1,000 Christmas Cookies and other wonderful things

Crazy, but true...I have made over 1,000 Christmas cookies this year (and have given 95% of them away. Thank goodness not everyone likes/has time to bake, but everyone enjoys eating). It's been so much fun to get together with girlfriends, cousins and our kids to bake cookies, listen to Christmas music and watch our favorite Christmas movies. I've enjoyed hosting so much and I love that H has playmates when you're all around!

I usually hate winter, but that's when it's just cold, cold, cold without snow. This year, we've had snow, snow, snow and it makes the cold so much more bearable. We've done so many fun things already, like: cookie baking (mentioned above), parties galore, exchanging gifts, eating way too much food, enjoying the occasional glass of eggnog (yes, H likes it too!), getting together with family, watching our favorite movies, looking at the lights, decorating our house, wrapping gifts, snuggling and teaching H about baby Jesus.

What can possibly be more fun than celebrating, especially when you have little kids who take such delight in all the little things!? I feel as though I'm a kid again, looking at everything through her eyes and doing what I can to establish 'our family traditions'. I won't lie it has been hard emotionally, but God is good and He's taking such good care of us. This December has held a few ups and downs for me, but definitely more ups than downs. It's just hard remembering that it was only a year ago and I.G. was still around and I hadn't a clue what was to come, yet at the same time I don't think I've ever enjoyed this season so much. Mostly due to the fact that I get the privilege of teaching H the real reason behind the celebration.

Anyway, hope you all are having just as wonderful a Christmas season and hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Pictures, pictures, pictures

Deleted for our safety.

So, I've been meaning to post these pictures for a while...obviously...halloween costume pictures and all.

Anyway, the other day I emptied out one of my purses and changed it out for one of my older ones and H decided to carry around the empty one all day long, pretending to go 'bye-bye' it was sooooo cute. So yeah, some pictures are from our cookie baking day and others are just random.

4:30 A.M.

For some strange reason I woke up at 4:30 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep so I decided today would be a great day to have my quiet time (before work), eat breakfast and get everything ready to go so that we could get out the door on time.

Ha! What a joke! I don't know what happened...I ate breakfast (couldn't concentrate on reading while listening to my stomach growl very loudly), then I had my quiet time (in the morning, this is a first in ages...usually it happens at night after H is in bed), got everything ready to go and we STILL left late!?!? I really don't know how that happened! Seriously, I was up 2 1/2 HOURS before we had to leave.

Not only that but as we're getting in the car, I put my coffee mug on the roof (I know what you're thinking..."never do that") and am buckling H into her seat and my mom calls. She's talking about the weather and if she'll be coming to my Tupperware party tonight and I start driving and talking until...to my dismay I hear a thump, thump on the roof....Oh NO! my coffee!!! In my favorite travel mug!!! So I tell my mom I'll call her back and I start carefully slowing down to stop at the light when the mug soars off the roof of my car and careens into another vehicle, thankfully stopping right there and not rolling into moving traffic. So I slam the car into park and run out of my car, holding my hand out so people won't start going (by this time the light has turned green) and run to my mug, now devoid of all coffee and run back to my car, jump in and start driving. I know, not safe, smart etc etc but I couldn't just leave it there, it was expensive and it really is a great mug, the coffee never spills/leaks even when shaken upside down unless you let it fly off the roof of your car. So I rescued my now, road tested mug and we were on our way.

However, despite the weird, disjointed morning we didn't arrive late I think it's because the roads were really clear even after all the snow we've had.

Wow, what a morning. I know that rising early is a godly thing and all but really, sometimes a mommy just needs her rest and it's not always for beauty, more like sanity!

check it out

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1147803231

But God...

Every year our family does a Christmas letter that goes out to everyone, extended family, friends etc. So, each of the family units are asked to write something up that summarizes their year. Well, last year, I announced the birth of my baby girl and what my husband and I were up to...so what do you say when your husband leaves? Anyway, after much prayer and consideration I sat down determined to write, but not just write. Write to glorify God, which has been my goal/heart's desire since this whole crazy ride began.

What did I write? Glad you asked...

"Hmmmm, what to say? I think two words can sum up our last year for us, “But God”. Life has taken a dramatic turn for H and me since last year. Two days after Christmas ‘06 my husband of 11 months walked out on us. I had no idea where he had gone and why, only that he cut us out of his life without a second thought. His departure was devastating in more ways than one. All of a sudden, I was a single mom and now had to figure a way out of this mess we were in without a clue where to start.

But God. Provided. Healed. Loved. Led. Walked with us. Protected. Blessed. Taught. Rebuilt. Humbled. Strengthened. And so much more over and over again.

I am in the process of filing for divorce and will hopefully be finished with it all soon. I know that whatever the Lord has in store for us next will be good. Hard but good. H and I live in a beautiful home with my dad and I still work at STEM Int’l with Mission Maker Magazine. H is gorgeous and growing like a weed. We are blessed. And even though I forget to say it a lot of the time it’s only by God’s grace. Blessed be His name this Christmas season and throughout this next year."

As I sit here and reread I can think of so many more "but Gods" that I didn't list but praise God for it all.

Chances are...

if your saltines, or whatever kind of food you are planning on eating, smell funky they most likely taste funky too. But of course, there are always some of us who'll try em anyway!?!? Unfortunately funky saltines leave a funky aftertaste in your mouth that just doesn't go away...

Thank you God for Dairy Queen, this is where I rushed a few minutes after spitting my funky saltines in the garbage and trying to rid myself of the awful taste with coffee, soup, licking my sweater (aka wiping off my tongue)

Now, I wouldn't usually run to the DQ to be rescued but I'd been contemplating a pumpkin blizzard for a long while now and figured I may as well get one before the 'season' ends.

Mmmmm, sweet relief!

too long

deleted for our safety
It's been too long since I've been on here but I did want to post this....just taken yesterday.