the christmas shuffle

So we've made it.  We've made it to the place where things smell perfect, family roams the house, lots or smiles and hugs, many laughs and lots of traditions.... we are home.  



 Not only are we home, we are home for Christmas.  We are in the land where every room has it's own Christmas theme and every nativity scene is missing baby Jesus until Christmas morning.



We are among our favorite people and I am trying to soak up every second of it.  Every moment I'm awake I want to be visiting with someone.  I can't wait for tomorrow when everyone is finished with work for the rest of year and we get to play every day.  As for now, we are enjoying our evenings with Oma and Papa.  Izzy is helping around the house while I make sure she only plays with the things that don't scream "I'M TOTALLY BREAKABLE SO PLAY WITH ME!!!"





I cherish the traditions my mom has made for me and my sister.  Now I can understand why they were so important to her.  I hope one day Izzy will also treasure the my efforts to create new traditions while still holding on to my families yearly celebrations.  I haven't quite figured out what our traditions will be but I will find one.  I do know.... we will always frost Christmas cutout cookies together, baby Jesus will be MIA until Christmas morning and we will drive around in our jammies while drinking hot cocoa judging neighborhood Christmas lights.  EEEEEEK!!!  I get excited just thinking about all of it.

 











For military families who are unable to spend this season with their loved one, I am thinking about you.  We've been in your shoes and I hold on to that emotion every Christmas since my husband was deployed.  Even with him home it's hard to let it go knowing there are so many families with out their daddies and mommies, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters.  So how do you get through Christmas?  This is what I did....

Have yourself a good little cry, alone, in the morning before everything begins.  Then enjoy your day.  You being miserable is not going to bring your soldier, sailor, marine or airman home any faster.  Document your day with pictures to send to them in their next care package.  Just remember... they want to be here for this as much as you want them there for Christmas.  They will be home soon and you can put your Christmas tree up in July and celebrate again!! Christmas is a special time of year but it's only one day.  You can do it!!

sunday funday

If you don't know anything about my daughter, the one thing you should know is that she LOVES to paint.  She will sit for hours and paint.  She will paint paper, canvases, ceramics and, in today's case, her entire body.  I sat there and watched her name each color as she gooped it onto her brush and watch it slowly smear across the canvases.  Once the canvases were full we moved on to freezer paper.  Once we hit the freezer paper, Izzy thought it would be a good idea for hand prints and feet prints.  (Disclaimer:  This is totally my fault for teaching her these things.  It was a simple little Christmas art project that has turned into a beast.) I digress.... After hand prints and feet prints she moved on to a bigger, more beautiful canvas... I will let the pictures tell the story.  :)



This Sunday has been the best!  We grocery shopped together, ate lunch together, played and laughed together, shopped at Best Buy (aka Adult Disneyland) and painted.  We devoured TimTams with hot tea and hot cocoa.  Filled our bellies with sushi and enjoyed the company of our neighbors where we celebrated Christmas before Izzy and I left for Georgia this week.  What. An. Amazing. Day.



 It's days like these I need to keep me rejuvenated for the next week when my husband will, again, pull 14 hour days at school.  It's days like these that remind me that we are pretty cool parents and that we need to pause and watch her explore because she is growing up.  When we were without a kid, you would always hear parents say "They grow up so fast".  Now I can attest that they do.  It's faster then so fast.  It's like light speed.  I want her to stay in this little body forever (minus the tantrums).

Our evening ended with two glowing lights in our house... the Christmas tree and the apple computer.  It's back to work tomorrow but right now I will relish in the moment of reading "The Night Before Christmas" under the Christmas tree before bed.

my blog

So recently I feel defeated...  I read a ton of blogs, I stalk follow at ton of writers, I'm at my computer everyday clicking away reading about other's families, crafts, comings and goings and I realize one thing. My blog might actually suck.  My blog isn't turning out the way I wanted it to be.  I want it to be informational, funny, helpful, full of pictures and a little glimpse into military life as a single income family that moves just about every two years.  I want to share with the world the joys and struggles of what it is like to be married to the military.

So I vow that in 2012 my blog is going to be revamped.  It will still keep you updated about our little family and my photography but it will also help other military spouses with information on how to enjoy their time in their duty stations, what to expect, advertise and support local businesses, how to entertain your little ones and maybe, a little cooking (maybe).

What is your 2012 resolution?

halloween, thanksgiving, and life

Hello devoted readers.  I apologize for being gone.  I've neglected a lot of things lately: my house, my body, my blog, my journalistic photography, and my friends.  You see two things have entered my life these past four weeks that has keeping me away from doing it all... a terrible cough and Pinterest.  Izzy and I are crafting little fairies.  I try and do at least one craft a day with her.  We've been trying a lot of new things from what I find on Pinterest.  We have taken several trips to the craft store, spent several dollars and have created several masterpieces.  So I apologize for neglecting all of you but Izzy and I are having a blast.  So when I last left you it was almost Halloween...



This Halloween was the best Halloween I've had in years!!  We trick-o-treated in the military housing community and it was so much fun!!  ALL the kids were dressed up (not those ones that come to the door in with a pillowcase looking for a hand out just because they said "trick-o-treat" [in the most annoy kid voice ever])  Even adults were dressed up!!  It was amazing!!  Kids were everywhere.  Halloween decorations.  Lots and lots of candy.  And the most amazing military families in the world!!


Goody bags for our friends. 



Trick-o-treating with our friends.  Jonathan the Tiger, Baby Will the ducky, Edi the pirate and Miss Izzy as a witch.



 I thought Izzy would last about 10 houses but, once again, she proved me wrong and rocked the entire neighborhood.  We brought along the wagon just in case she decided to call it quits half way through and we would have to carry her back to the car but she only used the wagon a few time to relax and enjoy herself a wee bit of candy until we made our next stop.  The look on her face when she got candy from each house we went to was priceless.  The same excitement at every door entry and to hear her little shy "thank you" melted my heart into a puddle.  My favorite though.... Chris would ask her a few times "What did you get?!?" as she walked away from another house and Izzy would have to take each piece of candy in her bucket out to show him EVERYTHING she got.  After a couple of times I had to ask Chris to stop asking because it was going to take us forever to get through the neighborhood.

And just like me when I was a kid, we rushed right home, got the cookie sheet out and dumped her stash out so that we could sort it.  (Basically Chris and I picked out anything we wanted for ourselves and anything with peanut butter which Izzy cannot eat.)  I love being a parent!!




It was another amazing evening spent with our friends and their kids!!

During the four weeks between Halloween and Thanksgiving we've been busy with play dates, crafts and just playing.  On Thanksgiving we were welcomed to the table of our good friends and neighbors where we devoured fried turkey, ham, stuffing casserole, corn casserole, cranberry apple casserole, green bean casserole, and 7lbs of mashed potatoes.  It was the best turkey I had ever eaten!!  I am looking forward to many more fried turkeys.  The day after our thanksgiving feast we put up our Christmas tree and set out a few decorations.  Our house feels warm with the spirit of Christmas in the air.  The weeks are going by faster now which means Izzy and I will be leaving for "home" in less then two weeks.  I am beyond excited and cannot wait to see our family.  My Christmas shopping is done, everything is wrapped (that is at our house), and Christmas cards are finished!!  I can't wait to relax when we get to mom's house.  Nothing like getting everything done so you can just enjoy everyone's company.

So that is what we are up to these days.  Nothing too exciting or note worthy but I do apologize for my absence and will not let it happen again... too much.  :)  Cheers everyone!!