Merry Christmas! No Card This Year...

To those of you who know me, you know I always send photo Christmas cards. Not this year though. I'm not being a scrooge, nor am I in a state of depression or anything of the like. I love both giving and receiving cards.....opening the mailbox during this time of the year is like Christmas everyday!

But I simply said, "no". It was a myriad of things that led to the "no", but with Sophie on the way (sooner, possibly, after my doctor and I talked about inducing a week early!) , I just felt like her birth announcement could garner all our holiday/New Year wishes, family pictures, updates, etc. in one nice little card.......so be on the lookout for that later on. (Isn't that what you do with multiple kids? Multi-task??)

But know I do wish everyone a very happy, joyful Christmas day! My daughter, Grace, is simply beside herself this year with excitement, and she sings Christmas carols constantly. I, in another "un-Flo" like fashion, am off today to find that one last gift. In normal circumstances, I usually am through shopping by the Dec. 1st! So all in all, it's just a weird end of the year......weird, but hopeful of good things to come.

Merry Christmas!

Bible Journey: Numbers 2:1-3:1

Country vs. City Life

A Cold Front Was Coming In

I say "city" with a bit of a smile. Our former "city" was only 12,000 people strong. But there's quite a difference between living in that "city" versus living out here in Mimi & Papaw-countryland. Mainly,

A) the noise level.....there's basically no noise, except for the wind, dogs barking, cows mooing.....

B) the fact that there's always work to do.....give hay to the cows, clean out something, chop something, move something..... none of which am I doing much of because my large, 8 1/2 month pregnant self seems to find it awfully painful to bend down and pick up a pen, much less haul hay (that I don't know how to do anyway!).....

and finally, the reason for this post

C) whereas in the city if a cold front was coming in, you'd head to your friendly Wal-mart or Brookeshire's or road side stand to buy someone else's wood they've chopped. Out here, you do it yourself!

Boog, chopping what Papaw had cut down

All in a Day's Work....

Bible Journey: Numbers 1:1-2:1

ALL ABOARD...The Polar Express!

My wooly hubs, Grace and her cousin, Ella....boarding the Polar Express!

This Christmas, Grace is old enough to really love the movie "Polar Express", and just the other day, I heard her in her room singing the words to the song the little girl sang in the movie.....well, she was making up words, but she was singing. It was sweet.

So Boog & I decided to buy tickets to the Texas "Polar Express" train ride in Palestine, Texas, and Grace was able to bring along her cousin, Ella, for the ride! Complete with hot cocoa, the conductor, a hole-punched ticket, and Christmas caroles....it was a memorable experience! They both received Christmas bells, which both the girls rang mightily the whole way home! Overall, it was a great age for the girls to go on their first train ride to the North Pole!

The Train ala "Polar Express"

Grace thought the "B" he punched was the number 13

The Crew....Pajamas and All....me at 33 weeks - yikes!

Bible Journey: Leviticus 25:1 - Leviticus 27:31

It's Been a Long Time, My Friends....

Moving Day

Well, vacating our house was a breeze. I say "a breeze", but on moving day, I had a doctor's appointment and when I came back, my fantastic mother-in-law had practically my whole entire kitchen, Grace's room, and other things packed up like a champ. Talk about a savior! I hate packing dishes..... : ) So here's pic of the last day in our home.....sniff. I kind of miss that little thing.

Now, we're in "in-law"ville.....it hasn't been so bad. Boog enjoys the daily breakfasts and good conversations his parents provide......Grace enjoys all her "mimi & papaw" time....I'm enjoying the peacefulness of country living. No more darting over to Wal-mart.....trips into town have to be thought through! Talk about a way to curb those expenditures!

We're still in the phase of deciding where our next home will be.......THAT'S a task.

I did receive my first monogrammed gift for Sophie by my sweet friend Stephanie. It put things into perspective seeing her name.....all official. She'll be here in less than 8 weeks or so! Aaarrrgghh.....I need to buy some diapers or something, don't I?

Sophie's Duds

And finally, an update on Grace. At four, she's turned over two new leaves. 1) She's become a MAJOR daddy's girl. In fact, momma just won't do anymore. It's all daddy. I had heard this would happen, but I was hoping it would be later.....not now! This is a picture of her getting ready for her choir performance at church last Sunday.
The second leaf she's turned over is me constantly asking the question "Who's Child IS this?". Certainly not my sweet, subdued Gracie! This is the perfect picture of how that choir performance went.......all silliness and goofy faces in front of 300+ people. She's no shy-gal anymore! Boog and I were both in tears after her "performance".


All in all, it's been a crazy past couple of weeks. I know God has a plan for this time and for our future, so I try not to worry too much. Bringing Sophie to a place other than her "home" wasn't exactly what I had planned, but then again, I can't complain. I'm just thankful to have a place to stay while we figure out our living situation. Besides, living in "Mimi-Wonderland" for Christmas isn't Motel 6.....it's kind of nice!

Bible Journey: Leviticus 20:1-25:1