in my opinion.
  4. Pick one thing you’ve said you have wanted to do for ages but just never have. I am making a Gingerbread House tonight with my family, because I never have and always say I want to!
  5. Go get holiday nails done! There’s just something about having a fresh set of festive nails that makes me feel on top of the world.

You can be in charge of your Christmas, your family, and everything you do over this season. Own it! Be in charge of your schedule and set the boundaries you need to be able to enjoy this Christmas.

Love you guys. Merry Christmas!

xoxo, Han

Formal Christmas Card Photos 2019

EEEEP! They’re here, they’re here! I am so excited to share our formal Christmas photos for this year. Planning our Christmas cards is one of my favorite things I do every single year, even though my hubby always takes some convincing to do it. Ladies, you’re not alone! Even my husband hates doing family photos. But, it’s always worth it. I absolutely love seeing how my sweet family has grown over time and I actually REALLY want to get prints made from all of our shoots to hang up at Christmas every year. That’s my current project!

This year’s shoot was… an almost disaster. See just a glimpse below… lol. If it weren’t for our incredible photographer, Cottonwood Road Photography, we would have had a total flop of a shoot. Knox, who usually LOVES getting his picture taken, just wanted to explore. I mean, he is a toddler boy. I should have known! But, somehow, Hannah H. captured the milliseconds we got of Knox not asking to “get down” or yelling “stop it” as we would chase him down to keep from falling into the barbwire fences around us as he searched for the horses he swore were around, but absolutely did not exist. L O L.

Quick tips for shooting with a toddler:

  1. Just roll with it. If they want to run around, that is how your shoot needs to be. Our photographer, Hannah, set the tone for this so well and we just followed her lead. Rather than getting frustrated with him, which would have upset him and made the shoot a lost cause, we tried to be adventurous with him. It kept him smiling, even though he was frustrated with us for not letting him run into the open field by us.
  2. We would play in the leaves with him (which ended up being some of my FAVORITE shots Hannah got!) or tossing him in the air to get giggles. Whatever you got to do, do it. It’s not about you or about getting the “picture perfect” shot. It’s about capturing your family, as it is. And, if you have an amazing photographer, then you get the picture perfect shots mixed in WITH the real shots. I love them both, honestly! This is also why it’s so worth paying a great photographer, if you’re able, once a year for your Christmas photos. They can capture things you just wouldn’t be able to on your own or with a non-professional.
  3. We left saying “Well, even if we have to send out a funny picture, we are going to be happy!” Having images, no matter how your shoot goes, is so worth it and you’ll never regret it.

Thanks to Dillard’s for sponsoring all of our looks! Everything except for Knox’s jacket and Paul’s shoes are entirely from Dillard’s. I have them all linked for you below.

It feels impossible to narrow down our hundreds of photos to a graspable amount… so I tried my very best to pick the best, the funniest, and the cutest!

The YUMMIEST Winter Crock Pot Short Ribs

 

You guys, I am telling you… this is so easy and SO yummy. It tastes like home, if you know what I mean hehe. Like, just SO GOOD. This meal is perfect for a hostess who maybe doesn’t want to make a ham or turkey for a Christmas party or is having people over for the holidays. If you have family staying with you, count this IN as one of your meals for the week while they’re in town. It is impressive and hearty, but doesn’t take a whole lot of time. You can be the hostess with the mostest without having to slave in the kitchen all day!

Right now, Costco has these amazing packages of short ribs for about $20. They feed 8-10 (or, you can make it all for your smaller family and freeze for future meals like we did!). I saw them while perusing the aisles trying to make my meal plan two weeks ago, and I knew I needed them. I have NEVER made short ribs, but I eat them. And I love them. And I figured I would find a recipe to make them with.

ALAS! 8 hour, fall apart short ribs you will drink the juice from. I am serious… They’re that good. I poured the juice over pasta, potatoes, and salad as a dressing. I am low-key drooling thinking about it all over again. i found a recipe on Pinterest to make this in a skillet but just figured it’d work in the Crock Pot, too. And… IT SO DOES.

8 Hour Crock Pot Short Ribs

Package of defrosted and pat down short ribs

2 cups of red wine (use a Red Blend, Malbec, or Cab! I used Malbec.)

1 garlic clove, chopped (disperse over meat evenly)

Rosemary, peeled and chopped finely

16 oz. beef stock

Salt and Pepper

I served this on top of pasta with asparagus the first night we ate it, and then on top of mashed sweet potatoes with honey brussels sprouts the second time we ate them. It’d be amazing shredded on top of a baked potato, too! Honestly, it’s just good on anything. 😉

 

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