an early christmas gift.

so, when my husband got his pictures back

from his trail camera in alabama,

he saw he had multiple

"once-in-a-lifetime bucks" at his blind.

so, as part of his christmas gift,

he gets to go hunting for an extra weekend in december.

(besides the week he already has planned in january).

only because i love him so much.

xoxo.

yes, that is a homemade snow globe ;)

the fruits of our labors.

we finally got our first tomatoes from our patio plants.

these two were missed by the squirrels...

and the fruit rats...

so after a good washing,

ella and i enjoyed our first.home.grown.florida tomatoes.

they tasted nothing like those tomatoes from booper's garden.

this is how we roll.

this is how we roll at our house.

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas.

the christmas decorating has begun.

this year we are starting a new tradition.

an advent calendar.

a little bag for each day in december

leading up to christmas. some are filled with little treats.

"chocolate coins, candy canes"

...

others with little excursions

"take a ride to look at christmas lights"

"drink hot chocolate & listen to christmas music"

"set up the manger"

...

and others with little instructions

"say a prayer for the soldiers"

"go through your toys to donate some to other children"

"do something nice for your brother/sister today"
...

perfect for building up the excitement to jesus' birthday.

reminiscing.

i was scanning some of our wedding photos onto the computer.

remembering what a great day that was.

so much fun.

so much joy.

here are a few of my favorites:

this one of the three of us is my all time fave.

xoxo.

sixty birthday wishes.

happy birthday dad.

xoxo.

many reasons to give thanks.

this year at thanksgiving,

we have so much to be thankful for...

thankful for kids who love to create.

for a beautiful thanksgiving dinner.for a daddy who made it home safely from hunting.

for family spread out over many states.

for faces like these.and these.

for minor broken bones.

for smiles with missng teeth.

for a wonderful school.

for our beautiful little pilgrims & indians.

happy thanksgiving.

xoxo.

chair meets toe.

chair meets toe.

chair breaks toe.

boy gets cast.

boy doesn't slow down.

the official first broken bone.

his big toe.

a few more.

a few more shots from the big apple.

happy sunday.

nyc.

for my 30th birthday.

paul took me to nyc.

we saw the city from the top of rocefeller center.

(notice i am gripping the rail for dear life)

we saw the statue of liberty.

from battery park.

we staye in the heart of times square.
the lights and billboards were quite a sight. we saw the 9/11 memorial.
it's amazing to think the twin towers once stood there.
we saw st. patrick's cathedral on 5th ave.
stunning.
we ate at a nyc deli.
we went to f.a.o. schwarts.
ana amazing toy store.
yes, indiana jones is made out of legos!
...
...
...
but perhaps my favorite part of all,
was seeing 2 familiar faces at a coffee shop.
in the heart of manhattan.

a big city surprise.

for a small town girl.

on her 30th birthday. xoxo.