3 Years ago

It is crazy how fast time flies by....
Three years ago this week is when I met Adam for the first time. He called me on a Tuesday and we chatted on the phone for awhile. We realized that we had alot in common... Then we met for lunch on Thursday of that week and we sat and ate lunch and talked for 2 hours that day. Then then that Friday night we went out on our first official date, we went to eat at Flat Rock Grille and went to see Confessions on a Shopaholic!!! I still remember it and we still have the movie ticket from that date.

And well the rest is history!!

February update

I can not believe that we have already began the month of February and we have not even had any snow!!! It actually does not feel much like winter.... don't get me wrong, I am not a huge fan of the snow but I would like one really good snow and then it to go away and bring on the spring time! Spring time is my favorite time of the year!

Since I was off today, I spent the day cleaning and updating my house with some Valentine's decorations. Over the years I have stored just a few things and now that I have my house I plan on changing out certain items for the seasons.

This is my table cloth for my dining room table with a heart glass dish in the center... I need to get some candy or something to go in it but I have not made it anywhere to get some.

This is the kitchen table decor... it is not much... I am not the most creative person but I try with what I have and not have to spend much to make it happen.

Oh and not really pertaining to Valentine's Day or February... Adam and I worked on the dog lot this morning. We had to put more wood chips out for the dogs because it was very muddy.

Here is the final product!

Pinterest projects

I have posted the following projects mainly for accountability for myself. I have already accomplished several of these but I will post pictures later. What are some of your pinterest projects that you have done?

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with 9 more days to go... here is an update

My list of "3o before 3o...by the end of 2012"
1. Have a game night at our house!-(February 4- and the girls won all three games)

2. Continue to grow my hair out... My hair has not this long in about 10 years or more.
3. Have ice cream for dinner (We had ice cream at Kids Praise the other night and that was my dinner...)
4. Try 4 Pinterest craft and gift ideas. I will try to do more.(here is the link of my projects that I am working on-http://dancindaisygirl.blogspot.com/2012/01/pinterest-projects.html)

5. Go a day without texting or internet. And that means Facebook as well!
6. To organize my scrapbook room
7. Start catching up on my scrapbook
8. To organize our office room, because even though we have only lived here 9 months, it has become a junk room. (I spent one of the last days on my christmas vacation cleaning and organizing the office. ---pictures to come later) Here is the post with pictures. http://http//dancindaisygirl.blogspot.com/2012/01/organizing.html
9. Enjoy a spa day
10. Make sugar cookies from scratch
11. Start exercising
12. Watch the sunrise with Adam
13. Start blogging more often.
14. Enjoy our 1st Valentine's Day as a married couple. -We went to the movies on monday night and then spent the whole day together. Pictures of our gifts will come later.
15. Go thru my closet and get rid of some clothes.- I have one bag already.
16. Begin planning our 1st vacation
17. Learn how to cook some new recipes- I have written down a few and tried one new one so far.
18. Have a PJ day.
19. Have a reunion with the girls from college.(Monday, January 2nd, I met Joanna, Sarah, Kathryn, Kelly and Susan and some of their spouses and kids. It was so nice to hang out!!!)
20. Write letters to friends that I don't see as often- I have written 2 letters so far.
21. Have pictures taken of Adam and I
22. Host a 31 party
23. Spend more time reading- I am half way thru Tim Tebow's book.
24. Start sending birthday cards to the close friends and family... the snail mail way. I have already starting marking the dates on my calendar.(So far so good with this one!)
25. To really take a picture a day for 2012. I have tried this the last two years and I do really good until the end of the year. I have not posted a picture the last month. So I am going to try my best!26. To keep my new car clean
27. Finally attend a Zumba class.
28. To paint our bathroom and decorate it
29. Spend a day with my niece and nephews..
30. Provide a meal for a family that needs it.

organizing

I have tried to spend some time organizing since I was off over Christmas... I wish I had the money to buy all the containers and storage units that I could use to make the space the Best Organized room; however, I don't so I will have to make do.

I started with our bills, I sort all of them on the bed and them put them in order of the dates so they could be filed.
This is the pile of the envelopes and the junk mail that needed to be shredded. I filled an entire trashbag full of shredded junk mail.

Then I filed all of the bills in our file box that we have. It sure does help us out now that finally have that organized.

OFFICE ROOM

This room has become a junk room. So I started organizing this room and this is the room that I can not seem to get the way I want.

Here is the room after... I know it is not perfect yet, But I am working on a few projects right now.

SPARE BEDROOM

This picture is sideways, but most of the clutter is the christmas decorations that I had to get put away.
Here it is now. We had to move the end tables from our living room in this room since we got new furniture.

THE PANTRY
After my grocery trip the other day, I decided to reorganize and clean out our pantry.

Some of the things that I have tried to help keep our pantry in order is a canned drink box (you know the ones that you can punch out the end and it is ready for dispensing in your fridge) and I use it for canned soup.

I also used a storage box that I got at Walmart to help keep the muffin mix and rice bags from falling thru the wires on the shelves.

What kind of organizing tools or units do you use?

update with pictures

Happy New Year! ---January 13, 2012
The best way for me to sum up the last two weeks will be with pictures...
On January 2, I met with some of my favorite people from college for supper. It was great to catch up with them all.

January 3-- Adam sold our living room furniture by 11am so we spent the rest of the day finding something new... This is it!! It is so comfy.

January 5, Harris Teeter was having super doubles so this is what I got $169.24 worth of groceries for$75.58. Not that bad!!! (Not pictured is 10 cases of drinks and 3 packs of bottled drinks)

January 8, We had Family night at Pin Station for our church family. And Adam's parents, Adam, my mom, and I played two games of bowling...

I did not do so good with this second game!

Then we met for Praise and Worship and then Dr. Yount preached as well!

On Monday January 9, Kyle and Matt helped me and we cleaned out the basketball and game closet at the church.... this is everything once pulled out.

This is one corner once we were done.

On January 11, I taught the lesson for Kids Praise and we made snowmen... this is mine.

Thursday, January 12, This is another Harris Teeter trip, they were just having doubles but I still got $36.78 for $14.64.

I also went to Lowes Foods and got $64.96 for $50.40 (but alot of these items I needed but did not have coupons)

And I also went to Bilo and paid $18.83 for $28.97 worth of groceries.

Once I got home, I cleaned out and organized our pantry.

And then we enjoyed our Crock Pot Chicken N Dumplings...I loved this meal because it did not take that much prep and I am all for easy.

So there you have it...

Need three more!!!

(I have marked some off and yes I still need to add some.)
Wow now it is less than 2 months away until my 30th Birthday. I am not really sure how I feel about turning 30. I have joked that I am not turning 30 and that I will stay 29 years old, but do I really want that.

As I have started really thinking about my upcoming birthday (3/2), I can really only think that my 30s may be the best days of my life. But before we get to the 30s, I wanted to just think back over the last 10 years. Being in your 20s, brings on so many changes and learning how to deal with those changes... oh and I don't do well with change. So for some of those changes that I had to make and learn from were: moving off to college and learning how to live on your own and get your schoolwork done without your parent checking on you, building new friendships that will last a lifetime, had my first real relationship that eventually lead me to walking down the aisle to my Prince Charming, bought my first car, became a homeowner, and just recently became a new car owner.

Now on to the 3o before 30 list ....oh but wait....

So my list is really going to be "30 things to accomplish in 2012"--- I figure I could probably make that work.
I will mark off the items once they are completed! (Oh but wait again.... I only have 26 items right now because I have had a hard time thinking of things that I can get done in a year....I will add more when I come up with them....) (Friends, please help keep me accountable to accomplish this list!!!)
1. Have a game night at our house!
2. Continue to grow my hair out... My hair has not this long in about 10 years or more.
3. Have ice cream for dinner
4. Try 4 Pinterest craft and gift ideas. I will try to do more.
5. Go a day without texting or internet. And that means Facebook as well!
6. To organize my scrapbook room
7. Start catching up on my scrapbook
8. To organize our office room, because even though we have only lived here 9 months, it has become a junk room. (I spent one of the last days on my christmas vacation cleaning and organizing the office. ---pictures to come later)
9. Enjoy a spa day
10. Make sugar cookies from scratch
11. Start exercising
12. Watch the sunrise with Adam
13. Start blogging more often.
14. Enjoy our 1st Valentine's Day as a married couple.
15. Go thru my closet and get rid of some clothes.
16. Begin planning our 1st vacation
17. Learn how to cook some new recipes
18. Have a PJ day.
19. Have a reunion with the girls from college.(Monday, January 2nd, I met Joanna, Sarah, Kathryn, Kelly and Susan and some of their spouses and kids. It was so nice to hang out!!!)
20. Write letters to friends that I don't see as often
21. Have pictures taken of Adam and I
22. Host a 31 party
23. Spend more time reading.
24. Start sending birthday cards to the close friends and family... the snail mail way. I have already starting marking the dates on my calendar.
25. To really take a picture a day for 2012. I have tried this the last two years and I do really good until the end of the year. I have not posted a picture the last month. So I am going to try my best!
26. To keep my new car clean
27. Finally attend a Zumba class.

Happy New Years

I hope everyone had a great New Year's Day! I did stay up last night to see the ball drop and ring in the New Year with my Husband!!! He went right to sleep when it was over and I finished watching the movie that we had rented. Then this morning, I started the new year off with a few of the cutest preschoolers while I led Critterland this morning at Sunday School. We had a great time even though there was only 6 kids.... we missed a bunch of our friends. Then Adam and I enjoyed worship together. It was great to start the year off worshipping with my husband. Then Adam and I spent the afternoon looking at new living room furniture! Now let me tell you, that I don't mind spending time with Adam or even shopping for that matter, but after several hours of looking I get very bored.... and hungry!!! So then we ended our day together with dinner at my parents... My mom made the New Years Meal.... Pork Chops, Corn, Stuffing, Black Eyed Peas, Rice, Cornbread, gravy, slaw, and then peach cobbler. I enjoyed spending time with my family again tonight... My mom and I even found a box of my baby dolls.... We finally found the baby doll that I got when I was 1 years old... So over all the last 2 days have been pretty good! Now I am not ready to go back to work on Tuesday! And when I go back to work... I am still hoping that I will make time to blog more often.

A New Year's Eve Reflection on 2011

20 Questions for a New Year's Eve Reflection
1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year?
I GOT MARRIED!!!

2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened?

The single most challenging thing had to be the house buying process. Over the past year, there have been some major changes but the process on buying a house really showed how Adam and I worked out problems. Oh wait there is another challenging thing, I know it said the SINGLE one... but moving out of a house that I have lived in for 6 years was also quite challenging.

3. What was an unexpected joy this past year?

Just the love that was shown by all of our friends as we were married

4. What was an unexpected obstacle?

I tried to think of this one....and it was quite hard.... but I would say that an unexpected obstacle would have been the house buying process again! I did not really picture Adam and I buying a house during the wedding process and even that before the wedding. The Lord was really trying my patience thru the entire process. The house buying process was an unexpected obstacle but I am so happy we did when we did because we found the perfect house for us!!!!

5. Pick three words to describe 2011.

wonderful, perfect, changing

6. Pick three words your spouse/best friend would use to describe your 2011 (don't ask them;
guess based on how you think they see you).

awesome, amazing, and perfect

7. Pick three words your spouse/best friend would use to describe their 2011 (again, without
asking).
Challenging, awesome, changing

8. What were the best books you read this year?
I have not read very much this year... but that is on the list for 2012 to read more.

9. With whom were your most valuable relationships?

Adam is the most valuable one , but then my family... over this past year, we have seen each other alot more than we have the past couple of years because of weddings, birthdays, and parties.... I love them all!

10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?
My biggest change would have to be getting used to being married. I have been on my own for 6 years and I have certain ways that I like to do things... So I have had to make some changes.

11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?

Getting married was great and just going from living on your own to living with some one has its emotional moments. I have definitely learned what is most important and that is LOVE!

12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?

I have learned that the Lord has the perfect person specifically for you and you just have to let God pick the perfec timing fo you. I know that I wanted to rush things over the years... but I am so glad that I did not! I learned to give GOD control because HE does know best.

13. In what way(s) did you grow physically?

After we moved in, I started walking and sometimes running in the neighborhood but then came the rainy days and that went out the window. However, that is on the list for 2012... to exercise more often and to make it to Zumba.

14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?

I have spent alot of time with my family and those are the most important relationships. We have spent alot of time this year laughing, celebrating, and having fun. As for friendships, it has been hard to grow alot of those since I am married now,but for 2012 I hope to change that.

15. What was the most enjoyable part of your work (Both professionally and at home)?

The most enjoyable part of home is being AT HOME! I enjoy having a house to clean (even though sometimes I don't like to clean) and I enjoy cooking for Adam and I (and I need to learn a few more meals....but we are getting there) and I enjoy just being HOME (I don't go out shopping nearly as much as I used to) ... I am totally content at being at home.

The most enjoyable part of work is working with the preschoolers and the elementary age kids and well the youth age as well. I have seen alot of these kids grow up through our ministry at Woodlawn and well I love to see them invite Jesus into their heart and learn to serve HIM.

16. What was the most challenging part of your work (Both professionally and at home)?

The most challenging part of home is having the time to get things done. I have a long list of projects but there is not enough time in the days and weeks to get it done.

The most challenging part of work is not having the relationships with people my age.

17. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?

The computer or the tv.

18. What was the best way you used your time this past year?

planning our wedding .... i loved the whole planning process

19. What was the biggest thing you learned this past year?

I learned that life does go by rather quickly but to savor every moment with your spouse and your family. I learned how to slow down and to savor all the moments of the wedding process.

And to always say I LOVE YOU to those you love.

20. Create a phrase or statement that describes 2011 for you.
This year will never be forgotten because this was the year that my dreams came true and I had my dream wedding and married my wonderful husband.

UPDATE

Since I am now a married woman.. I thought that my blog needed a new name!!! "Keeping Pace with the Whiteners".... came from my hubby. I think it fits!!! My new goal is to keep blogging more often. So check back in with me in a few days.

My 30 before 30 list.... oh but wait

(I have marked some off and yes I still need to add some.)

Wow it is only 66 more days until my 30th Birthday. I am not really sure how I feel about turning 30. I have joked that I am not turning 30 and that I will stay 29 years old, but do I really want that.

As I have started really thinking about my upcoming birthday (3/2), I can really only think that my 30s may be the best days of my life. But before we get to the 30s, I wanted to just think back over the last 10 years. Being in your 20s, brings on so many changes and learning how to deal with those changes... oh and I don't do well with change. So for some of those changes that I had to make and learn from were: moving off to college and learning how to live on your own and get your schoolwork done without your parent checking on you, building new friendships that will last a lifetime, had my first real relationship that eventually lead me to walking down the aisle to my Prince Charming, bought my first car, became a homeowner, and just recently became a new car owner.

Now on to the 3o before 30 list ....oh but wait....

Let me start off with "oh but wait" part of the title.... so with only 66 days until my birthday I know that I will not be able to accomplish all of the 3o things in just 66 days because with my busy schedule with my job and just life in general. It just isn't going to happen. (Yes I know, I should have started my list when I turned 29 but at my last birthday, I was up to my eyeballs in wedding details and counting down to getting married and a 3o before 30 list was the furtherest thing from my mind. Not until the other day when a friend posted her list did I start actually making a list for myself.)

So my list is really going to be "30 things to accomplish in 2012"--- I figure I could probably make that work.

I will mark off the items once they are completed! (Oh but wait again.... I only have 23 items right now because I have had a hard time thinking of things that I can get done in a year....I will add more when I come up with them....) (Friends, please help keep me accountable to accomplish this list!!!)

1. Have a game night at our house!

2. Continue to grow my hair out... My hair has not this long in about 10 years or more.

3. Have ice cream for dinner

4. Try 4 Pinterest craft and gift ideas. I will try to do more.

5. Go a day without texting or internet. And that means Facebook as well!

6. To organize my scrapbook room

7. Start catching up on my scrapbook

8. To organize our office room, because even though we have only lived here 9 months, it has become a junk room. (I spent one of the last days on my christmas vacation cleaning and organizing the office. ---pictures to come later)

9. Enjoy a spa day

10. Make sugar cookies from scratch

11. Start exercising and make it to the Zumba class.

12. Watch the sunrise with Adam

13. Start blogging more often.

14. Enjoy our 1st Valentine's Day as a married couple.

15. Go thru my closet and get rid of some clothes.

16. Begin planning our 1st vacation

17. Learn how to cook some new recipes

18. Have a PJ day.

19. Have a reunion with the girls from college.(Monday, January 2nd, I met Joanna, Sarah, Kathryn, Kelly and Susan and some of their spouses and kids. It was so nice to hang out!!!)

20. Write letters to friends that I don't see as often

21. Have pictures taken of Adam and I

22. Host a 31 party

23. Spend more time reading.

24. Start sending birthday cards to the close friends and family... the snail mail way. I have already starting marking the dates on my calendar.

25. To really take a picture a day for 2012. I have tried this the last two years and I do really good until the end of the year. I have not posted a picture the last month. So I am going to try my best!

26. To keep my new car clean

Father's Day

(ok don't faint because I actually posted..)

On this Father's Day, I have been reading facebook statuses and posts about their fathers, grandfathers, etc. And well they all have me thinking about all those people in my life that have impacted my life in major ways. I wish I had pictures of them to post to this blog (because that would make it a better post:)) but I don't have any pictures of them on this laptop and since I am still in the process of unpacking some boxes they are MIA!

Let me start with my dad!

My dad has always been very supportive of all three of us kids. He worked hard and was always there to cheer us on, kept the pool up so that we could enjoy it each summer, or even watch those never ending dance recitals that we watched for 15 years. At the end of each recital daddy would give us a hug and say "well done!". Still even today, when he comes and watches programs at church that I have been apart of or in charge of, he still gives me a hug and says "well done."
You hardly ever see my dad shed a tear, but I remember seeing one on my graduation day! He was so proud! Thank you Daddy for loving me and supporting me in all my decision that I have made and continue to make. (I could go on and on about my dad, but I would be in tears and then it would not be much of a post.)

Then it is Granddaddy(my dad's dad), everyone knew him has the Optimist Man, hushpuppy maker man, bee keeper man, or even azaleas photo taking man, but I knew him as my granddaddy. I was the 1st grand child on that side of the family so I was a little spoiled for awhile. My granddaddy was a hard working man. He built the house that my dad grew up in and then I lived in for 6 years.He could about make anything in his shop. One thing that he was known most for was the honey from his bees.(boy, do I miss that!) He instilled the hard work ethic into us grandkids. He could sing and play the guitar. He even had a recording type machine that my sister and I would record our own songs on sundays after lunch. Granddaddy would always be willing to come to Career days at my school and tell about how to be a beekeeper. My granddaddy never met a stranger and he could even pinpoint exactly where someone was from by their accent. Granddaddy was always ready to go for a walk and spend time outside with us grandkids. He was also a little stubborn (maybe I got that from him!) Granddaddy passed away when I was in college, but I sure wish he could have met Adam. I miss him all the time. I remember him everytime I see an azalea bush and bee flying around my head.

Next is my PapPaw( my mom's dad), he was also very hard working, and had the best garden. PapPaw loved to go on trips whether it be with the church, friends, or family. He loved to go to the beach (even if he stayed inside and napped most of the time).At the beach, PapPaw would take us to the Pavilion and then we would go across the street and get ice cream dipped in chocolate!!!! He loved to spoil the 5 grandkids. He even loved going to the mall. My Nanny would shop and PapPaw would sit and hold the bags and talk with anyone that sat down beside him. PapPaw was always involved at church. PapPaw had a recliner that he sat in all the time, and he would snore..... but then he would say that he wasn't really asleep. The 5 grandchildren had him wrapped around his finger.... every sunday night before we would leave their house, he would give us a $1.00 bill. That was the greatest thing ever. Just the other day, I was thinking of PapPaw because I was at the grocery store wanting to buy a watermelon and cantaloupe, but I did not know how to tell if they were good or not. My PapPaw worked at MDI in the produce department for years and he could pick out the best. Then he would fix the picnic table in the back yard of their house with newspaper, watermelon, and salt and then we would have the best time. PapPaw passed away when I was a junior in high school. I miss him very much.



Now that I married Adam, I have added PawPaw Buddy and PawPaw Gene. They are both loving and caring men. I love to hear stories from PawPaw Buddy about when A was little. And then PawPaw Gene is know for working outside in the flowers.

Lord, thank you for all the men that have been in my life and that have helped shape me into who I am today! I am so very grateful!!!

30 Days of Lists: Day 1: A Few Things About Yourself

I am going to try and see if I can keep this going!!!

A Few Things About Myself:
*daughter
*sister
*aunt
*aunt
*loves my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
*getting married in 57 days
*just turned 29
*collector of stuff
*loves my camera
*multi tasker
*loves to travel
*loves to dance
*does not LOVE to move

Thankful days!

To finish off this month of Thankfulness:
22-Is thankful for Taylor, my sweet niece, for her loving spirit and care for her brothers.
23-Is thankful for our wonderful Thanksgiving vesper service and the food that we collected to help out our food pantry.
24-Is thankful for Cody, my youngest nephew, such a little monkey but so cute and full of adventure!
25-is thankful for being able to spend Thanksgiving with Adam's family and my family all in one day.
26-is thankful for no craziness while out at 4am shopping with my mom. Thankful for my 2 1/2 hours of sleep.
27-is thankful for some time at home to clean up and rest.
28-is thankful for a sunday afternoon nap and game night at the Whiteners!
29-is thankful for the Upward Coaches that showed up at the coaches meeting.
30-is thankful for the rain and spending the evening with Adam with a inexpensive dinner and a movie.

Next Thankful 10

A day late, but here are the last 11 days of thankfulness.
11-Thankful for all of our veterans that have served and those that are currently serving! Thank you for serving!
12- Thankful that I was able to attend the Women of Faith Conference.
13- Thankful for some great friends that I was able to hang out with while at the Women of Faith Conference. Had a great time ladies!
14-Thankful for Bryant, my "now" 5 year old(birthday is Nov.14), nephew. He is defintely the cutest 5 year old around. (I AM a little biased!)
15-Thankful for my homecooked meal...... I will get better and not just fix spaghetti all the time, but for now, I am thankful that it is quick and easy to fix.
16- Thankful for Adam's family, Mel, Cindy, Christie, Cody, and Aydan. Thankful for sports and being able to watch Aydan play JV basketball.
17-Thankful for God's provision in a situation! God really does go before us and work things out for the good!
18-Thankful that it is Thursday and I get to be off and sleep in on Friday.
19-Thankful for Lisa Walker, my other mom, and the time that we were able to spend over lunch together.
20-Thankful to Adam's cousin, Josh, and that he invited us to join him at the Bobcat game with his free tickets. We had a great time!
21- Thankful for 60% off coupons that allowed me to get some invitations really cheap.
- Thankful for a wonderful church service this morning with the Baptist Children's Home.

Thankful 10

So I have missed the thankful posts on a daily basis, so I have decided to do 10 at a time.
1-I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ!!!
2- I am thankful for Adam, my future husband. I am thankful that he understands me and listens to me.... I am thankful for his love for me and I can't wait to marry him on April 30, 2011.
3- I am thankful for my family and all the craziness that we have. Thank you Mom and Dad!
4- I am thankful for a job where I get to have an eternal impact on kids lives.
5- I am thankful for a house even though it is never quite clean enough and I don't even have kids yet.
6- I am thankful for great friends.
7- I am thankful for Nancy and all the help and creative ideas that she is creating for my wedding.
8- I am thankful for the beauty that I get to experience as I get to see the sun setting earlier now.
9- I am thankful for the stars that I saw last night. God amazes me with the skyline at night in the country and you can see them all! I was in total awe!
10-I am thankful for my church family!!!!

Wedding Website

Check it out.

Fall Breeze

As I stepped outside today, I was so thankful for the the cooler breeze. I love the summer and the times to be by the pool and such, but I am ready for the cooler temperatures.

(Sorry to those that are reading my blog with how absent I have been from the blogging world.) When I open up my blog and see my post from Christmas... I wish I had to time to even keep this up.

I am however, horrible at making time for writing much less putting my thoughts into this blog.

Can you give me some ideas of some things to share on here?

Also, What was your favorite summer activity/trip that you and your family might have taken?
I enjoyed going to the beach this summer. We stayed at Ocean Lakes Campground. It was my first time to the beach in several years. It was wonderful to relax and hang out.

A New Year's Resolution

Welcome 2010!!!!

I am ready for a new year and ready to see what God has in store for me. I read on someone else's blog of an idea of taking pictures everyday for a year; I am going to try( I always have my camera on me). I love taking pictures and of the places I travel so I will use my pictures to tell about my year. Now I am not going to post everyday but I might try every week( that should be a resolution as well---to post more). I will start with ringing in the new year..... YAY!!!

Now let's back up.... Christmas time!!! I hope everyone had a great one. I sure did. Here are some pictures of my break!

Presents under my tree

Adam opening his Noah's Ark picture

Our attempt at making cookies.... they did not turn out at all....

but he had fun putting flour on my face.
here are the two little helpers.... taylor and bryant made chocolate covered pretzels





Bryant watching tv while waiting to leave on Christmas Eve

AdamChristmas Morning....opening presents

going through our stockings

Cody going down the steps... his favorite hobby at my aunts....

So overall... I great Christmas!!!

Jesus' birth

Ok let me first start by saying that it has been awhile since I have posted. There has been alot that has taken place and there is no way that I can sum the last 3 or 4 months into a post. When I started my blog I had all intentions to keep it up but life takes its course and then when you add a relationship to that... it takes more time that I did not even have to begin with.

So onto the holiday season, This is my second year of decorating my house for christmas and I actually put my tree up before Thanksgiving, due to Upward starting and the Thanksgiving weekend was pretty full of activities. Adam came over to help me decorate my small but blue and white and silver christmas tree. It is filled with Snowmen and icicles and my White House ornaments that my grandmother gets for us each year. It is topped with a silver and slight blue bow. (I will post pictures soon; however, the pictures do not even do the tree justice.) I have also tried to start decorating a few other places. I love the Christmas season I just wish I had more room to put all of the pieces up.


And for the first time I was able to put two stockings up. I bought two when I purchased mine several years ago because I had to have them matching and now I am actually able to use it.



I love the Christmas season and I have been counting down since before Thanksgiving; but now I wish the time would so slow down just a bit. I still have more shopping to do and I just can't seem to get it all in with work, a death in the family, upward, ballgames, Christmas parties,making special desserts, church Christmas plays and rehearsals and so on... you all know what I mean. I was trying so hard to be ahead with my presents this year.... oh well. We all try to spend all the time that we can with loved ones which is what you are suppose to do over the holidays; however, it seems like we just go from place to place all in a hurry.

This year will bring some change for me, with adding Adam's side of the family to how I celebrate Christmas it will include more traveling, more eating, and more family members to celebrate Jesus' birth. So to end this trying post... I encourage you and I to all take a moment in the busyness of the holidays to remember Jesus' birth and how he came to that lowly manger knowing that one day he would die on that cross ... just for you and me.