God is Great, Beer is Good, and People Are Crazy!

When I heard this song earlier this year I already knew that it would be the title to my year-end post. 2009 has been a roller coaster ride for us and we have experienced the greatness of our God through tough circumstances, the goodness of beer (or wine in my case), and the fact, that as sinful people, we are just plain crazy.

While I am usually very open and personal on my blog there have been many things I have been unable to share publicly about this year due to the private nature of our struggles. It has been a tough year that has followed a tough year and Doug and I are just worn out. In addition to our very private matters, we welcomed a new baby, saw my parents move too far away, and endured the effects of a tough economy.

Amazingly, I still am overwhelmed with the grace, mercy, and abundance that God has given us. In spite of our sin and definite imperfections He still seems to be there to comfort, provide and bless us.

Here's to kissing 2009 goodbye and looking forward to a very wonderful, promising, and possibly crazy 2010. Blessings from our home to yours!

Little Smock Shop

This summer I considered writing about my magnificent obsession - smocking. It truly was the perfect craft for me after the baby came. I could work on it from time to time and in short increments. It wound up being therapudic for me and something that allowed me to still create in the chaos of having two little ones so close together.

This summer - over July 4th, on vacation, in the summer heat - I began working on these inserts for the kid's Christmas outfits. I bought the fabric this fall and started putting them together in October. I finally finished them by the first of the month and they have been able to wear them several times since. I was so pleased with how they turned out and these pieces will be so special to pass onto them for their children in the future.

The Finished Product

The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree with Miss Charlotte. Charlotte, like her mother, loves icing! Truth be told, she didn't care a thing about decorating the cookies or the bright red and green colors I whisked together . She sat almost the entire time in that chair licking that beater. Douglass Charles didn't know what he was missing and was thrilled to just have another day in the kitchen roaming around to his heart's content.

Christmas Baking

This is the first year that Charlotte and I have made Christmas cookies together. I have been longing for this moment since I first found out I was pregnant. Baking Christmas cookies in our home was a tradition when I was little and I have very fond memories of the time with my mother and sisters - and all the icing I got to eat.

The process literally took us three days. We did made the dough on Monday, rolled out, cut the cookies and baked them Tuesday, and made the icing and iced them Wednesday. While drawn out, we thoroughly enjoyed the time together and all the sugar.

Douglass Charles joined in the fun by having free reign of the kitchen. We normally have to block him off from the kitchen because he LOVES getting into the dog food. He crawled around for an hour on the kitchen floor exploring all it had to offer.

I must record here that at 2 Charlotte was more into the making the cookies and eating the dough - and the icing. She did better with cutting out the cookies than I anticipated. Regardless, we had a wonderful time and started a family tradition that I hope to carry on for many years to come. :)

Honestly, What Can I Say?

This photo makes me laugh. I don't know what else to say about it.

More Christmasy posts coming tomorrow. Can't wait to share!

History Repeats Itself

As many of you know I am the oldest of six children, but at one time there were just two of us - me and Lauren. Now, I am nearly three years older thand Lauren, but when she was a baby the age didn't matter and we did enjoy playing together. My mother tells the story that in the morning she would find me in Lauren's crib. I would climb up in there and we would play together for quite some time before Mom would come and get us.

Recently, the kids have been waking up in the morning about the same time. I get one up and then take that one to the other's room. They always want to get in the other one's bed. At first I was a little concerned and then I decided to take advantage of it.

I can't tell you how fun it was for me to hear them giggle, squeal, and make believe together while I quickly did a few chores. It is so fun to see history repeating itself - the kids just like me and Aunt Lauren so many years ago just playing away in her baby crib. :)

Playing with Daddy

There are pros and cons to every job. There are jobs with nice paychecks, jobs with good perks, jobs with lots of time off, and jobs that one thoroughly enjoys. One of the perks of my husband's job as a teacher and coach is the time off. I get really spoiled during the holidays and so do the kids when daddy comes home for two weeks. There is much play, rough housing, and wrestling that transpires and we all have a blast. The above are just a few of the pictures of the kids enjoying the time with their dad during his wonderful two-week break. :)