Christmas 2012

I have not needed one Christmas CD in this house or in my vehicle this year. I have had the honor of my very own Christmas cheer and singing every single moment of my day. It has been wonderful. We have taken this whole Christmas spirit thing and run with it this year. We have taken part in some long time traditions and we have also started some of our own. Both have been great. I have seen my Bear play Mary in her pre-school play along with her sidekick Bean the cow. They have wrapped, baked an spread cheer in every place they could find from here to Maryland and back to North Carolina. Yep, it has been just perfect. Christmas eve began with our Blevins family gathering. It was fun, energetic and a great way to start off our day. We ended it with a powerful story told through music and the words of our amazing minister. The story that surrounds this season of the bold and beautiful birth of our very own Jesus. The service brought tears along with peace and reverence. Blessings.

We then went to my sister's to enjoy family for an hour or two. The look on one girls face was priceless when she saw what Santa had put on the tree early.



After arriving home for the end to a perfect Christmas Eve, we got ready. We put out our reindeer food. Prepared our plate of cookies with cold milk and then told stories of his coming. Both our Savior and Santa. And then peace and the gift exchange with my love. As always, he delivered. I am so blessed. He is so good to me all the time, but Christmas is just the icing on the cake.



Christmas morning was memories for a lifetime. The looks on their faces as they opened packages and stopped for only seconds to show us. To show each other. Sharing laughs and special "wow's" and "look at this sissy". We didn't really hear much from them after that. Until Nana came with the cabbage patch dolls. Can I just say, they still smell the same thirty years later. And we made memories. Just like the ones I have as a child. From the cookies to the colors to the smells. All love. It was a very Merry Christmas. From begining to end.



So, we await the new year. Plans already made. Spontaneous ones welcome. Quiet days at home. I can't wait for it all. Some changes and some new adventures. No matter what, we will bring in the new year together and we will live it together as well.



Happy New Year to all!

Coming back...

I can't blame anyone or anything really. I would like to say that facebook made sharing life too convenient. I would like to say that Instagram makes sharing those snap shots of life come easy. Both are true. But the true reason is that I have been "too" busy. I am so mad at myself. Angry for getting away from my love of writing and sharing our life for my girls to have to reflect on one day. So, with that being said, facebook is gone. Instagram has taken a back seat and I am back.

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So much has been happening since September. It has been almost one year since I left the bank and started this new journey. To say it has been rewarding just doesn't seem fit. There are so many words to describe what this has meant to me. What it continues to mean to me. What they mean to me....

We have grown together as a family. We continue to find comfort in our faith and relationships. We have grown in some that exist and found new ones that are true blessings to all of us. A special group of women that make the village of parenting seem easier on some level because they are there to lend an ear. Or shoulder. Or drink. Whichever it may be.

There is so much to catch up on. A photo dump with brief, yet heartfelt descriptions is what I have planned for tonight. And then, I plan to keep up. To concentrate and remember that the facebook comments and all that come with them are not what my children will remember, but that our life and history is what will be important to them and what they will most cherish.

Here we go.......



~Two girls starting Pre-School. One's first day and one's last first day..~

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~A weekend getaway with wonderful women. Friendship and laughter....~



~Enjoying every last ounce of outside play we can....~



~Celebrating birthdays with amazing people in our lives..~



~Pumpkin picking at an amazing farm. Thank you Conner Family...~



~Downtown trick or treating with my Doc McStuffins and Goldilocks and the three bears~



~Our first Thanksgiving with the McDonald family~



~Traditional activities to get us ready for the big man with the white beard~



~Celebrating a daddy's birthday~



~Their first trip to a real theatre play ~



~A family trip on the Polar Express~

Christmas has come and gone. That deserves its own post though. It was magical. It was fun. It was a true tribute to our King of Kings. His birth. Our teachings of this wonderful blessing. Enjoy your post Christmas Weekend!