Thursday, December 31, 2009

New Year's Eve

Its amazing how time flies and how much things can change in a year's time.  A year ago today I was 9 months pregnant waiting for the birth of my daughter which would only be 9 days away.  I was excited, nervous and scared...but I was very happy.  When I think of my children and my husband, my heart leaps.  I love them and adore them.  I can't imagine my life without them.  I think about all the struggles we have been through in the last 7 years with losing Jace, my Mom, Jeff's grandparents.  Jace was the most difficult loss.  We were forever changed by his passing and will never again be the same people we were before he died.  I thought after that I could endure anything that came my way.  My Mom's passing was tough.  You always think your parents will live forever.  Mom was too young at 65 but I know she's in a much better place and having the time of her life with all our loved ones who have gone before us.  Jeff's grandparents passed away just a short 6 months apart from each other.  His grandmother had health problems for years now but fought them with such grace.  When she died, Jeff's grandfather died right along with her.  I'm at peace with his passing because I know he is right where he wants to be and that's by her side.  Their love for one another inspired me every time I had the pleasure of being in their company.  My life was changed for the better by having all of these wonderful people in my life.  It appears that 2010 may very well bring additional changes to my life, changes I am not looking forward to.  I pray and hope everyday that I can fix what has been dealt my way.  I don't like the hand placed before me, I hate it.  I haven't handled it well at all but I am hoping to do better.  I will continue to pray and trust the Lord will guide me to what will be the best  for me and my family and give me the strength and courage to remember my grace.       

Monday, December 21, 2009

Struggling

I'm still trying to digest what I have been told.  I hate knowing what I know.  I hate it.  I'm trying so hard to be positive but each day gets harder and harder.  I struggle to keep a smile on my face.  I want to cry all the time because I'm sad.  But I have to force the smile...for my kids...and because its Christmas.  Because its the most wonderful time of the year.  I love this time of year...but I'm struggling.  And I hate that I'm struggling.  I should be talking Santa and reindeer and shopping and parties and family and Christmas trees and snow and gingerbread men and all other things Christmas.  How I'm so very excited for my daughter's first Christmas and how I'm equally excited that Christopher still believes in Santa and hasn't figured things out yet and how I love their innocence.  How I love Christmas morning when Christopher wakes me up all excited that Santa has come and brought lots of presents.  This was a great year.  I loved this year.  So many milestones and so many new beginnings.  Now...now I just want the year to come to an end.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Blindsided

Have you ever been blindsided?  I mean really blindsided?  Like in a way that has left you sitting there with your jaw sitting on the ground, dumbfounded by what you are hearing and utterly speechless?  I found myself in that exact situation yesterday.  I'm still struggling with what I have been told.  And for many reasons, I am not going to tell you what it is that has left me in this state.  I'm not ready.  I just needed to get this out of my system and now, I must end this post because if I continue talking, I will give away too much...and I'm not ready to do that.  I just needed you to know that I've been blindsided...and it sucks.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Canton Finds

As promised, I have taken pictures of almost all my wonderful treasures I bought in Canton last weekend.  There are a few things I am not posting because they are Christmas gifts and I don't want to risk them being found out before the big day.  Before we get to the nitty gritty I wanted to share with you the warm and funky red puffer vest we talked about before....along with the warm and comfy boots I found.  They aren't UGGs but they look just like them and cost way less than the real mccoys. 
Here we go...


Do you like? Well get your own cuz these are mine!  ha!  While in Canton I picked up the beautiful scarf you see in this picture...it looks great with jeans and just about any color top you are wearing.  The pink hat you see is what I'm going to call a head warmer.  No its not your eyes, its pink...I found this on Sunday and decided to get it because it was too cute.  I wish I had had it Saturday before the entire time we were in Canton the temperature never rose above 50.  This little beauty wraps around your head to cover your ears.  Its really cute and they have them in all different colors but I chose pink because I wanted a fun color since this was a fun accessory.  Here is a close-up...



I have always wanted a table to put in my entry.  I knew exactly what I wanted and where to find it.  I was so excited when we made it to one of our favorite vendors in Canton to pick out my table....



Don't you just love it?  Me too.  The hurricane candle holder you see on the table is also a Canton find.  I fell in love with this little beauty last year but did not have a place for it at the time so I passed on it.  My friend Marilee bought this last year. We went back to the place she bought hers to see if they had another one this year but they didn't. We happened upon this one at another vendor. I was very excited to find it because I really loved it. The cloth under it is a little something I inherited from my Grandma Berger after she passed away.





I wanted to find Isabella a holder for all her bows and clips.  I found this cutie patootie ladybug holder.  I let her have this right away instead of waiting for Christmas because I have always brought small gifts back for my kids and hubby.  Christopher has been wanting a Dallas Cowboys ball cap so I found this one for him.



This next find I call my churches.  I'm not really sure what they are called but this is what we named them in Canton because that's what they remind me of.  There is this little vendor that carries lots of pieces made of iron.  They also have jewelry, purses, scarves and lots of other great accessory items.  I bought 3 of these.  2 are the same size and 1 is slightly bigger.  My plan is to put them on a wall in my dining room grouped together.  When I get them hung, I will take a picture and show you how they look.  For now, you get to see what one of them looks like.  I love these little churches. 



This is called a dough bowl.  I'm guessing it was used as a dough bowl at some time or maybe its just replica of one from back in the day.  Doesn't matter really because I love this dough bowl.  I have looked at these bowls every year and always wanted one.  I never could really figure out what I would use it for but this year I just decided to get it and be done with it.  The possiblities are endless really with what you can do with this sweet little rustic beauty.  I will have to update you on what all I decide to do with it.  For now...its going to sit on the bottom shelf of my new table.



When in Canton, you have to stop by the vendors who have food.  Its a must.  You just never know when you will happen upon a great dip mix or soup mix or even better, muffin mix!  I found some treasures this trip.  What's even better, this particular vendor has a website and you can order more from them!  Woo Hoo!  The Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup was soooooo good.  The Southern Pecan Pie mix reminded me of these little brownies Chris and I used to always get at Bucees until they stop carrying them.  The dip mixes were very good as well...never know when you might need them in a pinch for guests or as a gift!



I had actually stopped to look at a wreath that caught my eye but decided against it. I did find this great wall hanging that I have placed in my dining room.  I love the saying on it...



Ok...so remember how I was talking about wanting more decorations for my Christmas tree?  Well I didn't find what I wanted but I did find these 3 beauties at Cracker Barrel.  I love them and am seriously thinking about going back and getting more of them.  Each ornament is slightly different...Peace, Joy and Noel.



I have a skinny tree in my dining room...yes my dining room again.  Seems like its getting all the action this year huh?  Anyway, skinny tree in the dining room has some sort of rustic looking jingle bell balls on it.  Marilee saw these snowflakes at Cracker Barrel and thought they would look great on it as well so I picked some up....



And last but certainly not least I picked up some of this red ribbon wrap stuff.  Tree skirts don't work too well on skinny trees so I thought this stuff would look great.  Just something to hide the uglyness at the bottom.  I think it turned out great.  I'm not perfect at wrapping this stuff but I think as the years go by I'll get better. 



And there you have it...almost all my finds in Canton.  I am enjoying all of them and can't wait to give the Christmas gifts I found because I'm just as excited about them as I am about everything else.  If you haven't been to Canton, you really should go.  They have some of everything you're looking for.  We are planning and hoping to go in the Spring.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Tuckered Out

I am plum tuckered out from this weekend in Canton.  I still need more coffee...thinking an iv drip would work faster.  I promise I will take pictures of all my goodies and post them.  But for now...I must get more coffee and probably some toothpicks to hold my eyes open.  More to come!!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Decorating for Christmas

I just thought I had a lot of Christmas decorations, until I read some of the blogs I follow.  How so very wrong I was!  We've always measured how much I've had by how many boxes Jeff has to get down out of the attic.  I reduced the number a few years ago but now...after looking at all the gorgeous decorations and getting ideas, I think its a pretty good bet, those boxes will be increasing again.  I didn't hang the garland in my dining room like I usually do because I was trying to stay simple this year.  Now I wish I had put it up.  And I do want to add more decor to my big tree.  Like some ribbon, maybe poinsettias or berries to spruce it up some.  I remember my nephew asking me last weekend how many trees we had.  We have 4.  The big one, 2 skinny trees and a table top.  I'm finding out very quickly that is nothing compared to what others do.  I'm leaving for Canton tomorrow and I do have some Christmas decorations in mind that I want to get but now I think I'm going to be adding a heckuva lot more!  I have always loved the transformation the house takes on at Christmas...its like a whole other place.  I remember growing up how much I anticipated Daddy getting the tree and decorations down out of the attic and how much I loved helping Mom get the house ready.  There were certain decorations that went in the same place every year--I can still close my eyes and see it.  I love that memory.  I have been trying so hard to simplify things that I have sort of taken something away from myself by not going all out with my house at Christmas.  I do believe I am going to have to take that back now.  This is my favorite time of year and I love walking into the house when its decorated.  It feels very warm and cozy and I love sitting by the tree with the lights on and just enjoying it.  Yes ma'am...I'm going to take back my Christmas charm and start going all out again.  Yes indeed.  Look out Jeffery, here I come, Houston Oilers #1!  Oh sorry...I lost my head, I took a cue from my sister's post last night on Facebook...you'll have to check it out to see what I'm talking about.  Happy decorating!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Baby Its Cold Outside

Holy toledo its cold outside...but this girl is LOVIN IT!  I love the cold weather...don't care so much for the rain that has come with it because I've been out running errands and I don't like driving in the rain but I'm dealing with it.  There is a rumor going around that we may get some snow on Friday.  I will be on my way to Canton so I hope we don't get too nasty weather while we're on the road.  The only thing missing from this cold weather is a fireplace burning in my house.  I don't have one.  Want one...want one really bad.  I even have a place picked out in my living room where one would fit just perfect.  But its not going to happen so I just keep dreaming....and go to Daddy's house and enjoy his fireplace.  Ha!  I had to go pay some bills this evening and while I was out, I was trying to find some boots that are similar to UGG Boots.  I found several contenders, just not in the right size.  I have a couple more places to check out before I make my decision but right now...Payless is winning.  I would LOVE to have some UGG Boots but I want them now and I don't want to pay the "now" price when I can get them at a discount.  But to get them at a discount, I have to wait a week to get them in.  I don't want to wait a week to get them in because, as stated before, I want them now....for this weekend...for the snow...and the cold....and because I'm going to Canton!!!!  I did find a beautiful red jacket vest thingy with a hood that has fur on it.  Very cute and very stylish.  I think it would look great with my similar but not the real mccoy UGG Boots.   I should take a picture of the vest and show you but I'm not going to...not today.  Gonna wait until I find the boots and show them together.  So you have to wait, just like me.  Ha!  Hey...go enjoy a good fire, good show, good company and this cold weather.  Because if you're in Texas, it can change at any time!