Shopped til' we dropped!

We are pooped from shopping. I have never battled the crowd on Black Friday... nor did I really this year. I left my house at a few minutes til 5 this morning went to Wal-Mart to get Scott a blu-ray player that was on sale for Christmas and then was back home in bed by 5:30. How's that for shopping? He went hunting and Raegan and I snuggled for a few more hours. When he got home around 10:30 then we all got ready and went back out to finish our Christmas shopping! Wooooo hooooooooo! We FINISHED! I hate the rush of the holidays so I was thankful (no pun intended) to get my shopping done early. Whew! What a stress relief. I even bought everything down to the wrapping paper and gift bags for each present. Now if I could get someone to just decorate my tree. Christmas decorations ought to be really interesting this year with a little helper. I am so excited about this Christmas....probably more than I've ever been in my life. Experiencing the holidays with Raegan is like being a kid all over again. Being an adult can be so boring sometimes. She just brings out the kid in me....in all of us! Her day to day expressions are just priceless. We are taking our family Christmas pictures next week so I am hoping to get some really good ones. I'll post as soon as we get them.

A special day!

Happy Birthday to my father-in-law. He is a wonderful man and we are so happy to be celebrating another birthday with him. Yes, his birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year. We have so much to be thankful for and we had a wonderful time celebrating. I encourage you to remember what means the most to you in life and hit your knees and thank God for it all.

Thank you Lord for all the many blessings that you have bestowed upon my family. We are not deserving yet you still see us as worthy enough for your forgiveness and your love.

Something to be thankful for.

I am so thankful to be spending a whole week with my little blue-eyed princess. My... where does the time go? She is growing up way too fast but I am also thankful for that. She is healthy and happy. God has blessed us richly with her and to him I am most grateful. Being a mother is an indescribable feeling that I only dreamed of before her. Raegan you are momma's dream come true. You are my happily ever after. You're who I want to be like if.... I ever grow up. You amaze me every day. I love you, Princess.

One week until Thanksgiving Break!!!!!

It seems as if the work weeks and the weekends are just running together. Where does the time go? Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner and I feel less prepared for the holidays than I've ever felt. Atleast I have started my shopping but usually by this time of year I have all the gifts bought and wrapped. That was prior to having a child though. Ha Ha! All of Raegan's gifts are bought and I've almost decided what to get Scott. I'm having a hard time. After this many years together we run out of creative ideas. We still have to get some other things for those hard to buy for family members on our list but we have done most of the shopping. I really like to get it done early so that I can enjoy the holidays with my family. I BELIEVE what is most important about celebrating together is spending time with the ones you love the most. I read on someone's blog recently.... We may not have it all together, but together we have it all. This speaks volumes of truth to me.

Baby signing

Raegan has been busy with baby sign-language lately. This child amazes me each day. When she was 9 months old I tried to teach her a few common baby signs so that she could communicate with us before she developed vocal commuication. I didn't think she picked it up so I kind of slacked off for awhile. Then, this weekend she picked it up again. Its amazing what they can remember. She has been signing eat, more, up, milk, sleepy, etc. "More" is her favorite and when she really wants more in a hurry she signs even faster. Too funny. I didn't know that American Sign Language is actually considered a second language. I learned a little ASL when I was 7 because we had a deaf student in my class. They also taught us a little spanish and believe it or not I still remember the things I learned then but can't remember much of the 2 years I took formally. Amazing what young minds can retain.

Fall Photos

Christians are like pumpkins...

From one pumpkin to another!!!!!!! A woman was asked by a coworker, 'What is it like to be a Christian?' The coworker replied, 'It is like being a pumpkin.' God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff.He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.'

Just a day at the park