Wordless Wednesday-2 Days till Christmas

Christmas Randomness and Run On Sentences

Have you ever had one of those days where you go to call the doctor and then on the way there you trip over some shoes so you go to put the shoes away and then realize you are forgot to switch the clothes into the dryer so you have to wash them because they smell but your out of detergent so you have to run to the store and then in the store you remember you need formula so you grab it and check out and then load all the kiddos in the car and head for home, and then realize you forgot the damn detergent and the Doctors office just closed?

Dizzy yet? Cause I am.

There is so much to do during this time of year, I feel like my whole month could be described with one really long run on sentence. No punctuation no paragraph breaks just words on a page going on and on and on....

But there's been some really good stuff this month.

Cookie baking marathon. There's nothing quite so amazing as watching your babies grow up. I watched my two first born stir and bake and chop and I remembered the first time we did this. Oh how much they've grown. Soon they'll think they're to big for this kind of forced family fun . For now I'm cherishing these moments of floured faces and stolen bites of dough, hoping they don't grow up to leave me, and praying that when and if they do God will give me the strength to let them.

Gingerbread houses Boys V Girls- Yes my friends we are having a Friendly competition. No rules..... just gingerbread houses and the way-over-the-top-ness that makes my family so much fun. And we're off......

The girls are out of the gates ahead when Alli comes up with Rice Crispie Treat Mnt......but rapidly fall back when they realize that 2 boxes of Rice Crispies  really only makes a hill and its not nearly as awe inspiring as they had hoped. Now the boys with their slow start have started to gain momentum, and are proving to be serious contenders with their realistic Christmas lights, and whats that I see in their secret ingredient stash? Gold Sugar?

So who will win? Will the Alli get too confident.....Will Analeigh Rose get hungry and decide that Mr. Marshmallow Man doesn't really need to live on Rice Crispie Hill....What if Aidann decides that Daddy was right and that every house should have a pile of yellow snow?

Stay tuned to find out.

And somewhere amidst the chaos of hanging and rehanging lights, cookies and ginger bread, doctors and therapy sessions, my Designer Gened Angel has learned his first sign. Can you guess what it was?

MOMMY!!!!

I never thought the site of chubby little hands could take my breathe away, that a simple thumb to chin with tiny splayed fingers, might mean more to me than 1000 presents under our tree. This time last year my Austin was barely a plus sign on a white stick. Today he is here. He is here, and he is so much more than I thought he would be. He is here, and our family is so much more than I thought we could be.

Happy Countdown to Christmas!!!!

Baby It's Cold Outside

Seriously...... It's freezing.

Old Man Winter is visiting the land of sunshine today, greeting us Floridians with icy kisses and wintry breathe. Usually his arrival sends me scurrying to the computer, searching for tropical destinations,balmy breezes, and sun soaked skin, but not this time. Maybe it's the season, or maybe I'm just more appreciative this year, but I feel like I'm getting reacquainted with an old friend.

Last night we tucked the all the A's into warm beds, grabbed the baby monitor and the camera and hightailed across the golf course behind the house for a little Mommy/Daddy quiet time. You see I'm a white light kind of girl. Give me some white icicle lights, some pine boughs, a few red bows, and I'm happy. Not my husband. His Christmas Nirvana flashes, whistles, and glitters, all synchronized to Christmas carols. In his Christmas fantasy inflatables would fill our yard, and a huge animatronic elf would wave a sign that said "Santa Stop Here." So we had a little clandestine light looking, and as we peeked over the fence that separates us solidly middle class folk from the big boys on the lake I think we may have found a good compromise.

I'm sure it will only take 10 or 15 years to save enough money for our own little piece of Holiday Heaven.

So today finds me cold but content, finding it impossible not to smile when the A's looks so adorable all bundled up in hats and mittens. My little burritos with rosy cheeks and cherry noses, and how can you not be in the Christmas mood when there's a chance we might see......Dare I say it?
Yes I do.....SNOW!!!!!!! 

The sky is dark, the wind is blowing, the temperature is dropping, and tonight my babies will look to the heavens and wish.

Coming this week- Gingerbread Cottages- Boys v Girls

The blank screen

     I set this blog up weeks ago. I needed a place to put my thoughts, an outlet on the nights that there’s so much in my head that it won’t turn off and sleep is an unattainable goal. But I see this blank screen if front of me and it’s intimidating. Where do I start? I’ve started this first post countless times. What should I write? I mean there's nothing exciting or glamorous about my life. My right ring finger is becoming intimately connected to the backspace button. But not tonight. Tonight as my four babies lie snugged in their beds, and my husband clicks through 500 channels before he finally settles for the first one just to change again during commercial break, I've got it. That feeling. The one where the planets align and you know, just know, that this is exactly where you're supposed to be, doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing. I wish I could reach out and grab it up and bottle it for a day when life is not so easy, and I'm not so sure. We all have them. Maybe you've had to make the rough choice to end an unhappy marriage but you're lonely. Maybe the economy has forced you to make some tough financial decisions, and you find yourself wondering what you could have done differently. Maybe your new baby was born with a "little something extra", and you pray everyday that you're being the mommy he needs you to be. No one likes these times. We all want things to be easy, but it's these defining moments in our lives that show us how great we can truly be. We rise to the occasion and become something more. Something we never thought we could be and it's beautiful to behold.

 

   The last few years have brought some unexpected twists to the path I had plotted for my life. There are days like today when I feel confident that I know the way. Likewise there are days when I find myself lost or uncertain, wishing that this life of mine came with a map. There are no maps to lead me from point A to point B, but on these days of doubt I take comfort in others that walk a similar path. They inspire me, and I have learned that more often than not the most beatiful vistas can be seen only after navigating the most treachorous terrain, that breathtaking sights lie just off the beaten path. There is no map to life, but maybe getting lost isn't so bad. Maybe we need to get lost sometimes to really find ourselves.