Sun Spot Day

I have hit a point in my life where I am super happy. Nothing in particular can be pin pointed, but it's just been nice to enjoy my kids, my husband, and realize that I've got it pretty good!

The kids obviously have their ups and downs with each other and with me, but for the most part they are so great and pleasant to be around. We have been enjoying our time at home together, and I believe I will probably ache when I don't have Avery with me each day when the time comes for her to go to school.

Our family (with the exception of Kenny) enjoys being outdoors. I don't know if it's the smell, the sun, or the pure freedom of it all; regardless, it's one of the kids and my favorite places to be. Of course since it is winter right now, time spent outside is few and far between. So, on sunny days, we pretend it's nice out, and open our blinds as high as they will go. The other day in particular, the sun not only warmed our bodies, but my heart and mind as well.

Picture the rare occasion where the house is clean from hosting small group the night before. Remember that we have three large windows on one wall in our living room. The rays were beaming in, leaving sun spots on the floor. In one sun spot sat Avery, building a little tower with her legos. In another sat Braden, building his tower of legos. And in the final spot, lay the dog, Barlow, basking in the warmth.

There was no chit chat, no arguing, no screaming; just the hint of music playing in the background and the thumping of my proud heart.

Such a pleasant day. I will recall it always as Sun Spot Day.

Catch up....seems like all my posts say that

I let myself get behind again. The other day I tried to figure out why I haven't blogged in so long, and I decided it was because most of my kid quirps end up going in my facebook status instead of creating them into a full-blown blog post. The facebook status is nice when I don't have a lot of time. However, it also is a hindrance because it does not allow me to save it in my 'journal,' or share the entire hilarity of said kids' comments.

I say all of this to say, I hope to be back on the bandwagon in the blog world. I realized I did not post anything about Thansgiving or Christmas! Shame on me. And now, since both holidays are so far removed, no one really wants to read about them, much less me type about them. As stated earlier, I do want to jot down a few things about each so I can remember them in years to come.

Thanksgiving was fantastic as usual! Per our tradition, our great friends, Jon and Stacy, were able to come with their chillins, Lawson and Jordan, to stay a few days and enjoy the festivities. Stacy and I realized our tradition, which feels like started yesterday, is now going on eight years...maybe nine..it's been too long since we've calculated, that I can't even remember now. Either way, it's been a long time. We've been in each other's lives since the summer after Jon and Stacy were married. Our paths have seen ups and downs in our own lives, as well as the lives of others. We all celebrated the announcement of their first child, Lawson, then again with the announcement of Avery's impending birth five months after that. Kenny and I were able to welcome Lawson into the world, then the Stacy's did the same with Avery. A few years down the road, Jordan came along. We were already in Montgomery, but we were so happy to travel to see their new one! Later on, Braden came along, and they helped us celebrate that as well. It's been great to share so many of life's experiences and 'firsts' with another couple who loves the Lord like our family does. It feels like we've grown up together, and now are kids are getting to do the same thing.

Thanksgiving was also fun because Kenny's dad, and brothers, Tom, Jon and Kirk were in town too! Their mom had returned to Colorado to tie up loose ends with their house. I don't even think I've blogged about the fact that Kenny's family has moved here! Kirk is a senior in high school this year, and is going to school where Kenny teaches. It's been fun having family around since we've gone our whole marriage without having any family in town with us.

Of course another favorite part of any Thanksgiving is having tons of other friends around as well. Dawn and Chris were also here, and we got to enjoy their baby, Brady's, first Thanksgiving! Stacy and I ventured out again on Black Friday. I used to not have any desire to do that, but we have now completed two Black Friday operations, and come away with great deals and most of the kids' Christmas presents. We hope to continue that tradition as well!

Let's fast forward to Christmas. We stayed here this year. Normally we do a lot of traveling, but since Kenny's family was here, my parents and brother decided they would come here too! It was such a fun time sharing dinner, movies and great fellowship together. Avery and Braden were so blessed to have both sets of grands, as well as four uncles and one aunt to celebrate with.

I was so behind with things this year that I did not manage to get Christmas cards out. Some of the best pictures I got of the kids were when they were in their pajamas. I guess those would have been our choice to send out, had we printed cards. We also found one family picture in the mix.

Now that I've caught up on November and December, I've realized that January has come, and is almost gone!

I am not one to really make resolutions, but I have decided to have a more positive outlook on life, people, friends, everything! So far so good...of course I've hit my fare share of bumps, but my new attitude has made living much more fun. I challenge everyone to do the same!

The Cookie Tree

Today Avery, Braden and I were enjoying a cookie for our dessert when Avery began her latest quandry.

"Momma; why did Cookie Monster have to use magic to grow a cookie tree?"

I laughed, and recalled the Sesame Street episode from which her question arose.

"Well, God only decided to make apple, peaches, cherry, pecan,...(blah blah blah)....trees." I replied.

She thought for a minute then said, "Oh. Well, it's just too bad that God didn't decide to make cookie trees. Then we would have always have PLENTY of cookies!" (picture arms opening wide here...)

I laughed and added, "Well. I think God knows best because He realizes if we were walking along and ate too many apples, or peaches, or something like that, we would probably be ok because they are healthy. But if we were walking along and came upon a cookie tree, we might eat too much and get sick!"

We continued munching. I thought she had completed her thought. I moved on to cleaning up Braden's chocolatey hands and face, then headed to the kitchen. Soon I heard the following from the dining room.

"Well; since God can do anything, he could make a cookie tree with just the right amount of cookies on it so if we ate them all, we wouldn't get sick."