Wednesday, November 26, 2008

For Laughs

Thought I would share this video of comedian,Jim Gaffigan as he talks about holidays, in hopes that it brings some laughter your way today.



Have a happy Thanksgiving.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Greatest Gift Of All

The other night the girls and I put up our playroom Christmas tree and of course we pulled out the Christmas music to put us in the mood. I had a ball watching the girls pull out the ornaments and squeal with delight as they found their "favorites" and carefully found a good spot for them on the tree. They laughed and giggled as they did this together and it brought me so much joy to watch.

Later, T and I gave them the Walmart, Target and American Girl catalogs that had come in the mail to look through so that they could begin their wish lists to Santa. Alabama (oh, I'm a fan of some Christmas country!) was playing quietly on the Cd player while my girls were "oooh-ing" and "ahhh-ing" over toys, dolls, and games. I heard a lot of "Ooooh, I REALLY want THAT!," and "Gotta have THIS," but what I heard above it all was the laughter, the smiles, the excitement, the joy, ..the memory that they were making sitting right their on their bean bags. Belly laughter, rolling around on the bean bags, messed up hair, pj's on, making a wish list for Santa along with best friend, sister.

T noticed it too, and we both looked at each other with affection, and I said to him, "You know what? We have already given them one of the biggest gifts that we ever could.....each other. A sister."

Although I do have a brother and a sister, they are 8 and 9 years my senior, so as you can imagine, I was somewhat like an only child growing up. Years have seemed to make the 8 year gap grow smaller somehow and I'm extremely lucky to have both my brother and my sister, yet as I looked at my girls that evening, I couldn't help but feel a slight bit of jealousy because I didn't have the same experience. The joy of growing up together with a sibling is priceless.

I know that most days around my house don't exactly look as nice and "Hallmark-ish", because the reality is that they fight and argue quite a bit. On days like those, I could "sell them for a nickel and get change," as a very, wise lady recently told me. However, on the good days, I'm always overjoyed when I see the two of them bonding, loving each other, and enjoying each other. A great gift. I hope they will always see it that way themselves. I hope that they always see each other as a forever friend.

"A sister...A little bit of childhood that can never be lost."

"Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know that whatever you do, they'll still be there."

All this being said, I don't think that either one of them would appreciate no gifts on Christmas morning and us informing them that we had already given them the huge gift of "sisterhood", so we'll let them keep writing their wish list, even though the former sure would be a lot easier on the pocketbook.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Different

All the local shops are gearing up for Christmas. Walmart even had out Chritmas decorations before Halloween I'm pretty sure.(Look..I have even decorated my blog with Christmas colors) The wish lists have begun, spinning from all the toy commercials on t.v. right now. This is the time that most of us start losing control, spending too much money and worrying about what the Christmas dinner will consist of.

I ran across this video at holyexperience today and thought I would also share it here. Take a look.



Let's try to be different this year.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Flower Girls and Dancing Divas

I love seeing the personalities of my children develop. It's equally as satisfying to see how different their personalities are from one another. I really saw this during the past weekend as they participated as flower girls in their cousin's wedding. The weekend was jammed packed full of events and social gatherings with many people they had never met, or family that they have only seen a handful of times. I had no idea how they would handle those situations, much less how they would handle walking down an aisle with hundreds of eyes on them. They did great..fantastic in fact.

M's personality really showed the day of the wedding. All dressed up in white and flowers in her ringlet hair, she was cutting up laughing and doing "magic tricks" for the bride and the bridesmaid in a tiny room as they waited for wedding time. She didn't show an ounce of shyness, as a matter of fact quite outgoing. After the actual ceremony the bridesmaids were sitting on the first pew of the church and M walked past them all and gave them high-fives, as if her "team" had won a ballgame. At the reception, I couldn't find her and then I saw her in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by all the bridesmaids and bride dancing. She partied hard with them that night and loved every minute of it.

K, was not as outgoing, but she was very polite and sweet (AS ALWAYS!). Every time I glanced at her, her beauty just floored me. She is such a striking little girl. K tends to be a little shy, but this weekend she wasn't. When someone asked her something, she answered loud enough for them to hear and held her head up proud. (Man, I sure was proud) She is gracious and kind, always remembering to say "please" and "thank you".

It was a fun weekend. Weddings are special and even more special when you can be a part of them. I am sure that M & K will now start planning their own weddings. I guess their Dad and I better start saving now.

Here are a few pictures of my little flower girls.










And here is M with a new bridesmaid "friend"(Y&the R star) and another celeb that you might recognize from the movies. (I have removed their names because I have gotten SO MUCH traffic on my website from putting their names on here and that was a little scary)

Monday, November 10, 2008

A Family Wedding



My girls were in a cousin's wedding this weekend in Ponte Vedra this past Saturday. More to come (and more pictures too). Just wanted to share this sweet one today.

Sunday, November 2, 2008