Some days are diamonds......

Some days are rocks

 Some doors are open

 Some roads are blocked

Sundowns are golden 

Then fade away

But if I never do nothing 

I'm coming back some day

Cause you got a heart so big

 It could crush this town

And I can't hold out forever

 Even walls fall down
~Tom Petty

Celebrate

So I have been going on and on about a holiday post and then it's so far past that I honestly am so over it right now.


I wanted to do this blog for fun, to keep my family in the loop with us because we see them so rarely and also for me to preserve some memories since I truly STINK at scrapbooking and baby-booking. I have the photos and of course I always say "someday" but now that I am in full-on family mode I highly doubt "someday" will come before my kids graduate so, a blog it is. My point is, I want to do up-to-date blogging and not last christmas that no one cares about anymore and it's my blog to do as I wish, it doesn't HAVE to be chronological. But then there's that OCD side of me that just cannot NOT post anything so here goes, a super skinny, compressed, I have no holiday spirit left so it will look a lot less magical version holiday post.


Seriously, we LOVE the holidays. We are holiday psychopaths. I even love holiday music and listen to the oldies station because they play is 24/7. I love time off work, parties, snow days, holiday movies, holiday decor, christmas trees, holiday food, the smell of the holidays even. We have a small family here, we are unable to get together with everyone the way we would like to. Jason and I vowed to make our own traditions for the boys so they always had things to look forward to like we did as kids. Like we did when more family was around or interested. It seems somehow our families got a lot smaller over the years. I made a 25 "realistic" things to do at Christmas list which we actually achieved, I will list it here and yes, some where duplicates but we are working people with busy lives so I am not able to make all of my gifts and wrap them in homemade paper and ribbons and have christmnas talent shows and cookie exchange parties in addition to all the regular christmas parties there are. (I have to wonder HOW people have that much time on their hands?)Here's our realistic christmas list and a quick reel of photos from the holidays.


Our 25 realistic Christmas activities list: 1. Start Advent Calendar 2. Bring out “Buddy” our elf on the shelf 3. Nativity Scene 4. Hang stockings and trim tree 5. Make Christmas wish list (together) 6. Make Christmas CD or Pandora Station 7. Black Friday Deals/ Shopping 8. Holiday Fair Craft sale 9. Christmas-winter Family Photos 10. SNOW DAY! Play in the snow 11. Read Christmas books 12. Make Decorations/ornaments 13. Make cookies/Treats 14. Go to rotary lights 15. Make the grandmas homemade gifts 16. Watch Elf, Rudolph, frosty, Grinch, Christmas Vacation and Polar Express 17. Go see Santa 18. Christmas parade 19. Visit the Santa train 20. Cookies for Santa 21. Donate to the food pantry 22. Annual Open house (Christmas Eve) 23. Donate to toys for tots or adopt a family 24. Christmas pickle game 25. Christmas Morning Celebration


Making ornaments

Rotary Lights

My baby started walking before Christmas

We love our (fake) 12 foot christmas tree...LOVE it and all the unique and meaningful ornaments were accumulate over the years.

Wreath is real so I am not a total cheapo

Teag loved the snow this year

Teag got to have a couple (first time) play-dates

We love hosting family holidays in our home

My husband is a BIG gift giver, he tricked me last years with an ENORMOUS box filled with cinder blocks so I couldn't move it, I thought it was a car for a while..ha ha, it was an ipad. This year, his turn- I TOTALLY suprised him with a christmas treasure hunt. (he loves to hunt right?!)
after awhile, he found the final clue- "Who sang the song you listened to over and over when you found out you were going to be a dad" The answer was Creed (with arms wide open) he said "Creed"...pause "CREED!!!!!" his whole face lit up when he realized it was the MOTHER Of all surprises, a new Mathews Creed bow. Christmas may not be about gifts but I can tell you were were both in *happy* tears, I was happy to get it for him and he was very happy to recieve it.

The big guys wish came true- a train table

As for me, my husband built me the most amazing bed and got me a throw for it that I love. And Santa did good too with some improvements on our room and bathroom. All I could ever ask for.

About a boy

For me, sometimes it's hard to live in the now. I always think "when I am a mom", "when I have a family"..duh. I'm there. I have to spend more time in the now looking at things around me and my kids day to day. All I care about is that they are happy. What's their day look like? As I was looking through some CF cards gathering photos for a holiday blog to share, I noticed all of these pics from a day home with Teag. yes, he knew I was taking his picture but NO. I didn't tell him what to do, where to stand, when to laugh. He just did his thing and I tried snapping photos of him without being too obvious, the result is some of my very favorite pics of him. Playing and being Teag (FYI: His name is actually Teag not Teagen).

I was recently invited to a photographers party where we have to share a photo that is most important to us, last year I shared a business-type photo of my last wedding I shot of the year and it represented where I wanted the next year to go. Everyone else had much deeper stories to share. This year, I still do not have a deeper story to share, I am blessed in this life. While edited the BW ones (SOOC for color) I teared up, happy tears. My babies are happy. I love my family and they are the absolute hands down most important photos I could ever take. Memories of their childhood is priceless, 50 years from now I will not be looking at the wedding photos I once took, I will be looking at albums, blogs or what have you of my babies.

Woody's best friend

What a faker

I really am getting the holidays post put together, I was just side-tracked with these. I can't believe he is mine, he's so funny and smart and even though he has a bad hair cut in these photos (dad did a number on the bangs) he's the cutest little boy I have ever seen. Being a mom is the greatest, hardest, best thing I have ever done.