The Big trip ~Days 11 and 12

Sorry this has taken me so long...truly! If I remember correctly, I left off right as we were gearing up for the wedding, right? Catch up back here if you have forgotten, as I did...LOL~OK, now that we are all caught up..let's move forward!

Thursday was Rehearsal day...and I mostly spent the day in the kitchen making goodies for the rehearsal dinner. Then we headed out to the rehearsal and had a wonderful time. Everyone was laughing and teasing...we walked through the ceremony a few times, answered the last minute questions and then got to the good stuff...THE FOOD!! Lauren's god-mother Deanne and I prepared the food and OH my, did we have some tasty treats!! Fun was had by all and we departed excited about and anticipating the coming wedding!

Friday found me out to lunch with Brother John, at my all time favorite restaurant called Papadeaux..YUM~O! If you like great seafood...this is the place. If you love a charming dinner companion, I can give you Brother John's number *winks* We talked of old times, good times, bad times, the in-between times, the Bible, the demise of the American family structure, told silly stories and ate and ate and ATE! Can I say YUM~O again?? I think I was full for 2 days ; )

He dropped me off for an afternoon of decorating the reception hall which just happened to be at Dad and Mom's church. Lauren, Josh and most of the bridal party worked hard all afternoon getting everything JUST RIGHT for the big day. Tables were set, centerpieces were adjusted one more time, flowers were placed just so, name cards were made and put in the right spot, the DJs table was arranged, the cake table was ready for the lovely confectionery delight, and all was well with the world. And then we all went home and collapsed so we could get ready for the BIG DAY!! More about that in the NEXT post!!

Thanks for taking the journey with me,

Kristy

Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today... December 28, 2009 (last one of the year)
Outside my window...it is still and cold, Dan is gone to work and it's so early, not even the neighbor's rooster is crowing. The sky is clear and full of stars...so beautiful!

I am thinking...that life sure is full of change...and here comes some more changes.

I am thankful for...holidays spent with family and friends, time off of work to rest and relax and the fun of 4 year olds on Christmas morning...and my new cricut machine...yeah!
I am wearing...my nightgown as it is barely 5 am and I'm heading back to bed soon.

I am remembering... that I have much to do today...I better get some more sleep and then hit the ground running.
I am currently reading...Robinson Crusoe (I give up...it's just plain old boring!!) Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible, my Bible (wrapping up Proverbs again) and Hero Tales

I am hoping...that I can do a better job of prioritizing in the coming months. Time to dig out my 'Managers of their Homes' book and rework my schedule...and then start USING it again

On my Mind... 2010

Noticing that...it's true that as you age, time goes by more quickly...why IS that?

Pondering these words..."Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance" Thank you, Brother in law, Mike
From the kitchen... many tasty treats still linger, but it's time to wrap up the year end baking and get back to healthy (ish) eating...LOL

• Monday~ Sloppy joes with salad and veggie sticks
• Tuesday~Split pea soup with the leftover Christmas Ham, plus fresh bread
• Wednesday~Mac and Cheese with smoked sausage
• Thursday~Chicken and rice casserole (then munchies for New Year's Eve)
• Friday~Pizza with chips, veggies and ranch dip
• Saturday~Pat has been pushing for a return of freezer food night...we shall see
• Sunday~Roast chicken, garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli with cheese sauce

From the learning rooms...time to hit the books again! We took off all of Christmas week and most of the week before (which I did NOT plan for) so we need to get as much work done this week as we can so that we start 2010 on track. So today, the library for new book basket books, some serious ABeka time and much quiet reading. Rest of the week...ABeka in the AM, and My Father's World in the PM. Jodi and family are moving out this week, so it will be hit or miss with James, but we will do the best we can until a proper schedule can be worked out.
Around the house...it's still looking a lot like Christmas exploded all over the house...time to clean up the last of the boxes, find new homes for the new things and clean out some of the old. The boys need to be 'packing' as well since we will be in possession of two more bedrooms by the weekend and D and P are moving into 'the wing' and Derek is moving upstairs...they are quite excited! The pantry/Fridges/freezer must be cleaned out and taken stock of...they are all full, but I can never seem to find what I'm looking for...LOL!
One of my favorite things...Being able to find what I'm looking for...especially when it's my mind that I'm searching for...hee hee!

From my picture journal... Our 3 boys getting ready for the annual tradition of opening ONE gift on Christmas eve.


If you enjoy the simple life, are looking to begin the simple life or just want to read more of these wonderful posts...head on over to the delightful site of Miss Peggy at http://www.thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/ or click on the photo at the top.

Kristy's Tooting Her Own Horn

Just a shout out to me and my ad set co-workers! I am Kohl's superstar of the month!! I get the fancy parking spot, the admiration of my peers, a small bonus in my paycheck...and most importantly, the knowledge that the management team at Kohl's knows that I bring my very best to work, each and every time I arrive to be in their service. The ad set team takes turns nominating each other, so it was my turn...LOL, but I appreciate the nod just the same. It's just something that for some unknown reason, I'm ridiculously pleased about, so here I am, tooting my own horn....toot toot tooty toot toot!

Blessings to you from a VERY humble (ahem) SUPERSTAR!! : )

Kristy

Simple Woman's Daybook~Early Morning Edition

"Would you like to linger on the simple things?? Then join me and many others in taking a little look into the day plans and thoughts of those who are focusing on simplicity...beauty of the 'everyday moments'." ~Miss Peggy~ If you would like to read other daybooks, check out this site.

For Today...December 21, 2009 (last SWD post before Christmas)
Outside my window...a clear sky twinkles with stars, a cool breeze blows and the world still sleeps.
I am thinking...that Christmas snuck right up on me this year...how did I let that happen??

I am thankful for...being prepared for Christmas, having a new CD to enjoy as I go about my day (thanks, Monkey) and a few more days to get the Christmas letter out....running so late on that part this year.

I am wearing...my jammies as it's barely 5 am and I am heading right back to bed when this is done...LOL

I am remembering...my birthday yesterday and all the sweet things that happened. all the wonderful people that called, dropped by or sent messages of well wishes, time spent with family and a restful, relaxing day. It's not so bad being 36, I guess ; )

I am going...nowhere until work tonight, hurray! Unless out of my mind counts as a trip...hee hee! And that means one more day to let my back heal after Friday night's half-Gainer onto my kitchen floor. I so wish I had caught that on video!

I am reading...Robinson Crusoe (will I EVER finish that book??) Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible (a new birthday gift) and the Advent Book with the Boys each night.

I am hoping...that I can complete my to do list today and be ready to greet hubby with a hot dinner, a clean house and a warm hug when he arrives home tonight.

I am hearing....just the fish tank filter burbling away. It's been forever since I heard that. Gosh, it really IS early and quiet here right now! I miss early morning quiet since work has forced me to alter my sleeping schedule. I am by nature, a morning person...but 'life' insists that I become a night owl, and so I miss quiet sleepy mornings with a cup of tea warming my hands while my Bible warms my heart. I can still do that at night, but it's just not the same...*sigh*

On my mind...many things, as usual~ but primarily being glad that Hubby and I for once did not overspend on gifts and we can start the new year NOT struggling to keep up in January. Maybe getting older does have some benefits...LOL!

Noticing that...God has placed some WONDERFUL people in my life...those that love me, despite me...ones that encourage me...ones that inspire me...ones that hold me accountable...ones that make me laugh. Ain't God GOOD??

Pondering these words..."You're a Blessing in our Life" My those are humbling words...how I long for them to be true~

From the kitchen...Oh my, I don't even know yet...TERRIBLE! I know I need to bake bread today and then make some meal plans. I'll try to get back to you on that one.

From the learning room...a week off, but since we skipped a few days last week, we may squeeze in a paper or two if we have time. Mostly just reading, crafting and baking this week. PRACTICAL learning, right? Next week, back to the books.

Around the house...I have GOT to fold the clothes in my room! I need to do some general tidying, clean the kitchen yet again and try to keep it that way....Muahahahah~ I also need to help Jodi pack if she needs it. They plan to move sometime next week, so it's crunch time.

One of my favorite things...Family and Friends that take time to make my birthday special, even though it's the busiest time of year.

A picture thought I am sharing with you...Dan with the handmade calendar with pictures of the sweet Miss Izzi all dressed up...so precious!

The Reading of the Advent Book

Here are the boys reading our Advent book. Each night, they take turns being the first to read and then putting up their special piece of the book. As we read the book each night, we are creating a lovely nativity scene...and some precious memories as well. This video is for the grandparents who miss the boys and for you who might be considering buying this book from Usborne at http://www.myubam.com/ecommerce/details.asp?sid=NEW&gid=91071489&title=Advent+Nativity+Book&sqlwhere=submit%3Dsearch%26search%3Dnativity No, I don't sell for them, but I DO love their books and this one in particular is one of my favorites by them. Grandparents, enjoy the video~

Long time, No Bloggy! LOTS of pictures ; )

Oops, life got in the way again...as often happens around the holidays (err, holi-DAZE) so for today, just some pics of recent happenings and I'll post another catch up post soon. Love to all, and hope you are enjoying the busy-ness of the season as much as we are!

Christmas Blessings,

Kristy and the Man Crew

Happy birthday to me, I'm the most blessed of all, I had TWO birthday cakes, one courtesy of 'Shua and Lauren, and one courtesy of my dear Sister-Girl, Karen!! Yeah for wonderful family!!

Christmas party+birthday party+game night= F~U~N!!

Awww, Karen gets into the spirit of Christmas as she counts the days until she heads to Cali for the holidays.

Oh...look at the pretty ornament Tracy made me for my birthday...Oooo, Ahhhh!

Lauren and Rusty are feeling festive...poor dog! Love this pic, though!!

Decorating the tree...what a bunch of handsome boys!! Not that I'm prejudiced, at all! ; )

Coffee and Doughnuts with Auntie Karen on a sleepy Saturday morning

Kelly and her sweetie-pie, Jared

Ty and Pat get into the spirit of "Peace on Earth" ..well, sorta!

I spent 3 happy days in this little hotel room scrapping, reading, sleeping in and spending time with Dan....more about that in another post

Titus gets INTO his food...LOL

Merry Christmas to all and a Great Holiday where we remember the reason behind the season! May God richly bless you this coming year!!

Catchin' Up with Us MeYeR's

Hello from wintry, SNOWY Las Cruces! That was a treat to say! ; ) For those who missed my last post, it snowed not once, but TWICE last week....and we even had enough to stick to the ground. Hurray~ anywho....let's catch up, shall we??

For once, I don't have much to report...so all the more reason to get caught up before all the news is old and this post is 10 miles long...LOL! Here we go!

This week was actually rather uneventful as weeks go around here. Everything ran rather smoothly...*sigh* School got done, err...mostly without interruption, I got to work and back safely and without too much hassle, David went to gymnastics and practiced hard with the other boys, Dan went to Hurley and managed another week without losing his temper or his mind and it's now a lovely Saturday and once I'm done catching you up, I've got big plans to read a whole book this afternoon *yeah* Last night, we had 'new' company at game night. Dan's friends Doug and Amy that invited us to their fish fry a few weeks back, came over and enjoyed game night with us...and if they had half as much fun as we did, we will see them again soon on a Friday night. 'Shua and Lauren's puppy, Rusty is back home and on the mend from his nasty bout of parvo virus, so that is good news. Dan and I are busy making Christmas plans and we will probably put up the tree tomorrow with the boys and then we are going out for a date...I'm so excited! The boys have been enjoying the Advent book and putting up the nativity one piece at a time. Tonight is movie night and we are going to watch "White Christmas" (it's my FAVE Christmas movie) and "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" (and since I'm such a homeschool dork mom, I found a mini-lapbook/unit study so we can even count watching the movie as school....hahahahahahah!) Anywho, for now, that's all the news that is news. Have a great week and know that to all who live far away from us, you are never far from our heart and our thoughts. Much love as we head into the most blessed of all seasons~

Kristy and the Man Crew

Tyler takes a break from bananagrams to snuggle the pretty Miss Izzi and play with Rusty, who is getting bigger by the minute!

Lauren is our very own snow angel...doesn't she look happy??

Look, it's Black Eyed Bob, with his self-inflicted injury during an experiment with levers...LOL!

Patrick helped Titus write his name. Both the littles like to be up to the table while the big boys are doing school.

Global Warming, eh?

Well then, explain this! In a town where the avg daily temp in December is in the upper 50s...and we rarely get an actual freezing temp....this was a wonderful treat this week. They shut down the schools, some places of employment and even the highways...all for less than 2 inches of snow...LOL! The boys were so excited...and so were 'Shua and Lauren! *grins* ~K~





LET IT SNOW!!!

Lauren and 'Shua look so cute in the snow together!