Merry Christmas!

We hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful Christmas Day!

We pray for continued blessings on everyone. "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

And, while we wholeheartedly agree that the birth was ever so important, let us not lose focus of the reason behind the birth. More so than a sweet babe in the manger, Christ's purpose was salvation. "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again." John 3:16-17 (The Message)

Hello, November.

We're officially in holiday season. I love it! The cool crisp in the air, sweaters, tons of opportunities to see family and friends...more reasons why fall is my favorite time of year.

Location: While we don't want to get too busy this holiday season, we do plan do go to Mobile to see Mawmaw. Plus we've already taken an overnight trip to Jackson. But other than that, we plan on staying home.

Watching: Thomas the Tank Engine; Go, Diego, Go! (um, yes, we have a 20-month old); Once Upon a Time; The Last Airbender (cartoon)

Eating: Still going strong with my diet. I've lost 7 lbs so far. Yay for me.

Drinking: Cranberry water. Almond milk.

Wanting: Land, but understanding that is not in God's time right now. Maybe one day.

Needing: More time in prayer!

Loving: Zumba class. I feel incredibly ridiculous, but I'm having so much fun and burning calories at the same time.

Creating: Christmas presents for the kiddos; a quilt for Hugh's bed; a quilt to donate to hospitals

Thinking: About prom themes. Oh, the joy of being a junior sponsor.

Wondering: I really want to be at home with Hugh. But is that God's desire for me at this moment? At the same time, I absolutely love teaching. But, do I want to continue with high school or transition to middle school/upper elementary? In need of direction.

I'm praying for a Christ-centered holiday season this year!

Weekend Lens: A Trip to Jackson, MS

This weekend we took a little day trip to Jackson, MS. I needed to take an exam to add an endorsement to my current teaching license, so we figured we would take a mini vacation.

First off, we had to stop at Sonic's Happy Hour to get us something that would last the entire trip. Nothing like a Route 44 half off! I was good and made mine a Diet Coke. I also kept looking back at Hugh, amazed at how big he is getting. I see those size 7 Nike's and those adorable legs...my baby isn't a baby anymore! Hello, toddler territory!



Hugh loved the hotel room. This was his first time in one. I love traveling as well. We stayed in a nice hotel. Not such a nice neighborhood (on the edge of downtown, a little too close to some shabby neighborhoods), but we still felt very safe.



We also discovered Duck Dynasty. Don't judge...we don't have cable. A&E had a Duck Dynasty marathon, and we were in redneck heaven! (P.S. Uncle Si is my favorite!)



And no trip to Jackson is complete without a stop at Bass Pro.




Our last stop was the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science. This was such a cool place! The current exhibit was a dinosaur exhibit. At first, Hugh was a tad bit scared. But he started to warm up to the dinosaurs, eventually giving us hilarious dinosaur roars!








The museum was a taxidermist's heaven! We loved finding all of the animals in each exhibit. Some were easy to find (exhibits like the first pic below). Others were set up like you would see it in nature. Hugh also loved the aquarium portion. Turtles, fish, snakes, frogs...it was so cool. Perhaps I have a budding marine biologist on my hands.






Whew, it was a busy day but definitely lots of fun! If you are near the Jackson area, I highly recommend the museum. It rocked!

Oh and it didn't hurt to come home and scream ROLL TIDE all evening. :)

Hello, October

This is one of my favorite months of the year. I absolutely love the crisp air and cooler weather. Football games, pumpkins, leaves changing colors...oh how I love Fall!

Location: Home sweet home. No trips planned except perhaps an excursion to the pumpkin farm.

Watching: Our favorite shows are back. Once Upon a Time. The Voice. And of course, lots of Thomas the Train on Netflix.

Eating: Healthy. Doing a program with the YMCA where I have to log my calories and fat grams. This has made me very aware of what is going into my mouth.

Drinking: Cranberry water. Yes, I should be a bartender with my ability to mix drinks. 1/4 glass of cranberry juice and 3/4 glass water. Really stellar mixing skills here.

Wanting: More time at home with Jason and Hugh.

Needing: To spend more time with the Lord. Sometimes I allow myself to get too busy...

Loving: Our cast iron skillet!

Creating: More goodies for the miniature bakery. Waiting for the resin to fully cure on my Blythe kitchen. Practicing drawing dolls that aren't facing straight on.

Thinking: Life is so short. I must make the most of mine. I don't want to waste it.

Wondering: About some career decisions. Am I best suited for high school or should I go back to teaching middle school?

So excited for what the month holds.

Weekend Lens: January 14-16, 2012

We had a pretty mellow weekend, which a lot of times is a great thing. It's nice to slow down and enjoy the moment, especially when you have a sick one at home. Who graciously gave both momma and dada his crud.

Lots of runny noses, booger wiping, and coughs. Poor baby.

Our house is beginning to look like a pharmacy. But most of those are actually mine. A couple are my normal meds I take daily. But one is an antibiotic that I had to stop taking because it gave me a head to toe rash. Turns out I'm allergic to sulfa. Good to know.

Having the crud didn't stop little man from playing with his toys. He had a Parents as Teachers visit this week, and Mrs. Theresa brought new toys to play with. Plus, little man has been loving his Christmas toys.

 

Bananas are ripe and ready for me to Baby Bullet them!

 

Hugh could have a billion and one toys and he will always ALWAYS always go for the laptop. Or the remote. Or one of our cell phones. By the way, I love that one sock is missing in this photo. He always loses a sock.

Yes, I love technology. Always and forever.

Kip from Napoleon Dynamite

   

Our dear friends, Joseph and Katherine, came over to see Hugh. We'd like to think they came over to hang out with us, but we know the truth. Joseph had not seen Hugh since he was two months old, and this was Katherine's first time to see Hugh in person.

Joseph brought this awesome game over. I didn't want to play at first, but he forced me. It's called Settlers of Catan. Pretty cool game. Added to the wish list.

 

 

I absolutely adore these two.

Amelia's Birthday Party

Last Sunday we celebrated my older sister's birthday. I won't reveal her age but I will say that she is an absolutely wonderful sister with an amazing love for Christ. She embodies so many qualities that I strive to have. I suppose you could say I will always look up to my big sis. (Big referring to age, not size.)

After eating Amelia's requested birthday meal (egg sandwiches on croissants, sausage, bacon, hashbrowns), we immediately dived into unwrapping presents.

 

This picture cracks me up for some reason. Apparently I scraped the wrapping paper when I got Mom's vacuum cleaner out of the closet a couple of weeks before. And this fact must have astounded Amelia and Nikki because they examined the wrapping paper carefully.
 
 

Amelia is always taking horrible pics of us, so this one is revenge.

   

Because she always takes great pictures. ALWAYS. It gets on my nerves. :)
 
 

See what I mean?
 
 

This what Jason and Hugh did during the party. Watched football and took a nap. Party poopers. Every party has a pooper, that's why we invited you. Party pooper. Party pooper. (You are totally singing that song in your head right now, aren't you?)
 
 

And, no party would be complete without the cake. Amelia's cake of choice this year was dirt cake. Crushed oreos mixed with vanilla pudding. Yum. And super sweet.
 


 

Of course, I can't leave out a photo of Ryan and Abigail playing together. Abigail loves Ryan! He is always willing to play with her.

Our Family Motto for 2012

We don't do New Year's Resolutions. But, we do take time to reflect on the past year and focus on goals for the new year. So, in a way we actually do a resolution. This year we focused on a wonderful set of scriptures that embrace exactly who we want to be as a family.

The scriptures come from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. I used a free map font from A is for Ampersand to create some word art to hang up in the house as a daily reminder of our family motto.

 

Happy New Year!