Christmas Update & Pictures

Wow! I just realized that I haven't blogged since before Christmas and here it is, about to be the New Year!! (*gasp)So, how about a recap??!

We spent the Saturday before Christmas with my family...just eating and hanging out. Blake guessed the right number, thus winning our family a box of homemade fudge! Oh man, it was yummy!!


This is my little sister (she's 27) and her kids...nothing like a little race of the human horses to stir up some laughs.

Christmas Eve was spent with Quentin's parents. Christmas morning was reserved just for Quentin, Me, and the Kids. Don't you love that "I just woke up to open my presents look?"

Blake received a ton of hunting stuff to feed his new obsession and Mallorye got some kewl new things to update her room (like paper lanterns in hot pink, and black and white). Of course there was the ever present clothes and candy!! Quentin got me an IPOD shuffle (I was wanting one so I could use it to run on the treadmill...no excuses now!) and I pulled off the ultimate gift...surprising Q with tickets to see the Transiberian Orchestra!!

Later, we headed to my grandmas for lunch and to spend some time with my dad. He's the one in the middle that looks scared!


The kids...Blake and Mallorye in the back...and my sister's boys in the front...Caleb and Daniel.

Oh...back to the TSO concert...that was this past Saturday and it totally rocked!! If you ever get the chance to see them it is totally worth the money. Complete sensory overload...lights, lasers, fire, fireworks, moving stage, orchestra, narrator, incredible violinist! It was just awesome. My best friend from high school, Amy, was also there with her family. We don't get to hang out as much as we'd like...she has four kids and I have two and someone always has something to do...so we ate supper at Corrino's after the concert.


Me & Amy

Me & Quentin....Surprise complete!

That's it! In a nutshell...sort of!

Boxes, and Bows, and Presents...Oh My!

Wow! That is alot of presents...over 100!!


Mallorye and Ashlyn...troopers to the end!


"We wrapped ALL these??" Jennifer and myself...after losing our mind wrapping presents!!

I got a distress call from an old friend this afternoon. Problem? She has 7 children and a ton of presents to wrap and not much time to get it done! I actually enjoy wrapping gifts, so we made a date...we "wrapped" it up in 2 hours! I am quite impressed and we got a chance to catch up and just hang out.

Don't forget it all the busyness of the holidays to do something nice for someone...the blessing really is your own. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Duck

Blake and his first duck!

Blake is turning into quite the hunter....Quentin & Blake were invited to go on a youth duck hunt with our Pastor, Charles, and his son Noah...and another member of our church, TJ. This was both boys first experience at duck hunting and they had a blast! They got their limit, got to hang out with dad, and learned the skills to cleaning a duck.

It's so great to see Quentin and Blake being able to spend this quality time together bonding. I know Blake really missed these types of things while his dad was in Iraq for 15 months. Another blessing to be thankful for.

Look Out World...

....here comes Mallorye! And she has a license! Well, technically a Learner's Permit for 6 months, then it converts to a full blown license. Mal took the driving portion of her exam yesterday and as you can see...SHE PASSED!! I was a little concerned about that ;)

It's a little bittersweet for me....to see my baby girl behind the wheel of a car...with such freedom and independence. I know as a parent, I'm supposed to be getting her ready for moments such as this, but I just want to hold her just a little longer. A little tighter. She's so much like me....ready to take on the world...so watch out! Oh...and my proud mama moment? When they asked if she wanted to be an organ donor and she proudly and without hesitation said, "Yes."

Me...Baking?!

We tried our hand at a little holiday baking tonight. I am not a cook or baker, so this was a huge stretch for me, but I think we had fun doing it. We made an absolute mess, but you know what...who cares? Life is messy. Sometimes you just have to put both hands in there and let it get all over you. (by the way...I really need a rolling pin...glass jar was a little complicated)

We also watched an old classic..."Rudolph's New Year." My kids thought it was hilarious and I was amazed at all the puns used that I had never picked up on as a child. (my kids did) My how times have changed!

We still have to make our Gingerbread House and I'm not quite finished with my shopping...I still have 6 days! So how about you? Are your gifts bought and wrapped? Any holiday plans coming up?

My Little Christmas Tour of Homes

Welcome to our home! Come on in...

This is our tree...not sure if you can tell, but it has a western theme going on and even has a few presents underneath. No peeking!!!

This is one of my favorite ornaments that I found at Gordman's last year on clearance. I love the rustic look with the twigs and pine cones.

This is a cute sign I found and thought it made great filler for the tree. What do you think?

Snowman cowboy...need I say more?

Our mantle...we've waited many years to have one of these. I love it!
Christmas card angel.
This is the breakfast nook...I took simple wreaths and tied them on the backs of the chairs with Christmas ribbon for a quick and simple festive look.

My reindeer place setting...had these for years and finally found a use for them!
The total look....I don't decorate our main dining table, but the breakfast nook is easy to decorate and is the first thing you see when you come in the back door...which is the way most people enter the house.
Well, couldn't resist showing the pillows on mine and dear hubby's bed. I usually try to have a touch of Christmas in each room...although this year I've not done so well.
Hope you've enjoyed my little mini tour...I had grand plans, but being sick the past week was not part of them...thus why I'm a day late! Oh well! Be sure and check out all the other neat homes at BooMama's. Merry Christmas to all...and to all a Good Night!

Still Hangin' In There

Well, I'm still hangin' in there. I cannot tell you how long of a weekend this has been...I've not left the house since Friday and haven't had any solid food since Wednesday night. First on my agenda after my test in the morning...FOOD!!

I wasn't able to attend church this morning with my family, but I did go to our former pastor's church site and attended Flamingo Road Church...via the internet. It was a great message and I was challenged in "giving my best" to God and in all aspects of my life. I'm guilty of just doing what has to be done at times, so this was a great message for me. They also had a Family Dedication today, which also challenged me as a parent...to step it up in raising my kids to be godly adults. I'm just glad that I had the option to worship with them this morning.

I'm going to try to get some presents wrapped this afternoon in the midst of my water consumption...I have to drink 8oz every hour till bedtime. Pray for me!!

Rough Day

I'm not even going to go into my day...just wanted to let you all know I have not fell off the earth. Just to give you a hint. I was scheduled for a test today that had to be postponed until Monday...I'm on clear liquids and Mag Citrate until then. Enough said.

Can You Hear Me Now??

Do you ever have those days when the noise in your head is so loud that you just can't concentrate? Today is one of those for me. I feel like God is screaming, "Can you hear me now?" and I'm going..."what?..did you say something Lord?..could You speak up."

I sat in church this morning and tried desperately to get my self together, but I just couldn't. I felt such a heavy spirit upon me and have yet to pinpoint exactly what that means. I was distracted while trying to lead worship...concentrating so much on getting it right that I failed to worship, thus didn't "get it right." I just felt like so many people, myself included, were just going through the motions of Sunday...checking their list that they'd attended church for the week. Our Saviour is so more deserving of our full attention and authentic praise...not the half-hearted, so called worship that He received this morning. I know that He must be disappointed in me.

I desire so much more! Why is it so hard to just live it out loud for God...all the time! Not a weekend check in....not a habit...not out of guilt or obligation. Real, Authentic, seeping out of my pores kinda life. That's the way I want to love my God!Why do I allow my circumstances and surroundings to steal my joy? I've been in a relationship with Christ for long enough that I feel I shouldn't be struggling with some of these basic principles, but here I am...so close to Christ birthday and feeling so far away from Him. I really need to find that quiet, still place in me and reconnect with my Best Friend this week....to make room in the "inn" and quit crowding Him out....to listen for that still, small voice....sometimes I think God has to get quiet, so I'll take notice. I'm praying that at the end of this week when God asks, "can you hear me?"...I'll be able to say, "Yes, Lord. I'm listening."

Useless Ramblings

It has been a busy evening here....still trying to get the house decorated for Christmas. I managed to get all of the Christmas dishes washed and the breakfast nook decorated and table set. It looks so cute, but you'll have to wait for pix!!

I would have more done, BUT the bearing...or something like that...decided to go out on the dryer...so I've been helping hubby fix that. I'm glad he's home and not in Iraq...and I'm sure John and Mike are too...they were my Mr. Fix-It's while he was away. LOL!

Ok...funny story. At supper tonight, we were all having our nightly discussion and Blake...our 12 year old...brought up a teacher at school that apparently is not very well liked. He said he knows why she's so mean...it's because "she doesn't have any real eyebrows, they're drawn on." Ok, I have no idea where that came from, but I let out a huge belly laugh that he would think such a thing. Where does this come from.

I have to put out a big Shout Out to Sarah for sharing with me how to do links on my blog and thus, fulfil one of my "Life List" things! Thanks Sarah!! I think I got it!

Christmas Parade 2007

We just got home from the annual Christmas parade and guess who the Grand Marshall was this year?? Yep! The 875th Engineer Battalion! So, we all bundled up...Q dressed in his uniform... to walk with the rest of the soldiers and lead the parade and the kids and I rode on the Family Support float...actually...Blake walked behind it and helped carry a banner.

We definitely got our exercise for the night. We only live about 5 blocks from the downtown area, so rather than fight traffic...we just walked and then of course..walked the parade route! Seemed like a good idea, but on the way home, I was just ready for some warmth!!

There were some really great floats this year and it was very humbling to see them honor our soldiers...the theme was "A Star Spangled Christmas" and everyone was so creative! I love this time of year!

Our church float...Southside Community Church

One of my favorites of the night

Home From The Marriage Retreat

Hello everyone! Quentin and I just got back from the Strong Bonds Marriage Retreat sponsored by the military. They really did a great job! I wasn't sure quite what to expect, but I can tell you that I'm glad I went.

Let me tell you though...Satan was waging a spiritual battle Friday in an attempt to distract and discourage me from this retreat. First, I had some change of plans with the kids. Mallorye was in a pageant this weekend, so I had to have a friend play "psuedo pageant mom" for me and Blake went deer hunting. I had a dream that Blake got shot in the deer woods, which made me start questioning my parenting...I mean what kind of parent ships their kid off to the deer woods and then leaves town??! Then Friday I ended up working about a half hour late, which put us late getting to the conference. I was in tears. I just couldn't seem to get it all together!

I finally calmed down and when we checked into the hotel the staff had some awesome cookies for us in a cute tin as a gift! They were so yummy! Then we went to the reception and were treated like royalty. Our suite was wonderful...we even had an embroidered pillow on our bed that said "Sweet Dreams." How cute is that? We learned some great tips on communication and conflict resolution and brainstormed with other couples about date nights. Last night we went on a date in Memphis....practice what we had learned...Q took me to the Archiver's scrapbook store, the mall, then we went and ate at Red Robin, went to the Bass Pro Shop, and then to the Comedy, TN...the comedian last night was Klein. We'd never been to a comedy club, so this was something new...we sat right up front and had so much fun!

I'm glad to be home, but it was so nice to get away just the two of us! Now to get this house decorated for the holidays....I did get the living room decorated this afternoon...including the tree and fireplace mantle!! Yeah!!