Christmas is Coming

And we hope to be at the lake. Our tree is there. Most of our presents are already there.

After a full weekend, I am taking this last week to dot my i's and cross my t's. Boy do we have LOTS on the list! But first some pictures from the weekend...

Stephen was Daddy's little helper taking down doors and taking out toilets at our house.

Mary Frances and I went to the Nutcracker with two of her school friends.

In addition to the final preparations for Christmas ~ some wrapping, baking, delivering there are many more adventures planned. A final trip from Habitat and Hannah Home, a trip to the trains at the McWane Center, and a picnic with Daddy. Girls supper club and our house is coming down {I hope}, we are closing on our loan, {and yes, possibly in that order} I'm getting my teeth cleaned, going to the doctor {say a little prayer}, have a SLDS board meeting, school program, class parties, and I must get those Christmas card pictures taken, the cards ordered, addressed and mailed. YIKES!! Oh yea, and how could I possibly have forgotten our annual small group rendition of The Christmas Story and Walker has his last Toddler Tales at the library.

Remember those blueberry preserves turned blueberry syrup. They are "wrapped" {with a copy of our favorite pancake recipe} and ready to deliver!

Cheesestraws on the horizon...

Cashews and ornaments still to go...

Menus to create...

Tablescapes to put together...

Monogramming and more...

Hope to be back soon with a full report and lots checked off of the list!

Merry Merry!

Today's Performance

Okay, so I arrived just in time to see Stephen perform. I knew I needed to change my camera lens so I could get a shot where you can actually see my child, but I ran out of time and honestly didn't want to lug my camera bag in with my almost two year old. {Nor, did I want to keep up with that bag.} Therefore I have to settle for these pictures. My favorite part of the performance was that Stephen spent the majority of the time turned around singing to the four year olds.

The boys' favorite part of the performance had nothing to do with the singing but instead the milk and cookies that followed.

Stephen also enjoyed sitting in Santa's lap.

Tomorrow, the boys and I are headed to a performance at the daycare where I do my volunteer work and I can assure you it will be a cultural experience ~ nothing like today's performance!

Today's Priceless Moment

I can't remember if I've told you or not, but on Fridays Frank takes Mary Frances to school. On the first Friday of the month, they go out for a breakfast date before going to school. Mary Frances looks forward to this all month long, and they talk at length about where they are going to go. Frank and I get a chuckle out of this because she always wants to go to Starbucks though to us it is such a grown up place. Neither Frank nor Mary Frances drink coffee!

Here is a picture from their August date...

Yes, last Friday was the first Friday of the month, but Frank was in Nashville so they rescheduled for this week. It turns out that Frank is going to be Orlando this Friday morning so they rescheduled again ~ They went today!

She woke up super sweet and eagerly put on the dress we had set out last night.

It was her Christmas dress! I smocked Mary Frances a simple bishop for Christmas this year. I must tell you, at first I wasn't going to because I was afraid she might be too old, and she wasn't going to get enough wear out of it. Then I saw that she had a school "holiday" program and I remembered years past where the kindergartners wore Christmas attire so I decided I would go for it. I also figured this might be the last year she will want/need a Christmas dress, and she does still want to where her bishop dresses. I am so thankful for that decision.

She is possibly the most excited about this dress than anything I have ever made her. I have to tell you that does my heart good. I sew for lots of reasons and most of them are incredibly selfish, but to see her so excited was what I really desire out of the hours I spend at my sewing machine.

And one last picture ~ This is Mary Frances' list for Santa. Aside from changing the font color she did this all by herself.

A Winter Weekend

Oh, where to begin!


I have more posts in my "draft" box than I have posted in the entire year. Such is my life ~ I can't seem to get anything completed. I'm so thankful that in route to Mobile for Thanksgiving we made a change in our plans and decided we would return to the lake instead of home on Saturday so that we could help Steve get the tree up. It was so nice to walk in the door of the lake house and have the tree up and decorated!

Life is flying by...and yes Frank I am enjoying the ride!

We spent the better part of the weekend at the lake with dear friends. Thank you Steve for sharing with us! The weekend reminded Frank and me both how much with love this time of year at the lake. It also made us realize why you and Norval didn't always want to come home on Sundays. I think if Mary Frances didn't have school this morning, I would still be snug in a bed in Coosa County.

First, make no mistake who we were cheering for on Saturday afternoon. There were lots of high fives and cries of "War Eagle"! Yes, we live in a house divided, but my mama and daddy taught me to cheer for Auburn unless they were playing my team.

Check out middle man's attire. I think Frank was a bit concerned over the way he was dressed. The funny thing is... this is what I packed for him to wear for the game.

This might be my favorite picture of the weekend!

We had a bonfire and the children roasted marshmallows and ate s'mores. YUM!!

One reason the lake is so great this time of year is that it has everything that little boys love {in no particular order}:

Sticks~

Fire ~ Rocks ~
Trains~

On Sunday, we went for a "hike" and Frank cut down a tree for some firewood.

It was cold and we needed some hot chocolate {with marshmallows of course} when we returned.

Too bad I have set the bar for our Christmas card so high. This isn't a bad shot but the attire is all wrong! I guess I'll keep trying...

She did it!

Truly, this is not blog worthy {which is why my pictures are from the archives} but it did make me cry.

I love that we can walk Mary Frances to and from school. In fact, it might be my favorite thing about having her in kindergarten. I enjoy strapping my boys in the stroller and having Mary Frances reach up and want to grab my hand. I enjoy being out in the fresh air, talking to my kiddos about what see as we walk, and visiting with the other parents while waiting for dismissal.

But let's face it, there are some days that we just can't walk. Recently, it has been too cold or wet or Mary Frances and the boys have been sleeping late. I have not had the heart to wake them up just so we can walk to school. They need their sleep!

And so we have been driving...I don't do drive up pick up or drop off very well. There are no real rules for carpool at Crestline, and if you know me at all you know I am a rule follower and like to know what I am supposed to be doing when.

Well, I finally figured out the easiest place to drop Mary Frances off, but she until today she has continued to insist that I park the car and walk her to the crosswalk. And now to the point ~ today she did it all by herself! I pulled up to the sign, she unbuckled, grabbed her backpack, got out of the car, and walked to the crosswalk. And what did I do ~ I smiled a huge smile because I was so proud of her and then broke down and cried. Just another example of my baby growing up...

And now just as we have had this break through, my sweet neighbor has volunteered to take and pick up from school. As much as I hate asking for help or relinquishing any sort of responsibility, I know that I need to take her up on this offer and so Mary Frances will be "the girl next door" who rides to school with her neighbor at least until quatro arrives.

I just wanted...

...to take a shower and shave my legs. Instead, my almost two year old stood at the edge of the bathtub with the shower curtain and liner pulled back and screamed for the entirety of my quick shower. Truly you would have thought he was being beaten it was so loud. So much for smooth legs, not that it mattered because I am home alone for the weekend.

Yes, you read correctly ~ HOME ALONE! No children, no husband, no dog ~ just me and my agenda.


As a mother of three wonderful children who happen to have fabulous grandparents, I have the opportunity and the luxury of escaping with my dear husband for a long weekend here and there. And because my dear husband is also such a good father, I have escaped twice in the last year to go on "girl's weekends!" ~ once to the Big Apple and once for a women's retreat with our church. Believe me I try not to take these opportunities for granted and I know that I am beyond fortunate in this regard. Though sometimes what I crave is time alone in my house. Do you ever feel that way? Call me selfish, but this is something I have needed and wanted for a long time and I think it is coming at a great time ~ after our house is essentially empty and before the holiday rush.



After a good but very full day of being mom {and truly you don't want to know the ends and outs of our day ~ it would make you long for your pillow as you read}, I packed my husband and my children and the dog in my car and said, "goodbye, have fun, thank you, and be careful." I must admit that I had tears in my eyes because the reality is that I will miss them gravely over the course of this weekend, but I have plans. I have plans to completely empty the house down the street, wrap Christmas presents, take a long walk, enjoy a hot cup of coffee, and recover the contents of the hard drive of our old computer so I can do some monogram and embroidery and create some Christmas presents. I also want to do some shopping and possibly catch up with friends. Most of all I want to sew! I think I am most looking forward to some uninterrupted time at my sewing machine.

As always, I have more planned than I could ever accomplish in any given weekend, but let me tell you I am certainly going to try to cross off as much as I can. On that note, I'm signing off to go back to my sewing machine which by the way fits perfectly on a t.v. tray in front of a roaring fire that my amazing husband built before he loaded the car.

None Too Soon

I deliberated on the title of this post for a long time. So much good has happened today that I wasn't sure how to encapsulate it. I probably can't! Let's just say "good" is an understatement. I have felt blessed at every turn!

I went with none too soon because that is how I felt as the moving truck arrived at our home just after 8:00 a.m. to cool almost cold temperatures and gray rainy skies. The rain was also dripping into our home in two locations ~ the kitchen and the dining room. The dining room floor is buckling and the parquet is popping up. My sentiment of none to soon was repeated as the truck pulled away just after 10:30 a.m. to sunny skies and warming temperatures. The truck was full of all of the furniture and a various assortment of stuff from our home and attic.

None to soon because I feel as if I have been collecting, packing, labeling, and stacking boxes forever. In reality I have! {I'm ready to have other things like my children's clothes and the holidays consume my time and energy.} I have been very slow and deliberate about the process. I have tried to keep a detailed list of what is in each box and a color-coded labeling system so we know where it needs to go in the new house. I have also been going through things and cleaning out.

My children probably echo the sentiment of none too soon more loudly than anyone. They are ready to have their family back to some semblance of normalcy and for their mommy and daddy {mainly their mommy} not to be consumed by getting out of the house.

The house is not empty but it is close. I still have what we call "the sewing closet" to go. This could also be called "the project closet" or my "office," and it is full of my sewing and monogram supplies, speech stuff, family filing, gifts to give, and some family heirlooms. In short if is full of what some might call junk but to me some of these items are my treasures and probably among the things about me that drive my dear sweet husband crazy.

There are also boxes, bags, and piles of stuff around the house. We are having a garage sale on Saturday. Not just any garage sale, but a demolition sale. Everything is for sale! There will be your typical household items, furniture, and clothes, but you can also buy appliances, doors, lighting, fixtures. You can even come take down the paneled walls in our kitchen and dining room, pull out a toilet or tub, or dig up a shrub. If you see it, it is probably for sale!

I've never had a garage sale before, but I must tell you I am a little excited. Frank and I have even gotten a sitter for Friday night so we can go to the house and organize and price everything.

I'll let you know how it goes!