Holidaze

I trust that my readers understand how hectic the holiday season can be and will believe me when I say that's why I haven't updated lately :) I'll do better!

Binkie update...it's gone!!! We didn't find it on the floor like I was hoping. Buddy actually chewed the last one to bits. So, we took it away, and we haven't looked back. It takes him a little longer to fall asleep for naps and bedtime, but I'll take that over a binkie. HOORAY! I guess we'll have to find a new resolution for him ;)

Christmas night we got over one and a half feet of snow. SOOOOOOO annoying! LOL! I really don't like the snow, but I'm sure we need the water for this next year, so it is a good thing...I guess. The roads have been awful since. We barely got plowed out yesterday.

However, life is good. We are healthy, healthy, and looking forward to the new year.

Bye Bye Binky!

Well, we're in the process anyway. Buddy has been biting through his binkies lately. Well, on Sunday I noticed he had bitten through his last one. With it being Sunday, I didn't want to run to the store and buy a new one, and we wanted to wean him off of them soon anyway, so we decided to just do it. I cut the tip off the binky and gave it back to him. See, by cutting off the tip, you take the fun part off the binky. Hopefully, we'll find the binky on the floor one of these mornings because he's grown sick of using it.

While I am excited to get rid of the binky, it also makes me sad as my baby is growing up. Maybe I wouldn't be so sad if I was still pregnant, because I would have another baby on my mind. I just can't believe he is already 19 months old. Where did the time go? And again, I can barely remember a time when he wasn't in our family yet. Forever and no time at all in the same feeling. It's crazy how that can be. I wonder if that is what eternity feels like.

Music

Music is probably my most favorite thing about the Christmas season. I love how you can turn the radio on and listen to songs of our Savior. It brings a different spirit to my day when I've heard at least one song of Christ. I need to remember to listen to spiritual music throughout the year, not just Christmas and Sundays.

Our ward choir sang today, as I'm sure most in the Church did. While there certainly weren't professionals up there singing today, it was still very sweet and the spirit was very strong. I admire choir conductors in the church. They do this without pay, and they often give up quite a bit of their Sundays in order to do their job effectively. Also, I can only think of 3 other people that are dodged by other people more often than the choir director. Not only do they have to put up with being ignored, they also have to plan the Christmas program. My mom was the choir director for many years, and I know she worked really hard to get a program that would bring the Christmas spirit into peoples' lives.

I also went to a string quartet concert this evening. This is a yearly occurrence that I find to be a lot of fun. The concert is about an hour long and it's very informal. More like a bunch of friends and loved ones getting together to listen to good music and catch up with each other. My absolute favorite part of the evening? The lemon bars! Specifically, my mom's lemon bars. They are to die for and we generally only get them once a year. It's probably my favorite treat of the season. Krusteaz doesn't even come close.

Christmas :)

Well, Christmas is only 4 days away, as my daughter has informed me. She has a little countdown star that she made in preschool that she's been faithfully keeping track of. As Christmas is so close, we are about to embark to the dollar store in the snow. I have heard of friends who take their kids to the $ store and let them pick out anything they want to give to their parents. Too cute! So we will be starting that today.

Also, as a gift to me I suppose, I was wondering if my readers would mind leaving a comment when you visit. I'm curious to see who is reading my blog :)

Thanks!

Being Thankful

I was reminded again today at how short and unexpected life can be. My husband called me from work and let me know that one of his co-workers had died in a car accident this morning. This man leaves behind a wife and at least 5 children, the youngest being 5. Even though I didn't know this man or his family, it breaks my heart that his loved ones are left with this disaster in their lives a week before Christmas.

So, thinking of this has made me thankful for quite a few things today. I'll list them:

*My husband was home last night. I'm most thankful for this because I've been shown how unsure life can be and it just as easily could have been him NOT coming home tonight.
*Life insurance. As hard as it is to prepare for THIS kind of possible future, I'm so glad we did. It gives me peace of mind as far as finances go.
*My home. When we first got life insurance, we decided that if Chip should go before me, I would buy a condo in the city where my parents live so I could be close to them for help. This past fall we were able to buy a home that is withing 1/2 mile of their house, so, if anything were to happen, I will not be forced to move.
*My education. I am so glad I finished college when I did. I knew that if I quit after I got married or even after sis was born, I wouldn't have finished. I'm so thankful I have my degree to fall back on if needed.
*Good friends. I have really great friends that I know would step up and help if I were ever in this situation. Even more so, I have a best friend who HAS been in this situation starting at her husband's sudden death in April. I know I could turn to her for anything and she would understand, even when those around me wouldn't.

Life is so short and unsure. Please let your loved ones know how much you love them today, tomorrow, and everyday for the rest of your life. You never know when you won't get that chance again.

It's COLD!

I am not a winter person. I'm not sure if I would consider myself a summer person, but I'm certainly NOT a winter person. This morning it was a whopping THREE degrees. Yes, THREE! I have such a hard time warming up.

One plus? A lot of HOT baths and hot chocolate. WOOHOO!!! Oh, and soup. I love soup! I guess there is always a bright side to things.

The movie last night was very cute. I was pleasantly surprised. There were quite a few unexpected twists in the plot which made it a lot of fun to watch. I highly recommend it. :)

Short and Sweet

I want to keep my posting streak going, but I'm kind of in a hurry. I've already done a ton of stuff today. I went and did a wimpy workout at Curves (that place holds NOTHING to the rec center workout I did yesterday). Then I took the kids to the dentist. Then we went visiting teaching in the mall. Finally, we got home and now we're waiting for my mom to get home so we can go and see my Grandma today.

Later tonight is a much needed girls night out. HOORAY! We'll probably be watching "Penelope". I haven't seen it yet, but it looks like it might be good. Maybe I'll review it tomorrow for my post. Guess we'll see :)