Christmas... finally!

I am going to show you our December all in one post. We had a great holidays. I think my favorite part of Christmas this year was seeing it through Maddie Claire's eyes. This is the first Christmas she knows something is going on. While she did not like Santa she did like anything with lights and trees. At first she was afraid of snowmen. We figured out she did not like the snowmen with the pointy carrot nose. Don't ask me why! Anytime she saw a tree or lights she would yell out "Look mommy ik bee". I guess that is how she said Christmas tree. It is the middle of January and she is still asking where Ho Ho is. I am so tired of Ho Ho right now it is not even funny. I don't have any pics of Christmas Eve night because we spent most of it in the ER. Maddie had her elbow pulled out of socket and we thought it was broken. It was a very interesting night.

This is Caleb and Maddie Claire waiting for Santa to ride by on the fire truck. In our city he comes by on Christmas eve and hands out candy.
Here comes Santa clause!

Doesn't it look uncomfortable?

Caleb ran and was the first one to get to Santa. Maddie Claire just kept whispering "No, Ho Ho scare me".

Caleb had made a jingle bell bracelet at church and begged to be able to give it to Santa for Rudolph. If you look closely in Santa's hand you can see the bell. He told Caleb he had a bell missing on Rudolph's harness and this would be perfect. The look on Caleb's face was priceless.

Here is our mantle. Santa stocked it well.

Caeb loaded up on all things boy. Star Wars, G I Joe, skateboards... what more could a boy ask for.

Maddie Claire got some babies, which she named Brooke and Bailey all by herself, some Graco baby equipment and a Barbie trike. She was too cute when she saw it for the first time.

Yeah, Lego's!

A baby Cinderella!

Maddie Claire's favorite part.

She loved tearing up the paper.

I am so serious!

More GI Joe's

He has been asking for this since this summer.

My favorite Christmas photo!

Caleb's gingerbread house

The other side

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Coming attractions!

Coming soon to this blog is:

Christmas
Caleb's first lost tooth
Maddie's 2nd birthday
My red hair!

Good Eats!

For anyone who lives in the south part of Birmingham there is a new restaraunt you have to check out. It is Joe's Italian. The best italian food you will ever put in your mouth. When you walk in the door you are transported to a cozy, warm, inviting atmosphere where Papa Joe is waiting for you. Joe has this thick italian accent that makes you want to sit down and eat all the spaghetti in the place. The bread is warm and chewy, the salad is crisp and cold, the pasta and pizza is the best you will ever have. The espresso is hot and bitter just like it should be. The tiramisu has no words to describe it. If you haven't checked out this place you need to. It is located at the beginning of Weatherly.

Your Garland Is Showing!

Hi, welcome to my blog if you are coming over from Nesting Place. This is such a fun little show and tell. Hope you enjoy what you see and feel free to drop by anytime! If you want to see some more holiday garland fun you can visit here.

This is my mantle. I love doing my mantle different every year. I don't buy new stuff just rearrange what I already have.

This is my favorite wreath. The mirror is there all year long. The wreath looked lost when I put it there by itself so I put it in front of the mirror and loved it.

This is the left side of the mantle. I put gold berries in the garland to add some pizzazz.

This is the right side of the mantle. I love putting candles in a vase.

Here is a close up the garland and stockings. This year I added the angel ornament. It just adds that little something to the whole look.


Here is the another look at the garland.

I have a huge wall that was very hard to decorate. I put 9 mirrors up and it was awesome. For the holidays I hung gold horns in the middle.

Here is a close up of the horn.

This is what I have hanging over my dining room window.

Hiding His word

Because of a challenge I made with a friend and a mentor I have been memorizing 15 verses. It is much harder than I thought it would be. Not the memorizing part but the taking the time to do it. I have about 75% memorized and I have to say them tomorrow. It is amazing the situations that have come up that these verses were a perfect fit. I really do think God has a sense of humor. It is almost like He is testing me to see how well I am really learning them. I have never been one to memorize God's word, I am sad to say, but this challenge has opened my eyes. It is almost like I was a well that wasn't primed. I had water but was useless because my parts weren't working. These 15 verses are the water that has primed my soul. The water is now bubbling up and out. I am going to keep memorizing and hiding the very manna that feeds my soul. I am thirsty for more of the living water. Each week I am going to memorize 2 more verses. If anyone wants to join me I will be posting the verses every Monday. The verses for this week are:

1. James 1:19-20
Therefore my beloved brethren, let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.

2. Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God in your midst, the mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you in His love, He will rejoice over you in singing.

Photo Tag!

This photo was taken last year around this time. We were outside and it was bitter cold. Doesn't Maddie Claire look so little. I can't believe she wasn't even 1 then. My how time flies. This is a fun game! I now tag Nicole, Heidi and Merideth for this game. Go to your 4th picture file and post your 4th picture. Please leave me a comment if you play so I can see what you put.

Bloggy Swap!

Hey guys a friend of mine is putting together a bloggy swap. Read this for more info. Let's get a bunch of women together and have fun with this. You don't have to have a blog to do this. If you read this blog and want to join in just email my friend. Also, you don't have to be local to do this. You can be from anywhere in the US.

Carpool

This is how Maddie Claire sleeps in the car.

Maddie Claire does not like the light in her eyes when she is trying to sleep. This is how she fixes that. She has been putting her blankie over her head like this since she was about 6 months old. At first it used to scare me, but now I'm used to it. This is carpool for us. She falls asleep just like this.

Maddie Claire's First Haircut

The before shot
She was so excited
The first snip
The after shot
The reward for being so good. Her first lollipop.

Maddie Claire had her first haircut the other day. She did so well. Momma did not. Of course I cried. It really needed to be cut though. It was all uneven and starting to look scraggly. She is so a girl because she sat there and let the woman cut her hair and she didn't even move. I can't wait for spa days when she gets older. Her reward was a lollipop. It was the first one she had and she loved it. Except for the sticky mess on her hand. Another first gone forever.

Eating is hard work

Sleeping Baby
Isn't she so sweet?
Eating is just too tough!

Lazy Days

Caleb squishing Maddie Claire
I love my baby sister

Caleb and Maddie Claire love to watch tv together. Maddie Claire will do pretty much whatever Caleb does. If he's on the couch then she is too. If he is playing with cars and trucks then she is too. I love weekends that we have nothing planned. We can lay around in our pj's and do nothing. Lazy days are the best!

Happy Birthday Luke!

Here we are at Incahoots
Me and Maddie Claire
Daddy and the birthday boy
Luke blowing out his candle
My 3 boys

Luke turned 6. I can't believe he is so old now. To celebrate we went to Incahoots and sat on the patio. The kids love to listen and look at the waterfall. It was so hot it almost wasn't worth it. We had a good time being together. Maddie at one point decided to paint her face with ketchup. It was pretty funny. Luke enjoyed his dinner and his cake. Happy Birthday Luke! We are so proud of the young man you are turning into. We love you!

Playday

Maddie Claire and Caleb at McDonald's
Maddie Claire loves to slide
The best big brother in the world!

I took Caleb and Maddie Claire to McDonald's one afternoon to play. They shared a Coke and fries and played for an hour and a half. Maddie Claire really loves playplaces now. She is now big enough to go up with a little help from her big brother. We had a good time and it was good way to let them use their energy (you know wear them out to take a nap).

Catching Up

1. My foot is doing better
2. My life is crazy hectic right now
3. I will try to post when I can
4. Sorry