{family portraits 2012} - image heavy post

Well top of the morning to you folks! Technically it's the afternoon, but who cares, right? I wanted to share with you my lovely friend and readers some beautiful pictures taken by Kristin Smith.  She is my wonderful cousin who is so talented behind the camera lens.  You'd never believe that she is a Senior in high school and will be a freshman at OU starting in the Fall.  For being so young, she is so accomplished! Please check out her facebook: Greenglass Photography !!

Our little family was super thrilled when she asked to do our family portraits and maternity photo shoot! Of course I said an astounding YES!  And here they are, the most recent pictures of my sweet family!

EST. 2006

Gavin Watson, Gabrielle Watson, Harper Watson, and Sawyer Watson (to be delivered)

I actually captured these sweet pictures when I was playing with Kristin's camera.  Kristin did an amazing job of mashing the photos together. It it one of my favorites for sure!

{eventful 4 months}

It is really crazy to think that the last time I posted on my blog was back in January.  Oh so many thing have happened during that timespan:

On January 14, 2012 my Poppy Maurice lost his battle with cancer.  It was hard on our family to see him go, but we were glad that his suffering was over.  His wife, my grandmother Patricia had passed away October 30, 2011, so we were glad that they were to be reunited in Heaven.

We found out shortly thereafter that we are having a little boy :) Sawyer James Watson will make his debut sometime in June.

On February 15, 2012 I turned the bold age of 26.  I have entered my late twenties, and I feel so blessed despite some of the trials and tribulations of this past year. For my birthday, my family gave me my grandparent's car, and it has been such a blessing on the highway each and everyday.  It is so nice to have room in the backseat for not 1 but 2 car seats, and to have a place for groceries in the hatch! You have no idea :)

We put our house up for sale in March, and it is currently in contract!! We are so ecstatic about this.  At first we were extremely worried that we would not be able to find a place in time for our family to relocate to especially with me about to give birth in just a few short weeks, but we've managed to put a contract in on my grandparent's home, which is a beautiful house in Denton.  We are very excited to start a new chapter in our lives at this home that was so loved by my grandparents and family members.  Gavin and I had our wedding rehearsal dinner there, many birthdays, my baby shower for Harper, and several holidays.  We are so glad to keep it in the family, and I hope that we can keep up those traditions of hosting family events in our new home.

Gavin participated in the Warrior Dash in April.  It was his first 5K in a really long time, and he did amazing considering he was sick and couldn't prepare for the dash.  Also did I mention that it is a 5K plus obstacle course complete with crawling through mud, swimming, climbing over 12 ft walls, and leaping over fire amongst other things!  There was a huge turnout at this event, and my sister and I hung out in the VERY hot, hot, heat without shade or sunscreen. Needless to say, I ended up with a VERY bad first degree burn on my legs nd body that endured for 2 weeks and it is still peeling!!  Also I have a wicked awesome tan line across my tummy, legs, ankles, arms, chest, neck, and love handles. Yeah, it look a little fried in these parts; definitely not swimsuit friendly tan lines :)

Harper had a wondermous splash birthday party April 29, 2012.  She turned the bright bold age of 3, and she is growing up so fast!! She speaks so well now and loves to have full blown conversations in the car with mommy and daddy after preschool each day.  She is over the moon about being a big sister and helper, and she absolutely loves playing dress up, make believe play with her little figurines, and she loves watching Disney movies and Anne of Green Gables with her mommy.  She is the apple of my eye!!

Last weekend, I had my Little Gentleman baby shower for Sawyer, and it was a big hit! We had a mustache photo booth session, and that was just too much fun.  My aunts, cousin, and my mom coordinated everything, and they did such a fantastic job! Someone should hire them for real!!

Also that same day, Gavin, Harper, and I had our family portraits/maternity photo shoot session.  It was SOOO hot outside, but the pictures turned out amazing, and we were so glad to use the talents of my lovely, young cousin Kristin and her hobby/business Greenglass Photography.  She was professional and did such an amazing job!!

I am graduating from UNT this Friday Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a minor in Psychology.  I am uber thrilled about this as it has been a long time coming :)  Also, I start grad school in August for a Master of Science in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Family Studies and Parent Education.

This month I will also study for and take the GRE so that my graduate admissions can be fully processed, and we are also moving into our new home.  We close May 31st on both houses. 

After that we will gear up big time for Sawyer's big debut.  He's due June 27th, but we have a feeling he may come a little early. I've been having some overwhelming contractions lately, so you never know.  I'm 33 weeks today, so in 3 more weeks, I'll be ready and raring :)

Well that's all for now folks. I hope that you have a swell day and tomorrow I will share some pictures with you from my baby shower :)

With Love,
Gabrielle Watson

{resolutions TBD}

Since my resolutions are still TBD and my one little word for this year is on hold for a moment. I feel so frazzled with my brain lately with all the planning that I want to do, planning I need to do and school about to start again in a week. I've had so little time for me to think about me... and my resolutions and plans for this year and the years to come.

Gavin and I are about to take some big steps hopefully in the right direction. We are going to put the house on the market once again. We are having another bundle of joy in early summer, and we are going to hopefully buy another preowned home once we get our house sold. These are the goals for this year. Some may or may not happen, but God does not give obstacles that we can't overcome, and he only has 3 answers... Yes, Not Yet, and I have something better in mind. I'm taking this to heart right now.

But until then... I'll share what I have started back up again, couponing... yes. It's going to happen all year long, every week, and I'm going to be a coupon machine because well friends, when I don't use coupons I spend about $575 a month on groceries. When I do use them I spend about $250 a month. My goal is to spend about $240-260 each month on groceries which includes extra items here and there.

So today I'm going to share with you two wonderful blogs that I follow. They help me to stay on track and these are the pharmacy savings for this week that they've shared!!

Please enjoy these savings from Money Saving Mom:

http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/01/cvs-deals-for-the-week-of-january-8-14-2012.html

Please enjoy these savings from Moms By Heart:

http://momsbyheart.net/walgreens-deals-18-114/

Good luck to you with your resolutions and resolve to a little thrifty this year with these tools!!

With Love,
Gabrielle Watson

{back to the grind}

After some time off for winter break. I'm back in business.

Just a picture of what happened over the last week and half:

- Making dinner for Grandpa every few nights or so...
- Catching the flu and spreading it to several people
- Opening presents the Eve of Christmas Eve with my extended family
- Opening more presents on Christmas Eve with my family
- Opening even more presents on Christmas morning with my sweet daughter and husband, then exchanging gifts later that morning with Gavin's family
- Jetting off to San Antonio with full blown flu from Tuesday through Friday ( I thought I had a bad cold, sinus infection and laryngitis, little did I know...)
- Returned home late Friday evening to my sweet hubby who missed me while I was away
- Finally having a relaxing weekend with naps, ice cream and going out to eat for dinner, such a nice end to my week off from work
- Now when's my next holiday, I want to enjoy this one without being sick as a dog :)

How did you spend your winter break? What goodies did you loved ones or Santa leave for you under the tree?

This year I was spoiled with a 3lb bag of gummie bears, Uggs, movies, and other small trinkets including gift cards to buy my new double stroller for Harper and her little brother/sister. Then I was spoiled all week by my mom in San Antonio, it was so nice to travel and see family even if I was dying :)

Harper got lots of lovely gifts this Christmas. She was definitely spoiled, so we made a pile of giveaway gifts to donate. Santa brought a train table, dress up clothes and a soft Rapunzel. Mom and Dad got her some clothes, Disney Princess barbies, toddler Pocahontas, baby accessories, a role playing cleaning set, and some games. We put together several bags of gently used toys to donate including baby dolls, baby strollers, and other small things. We reorganized her room, and now we are going to go through her drawers and reorganize those and sell her gently worn stuff to Once Upon a Child to buy some Spring and Summer clothes when it comes time. Right now she is still in her 2T clothes even though she is approaching 3; she's just a petite thing.

I hope that everyone's holidays plans went well, and that you were blessed this year. Happy New Year to everyone!!!

With Love,
Gabrielle Watson

{recipe share}

I have a WONDERFUL, EASY, PEASY recipe to share with all of you. This is my favorite recipe that I have collected over the years from my family members, and I love to make this when people are unwell or in need of something quick and easy to make for themselves like after bringing home a new baby or loss of a loved one, etc.

Aunt Karina's EASY PEASY Chicken Pot Pie (makes 2 pies = 1 to cook now, 1 to freeze for later)

You'll need:
1 can of Cream of Brocoli soup
1 can of Cream of Chicken soup
1 can of Cream of Potato soup
1 can of Mixed Vegetables
2 Deep Dish Pie crusts (2 comes in package)
2 Unroll Pie Crust (2 comes in package)
1 lb of Cubed Chicken Breast
1 can of Chicken Broth
3 cups of Water

This meal is very easy to put together, the prep time is very short anywhere from 10-20 minutes total. Total cooking time is 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Thaw/Defrost chicken breast and cube. Add chicken broth to 3 cups of water and boil. Add cubed chicken breast to boiling water, cook for 10-15 minutes until done. Chicken will be white, no pink.

While boiling the chicken, drain the can of mixed vegetables. Add mixed vegetables and soups to medium sized mixing bowl and stir.

Drain chicken in colander or just scoop out the chicken with a slotted spoon and add to the pot pie mixture. Stir until chicken is spread evenly among mixture.

Take out frozen deep pie crusts and scoop pot pie mixture into pans evenly.

Unroll 1 refrigerated pie crust, lay on top of pie and fold up the sides, crimping/pinching with fingers until pie is sealed. Make 2-4 cuts on the top to let out steam. Repeat for the next pie.

At this point, you can choose to make both the pies if you have a large family. Freeze both of the pies for someone special or for another day, or you could cook one pie and freeze one for later. It's really that simple!!

Cook on 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Yay, so I'm so happy to share this recipe with you, and I hope that you will love it. I'm very particular about my pot pies, and not a big fan of them overall, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this recipe!! It is the absolute best, EASY pie around to bake!!

Enjoy this recipe!!

With Love,
Gabrielle Watson

{creative team call - scrapFREAK}

Hey you scrappers out there,

This just in... Scrap FREAK is hosting a creative team call. I just wanted to give all of you lovelies a heads up if you are interested in trying out. I think I might; you never know, eh, and I love the challenge of being a part of a design team. It keeps me so motivated!! Here is what they posted:

"Scrapfreak is looking for a team of enthusiastic scrappers to kick off 2012. We’re looking for approximately 6 (could be more, could be less) fun, motivational, responsible peeps to join our Creative Team and help encourage others in this incredible hobby. Scrapfreak is a scrapbooking community dedicated to motivating and inspiring you to tell your stories. Whether that be about you, your family, your history, etc., the goal is the same…document those moments. TELL YOUR STORY.

SUBMISSIONS DUE: December 26, 2011

Term: January - April 2012

Creative Team Requirements:

• A MUST-HAVE passion for scrapbooking and the ability to inspire and motivate others
• Approximately 2 layouts per month by the set deadlines (as assigned as part of our Freaky Friday challenge rotation)
• Assistance with planning, online crops, classes, etc. as well as any additional layouts/projects as needed for said events
• Participation in forum discussions
• Promote all Scrapfreak related events on your personal blog and/or Facebook/Twitter account
• Promote and encourage scrappers of all levels to join and participate at Scrapfreak
• Comment on all projects uploaded to the Scrapfreak gallery

How to Apply:

Please email monica@scrapfreak.com with the following information:

1. Full name, city/state/country, and email address
2. Small paragraph with background on yourself, how much of your time is dedicated to scrapbooking, and why you feel you would be a good fit for Scrapfreak
3. 2-3 recent layouts that are most like you and your style of scrapping (links or attachments are acceptable)
4. Link to your blog as well as Facebook/Twitter pages that would be used to promote Scrapfreak (not all are required but should have at least one or the other)
5. List of any other online communities you’re involved in and any design team history
6. Link(s) to any online galleries

Presently there is no monetary or product compensation for your design team commitment. However, there are few things we can offer you:

• Experience – If you haven’t been on a design team before, this is an excellent opportunity to add to your scrappy resume.
• Challenge – Nothing is more motivational than participating in challenges and being on a team with a commitment.
• Community – The freaks are a great group of people that are active and supportive of each other. It is truly a very welcoming site.
• Links to Scrapfreak’s weekly Freaky Friday challenge threads (including your layouts) on our Facebook and Twitter pages
• Recognition through Scrapfreak's Facebook and Twitter pages

A few other things to note:

• You do not have to be a member of the forum to submit…although you should join anyway because the freak is the coolest place to be online!
• Both US and International submissions accepted.
• Previous design team experience not required.
• Our plans are to notify new design team members before January 6, 2012.
• Creative Team term will begin immediately following the announcement.

We encourage each and every one of you to apply! We look forward to seeing your submissions."

Good luck to all of you who try out for this fun design team. I'm not involved in this in any way shape or form, I'm just supporting this WICKED online community of scrappers, and I hope that you will join me there!!

With Love,
Gabrielle Watson

{any recommendations}

Now that I have 2 finals down, and 1 to go... I'm seriously looking into picking up a book to read in my spare time.

I want to read at least a couple books in the month between classes. I usually find time to read right before bed when I don't have piles of homework to do.

What do you recommend?

I've heard The Hunger Games are amazing, and the Game of Thrones books are good, but I'm thinking of reading a classic or a non-series type of book...

Some of the books on my list include:

Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Clarissa by Samuel Richardson
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Let me know what you think and what you recommend... I desperately want to find a good book to read, at least one if not two!

With Love,
Gabrielle Watson