Merry Christmas

Well, another year is quickly coming to a close, and we are packing in many things last minute for a bright, cheery Christmas season. Tonight I plan to see Drummer Boy at our church. Tomorrow Mike and Carlie have to finish Christmas shopping. A trip to historic St. Charles will also be done tomorrow as this has become a tradition. Indiana in four days to spend the holiday with my family. Back here soon after to ring in the new year.

We only sent out a very limited number of Christmas cards this year, so for those who didn't receive one, you are still in our thoughts and prayers. The photo is our Christmas card for this year, so you can at least see it and receive it through our blog. A few highlights of the year... Carlie is now in Pre-K, loves swimming and dance lessons, loves to create, draw, write poems and songs, sing, build, and I could go on and on. Noah loves his cars and his M&M's. He will begin swim lessons this winter thanks to some Christmas presents. Mike is still on a quest to win his first fantasy football championship. His players always end up in jail, on drugs, or shooting themselves at a nightclub. Rachel made it to Alaska this summer and now has had the privilege of seeing all 50 of our wonderful United States. There are so many things we could share, but I won't.

We are very thankful for our wonderful family and friends and look forward to another year filled with highs, lows, and everything in between. Merry Christmas and may God Bless you and your family in the coming year.

Decision Finally Made

After much thought and deliberation, I finally made the decision.  What decision, you ask?  Well, I have been debating whether or not to stick with my MAC foundation/concealer or move on to something else.  I have made the decision to move on to something else.  Bare Escentuals is now my makeup of choice just ordered from Sephora online.  I tried it over the weekend, and it is very light, yet you get good coverage and it takes very little.  It also doesn't seem to settle into my fine lines as much as the MAC does.  (I am getting more fine lines every day, and I won't speak of the hallow darkness under the eyes.) 

So, that is my recommendation of the day:  Bare Minerals by Bare Escentuals makeup 

Cookie Party

So I had the brilliant idea of hosting a Cookie Party on Sunday with a few neighbors. I got the idea from an HGTV holiday show- go figure. Anyway, the concept is simple... bring a dozen cookies, leave with a dozen cookies. Plus I made up some sugar cookies for the kids to decorate. It was nice to relax and visit with everyone. However, everyone did bring way more than a dozen cookies. And, I made at least 8 dozen alone of snickerdoodles, sugar cookies, and choc-oat-chip cookies. Needless to say, Mike took a lot of cookies to work this morning, and I am happy to report they were all consumed before lunchtime (and not all by him.)

Read the Book, Watch the Movie

A Bit of Catching Up

We spent Thanksgiving in Kentucky to visit with Grammy and Grandpa Dobbins. The kids had a blast playing with Buddy, Casey, Doug, and Grammy and Grandpa. Grandpa even got out the water heater size telescope so the kids could see Venus, Jupiter, and the Andromeda Galaxy. Doug was christened into the My Little Pony club earning the nickname "Ponyboy". (Ponyboy was a character from The Outsiders, if you didn't know. Doug probably wasn't even born when The Outsiders came out. Great movie by the way if you haven't seen it.)

We also got to visit Buddy's new pottery shop. It is all very nice. He even was commissioned by a local chocolate shop to create ceramic cocoa beans for them to sell for Christmas. Let me know if you want information on purchasing anything.

On the return trip we stopped for an overnight stay in Evansville to make the ride home more bearable. I don't think I took pictures though. You probably don't need to see pictures of Mike playing Halo with Matthew and Trent anyway.

A little redneck golf

It's so cold, I need two hats.

Croquet Girl

Tag

 

A bit of pottery

Your Breath Smells Like Beef and Cheese...

Ha!  Francisco, Francisco.  The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.  I love this movie!!!

Four Days of Flix

   

  

Christmas Flick of the Evening

Because You Always Have A Favorite Song...

25 Christmas Movies

I decided we would start a tradition of watching a Christmas movie every day or night through Christmas.  We may have to get some from Netflix or watch some of them more than once since we don't have 25 Christmas movies in our DVD library.  (Not that we have room for 25 additional DVD's.)  The one we will be watching today is A WowieBozowie Christmas.

Cheaper Than Eating At IHOP

Presto Cool Touch Electric Griddle

Walmart- $17.88

I can already picture flipping my pancakes and making fried eggs.

Our Wish To You...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Go Cowboys!!!

Another Wish

Conair Instant Heat 1-1/2" Curling Iron-- I know a large barrel curling iron seems like a weird "wish", but I do need one. My current one has 10+ years of hair gunk build-up on it, and the spring clasp has loosened so my hair is constantly sliding out of it. Only $12.97 at Walmart.

Christmas Wishes

Family members are now starting to ask what my Christmas wishes are so I shall give them some ideas. They are really in no particular order, and now they will have to read the blog over the next several weeks. Buwahahaha!!! Do you like the new background? I will probably change it frequently due to my inability to make a concrete decision. Anyway on to the first wish...



This is by far THE BEST cleanser out there. Although the price may seem steep at $20 for 8oz., you don't use much at all so it lasts much longer than the Oil of Olay cleansers I end up buying on a monthly basis.

Christmas Wish Granted

The Rockettes are coming to the Fabulous Fox in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and I am very excited to have tickets.  For some reason I don't see the same excitement coming from my husband.  Why, I ask, why??

Did you know there are 182 Rockettes?  I was curious as to how they would be performing in several places at one time.  Now I know.   I find it amusing that on the website there is a "content advisory."  I thought maybe the Rockettes were going to do something topless, but the advisory is for a Nativity Scene-- GASP!!  It is called Christmas Spectacular, and I am personally glad there is a nativity scene.   (Photo is courtesy of their website.)

Do You Need A Good Laugh?

Funny story.  Some may consider portions of this story to be TMI, but once you have a baby all modesty pretty much goes out the window.  

So, today we went to Marshalls to try and get some Christmas shopping done.  Noah is going through potty training and kept saying "pooh, pooh" so I figured we should let him try.  We went into the bathroom, and of course, false alarm.  I decide (big mistake) since I am already in the bathroom, that I may as well try and go.  I assume the position being careful not to let any part of me touch the toilet seat.  Noah comes over and starts smacking my bottom and saying "pooh, pooh!"  (For the record, I was not.)  Then, Carlie asks in a very loud voice "Mom, are you going pooh?"  I said, "Shhhh, no Carlie I am not" to which she responded, "Why do I have to Shhhhh?"   My response, "You just do." "Why?" "Because" "But, I just wanted to know if you were going pooh" "No, I wasn't" "Okay."  Then we were able to peruse the store without further incident or embarrassment.  

See.  I told you it was funny.  Have you stopped laughing at me and with me yet?    

Home: More than Just a Word

I received my email devotion today, and I thought it was worth sharing.  It was written by Marybeth Whalen.

         

Devotion:

I opened up my email to discover another one of those forwards we all get from time to time.  I almost hit “delete” but my eye landed on this acronym for the word “Home”:

 

Honor the Lord

Obey His Word

Minister to one another

Establish walls of truth

 

I was glad I took a look at this forward, because it made me think about whether or not these four components are present in my home.  When looked at it in this light, the word “home” means so much more than just a place to live. Isn’t that what we want all of our homes to be? More than a place to sleep and eat and occasionally clean, we want our homes to be a place where lives are shaped into God’s design. This little acronym zeroes in on four important goals we should have for our home.  The exciting thing is, no matter who lives there, or what problems we are facing, or what limits we feel like we have, with effort and intention our homes can be places where these four things happen. 

 

Honor the Lord: We can honor God with our lips, but yet our hearts can be far from Him (Mt. 15:8) — and the people who live with us will be the first to know when we do this! Let’s seek to honor Him behind the closed doors of our homes, living out our devotion to Him in a visible, gentle way as we realize that our families are watching.

 

Obey His Word: Obeying His Word at home is not always easy.  The Bible tells us to be submissive to our husbands, to love others more than we love ourselves, and to pick up our cross (as we pick up after our children, or care for our elderly parents).  When we do these things with humility, those we most want to impact will notice.  More than that, they will file it away in their hearts, and our lives will echo in theirs in ways we can’t possibly foresee.

 

Minister to one another: Ministry requires us to love others, to reach others, and to lay down our lives for the sake of those God has placed in our sphere of influence.  This must happen at home first.  And yet, if we’re honest, it’s usually the last place it happens.  We go out and give the best of what we have to offer to others, then give our leftovers to the people we profess to love the most. Let’s minister to those in our own homes first.

 

Establish walls of truth: When I first read this, I will confess that something prickled in me.  Establish walls?  How is it Biblical to establish walls? I questioned.  However, I soon realized I was thinking of walls as a means to keep people out.  When in actuality, we need to be building walls of truth—God’s truth, designed not to keep others out but to guard our hearts and give us a safe place to retreat and to rest.  These walls of truth make our homes into fortresses—a place to run to when our daily battles wear us out. 

 

These are not things we can just do once and move on.  They are daily requirements, regular sacrifices, and even personal struggles.  We won’t ever do it perfectly and there will be days we feel we are taking one step up and two steps back. But with God’s help, we can keep working to make H.O.M.E. mean so much more. 

Halloween Parade

Last night we participated in the Halloween Parade at Westport Plaza.  All the kids marched around the Plaza visiting various restaurants/businesses and collecting candy (and business flyers.)  It ended at the Sheraton ballroom where a juggler was performing.  This afternoon we are headed to Trick or Treat on Main Street in St. Charles.  

Movie Recommendation

It has been a long time since a movie we got from Netflix was worth the time spent watching it.  Well, I finally watched one last night that is probably one of the best I have ever seen.  It is called the Ultimate Gift.  If you've seen it, let me know what you thought.  If not, rent it (and make sure to have tissues handy.)  Here is the synopsis:

When his wealthy grandfather dies, trust fund baby Jason Stevens inherits his grandfather's crash course on life: 12 tasks-or gifts-designed to challenge Jason in improbable ways.  The "course" sends Jason on a journey of self-discovery that forces him to reevaluate his priorities and determine what he thinks the most important things in life really are.

Fancy Nancy Party

I took Carlie to the Fancy Nancy Party at the library. If you haven't read those books, they are very posh. The program included a speaker on manners and etiquette. Carlie came away with one of the balloon centerpieces so that made it all worth it for her.

Her friend, Meredith, from MOPPETS and dance was there.

Noah's 2!!

Here are a few pics from Noah's birthday.  No party this time, so there was little stress.  He seemed to have a good time.  

Apple Picking

Last week we went apple picking with Grammy and Pawpaw at Eckert's in Grafton. This year we actually got to pick them off the tree as opposed to last year when they were all in bins. We also picked out some pumpkins. I have made several apple pies (with more to come), caramel apples, and apple crisp.

Wow, I am in a picture!

Noah likes the dandelions as much as the apples.

Carlie shows off her apple.

Grammy, did you pay for that apple??

Pawpaw and Noah

Happy Birthday, Mike!

We celebrated Mike's birthday on Sunday. We went to La Salsa which has kid's meals for 99 cents on Sundays. Always a plus. The cake has a "1" on it because that is the only candle I had in the house.

Cards game

Mike and I went to the Cards game last Saturday night. They actually won 8-6. Shocking!! They did try to give the game to the Reds on multiple occasions, but the Reds just wanted to lose I suppose. This time I managed to put away toasted cannelloni, a few nachos, two diet cokes, popcorn, Edy's Dibs, and a giant cookie. All very tasty.

Albert

Troy Glaus

This position really looks painful.  No wonder pitchers are always hurt.

Hide Your Candy!!

Let me paint this picture for you.  Noah and Carlie were playing so sweetly together in his room at the end of the hall.  I decided this would be a great time to secretly fill the crystal candy dish with more M&M's for me to snack on during the day.  (This candy dish is hidden behind a picture frame on the buffet table.)  As I poured the M&M's carefully into the dish, there were a few slight "ping" sounds.  I thought nothing of it, and as I finished and put the M&M bag back in its hiding spot, I heard a disturbing sound.  Tearing out of his room, Noah comes running down the hall screaming, "Emma M, EMma M, EMMA M, EMMA M!!!"  Then he started hanging off the side of the buffet, "Emma M, Emma M, Emma M!!"  It was pitiful.  He has ears like a dog.  I quickly diverted his attention elsewhere as anyone who knows me knows I like my M&M's.  

Congratulations!!

Congratulations to Casey and Doug on their engagement. We are looking forward to a wonderful wedding. Clearly, you guys need to visit again since this was taken almost a year ago! What gives??