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We're home from having a wonderful Christmas celebration in Maryland! I'm going to the vet to pick up Mr. Bear. Poor thing. I bet he thinks we've forgotten him. I'll be back on to post some pictures just as soon as I can. This week is proving to be as busy as last week for us!

Happy New Year 2010 everyone!

See you soon!

Another Tender Tennessee Christmas

Last Saturday night, we headed to Mom and Dad's house to celebrate Christmas with them! It snowed on the way over, and there was snowy wet slush on the roads as we drove across town. It was beautiful! Fleeting, but beautiful!

When we arrived, Mom had prepared a feast for us! We had taco soup, Mexican cornbread, a colorful salad, homemade nuts and bolts and a family favorite, port wine cheese and crackers. I just love port wine cheese! After dinner, we ate my favorite Christmas cookies with red and green cherries and chocolate chips and opened presents.

We had a wonderful time celebrating with them, and Miss Ava enjoyed her little self so much at Mimi and Papa's! Oh, and of course, she spent time with Leo, their kitty -her favorite kitty in the world! Here are some family pictures of our fun evening.

Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad! We love you! Put something in Leo's stocking...like a hearing aid!

Eating our yummy Christmas dinner!



When we weren't looking, Ava climbed up on the table and got a cookie!



Our family Christmas picture



I decided to post two of the pictures with Mom and Dad and Ava. Look at Ava's expression in these. She is turning out to be such a ham!





This is our traditional Christmas picture as a family.



Ava and Mimi check out Granny Lawson's crocheted stocking. She was my great-grandmother, and boy could she sew! Can I? Um, no. Bummer!



Papa and Ava play with her jack-in-the box. It was really a Pooh-in-the box.



Ava opens her gift from Mimi and Papa - her very own red rocking chair with her name on it! This girl loves to rock!







We are loading the car in the morning to drive to snowy Maryland! I hear 81 is clear - hopefully! I'll post again as soon as I can.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! A Savior has been born to us! Hallelujah!

Christmas Decorating, Mischief and Blooper!

Pull up your pant legs, throw your head back, and laugh. About whatever! I love this picture of Ava. I wonder, "Can I capture that in myself this Christmas?" I did the other day, but it involved a blooper on my part!

I bet each of you is in full swing with festivities and celebrating right now. I'm going to tell a story on myself - an embarrassing one, in the hopes that it will bring some Christmas cheer and stress relief to your week/weekend. Kristie, Fletch and Tree, you guys know that this is SO like me! I hope it makes you laugh!

If you must know, I don't have all of my ducks in a row... ahem, ever! Here's an example! I was waiting for an office to open in the mall the other day, and I was sitting on a little bench eating my on-the-go 8 pack Chic-fil-A nuggets. Ava wasn't with me. I decided to run in the public restroom for just a minute to blow my nose (I've had a cold or sinus thing) so I ducked in and blew my nose and washed my hands. I was drying my hands under the dryer when this elderly man-probably in his 80s- walked in. I SO felt for him when I saw the look on his face, knowing he was probably embarrassed,(bless his heart)so I giggled and said something like...

"Oh, that's ok. I do that all the time." Ok, I DON'T go in the wrong restroom ALL the time, but that's what came out. He quickly stepped out and I finished drying my hands thinking about how embarrassed he must have been to see me standing there in the women's restroom.

About that time, I turned around and saw... yes, the urinals. I then walked out and there was that same little man standing there quietly outside the MEN'S restroom waiting for ME to come out! You can imagine the look on my face! What was so funny was that I was trying to make HIM feel better by saying, "Oh, that's ok, I do that all the time!" He probably thought, "Boy, she's a strange one." If he only knew! LOL!

I was feeling quite tense that day anyway, and I guess I needed a good belly laugh. I crack up every time I see that man's face in my mind! I won't tell you how large and bold the MEN'S sign was. Man, and to top it off, I left my Chic-fil-A water in there, and I wasn't about to go back in and get it!

Anyhoo, back to the post of pictures. This is a little of what we've been up to lately amid the hurry and rush of the season.

Ava went to the doctor last week and now weighs close to 24 lbs and is 31 inches long. We held off on the MMR and the chicken pox shot for now, and the doctor said that we made the nurses happy! :)

She blew Dr. Booher kisses when we left, and let me tell you, THAT is a first! She didn't get any shots, and I guess she was just so grateful! I wish I had a video of her in that exam room and me trying to entertain her. That roll of paper on the table looked like it had been attacked by teradachtyls! Anyone??

Here are a few fun pictures for you guys to see. We've had a ball with the Christmas preparations this year, and Ava loves the greenery and the twinkly lights! Oh, and she is into EVERYTHING! Add 15 month old mischief to her cuteness this year!



She loved walking around and around the tree.



Mmmm... smells SO good!



I went to get the scissors to cut the garland apart, and I found Ava in the middle of it. She in the middle or on top of most things right now!



I bought cool buffalo snow for the first time this year. Here it is - there's snow, compliments of Ava, in the tree.



Later that day, I found her in the bathroom. Is this classic, or what?



Helping Daddy put lights on the tree.



She likes to say, "yights."



We're going to my parent's house tomorrow night to celebrate Christmas with them, and then we're off to Maryland on Wednesday of next week to celebrate with his family this year. I hear there's snow on the way to Tennessee and probably Maryland, too!

PS - I put one of my new favorite Christmas songs on the playlist. It's called Winter Snow by Audrey Assad. I just love it. It's so peaceful.

Something Special

Every once in awhile I stumble upon something that I like to share on my blog. Last year, I posted some videos from the Billy Graham special, and a earlier this year, some of you know how I felt about Kevin Skinner from America's Got Talent!

Well, a dear, elderly, grandfatherly man, a friend, sent me this today, and I'd like to share it with you in the hopes that you'll see yourself somewhere in the painting.

God's brushstrokes are on each of us wherever we are in this journey right now. The glorious moments and the mudane all together paint our picture. What stories we'll have to tell!

Be blessed! This is really worth seeing. I'm not a religion fanatic. I'm just a fan of Jesus.

Remember to pause Burl Ives!

A Snowy Day

Well, it's about time we had a December snow! We awoke to a snowy morning last Saturday, and we bundled Ava up and took her outside to play and explore. I've mentioned before that she LOVES to be outside and often cries when we bring her back inside. She would stay out and explore all day if we let her!

She really had a ball and looked like a little snow bunny. Here are a few picture to enjoy from that afternoon.

Surprise! Snow early in December!



I couldn't resist bringing in some snow after breakfast for her to play with.







Almost ready to go outside!



Where's Ava?



Ava and Bear sharing a moment. He was so happy to have some company on this cold day!





Uh, oh.



Ah, nothing like warming up with a mug of hot chocolate and a sippy cup.

Running As Fast As I Can!

Heart-Deep

Hey, everyone,

I'm so sorry I haven't posted pics since Thanksgiving! I've been heart-deep all week in preparing my testimony to share with our class tomorrow. I finally completed writing about eight years of my life, and I'm ready to share. I'm so glad to finally have it written! It's a long story... :) To God be the glory for the great things he has done!

I'll be back to post some great pictures from our adventures recently!

Oh, and it snowed last night! We had an early December snow - unusual for around here, but everyone was thrilled. Miss Ava went out and played for a little while today and had a ball.

Happy December, everyone! Hope everyone is drinking egg nog. :)