Merry Christmas...

As I sit here feeling so thankful to have my girls safe and sound at home with us....my mind wonderrs back to the very first Christmas and the miralce that happened that day....

How God sent his own Son to be born in a manger for someone like me

and you.....

I'm so in awe and so thankful....

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas surrounded by

those you love and hold dear!!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:

and the government shall be upon his shoulder:

and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God,

The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Some pics from our baking day....Morgan had a great time making gingerbread houses and baking cookies....

I found this today...It brought tears to my eyes....

This is what we went to see tonight...The Cook Family Christmas...This family does this incredibly light display to music. The best part is they collect money for a camp here in North Carolina that gives children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses a chance to go to camp...very cool display and a great cause!

Isn't it awful when bloggers don't update their blog? I know! I've been a really bad blogger this month! I don't know where these last few weeks have gone....Is Christmas really only five days away?

Well anyway, here are some of the happenings that have been going on around here...Mike & I went on a Tour of Homes. There were nine historic homes in Waxhaw that we toured...There were some really pretty ones!! They were all so quaint.

Last weekend, Mike, Morgan and I went shopping at Concord Mills....Boy what a crowd...you'd never know there was a recession going on here! It took us one hour to get to the mall and we were only five miles away!!

Morgan got a few early Christmas presents....She wanted a purse and some headbands...How could I refuse? She isn't one usually to want hair accessories and that sort of thing....so I was totally loving that girly side of her....She carried her new purse and wore her headband all day!!

Christmas came early for me last night. Alexa invited me to go to dinner and a movie on a Friday night!! Now, that's something for a 17 year old girl to free up time on the weekend to spend with her mom....I loved every minute! We went to our favorite Chinese restaurant and then went to the movie....It was great!

Today, we're just hanging out in our p.j.'s...We're making cookies and decorating gingerbread houses... the presents are all bought and most of them wrapped, so now, we're just enjoying the season!

Thanksgiving was so great!! Lots of laughs and lots of great food....I enjoyed having everyone so much..Of course, I'm looking forward to the time when we can get everyone together at one time!!

I love seeing everyone gathered in the kitchen....just hanging out. Isn't that what it's all about?

We got our tree this week....That's probably one of my favorite things at Christmastime...I love the smell of a real tree...Mike got busy putting the lights on right away and it's decorated...I think we're only doing the one tree this year....just trying to keep it simple....

Tomorrow, we're off to Mike's Christmas party and maybe to get some shopping done...

November update

Wow...we've had a super busy month so far.....

Granny came earlier this month and we all went apple picking at Sky Top....It was our first apple picking trip and it was a lot of fun....

Mike and Morgan checking out the apples..

Granny came home and made homemade apple pies...They were so yummy!!

We also went to the Southern Christmas Show in Charlotte...This is our second year...It is amazing...so huge! There are beautiful displays of Christmas trees and lots and lots of shopping...unbelievable....

And then there are the leaves...tons and tons of leaves...I know it looks like we haven't raked all season, but the truth is we had just raked this area the week before.....

I'm sure you all are getting ready for Thanksgiving this week as we are....the groceries are bought...the house is clean (more or less).. We have family coming tomorrow and we are so excited about seeing them....We'll be missing those that we can't be with....they'll be in our thoughts and as always in our hearts...

I hope you and your family have a happy & blessed Thanksgiving!

Wow! What an amazing time we had with Chris and Penny and their family last week!! We enjoyed having them visit us tremendously!! Penny & I did lots of shopping and just running around...the kind of things we love to do..Of course, Alexa & Elisa loved being together and Anthony & Morgan enjoyed hanging out together as well.....We went to Chimney Rock on Sunday...It was a gorgeous fall day and here is the best part.......

Jared proposed to Elisa!!!

We are all so excited for them...It was such a sweet moment. He proposed to her at the base of the waterfalll..It was a beautiful spot and a beautiful moment. We were thrilled to share their very special moment with them...It brought tears to my eyes...I was there the day this little girl was born so to share this with her was amazing...

We wish them all the very best....and we can't wait until the wedding..... Won't she be a beautiful bride?

We love you guys!!

I've been really in the mood to read lately....Before I had kids, I used to be a huge reader. I'm trying to get back into it....there are so many good books out there....

I did read two good ones recently though. I read The Last Lecture by Professor Randy Pausch...It's written by the professor. He was diagnosed with cancer and given very little time to live....The Last Lecture is basically about his philosophy on life and how to remain positive in the face of grim circumstances...It was very good....I highly recommend it.

I also read The Wednesday Letters. It's a sweet story about a couple's journey through life and their marriage. The husband wrote her a note every Wednesday. Their children find the letters after their death and reflect back on their lives and find out a few secrets as well.

How about you....read any good books lately?

We made a quick trip home for our good friends, Shawna & Danny's wedding....The girls attended the guest book and passed out the programs....Aren't they pretty?

The best part is Morgan flew for the first time and she did awesome!! She acted like she had been doing it all her life!! The world is her oyster now....there's no stopping her...she can go anywhere now.....

We're home!! Las Vegas was great....it was definitely over the top....We loved walking through all the hotels....They were beautiful!! We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel and watched the fountains at the Bellagio... that was probably one of my favorite moments of the trip. The view was beautiful from the top.

We went to see KA Cirque de Soleil....Unfortunately, that was a huge disappointment. There was so much hype about the show, but for the money we paid, we wish we had done something else.

We also saw Jubilee, which is one of the oldest showgirl shows in Vegas....We enjoyed that much more than KA.

It's good to be home with our girls!! We won't be home for long though...We're leaving for Florida on Wednesday.....I can't wait!!

Hi from Las Vegas!! We're having a great time!! Yesterday, we spent the entire day at the west rim of the Grand Canyon.....It was amazing!! The views were magnificent....pictures can't do it justice....

The top picture is us at the skywalk....It is a clear platform that is suspended 4000 feet over the rim of the canyon....I was scared to death, but I made myself go for it!! I'm glad we did it...

there were birds flying underneath our feet... WOW! When you step on, it feels like you're stepping off the side because it is completely clear beneath you....Amazing!!

Today, we're going to Red Rock...I'm not sure what that is....but I'll post pics later!!

100 days until Christmas! Let the countdown begin.

Seventeen years ago, the most amazing miracle happened.....This little girl was brought into my life and totally changed it forever.....She taught me to love unconditionally and with my whole heart. She has brought us so much joy and laughter over the past seventeen years!

We love you sweetie!! Happy Birthday!!

Today is my sweet husband's birthday.....

I am so grateful to be sharing my life with such a wonderful man....

He still makes my heart pound after all these years...

He is my smile....

Happy Birthday Honey!

Ok please don't send me hate mail....I know maple cabinets are beautiful and many people think it's shameful to paint them........BUT, we were going for a different look in our kitchen.......so YES, we're painting and glazing our kitchen cabinets. New granite countertops are coming in the next couple of weeks (squeal!!).....This is a pic of our current kitchen.....I will update with new pics when the cabinets are complete.....

Having a great time visiting with my mom!!

Monday was the girls first day back to school....Alexa is a senior this year and Morgan is a fifth grader....They were excited about going back to school...not so excited however about having their pictures taken so early in the morning.....They'll thank me some day!!

My mom will be here this afternoon...I'm super-excited about her visit!!

Have a great weekend!!

Here she is...My girl waiting to have her senior pictures taken....texting all the while she waits...

Where did the time go? How can we be having SENIOR pictures taken?! It seems like yesterday she was in pigtails.....

More projects!! Will it ever end?! This weekend, we painted our sun porch...It was a very dingy color....so we freshened it up with a coat of white paint...Boy it was a job!! But we finished it and it looks so much better! Just a few more finishing touches.....

We will be having a lot of company in September and October, so we want to get the big projects out of the way, so we can kick back and enjoy our company and hopefully cooler temperatures!!

Lately, I've admittedly been in a slump....tears have come when I least expect them...For those of you who know me well....I'm really not a person that cries easily. Lately though, I've been wondering why about a few things....Life can be tough sometimes and sometimes, it's just hard not to wonder WHY? Can anyone relate?

Today though, a scripture came to my heart....It encouraged me. I hope if there is anyone else out there struggling with the whys of life that it will do the same for you....

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

Philippians 4:8

Things we are lovin' about summer....

* Dinner on the deck almost every night....

*Catchin fireflies...

* And we are really lovin these little guys....The hummingbirds hit the feeder constantly..

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog home!! Due to technical difficulties, I decided to move my blog to another site....It may take awhile to get settled in, but I think we're going to be very happy here!

Just to catch you up to speed, the girls and I spent most of the month in Florida. We went to two graduation celebrations, Elisa's & Cameron's. We spent a lot of time with our family and friends, which we enjoyed tremendously! As usual though, the time goes by too fast....

We're home now and full speed ahead with projects underway....The weather has been so nice here in the evenings...we really wanted to enjoy our deck....so we spruced it up a little... This is before....

This is after... a little bit better don't you think?

Morgan is in camp/VBS this week at a local church...She is lovin' it!!

And Alexa....She's hangin out at the pool most of the time with her friends...

We're almost finished with our laundry room redo....I'll post pictures soon....