Friedman Family Baby Shower

So I know I'm behind, but that's because the holiday season gets a little crazy around here AND we're trying to get as much done before Maggie arrives as possible since we're pretty sure sleep deprivation and the sheer overwhelming-ness (good word) of being new parents will suck all of our brain cells out for a while after she's born. 


Anyway..... the Saturday after Thanksgiving my family threw a baby shower for little Maggie at my parents house. Check it out....

 Diaper Cake....yep, that's a tutu. 

The delicious cake Mom made. Watch out Cake Boss. (Its a bird. NOT a fish.)

Maggie Loot!

Aunt Kate setting up The Price is Right game

 Vanna....I mean Aunt Kate - better known as the Hostess with the Most-est along with Maggie's Grandma Shannon who refuses to be photographed.

Maggie's Aunt Emily, Aunt Jacie and cousins Sydney and Crystal

The food was great. The company was fantastic. And the gifts were sweet and beyond generous. Maggie is a lucky lady!

Two more babyshowers to go! 

Mandy

Flammable Cows?

So, last week we were trying to get Maggie's giant mountain of baby paraphernalia organized - which meant opening countless plastic encased items and removing tons of those tiny plastic tags that never want to come off completely. 


As I was organizing the clothes in her closet by size (what? I've always been OCD) I came across a tag that makes me slightly nervous as a first time mom...


Not to mention completely curious as to why the manufacturer felt it was necessary to add this very large warning to such a small outfit....

Its an infant sleeper! With cute little frolicking cows and flowers on it! Somewhere on planet Earth was there at one time a parent who assumed those two characteristics make a child's garment flame retardant????

Evidently I have more to worry about than I thought,

Mandy

The Griswolds

No, we're not talking about one of our holiday favorites Lampoons Christmas Vacation (edited version of course)...  


We're talking about Brad, Erin, and Emma Griswold. Two weeks ago we hired Brad as our youth pastor and Erin as our worship minister. Emma is our adorable JCN mascot - already loved by everyone! 

You can't see him very well but Pastor Brad is in the middle. He's got the teens playing a game that looked alot like a cross between human bumper cars and Ring Around the Rosey. 

We've known Erin since our Trevecca days and they are already proving to be a great fit for our church. We're thankful for their enthusiasm, sweet spirits, and sincerity. We look forward to all God will do in and through them!


The Knight Family 

Maggie's Loot

So, to the list of perks of being a baby we can now add that people LOVE to buy babies stuff....clothes, diapers, hair bows, sunglasses (okay so Kevin and I bought the sunglasses), books...


We had our first baby shower for Maggie about a week and a half ago and came home loaded down with loot for our littlest family member.  Her wardrobe is exploding.

She has a large selection of sleepers and gowns to spit up on...

The closet is filling up with summery dresses and diapers galore....

Someday I'll organize her dresser and we'll actually put things INSIDE the drawers, but for now its just all out on display so I can look at it anytime I want. 

3 Baby Showers to Go,

Mandy, Kevin, and Maggie

A New Person...A New Space

I know.... we fell off the blogging bandwagon. But don't worry. We're back! We've finished a busy summer and are now speeding headlong into fall. We started off by getting Maggie Elizabeth Knight's room ready. Did I forget to mention that? Ooops.... Yep - that's right. Our daughter Maggie will arrive sometime around January 28, 2012. 


Our HGTV moment started with painting her room a lovely shade of green and Kevin putting her crib together....

Then I found a PERFECT wall decal that coordinates with her bedding AND my friend Kelly made her name to go on the wall with her Cricket machine. It couldn't have turned out better....

Thanks Mom and Kate for helping.... me by myself versus a giant wall sticker could have ended tragically.


Her room isn't done yet but we're getting closer. Soon to come.... the finished furniture and wardrobe highlights. Not only does this kid have the coolest parents ever - her wardrobe is pretty awesome too.


Love to our friends who haven't given up on our sad blog yet....


Mandy, Kevin, and Maggie

Mission to Mars VBS

Once again we have survived VBS. Every year I wonder if I'll make it..... 

This year's theme was Mission to Mars and I was the "Flight Commander" for Crew C (9-11 yr. olds) and Kevin was leading Galactic Games...

The backdrop ....

Photo ops! ... Kevin now has a picture of me as an astronaut. Very soon I will find a way to destroy it. Right now he's guarding it too closely...

 Command Center....a.k.a. VBS registration

 Friday night was Family night. The kids were pumped to show off their skills to their parents and we all shared a meal before turning the kids loose in the parking lot...

We asked the Jasper Fire Dept. to come on Friday night and bring the fire truck. The kids got stickers, hats, a fire truck tour and...

 Photos with Sparky the Fire Dog....

 Some kids liked Sparky and others ran screaming...a lot like their reaction to Santa...

 Their favorite part was when the firemen turned on the hose and sprayed them all with water. They had been waiting for this all week!

It was an exciting way to end the week and it was FREE! Thanks firemen!

Only 363 more days until next VBS....


Mandy and Kevin

I Cannot Be Held Responsible....

for this. I am too responsible of ad adult to let my husband eat something like this. I turned by back for one second and suddenly the whipped cream can was empty.....


This is the last time I make waffles for dinner! 

Waffles with Strawberries and Whipped Cream.... or maybe its Whipped Cream with a side of Waffle and Strawberries....


Mandy

Vegas Vacation

You may be conjuring up your favorite lines or scenes from Lampoon's Vegas Vacation, but let me assure you that Kevin and I were on our best vacation behavior. Although I'm sure there is a lot of trouble to be found in Vegas, I think this busy. bright. blazing. buffet laden at 3am city gets a bad rap. There are lots of things you can do that don't require gambling.  Its like anything else....you'll find whatever it is you're looking for. We saw Cirque du Soleil's Mystere show and Phantom of the Opera. We ate several awesome meals (no buffets for the Knights!) and generally had a great time people-watching. We also made the trek to the Grand Canyon. Check it out.....

 Walking back to Caesar's Palace....

 Walking toward The Venetian to see Phantom

 The Venetian

The Bellagio...our hotel of choice. We walked through all the others and highly suggest this one.

 Eagle Rock on the Western Rim of the Grand Canyon

 Its deep. And Kevin was too close to the edge. I was very worried that he would fall off the edge. No danger of me falling off. I don't like heights. 

 Pictures really don't do it justice. Its breathtaking.

 Guano Point offers a 360 degree view of the canyon. Worth the climb.

No, I did NOT like the fact that he was so close to the edge. 

The Hoover Dam is up next on our itinerary....

M

Big Sky Country

Kevin and I took our first vacation EVER April 10-15....


The first part of our journey landed us in Big Sky Country to visit the Tharps. Thrilled doesn't begin to describe how excited we were to see Tim, Tara, Lukas, and Emma....think more along the lines of 6 year olds if Christmas, Halloween, and birthday madness all coincided on one day. Super pumped! Tara and I were both counting the days since it had been about a year and a half since we had all been face to face. We saw some of the sights around Billings Montana but the Tharp family was our main attraction....

 We made it to Billings in time to attend church at Billings First Family on Sunday morning. There was some serious swinging going on at the playground afterwards. Kevin got an upper body workout.

 We did some hiking up above the Yellowstone River. Lukas was constantly on the lookout for snakes and spikey sticker bushes when he wasn't making me run so we could "win" and beat the sensible folks in our party who were calmly walking.  Emma was determined to walk aaaallll the way back to the car herself and almost made it except for the wind.

 E - Claire packing herself in our suitcase. Would have been fine with us!

 Some pool and hot tub time at the hotel while Mom and Dad were working.

 Visiting snowy Red Lodge, Montana. Skiing shut down just the week before. I think Lukas and Emma are going to be snow sport experts since their new home has snow for most of the year!

 Tara Tharp...best friend a girl could ask for...not to mention awesome wife, Supermom, and pastor's wife extraordinaire. 

Love this family. We pray for this family. We believe in what they're doing at Billings First Family and we're excited to watch their church grow. 

Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon coming your way soon....

JCN's New Wheels

We took the plunge and bought a MUCH NEEDED church van...

Now we just have to decide what color the church name will be on the side....

This will come in handy when its time to take the kids to camp, whitewater rafting, etc.

Lets just hope they never make me drive it!


Mandy

$800 & 60 Minutes

We're always keeping our eyes open for good fundraisers for the youth or the women's ministry. Not long ago the Women's Ministry sponsored a Dessert Auction on Sunday afternoon. 

We were sneaky.... and maybe slightly deceptive. :)

We fed everyone a carry-in Italian themed lunch .... pasta, garlic bread, salad.... all the savory stuff they could handle. But wouldn't you know that at the end of  the table all of the desserts were missing. That's right... not so much as a stray Nilla wafer to be found. Once everyone was full, we passed out auction paddles and I proceeded to auction about 40 scrumptious looking home-baked cakes and pies. 

Apparently JCN folks are particularly fond of Coconut Cake, Orange Dreamcicle Cake, Banana Pudding, and Strawberry Cake. Let me rephrase that....they're viciously fond. A few times I felt like we might be in need of a mediator. On the other hand, bidding wars did rake in $800 in an hour....60 minutes, no overhead, and everyone goes home with a sugar high. I'm not seeing a downside. 

 Everyone had their eye on something

We didn't auction Braxton...but there's no telling how much we could have made if we had! He's precious. 

 

London wasn't all that impressed by our sugary fundraising effort. He spent his afternoon enjoying some salad topper. 

This fundraiser will definitely come back around in 2012!

Mandy

TNU Trojan Town

We were surprised to discover that none of our teenagers had ever been to visit TNU. We recognize that TNU is expensive and not everyone feels the need to attend there but we want them to know its out there.....that they have options. For many of the teenagers in our community college really isn't something they seriously consider. We want our kiddos to know that furthering their education is essential. No matter what form it takes they must do something after high school. 


So, when the postcard came in the mail reminding us of Trojan Town we took some of our teens to visit our alma mater. During Trojan Town youth groups from all over come to campus for a basketball game, pizza, t-shirts, and tours. 


I'm pretty sure I would have gone just for the free t-shirt. I need very little motivation in life. 


In some ways a lot of things have changed at TNU.  I still love that place and all it brought to my life....that definitely didn't change. New buildings have popped up and I felt OLD  when I looked around at all the current college students. It doesn't feel like its been 6 years since we graduated!
The kids assured me that I'm still young while Pastor Kevin is considered "middle aged" in their book. hahaha! No way am I telling them he's only 8 months older than me. 


On the other hand some things never change - like Moore gymnasium. Seriously. It looks exactly the same. (And yes, the bleachers are still as painful on your backside as ever) Although there is a new scoreboard that told me more about basketball than I ever cared to know. I really only go to sporting events to socialize.

The girls won. The boys lost. 

Kevin and I took them on a tour.... of course we needed a photo of them and Pastor Kevin looking brainy in front of McClurkan Hall where Pastor Kevin got all his smarts!

Love these kids....and I hope they come to love TNU!

Mandy

Happy Almost Tuesday

A few Tuesdays ago, Sally down at the first floor reception desk called and said I had a delivery to pick up. Kevin sent flowers to me at work....just because.


I love Happy Tuesday flowers. 


They beat the socks off of "Happy Anniversary" flowers, "Valentine's Day" flowers, or "I'm Sorry I Was an Idiot" flowers.

Yes, my cube-mates were jealous.

The Lucky Mrs Knight,

Mandy

Mandy Food vs. Kevin Food

Sometimes I do the cooking.


Sometimes Kevin watches too much of the Food Network and he does the cooking.


When I cook we have something like Spinach, Tomato, Chicken Pizza.....

1 Pillsbury Thin Pizza Crust

2 tbsp. Olive Oil

2 c. shredded Chicken Breast

1 can Italian Diced Tomatoes

3 c. fresh Baby Spinach 

2 c. shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. garlic powder

Preheat your oven to whatever the pizza crust temperature is supposed to be. Roll out your dough and pat it thin. Coat it with the olive oil and sprinkle with basil, thyme, and garlic powder. Pop it in the oven for 5-7 minutes until almost baked through. Layer with baby spinach, chicken, tomato, and cheeses. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown. Enjoy!

When Kevin cooks, we have something like Sonoran Hotdogs.....

*Note* The Sonoran dog pictured below is not ours. Ours were too messy for photography. But they were delicious going down! 

1 pkg. all-beef Hotdogs

1/2 lb. thick cut Bacon

1 pkg. Mexican Bilios rolls (a regular hotdog bun just can't hold all this goodness)

1 tomato, diced

1 jar green chile sauce

1 jar regular yellow mustard

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 c. real mayonnaise

1/2 white onion, diced 

1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Heat your grill or skillet over medium heat. Wrap each hotdog in a slice of bacon until its completely covered. Cook your hotdogs until the bacon is crispy. In the meantime, dice your tomato and onion. Mix the mayonnaise and lemon juice together. Slice your bilios rolls but don't cut through the ends - you just want a nice pocket to hold the enormous amount of toppings you're about to bestow on your pork-wrapped beefy goodness. When your hotdogs are done layer each roll with a layer of cheese, a Sonoran dog, onion, tomato, green chile sauce, mustard, mayonnaise. 

I know it sounds weird but go ahead and let your inner wild child out and try it. I liked it and I don't usually like bacon wrapped anything. 

I should go ahead and tell you that Sonoran dogs are supposed to also have pinto beans on them. 

Kevin and I came to a mutual agreement that we just couldn't cross that line. No beans on hotdogs in the Knight house. Case closed.

Enjoy!

Mandy and Kevin