Snow!!!!! Already!

December and the Christmas season was ushered in with the beauty of snow!  Yep, Snow!  We had our first official snow and of course 3 snow days already!  Of course this year Chloe loved the snow!  It probably helped that she could walk in it and actually play in it.  She had the best time just running around in the snow and picking it up!

Christmas Parade

This was the first Christmas parade we have taken Chloe too!  It was perhaps on the coldest morning thus far in the year!  At a freezing 32 degrees with a 20 degree windchill I wasn't sure if we should even take her out in it, however after we layered her from head to toe in warm clothing, we decided to go.

I must say she was quite the parade girl, all smiles and waves! 

Bah Hum Bug

Christmas has snuck up on me this year!  I am usually the gal who has her tree and all the tacky decor up the day after Thanksgiving and all my gifts neatly wrapped under the tree by Dec. 1st.  But this year I have a mild case of the "bah hum bugs"!  I wasn't really all that into putting up all the Christmas decorations.  I wasn't sure it was just having a very over whelming year or being just plan tired.  Either way I just wasn't in the spirit!  I tried all the usual things to get me going. Christmas music, punch, candy, a little shopping but no holiday spirit was coming out.
Finally Ricky urged me and we managed to get most of our decorations out, minus 2 trees and one snowman, and 2 deer.  I ended up not putting up our den and dining room tree, as well as several outdoor decorations. Oh well, I might get to it the day before Christmas!  If not, there is always next year!
I felt a little guilty because this is the first year Chloe really understands what is going on with Christmas and she sure is in the spirit.  Anything that has lights, sings, or sparkles makes her eyes light up.  If none of the other things put me in the holiday spirit watching one little girl decorate the tree and get all excited sure did the trick!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving came and went this year!   It was unseasonable warm, in fact almost 75 degrees.  We opened several windows in the house while we ate and even spent most of the afternoon out in the yard or sitting on the back porch!  It was nice, but we all knew that with this freakish warm weather would soon come some freakish cold weather.  We were right about 2 weeks later we received 3 days of solid snow!

We had our usual Thanksgiving feast, filled with lots of yummy things to eat and lots of funny stories to be told.  Perhaps my most favorite came from my Aunt and was about some kind of "special pony tail".

I hope that everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving, I know we sure did!

Thankful

I have been reading a lot of people's posts on being thankful and I myself haven't really posted anything.  I have been doing a lot of thinking as to what I am truly thankful for this year or over the past couple of years.  We are all thankful I am sure for our Family and Friends, God, and jobs, but I think a lot of times we forgot all of the little things that seem little, but truly deserve to be thanked.  I have created a little list and I hope you enjoy reading what I am truly thankful for.

And Yes I am THANKFUL for the above...My wonderful family even though we are a little odd, God, and my wonderful Job for allowing me to mold and shape young minds, who knows I might be teaching our next President! :)

To my wonderful husband who has stuck it out with me through thick and thin, and my very special little girl, who has shown me the joys of childhood!



1. A mother and father who watch my child day in and day out, provide her with a safe, loving and fun environment all for FREE!
2. In-Laws that care for my child and love her like their own.
3. A reliable automobile
4.A washer and dryer so I don't have to venture to the laundry mat.
5. A bed to sleep in each and every night.
6. Electricity
7. My brother, for whom I know will always be there for me, and will be able to reminisce with me our childhood memories when no body else will be able to!
8. The 5th Amendment
9. Direct deposit
10. All the mean and rude people in the world to remind me to never be like that!
11. A free and public education to ALL!
12. The Internet :)
13. McDonald's Sweet Tea!
14. Books
15. Puppies that greet us with wagging tails and warm wet kisses
16. Diaper Genies
17. Text messaging
18. Coupons
19. Shoes
20. Modern Medicine
21. I almost forgot....POST-IT Notes! I can't live without them!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Calling all readers

So I added a new widgit to the blog.  I noticed I had over 15,000 hits and wondered where they were coming from.  If you happen to stumble across my blog via the www, or just happen to know us and enjoy reading I would love to know.  If you don't mind leave me a comment as to how you found our blog and what state or city your are reading from.  That's all, nothing more.  I am just curious because for a small town girl 15,000 is a lot!
Happy Reading and there is always more to come!

MOTO RUN

Parris Island was the home for my brother for 13 long weeks.  The Marine Corps Dept is in the middle of a swamp near the coast of Charleston, SC.  After completing 13 weeks of intense training we were invited to visit Justin for the USMC Family Day and then the official Graduation!
The first day we got to see and spend time with Justin was on Family Day!  It started at 5am on a cold morning while 11 of us piled into our cars and set in the dark waiting for our boy to run by us.  This was our first glimpse of him.

Welcome Home Marine!

On October 22, 2010 we were officially welcomed into the USMC Family!  I must say to spend time on Parris Island and get to take in all the sites, sounds, marching, and OOH-RAHS, I couldn't have been happier to cheer on my brother!  It is amazing how 13 weeks has transformed a 27 year old.  It was as thought he left a teenager and returned a stronger more responsible grown man!  I have never been as proud as I was when they announced his platoon.  Congratulations Little Brother!

Pumpkin Patch Full of Some Cuties!

Every year we visit the same pumpkin patch and every year it keeps getting better and better.  I guess when you have children of your own you begin to realize how as adults we seem to let all the fun and innocent things slip away from us and we spend much of our time dredging through work, bills, and the repetition of just being.  Life is to short and as adults we sometimes forget that.  To a child especially a toddler, they live in the moment, the excitement and wonder of it all.  I was shown this while at our visit to the patch.  The items there we simply orange pumpkins, some haw and a couple scarecrows yet to 3 kiddos it was like hitting the jackpot!