We're still here..... just blogger slack...

Gone, but hopefully not forgotten.... I've been a little focused on other projects (one especially that I'm REALLY excited about..... time will tell) and well, something had to go. We mommies can't do EVERYTHING, you know. Although sometimes I think we all try a little too hard to do just that.

Lots has happened since my last post.... unfortunately though since I wasn't blogging, I wasn't taking pictures. That is the very best thing about blogging... you actually take pictures!! I have a few photos from the last month but not a whole lot of time right now, so maybe I'll save them for my next post. Today I wanted to tell you all about Madison's book club that she and a friend have been working so hard on. The guest list.... the invitations.... ordering books.... phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, texts, texts, texts..... did I say phone calls?? I mean ALOT of phone calls! It's amazing how many times two 10 year old girls can talk on the phone about a book club. They've had fun though and have definitely learned a little about compromise.

So yesterday was the first official meeting of the H & M Bookclub.... named for Hannah & Madison, of course. About 10 girls were invited and between sicknesses and science clubs and all the other things, I think they had about 8 participate. They were super excited to get it all started. About 3 hours before the party I got that wild hare I get sometimes (OK, alot)..... and I decided to make some decorations for the meeting to spruce things up a bit. I ran to Walmart, picked up a few snacks and tried to jazz them up a little.... yes, in a very short period of time. That's OK, I seem to work a little better under pressure. It was fun and definitely worth it seeing Madison's face when she came in after school.

the tablescape....

Walmart special $2.50 cupcakes with a little personalization

and the close up....

Red kool-aid with a little ribbon added.... that's a real treat in my house
..... my kids NEVER get red kool-aid!

another Walmart special..... but they matched.... quick & cute

little cup wrappers

teacup chex mix with a few valentines m&m's thrown in....

yum! yum!

Madison was so excited to see her club name in print

And another view

And I had to take a picture of this.... Madison actually letting her little sister participate! Macy got the job of pulling the book ideas for the club out of the hat.... uh, box

Let's dig in!

Silly girls!

And a celebratory jump for a job well done. Great work girls!!

Can you spell "latitudinarian"???

Well, I'm not so sure I could have either..... that is until 3 or so weeks ago when my 3rd grader came home with a huge smile and a great story about how she won her class spelling bee that day. Hooray, little May-May! So over Christmas break we got busy studying a big, long list of words for the much more competitive school spelling bee on January 11th.

So, yes, "latitudinarian"..... it was one of those long words on that long list..... and, yes, after a lot of hard work, that little 3rd grader can spell it.... and lots more like....

psychoanalysis.....
....and paramecium
....and subterranean
....and photosynthesis
....and calisthenics
....and omniscient
.....and anticoagulant......
and so many more.....isn't that amazing?

When I first saw the list I thought, "Well, we'll study as many as we can, but those last 50 or so words, we'll just not worry about those." Her daddy, dare I say not the best speller in the world, just laughed at that big ole list. They were hard! I guess now's a good time to say that we've both learned a pretty good lesson..... don't ever doubt the power your children have inside of them.

That is, if they'll even try in the first place. I have this issue with my kids, and I struggle with it all the time. I'm a go-getter.... I have this natural desire to succeed and I'll work really hard to do just that.... I always have..... sometimes to my own detriment. Yet, I find that my children are more of the "let's just do what we have to to get by" kind of kids. I don't want to be the pushy, overbearing mom. I really do want them to be who THEY are supposed to be and not some weird reincarnation of me. I'd prefer them to be better than me.... not be so hard-headed and possibly, hopefully, not make as many mistakes due to that hard-headedness. But I do want to encourage them -- motivate them -- to be their best.... to try new things.... to believe in themselves. I'm definitely a believer in hard work..... "Anything worth having in life is worth working for." Yet sometimes I fall short in my abilities as a motivator. So that's why this spelling bee is such a big deal to me.

A few weeks before Macy had her class bee, she came home with the first list of words to study. She never did. Never. Then the night before the bee (when I had forgotten all about it), I said, "Macy, what other homework do you have?" And she said, "Well, the spelling bee is tomorrow but I'm not going to do it."

I thought, "Not going to do it? What? What do you mean you're not going to do it?" But I zipped my lips and instead said, "Mace, you ought to give it a try. You're a good speller. You'll never know unless you try." She kind of nodded (in that way I knew for sure what I was saying wasn't getting through to her) and then she went to bed. I was so deflated...... I have this thing about spelling bees because I won my own school spelling bee in elementary school.

So you can imagine my surprise when I picked her up from school the next day and she couldn't talk fast enough telling me all about how she won..... WON. Whoo-hoo! She tried! And when I hugged her and congratulated her, I also made sure to tell her how proud I was of her..... not necessarily for winning, but just for trying. It meant the world to me.

So here we are, weeks later, many hours of studying later, and Macy has tackled that list with gusto. We've studied in the car.... while we fixed dinner..... while we've eaten dinner...... while we've taken a bath. I call out words to her so often, I'm beginning to think Jacob might even know how to spell latitudinarian! And today was the day.... the school-wide spelling bee..... third graders up against fifth graders. I was so proud of her for working so hard, but honestly, in the back of my mind, I thought she'd be so nervous or intimidated by the older kids, that she might make a small mistake and that would be that.

And of all things, I couldn't even be there to watch because the teachers felt that parents being there would be too distracting for the kids. So I waited..... patiently anxiously, all morning until I could go to her school at 11:00 to eat lunch with her. And then the phone rang..... at 10:04am. I knew it had to be her. She said, "Mom, they wanted us to call our parents and tell them how good we did. Mom, I came in runner up! I got second place!"

I have never been so happy for her.

She did it! And best of all, SHE knew she did it!

So it's been a great day at the Parker's..... lots of texts and phone calls to that sweet little girl..... congratulating her on her hard work. Lots of treats and even a nite out to her favorite pizza restaurant. Whoo-hoo!! Macy, we are so proud of you (even your big sister)!!

Here's she is with a little celebratory cupcake (I ran to the store to buy her cupcakes right after she called -- nothing makes that child happier than a cupcake)

And a celebratory dinner at Shakey's

Macy's favorite place...... eating pizza and playing games with her brother & sister.

And so she learns..... hard work pays off..... I don't think there's a better lesson.

WE LOVE YOU, MAY!!

Mom's visit and we're OUT OF QUARANTINE!!!

These holi-days have passed so slowly they're beginning to feel like holi-weeks. Well, I guess that's exactly what it's been..... weeks since I've been able to get out of the house, weeks with a quarantined child..... we've lingered a little too much in our jammies....... stayed up waaaaay too late..... slept even later....... it's a good thing school's starting back because this is definitely a family in need of some structure. Thank goodness for schedules. And to think that right before the Christmas break I was wishing for some down time.... a break from homework and carpooling and after school activities..... uh, well, I think I got it. Be careful what you wish for, right???

Everyone's better now and we were even able to celebrate a little late Christmas with my mom this past weekend. She came in town to give the kids some Christmas money and take them shopping. Nothing could have made them happier. Here are a few pictures from the day.....

Maddie & Mic-Mic

Nothing's better than a little hard, cold cash

I think Macy agrees.....

Behind the scenes..... JP and the video camera

Opening dad's........ double crock-pot.

Now he can make duck stew on one side and deer meatloaf on the other

and we can have two delicasies from the backwoods of Alabama at a time..... wooo-hoo!

My "fox booties" from Mom..... she's always on a mission to spice things up a bit!

Mom opening the silk crocheted wrap we bought in Atlanta for her.... the kids especially liked that we gave her an ipod.... now Mic-Mic is cool, too.

And, as usual, the kids find more fun in the boxes than in the actual gifts!

Thanks, Mom.

A New Year and a Look Back........

Alright. I'm ready. I'm not gonna flinch. Even if it hurts.

My 40th year.

You ever feel like you need a good, swift kick in the pants to get it all together?? That's what looking down the barrel of 40 feels like to me. Time to get things right. NO. MORE. EXCUSES. I'm working on a list right now of the 40 things I'm trying going to accomplish by the time I'm 40 (the process would probably be going a lot quicker, too, if I didn't have 2 little ones sliding down the stairs on pillows right next to me while they laugh and scream at the top of their lungs. The joys of motherhood -- the reason we moms almost always feel a little bit insane). That gives me a little less than 7 months..... ambitious, yeah, but oh how this girl thrives on a challenge.

To be honest, I've pretty much dreaded this next birthday, and to be even more honest, I've not been very pleased with myself for my attitude. I think it's finally time to turn it around..... to be grateful for this journey and appreciative of all the lessons I've learned in these almost 40 years. I'm not getting old..... just getting wiser, right?

So all this reflection on my 40th year led to some thoughts about this last decade for me and Jonathan and our family. It's 2010...... ten years ago in 2000, well, life was quite different. And it's hard to believe how quickly 10 years passes. I started thinking back this morning over all the changes..... all the triumphs and struggles, the good -- the bad and, of course, all the growth of our last 10 years. I thought I'd share a little of our decade-long ride..... from those days we thought we knew everything to these days we realize we really don't know very much at all. That's what maturity will do to ya......

Let's see...... the last 10 years beginning January 1, 2000......

Married 1 1/2 yrs, built 1st house, had 8 month old baby. So happy to be a mom. So happy not to be throwing up anymore. Saved water for Y2K (remember that?) Fussy baby. Very focused on fussy baby. Got no sleep. Felt kinda zombie-like. Lots of crying. Lots of laughing. Lots of spoiling. Lots of feeling blessed. Jonathan hunted. I painted ALOT. Decorated ALOT. Went to Atlanta ALOT. Gave up my antique business. Stopped nursing. Got pregnant again. Got sick. Really sick. Lost lots of weight. Took lots of drugs. Had to take care of baby, too. Not so happy. Market was up. Jonathan was happy. Sold house to 1st person. Bought expensive house. Loved it. Decorated it.

It was 2001. Had baby. Named her Macy. She was amazing. No crying. Very sweet. Had ear issues. Went to Children's Hospital. Had surgery. All was better. Loved my two precious girls. Felt even more blessed. Loved dressing them alike. Made lots of clothes for them. Smocked alot. Loved watching them grow. Spent alot of time on a ladder. Decorated some more. Went to Atlanta some more. 9-11 happened. Very worried. Market crashed. Jonathan's career almost crashed. Wished we wouldn't have bought that expensive house. Tough times. Jonathan hunted. Decided to take a big risk and move to Auburn. Sold house to 1st person again.

It was 2003. Loved Auburn. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Jonathan had to commute. Girls were best friends. Found house to fix up and make money. Work. Work. Work. Paint. Tile. Ladders. Yard. Paint. Sew. Made great friends. Girls were growing and happy. Market picked back up. Jonathan was happy and he hunted. We felt we made the right move.

It was 2004. Got phone call.... car wreck.....Sarah died. Devastated. Buried our 14 year old niece. Life forever changed. Got pregnant. Thrilled. So sick. Couldn't hold my head up. Lost lots of weight. Girls learned how to use the microwave (seriously, at 3 and 5). Felt horribly guilty. At 12 weeks, lost baby. No heartbeat. Miscarriage. Devastated again. Madison started kindergarten. Jonathan hunted. Organized huge silent auction for kindergarten. Poored heart & soul into it. Raised LOTS of money. Got pregnant again in 3 months. So very, very sick. Girls started using microwave again. Lots of drugs. Home health care. Lots of self-administered shots. No sleep at all. Rough time.

It was 2005. Found out baby was a boy. Was so excited. Decided to build "dream house." Had precious boy. Named him Jacob after his cousin who died (Sarah Jacobs). Was so relieved to know I would NEVER again be pregnant. YEE-HAH!! Three kids. Very happy. Sold fixer-upper before we put a sign in the yard. Got lucky and made lots of money. Obsessed over building house. Completely immersed in designing, choosing finishes and decorating. Lots of work. Lots of time. Lots of meetings. Jacob went with me everywhere. Loved every minute of it. In my element. Jonathan was happy and he hunted.

It was 2006. Finally moved in new house. Felt so very blessed. Family complete - check. Home built - check. Decided to take a break and just enjoy. Stopped working. Macy started kindergarten. She decided she was a "boy." I decided to not get in her "creative" way. I made lots of friends. Loved my neighborhood. Loved my life. Had Halloween party to celebrate. Had more parties.... brunches, Christmas, back to school. Loved entertaining.

It was 2007. Madison was in 3rd grade, Macy in first. They decided they didn't like each other anymore. Jacob turned 2. Organized another school silent auction. Got friends to help. We worked really hard. Raised lots of money. I still wasn't working. Had too much time on my hands. Started reflecting on my life, my choices. Had a mini- mid life crisis. Felt lots of regret. Eventually worked through it. Saw God's purpose for my life. Trusted His plan. Realized that maybe I should "get back to work" and stop reflecting. Jonathan hunted.

It was 2008. Started a blog. Discovered Photoshop. Turned into designing blogs. Learned more about Photoshop. Turned into designing Christmas cards. Life was looking up. We celebrated our 10th anniversary. Went to the Dominican Republic. The economy tanked. Jonathan's life took a nose-dive. Merrill Lynch was in trouble. Jonathan started looking elsewhere. After 19 years, he changed jobs. Lots of transition. Lots of scary moments. He handled it well. I was very proud. He celebrated by hunting.

It was 2009. Jonathan started at Wachovia. He liked it. Saw lots of opportunities for growth. Economy still awful. Friends losing jobs. Times were hard for lots of people. Jacob made me laugh. Madison made me crazy. I made Madison crazy. I still loved her. Macy stopped being a "boy." Mommy couldn't have been happier. Madison grew like mad, became a young lady. Hormones were raging. Jonathan turned 40. He took it like a man. We went to Disney. Mother Leva died. I turned 39 and sweated turning 40. Realized I'm not as brave as my husband. Madison started 5th grade, Macy 3rd and Jacob turned 4. I was proud of them...... I am proud of them! We had a wonderful Christmas..... except for the chicken pox. We all feel blessed. Life is good.

So, all in all, I guess if I went back to that place in January of 2000 and could see into the future, I think I'd be happy with where we are now. We've overcome lots of obstacles, grown stronger as a family and laughed alot all along the way. I have no idea what the next 10 years holds...... the thought of 3 teenagers in the house is quite terrifying to me..... but I look forward to it..... the lessons I'll learn..... hopefully, the wisdom I'll gain. I guess I'll start by completing my list of 40 things to accomplish before I turn 40 -- Like I said, I love a challenge and maybe that's exactly what I need to go forward into this year with a new outlook on my forties......

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined.

As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler."

- Henry David Thoreau

Here's to the next 10 years!!

ROUND 2......

SCORE:
Chicken Pox - 2
Parkers - A Big Fat 0

Yep.... another one bites the dust.....

that is...... another one is covered in spots and we're in quarantine......

AGAIN

Happy Ho-Ho-Ho to you!

This time it's my oldest. The good news...... Madison's fine -- she's not even itching too much and she has no other symptoms. The bad news..... well, all of our plans for the rest of the Christmas break are O-V-E-R. No shopping, movies, or even having friends over for that matter. Quarantine. And after only one day, she's already bored out of her mind.

And my kids have had the vaccine. What's up with that? It's supposed to be 80% effective in preventing an outbreak of the virus, so how is it that 2 out of 3 children got it? It's a mystery, but obviously very contagious. At least we're out of school and she'll be better just about the time they'll start back next week. I think God has some ulterior motive in times like these...... "sloooooooow down, people..... stay in your jammies and do nothing." I just hope his plans don't include a certain 39 year old woman whose never had the vaccine or the chicken pox to be covered in spots, too. Wish us luck and if anyone has any ideas for what to do with 3 severely bored children, please send them my way!

Twas the night before Christmas.....

...... and all through our place,

there was excitement in the air,

and cookie dough on our face.....

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
Only hours to go before St. Nick would be there.

But the children weren't nestled all snug in their beds,
They were running around screaming & hadn't even been fed.

Mommy was late with her Christmas Eve plans,
She had lots of traditions and only two hands!

There was baking and singing and driving to see lights,
She couldn't get it all done before the end of the night.

So Dad stepped in and made everything O.K.
Martha Stewart he was, if only for a day.

He was rolling and cutting and baking those treats.

The kids loved every minute and couldn't wait to eat!

Then they went out to put Rudolph's food on the lawn,

Reindeers are hungry and must eat before dawn.

When they came back indoors, Mom had a surprise,
"The Grinch that Stole Christmas" -- "Oh, Mom! How nice!"

It wasn't too long before the boys were pooped out.

The girls made Santa's treat and went to bed with no pouts.


And as we all know, that's when the real fun begins.
Staying up late and sneaking everything in.

Dad eventually awoke to give Mom a little break,
It was a good thing, too, because it sure was getting late.

Finally, finally, it was time for some sleep --
That is until 3:30am when the munchkins took a peek.

Yes, they woke up THAT early and Dad had a cow --
He said, "Kids, you're crazy! Get to bed right now!"

A few hours later, they came in again quick....
But what to you know, within minutes Macy was SICK.

Yes, you heard me right..... throwing up on Christmas morn
Oh no, what was it? Possibly the corn?

It only got worse for the next little while

But then she got an I-touch and sat up with a smile.

The kids were opening so fast -- it all was a blur

They were so happy that morning, of that I am sure.

I just hope those presents don't distract from the real reason
We all celebrate the magic of this season

The birth of Jesus Christ and the miracle of his grace.
I pray that in their hearts, He will always have a place.

Merry Christmas to all of you reading out there,
Hope it was a wonderful holiday--Have a Happy New Year!

Ornaments, Ornaments, Ornaments!

Being out of school and with Jacob still in quarantine, well, we've had lots of time to finish up some ornament projects for the kids' trees. This was one of my favorite ideas I found on the internet. You take a 9 oz plastic cup, some silver poster board, some batting and go buy some cute mini ornaments from Hobby Lobby (like snowmen, Santas, etc), buy a few little trees in the dollhouse section and waa-laah..... you have cute Christmas globe ornaments.

Madison making her snowman ornament

I finally let the girls use a low-temp glue gun and they were loving their new-found freedom

Me & my creative soul, Macy

Macy's favorite.... she made one of a Snowman Band..... we made a stage with glitterly black felt, she took 3 snowmen ornaments and glued them down. We found small gold instrument ornaments (one sort of looked like a guitar), we made a microphone for the lead singer and colored some sunglasses on him with a fine-point black sharpie, and then we covered a small cylinder shape with some foil for a drum. The drummer even has candy-cane drumsticks. Like I said before she's so creative.... most of it was her idea!

Here's the one I helped Jacob make

After all that ornament making, the kids decided to sleep in the den on a "fort" we made for them. At one point, Macy & Jacob even had a roof over their section. What is it about fort that makes kids so happy? We took this picture to send to their dad who was in Arkansas hunting for 4 days....
We Love You, Daddy!!

The Chicken Pox Nightmare

So if you've ever wondered how chicken pox looks in the beginning, well, just take a look at this poor baby. And Jacob's is a mild case because he's had the vaccine. A few days ago, on Jacob's last day of school for Christmas break, I picked him up and noticed two small red spots on his temple. Then I looked down and saw the big one on his neck. I immediately thought, "Oh, no! Chicken pox!" I opened up his shirt and saw to my disappointment many more spots. Yuck.... not such a great start to the holiday.

Chicken pox has been one of my worst fears as a mom because as far as any of us can remember, I've never had it. And I hear that as an adult the virus is just plain awful. So I run Jacob immediately to the doctor. That was my first mistake..... doctors can't diagnose it that early and if it is chicken pox, and they don't want them in their office anyway..... it's crazy contagious.... something like 90% of people who come in contact with it, who've never had the virus, will get it.

So the doctor gives me a list of things it could be, a prescription to a steroid in case it's a dermatitis, and sends us home to wait to see if the spots develop blistery sores and pop open. So for a few days we were quarantined. Yep, right at Christmas when I had just spent 3 full days baking for friends, neighbors, and teachers and not finishing up my shopping. Don't get me wrong.... I love baking all those surprises, but I just had ALOT more Christmas shopping to do and now I couldn't. Not to mention, Jonathan would be out of town for the next 4 days (which meant I was now stranded with 3 children in the house) and there was still that looming fear of contracting the virus myself. Yikes!

So the next day, he had about twice as many spots and I was convinced it was chicken pox. But the sores never really developed the way normal chicken pox does, so I thought... well, maybe I'm wrong. Mistake number 2. The next morning my friend calls me and says her son just came down the stairs with the same red spots. Now I KNOW it's contagious and I KNOW it's chicken pox. She takes her son to the doctor and again the doctor (a different doctor) says it's probably not.... doesn't look like chicken pox.

The next day, she gets a phone call from her doctor saying her son's bloodwork came back with such a crazy reading that they needed to immediately bring their son back for more bloodwork. His platelet count was down to 18,000 when normal is between 150,000 and 450,000. The next test showed 16,000 and that doctor sent him immediately over to his pediatrician on a Sunday. The pediatrician took one look at him and said "definitely chicken pox" and sent him over to the hospital with a mask on for more bloodwork. Now his numbers came in at 15,000.

Of course, the first thing that pops in my head is luekemia, but I wasn't about to say that to my friend who was already completely stressed. So I got on the internet and she did, too, trying to find everything we could on what could possibly cause these low numbers. The first things we read are all the really scary reasons..... like luekemia, lymphoma, aplastic anemia, etc. And then we find out that a platelet count below 20,000 is considered life-threatening. Basically, your blood loses it's ability to clot at numbers this low. It's so serious because at this level you don't even have to have a cut or a bump to bleed-out.... you could just start bleeding internally from your intestines or even your brain and there's really nothing that could stop it because your blood can't clot.

After staying up half the night and reading everything I could, it sounded like his was most likely a blood disorder called ITP (idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura) which only around 5 in every 100,000 kids get each year. When I told my friend what I'd learned, she said, "Yeah, that's what the doctor said it might be." It can be triggered by a virus that affects your bone marrow such as chicken pox, ruebella or mumps. When a child is sick their body forms antibodies to attack the virus and in ITP, for some unknown reason, the body will also form an antibody that attacks their platelets. When the spleen removes the antibodies, it also removes all the healthy platelets. Then the child's body can't reproduce the platelets quickly enough and their platelet count drops dramatically.

The doctor, of course, was very concerned and contacted a pediatric hematologist from UAB and they decided the best course of action was to take bloodwork every other day to keep a close watch on him, and to, of course, keep him safe from any injury. It was a tough time for my friend.... she has 3 other very active young boys and trying to keep the sick one away from them so that he couldn't be hit or hurt in any way was pretty hard. Not to mention all the stress of the diagnosis. Many kids with ITP fight the disorder for months even after the virus is gone.

Now to the good news..... after a few days, a few bloodtests and lots and lots of prayer, her son's platelet count gradually started going up again. Hooray! And just before Christmas, too. Times like these truly put all things into perspective. So I think I'll go now and hug my children.... oh yeah..... and wait patiently, worriedly, to see if I, too, get those dreaded spots.

We are soooo happy you're better T!
Many prayers & blessings to you sweet boy!

A Christmas Musical

My girls had their Christmas program at school this week. Their music teacher, Mr. Wilson, choreographs a Christmas musical each year and the kids love performing. He always makes it fun for them, not your same old carols..... more like a little hip-hop, boom-boom pow Christmas. Maybe that's why they voted him teacher of the year!

Here's Maddie's friend Anna Grace acting out her part

Maddie, Casey & Taylor

Macy and her class

A wideshot of the room.... packed with parents

Here's Macy and one of her best friends, Kelli

The kids are getting very excited about Christmas now....
thanks Mr. Wilson for all you do for them!

Our Christmas Card

Lots of people have been asking if I'm designing Christmas cards this year. I wish that I could say yes, but for many different reasons, I decided not to this year. The printer I was using went up pretty dramatically on my cost.... I would have to go to a lesser quality paper and printing format in order to keep the price the same. Then the more I thought about it, well, the money I would make wouldn't make up for the time spent away from the kids in this all important Christmas season. I decided to focus on them, make lots of fun projects for them and really appreciate the magic of the season instead of adding more stress to it.

That being said, I really miss doing it.... I love designing, and I think Christmas cards are so important. They're a great way to stay in touch with those people we don't see very often and really.... who doesn't love a Christmas card? We all enjoy going to the mail box and seeing those sweet pictures of our friends' children. My own kids will practically knock each other over trying to get to the mailbox first! Not to mention, it forces all of us busy mommies to make the time to actually take a group shot of our kids. Without those some of us would never have a picture of all of our kids together. So HOORAHHHH to Christmas cards.... I hope all of you will keep sending them.

I thought I'd share ours this year for those of you who may not have received one... I try to remember everyone, but sometimes there's an address or two that I can't find. And I wanted to share just because I love this one so much. I've had so many people tell me how much it moved them (a Christmas card!!). I even had one friend call me and tell me it brought tears to her eyes. How sweet.

The front of the card

I loved this picture of the kids with Charlie.... this was from our second Christmas picture taking session. Unfortunately, when we decided to get a different dog I had to start all over with the picture taking. There for a moment I thought I'd just erase the old dog in Photoshop and add this new one. Joke.... I wish I were that good!

The inside of the card - a little celebration of the year - and a great year it was!

The back of the card

I thought about doing a beach Christmas card this year, but when we got the dog, I decided against it. So at the last minute I thought I'd just add some of our beach shots to the back of the card.

This one is definitely my favorite one ever.... keep sending those cards!!! We love receiving them.

Highlands..... Part 2

I had so much fun posting my last post from Jonathan's laptop in the mountains (I'm sure there are those of you out there giggling at me right now... me & my tech-savvy self). The wonders of wi-fi! Afterward, we went out for a while to town and ate and ate and shopped a little, too. What a great little town.... full of fantastic restaurants and quaint little stores, and an art gallery or two..... something for everyone.... even a toy store which, of course, made the little ones happy. Here are some of the pictures I took on our last full day.

Here's our cabin in the woods.... pretty cute I thought

Here's a view looking up to the loft and the kids' room

A view of the kitchen

A view of the den

And the kids out on the porch.... although at 14 -35 degrees,

we weren't spending a whole lot of time out there - it was freeeeeeezing!

This was taken at the Old Edwards Inn, a beautiful hotel in town. It's a restaurant in the hotel called Madison's so little Maddie had to get a picture there

And Jacob at the toy store.... after an hour or so I was beginning to think we'd never get out of that place! We told the kids they could pick out one thing each and gave them a dollar amount. You can imagine just how many times they each changed their mind..... which in turn made another one want to change her mind.... and on and on!

A photo outside the cute toy store

We accidentally missed our time with Santa. We kept trying to get over there, and as soon as we were walking up, a family said, "Oh no, Santa just left!" Oh well, we took a picture in his sleigh anyway. Maybe he just left to go get a hot toddy.....
he couldn't have gone far without his sleigh, right?
Here's one of the enormous trees decorated in town for Christmas

And the trip was full of times like these.... treats, treats, treats!! Our favorite part!

It was a great trip, but I'm glad to be home now..... lots to do to get ready for the big day!

4 Days in the Mountains..... Brrrrrrr!

I never cease to be amazed by the technology of today. OK, I know, I'm a little behind the times, but Jonathan just bought himself a new laptop for Christmas, and here I am.... in Highlands, NC blogging while everyone is getting ready to go out for the day. I've never blogged from anywhere but my own computer at my desk. We can't even seem to get wireless working in our house -- the guys been out multiple times and something always seems to go wrong.
But here I am, in North Carolina..... I've imported my photos, uploaded them to Blogger, and well, here we are.... a new post in the mountains. Between that and my new Droid phone (which is waaaay complicated and came with no manual), I'm a little overwhelmed with technology these days! But it's so nice to be able to share a little of our vacation while we're actually still here ... real time blogging!

So on our first night here, we went to a local hang out. Yummy, yummy barbeque!

Maddie chilling at the barbeque restaurant

I love to make him giggle......

The kids bundled up the first night in the cabin.... they love all sleeping together. At least this time there was a king bed. It was really cute.... they brought a stack of Jacob's books into the bed, and they were reading bedtime stories to him.

Here's a glimpse of what the mountain looked like on our drive down to Asheville Friday morning. It was all of 14 degrees! No snow but the icicles everywhere were beautiful.

This is Bridal Veil falls.... it was frozen over. Normally you can drive underneath the falls, but on this day, there were thick sheets of ice on the road below.

Here's that beautiful house..... Biltmore Estate in Asheville..... 255 rooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces.... 175,000 square feet. Makes me cringe to think about all the cleaning involved! But it's so wonderful at Christmas here with all the garlands and wreaths and trees. I love the history of the house and just thinking about how it must have been at the turn of the century. Guests must have been amazed at the technology.... indoor plumbing, elevators, electric lights on the Christmas tree, working refrigerators and all the rest.

Jacob spotting something else he wanted at Biltmore in the gift shop.

This is in the wine cellar at Biltmore

Here are the girls at their "wine tasting" -- a little grape juice, please

Jacob tasting his "wine" too. I heard him say to the girls, "What flavor do you like best? I like this one." Uh-oh..... sounds like he may have inherited his daddy's genes.

Jonathan had to pull over to get a shot of these wild turkeys. He gets so excited.

We've been playing lots of games and watching family movies, well, I thought they were family movies. I saw The Goonies the other day at the store and thought "Oh, I loved that movie when I was little." Uh, maybe I wasn't so little after all -- although the movie is cute, it's got a few too many sh@#'s and he!!'s for a mama to feel comfortable with. I just kept apologizing to the kids, somehow though they didn't seem to mind at all.... imagine that.

So it's been great and we still have a day and a half left. We're off to town to shop and eat lunch. See ya'll!