Kevin and Lydia Fowler: 2008

It was a very different Christmas for both of us this year. First off, it was my first Christmas without my parents. As you may remember, last year, my parents came to visit us the day AFTER Christmas. This year, however, such was not the case, and though I was saddened to not have them with me, it did force me to lean on my extended family in a way I had not before.

Let me explain...

I think it's quit normal to not have an automatic familial love for one's family by marriage. After all, they are strangers at first. And in the beginning, they are not family, and then, just like that, they're of relation. I suppose in the beginning, it's a choice to love them--as it can be oftentimes with anyone. :)

Then, as life is lived and shared, the love becomes less of a requirement and more of an obvious outpouring from the developing relationship. All this to say, that I have loved my in-laws from their inception as my in-laws, but I am now starting to love them as my family.

For various reasons, not all could be there this Christmas--that's why it was not the typical Christmas for Kevin. With that, I'd like to introduce you to them.

It seems only right to start with the most senior of our bunch (and, no, I'm not talking about Santa Clause ;). This is Mamaw Ersie, otherwise known as Granny. As Kevin is always trying to set her up with someone, Santa's visit made a prime opportunity. She wasn't impressed.

Next, we have Kevin's mom, Lovonda. Ersie is her mother. She is one of the most genuinely sweet women I've known in my life, and I'm very blessed to have her as my mother.

Next to her is Melinda, Kevin's brother's wife. I've very much enjoyed getting to know her.

This is my wonderful father-in-law, Jim. He's a Vietnam Vet who turns into a mush ball any time a baby is around. It's great! :-) I'm very excited about the possibility of giving both Jim and Lovonda grandchildren one day.

Below are Kim and Josh. Kim is Kevin's sister (how did you know, right? :). They recently (well, a year ago) moved to Nebraska so Josh could farm and stay home with the family more. We've got their blog link on the right hand side of the page. Kim is diligent about updating it frequently, and it's fun to see their family grow, both in maturity and numbers.

Speaking of numbers, this is their number one: Ashlynne, commonly referred to as "Ashy."

Here's number two, Rachel. She's a natural mother (but not yet!) and a mini-me of Kim (or so I'm told).

And this is Lauren, otherwise known as Laurie. My first memory of her is from the first time I came with Kevin to have dinner with the Wilkerson's. Lauren, at the age of three, came out to the car to meet us, with one cow/moon sock on and one striped sock on. It was absolutely precious.

Last in the line of female Wilkersons is Kate. I took this picture (as I'm sure you can tell), and, well, Kate's not really fond of the camera (as I'm sure you can also tell). She is however, the most expressive of the bunch.

Last is Caleb. We must admit, we've got a special place in our hearts for this little guy, if for no other reason that he was a member of our bridal party (as the age of negative one day). He was born the very next day. We will measure the maturity of our marriage by his maturity...okay maybe not. ;)

He's just started crawling on the stairs, and Mom and Dad Fowler have great ones to practice on. I think that's all he did the whole time we were there.......

Pretty proud of yourself, aren't you, Caleb?

And of course, Uncle Kevin can't help but join him on the floor....things just look so much better from this angle. He doesn't seem to mind, though.

Next, we travel back to the Fowler surname, but this time, it's Greg and Melinda's kiddos.

The oldest is Marysa. She's in Junior High, and we're pretty amazed at how much of a young lady she's becoming. Not because it surprises us, but because Kevin held her as a baby and reveled in the new-found uncle status she gave him. She was a "really pretty baby," and she's becoming a beautiful young lady.

This is her younger sister, Myranda. She's recently lost a lot of weight due to the recent detection of a thyroid problem. She's always been cute, but she's adorable now, and we're also enjoying watching her grow into a young lady.

This is their younger brother, Austin. He's a spitfire and loves anything having to do with Cars, the movie or that actual. He's a little mini-me of Greg. :)

We dearly love both sides of our family. This side being locationally closer, we're grateful for the time we get to spend with them, and we hope you've enjoyed meeting them!

Tune in next time to learn about the new baby, we just brought home.

(hint: it's little and square)

So, it's the holiday season. We've passed Thanksgiving and now on to Christmas and New Year's. For most of us that means extra time in the kitchen. I've come to enjoy the kitchen, and I thought I'd pass on a few things that make my time there more productive and, well, just more fun! :)

I cannot take credit for this first one:

A dear friend of mine uses her olive oil jars (I'm not sure of the specific name) for liquid dish soap. It's easier, cleaner, and it just looks cuter!

This is my most recent purchase: A Salad Spinner (WalMart, $10)

I stopped buying bagged salad and began purchasing heads of lettuce, but wasn't sure how to get ALL that water off to store it without it becoming slimy. Presto! (Kevin even likes this one!)

Next up we have: My Food Processor!

It makes slicing and dicing a snap! It's not easy to clean, so sometimes it's easier to just do it by hand, but I used it recently to cut up a whole onion--fabulous!

And what's a kitchen without some mixing bowls!? But these aren't just any mixing bowls--these are colorful mixing bowls! They make me want to cook just so I can play with them! :)

And where there are mixing bowls, there are measuring spoons! But these aren't just any measuring spoons...these are MAGNETIC measuring spoons! There's a tiny magnet in the middle of them, so they stick, stack, and are easy to find in the drawer. There are also two sides to each, so no need to rinse of when measuring two ingredients any more.

Excessive, you say? For only $8 at Target, you can have some of your own! Go ahead--indulge yourself!

This last picture has a story with it...

Back in January, I helped my sister-in-law pack for her and her family's trek west. :'-( I got all of two whole boxes packed for them, BUT one box I packed contained her spices. The truck was heading out a little before them and as Kim pondered which ones to keep for their last few days in Tennessee and which ones to send ahead, she said, "I just don't know--they're like my friends."

I've thought of that comment many times since then, especially as my own cooking and spicing ventures have expanded, and I think I now know how she feels.

So here are my friends, in their cozy little home: