Fun things about the weekend...year end edition

"Decorating" our Advent tree ~ getting close



Good coffee



Enjoying a favorite "Christmas Carol" circa 1938



Bright, shining sunshine



Putting finishing touches on gifts



Fussy-pants finding his smile (deep sigh)



and his appetite :)



Stealing candy canes



Steps ~ fun to go up ~ fun to come down



Practicing our "I don't know" hands



Embraces w.our fur child (insert halo) ~ the one who aims to please & LISTENS so well



Enjoying Cappolla's and a well-deserved, late bday break from the kitchen (the heavens part, the halelujahs ring out)...bring on the stromboli :)



Enjoying a beautiful Cantata on Sunday morning ~ The Mystery & The Majesty



Putting on "church clothes" cause we finally made it to church (deep sigh)



Having a lil' help in the kitchen



Goulash :)



Full bellied, winding down w. The Jungle Book, of course...



The "meat & potatoes" of it all ~ a weekend full of Family, Home & Love



Blessings and Merry Christmas to everyone. May the miracle of Christmas put peace in your heart, bring thanksgiving for those around you & give you joy for the new year. A Saviour is born - praise be to God!

Love, Us

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our friend!

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

A Happy Birthday to me...

I made myself a video :) "Yellow" seemed to play all the time when John was just 'sunshine' in my belly ~ it will forever make me think of him...

Look at the stars ~ look how they shine for you...

Fun things about the weekend...

this weekend recap is a little different ~ this weekend I made a point NOT to grab the camera and just enjoy the moments...

So, I don't have pictures of me & John hangin' out Friday evening while Seth made an appearance at the office Christmas party. I can't show you what a good evening it was eating pizza and cuddling w.my son. I can tell you that I stayed up to watch the end of Prancer & was almost in tears b/c the little girl trying to convince everyone that this was indeed one of Santa's lost reindeer looked just like Taylar. The fact that she was so in love w.this reindeer further made me think of my animal-loving niece :) Click here to see the movie poster, although it doesn't do the similarity justice.

I also don't have pictures of us waking up Saturday morning and enjoying coffee & egg & cheese sandwiches specially made by Deddy. Nor do I have a picture of me once again trying to get John to embrace the movie Frosty the Snowman, only for him to get up & walk out of the room :). I suppose I will try again next year...

John & I got haircuts on Saturday & then we went for a family lunch at Smithfield's. Not a fine dining experience, but bar none the sweetest service anywhere. We got tickled at John looking around and calling every man in there "Pa Pa". I guess they all looked like grandpas to him.

I don't have any pictures of what a "lazy" saturday followed that lunch. We didn't get vertical anymore than absolutely necessary. The best - hanging out in the brown chair w.John in between us. He's our best lil' buddy :)

The low-point of the weekend was definitely seeing almost every hour on the clock Saturday night. That cold John's fighting was full-blown & he coughed all night - it was beyond rough for all of us. The worst part about it was it canceled out church for lack of sleep & not wanting to drag a sick child to the nursery - for his sake as much as the other children's. So, John & I got up & I let Seth sleep in for a couple of hours. He's Mr. anti-nap, so I knew it'd be better to let him try to sleep longer.

So John & I made our way downstairs - I set him up w.his milk/snack and left him & Chester to watch the "The Jungle Book"

I sat at the kitchen table w.my coffee & opened my book Seth gave me last Christmas...

Before sitting down I was almost in tears. I was so frustrated (& tired) that we wouldn't make it to church, AGAIN. Being the 3rd Sunday in Advent & not having sat in the pew yet this month, I was feeling like my "journey to Bethlehem" was falling very short this Christmas season. I started this book last year & not wanting to re-read, I just randomly flipped it open. Lo & behold, what chapter did I open to?! "GRACE" - I had to half-chuckle out loud...God knew what my heart needed Sunday morning & He gave it to me.

I have another blog entitled, "Finding Grace", so it's a literal thing for me. This year, this time in my life has very much been about that - finding grace. Finding it for myself, for others, for the world we live in & most importantly, accepting God's amazing grace. Earlier this year, God put a book in my hands called, "What's So Amazing About Grace," - it has truly been a life-changing book.

So, for "Grace" to be the page I turned to as I'm wanting to wallow & feeling a little lost Sunday morning - He once again shows me that He not only knows my needs, but knows the best ways in which to fill them. I finished the book & my heart was full. As I told Seth later that day - it doesn't offer a lot of new information about what Christmas means, but for someone who doesn't remember NOT knowing the story of Christmas and God's love for us in sending His son, the later part of that book really explained the implications of knowing the story. It explained what it means to accept God's salvation given to us through Jesus - how to truly "unwrap" the best and most important Christmas gift we'll ever receive!

Sunday morning turned into a highlight of the weekend for me. Being able to be still, be present and be thankful. Looking to my right and seeing my precious little boy who continues to grow, delight & thrive. Looking to my left and seeing the candle illuminate the gray day that lay outside the window - the warmth of family and home surrounding me...

I know this isn't a typical "fun things about the weekend" post, but our fun things were not really moments that could be captured in a photo. More importantly, I realized it's better to sometimes just put the camera down and be a sponge for all those lil' moments that make my heart so full.

Not to leave you hanging - here's our "cool dude" in his new pajamas on Sunday - yeah, we all kept the pj's on all day & had LOTS of coffee. Wanna know what else?!?! Guess who made stinkie in the toilet :). The lil' plop was about the sweetest sound I've ever heard...well, almost ~

Waiting For Signs

I used to wait for a sign, she said, before I did anything. Then one night I had a dream & an angel in black tights came to me & said, you can start any time now, & then I asked is this a sign? & the angel started laughing & I woke up. Now, I think the whole world is filled with signs, but if there's no laughter, I know they're not for me.

~Story People

The 3 Little Bears

Just wanted to check in w.some goings on this week...

I'll start w.the "not-so-cute" stuff. Things like no one being able to sleep past 5:15 all week. I don't know where all these hours of missed sleep are being "banked" but I am anxious to cash in. When we're all bears in the morning (you know the story ~ Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Baby Bear) and everyone's walking around grumbling, just not the most pleasant start to the day. Aaaaaarrrrrgggghhhhh - that's my Mama Bear growl :)

Poopie Pants has a bunch of stuff going on this week. Starting w.the sock puppet he's been wearing on his hand since Monday. There was an incident Saturday night - something 'bout some pizzas being unloaded from the oven, oven door being left open, lil' hands being curious, no one noticing the lil' person till it was almost too late, Nana swooping in w.cat-like stealth to save from serious injury - yeah, I think that's about how I heard it. At any rate, said incident left Poopie Pants w.some serious blistering & just a busted up lil' right hand :(. There's been a lot of neosporin & bandaging going on at home & daycare. Bless Ms. Jackie's (daycare director) heart - she finally mastered the wrapping & came up w.the sock covering...I think everyone lost count as to how many band-aids & wrappings he'd pulled off. Update is that the blisters have all either popped or drained & today is hopefully the final performance of the sock puppet!

I've already covered the not sleeping enough - and he starts that domino for the whole family. I think between aggravation w.his hand, possible teething (constant drooling leads me to believe) and a nasty cold coming on - he's just not having the best week.

I finally made it to Target yesterday for some potty seats. Since he's been sitting on it at daycare for a while & is now tugging at his diaper & can say a clear "Peeee Peeee" - I didn't want the bottle-neck of potty training to be on the homefront. The other night, I jokingly asked if he needed to potty - he confirmed w.a head nod, "yes." So we got down to bare bottom, I hoisted him up & tried to keep him from falling in. He was amused, I was not - it was definitely time for a proper set-up. Here's Poopie Pants on his throne last night before bath - he loved it!

We were all anxiously waiting on the "peeee peeeee" - he kept taking a peak to see if he was making any progress. He wasn't, but he was all too happy to sit and tell us where the wall was and be a lil' ham. When Seth finally pried him off, he was none to happy about it.

Sleep-wise, last night was the roughest by far. We were all up off & on between 1 & 2 - then we played "musical beds" from 4 on. John was kinda whiny from the moment his feet hit the floor this morning. He enjoyed his peaches & cream oatmeal by the fire, but it was a grumbly morning overall (for everyone). He did give me my goodbye hug & kiss after he was all bundled up & ready to head out the door. That definitely lessens the pain of missed sleep :) Holding that lil' boy in my arms is the best, hands down.

Seth called on his way to work this morning - Ms. Karen was there w.some updates on John Fisher :). They all call him by his full name - it's hilarious. She was talking about trying to get him to say more - he echoed we're trying that at home, too. His comprehension is great - he just doesn't say a lot. She said they will start to work on animals & colors in January. We're thinking he may surprise everyone - he might not say everything, but we think he'll be pretty smart at knowing which is which. We'll see!

She did have a couple of John Fisher funnies to offer as well. She said yesterday she was in the room with all the kids and she said, "Shewww, somebody's gotta stinky." At this point, John stood up & pointed at his bottom, identifying himself as the stinky culprit. Sure enough, she checked him & the confession was validated :)

Showing his lil' temperament, when he woke up from his nap yesterday, he was offered a book. To help them wake up slowly, post-naptime is usually a reading time. In order to get their books, they have to forfeit the paci's. Ms. Karen said when John had his book, she said "John Fisher, give me your paci." Ever the decision-maker now, he vehemently shook his head, nope. Again, "John Fisher, give me your paci" - again, with the head shaking. I don't how many times she made this request, but at some point his lil' spiteful, I mean full of personality self, took the paci out & threw it across the room. The tune was then changed to, "John Fisher, go get your paci" and round and round they go :) Oh, it was not hard at all to envision this whole scenario (insert halo for John Fisher)!

Seth had another funny for me. He said as he & Ms. Karen were talking he noticed some 3-4 yr olds building something. He noticed John noticing them too. He said he saw the gleam in his eyes. The gleam that means, "I will knock that down - just keep building!" Those kids saw the gleam too. He said the lil' boy said, "John, NO!" The lil' girl in an effort to deter the demolisher, came over, took John's hand & led him in a different direction. All too happy to be led away (he likes the hand-holding thing), Seth said he looked a little confused when she abruptly dropped his hand and went back to the building. His confusion was quickly washed w.determination, so back to the building site he headed. Some more, "No, JOHN!" this time from the boy & the girl - again, she takes his hand & leads him astray. I think it only happened a couple of times, but Seth said John found his way over to his buddy Devin. I've talked about Devin before - he's not quite the lil' boogery monster he was up in the "Wee-Ones" and I think he & John are good buddies. I told Seth that Devin probably told John in babytalk to "sit & chill" - he'd probably been lead away a few times too this morning. It's hard being the lil' guys :)

So, TGIF - seriously! I will not say how I'm looking forward to a weekend at home to relax. I will not say that out of fear that 30 people could be waiting in my kitchen (w.their shoes on) to bust up my relaxing day - haha. Still so surreal to think of how awesome my SURPRISE was :). In all seriousness though - I'm looking forward to a weekend at home to kinda just be. December is rolling on by & it's important to find those moments to be still and remember why this time of year is so special. Taking in the sounds, the warmth, the embraces, the smells - all that keeps the joy of the season ever-present, both heart & mind.

Hope everyone has a blessed weekend. Stay warm, take some time to be still and enjoy those around you. Here's a sweet lil' pic to help kickstart your weekend...

Tradition: sit with husband in a room lit only by tree lights and remember that our blessings outnumber the lights.
Happy Christmas to all.
~Betsy Cañas Garmon

Fun things about the weekend...Surprise Party Edition

better late than never...

Friday nite "surf & turf" dinner w.friends and family



Sharing food, good wine & laughs @ the Christmas table ~ ladies only



Getting one day closer to Christmas



Lazy Saturday mornings ~ hot coffee & PJs



Keeping secrets & playing it cool ~ only a few more hours



Heading to an early Birthday lunch w.my Mama



Setting up surprises



Enjoying adult bevs while waiting



Decorating



SURPRISE!!



Seriously? Wow!



Presents :)



Enjoying a bunch of stinker "we got her good" grins :)



Pictures galore!



Birthday cake



Opening one beautiful surprise after another



Wearing my "I'm so humbled" face A LOT



Laughter, oh so much laughter :)



Reveling in everyone's creativity and sentiments



Having A LOT of family all under the same roof ~ a blessing indeed



Dance Party!



LOTS of hugs :)



The holiday version of a "party hat" ~ antlers



Soakin' up Sunday morning ~ post floor cleaning :)



FINALLY gettin' my "Christmas Vacation" fix :)



A few final moments w.Nana & Pappaw



The company's gone, the balloons are starting to deflate - a collective sigh from us all. Full hearts, full bellies, a wonderfully full & blessed weekend.

Smiling Eyes

She turned to me & whispered, don't you just love it when you get so excited you forget to breathe - and the thought of her smiling eyes still makes me laugh.

~Story People~