It is so close! The kids are so excited! They decorated the tree. Made ornaments. Ate stew. Celebrated Aunt Theresa's birthday (Yeah aunt theresa!). And they are so excited! I'm getting there... relaxing a little. It is what it is. If it is done, it is. If it isn't,...
Journey to Bethlehem... Our church does it every year - and this is the 1st year we have gone. The perfect way to explain advent... the journey, the preparation, the anticipation. (The petting zoo was a bonus, don'tcha think?!) By the time we all got to Baby Jesus,...
Great Grandpa from Corpus Christi sent Nate a Lionel train set. He is fascinated. What is it with little boys, trains and Christmas? I love it. I can just see my dad, Brian, his dad, my brother and my grandfather all in this picture. Soak up those memories. Take five...
 Matt and Liz's wedding... They may as well be family.  When we were transferred to AZ, they moved as well... They come over for game nights and rock band... They know and love and play with our kids... (which always makes me smile!) The wedding was lovely and...
St. Bernard's is collecting silver coins to raise funds for the youth group. The kids wanted to help, so we started collecting cans for one month... We poured them in... The machine started clanging... Still clanging... and $.93 poured out. My heart stopped. I was so...
This is how Thursday night went down... Nate had soccer practice from 5:30-6:30. Julia had her first band concert at school and had to be there at 6:30. No problem. Until. Brian gets called into last minute meeting at 4:45. Julia announces at 4:52 that she must wear...
Here it is... my shout out to all newly married ladies. All those pots, those pans, that kitchen stuff... Don't give it away. Don't return it. Don't put it in the garage. One day, even if it is ten years after you get married, you will be inspired by stew. You will...
Have safe travels home, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful time, whether is was traveling far or near with extended family or just immediate family... Have a wonderful, restful week. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa T for coming up! It was lovely to see...
Thanksgiving Day... I woke up to the smell of Grandma's giblet gravy. Daddy took the kids to the park with Grandpa and Great-Grandpa, so the we ladies could act busy in the kitchen. I haven't laughed that hard in a very, very long time. Grandma's Cranberry...
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am in Texas... with my wonderful family... Mom, Dad, brother BJ, Great Grandma White, Great Grandma and Grandpa Thompson... I am blessed. We had a wonderful flight (for anyone that knows me - that is a HUGE statement - I am...
Friday Night... 1 Glue Gun Cute Baskets from the Dollar Store Adorable flower embellishments from LemonTreeStudio , JaneSays, BuzyBee and CreativePaperTrail Good Tunes Dr. Pepper  Teacher Presents...
Dear Phoenix Zoo, IÂ heart you. You are set up perfectly. Dear Mr. Baboon, You are very cute. But you scared me when you slammed your hands on the glass after I took this picture. I didn't scream. I was very proud of myself. However, you did give us a great family joke...
Christmas Pictures... The sun set too quickly!  But we tried...  And tried some more... So... I came home. Uploaded my five favorite pictures to piknic.com (free). Played. Played some more. Begged for opinions. Requested peanut butter (creamy, natural, skippy),...
Everyone smiles when they see a balloon. Do I allow Him to work in me so that people smile when they are around me? Or do I gossip, complain and grumble when things aren't going my way? Lord, help me to be a beautiful balloon.
"There are the places I was so sure I'd find Him. I've looked in the pages And I've looked down on my knees. I've lifted my eyes in expectation to see the sun still refusing to shine, but-- Sometimes He comes in the clouds. Sometimes His face cannot be found....
I drive past this every afternoon... It is on the wall next to the kids school. I hope they never "fix" it. I hope they leave it alone. Such a sweet sentiment. Each day I play a game... I like to make up a story about the person that painted it... and why they painted...
Nic and Heidi's Wedding. So Beautiful. So Honored to be there.
Last week - in Texas... I missed my family so much - but I got to give my sweet nephew squeezes for his birthday! Yeah!! I was there for work and a wedding (I'll have pictures soon!)  and got to spend time with my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and nephew. What a great...
Pretty Butterfly... Favorite Tea Room... Favorite Used Book Store... Julia and Nate - I am the luckiest mom ever. I drive through our old hometown and every place I turn is full of memories of you. Every sidewalk holds a treasure. Every road holds a heart...
Thrift Shopping with my baby girl... Inspired by April over at Jane Says, Julia and I set out this afternoon to find some close thrift shops for some good wandering... We found the C-U-T-E-S-T strip of shops in Cave Creek, AZ. (just barely north of the Phoenix /...