Everyday Life

Now that the holidays are over we are back into our routine of everyday life. I was afraid it was going to be a hard transition from vacation back to reality but so far so good. I have a mixed love of routine. Our house seems to run better the busier we are. When we have discretionary time it seems that I can never quite keep up with the duties of home. So I am thankful to be back on a schedule and sad that lazy days are over (for a season). I wanted to capture some pictures of everyday life. I have scrap books full of special events in our lives but few pictures of the routine. As I see my girls growing up fast, I do not want to forget the "normal" at this stage of our lives. 

The girls are working on school in our "multi-purpose" school/dining room. Abby is usually at the kitchen table with me, but she is eager to get a box for her school books so that she can sit in with the big girls. 

A New Year

I love beginning a new year. A chance to evaluate and start again on all those things I want to do but somehow seem  to get left behind in the busyness of life. Each year I will set goals in different areas in my life and start strong in my resolve to do differently.  Somewhere a few weeks in I find myself discouraged and back to my same routine of running through life with little direction.  So this year I am going to do something different. I have decided that I am going to celebrate each new month by evaluating and setting goals for that month. I am also going to make my goals small and tangible. So in fear that I will have to admit failure to all who will read this I am going to list my goals for the month of January. I may end up having the same goals for February but hopefully I will be able to add something new to the previous month.

Spiritually - meditate - Choose at least one verse a day to ponder and understand. I would even welcome the accountability from you who would be willing to ask what I am mediating on for that day.

Tim and girls - kindness in speech - I want to communicate at least one thing I appreciate or am thankful for to each member of my family each day.

Ministry to Others - be a better listener and focused on others - not referring to myself in conversations!

Household - declutter - prepare for garage sale

School - start piano with Abigail - at least 3 days per week, maintain reading at lunch with the girls

Personally- cut back on sweets - one dessert per day (yes, that is cutting back for me!?!)

As I have thought about all that I desire to change in my life these goals look small, but I pray that God in His graciousness will begin to change me into a woman who loves Him more and loves myself less that I might be more useful to Him. To Him be the glory!

Christmas Day

We had a wonderfully relaxing Christmas Day. We decided to buy one large family gift this year instead of lots of little gifts. The girls had drawn names and were excited to give their gifts to each other. Rachel made Abigail a cape for her to play dress up. Elizabeth gave Rebekah a sports watch to time herself running. Rebekah gave Rachel a cosmetic bag to carry her toiletries. Abigail gave Elizabeth a book light so that she can read in bed at night. The rest of the gifts were given as group gifts to all the girls. We had a slow morning opening a gift and then allowing the girls to play with it for a while before opening something else. We actually had very few gifts to open but no one seemed to care. We have had a great time playing our new Wii game system. The girls especially love to beat Daddy in boxing! On Christmas evening the Franklin family came over for some food and games. we are thankful for friends to spend the holidays with.

Tim enjoys the Wii more than anyone!

Rachel has great bowling form.

Abigail in her new cape! Anyone who has been Abigail long knows how much she will enjoy this gift.

Visitors

We had a great visit with Bebe and Pop. They were able to see the girls sing in our annual church Cantada. Bebe helped me rearrange furniture and hang pictures in our home. Pop spoils us all! We also had lots of fun seeing the movie Bolt, eating out, and just being together. We are thankful for time with our families during this holiday season!

Decorating Christmas cookies is always fun!

Christmas Traditions #2

Another Christmas tradition here at our house began when the girls were young. We did not want the focus to be on gifts but on celebrating the birth of Christ. So instead of placing our gifts under the tree, we have our manger scene under the tree. Each morning one figure arrives with Baby Jesus arriving on Christmas day. The girls love rushing down to see who has come each day. We have a great memory of one Christmas morning when we finished reading the Christmas story and I told them that I would get the presents. One of the girls said in a surprised voice "we get presents?" Oh, if we could all capture that attitude about the season.
Abby is proud to show everyone that she lost her first tooth this week.

Christmas Traditions

Our first Christmas tradition was handed down from the Ross family. As a child, I have great memories of selecting a Christmas tree. Of course we could not go to the grocery parking lot like all the others - we wanted a FRESH tree that we cut ourselves. I am not sure if this tradition began as a financial plan to save money or if the smell of a freshly cut tree was a draw to my parents. Anyway, many memories surround these outings. As a young child, my perspective was that Dad would see a nice tree on the side of the highway and he would jump out and chop it down. Now hopefully we were not destroying property that belonged to the highway department but actually had permission from someone to take a tree or two. I also remember as I got older complaining to my Dad that our Christmas trees were not pretty. They were cedar tress with little or no shape of the traditional Christmas tree. So one year we actually had two cedar trees tied together to give them a little "fuller" look.

We have continued this tradition with our family. We have a great tree farm right outside of Little Rock. It is a lot more sophisticated than my memories from growing up and it is something my girls look forward to every year. The farm has a hayride, hot chocolate, Santa's workshop, and new this year - pig races with pigs named after Santa's reindeer. We found the perfect tree and are enjoying the first of many Christmas traditions.

Thanksgiving

We were privileged to spend Thanksgiving with Tim's parent this year. One of the things I am most thankful for is the time that the kids have making memories with both of our parents. We stay in a lovely condo in Branson, MO. The kids had a great time swimming in the indoor pool, playing shuffle board and playing lots of board games. But two unforgettable highlights of the trip really stand out. Gray Gray and Granddaddy took us to see the Noah Musical at the Sight and Sounds Theatre. The staging was incredible and at one point you were actually in the ark with animals (some alive and some mechanical) on three sides of you. Needless to say it was quite amazing. The show also brought to life the struggles that Noah and his family faced as they were ridiculed and as those they loved chose not to enter the ark. It was a moving performance. The second highlight was a trip to Silver Dollar City. The kids loved the rides and shows. The entire park was covered with Christmas lights and they had a very festive tree lighting. We have much to be thankful for.

In the lobby of the Sight and Sound Theatre

We had great seats for the Noah Musical.

Gray Gray and the girls out for a spin.

We enjoyed the small crowd on Sunday. The girls were able to ride many times.

The Swing Carousel was a favorite.

Rachel and Grandaddy stay warm as the wait for the Sing A Long Train.