Merry Christmas

It's Christmastime again, and I love this time of year! I love it even more now that I have a job that allows me to be off around the holidays and I don't have to work!! I thought I'd take a trip down memory lane and post about the things I love about Christmas.



The gingerbread house. We used to actually use graham crackers and my mom would make homemade icing and we'd make them from scratch. We now use the kits (I'm not sure if it's because we can now afford them, or we're more lazy)










This pose. Every. Single. Christmas. For as long as I can remember, this is how my dad poses for his pictures, and I'm certain he was saying "Oh how pretty" as he opened it. He usually also has a bow on his head, but I'm pretty sure my mom stopped using the bows JUST so he couldn't put them on his head :)







This is me opening one of my gifts. Notice how my brother is "helping" me. He never can keep his hands to himself. He likes to open his, as well as everyone elses :)







My mom works really hard to have an elegant Christmas Eve dinner every year. We give her a hard time about it, but, we really like it! During this "elegant" dinner, there are two things that are certain to happen:
1) Daniel is going to complain about people being able to see him. (The window in the dining room doesn't have blinds, so as cars drive by they can see in.)
2) My dad and Daniel are going to run their fingers around the rims of the crystal glasses to make humming noises.



This goes along with the elegant Christmas Eve dinner. These little salt dishes are the cutest things on earth. It does seem like kind of a waste to pour salt from a perfectly good shaker into these dishes and then use a spoon to get the salt out, but they are precious.







Family picture time. We set the tripod up, get in a pose, my mom goes and approves the pose (while looking through the camera), runs back and sits down, my dad goes and sets the timer and then runs to jump in the picture - every time.










Daniel and I standing in the hallway and wait for the "ok" to come in the den to see our Christmas presents.









Our presents will be wrapped in identical wrapping paper (Daniel's in one color, mine in another) and mom will put numbers on the back of each one, and she has a corresponding list so she can remember what is in each gift :)







Other memories that I do not have pictures readily available for:

• Every year, Daniel is going to say it's his year to go in first. He will then also say it's his year to open presents first.

• We will have breakfast casserole for breakfast - we don't have it any other time during the year, just on Christmas morning (probably because it has no less than 1000 calories per serving I'm sure!).

• Dad never just gives mom a gift. He has to create a scavenger hunt complete with clues and a gift at each stop.
  

Hope you've enjoyed the trip down memory lane.

Christmas Blessings~
Remembering JESUS is the reason for the season!

Becoming a Hunterwoman

My adventures with Mr. Outdoorsy have officially begun. Sunday was a beautiful day, so we decided to take advantage of the amazing weather and head to the farm to ride 3-wheelers. On our adventure we encountered numerous squirrels, birds, fish, possum, armadillo, and two raccoons, who I'm CERTAIN wanted to eat us. We interrupted their play time and they stood staring at us as we drove towards them. Once we were within a few feet of them, I guess they decided we were going to win (so we thought) and they took off up a tree. They climbed out on a limb, and I know they were planning their attack and wanted to pounce on us. Mr. Outdoorsy tried to convince me that they would not do that, but I'm still certain that was their plan, I could see it in their eyes. I was screaming for him to drive faster and get past them, he of course, drove slower. We finally escaped the killer coons, and our adventure continued. As we came to a clearing I saw two deer. I was excited. I screamed "HEY THERE GO TWO DEER!!!!" (are you sensing the excitement in my voice? me too, it was exciting) Apparently you're not suppose to yell when there are deer - ooops. Mr. Outdoorsy informed me rather quickly that I will not be allowed to go on a "real" hunting adventure until I can control my excitement.

I got dirt on me. I remembered I don't like to be dirty. We rode down to the river. I got mud on me. I really don't like mud on me. I got slapped in the face with branches. I don't like branches. I had to pee. I don't like having to pee in the woods (and thankfully I didn't have to since there was a cabin with a toilet nearby). In spite of all of these "dislikes" I still had a wonderful time. Nature is an amazing thing, and it somehow brings a sense of calm amongst all of life's busyness! Even though I don't like to be dirty, I love days like Sunday. I stand in awe of God's creation when I am immersed in it for extended periods of time. I think we should all do that more....dirt & all! :)

Bucket List

I've decided I'll accomplish more in life if I make a bucket list.....Mom, if you're reading this I know you're laughing at my desire to make a "to-do" list for life! :)

• Take an Alaskan cruise
• Para-sail (DONE! 9/6/2010, Gulf Shores, AL)
  
• Ride a train (in an actual compartment)
• Ride in a hot air balloon
• Go to a fair
• Dance in the rain
• Go skydiving (maybe)
• Places to visit:

Grand Canyon
Vegas
Hawaii
San Fransisco
Hoover Dam
Paris

keep on truckin.....

So, this past Saturday (April 24, 2010) I ran my first 5K...ok so ran/walked my first 5K. It started off as perfect running weather, booom, and we're off. About 20 yards out my hat flew off, so I had to turn around and go catch it, but I caught up to the group quickly. The rules I had been given were to stay behind the Kenyan's and ahead of the women pushing the jogging strollers. As we rounded the quad heading back towards the finish line it began raining, a little harder, and then BOOM the bottom fell out. Then the lightening & thunder began. The rain actually felt pretty good by this point. A lot of people were really afraid because of the lightening & thunder, but for some reason I never feared it, I guess I know if it's my time to go, it's my time to go, lightening or not. As I began to see the flashing lights @ the finish line the adrenaline kicked into high gear, I wasn't going to stop now, I was so close! I did it! 38:35 (I think, official times aren't posted yet). That's another entire disaster, they gave us these cards @ the end that we were suppose to fill out & then they would post our times accordingly, well when the cards are SOAKING wet, the pencils didn't write too well on them. They are suppose to be posting the official times soon. I was proud of myself. I've learned the "art" of running is a mental game. You push yourself & then are proud once you achieve the goal. I'm planning my next for June 12th. I'm GOING TO run the entire thing.....I'm a little scared, you know with the southern heat & humidity we always have! We'll see how it goes!

happy birthday!

As most of you are aware, I have made it my mission in life to ensure everyone has the best birthday possible....every year! I found this website that lists freebies for your special day!!

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/108990/the-best-birthday-freebies

My heart is in His hands

Today at church I had an epiphany - (It had nothing to do with the message this morning, but nonetheless it was still from God). The Lord loves me with everything He is, He wants nothing but the best for me. So why then do I continually attempt to take things back into my own hands and manipulate the situation? I have given Him my heart, my whole heart. I'm not taking it back anymore - it is His. If there is a man out there meant to have my heart, he will need to go to my Father to receive it. My Father is in control, and He will not give it out recklessly.

smile

I was just looking through some pictures, and one was of a newly born little baby. Everyone around him was smiling, and I thought, how could you not smile when a new life has just arrived!

I then got to thinking, when a brother or sister in Christ dies, why do we cry? Why do we not smile? They have just entered a place of eternal peace, eternal joy, and never ending praise and worship of our King of Kings. We are selfish people who desire to keep our loved ones near, for our own joy. Why do we not rejoice in their transition from this life of heart ache & suffering to a new life, one of eternal happiness.

Just a thought to ponder. May God Bless!

Everyone deserves a little love

It breaks my heart when I see people making fun of other people. Now, it's one thing if your coworker comes to work with two different shoes on, that's funny. BUT, when someone has a malformation, a learning disability, or some other trait that can not be helped, it makes me so angry!! Every single person deserves respect, they are people, with feelings, with the desire to be loved, to fit in, and to know they are worth something in life. Before you open your mouth to make fun of someone, take time to think about how it would make you feel if someone said those things to you (or about you).

it's the simple things in life

We get excited when we get a new job, or a promotion, maybe we've accomplished a monumental task, or we come to a landmark in our life, but how often do we truly get excited about the little blessings we receive on a daily basis? You can give a child a pan and a spoon, and they can have hours of fun, a set of keys can mesmerize a baby. As we get older, we lose that childlike excitement.

This weekend, I had 2 very random things happen to me, both of which made my day! Friday night I went to the gymnastics meet (Roll Tide!) and as we were waiting in line to purchase tickets, a woman came and GAVE us tickets! Saturday I met a friend at Starbucks, I wasn't going to purchase anything because, being on a tight budget, I didn't feel $4 for a beverage was a wise purchase. Well, what do you know, I hear, "does anyone want a tall white chocolate mocha on the house?" are you kidding me??? that's EXACTLY what I would have ordered had I purchased something that day! I realized, in that very simple, Starbucks moment, if the Lord cares enough to provide me with the exact drink I would want, FOR FREE, He loves me enough to provide me with everything I could ever want, and so much more. His love is never ending, His mercies are new every morning, and His faithfulness never ends. I am humbled to think He would love a sinner such as me!

love triangle

Isn't that the way it always goes? He likes her, she likes someone else, and that someone else likes someone else...why doesn't it ever seem to be simply, he likes her, she likes him, the end.

Then there are the games....oh the dating games! No one can just come right out and say, hey, I like you, I think you're pretty swell, wanna go out? There must be flirting, then silly stupid pick up lines, then asking their friends if they've mentioned your name, trying to find out through the grapevine if they are interested!

I guess this comes to mind because for some reason lately, I have become the dating advice guru! I'm not quite sure why, no boyfriend in 5 years, one might think I'M the one needing the advice! I guess it's not because opportunities haven't presented themselves, it's because I know exactly what I want, and I settle for NOTHING less! I trust my instincts, and at the first inkling something isn't right, I bow out.