Gingerbread house

I think more icing and candy went into and onto Seth than went on the house. How did that child get so dirty?!!

Another puzzle piece has arrived

This one came from Joscie in Hawaii. The little hula girl is adorable and I love that she added a tiny picture of her family. She also sent Hawaiian candy. Yum. It is painted silver. I'm not sure you can see that. The flash picture reflected back on me but when I didn't use a flash, the piece looked green. It is raining outside so I can't go out there to take the picture. Thanks, Joscie.

30 years ago today

Thirty years ago today, two desperately love sick 18 year olds started their life together despite (or maybe in spite of) all of the advice they received not to. They began married life with hardly any money but lots of dreams and hopes for the future. They honestly believed all they needed was each other.

The years ahead were not all wine and roses. Two years after their wedding, their first baby girl was stillborn. They named her Melissa Nicole and buried her on a cold February morning. They cried together and went on with their lives a little sadder than they were before but still in love.

Two years later, a beautiful and healthy baby girl was born. They named her Karen Michelle and they began a new life as parents. Five years after that, an equally beautiful Allison Rose made her appearance and their little family was complete.

Over the years, there was much heartache mixed in with the joy but the love got bigger and stronger as the years went by. There were struggles, some pretty big ones. They fought and made up. They loved. They laughed. They cried. They laughed some more. They raised those two baby girls to be happy self sufficient women who make them very proud. They’ve built a life together that is comfortable and exciting and filled with fun.

While some of the credit for the longevity of their relationship can be attributed to pure stubbornness, the real reasons they are still together are because they want to be and because they are still as love struck as they were when they were kids. He tells her she is beautiful every day and she laughs at him. She still meets him with a kiss at the door each day when he comes home from work. They compliment each other. They were meant for each other. Life is good. Their love is strong.

Christmas fun with my camera

I bought this decoration the other day with the sole intention of hanging it in my tree and photographing it. I went outside at 7 am when the sun first started coming up and just kept shooting until I liked the light.

YES!!!! I won!

I am beyond excited. My layout got picked as the winner at Unpubbed. I have followed their challenges almost religiously since I found them.

A girl after my heart

Allison emailed me these pictures last night. She called all excited about how she and her room mate have decorated their apartment. They have a pink Christmas tree! She said that if there was a decorating contest for their apartment complex, they would win! LOL. I think it is fun how excited she was. She was especially proud that they made their own wreath for the front door just like we've done in years past at home. When I asked if she actually owned a glue gun, her answer was, "of course!" Too funny. Here are her pictures. On another note, Seth asked me last night when I was going to come to his house and see his tree. I guess I need to go over there and see that, too.

Speaking of Seth, yesterday when I picked him up from day care, he asked me if I could buy a truck with no back seat so he could ride up front with me. Isn't that cute?

The view from my front door

My friend, Heather, has asked me to post the view from my front door. When she asked me last night, it was dark outside and the view was just black with a few Christmas lights from across the street. Today at 3:30 in the afternoon, I have this lovely view as I look down my sidewalk toward the street. Our big old oak tree has finally decided that it is cool enough to turn fall colors even though it is already December and the temperatures are in the 70s. This is about the extent of fall colors I ever see around here. I have not decorated for Christmas, yet, so those flower pots are empty. Next weekend, I will put poinsettias in them. Curtis and I have always decorated the weekend closest to our anniversary which is Dec 10. We got married and then decorated that first year so it has just always been our tradition. This will be the 31st Christmas we spend together as it will be our 30th anniversary.