After MUCH delay....

I am returning to blogging. Between finals, holiday preparation and celebration, Disney World trips, birthdays, and a husband who finally came home I have been extremely busy and blessed. I am in awe of how much my family is blessed and cannot stop giving thanks for all God has given us. I ended the semester with a 4.0 and left for Disney. We had an AMAZING trip and watching the boys at Disney was the only present I needed for Christmas. I cannot believe that I have been so lucky to get to go to that magical place time and time again and cannot wait until my next trip. Christmas was wonderful and we enjoyed spending it with both sides of the family. The boys both got too many gifts and had a great time with cousins. Mom and Dad got too many gifts too. Jack really seemed to start to understand the Santa concept and Sam was adorable at his first Christmas climbing on boxes and in and out of everything. My sweet nephew turned 5 yesterday....I can't believe it. And now we are about to start a new year.

So with that very abbreviated catch up....I am back. I will post a few pics from over the last few weeks and give a promise that my blogging will be more punctual from here on out. Thank you to those who inquired as to my whereabouts. Very sweet of you. I hope everyone had as blessed a holiday as we had. A very sleepy boy after first day at Disney.What a special 5th birthday.Getting ready to watch It's a Bugs Life.Dancing with Donald Duck.A very scary dinosaur.All dressed up to go to Christmas Eve service.

With Daddy in front of the tree.

Putting out cookies for Santa and his reindeer.Seeing what Santa brought and opening packages.A very excited little boy.

Already pooped out of the Christmas pajamas Mommy made him.

BOXES.....

the best part of Christmas!

Anyone who has little ones knows that no matter what you purchase, how beautiful the house looks, how tasty the cookies are, the only thing that matters is the empty boxes. Jack and Sam took full advantage of that as soon as we started decorating. They played like this almost the entire time we decorated. I love every little detail about Christmas.

Happy Turkey Day!

The Little Pilgrim

Cranberries dripping down my chin

Have stained my pilgrim suit.

I ate too much Thanksgiving day

But I don't give a hoot.

I slurped a pile of dressing,

Gobbled down a turkey thigh,

Dribbled messy cranberries

Devoured some pumpkin pie.

Within me on this special day

It's a thankful heart that beats.

For all the things that I enjoy

But mainly for the eats.

Unknown

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Put a Sock In It

Little Sammer's will find a pair of socks anywhere he goes. He loves socks, preferably his own. That little rascal turns 9 months tomorrow. He is such a delight.

Since Toby won't be here for Thanksgiving, last night I cooked him his favorite cornbread stuffing and green beans and we had a miniature Thanksgiving dinner. I also made his beloved chocolate pie. Then the boys and us sat down to watch Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun and I felt so blessed to have the opportunity to start family traditions with my little sweeties. Hope your Thanksgiving is wonderful. Be thankful.

Tour Tuesday - Kitchen

It's kitchen day! Oh the kitchen...the heart of the home. We have been doing some minor updates lately and finally this weekend we have finished. We took out a bar, got new counter tops, had to fix the backsplash, new sink and fixtures, new light fixture, added pulls and added a shelf. I am so pleased with the changes and just love, love, love the granite and undermount sink. My kitchen gets tons of use because I love to cook and bake so it is a very important room in our home. Hope you enjoy!

The view from my breakfast nook! (Sorry about the pictures...took after daylight hours.)

The view from our hallway.

Our breakfast nook. The two clocks are to represent the time here and the time wherever my husband is. Only they are never set and I have wanted them to have "Here" "There" under them for a very long time.

I got this antique island at Canton. It is an old basin from a hardware store. They used to store different types of nails and screws in it and the drawers pull either way. I love it and cannot imagine my kitchen without...it is so functional.

Love my aprons and my Dr. Pepper.

Our very simple kitchen curtain.

My first tassel that I ever got.

This is how the shelf turned out. Still not distressed but I will get to that soon. Thanks Hubby!

Here is my version of the family sign floating around blogland. I love a copycat.

Due to space I needed to figure out a way to hang my pots. Kitchen is too small for a potrack. So my husband and I came up with this. I had seen something like it in a magazine. Not my favorite buy very functional. The OPEN sign is an antique I found in Waxahachie.

Just a good view of the granite, pulls, and backsplash. Also, my beloved KitchenAid and the best little sign that is quite appropriate because I am a cookie making lady.

The wonderful towel that I got from Bev at VillageMonograms. She does amazing work. And my Ballard Designs rug that I think is fun and whimisical.

Honey-Dos

The hubby was able to be home with us for the last few days and complete a long list of to dos. He finished the kitchen remodel (finally) and made me a little shelf for above my refrigerator. Here is a pic of the shelf. We are going to distress it and then decorate it. I will show it to you tomorrow when I post a tour of my kitchen.


(Sorry for the blurry pic!)

Also, I got this pad in the dollar section at Target. I am a huge list maker and it says "Making a List, Checking it Twice". Perfect for writing all of my Christmas to dos on. I only write like six a day.

Happy Birthday Nicci

It's my sister Nicci's birthday today. So here I am wishing her a happy, happy, birthday. I couldn't ask for a better sister much less friend. There is no one else that I have more fun with and I am blessed to have her and her family in my life. So here's to you Nicci! I love you.

Thankful for Hayden

My nephew, Hayden, got to come stay two nights with me this week while my niece, Ava, was in the hospital. I loved having him here....almost as much as Jack did. He plays so hard and is so loving of Jack and Sam...what a great example he is for my boys. He and I got to have slumber parties in my big bed. I can't believe how big he has gotten and am blessed that I get to spend time with him. He really lights up my life (even if he told me my Chicken Parmigiana is GROSS).


Here he is drinking hot chocolate at Mima's. He did not want to drink it forever and now LOVES it.
Thanks for all the prayers for sweet Ava. She is doing much better and is home from the hospital now.

Tour Tuesday

I have been gone from blogging world for a little over a week (and missed it horribly). Our life quickly got CRAZY! Sam and I went out of town for a wedding and between work, school projects, and kiddos...there was no time for the computer. But, I'M BACK!

Eery project I am in right now is currently half done and I have not taken too many pics of sweet Jack and Sam lately so I was contemplating a post. I love to see other peoples houses on their blogs so decided to start a home tour. So every Tuesday I will post a new room in our home.

Starting with little Sammer's nursery. I wanted a very baby, vintage feel to his nursery and went with traditional blue, green, and white. My mom and I made all of the bedding and curtains. My friend Janet made the sheet for us and made the sweet little pillow for a gift. Every part of him was made with love. My husband hung the crown molding and painted the dresser (mine from childhood). He also painted the simple moon and stars staking a watch over Sam every night above his crib. The most amazing thing is that my mom redid a mobile with the fabrics we had used. It was a painstaking task....but I SO love it. Enjoy his sweet little oasis.

Please say a prayer for my precious niece, Ava. She is in the hospital with MRSA and is fighting this horrible infection. She is so full of life and I hope she has a quick recovery....I am sure she hates the hospital.

Fashionably Late

I saw that Just A Girl is hosting a I Can Make That Party and wanted to join in the fun. I barely got it posted in time for her party though. I also took it as a kick in the rear to get my napkins for my kitchen table arrangement embroidered. I bought a set of napkins from HomeGoods for $4. Then I came home and fond a monogram I liked on Word and then just used three strands to hand embroider our monogram on it. They turned out great...I really like them and they didn't take long at all. The price was right too.