This gorgeous thing has become my anthem.  Every day.

 

He Was Tired Today

What do you mean he's creepy?  Doesn't that "I'm watching you" look on his face just give you that warm fuzzy feeling?

Who Knew...The Girl Can Sing!

Grace had her first Chorus Concert this evening.  She goes in early every Tuesday to practice chorus as it's an optional group to be a part of..she claims to love it. :)  It's great fun to watch her and so pleased the members of the fam came to support.

 

 

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Dang It!

"This year can just go ahead and end any time now, thanks"...says Miss Grace.

 

  Too much loss this year for Grace (and me!).  She lost her dear Cookie Dough today and it's been tough. 

 

Dang it, dang it, dang it.  :( :(

 

Cookie increasingly seemed, well, not normal over the last few weeks and as a result she would sleep for hours.  I myself had grown quite attached (if you know me at all, you know I get attached to EVERY little animal, so this is not surprising of course) because when I needed a furry friend fix, I would cuddle w/ this little rascal while I read and she would sleep and sleep and now, well, dang it...she had to go.

 

She was the cutest thing ever. xo 

 

If you are keeping score, we are down to one furry friend and as the remaining lucky soul resides in Emerson's room...well, here's hoping we aren't completely furry friendless by the end of the year!!!  ;) 

 

Bye little cookie monster...

Dang it.

Thought For the Moment

"When you listen with empty ears, you hear more.  And this is the core of the secret:  Attention is the beginning of devotion." - Mary Oliver

For the Record

Eme Lou's Closet

Thought of the Moment

The last two lines are two of my favorite sentences ever committed to paper in the form of great literature.

Elf Adventures

Two strapping young lads hangin' in Grace's room...what's a girl to do....

Elf Adventures

Day 2 and Jingle has already found a lady friend...smooth....

Eme:  "Oh!  Wow!  Jingle knows Snow White..I had no idea, Mom!!"

Grace:  "I'm just glad Snow White is dressed for a change.  Otherwise....AWKWARD."

Jingle is Back

The Elf on the Shelf has returned and he's already up to mischief....

 

The girls were THRILLED....and a little creeped out......

Nice To Meet Ya

Grace could not believe I hadn't added a picture of our new friend.  In the wake of losing our desperately missed Maggie, G and I decided a new hamster was in order....and we decided that a few weeks ago.

 

Meet Sweetie or as I call her, "Cakes".  She is tiny and very, very cute.

Doing Our Part

Just some scenes from our day of delivering Thanksgiving meals to those in need.  Saw some fantastic parts of town and was really proud of my girls for taking an active role in helping out.

 

Full van...the food keeper, Miss Grace...

 

My sidekick, Miss. Eme...

 

The drivers....:)

 

She loved carrying the boxes up to the door...she's in there somewhere...under all that hair....

 

My favorite moment...the first house we dropped off at...this little boy came bounding out of the door, HUGE smile on his face, thanking us over and over...grinning at Grace as he took the box from her...asking if they had colored the pictures that were in the box w/ the food and weren't they great....he was adorable...completely smitten w/ that little guy...what joy....I tried to grab shots of him as quick as I could....

 

He was so excited, I don't think he even noticed the 30 degree weather as he hopped around in bare feet and shorts!!!

 

Now...where is the next one?!

 

Found it!!  Now....if they would just open the door....:)

 

I loved the people that were milling about.  All of our meals were delivered to this particular section of government housing and I loved that so many kids, despite the cold, were out playing...happy, appearing content...with what we all would consider so much less....when all it is really is just another way to live life...not less...just different....(I took these thru the van window because, well, I AM spoiled like that)

 

 

 

 

 

And then...before we knew it...the van was empty!!!

I was proud to share this with my girls.

Thought For the Moment

"Once you know what you want, act on it."

Proud

Grace is part of the Community Service Club at her school and they set up a donation drive this holiday season to provide Thanksgiving dinners to families in need.  They got everyone in the Wheeler community to donate enough for 75 families.  That's amazing!!  Last night after school, some of the kids in the club stayed after school to organize the boxes of food and hand them off to the families in need.

 

This is the face I found when I came to pick her up.  She LOVED it!

 

The Christmas donation project that the club is setting up is the Giving Tree....providing gifts for families in need.  After organizing the turkey meals, they settled in to make signs for the Giving Tree.

 They then got to hang their sign wherever they wanted to in the school.

 

Love to see her enthusiasm for such a good cause.

 

Hanging the ornaments w/ the gift ideas written on them...

Done. :) 

John Mayer Live at Pinnacle Bank Arena

He really is damn talented.

Tears and Goosebumps For Me!

They say you don't choose who you love, you just do.  Can't choose what gets to you, it just does.

Haven't seen this guy in over 3 yrs..haven't listened to him in a long time either, but man.....felt like home. :)  Realized just how much his music makes up a part of who I am...what it has helped me thru...and how much it means to me.  You are lucky to get touched by someone or something at all in this life....lucky me.

He's good people. xo 

The First of the Season

Clash of the Seasons.....Autumn, meet Winter....

 

First snowfall of the season...small, but pretty....the sunrise was glorious and G stepped out into it right away....love her tracks in the snow....

Just love the way the snow sparkles. :)

I LOVE the changing of seasons....just when I get bored....Mother Nature spices it up...