Tiny Prints Christmas Cards

Last month, I went to my first blogging event. Tiny Prints hosted a party for area bloggers to showcase their new items. When I started thinking about Christmas cards, we searched all over the internet trying to find a card that we fell in love with. We were looking for one that really captured what life is all about to us and didn't just have a space for 1-3 pictures. Tiny Prints came through for us on this aspect! We chose Counted Blessings because it really seemed to capture us and I loved being able to show several pictures. I love the style, the colors and everything about this card. One of my highlights of the holiday season is receiving Christmas cards in the mail. I love seeing pictures of my family and friends and love seeing my kids faces light up when they see real mail, instead of junk! We love displaying Christmas cards on the bar in the kitchen, so we can look at them while doing dishes or cleaning up the kitchen. If you are considering ordering Christmas cards for your family, Tiny Prints is a fabulous company with great customer service! I highly recommend them!

Christmas memories

Our Christmas started Tuesday evening at Stinky and Shirley's(aka Ernie's Dad's). Shirley cooked the most fantastic gumbo I have ever tasted. I am not a big fan of gumbo, because I'm not crazy about onions, unless they are cooked to death. But this gumbo was awesome. After supper we opened presents. The kids got tons of nice things. They were pleased! Ernie and I got a rotisserie. I am so excited! I have been crazy about rotisserie chicken ever since Pam brought one over for us right after I had Bella. I am looking forward to trying it out!

Bekah holding Bella, waiting to open presents.

The kids waiting anxiously.

Paw snoozing... the noise doesn't seem to bother him!

Annalee, Hannah and Brad... the first year that the cousins brought boyfriends!

My little man!

Bella didn't know what all of the excitement was about, but she was ready to get started!


Shirley is the best Mammaw God could have chosen for our kids. They love her to death!

Christmas Eve was spent at Willie Mae's(Ernie's grandmother).

Ernie's sweet grandmother Willie Mae

Kinman showing off her new sunglasses, phone and purse.

Bella with her baby.

Annalee leaving reindeer food, so the reindeer know where to stop.

We had Christmas morning at home, then went to my Mom's. We let Bella sleep in while Michael and Annalee opened their gifts. We left some presents under the tree, but did a scavenger hunt for their Nintendo DS and games. That was the new tradition we started this year. My Dad did that for my brother and me with our big gift one year and it was the best Christmas from my childhood. It was such a blast to see them searching for their presents. It made the morning stretch out a little longer. I left a little note on each present that was hidden, telling the kids how important they are to us and how much they are loved. They read the notes before opening the presents, but it was pretty clear that words of affirmation are not their love language! The kids had a blast and said it was their best Christmas ever.

I am looking forward to playing this with the kids!

They found gifts in the pantry, bathroom, living room and our closet!


The gift that has hardly left their side!

My sweet baby!

Giving her baby love

Bella sitting on her new stool.

My Mom and the kids.

It was a difficult Christmas Day. It was the first Christmas without my brother since he was incarcerated. He called while we were over there. We have written each other numerous times, but it was the first time I had heard his voice since April. I know he is where he is supposed to be at this time in his life, but that didn't make it much easier. I miss him terribly. I am praying that he gets his life back together while he is in there this time.

All in all, I would say this probably was the best Christmas ever! The kids were all well. That usually doesn't happen for us at Christmas time! Everyone seemed to be relaxed and really enjoyed each other's company. I could not ask for a better gift. We are extremely blessed to have the family that we have.

Monday meanderings

As Christmas gets closer, I find myself missing my Dad and that side of my family. Every Christmas Eve and Christmas Day I feel like a part of me is missing. I am surrounded by family and friends, but still feel alone. There is so much pressure to find just the right gift for everyone. There seems to be so much anticipation, hoping for just the right gift that will bring you happiness.

We will spend Christmas Eve evening at Ernie's grandmother's old house. She is 89 this year. Every year I wonder if it'll be the last Christmas with her. We will do Christmas with Ernie's Dad and stepMom tomorrow night. The kids are so excited about that one. We love having Christmas with them. I miss staying the night over there on Christmas Eve eve, but Ernie has to work Christmas Eve morning to get Thursday and Friday off, so we decided not to stay this year. Then Christmas Day, we will go to my Mom's for a little while.

Joel preached a great message on the reality of Christmas Sunday morning. I am trying to dwell on some of the things he shared and not get so overwhelmed. I think I'm doing better there than in past years.

I came across this quote today by Alexandra Stoddard. "We can never get it all done, nor should we attempt to do it all. I have learned to leave things undone in order to do other things. . .the important thing is to take time to do what you believe are your top priorities. List them in order; you are in charge of your choices."

How fitting is that for this time of the year? It made me feel great about the things that have been left undone. Maybe those aren't the important things. The important things are being there for my family. The kids had an awkward night at Grandma's last night. Annalee wasn't feeling well and learned a hard lesson about how mean kids can be. She was hurt a little by her grandma, also. There was a lot of talking today and time spent with her to reassure her that she did the right thing and we were proud of her. If I was too busy with other things, I might have missed those lessons that she learned today. I am thankful that we have slowed down this month and have focused on our kids.

We are going to try a couple of new things Christmas Day with the kids. I have an absolute favorite memory of something my Daddy did for my brother and me one Christmas morning. Ernie's Dad actually did the same thing for him with his Easter basket. We are going to incorporate it this year and I am so excited about it! It was my best childhood Christmas memory. I hope the kids are able to say the same thing about this year one day. I cannot reveal what it is, yet, because they will read my blog! I think it is going to be the best Christmas ever! We just need to get Bella well before tomorrow night!

12 shopping days?

Is that really all we have left? Where has December gone?! It shouldn't come as a surprise that I've barely started shopping. Procrastinator that I am! I did manage to knock out a couple of people yesterday. I am waiting on family photos to come in for grandparents. I have one thing for the kids. Only 1 thing! I need to get on the ball! I really don't like ordering online for Christmas gifts. It just doesn't feel the same to me to not buy it in a store. I know that's silly! Maybe I'll get out and shop this weekend. I'm a little scared to unleash the shopping freak. Once I start shopping for people, I don't want to stop. I love to give gifts. I love receiving, too, but there's just something about giving that I love. We'll be shopping for a new stove this weekend and tile for the bathroom. The toilet soaked the carpet this morning! Lovely, huh?