I'm back!

We are all settled in after spending 9 days back home at my parents. We had a really nice Christmas & got to spend a lot of time with family which was great. Philip is enjoying all of his fun gifts. His favorite is a Thomas the Train ball pit from my parents. He plays with it endlessly! I love it. I can't find the attachment for my camera but when I do I will post some cute pictures I have of him in it.

Oh and I am officially a stay-at-home mom! I had my last day of work Saturday at Simonson's. I'm going to miss some of my co-workers & my clients but it feels really nice to not have to drive back every weekend. I feel like we are finally able to begin our life here & I cannot wait to find a church! I will post more when I find the attachment.

I have been tagged

My cousin, Miss, tagged me...here are the rules: You must go to your documents folder (or wherever you store your photos) and go to your 6th picture folder, then go to the 6th picture in that folder and post it on your blog. Tell us a story about that picture.
















Nice lighting, huh? I was just married in our cute little apartment. Richie was making me my first dinner, so I was a VERY happy girl :)

Just for fun, here's the 5th picture in that folder :) hehe

I tag.....Barb, Mamie, Jen, Katie, Julie & Rae

Cold outside but warm in my heart

Philip & I had our first dance this morning. We were in the kitchen and the song "The First Noel" came on the radio. I picked him up and held him close and he snuggled in as close as he could get to me. If you know Phili, you know that he is NOT a cuddler, at least with me anyways. Then as we swayed in the kitchen, holding one hand & wrapping the other around each other, he proceeded to hum through the whole song! I have never heard him hum before and even though it was slightly off key, it was the sweetest thing I've ever heard! He had the sweetest most peaceful look on his face. Awww.....I love my little Phili :)

Work with me kid!

The following are a few out of the 50 pictures I took of Philip trying to get a good Christmas card. The other 40 or so were so blurry you couldn't even see it! I could never be a photographer (obviously) and I have a lot of respect for those of you who are! He thought he was pretty cool with the remote :)

Just because he's so cute..... :)

Ooops....Merry Christmas Sam....I mean...Philip? Don't look at the present Mamie :)

Funny, that's how I feel after trying to take all these pictures too :)

It's Christmas time....

As I write this, I am thinking of a friend. A dear friend who lost her beloved Grandfather recently. For her family, this Christmas will not be the same. For her family, something will be missing. As they celebrate, or try to celebrate, someone will be heavy on their hearts. My heart is heavy for her family. And for many other families who are facing a tough time this Christmas.

Next month will mark 8 years since Richie & I said goodbye to one of our closest friends who chose to take his own life. That January is somewhat of a blur & was the hardest time in my life but one thing I will always remember is the constant regret I faced everyday of wishing I would have told him how much he meant to me.

In the hustle & bustle of this holiday season, I encourage you to take a moment to call that old friend who's been on your heart, send a card or pay a visit to a relative who means so much to you, tell the people you love how much you care. You will never know how much it means, but they will. One thing I will never regret is a kind gesture done for somebody else.

His mercies are new every morning

Today is a much better day! It's amazing what a little scripture, prayer, Joyce Meyer & Max Lucado will do for the soul. With all the extra time I've had lately I've been reflecting, which I don't usually do because I have a horrible memory. But, it's been really good. I realize that a big party of my feeling empty is that I can't remember the last time I've been to church :( With working every Sunday, we used to go to the Tuesday night service but now that we moved, we haven't gone yet. I suppose it's sort of like when your car starts to run out of gas. It slowly starts to go empty until you realize that you have to do something about it if you want it to keep working. Luckily my gas light went off!

A Glimpse

I'm not very good at staying home. As much as I like it here and appreciate the fact that I'm not working FT anymore, it's been hard to stay home lately. I think a big part of it is that since the accident, we've been down to one car so I can't go anywhere during the day. I am so used to being on the go everyday that to just sit here has been a real challenge. I'm not looking for sympathy, I know that many moms have to work and leave their kids when they don't want to and my heart goes out to them. I told Richie tonight that it's hard not having adults to talk to during the day and he pointed out that I have my blogging friends & family so thank you :)

In the past week, we've had Woody's family, Mamie's family (minus Dan), my mom & Putter & Lindsey come visit us. It has been wonderful having them here. As my mom & Mamie were driving away yesterday I felt my chest start to get heavy & my eyes start to fill with tears. As I came inside I couldn't fight back the tears anymore and I broke down & started bawling. I'm not sure why because I really do like it down here. I've never moved away before so maybe it's all part of the process. I'm not really sure why I'm writing about this but it feels nice to let it out. I know how blessed we are and I really truly do like living here, I just miss you all.

What do you do when your one year old is addicted to the internet?