ahhhhhhhh...

There is nothing better than a hot shower or a warm soak in the tub, so I thought. My wonderful Mom introduced me to the ps.I love you bath essentials from Bath & Body Works.

OMG, I am addicted! This stuff makes you want to soak in the tub all night! If you haven't given it a try, trust me, it's awesome. Oh, and they are having a HUGE sale right now, check it out HERE!

Santa, I love you!

There are just some Santa's that I have collected over the years (thanks, Dad) that capture the very root of Christmas. From the sober St. Nick leaning over the tiny baby Jesus, bowing at his presence in reverence to his birth, to the jolly ole St. Nick, to the skinny ole story book Santa. Each one of them seems to view Christmas in a very unique way.





We had a blessed and fun filled Christmas. The joy that was on the faces of my little ones as their tiny feet pitter pattered out from their bedroom was just too cute. Gifts waiting by the tree, Santa did not disappoint. Although the gifts may have been small in number the memories were much larger than I could ever account for.

Merry Christmas!

waiting

Ahhhh, it's DONE! The presents are wrapped, the cookies are baked, the parties have come and gone and now we wait. Family and friends await us for holiday gatherings on Christmas Eve and we await the arrival of Santa! The cookies are baked and the stockings are hung. It's such fun preparing for this time of year.

blue Christmas

This past weekend we headed to the north Georgia mountain to visit with Nana. I had my fingers crossed that there would be just a smidgen of ice hanging from the tree branches and covering the fields and pastures. There is just something about a white Christmas or snow days around the holiday season.

Unfortunately, there was no ice nor snow in sight. However, I do not ever remember seeing the mountain look so blue. They were beautiful. I made Tommy stop the car, back up and let me take a picture (yep, he's just that sweet!). I could not get over the rich color of the mountains, the falling leaves and the clear sky, it was picture perfect!

We traveled up the road from there almost at Nana's driveway and we met this fun guy, a burly horse. He had his winter coat on for sure. He looked so woolly and think, I just had to take a picture of him!

After seeing all of that, I think a blue (mountain) Christmas may be just as pleasant as a white winter wonderland :)

hot-diggity-dog

I don't recall ever having this much fun with Play-Doh! Roxanne and I were having fun making tiny replicas of different foods and other items that we enjoy.

She wanted me to make her a hot dog. Not to bad if I say so myself!

Hey Santa, I'm thinking this would be a nice stocking stuffer (for Roxy, of course - LOL).

my baby boy

There are no words to describe the feeling that I have as a mother when I stop and think of the huge number of children that are without parents. Some of these children are victims of substance abuse, poor living conditions, loss of parents due

to tragedy, neglect...and the list goes on.

Every Christmas season as I try to make sense of the mounds of wrapping paper shreds, the stacks of opened gift boxes and the new toys scattered through the house. One thing always come to my mind, it's the thought of others who do not have, do not get, do not have family.

With all the busy days and nights that we have had trying to set up and prepare our nursery & gift shop for the spring, time has gotten away from me. Due to the lack of extra time that I have, I did not take custom orders for my handmade goods for Christmas this year. I have tried to eliminate any added work or stress to make more time for helping Mr. Roe and being with my family. So, when the time crunch came for Christmas cards, I decided to pass on them as well. I know, I know, it's been a tradition that I have always done. However, I was not going to stress myself this Christmas, right?

I decided that since I wasn't doing the Christmas cards, I had a little extra Christmas change to play around with. Yep, you got it...I adopted a child! What fun, what a blessing and totally stress free. I can shop all day and not get stressed a bit - LOL

We were given our child's name (Rodney) and age (4 mo.) and a list of items that were needed for the child. My new adopted baby was a boy! Wow, I only have girls, so having a baby boy to buy for was so much fun. After picking up several clothing sets, toys and a new walker I headed home to wrap the gifts. I picked up some cute doggy paper that I just loved and I hope that Rodney will enjoy it too! Merry Christmas to my baby boy, God bless you little one. I am forever grateful that I have had the opportunity to make a difference in the life of a child.

Sing it baby!

This week has been full of wonderful proud mommy moments. Both of the girls had their school Christmas programs this week. Bryar had her first "on stage" performance on Monday. Bless her heart, she cried from the moment she saw her daddy. It was a rough 30 minutes for all of us! We even ended up leaving Bryar's Christmas party in her classroom early due to major clingieness (is that a word)!

Roxanne on the other hand was a little more use to the "crowd". She's got a few years under her belt of being on stage in preschool programs. She did a great job participating in the musical and singing her solo line. Sing it baby! My poor pictures lacked some quality due to me shaking with laughter and the dim lighting inside the church. However, I could not help but to share them.

Little Bryar trying her best to crawl off stage and run to her daddy!

The little two and three year olds, so cute!

Ummm, someone does not look happy :(

Roxy saying her solo line.

How stinkin' cute are all these little ones!

I thought the red aprons were a great idea!

Roxy's class had a cute winter wonderland themed party table.

One proud daddy!

Mommy loves you, my little shinning stars!

Thank you both for making mommy so proud - XOXOXO

white Christmas

Have your own white Christmas!

Click HERE for fun, crafty ornaments that the entire family will enjoy :)

O Christmas Tree

Oh, how I love thee. I love your smell, your sparkle and your tiny trinkets that dangle from your branches. However, I think I am totally in love with your new skirt! LOL

After doing a bit of a makeover last spring, the colors in my home have shifted to be a little more on the apricot side with a touch of lime green. So, with the new color scheme, my Christmas tree needed an update as well. The old cranberry color skirt was just not gettin' it this year. So, I set out to find something that would make the Ole Christmas tree proud.

I came up with a bundle of apricot colored burlap and some prissy floral fabric that I thought would make a nice trim. Ta-da! This is what my Christmas tree is sporting this year :)

I got my....

WISH!!!!! I had a wonderful time this weekend with family and friends. It's always my wish at Christmas that friends and family gather near for a time of fun and lots of yummy food. So, this weekend, I got my wish! It's not often that all of my family (the southern side) gets to gather around and just visit, tell stories and laugh with each other. I was in hog heaven! We had a great time at the annual Lawlor Christmas party, my cousin Amy knows how to get things done! She's Martha with a little spice :) She decorates, bakes, and can make a mean pot of chili, but she also knows how to get the laughter going.

My family was able to be together and just have fun and enjoy the true gift of sharing time and our love for one another, something that seems to be so rare these days. Much of my family went to church together on Sunday to enjoy the service and to cheer on my cousin in his performance in the church Christmas musical. It was so enjoyable being surrounded by people that care, in church, watching my little cousin (9 years old) with other Sunday school students tell about the real meaning of Christmas in a comical yet touching story.

After service we gathered back at my cousins house for lunch with a huge spread of party hourderves and desserts, yum-O! It was a Sunday to be remembered, a Sunday that I don't ever get to have, a Sunday with my family. It was a blessed day and a blessing that I am glad to have given to me, a gift.

So, for me, Christmas has come early. I've gotten my wish...my family joined in fun holiday memories. Thanks Santa for an early present. No, actually, it was right on time. And Jesus, you are the reason for the season. Thank you for the gift of love and for being the first example of what true love is...unconditional, non-judging and full of forgiveness!

I need Santa's glasses...

...he can read things in any language! LOL This year is the first year that Roxanne has been able to write her own Christmas list. She is doing well with recognizing her letters, writing her letters and giving each one appropriate space. However, she writes backwards. So, thank goodness I was giving her some guidance on spelling (when I was allowed). Otherwise, I do not think I could understand what this list says. For those of you struggling here's the adult version..

a REAL BONE for Sam

a BASKETBALL

an ANGEL COSTUME (she wrote it on three diff lines)

a DISNEY (she didn't finish...CAMERA)

FABRIC

a SEWING machine

Good luck to all of you who also need to borrow Santa's glasses. There's just something about those majic spec's, he can read any kids writing. Santa, you're the best!

OK, Mom I posted THIS link for you! LOL

tagged with love

As I began to wrap up some of my handmade gift for family members and friends, I thought that I would also create a handmade tag. If you have special hand crafted gifts that you are giving this year, I would like to share this tag with you. You can click on the gift tag pictured above and it will open a link for you so that you can print the image. Enjoy!

Paint-O-holic

Have you ever seen a 4 year old swoon over her painting. If not, here's your first peek!

She's demonstrating the hand over head technique.

WARNING!!!! Do not try this if you are over 30 - LOL

Laughing out LOUD!

This is straight out of some kind of comic book. I mean, I don't know when I have seen anything so funny. This was what was awaiting me as I opened Bryar's folder after school on Monday. I laughed and laughed and laughed.

Santa came to visit all the kids at the girls school last week. Roxy did a fantastic job talking with Santa. On the other hand, Bryar had some difficulty. She cried from the word "Hello".

Her teacher had to take her back to class due to her constant sobbing and high pitch squeals. They even pulled Roxy out of her class to see if she could help Bryar and make her more comfortable around Santa. NOPE, didn't work!

So, here's my question. Does anyone else out there have a picture of their kid BEHIND Santa? Or, am I like the first to be tagged with this accomplishment? You know, you just gotta love her stinkin' sassy little self!

craft time anyone?

Here's a fun craft that you can do with the kids! Roxanne and I took advantage of Bryar's nap time with some "older sister" crafting time. We pulled out our supplies, a Styrofoam circle, ribbon, candy canes (yum) and plugged in the hot glue gun (mommy's helper). Roxy helped me unwrap the tiny candy canes and handed them to me to glue onto the Styrofoam circle. We trimmed it out in a red ribbon and attached a white pipe cleaner for hanging. So easy and fun, especially with a giggly little 4 year old at your side. She's the best candy cane licker in town!

ho hum diddly dum

I find myself often saying quirky sayings out loud. Is that a bad thing? I also find myself eating handfuls of Christmas themed M&M's as I pass the candy dish. Sometimes even grabbing those addictive Dove peppermint bark holiday candies for breakfast (shame, shame)! Is this bad? What about when I eat the other half of my kids oatmeal creme pie or left over cupcakes? Bad? Oh yeah, and my husband is the best. He buys me Snickers ice cream bars so that at anytime I can get my fix. Now, those little dudes rule! Tisk, tisk!

Oh well, ho hum diddly dum life is sweet, I'll try to do better tomorrow - LOL

it lingers on your fingers

Have you ever walked into a room and said, "What is that smell? I have smelt that somewhere before." Well, I have done that numerous times, be it the smell of a room, a certain perfume/aroma, or some horrific smell that you can't quite figure out! No bad smells here, but I do have an added smell in my home that is so familiar and has been so missed at Christmas time. It's the smell of a live tree..ahhhhhhh. There is nothing like it! The fresh spruce smell that lingers on your fingers when decorating the tree, what a delight.



For many years we have put up our old faithful artificial tree. However, this year we were persuaded to go "fresh". We have an private seller at our nursery that is using our facility to sale live Christmas trees. From the moment I saw them setting them up, I knew I wanted one. So, needless to say, I got my wish (from the best husband ever!). Tommy let me have my pick of the trees. The girls tagged along side of me pointing and checking each tree as we passed through the display of large Fraser Fir trees.



We have been enjoying the nice scent that fills our home and the tree all decked for the Christmas season. A live tree brings back so many holiday memories and I hope it will inspire new ones as the Christmas season draws closer.
For now, I'm off to cuddle up with a cup of hot tea and my best friend while we watch the lights on the tree sparkle, like the twinkle in Santa's eye!

for the birds

At our home, taking care of nature is a must! Living on four acres here in the south, nature is our friend. You see, you get back what you give away. If you leave trash around, lack on yard maintenance or just simply allow nature to take over, you get pest. You'll have nice little creepy spiders, mice and lots of other unwanted guest setting up camp around you due to the junk. But, if you are clean, keep things stirred up with lawn mowing, trimming, raking leaves, etc. those pest will stay back in the woods and the beauty of nature will show face. Pretty creatures like birds, butterflies, rabbits and deer.

So, since I like the pretty creatures much more than the pest, Roxanne and I made some good use of our left over fresh cranberries from our Thanksgiving punch. We took the cranberries and strung them onto yarn, making an edible garland for our outdoor friends to enjoy. I let Roxanne use a yarn needle (not sharp) to pierce the cranberries and string them onto the yarn. She got a kick out of being able to do this by herself!

Once the garland was complete, we draped it onto several branches in a tree for the animals to enjoy. Make sure you return the favor and give nature a little extra TLC this winter. It's always giving so much to us, let's not forget to say thank you!