CHRISTmas Wishes! (19/52)

Merry CHRISTmas to our family and friends!

It has been so long since I have blogged...

And I sure have missed it!

We have had a lot going on - and I have been using most of my time and energy working on this:

(yes, those are her toes in front of her eye!)

And of course, these take up a lot of our time....

CHRISTmas blessings from our family to yours....

Happy Birthday Jesus!!

While you are here, have a listen to my current favorite Christmas song:

(be sure to pause the player on the right first!)

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52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. Moms are typically the ones behind the camera, this is OUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family.

So, get yourself in the picture every week for 52 Weeks. Be in a picture with one or more or your children and post your "family photo" on your blog every Thursday - don't forget to list your post on MckLinky on Carin's blog

52 Week Challenge - 5/52

This is a wonderful challenge hosted by Carin at Forever in Blue Jeans. Moms spend an awful lot of time behind the camera. The idea of this challenge is for us to get on the OTHER side of the camera in at least one photo a week. Be sure to check out Carin's inventive shot this week...wish I had thought of that! I can't wait to check out everyone else's challenge photos!

When I see everyone's adorable Easter pictures, I am feeling a little sad. We had a great Sunday morning at church, had a quick lunch with my parents and then we were off to drop my husband at the airport...again! It was a busy day and I didn't pick up the camera once.

The good news is my husband will be home in a couple of hours; and I have pictures from LAST Easter! (which, by the way, feels like last WEEK)

I am sure this year's Easter photo would have looked just about the same.
The girls and I wore the same thing.
I know. We have been busy.
Yes, that's a fashion faux pas.
A few years ago I wouldn't have admitted to such a thing.
Or done such a thing.
I guess I'm growing!

Last year my mother-in-law visited us for Easter, so we were able to get this fun shot with my husband's parents. It was a happy day!

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52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. Moms are typically the ones behind the camera, this is OUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family.

So, get yourself in the picture every week for 52 Weeks. Be in a picture with one or more or your children and post your "family photo" on your blog every Thursday - don't forget to list your post on Mr. Linky on Carin's blog!

Favorite Things Friday - Veggie Tales Easter Carol

Be sure to hit "pause" off to the right first!

Happy Birthday Savannah Faith!

Five years ago today we were blessed with our own ray of Sunshine. Savannah Faith was born on February 26, 2004 and our lives have never been the same!

We will be spending the day with Savannah at Disney World and it will be the Happiest Place on Earth because she will be there!

Happy Birthday Sunshine!
We Love You!!!!

Goodbye Valentines Day

I like to change my blog template - there are so many great ones out there. My current favorites are here and here. I've been wanting to pay homage to our time in Florida and update with a more appropriate theme, but I really had a hard time disposing of the red daisies I chose for Valentine's Day. I also liked the "love themed" music. I found myself logging in to my own blog to hear some of my favorite songs. The great thing about playlist.com is that I can create lists that fit my every mood and listen whenever I want (as long as my computer is close by). Although my playlists remain on the site, I felt better about saying goodbye to my Daisies when it dawned on me that I could just take a picture and look at it whenever I want!

I've been asked for some "documentation" of our time in Florida, so while I have Valentines Day on my mind, I figured I would start there. My husband took the day off so we could spend it together. We wanted to take advantage of the warm Florida weather, so we started at the pool....





We were told that once you have kids, EVERYTHING changes....but, pre-children I would never have imagined that for our Valentines Day dinner, we would bypass romance and candlelight for the exciting ambiance of the T-Rex Cafe. I never pass up the opportunity to go to one of our favorite Orlando hangouts, Downtown Disney and this is where we ended up......


I have read very mixed reviews (don't you always) about the T-Rex Cafe, but my opinion is that the people from Rainforest Cafe did not let us down. We were surrounded by dinosaurs, every room/area was pre-historically themed, and every minute or so, the entire place came alive with sounds, lights and moving dinosaurs.....and the food was great!

Savannah even got to ride a baby Triceratops!


The Woolly Mammoth watched over us while we ate...
We don't usually order dessert, but we couldn't pass up the "Chocolate Extinction".....

A gigantic portion of chocolate fudge cake served with ice cream, fresh whipped cream drizzled with fudge and caramel sauces and sprinkled with Butterfinger crumbs.

Could you?

Who needs romance and candlelight? :)

More Christmas Thank You Cards!

This gingerbread man card ended up getting messy from the sticky fingers of a certain four year old........

And teeth marks from a certain three year old determined to find out if he tasted like a real gingerbread man.......

Needless to say, this card will go to said three and four year olds when their Mommy wants to thank them for something.....like not eating cards again!

Favorite Things Friday

Finally figuring out a way to do something crafty without feeling like I am neglecting my children!

I have been so wanting to do something creative, but lack time, organization, patience....oh, I lack so many things!
As we creep into late January, I am fast running out of time to send those thank you cards from Christmas that I so often procrastinate and then run out of time to send and then kick myself later....
So, today, I got out the stuff, told the kids it was arts & crafts time and we got to work. After a huge mess, a lot of fun and a little fighting and complaining.........I got ONE card done.
Maybe everyone will settle for a thank you email?

New Year's Eve in Las Vegas

It's not as glamorous as it sounds.
And we love it.
We had our glamour years 'pre-kids' when my husband worked for a decade in the gaming business. We are now content with never setting foot near a casino on New Year's Eve again!
Last night we allowed the kids to stay up late (Read: 9pm at our house), we ate take out, I fell asleep while watching a movie and woke up at 11:30, just in time to ring in the New Year properly. Night owl that I am, unless some sort of project is keeping me up, I'm sound asleep...I would have been perfectly content sleeping through to 2009, but being married to a commemorator, there are certain sacrifices that are worth making...
We have a great view of the Strip from our deck, which in years past was great for both 4th of July and New Year's Eve fireworks. But, after the Monte Carlo fire this year, hotels chose not to shoot the fireworks from the rooftops. So after 2 minutes of a somewhat obstructed view, we moved back inside and watched the remaining 6 minutes of fireworks on television. Much better. We were warm by the fire, could hear the music the show was choreographed to, and had a great view of all the excitement.....excitement we were more than glad to be missing, while our children slept peacefully down the hall. This is the life. To top it off, we woke up this morning without feeling as though we had been run over by a truck which I'm sure is not the case for many that were celebrating on the Strip last night!
This past year has held oh, so many ups and downs (what year doesn't?) and we are thankful for another one to serve the Lord and enjoy His blessings. I am a strong believer that we should not wait until New Year's Day to make resolutions, take stock of our lives, look at where we have come from and evaluate where we are headed. (I make resolutions regularly) But, I also believe we should not miss an opportunity (such as a new year) to turn over a new leaf, start some new habits, ditch some bad ones and who knows, since the rest of the world is doing it too, you may find some support!

One of my favorite promises in the Bible is this:
"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness." (Lamentations 3)
God's mercies are new EVERY morning, this first day of 2009 and through the rest of the year!


Looking for a New Year's Resolution with daily and eternal value? Check out Hilary's December Challenge and make it your 2009 goal!

Favorite Things Friday - A Very Merry Christmas!

I almost went to bed without posting a "Favorite Things Friday" entry...
I will make this simple (because I'm tired!) This week, one of my favorite things is a mostly stress-free Christmas (which is huge because I am usually stressed) and loads of fun had by all. And that is exactly what we have had so far! We had a GREAT time yesterday with our kids and our festivities continue this weekend. My husband's brother and sister and their families are coming into town which I am so excited about because they are not just family, they are friends!I hope to be able to spend some time with my side of the family in the coming week or so.....the fun doesn't have to stop at the 25th!

We also ran into Santa during our trip to CA this month!

HOPE YOUR CHRISTMAS WAS AS
MERRY AND BRIGHT AS OURS!!!

The Inescapable Truth

We have dear family friends that because they live in Texas, we only see them once or twice a year. In spite of the distance, they have always been an important part of our lives, especially during the landmarks: babies born, family losses and UNLV football games! Diane is spending her first Christmas without her husband as he went home to be with the Lord this past year. She, their four children and grandchildren are missing him tremendously. I wanted to share something Diane included in her Christmas letter - a message that has brought her comfort and really spoke to me as well:

The Inescapable Truth

At one particular point in my life, I felt totally alone. The heaviness of this thought gripped my heart, and I ended up telling the Lord that I was overcome with loneliness. As I spent time with Him that day, I sensed Him saying to my heart, “I am with you. I have not left. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.” These words conveyed the reality of Christmas—God with me—and filled my heart to overflowing with a fresh sense of hope.
One of the most wonderful aspects of God is the way He loves us. He listens to the cries of our hearts—the ones we don’t even know how to express—and hears them perfectly. When we are hurting, we need to know someone cares, and that Someone is Jesus Christ.
So as you read these words, know that God is with you. He is walking right in step with you. Christmas is a reminder that God was not satisfied to remain solely in heaven. He wanted to come to earth. He wants to have a personal relationship with you. He is holy, but He desires your fellowship. God has shown His immeasurable, undeniable, and unfailing love to us through the birth of His Son. And today, through the presence of His Holy Spirit, we have living within us the true sense of Christmas. The awareness of His presence is all the comfort we need to face every problem with hope and unwavering certainty. Because He is with us.

You can read the entire article titled, The Promise of God’s Presence: Our Savior is With Us During Even the Coldest Winters, by Charles Stanley here.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Cards I Can Enjoy

I love all the Christmas cards that come in the mail and I keep many of them, but during the holiday season they usually end up in a stack on the counter as I never really found a good place in this house to keep them on display without them looking like clutter. So, the other night I decided to put some wide ribbon I had to good use. I used my hot glue gun to attach a strip of ribbon on clothespins to make them a bit more festive. Clipping the cards to the ribbon, I hung 2 ribbon/card strips on both sides of the brick around our fireplace.
I had to hold back from getting out the paint and all sorts of supplies to REALLY decorate the clothespins. My husband was watching me and I was afraid I would forfeit the right to complain about how much I have to do if he watched me spend heaps of time decorating clothespins :) Next year I will use more colorful ribbon though. Anyhow, this took about 15 minutes and we can now enjoy our Christmas cards!

What's Really Important?

Each year I get overwhelmed with gift-giving at Christmas - we never go all out, but I always seem to feel the stress of what to get people, how they will like what I bought, if someone will be offended by the size or quality of their gift (or lack thereof) and doing it all within a budget. I thought that this year would be different; with the state of the economy (and our own economic state) we decided that the only Christmas gifts we would buy would be our children's. I envisioned a Christmas of simplicity, centered on the true meaning of Christmas, stress-free and fun....
Well....then I got to thinking (big mistake). I decided it would be best if I bought the young family members gifts, but then how do you buy gifts for some siblings and not others and risk offending them (or their parents) and then what if someone gets you a gift and you don't get them one and what about the people whose birthdays are on Christmas, and ........ well, you get the picture.
So, yesterday, as I was out shopping (not a great idea on the Saturday before Christmas when my husband had already asked me to stay home and rest since I was fighting getting sick) and I was stressing over yet another gift. I thought about the nativity we had visited the night before. I thought about Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem and how hard the journey had to be both physically and emotionally. Having had three children in the comfort of a hospital with the best medical care, I thought about the God of the universe being born as a baby in a stable for animals. I thought about the sacrifice God made on our behalf because He loves us so much. And as I stood in the middle of JC Penney, with my head throbbing, upset at my children because they were misbehaving, frustrated over gift choices...I felt ridiculous. I decided right then and there that I was done. I had already purchased gifts from the goodness of my heart (what little there is :) ) and anything more would be for the wrong reasons. I apologized to the Lord for once again getting wrapped up in the craziness of the season and losing sight of the true meaning of Christmas. Yes, we will have a Christmas with all the trappings, a decorated home, food, family and gifts as that is how we celebrate this special day. But with little reminders (like I got yesterday) I will daily realign my focus, taking it off myself which is exactly where it is when I am worrying about what others think, and focus on God's blessings in my life and His most important gift to us..Jesus.

Christmas Countdown

Half the family has the sniffles so, needless to say, we won't be going to church this morning. I don't think the other moms would appreciate me bringing germs around 4 days before Christmas. Wow, 4 days 'til Christmas! This seemed to be a particularly long year for me, but as usual, once Christmas rolls around I marvel that it is already here!
Friday night we took the kids to a live nativity scene at a local church. I didn't know anyone still did live nativity scenes - I hadn't been to one since I was a child. There was a petting zoo, a choir of angels singing Christmas Carols, a presentation of the Christmas story with live characters and animals, hot chocolate and cookies! The kids loved it......We all did!






It's not very often you get your picture with Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus!


We also watched The Nativity Story again last night. I had forgotten what a great movie it is... (if you want to watch these clips, be sure to pause the music player)

These are a Few of My Favorite Things....

Julie Andrews did it best (reminiscing about her favorite things), but my kids and I began a weekly project a few months back that we call "Favorite Things Friday". Each week we think about and discuss some of our favorite things and on Friday the kids sit down, draw or paint a picture of that favorite thing and we talk about what they have chosen. It has been quite fun and prompts them to think regularly about the good things in their lives and I have found that I get to know my children better through the process. For example, my oldest (who is 6) surprises me every once in a while with a favorite thing she has never even done! Then there is my "note to self" to make sure we do it!
Although "Favorite Things Friday" is by no means an original idea (especially in "blogland"), I have decided to make it part of my weekly blogging. Thanksgiving-time got me thinking that we could all use encouragement to focus on the positives in our lives-especially in these times. One of the things I have always loved about the holiday season is that even the most cynical of people can be persuaded to take a moment to find something to be thankful for or happy about.
So, today is not Friday, but here is my first contribution to Favorite Things Friday:

I LOVE FALL

I know, it is hard for me to cope with the fact that it is almost winter, especially when just less than a couple of weeks ago, we had days like this one in our neck of the woods (okay, our neck of the desert): This was 11am IN THE SHADE!


Okay, so when my friends were decorating their homes for Fall as soon as the calendar said September 22nd, I just couldn't do it, especially with the temperature hitting 90 degrees on most days. So, I waited for some 'Autumn' weather and once again found myself putting up my Fall decorations just in time to take them down for Christmas decorations! I still love it.


Although we don't get to enjoy strolls down tree-lined roads with changing leaves and crisp, cool air.....you can't beat being able to run around the yard in shorts and flip flops, squeezing in the last bit of swimming before it's too cold. I love Autumn in this town.


NOT our City.......But not far from here!

We did make it to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch just across town. Call it what you like, it was still in the middle of the desert, so I don't know what I expected!

So, that was October/November....We now have 18 days until Christmas and although I can keep the windows open during the day and the kids still eat lunch in the front yard, it has been great having chilly nights where we can sit by the fireplace and enjoy the holiday smells and sounds. This time will be short-lived as our desert winter is rapidly approaching and each year it seems to get cold and windy before I am ready, but I still love this time of year!

Happy Fall!
What is one of your "Favorite Things" this time of year?

"Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:8