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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

My Trick or Treaters

God Is So Good

For an update on MckMama and baby Stellan go to her blog and see her little miracle baby. Truly amazing. God is so good.

Scooping Out the Pulp

We have a book that we love reading this time of year. A precious aunt gave it to the girls last fall and we have enjoyed reading it so much. It is called, My Happy Pumpkin God's Love Shining Through Me and the author is Crystal Bowman. The book tells the story of a farmer carefully planting his pumpkin seed, watering it, pulling out the weeds, and watching it grow. Then the story tells about scooping away the "pulp and slop", throwing it away, carving the jack-o-lantern and putting in the light.

I found this book to be a great example of the way God nurtures us. How He carefully plants the seed, watches us grow, cleans out the mess and the "slop", and puts his light in us.

I am thankful for the simple reminders of how God loves us, takes care of us, and "scoops out our slop" to make us more like Him. And I am thankful to be able to share this hope with my children as we carve our pumpkins tonight.

Prayers for MckMuffin

I have enjoyed for months reading MckMama's blog. She is one incredible mom of beautiful children, "Big Mac", "MckNugget", and "Small Fry" and soon to be "MckMuffin" that is expected to arrive today. Baby Stellan (aka "MckMuffin) has had his MckMama worried in the womb as he has had some complications with an enlarged heart. So many people are praying for baby Stellan and his family...would you do it to?

There is a prayer vigil throughout the day that another blogger has set up if you wish to do that, otherwise, just whisper a prayer for them this morning if you could.

(And by the way, if you check out MckMamas site, be sure to check out how many people have used clever ways to spell Stellan. Pretty cool idea.)

Wild West Day

Today is Wild West Day at K's school so she dressed up like a cowgirl. This is one sassy, trendy, princess cowgirl if I ever saw one (complete with tiara)!




Who knew cowgirls wore pink boots, fur trimmed sweaters and cowgirl hats with sparkles and tiaras??