New Look For A New Year

WARNING: The following is a big 'ol mess of random. Enter at your own risk!

I'm gonna do this in list form, mainly cause I am just too tired to think in paragraphs!

* I LOVE my new camera!!! And, even more than the camera, I love that the boys & Mindy went all out for ME this year. Thank you SO much!!

* I FINALLY figured out how to do a 3 column layout for the blog! What do ya think? Maybe a tad too purple - I may change the color of the post background.

* It REALLY is time to just step away from the food! REALLY!

* Come January 1st the tree and the junk food are all headed for the trash!

* We are once again looking for a new place to live ... long story, I'll tell ya later. Let's just say that moisture is not ALWAYS your friend!

* My girls, they love the snow ...

(did ya really think you would make it out of here without pictures?!)

* Tomorrow is the end of the year ... the decade ... WOW.

* I have never been happier to see a year end ... and never more thankful for the Lord that sees us through!

* HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Project 365 - Week 52

Week 52 ... and even though, between my camera and my computer, some of the pictures disappeared, I have had a blast! Thank you Sara for hosting us this year!

Well ... this week I lost more pictures ... I KNOW!

But it is OK because guess what!

No, really, GUESS!!!

I GOT A NEW CAMERA FOR CHRISTMAS!

I could NOT be more excited. I have had so much fun playing with it. Still learning the ropes and the ins and outs of it, so I have nothing spectacular to show you ... yet!

I do, however, have plenty of pictures for the week ... just not ALL the days are represented ... but here we go!

Sunday - this is where I would post the picture of Hattie and I making LOTS of yummy baked goodies for her teachers.

Monday - This is where I would show you MORE baking!

Tuesday - this is where I would show you the picture of Sophie climbing the walls because, in an effort to bribe my child to sit in her seat at the movies with H's class, I gave her my cup and she drank 3/4 of my diet coke. Hello caffeine, so happy to meet you!

Wednesday - This is the saddest one to have lost. The finished product of our Nativity.

(Now to the pictures that DO still exist!)

Thursday - Happy Birthday Baby Jesus!!! I took this one on my cell to send to my mommy to show her that we are carrying on the tradition!

Friday - Christmas day! Lots of pics for today ... cause I got my new CAMERA!!!!!!!



The day that ended with a rousing game of Hungry, Hungry Hippos! It is a HIT with all of us!


Saturday - We stayed in jammies all day long and watched a TON of movies. The best, most relaxing day in a LONG time!

Sunday - playing with my camera with two of my very favorite models!



Thank you again Sara! I cannot wait to do it all over again ... with my new camera!

Did Time Fly For Her?

How many of us started our Christmas Letter in wonder at how quickly time passes by?

We look back on a year gone by and wonder how it went so FAST?

Children were born, cut teeth, turned three, started school, made the honor roll, got the lead in the school play and, eventually, graduated, got married and started families of their own.

And we were left to look back and wonder how it all happened so fast.


I wonder if is was like that for Mary.
That night, as she held her newborn son in a barn, did she - like so many of us - look forward to each passing milestone and promise to cherish each and every moment?

Like so many of us, did the normal every day start to creep in? Did the sleepless nights of life with a brand new baby turn into the craziness of toddler proofing the home? Did she one day look at her son and realize that he just was not a baby anymore?


I wonder what it was like watching her son grow up, knowing that He was also the Son of God.

I mean, she KNEW who he was - the angel had made that clear - so she HAD to know what was in store.


Were the passing moments stored and cherished or did she turn around one day and find a man where her boy had once stood?


I cannot imagine how it felt to see him getting older, stronger, wiser ... all the while knowing that each breath he took brought him closer to the road He was destined to walk...


... and the cross He was determined to bear.

She knew when He was born that His death was imminent.

That it was predetermined.

That it HAD to be.



So, when she held her son that night...

As she watched him learn to walk ...

While she taught him how to talk ...

As she raised HER son ...

Did she cherish each moment knowing that she was holding, watching, teaching and raising God?

Or, did time fly for Mary too?

Project 365 - Weeks 49 - 51

Allrighty - this is the last week f the year.

Ahem ... did ya hear me?

THE LAST WEEK OF THE STINKIN' YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(yes, that was me yelling ... because, HELLO! This is the last week of the year!!)

OK, deep breaths ... we can do this.

I would like to thank Sara for hosting this shin-dig all year - it has been a BLAST!

And, without further ado, here we go:
(By the way, this is three weeks worth, so ya may wanna go grab a snack ... or, ya know, a lunch!)

Sunday - We decorated the tree - this sweet angel and I have been through quite a bit together!


Monday - Hubs started on the outdoor decor. He built this stable for our lawn Nativity a few years ago and it is one of my very favorite parts of getting ready for Christmas!


Tuesday - This is one of the Angels that stand over Sweet Baby Jesus in our yard.


Wednesday - Yes, they are on backward and, yes, it IS on purpose. If they're on the correct way, she can strip em of faster than anything!


Thursday - Angels made from hand and foot prints!


Friday - This would be Mary & Joseph ... I am pretty sure that Joseph had hair, but the cat ran off with ours, so we have a bald one!


Saturday - If you know me well, you know I am a sucker for pink ribbons. Sophie found a piece of ribbon and played with it for HOURS. When I put her down for nap I came out to the living room and found this on the couch. LOVE.IT.


Sunday - Setting tables for the Women's Christmas Banquet at church.


Monday - Sweet Teri came to the dinner - have I mentioned that I LOVE me some Teri? Cause, yeah, I do!


Tues - Hattie LOVED making the sheep for our craft nativity.


Wed - Potty Training Boot Camp, day 1.


Thursday - Sophie snagged my root beer. Good thing it's decaf!


Friday - Zoe gets the diapers cause we are DONE with them!


Saturday - Pretty sunset ... not as pretty as the sunsets in AZ, but it'll do!


Sunday - Still in bootcamp...


Monday - Christmas cards are beginning to roll in. I LOVE Christmas cards!


Tuesday - Cookie decorating at her BFF Evy's house!


Wednesday - Look at that slim little hiney! Now that the diapers are gone, it actually fits into these jeans!!


Thursday - Baking a cake for the class party!


Friday - Santa came to said class party ... and, no, I actually do NOT know what is with the tongue. Thanks for asking!


Saturday - Movie time on Saturday morning in Mommy and Daddy's bed.

That last one was taken with my cell phone ... even though we were obviously at home ... cause my camera, with it's BRAND NEW BATTERIES, would not turn on.

And, I cannot tell you how sad this makes me...

So, how was YOUR week?

Welcome to Boot Camp

Potty Training Boot Camp, that is ...

And, seriously, I am not so sure that Army boot camp could be more taxing on my nerves. Though Hubby assures me I am incorrect in that assumption.

We started on Tuesday afternoon and went full board first thing Wednesday morning.

Because I am just the kinda crazy that would start potty training in the middle of December, in the frozen tundra, right before Christmas and on the day after a migraine.

Yeah ...


We started off well, finding appropriate activities to pass the long minutes on the toilet.

Nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, beats a good toilet paper roll horn!

She did fairly well on Wednesday and Thursday - in fact there were no accidents at all yesterday! So today began with the hope of actual boot camp survival.

I broke out the princess panties this morning ... no more plain white undies for my girl! She was very excited to don Sleeping Beauty. We even sang the song, which she LOVED.

Fifteen minutes later we were singing Cinderella's song.

Another 20 minutes later and it was Snow White.

I do not know a Tinker Belle song or we would have been singing IT a good half hour after that.

I have come to the conclusion that she is either A) trying to make her way through every kingdom in the land of Disney OR B) she is having a "stubborn" day in which she attempts to drive the mama over the edge all the while testing every boundary in the Potty Training Boot Camp Rule Book. Either way, we have had to make some adjustments ...

Plain white undies, a ginormous hoodie and that is it.

She begged for a Princess and I explained oh so calmly (HA!) that the princesses do NOT like to get wet so we have to wait until she can keep them dry before we can wear them again. Guess it's a good thing we hadn't broken out the Little Mermaid. I seem to remember my niece Trinity explaining that it was OK to tinkle in THOSE panties because, duh!, Ariel LIKES the water!!!

But, no matter what happens for the next few days ... weeks ... whatever, the only one who will be wearing a diaper in this house, is Zoe!

And, ahem, Zoe's mommy can potty train HER herself!

After this, I am DONE!

The Face of Christmas

Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year. I love the magic and the meaning in all that we do to celebrate.

For me, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ ... my Savior


But, there are many faces to Christmas.

Some come with a beard


Some come riding horses that rock


Faces made of snow


Some bring Glad Tidings ...


... For all people


Some bring stories that have been passed down through generations, faces hand made by those who have come before us


Yes, there are many faces of Christmas ...


... But, really, it all comes down to One, Holy and Perfect face ...

The Face of God