Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas...

You can play this while you read the blog!! :) That is my theme for our Christmas this year!!! :) We hope you all had a very Merry Little Christmas wherever and whomever you were with!!! Our morning started off with Josh sleeping in till 7:45a...that's not normal at all!!! So, it was a nice gift to Eric and I! Santa(nana & papa) got Josh a fire truck! He can ride it and we can push him on it...it's awesome!! We ate the traditional Christmas breakfast(from my dad)...eggs, green chilis, and sausage...Yummy!! :) Then we opened presents and played with them all and Josh took over a 3 hour nap!! At about 4 the McCarthys(pretty much extended family) came over and we ate ham, dressing, green beans, scalloped potatoes....and the best desserts too(thanks to Becca)!! It really was a merry little Christmas!!! These pictures are Josh with his fire truck, a family picture and Josh with Jason and Becca! Click on this last picture for more of them!!!

Christmas 2007

On a solemn note...

I really don't want to bring the joy of Christmas time down right now, but I just feel compelled to share these thoughts....Some time last week I was by myself (a rarity, but I was going to Target)...anyways, I was consumed with thoughts on things I needed to get done before Christmas and while Eric was not having to work. I was feeling a little overwhelmed with it all....this being our first Christmas just being 'our family' at home! I kept making mental lists and checking things off or adding things was more like it!!! I really wanted to try to come up with traditions that we could start as a family and at the same time make sure I had put everything in the mail on time to get to family....anyways, this song came on the radio by Tim McGraw. The fact that I had the radio on in the first place is odd because I've had Christmas cds in my car for the last month!! The song was called Already Home or If You're Reading This...I had never heard it before and of course it brought tears to my eyes. Then, as the song ended this feeling of calm, peace, and thankfulness overtook me. I realized how truly blessed and lucky I am to be at home with my family!!

We are stationed at Scott Air Force base here and it is home to USTransComm which brings in alot of military from all the different branches, especially Army. Since I'm involved with MOPs(mother of preschoolers) and my CBS(Community Bible Study) group, I've met and can count on two hands, how many of these women don't have their husbands home right now. Some are choosing to celebrate Christmas by going all out and others aren't even putting up a tree! Anyways, the point that was made clear to me while I was sitting in my car in the Target parking lot was to stop focusing on the little things, stop trying so hard to make everything 'just right,' stop thinking about what I could do this Christmas, etc, etc, etc....instead realize that no matter how we spend our day...we will all be together and our extended families will be with each other and this verse came to me(if you've received our card you'll understand too....) "For unto you is born in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord...Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:11, 14 It all just brought me back to what Christmas time is truly about for me and instilled into me to encourage those around me who do not have their families together, especially because they are sacrificing and serving our country!!

I found this video on youtube. It is a tribute with pictures(some extremely unsettling) but put together with Tim McGraw's song in the background. It's very moving....

So...I also wanted to post a couple of ways, if you want to, you can do a little something for those serving right now... Let's Say Thanks....is a website that is so simple! It's several companies coming together, led by Xerox, that prints postcards and mails them to the people deployed overseas. I've done several, it takes one minute...you can read about it all on their website...but just pick a card, pick a quote or write your own, and click submit! The second one is give2thetroops.org and it has a ton of information that's useful to learn how to send things and show support throughout the year. The last one is the uso's website. Again, they have links that show how to donate and give as well!

That's all. Thank you for reading all of this and I'll finish with this quote I found about Christmas...which I love..."Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." ~Norman Vincent Peale

Thanksgiving 2007...

Ok...all I have to say about my Thanksgiving Dinner this year....is a phrase I'll borrow from Rachel Ray..."YUMM-O!!!" And, the kicker is, I cooked it all by myself...ok, not really...but, almost! :) As you can see from the pictures I had another set of hands to help...Brooke!! We call her Aunt Brooke..but, she's not really, but she is family, but not really....to explain a little better...Her brother(Chris) is married to my sister(Sarah)...plus, we've been friends since high school...before said sister and brother were married!! Although, we had several conversations over Thanksgiving remembering when we were not so good friends..and then best friends...and then not friends..and then, etc, etc, etc, etc.....It was hilarious and very fun!! Anyways... Continuing on....Josh was in heaven having someone to give him a ton of attention!! Eric was on call the night before Thanksgiving...so, that left Brooke, Josh, and I to get everything ready Thursday morning!! Eric got home around one and was greeted with a cooked, ready to eat, Thanksgiving masterpiece(maybe not, but it feels that way after you do it all for the first time)! :) We did have alot of fun with Brooke. I don't think we did much but, eat, hang out, watch football(Go Buffs), and play with Josh. I did sign Brooke up to take some pictures for us. We went on base and found a pile of yellow leaves! It was sad to see Brooke go, but for our first Thanksgiving away from our 'true' families...it was definitely a Success!!

Click here for more Thanksgiving Pictures!!!

Estes Park in November...

Josh and I made a trip out to Estes Park about a month ago!! Wow... I really need to get going on these posts!! :)

Anyways, we went out there to spend some time with my parents and friends!! We hadn't been to Colorado in almost 6 months, we won't be spending any of the holidays out there, and Eric was super busy and gone alot...so, off we went!! It was sort of a last minute trip, but, sometimes those are the best ones...especially when you need to "recharge your personal battery!"(if you know what I mean)!!HA :)

Of course we had a great time! Josh did just fine flying...I buy him a seat now(so much easier) and we use the USOs in the airports since Eric is active duty now! They are awesome...if you are active duty military/dependent of one and haven't used them before at the airports...I highly recommend them. We normally leave a donation since Eric isn't deployed, but they are so nice, free food and water, plus they all normally have an area for the little guy to run around!!

Ok...got off topic..sorry.....Colorado....we went down to Boulder for a day. I really wanted to go to the Campus Bookstore to get a new sweatshirt and stuff...also, just to walk around campus! It was a beautiful fall day and my mom and I watched Josh run around Norlin quad!!

Two of my best friends drove up to visit us too! Unfortunately we didn't get any pics(silly us), but as always...it's the BEST seeing them and makes me long for the day when we can all be close again!!(you just can't move to CA...sorry) :)

My parents, Josh, and I spent a day in town in Estes Park, drove around "the Park"(Rocky Mtn Ntl) and went to the playground! Josh and I really enjoyed hanging around their house too...plus we had about a hundred visitors at one time!!! Not people though....ELK!!! It was crazy...I have more pictures of it all....It was a great time and hopefully we'll be back in March for a wedding at the Academy!!

Click here for...More pictures from Colorado!!