Happy Birthday Brooke

Last week Brooke turned 3, in some ways time has flown by and in other ways I can't remember life without her. We started off the weekend on Thursday night with girls night, this was originally supposed to be mommy's night off but Brooke really wanted to come. We met a good friend of mine, Lesley, at Pappsitos in Houston.

At the end of the meal she was surprised with a happy birthday song.

Friday we headed out early for the Houston Zoo for zoo boo. The kids got to wear their costume, go trick or treating and decorate mini pumpkins. Doesn't she look like the cutest little fairy perched up on this bench.

Brooke went home with Bri after the zoo and spent the night until it was time for her birthday dinner on Saturday. We decided to keep it pretty low key with just the immediate family but that didn't keep her from getting lots of fun gifts. These are her two favorites, meet Alli (her first American Girl) and Melman.

I can't resist sharing this picture of little MC, he was supposed to be a police officer for Halloween but the costume was too small so he just went as a rock star. Both of my kiddos are growing so fast!

We redecorated Brooke's room for her birthday, I will have pictures on my new blog next Monday. I am trying to get things ready this week and have it up and going after the weekend.

Look What I Found!!!

Okay, just so you know, I am a thrift store junkie. I can never leave empty handed and I think the ladies at the shop down the street have realized my love for fun quirky household items.

 This is my latest find, a beautifully old brass bowl. Isn't the bird so cute? It's not new and its not "antique" quality either but I just love things that have a story to them, a personality. I find that they give my new home a little more warmth and history. I originally picked it up thinking it would be great for a table display on my coffee table, but it found it's resting place on the desk in my office as my "inbox". It will be my inspiration for my mom cave project. I could paint the room a nice Robins egg blue or maybe Canary yellow, it will be a surprise. I will have to keep my eyes open at the zoo Friday :).

Maybe since it is so beautiful I will keep it cleared out a little better. Who says function can't also be beautiful? Now if only I can stay away from the store for a few weeks... Matt is sending me out in search of an entertainment center, this could be trouble!

My Mom Cave in the Works

Over at Centsational Girl they are doing a give away for a gift card to Home Goods to make-over your "mom cave." You all know how much I LOVE Home Goods so I couldn't turn down the chance to enter.

This is my mom cave/home office and it's a work in progress. It is were I go to pay bills, organize the family calendar and do my quiet time. This is also where I do many of my projects and where I will be doing my classes for school whenever the kids start preschool. It may not be grand but it is so special to me. With Matt working nights and sleeping during the day, my bedroom is pretty much off-limits, so this is were I go for peace and quiet.

This is command central, but after this week the book shelf will be in Brooke's room, anyone want to help install built-ins?

The only one I have to share my space with is Ms. Jessie, our dog, but I don't mind at all.

Do you have a space all your own? Do you feel like you need one? What would be your dream space?

Kiss my... Polenta???

So the menu is set through next week and all the shopping has been done. We are venturing out and trying foods we have never had before. We are attempting cook things we normally don't like in new ways (specifically veggies). Although our parents offered veggies at every meal neither one of us ate many of them, and the ones we do like are opposite from each other. The things he likes, I don't care for and the things I like, he doesn't. So tonight I made a new recipe from one of my Martha Stewart cook books, Braised Chicken with Mushrooms and Polenta. Matt doesn't normally eat mushrooms and I had never tried polenta before (or so I thought), so we decided it would be a great starter for us. It was incredibly easy and oh so yummy.

 

Last night, I learned that when cooked the right way my husband will eat mushrooms (in fact not leave any on his plate) and polenta is just a fancy word for what us southern girls call grits. Savory or sweet I love grits and it was a perfect balance to this light and tasty meal. Just wait until you see whats for dinner the rest of the week. And since I still had my camera in the kitchen this morning I took a few pictures of my little beauty (bubby was still asleep).

I think she is enjoying her bagel and cream cheese :)

Smiling pretty for the camera!

Pouring Out My Heart

Last night I had a major breakdown, I had been carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders and it finally all came crashing down. Many tears were shed as I turned to my best friend for a lot of venting and encouragement. After talking to her, still more emotions were released as I tried to explain what I had been going through to Matt (it was a little hard to do through text messaging). I went to bed still unsettled but knowing the kids would be up in a few short hours, I said a short prayer for peace long enough for me to sleep. Little did I know what the Lord had in store for me this morning.

Joshua 1:9- Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord you God will be with you wherever you go.

In my quiet time I was led to a passage in 1 Kings. Elijah is in the desert running from Jezebel who is out to kill him. He feels like he is the only one left who loves God. He is physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually drained, he cries out to God "I can't take it anymore, I give up!" It is at that moment when God feeds him, gives him rest, rescues him. My God saves, He is the knight in shining armor who sweeps us off our feet when we can not go on any longer. There may not be much that has changed between last night and this morning but one thing I know is true, I don't have to do it alone.

Long Lost Pictures

I promised picture of the kids this post and here they are. These pictures were taken this past summer and I am just now getting them off my camera, the kids have grown a lot even since then.

This one is after Maddux had a good cry after I told him he could not play with my camera.

My little drool bucket!

Baby blue, was the color of her eyes.

Miss Priss playing dress-up!

What a week...

Well the media change was not the only change made in my household. Last Tuesday I cleaned out my closet and dresser. I got rid of everything that was stained and/or ill fitting. I had gotten used to laying around my house in my "grunge" clothes all day everyday. One day not too long ago I got dressed ( not even super fancy or anything) and Matt said "where are you going today?". It was at that time I realized that I never get "dressed up" for my husband anymore. The one person I should try my hardest to impress everyday I let myself go for. So I left myself no choice, even when it comes to PJs... if its not something I would wear in front of my "room mates" at the women's retreat then I don't need to wear it at all. In continuing with keeping myself attractive for my husband I broke down and colored my grey hair and got a membership to the gym. I have to admit these things were also for me. I get a nice hour and a half break from the kiddos everyday while I work out, which is something I loved to do before I became a mommy. Also my hair is getting to that point where it drives me nuts and I usually cut it to change it up, so dying it has somewhat fixed that. We are still spending lots of time outside playing at the park or in the yard, but the less TV thing has been hard. Even when I gave it up I didn't realize how much it consumed my day, so the last week I have had many feelings of loneliness. Since before Brooke was born I have been struggling with separation anxiety when it comes to my family, especially my parents and Brianne. In high school my mom was my one constant friend who I told everything to and Brianne and I shared a room for almost our entire lives. Even when Matt and I got married she was always hanging out with us. Meagan of course has always been one of my best friends but she abandoned me as soon as she could get out on her own so I was used to being away from her :), j/k! Anyway, you would think after 3 years I would be over it but it's still pretty rough, even more so when we miss a family event or impromptu Sunday supper. I got off on a tangent there, point is that I am realizing my need to form a group of friends near me. My friend Tammy and I are going to try to get together more often since we only live 5 minutes apart (if you hit every red light), but we both need to get out and make some more friends. I have been going to a church since we moved to Rosenberg but I have yet to really connect with any other moms, many of them are working mothers and all are quite a bit older than me. I am praying about whether I should look for a new church or seek other ways of making new friends. I tried a play group last spring but it was so large that there were never the same people at each play date I attended. I also looked online for a MOPS group but didn't see any in my area. So the brainstorming will continue. I am hoping to meet some new people at the gym and I am trying to find a volunteer group to get involved with. So that's what has been going on. I promise the next post will have pics of the kids.

The Perfect Day...

... to start fresh! I have had this nagging on my heart recently about all the things that come before God in my life and have been trying to ignore it. Yesterday was one of those days where you feel like the pastor has a hidden camera in your home and is preaching directly to you, so I can no longer ignore God speaking to me. Those of you who know me well know that I am addicted to two things, facebook and reality TV, now these things are not bad in and of themselves but I was to an extreme. I would check FB every 10 minutes on my phone, record two hours a night of shows. I would stay up after Matt went to work to catch up on my tv and spend hours flipping through new photo albums online. So today I deleted my FB account and cancelled all of my shows ( I would have gotten rid of the cable all together but my husband would have killed me). I think it was a good thing for me. I have spent all day today hanging out with my kids, no cartoons, no movies, just pure fun. We have played outside, colored, practiced letters with falsh cards and gone to the store. Now everybody is down for a nap. So now this will be my main source of connecting with people, so please feel free to leave comments :)! I will try to keep things updated on a regular basis and let you all know how I am doing on my media diet.

Open the eyes of my heart Lord!

Last night i sat down to do my quiet time and I didn't really have anything in particular to study so I said a little prayer asking God to speak to my heart about where He is at work in my life and what He has in store for me. I plopped my bible down and decided to read whatever passage it opened up to, Psalm 144 and 145. The theme of these two chapters is rejoicing in the Lord and praising Him in times of prosperity or adversity, but the big thing that hit me last night was a small paragraph my study bible has to explain what the verses are referring to.

144:3,4- Life is short. David reminds us that it is "like a breath" and that our "days are like a fleeting shadow"... Because life is short, we should live for God while we have the time. Don't waste your life by selecting an inferior purpose that has no lasting value. Live for God- He alone can make your life worthwhile, purposeful and meaningful. (Life Application Bible)

OK God, I asked for it and I guess you answered... now I am left trying to figure out what this all means in detail but I have to remember that God doesn't usually give us details, He simply says go.

Weekly Menu

I sat down last night for the first time in a long time and wrote down our weekly menu, I thought I would share it with you in case you need inspiration for a meal sometime this week. I try to change up the type of foods but there is always at least one Italian and one Mexican dish on the menu.

Mon: Pineapple Chicken, white rice and house salad

Tues: Stuffed Meatballs, steamed broccoli and garlic bread

Wed: Chicken Enchiladas, charro beans and spanish rice

Thurs: Bar-B-Q Shrimp, mash potatoes and corn on the cob

Fri: Pad Thai Chicken and spring rolls

Sat: Burgers, cole slaw, baked beans and Watergate salad

Sun: Dinner at church

So that's about as fancy as we get in the Ham household. I am not great at including all the food groups into every meal but somehow we are all still pretty healthy. I will be posting again later about some things that have been running through my head, it may be pretty long so I will have to wait until nap time :)

Next Up... My bedroom!

I have been fighting with myself about getting my bedroom done, partly because of my regrets in the dining room, partly because I am sleeping in there at night and Matt sleeps during the day, I don't want to mess up either of our sleep schedules to move furniture and paint. Well our TV in our bedroom went out (don't even get me started) so since it has to come off the wall to be fixed and Matt has off this weekend, its the perfect time to paint. Now I am not a huge fan of the actual act of painting but I love having color on the wall. So I stayed up for a while last night trying to figure out what I wanted to do in our room. First of all, I want it to be a retreat for Matt and I, it needs to be dark for Matt when he is sleeping and I want it to be romantic. I started with the colors, I picked something that is to me, dark, calming and sexy. So I chose Benjamin Moore's Venezuelan Sea.

It dries quite a bit darker and is neither super masculine or feminine. I have a love for very saturated colors but a fear of making the wrong choice, I have decided that it is time to let that fear go.

Next, the accent color, a few months ago I stumbled upon this picture in one of my magazines and fell for this headboard. Matt thinks it looks a little too "ethnic" for us, but I can still use the gold as a stepping off point, so our ceiling will be painted in a metallic Gold color. I am going to try to find some bedding in the gold color as well. (Maybe I will steal my moms quilt :))

Now, I just have to execute my plans and go thrift store shopping for the rest of the accessories. I know it may be a little bold for others tastes but I have come to the realization that I have to do what makes us happy and not care about what other people think. Luckily I have an amazing hubby who says, "you want to be the interior decorator, you do what you want. I just better look good!" So it's off to work I go, I cant wait to have a completed room so I can post pictures of my own work instead of just inspiration! Pictures are from housebeautiful.com, one of my favorite design magazines :)

Busy as a Bee

Well I am trying to update my blog at least once a week, but I have had a very busy week this week but not a heck of a lot to mention. Mostly the never ending pile of laundry and dishes with MANY play breaks between with the kids. I have been working on a few projects the last couple of weeks, I am putting some plans together for a couple of rooms at moms house and spent a day last week painting and rearranging furniture in Will's room. Just a few accessories and then I will be done with it. I am also trying to get the guest room done before Brian gets a chance to move back in, just kidding ;). I have been asked to do some decorating for our women's retreat at church which I am super excited about. My drill team from high school is having a reunion at my house in a few weeks. Last but certainly not least I am planning Brooke's birthday party. This is a fairly big event considering there are five kids in both mine and Matt's family's plus spouses, children, cousins and close friends... even a very informal get together requires a bit of time and effort. So a good bulk of my time has been spent researching, drawing up plans and trying to execute. We also got some work done in our yard this week. We had a tree that got pulled up during a storm and died so we transplanted our crepe mertyl and put a border around the bed to make for easier mowing. This week I will have to rearrange my other plants to fill the void and put fresh mulch down. So as you can see I have been busy but not alot to write home about. Oh yeah and I found my dream dining room table, some of you may not know but I have been looking for the right one for over a year now, but I will have to get a few dozen more design jobs under my belt before I can purchase it :). Oops I forgot the sprinkler is still one, gotta go

You Make Me Wanna SHOUT!

I was debating posting anything today because I don't really have many followers but I just can't contain the joy I am feeling. First of all I had an AWESOME day today, my MIL purchased tickets for Brooke and I to go to the theatre with her and have a girls day. We headed out at 9 to pick her up and then on to The Hobby Center in downtown. There was absolutely no traffic on the way there so we made it by 10 and the show started at 11. We took a few pictures of our "Prima Donna" and then went on in for a snack, cotton candy and a Capri sun. Nick Jr's Story Time Live was great, Brooke was so engaged the entire time. After it was over we picked up a few shirts and toys and then made our way to the car. on the way home we stopped at Fudruckers for lunch which is so laid back Brooke always has fun (especially since she gets a cookie with her kids meal). After we dropped Billie off at home we picked some lunch up for Matt and Maddux, where Brooke got some free ice cream... can we say sugar rush!!! All in all it was just so great to see my little girl so happy and well behaved. The joy that came over her face as each of her favorite characters was introduced, I couldn't help but smile with her. These are the days that I treasure as a mommy. It's not only this great day that has me on cloud nine today, it's also Dr. Laura... Dr. Laura!?! Yes, you read it right, I have been reading one of her books that my mom has gotten me "In Praise of Stay- At- Home Moms". Although I haven't finished reading the book it has already brought to my attention so many things that have been weighing on me in the last several months. I have been listening to the negativity from people all around me about why being a SAHM sucks, I am a slave to my husband and children, I have a thankless job, It's not a real job, I can't do anything for myself. ENOUGH!!! I have the greatest most important job not just a woman, but a person can have! I am shaping my children into wonderful little people, I'm not letting someone else do it for me. I am making myself available to my husband and making many great memories with him. I am blessed to be able to be the center of my home, the person my husband, kids, family and friends call when they are in need. Yes, some people may take advantage of that but I love to help anyway because God gave me a caring and nurturing heart. I get to pursue any and all of my hobbies and apply them to my home and family life. My amazing husband encourages me to seek knowledge purely for enjoyment with no expectations for me to make our first million off of it. I know I am rambling but this new lease on my life has been so freeing. I no longer envy my friends who are stuck behind a desk, missing their children, feeling rushed to get dinner on the table and house cleaned up before the next rat race begins. I will gladly deal with an afternoon of "tantrum wars", as we like to call it in this house, because the next day I can plan a last minute trip to the zoo. Anyway, I can't wait to finish the second half of this book as it has given me the boost of moral that I needed, Dr Laura is my cheerleader! :)

Brooke enjoying her cotton candy, Daddy wasn't there to regulate her sugar intake!

Brooke by the stage door, I am sure one day she will be the one coming outside to sign play bills :)

Brooke looking up at the poster, she was so excited she wouldn't look forward

Challenge #2

My favorite vacations are as follows:

5) Disney World with my high school drill team
4) Our first eight hour trip to Arkansas with Derrick (four grown men, two pregnant girls, mom and Bri in one car!)
3) Any of our many stays at the resort in Port Aransas
2) Disney World with my family (Mamaw Jenkins had just passed and it was nice to spend time with family and take our minds off of it)
1)San Antonio with Matt (we had both gotten paychecks from our new jobs and decided to go to away for the weekend... within an hour we were on the road) This was before kids and pets when all we had was each other.

Summer Challenge

What does summer mean to me... it's hard to tell a difference between summer and any other season around here since our schedule stays the same year round but since we are preparing for Brooke to start school in 2 months we are really trying to fit more bonding time into our week. Whether its little outings, family vacation or playing in the yard together we are enjoying time as a family. Last week we went to the circus, date night for Matt and I, and a baseball game. This coming up week we are going to the library for the first time and Brooke and I will be going to a movie. Oh yeah and summer also means working on projects around the house... its still light outside when i put the kids down so I try to get as much done as I can. I will post pics at another time because I just moved them all to an external hard drive don't have them on this computer.

Going Grey!

So I am standing at my bathroom sink washing my face this morning when something shiny caught my eye... A GREY HAIR!!! I thought surely this can't be right so I looked and looked and looked hoping somehow I would realize it was blonde or just had some makeup on it, nope. I have always said I would embrace my greys when they came but that was when I thought I would be getting them at 42, not 24! Matt says its time to start high lighting my hair but I still haven't made up my mind what to do with it. So next time you see me, if you look very closely, front and center you will see it. Other than that we had a great day today. We went to a mommy group in the area and met a bunch of really nice people. I will post more later but right now I hear mischevious giggling in the next room... I need wifi!

Easter Pics

Here is our first attempt at Easter picture for the year... I didnt get any really good ones of the kids together. Hopefully we can get some on Sunday when Bri is manning the camera. Its hard to pose kids and take the picture at the same time!

Color Poll

It is time to pick the main color for the house. This is the color that will be in our entryway, living room, kitchen and hallways. I have it narrowed down to two colors but cant decide, so cast your votes. Below are the colors in the different areas of the house. Some of you may think I am crazy because the colors are so similar but I think its such a large area it will be a bigger impact.

The top dark blue is the color of my formal dining which flows into the entryway and the kitchen. Below the samples is our sectional sofa.

Here are the samples beside our Fireplace, as you can tell currently it just blends into the wall. I would love for it to stand out a bit more.

Last, here is each color in the kitchen, with the tile below and the cabinets to the right.

So what do you think?

Coming to a Close

Sadly I only have one more monday night left in the "Experiencing God" bible study. This bible study and the women involved with it have been such a blessing. It has grown my understanding of who God is and what He has done for me so much. Being that I grew up in the church I thought I knew everything there is to know about Him but I was wrong. It has shown me that God is not just some foreign being I have to believe in for eternal life, He is real and personal, He is involved in every facit of my life. He created me and not just for the sake of creation but for a purpose. He is "I AM", everything I have ever needed and will ever need, I just have to fill in the blank and that is what He is. Praise God for being real and involved. I have to admit that even among all the joy of this revelation I am a bit sad and worried. I don't want this time to end, I don't want to lose momentum. Before this bible study I had never really dug deep into God's word on a daily basis. I tried but I had no direction or understanding. I would get discouraged because I would just flip open my bible and look at a passage and think "Ok, what does this mean? What do I do with it?" I don't want to get back to that place. So now I am praying about what to do next. Should I do another bible study on my own to hold me over until the summer bible study? Should I start reading a book of the bible and pray that this time God will help my understand and apply it? I have no clue but I want to do what God leads me to do. My original thought for this post was to see if anyone has a good bible study I should look at doing but I think I will just ask for your prayers instead. If He puts it on your heart to share a bible study or book of the bible that may be good for me, you know how to reach me :)! But please just keep me in your prayers in general, as daily I feel like I need an army praying for me in some way shape or form. Praise God for being the Good Shepherd who leads us, and comes back for us when we wander off the path!

Spring Break

Can you believe Spring Break is almost over? Without the kids in school the only reminder that it is Spring Break is that there are so many people out and about during the day. We have still managed to have a bit of fun this week though. Monday I spent most of my day at the rodeo with my mom and my sisters. We had a GREAT time, which we always do when it's just us girls. Matt kept the kids until he had to go to work and we had the girl next door stay at the house while they slept until I got home. Tuesday was the same old daily grind. Wednesday Matt got home around 6 in the morning and slept until lunch time. I had just put the kids down for a nap when he woke so we were able to enjoy a nice lunch with each other and catch up on our DVR list. When the kids got up we gave them a quick lunch and took them out to the park. This weather makes me so happy to have a house near the park. When we got back I put the kids back down for a short afternoon nap while Matt went to the gym and I cooked dinner. It was just a great day at home with my kids and my hubby. It is rare to get that kind of time all together without having to run errands or get cleaning done or going to the doctor (lately this has been a big one). The kids really enjoyed it too, Brooke kept going over to Matt and giving him a big hug and saying, "Thank you, daddy, for taking me to the park and playing monkey bars!" She is such a sweet heart and definately melted our hearts. It just goes to show that you really dont have to buy your kid all the new toys to make them happy, they really just want time with their parents. Well i just heard little Brooke open her door from nap time, we are heading to the store for some more milk... we can't keep enough of that stuff in the house since Brooke was taken off juice! Hope you are enjoying your Spring Break!

What a mess!

I just got up from the breakfast table with my two little munchkins a little more enlightened. Yes I do learn lessons from my children! We were all chomping away on our cereal when Maddux let out a huge sneeze and snot filled his nose (yummy). I got up to wipe it for him and him being a baby got frustrated with me and cereal went flying off his tray and onto the floor. Immediately Brooke said "No Bubbah, bad boy." I guess she didn't get the affirmation from me that she wanted for repremanding her brother so she said, "look momma, Maddux made a big mess." The only thing is that she was sitting in front of a mess of her own. You see, she recently started asking for milk in her cereal and though she is very good with the spoon she hasn't figured out the drip factor. She wanted to make sure that I knew about Bubbah's mess but didn't even notice her own. This was a lesson two-fold. How often does God come try to clean me up when I am a mess and I fight Him kicking and screaming? How quick am I to point out someone elses little mess when I have a big sticky one of my own? Man, either God was trying to speak to me or I am taking this job way too serious. I will place my money on God revealing Himself to me, as He has done that so much lately. Time to get ready to head out for the morning. What is God saying to you this morning?

edited to add: keep scrolling I had a post yesterday too! I know, nothing for months and now 2 in less than 24 hours. What's going on here??

New Post, New Post!

Well I have been trying to post this all day but I haven't had a spare second until now. I know it has been a long while but things have been so crazy. The kids have been off and on sick since the new year, he had a pretty bad car accident almost two and a half weeks ago and the best part is that I joined the womens bible study at church! This study has been so wonderful, God knew just what I needed and when I needed it. I have learned so much about my Heavenly Father and His will. It has been life changing! He has brought me peace about things I have been worrying about, He has wrapped His loving arms around me when I felt alone and most importantly He has spoken to me when I questioned if He even cared. Our God is awesome isn't He! Not only has it been great for my spiritual life but He has also brought a great group of women around me. When I was thinking about doing the study I was very hesitant because I always think of womens groups as older women, I am the youngest in the group probably by a good 10 years but what a blessing each one has been to me. When my kids were sick they prayed with me, when we had no car I got calls almost daily offering help. These women who have only known me a few short months have embraced me as a sister no matter how young I am :). I am just so thankful to God that He made all of this happen.

Not to take away from all that God has been doing in the Ham household I also wanted to share some pictures of the kids. We are trying to get Brooke ready for Pre-school in the fall so we are slowly getting into more of a routine. The other thing we have to work on is potty training but for obvious reason I decided to tackle the schedule first. I am trying to find activities to do with Brooke that do not include sitting in front of the tv for hours. Last week we talked about Noahs ark and Brooke made this rainbow with her Mamo on Friday.

This week we are talking about the Fruit of the Spirit so this is today's craft.

Here are a few pictures of Maddux's birthday that I am finally posting. I know I am such a bad mom.

Again I cannot find the spell checker so I am sorry for any misspellings... my best subject in school was not English or Writing, or even Math or Science for that matter!

Welcome 2010... A week late

Much has happened since my last post almost 2 months ago (sorry). I celebrated my 24th birthday which sounds so young but feels so old! I guess it is because I have been focusing on going to college and will be put in classes with kids 8 years younger than me, and thats if I make it this year! I was told my birthday present was this beautiful house we just moved into but to my delight my wonderful husband bought me a new car! It's used but new to us, an '08 GMC Acadia, I love it! We hosted thanksgiving at our house for Matts side of the family. Tere were 3 new babies this year so it was a very fun celebration getting everyone together. I made my first turkey which turned out well thanks to my neighbors mom who came over to show me the ropes.We also had Matt's siblings over for Christmas dinner in early December. We spent Christmas eve with Matt's parents. There was a blackout and ended up ordering pizza for dinner since the oven wasnt working, luckily the power came back on just in time to open presents. Matt had to work Christmas morning so the kids and I met him at my parents for Christmas brunch. We had such a great time with both sides of the family. We spent New years in Arkansas with my dads side of the family and went to the Liberty bowl. It was VERY cold but lots of fun. We got back into town Sunday night and it has been a whirlwind ever since. Not my ideal way to start the new year but my cousin Naiz says we must be getting all the bad stuff out of the way early! Now I have to get planning Maddux's first birthday party, how time flies! I hope you had a great holiday season! 

PS I can't find my spell check, if anyone is familiar with posting blogs and can help me out.