Happy New Year!

On the way home from a New Year's Party tonight when told to take quiet time, "Daddy I'm looking for the Red deer Rain nosed" from Little Guy.

Yesterday I was spelling out a consequence for him, he'd just asked for cereal and I told him he would have to eat it all because he asked for a lot and then he hit his brother and it went bad so I told him he couldn't have any more cereal. He sniffles a little and says, "That is so yukky." I laughed and said I would give him cereal in a bowl and milk and told him how well he communicated by saying what he felt.

What Is

A home without laughter from the loved ones of your extended family?

A home without the joy of births, babies, pain, and joy?

A home without grandparents, aunts, uncles, oma's, opa's, cousins, brother in laws, and sister in laws?

A home without the comings and goings of those who love you most, will take advantage of you the most, and who you can take the most advantage of?

A home without an extra kind word from someone close enough to care when you just don't have the extra kind word in you?

A home that sighs at the happiest of occasions because of the people that are missing in it?

A home that drops tears silently at night, in the morning, and in between?

A home that would prefer the tears to be silent rather than be comforted?

This is our home, at least the part of me that is this home.

The Sun Is Pink Streaked

Outside my bedroom window just before I closed the curtains to signal nightfall.


Arizona Sunset

We had a wonderful holiday. We drove over to my Grandma's in Arizona and made it there in a day and a half. We had a comfy stay at Comfort Inn and enjoyed the hot coffee and cream before we leisurely hit the road. We arrived at Grandma's about noon on Saturday and. just. relaxed. My sister's family was there with her three boys, and my parents had driven in from California. Our boys immediately took to the golf carts as my Grandma lives in a very nice senior community intermixed with a golf course where their main form of transportation are golf carts. The house next to them even has the cutest golf cart garage! I took a ride myself that evening to get showered and refreshed for our Christmas Eve dinner and enjoyed the warm breezes of the 84 degree weather and the beautiful sunset on the way back. Grandpa even let Big Guy drive all by himself, pedals and all!


This is my sister and I being escorted off the golf course pathways by super fast old guy. We were having too much fun with this.

Christmas Eve dinner was of a Mexican origin, absolutely delicious and STUFFing. Friends of my Grandma's came over, brought tons of desserts, presents for all, and joined in the fun. Later on after they went home we opened up presents and enjoyed the oohs and ahhs. Christmas morning we woke up to a delicious Grandma only breakfast of sausage, bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy, and, our contribution, stollen. The boys, hubby and I opened our stockings and Santa brought the boys a present (with a note saying he'd left more at home). My stocking was stuffed full with every kind of Victoria's Secret underwear imaginable and a Borders gift certificate, the boys had their special ornaments in theirs with a few fun toys and Aslan slippers for Shawn, and Brandon had his special ornament from me and Garlic Stuffed Olives which he finished off by the next evening.


The boys made these for us and put them in our stockings.

I'm not exactly sure what we did Christmas day except more eating and more relaxing. We did make the turkey and ham dinner and fussed all day over whether it was cooked or not. It was, and delicious. And we stuffed ourselves once more. Oh and I went wild with the camera and the mirror. You'll see what I mean.


Christmas Feast

Monday was more relaxing and then we took off for back home. Not without an honorary stop by In N Out Burger though! At 7:30pm the place was hopping and even though we'd just ate there magically appeared room for a hamburger for each. Only the best.


Phoenix In N Out

We made it home Tuesday evening after a stop in Fredericksburg for Chili's, still enjoying a friend's gift, Johnson City for Christmas Light and to see PEC Headquarters all lit up.


PEC Headquarters

Wednesday Hubby went up to the mail room and collected all the presents from his Mom which took up half the mail room, and are still taking up half our house. I'll try to find links because it's all too much to describe. She got a game table for the family, a chocolate fountain for me - ooh, don't be jealous, I'll share if you come visit, a portable office for Hubby, comfy chairs for the boys, and an extra table for all of us. So that was Wednesday. The boys love their game table and played all day, I am fascinated with my chocolate fountain and was going to break it out at the New Year's Party we were to attend tomorrow night. Turns out the host had a medical emergency on his way home from his Christmas holiday, so we'll be stopping by another party which there won't be any other kids there so more than likely we'll head home before too long and have a nice quiet evening at home. Maybe we'll break it out any way : ) .


My chocolate fountain - yum!

Last night Hubby and I went out on a date to... (drum roll) The Melting Pot. yes our first time, and I won't be as graphic as Alyssa was with Sephora, but it was pretty darn good. The dessert, oh the dessert. Hubby almost didn't want to stay for it as he was too stuffed, but I convinced the Melting Pot wasn't complete without dessert and once they brought out our white chocolate, caramel, bananas, and Captain Morgan Rum Banana Fosters fondue flambeed at our table with pound cake, brownies, strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, and marshmallows smothered in graham crackers and oreos, he magically seemed to find the room.


Melting Pot Dessert

Pictures are up! flickr.com. If you need an invite to view the private ones, just email me at sundrops at gmail dot com.

We Are Back

From the sun filled land of Arizona! We went to visit my Grandma over the holidays and had a fabulous time.

Pictures, memories, and Christmas list soon to come...

Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly

I am sitting on my computer under my newly wall mounted panel TV that cleared up lots of room on my desk. The Christmas tree is decorated next to me and the sun is setting through the windows next to it. The boys are creating all sorts of creations with Tinker Toys in their room. Hubby is wrapping presents in our room and just handed me my Christmas stocking stuffed full with red tissue paper peeking out the top. There is Christmas music streaming online through www.air1.com. I love the alternative versions of the traditional Christmas carols and the wonderful Christmasy feel I'm feeling right now.


My stocking from Hubby. Taking a hint from Amanda's setup...

Mosaic 101

Use the reheat setting on your microwave. It'll get things started by breaking in your plates in half for you. You might even be able to use the charred pizza it will create for you. All in under two minutes. It fills the house with smoke as well, but that's a side note.

I know I've been asked this in a meme before, but I'm going to say it while I'm thinking of it. My favorite song? Lifehouse "You and Me".

What day is it
And in what month
This clock never seemed so alive
I can't keep up and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time

Cause it's you and me and all of the people
With nothing to do, nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all of the people and
I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you

All of the things that I want to say
Just aren't coming out right
I'm tripping on words, you got my head spinning
I don't know where to go from here

Cause it's you and me and all of the people
With nothing to do, nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all of the people and
I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off you

Something about you now
I can't quite figure out
Everything she does is beautiful
Everything she does is right

Cause it's you and me and all of the people
With nothing to do, nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all of the people and
I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of

You and me and all of the people
With nothing to do, nothing to prove and
It's you and me and all of the people and
I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you

What day is it
And in what month
This clock never seemed so alive

Christmas Cheer Meme

Found at Amber's.

1) What is your favourite Christmas scent?

Evergreen and peppermint. Evergreen fresh from the trees, it can't be a candle. And peppermint - well from anywhere.

2) What do you think is the most enjoyable thing to do in the snow?

Making snowballs and snowmen. They had snow at the local ice skating rink the other day and that's exactly what we did.

3) If you were a photographer who was given the chance to go back in history to capture a Christmas photograph, where would you go and what would it be?

It would be a Victorian Christmas with the Christmas tree lit with actual candles with the family gathered around singing Christmas songs and a fire lit nearby on a cold Christmas Eve.

4) Regardless of monetary value, what is the single most meaningful Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

My beautiful gorgeous pots and pans last Christmas. To me, that made the last five years of enjoying, loving, and just doing cooking validated. Too bad I don't cook anymore. Haven't gotten back into it I should say, but then I wonder when I'm going to when I say that.

5) If, like Santa, you could take a night flight in a sleigh over any city in the world, which city would you choose?

Paris.

6) What ingredients go into your favourite Christmas drink or beverage?

Apples, cinnamon, cloves and sugar, in Hot Spiced Apple Cider.

7) Do you prefer blinking or non-blinking Christmas lights?

Flickering and white.

8) Out of all the musical instruments, which one do you think is the most appropriate for the Christmas season?

A string instrument.

9) At Christmas time, which do you honestly enjoy more, giving or receiving?

Giving, without a doubt. Though I do love receiving from my hubby!

10) Do you have any ethnic or ancestral traditions that you honour during the Christmas season?

My hubby is German so we do St. Nikolaus day as well on Dec. 6th and Stolen for our morning breakfast. I just read Amber's answer about opening presents on Christmas Eve, my hubby's family does that too (German). I've been considering it as it makes the Christmas morning less hectic when they only have Santa gifts to open. This Christmas we've been doing a few presents a night since Monday because we're going out of town for our actual Christmas.

11) Everyone in the office has been asked to place an ornament on the company Christmas tree that best represents him/herself. What would your ornament look like?

A sparkly snowflake.

12) If you could spend Christmas in any European country, which one would it be?

I'm not sure of the country but London would be where.

13) If snow could fall in any flavour, what flavour would you choose?

Vanilla.

14) What is the longest line you can remember waiting in during the Christmas season?

I don't.

15) If you could indulge in only one type of cookie this holiday season, which cookie would you be eating a lot of?

Candy cane cookies.

16) What gift have you wanted for years but still haven’t received?

I got my Christmas village this year, complete with a choir inside the church windows and a couple getting married inside the City Hall's windows, so.... a shopping spree at Sephora where I could get anything I want would be just fabulous.

17) What aspect of preparing for Christmas do you like the most?

The lights, the tree, the ornaments, the gift wrapping.

18) What is your favourite Christmas decoration in your home (your tree doesn’t count!).

It's a toss up between my Santa Fairy and my German Nativity Scene Carousel.

19) If you had a great voice and could record a Christmas duet with any famous singer, whom would you choose as your singing partner?

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

20) If you could take a scenic drive anywhere in America this holiday season, where would you most want to drive?

Wherever there are lights. There's a place in Provo, Utah where every.single.tree in a Christmas Tree forest of backyards was lit.

21) What is the biggest change in your life since last Christmas?

Moving cross country from the coast to the hill country.

Comfort Space

Right now I'm in an extreme comfort space. Curled up on my bed with my chenille light pink socks on and a cup of coffee in my lap, leisurely doing school work and fun Christmas art projects with the boys. Toast with melted butter and strawberry and apricot jam. Feeling like there is nothing in the world to do but to enjoy being with myself and my boys and just be.

My sister and her three boys came over yesterday and power decluttered my house with me. I had made a list the day before of all the things I wanted to get done for hubby and I, and then begged her to come over after church to help us, or at least keep me company so I'd actually get it done. Thing is I didn't have to do much begging. Her guys entertained my guys and even tidied up their room a bit, and she, Hubby, and I powered through the list. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted, not off my shoulders but off my house and it is so enlightening. Enlightening in that I have time to do the things I really want to do without tripping over things and feeling the guilt of not getting that taken care of.

Sure I still have a ton of laundry, the boys and I still need to do schoolwork, and my closet needs a little adjusting, but I can take my time and enjoy those things. And then pack to head to my Grandma's in Arizona for Christmas, or even pack in between, but for the moment my cup of coffee, my chenille fuzzy slippers and I are sitting and enjoying a quiet, sweet moment alone.

Can't Shovel the Snow for the Snowing

You know that saying, "Keeping house while your children are growing is like shoveling snow while it's still snowing." That's just about where I feel right now.

To my left is our Christmas tree, with presents underneath, and to the left of that is a few still unopened birthday presents from LG's birthday party last week. Underneath my feet are our DVD's, the photo harddrive, my computer case, and I think there's a speaker in there somewhere, so my office chair is backed out so I have to lean forward to be typing on the computer. In front of me is piles of papers, not too horrendous, but enough to make me sigh. To my right is a new file organizer full of every kind of craft supply imaginable that my MIL bestowed upon us from Costco while she was here, and next to that, my purse, coats, hats, junk from the car that needs to be gone through, and a birthday present that needs to be wrapped for later today. My kitchen isn't too bad. There is a bag full of left over birthday party trinkets that I really should up and toss in the trash rather than take the time to go through. In my dining room I have gift wrap on the table, and plastic garbage bags underneath where I brought my plants in to keep them from freezing. My bedroom is pretty haven like, fortunently. There is a paper bag of computer stuff sitting on the trunk waiting for Hubby to go through, but I may just toss that too.

Seriously it would make me happy to throw all this junk away and start fresh. Of course I can't do that, well not all of it any way. I've been feeling this way since the second we dropped my MIL off at the airport Wednesday morning. Throw in two reading appointments, going to the snow at the local ice skating rink, two soccer lessons, a movie night at the business center, a birthday party today, and a dinner tonight, BG getting hurt inside his fort on one of Daddy's drums today, and me, well I'm not going to go there, but let's just say a part of my skin is stinging REALLY bad where it shouldn't be, and I'm a total wreck. Not physically, but mentally. And I just want. my. house. in. order.

Not the Best Weekend Ever but a Very Very Good One

Last Wednesday night my MIL came into town in the middle of an ice storm. Well it was icy. Storm is to be considered. Thursday we laid low until about 1:30 when we went up to the local grocery store and invested in gloves and a few Christmas DVD's. Then we went to say hi to hubby who was studying at the local coffee shop, enjoyed the fire, a game or two, and a chai latte, then promptly locked the keys in the car. Albeit completely on accident, who'd have ever thought it would lock itself up when you start the car and turn to take care of your four year old who is enjoying breaking the icicles off Daddy's car sitting nearby.

So for the next three hours we played games, drank more coffee, and finally decided to take the boys next door and get haircuts before the Premium Triple AAA tow truck got his call and showed up.

Friday we had Shawn's third fourth birthday party, at Austin Parks N Pizza only this time we had all his little friends there - all eighteen of them, and had a fabulous time just as much as the other times. All the little kiddos were so well behaved and one little four year old girl actually sat still long enough to watch him open ALL of his presents, including the many from Oma (Hubby's Mom, my MIL) and Mommy and Daddy, and even Big Guy.

Applebee's has seen our business three times, and their Perfect Margarita many more than that, since her arrival as that is the place we have dubbed "Oma's place".

We shopped pretty much all weekend and I would list all the stuff she spoiled us with, but you would get bored. The most exciting part for me was the household supplies I don't have to pay for anymroe, and the TONS of fun crafty (even though I'm not a crafty person, stuff that the boys can be artsy fartsy with) stuff from Costco. LOVE Costco. And hearing a "That's perfect." when mentioning boots as a present for ME for Christmas. Yet to be done, but we'll see : ) . Did I mention she has purchased gift cards for us at every. single. place. we have eaten at? Talk about spoiled. We'll be eating out for months on her bill.

Today we went ice skating on top of Whole Foods again and I ICE SKATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVED it. I couldn't believe it. That hour and forty five minutes that I watched BG learn to ice skate, I also observed all the other people learning and succeeding or not succeeding in their first attempt at ice skating. I determined I was not going to be the wall hugger that still had shaky legs when she stepped off the ice after a half hour or so of trying. I got on the ice, held on to Hubby's hand for the first few rounds, let go and let my arms determine the balance, then I made my body determine the balance for my arms and I was off!!!! I absolutely LOVED it!!! And can't wait to go back. I hope we get a chance to go for a date, just Hubby and I.

Saturday we went to a Christmas party for our young marrieds class that was a blast. First time we'd ever done White Elephant gifting, though we brought a nice gift that got stolen a few times, it was fun to see all the different things people brought in jest or for fun.

We intended on celebrating our anniversary that evening as well and ended up at a beautiful little place with a breathtaking view at the top of the stairs, beautiful rustic furniture including a gorgeous old time trunk with lock and key, a super soft comfy gorgeously made bed, his and hers sink in the bathroom and a perfect soaking deep set bathtub. Our room. That was after we ditched the crummy ass bed and breakfast we'd made reservations at when we entered and noticed the office was her HOUSE that was packratted and FILTHY, the bedrooms looking like the pictures posted online but only the really good corners where all the dirty filthy old crap WASN'T sitting. Needless to say we paid our dues and ran out of there with fire on our heels. Bitch lady took our money too.

We came home and slept in our beautiful bedroom and lit candles all over the flat surfaces of our bedroom and bathroom, watched Grey's Anatomy, got to see my little guy's first tooth that he lost while we were at the Christmas party that night, had a WONDERFUL night's sleep in our very own super comfy bed and enjoyed every penny of it.

"Creativity Is...

expressing a part of yourself in some tangible form." Pink Sun Drops

Girl is creative in decorating her nursery, in her passion for life, and in her passion for her relationship with her husband.

Allison is creative in redesigning her kitchen, in her passion for making other people feel worthy and worth something to this world and other people, and in her passion for the beauty of the world around her in people and in hearts.

Cecilia is creative in her choice of words, in her flow of thought, in her easy breath of silence into each stunning memoir, and in her passion to seek out the best that she can be in life.

Big Guy is creative in his use of tinker toys and legos, his choice of art subjects, his immediate pen to paper whenever the moment strikes him.

Little Guy is creative in coming up with words to rhyme with anything, his way he strives to do and be without making it a force.

I am creative in my passion for teaching my children to be able to attain their very best and it doesn't have to be anybody else's best but their own, in my passion for my family relationship, and in my love for learning.

These thoughts came to me this morning. I list everyone else's as I had to think of all the wonderful and fabulous things that make them the creative wonderful people that they are before I could realize what I myself am creative in.

Cuteness

Big Guy: "Remember when you fell in the deep end at Opa's pool and I caught you."

Little Guy: "Oh. Yes"

Big Guy: "That was my favorite part because I saved you."

Little Guy: "That was my favorite part too."

Big Guy: "Why?"

Little Guy: "Because you caught me."

Big Guy: "Oh."

Note from Mommy: It wasn't really the deep end. It was off the stairs in the jacuzzi tub with Mommy and Daddy nearby and BG the closest and quickest : ) . Not to sound like an unattentive parent here although after that we really realized it sure can happen in the blink of an eye.

Break Me Through

Allison sent me an mp3 of Bebo Norman's "Break Me Through". The first few times I heard it my heart ached and broke just listening to it, I wanted to burst into tears but I couldn't, the tears wouldn't come in and I would have to turn off the song to keep from breaking.

Then I could listen to it with the thought of "Break Me Through" as breaking me through. Hurting, pain, but a purpose to it all.

Now I hear it with "light shining through". Let Your light shine through me and I feel hope. And I hear "I can feel You through this loneliness." My heart has settled into loneliness. Not for lack of friends, God has blessed me and my cup overfloweth with joy in that area, in ways I never imagined or dared hope for, but for lack of family.

My MIL mentioned reaching out to my sister that is here and making that my family. And I have, and my sister has been amazing with being there. Almost every Sunday we've spent together, which I can't believe. Her husband can get overwhelmed a lot, but she has been coming to church without him because of his aching back and then having lunch and spending the better part of the day with us. She has been reaching out and instead of holding in, I have been reaching back.

The loneliness is still there, for the family, the sister I can so vehmently be annoyed with at times yet is the closest thing to a fraternal in every way twin I could ever have, the grandparents who drive me nuts with their tendency to be close minded to new things but who treat my kids like they are angels on earth, my MIL who I used to butt heads so very hard with but who has become a very close friend that treats not just my kids but everyone around here like I imagine God would treat people if they were here on earth. The loneliness. I can feel You through this loneliness, breaking me through.