It's A...

We recently found out who we will be adding to our family in January!

This is one of the moments I look forward to most in pregnancy. For me, this moment of finding out if we're having a boy or girl makes the whole thing feel so real and exciting. It helps me personalize the whole experience and I love to start to call our baby by name. I dream about what they'll look like and start to create space in our home and our hearts for them. 

We did a gender reveal with both of our other babes. So we definitely couldn't' leave this baby out.

We did a cake for Grady.

And we did donuts for Griffin.

So for this babe, we started with cupcakes.

But those were just for fun. The real reveal came in the form of colored smoke sticks!

My heart was racing before we found out. I was so anxious for the news!

The only person who knew our surprise was my friend Trisha. So she brought out the right colored smoke sticks for us and lit them.

Then we all were so shocked to see...

BLUE smoke! Another brother for the Goodman boys!

Truth be told, it took me a hot minute to accept this news. Everything about this pregnancy and everything in my heart told me it was a girl. I had to let my heart hurt a little bit for the daughter I thought I'd have. 

I'm rewriting the picture of what I thought our family would look like in my head and just so grateful to experience this all again and give my boys a brother!

Even though the surprise was not what I was expecting, it was so special to share this life-changing moment with our friends and family. We were able to do the gender reveal while my brother and sister-in-law were visiting us in Indiana from Virginia by using SneakPeek early gender results.

This DNA detection test allows you to get your gender results early, so I was able to do my test at 14 weeks and then share the results with our family when my brother arrived in town!

We did a gender reveal for him and his wife last summer here in Indiana so it was super special to share a memory like this again this summer!

Enjoy this video of our reactions right when we found out!

We are all so grateful to add another boy to this crazy crew!

Thank you for celebrating with us!

And super special thank you to Christi Lee Photography for forever capturing our special moments in photographs!

We've Moved!

Looking for new content?

We've moved!

Keep up with Honeysuckle now at

www.honeysuckle-designs.com

fall favorite: butternut squash soup

It wouldn't be fall in our house if I didn't make Butternut Squash soup.

This is a Goodman family fave and originated in the kitchen of Tammy Goodman.

Yummy seasonal vegetables and fall flavors make this soup a definite fall favorite.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

1 Butternut Squash

1 Acorn Squash

3 TBS Butter

Honey

1/4 C Chopped Sweet Onion

1 Quart Chicken Stock

1/4 C Brown Sugar

1 8oz. Cream Cheese

1 tsp Black Pepper

Nutmeg (to taste)

Cayenne Pepper (to taste)

Sour Cream

Directions

First, cut your squash in half and remove the seeds. Then brush with melted butter and honey.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes on a baking sheet lined with foil.

During the last several minutes that the squash is cooking,
saute the onion with butter in your stock pot.

Scoop squash from the peel and cut into chunks.

Add squash and broth to the sauteed onion.

Blend.*

*If you do not  have an immersion blender. Get one. Stat.

This is a great one to add to your Christmas wishlist.

Add the remaining ingredients and simmer. Add more chicken broth if needed.

Go easy on the cayenne.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with cayenne pepper.
Or make pumpernickel garlic croutons*!

*These croutons really don't require a recipe. But here's how I made them.
Cut up half a loaf of pumpernickel bread into crouton size pieces.
Put in a ziplock bag and add olive oil until all pieces are covered.
Sprinkle with 1 tsp garlic salt then mix well.
Put in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 13-15 mins on 375
or until you reach your desired crunchiness. Store in an airtight container.

I have to say, I almost didn't share this soup recipe because I like to trick first time dinner guests into thinking I'm a gourmet soup chef with this recipe.

Just kidding. But it is that good.

Since the gig is up with my family, you should use this recipe to impress yours this Thanksgiving.

Mini Pumpkin Pies + Pumpkin Recipe Round Up

First of all you guys know how I feel about making cute pies.

But I'm that girl that when I go to the dessert table at a party, I just want a taste of everything. 

(Okay, and then to go back for more of the thing I loved the most.)

These mini pumpkin pies are just perfect for that. And for the person who LOVES pumpkin pie the most, just take 5 with no regrets. You do you. 

These look sorta schmancy, but they're super easy. 

Also, everything is cuter in mini form, am I right?

And here's how the recipe goes down:

Get your canned pumpkin, your store bought pie dough, and your cute cookie cutters out.

(My recipe calls for pumpkin but I accidentally grabbed pumpkin pie mix so just do whatever works for you)

Roll out your dough and grab your circle cutter.

Ideally you need a 3-4" circle. A wide mouth mason jar is a perfect sub if you don't already own one.

Cut out 12 circles.

Spray your muffin tin and fill with your mini doughs.

Whip up your pumpkin mixture (recipe below) and fill each dough 3/4 full.

With the extra dough left over, use your mini cookie cutters to cut out your desired pie garnishes.

Bake at 400 for 30 minutes

Things I've learned the hard way:

Don't fill them too full or they bake over and do little burnt edges as seen here.

Put your garnishes on half way through baking if you don't want them overdone.

Let cool completely before you plate to serve.

 And they taste best shared with friends. :)

 Mini Pumpkin Pies

 Ingredients

- 1 can of pumpkin (15 oz)

- 2 eggs

- 1 can of sweetened condensed milk

- 1 tsp salt

-1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

- 2 store bought pie crusts

Directions

- Preheat oven to 400

-Combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, salt, and pumpkin pie spice

- Using a circular cookie cutter or jar lid, cut 12 circles. Ideally you need at 3-4" circle.

- Using mini cookie cutters, cut out cute garnishes 

- Add pie crusts to muffin tin

- Add pie filling to 3/4 full

-Bake at 400 for 30 minutes

- Add garnishes half way through baking for lighter color

Enjoy!

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And because I know you just can't get enough of pumpkin recipes. I've teamed up with some other awesome bloggers to bring you enough pumpkin recipes to last you all season!

Here are 6 more delicious pumpkin recipes!

Pumpkin And Ricotta Stuffed Shells - Motherhood in Stilettos 

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies - Lazy Moms Blog

Pumpkin Spice French Toast - Amidst The Chaos

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls - Mom Wife Foodie

Pumpkin Bread With Brown Sugar Topping - Mom Beyond Mom

No-Bake Protein Pumpkin Apple Pie Bites - The Mother Overload

Cheers to 3 years

A letter to you on your 3rd birthday.

Dear Griffin Boy,

You make life so special. You are joy embodied in a little boy. When you were 8 weeks old, our family went through some hard life changes. You were an angel. You slept through the night and woke with smiles every morning. You helped me press on in love. And you made my heart explode everyday with your sweetness. You've grown into your own little person. And we wrestle for who is in charge. We fight hard but we love harder. You bring me to the end of myself. And yet with your chubby hands on my face whispering 'i wuv you', I am undone. You've made me rely on God for wisdom and guidance and made me drop to my knees praying for patience. But I feel like the luckiest mom in the world that I'm the one that gets to love you. To guide you. To grow you. 

Cheers to 3 years, little boy. And many more to come. 

xoxo

Sunflower Field Pictures + Other Family Date Ideas

Some of our most favorite family dates are experiencing new things together.

None of us had ever been in a field full of sunflowers before so that's what we did for our most

recent family date. The boys enjoyed running through the path to the middle of the field and hiding from us midst the tall flowers. We got there right at sunset and it felt pretty magical.

Then we let them stay up late and go for ice cream. It was a great way to say goodbye to summer.

Some other ideas for family dates:

The Zoo

(it's so fun seeing animals we don't see on the regular)

Fort Movie Night

(everyone watches in the fort and gets their own popcorn bowl)

Make Your Own Pizza Night

(I recommend this easy Naan Bread Pizza recipe)

Bike Rides

(head to a trail or somewhere new)

Scavenger Hunts

(now that fall is around the corner you can use this one)

Game Night

(with prizes for the winners)

Build Something Together

(get creative with cardboard boxes + duct tape & let kids decorate)

Bookstore Date

(parents get coffee and get an endless supply of books to look at)

Dance Party

(with dance-off's of course)

Experience something new together

(Get creative! And bring your camera!)