i had no idea...

things sure have changed since my last blog post! we are now proud parents of a brand new baby boy!

owen patrick billett

november 20, 2009

9:28 a.m.

9 lbs. 4 oz.

21 inches long

the feature that caught everyone by surprise??? he has a TON of hair! it's a bit hard to tell who he looks like, but i think he has my nose, lips, and chin, and austin's head shape and hair! his eyes are a nice blue color and seem to be a combination of both mommy and daddy!

5:50 a.m. on friday, november 20. about to head to the hospital.

about to head into the operating room. i already had a bag and a half of fluid pumped into me at this point! hello puffiness!!

austin wheeled owen out of the operating room and "delivered" him to the nursery for a bath and to be examined by our nurse and good friend, staci shaw! he was greeted in the hall by proud grandparents and proud uncle kyle. (i was being stitched up in the operating room at this point!)

our first family picture outside the nursery before i was taken to my room.

what a gorgeous face!! i love love love his pretty eyes!

this has GOT to be the cutest little puppy dog outfit you ever did see! thanks mrs. patty!!!!!!!

this adorable little ensemble is from owen's "aunt riley." thanks aunt riley!!

owen and dr. owen (my ob/gyn and the one responsible for bringing owen into the world safely). we love the name connection even though we did not name owen after her!

his going home outfit was a bit big on him.......

.......but he sure did look cute!

the whole hospital/surgery experience last week was brand new to me. thankfully, my c-section went very smoothly and was completely free of complications. there was, however, some annoying face-itching and swelling from the morphine. needless to say, i was thrilled to have that wear off by friday afternoon!!!!!!!!!! i was up and around by that afternoon (friday) taking walks around the room and down the halls. the nurses and doctors were all top-notch which made it very easy to enjoy my three-and-a-half-day stay. the food was good too...and the bed was oh-so-comfy!!

once we got home, it was nice to start establishing some sort of routine for us and for sweet little owen. my mom has been here for the entire week...and what a blessing that has been! she has been helpful in so many ways...from time spent with owen to helping with chores to offering "parenting" advice to talking me through some difficult emotional times. austin and i are both so glad to have had the help. (she just left this afternoon so now "real life" begins.)

there are many things i have learned this week. i am sure i will be able to add more to this list as more days pass.

in nine days of being a mother, i have learned that:

1. i had no idea i could love someone as much as i love our son. it just didn't seem possible to have that much love in my heart.

2. i had no idea how good a shower could feel after a long day of tending to someone other than myself.

3. i had no idea how the once-important "to do list" could pretty much disappear out of my mind for hours, even days, at a time.

4. i had no idea how i could survive several days in a row without checking my bank account, facebook, blog, and e-mail! granted, i have missed my computer time, but other things have captured my attention...and my heart! even my cell phone has not seen much action!!

5. i had no idea how the touch of a nine-day-old human being could make me smile bigger than my face muscles could stretch.

6. i had no idea that i would or could ever think that "poopy diapers are no big deal."

7. i had no idea how incredibly wonderful my life with austin could become in just a matter of minutes.

in these early days of being a mom and in the beginning stages of learning how to care for an amazing, tiny person, i am reminded of the love of our Lord. He made this all possible and He will guide us to be the parents He wants us to be. austin and i are so incredibly blessed and happy to have a healthy, loving, calm, wonderful little boy.

i am reminded of a quote i heard back in college that i feel is appropriate in most "life" situations, but now more than ever.

"the task ahead of you is never as great as the power behind you."

God bless you all!

:) carianne, the proud mom

top ten things i am thankful for today...

greetings everyone! over the weekend, i found myself thinking of all the things i am thankful for at this time in my life. some statements will also include austin based on things we talk about on a daily basis! with it being the week before thanksgiving (my most favorite holiday of all!!), i decided to put some thought into a "top ten" list for one of my posts this week. of course austin and i are blessed in more than just ten ways...but these are some of the highlights. 10. the BEAUTIFUL fall weather, colors, and smells. just thinking about this makes me grin from ear to ear. 9. all the little things i have that make life a bit easier...running water and electricity, cars to get us from place to place, food in our pantry and fridge, pencils and paper, our vacuum cleaner, toilet paper (haha), and so on. 8. our house...a place where we can relax, reenergize, entertain, grow as a couple and as a family. a cozy and comfortable place full of character. a place we think is "just the right size." 7. a sound mind...just like everyone else, sometimes i get confused, tongue-tied, and can't seem to find just the right word, but in the end, i am glad i can get it all figured out. i suppose this is also the place i can mention being thankful for our general health! we are lucky to be healthy and able to go about our day-to-day business free of pain and discomfort. 6. a complication-free, symptom-free pregnancy...from the very first day back in march, things have been a dream! smooth-sailing! enjoyable! i could not have asked for more when it came to little owen's development. 5. our amazing dogs...they are a huge source of joy in our lives and love us more than we can fathom. they cuddle up with us, make us laugh, and enjoy being around us. 4. family and friends...phone calls, cards, visits, gifts, and e-mails. not to mention constant support and interest in our daily lives! there are so many people who care about us and love us. we are blessed beyond measure! 3. austin...he is such an amazing man. loving, forgiving, motivated, intelligent, Godly, patient. i love him with all my heart and give God sole credit for causing our paths to cross approximately 8 years ago. like most normal couples, we have our ups and downs...we bicker and fuss...we struggle from time to time...but we always come together to make things right. we always try harder to avoid mess-ups and do our best to learn from past mistakes. we always make sure the other knows how much they are loved. 2. God...how great it is to know we have Someone to go to when we have something on our hearts and/or minds, whether it be a request or a word of thanks!! we can find comfort in knowing how great He is and how much He loves us! answering prayers, helping us relax and find peace, loving us and forgiving us constantly, guiding us to be the people he wants us to be. truly, God is awesome! and the number 1. thing i am grateful for on this very day... 1. meeting owen patrick for the first time this friday! i am feeling a wide variety of emotions ranging from excitement to anxiousness! it will be so great to see his little face, hear his cry for the first time, look into his itty bitty eyes, hold him in my arms, kiss his little forehead...what wonderful things to look forward to!!! i know God has formed him to be our child and has prepared us to be his parents! it is all part of His plan! what an amazing adventure we are about to embark upon! i hope all of you have a wonderful week. :) carianne

maternity pictures

last weekend and the weekend before that, we took some maternity photos to capture my ever-so-lovely baby bump! we are exactly 2 weeks away from having the "contents" of that bump in our arms! what a wonderful and exciting thought. a surreal thought, actually! this is already one LOVED little boy, so i can't even imagine how we will feel on the morning of november 20!!! the pictures where i am wearing black and austin is wearing white were taken in odessa at noel heritage park by my good ol' mom. the bare belly shots were taken in and around our house by austin. i thought i would be able to get rid of all the icky-looking stretch marks, but my plan failed, so i just decided to post them as is! i figure those stretch marks are just a small part of the joy of being pregnant. of all the pregnancy symptoms, discomforts, annoyances, sicknesses, etc that i have heard and read about, the stretch marks are the only think i can say have annoyed me from time to time. second to the stretch marks would have to be the swelling i have experienced on and off since the summer months. the tightness has never really been painful, just ridiculous looking. pregnancy, overall, has been an extremely joyous and wonderful time in my life! i have loved all the "firsts"..doctor's appointments...movements...feelings and emotions...planning our lives once owen arrives...looking ahead to a different set of "firsts"...thinking about what he will be like...etc. it has all brought me so much happiness. austin and i are very much looking forward to taking this journey into parenthood together! we are looking forward to helping owen grow up in a Christian home where he knows he is safe and forever in God's hands. we are looking forward to all the exciting times as well as the trying times that will make us all stronger. we are looking forward to learning and working together as the parents God has called us to be! we are blessed in so many ways and cannot be more thankful! here are the handful of pictures that were the best of both photo sessions.

have a great weekend!

:) carianne

weekend dessert deliciousness

for halloween, austin and i had some friends and family over for the evening. austin's mom, grandma, and brother (kyle) were here as well as kyle's girlfriend and married friends of ours (james and amy). we had potato skins, chips and queso as appetizers followed by austin's delicious homemade chili, my cornbread muffins, crackers, and all the yummy chili toppings (cheese and sour cream). it was quite a feast!! for dessert, i made something called a chocolate cobbler. it was a recipe i got in a newsletter online and thought it was worth trying. let me just start by telling you...there is no picture because it got gobbled up SO fast! before i could even think about grabbing the camera, the pan was sitting in the bottom of the sink...empty. here is the EASY recipe. Chocolate Cobbler

• 6 tablespoons REAL butter
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (i used a little more than this, maybe closer to 2/3 cup or so)
• 1-1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1-1/2 cup boiling water
• vanilla ice cream (hot fudge sauce is an option at this point, too, but i don't think it is necessary!)

Preparation:

1. Melt the butter in an 11X7 inch baking pan or glass casserole dish in a 350 degree oven. Combine the flour, 3/4 cup sugar, pecans, 1-1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder, milk, and vanilla in a bowl. Spoon clumps of the mixture over the melted butter. DO NOT STIR TO MIX.
2. Mix 1 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa powder together in a small bowl and sprinkle back and forth over the batter. DO NOT STIR TO MIX.
3. Next, pour the boiling water over the top of the sugar/cocoa mixture. DO NOT STIR TO MIX.
4. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. The recipe says that some people enjoy it warm and others like it cooled completely. That is totally up to you!!

on sunday, we had a few friends over to our house for small group. the same friends mentioned above, james and amy, invited us to join a small group back in may that they had been a part of for some time. we really like people in the group and have found it to be a fun time of laughter, food, and fellowship! david works with special needs children on the texas tech campus, chad owns a bakery in a town about 15 minutes from lubbock, sadie is a police officer, amy is austin's mom's assistant choir director at monterey high school, james works at a cigar shop, and that leaves austin and me! there were a couple others in the group at the time we joined, but one moved and the other began traveling on weekends so he is not available to meet with us any longer. sometimes we do bible study, but if only a couple of us are available, we may just do games or a movie and enjoy snacks. whatever we do together, it makes for enjoyable sunday evenings! next sunday, we are all getting together for "thanksgiving dinner." the next week, james and amy are out of town, and the next week, OWEN WILL BE HERE!! so, if austin and i were going to be a part of it, we needed to do it this coming sunday! thanksgiving is a holiday that needs to be celebrated all month anyway, so i think it is great to have a big feast with friends so early in the month!

so, last night, we had spaghetti, cheese garlic bread, green beans, and tossed salad. it was sooooo delicious! for dessert, i made the most incredible banana pudding and wanted to share that recipe as well. it is from a mary kay cookbook that was given to me at one of my bridal showers! i did a couple things different than the recipe called for, so that is the version i am providing you with below!

Banana Pudding

• 1 small package of banana cream instant pudding
• 2 small packages of vanilla instant pudding
• 1-1/2 cup milk
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 16 ounces whipped topping (get only 8 ounces to use in the pudding mixture if you don't want to spread the top of the pudding with whipped topping. i only use 8 ounces and decorate the top differently, so that is up to you. basically, 8 ounces if you want it in the pudding only and 16 ounces if you want to use half in the pudding and half on top!)
• 3 medium bananas mashed very, very well.
• 3 bananas to slice and use in the layering process
• 1 package of vanilla wafers (i got the mini nilla wafers)

Preparation

1. Mix puddings, milk, sour cream, 8 ounces of whipped topping, and mashed bananas with a hand mixer until smooth. It will look a little lumpy from the mashed bananas, but you will be able to tell when it is 'smooth.'
2. In the bottom of an 11X7 inch baking pan, cover the bottom with vanilla wafers. (I guess you could crumble cookies for this layer if you wanted to!) Directly on top of the nilla wafers, place banana slices to cover. Place half of the pudding mixture and spread evenly over cookies and bananas. Repeat with nilla wafers followed by bananas and spread the rest of the pudding mixture over the top. I decorated the top of the pudding with alternating rows of banana slices and nilla wafers, but at this point you may be running low on nilla wafers! If you chose the 16 ounce whipped topping option, you can spread that on top of the last half of the pudding mixture instead of using bananas and cookies.

once again, there was no picture of the beautiful dessert. it, too, was gone in an instant.

i better get going for now. i just wanted to share two very yummy desserts that were quite easy and quite "a hit" with our guests!

take care one and all,

:) carianne