Happy

We made a happy book at craft night this month. I wasn't too sure what to put in it besides my family, because my little munchkins and hubby make me so happy. I just adore them. You probably can't read it, but I typed, I love Chase, and he loves me (pic of Chase). We love Baylor, yes sirree (pic of Baylor). He loves us and so you see. We are a happy family. Then I did the song with Mommy and Daddy. Thanks for the fun craft and idea Margo and Tori.

And just because...here is a picture of my happy boys.

Idaho

We spent some time in Idaho last month, because Brody's younger brother JD came home from serving a mission in Nicaragua. JD was such an amazing missionary. We could not be more proud of him. Here are just a few pictures from the trip. I hope you enjoy the view of Brody's manly mustache. He was trying to convince JD they came back in style while he was on his mission. For obvious reasons, probably the fact that it looks nasty, it didn't seem to convince him.

Happy New Year

I figured if I typed my resolutions on my blog for everyone to see I might be more likely to actually keep my resolutions this year, so here they are...

-Read more often- I hardly ever read unless I am forced to, and oddly enough I'm not forced very often. I've always said, I just don't enjoy it, but this year I'm going to read anyways. I just read a book this week, and it was lame, so I'm hoping I can get suggestions on better books. I've of course heard Twilight was good, so I figured I would jump on the bandwagon a little late and read the Twilight series.

-Save Money- We'll we kinda have a lot of debt because of student loans. I have referred to our student loans as our "magic money", because it just appears in our bank account every quarter, and we didn't work or do anything to get it. It's just magic. Go figure, this "magic money" thing isn't going to last much longer. So, I'm hoping this year we can transition into the real world where we don't get to borrowing all our money. I want to do more to save money by not spending as much. I want to start coupon clipping. I have seen people save a ton by doing this. So, teach me all you know expert coupon clippers.

-Speak more kindly- Okay, please don't think I'm a horrible mom, but there are some days that I don't speak to my children in the sweetest voice. Baylor is an expert at not listening, and doing the same naughty things over and over again. I mean come on, doesn't he know by now that he can't lay on Chase and suffocate him, or take every toy from him, or crash into him with his car/truck, or push him down, or yell at him for no reason. Brody has pointed out that maybe he yells at Chase, because I'm always yelling at him, because he doesn't ever seem to listen. I don't want it to be like that, so I'm going to try harder to speak more kindly.

-Run 1/2 marathon and do a triathlon- I'm planning on running the Columbus 1/2 Marathon in May before we move. Then in August/Sept I want to do a triathlon. There are a few triathlons in Texas and Louisiana during that time, so if we move to Lake Charles than I should be able to do a triathlon there.

So that is it. Hopefully I can keep these goals. Best of luck to the rest of you making goals too.

Winter favorites

I'm not a huge winter fan, because I don't really like cold weather, but here are a few things I do like about the winter...
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It seems like no matter what I always find money in my winter coat pocket. I'll need to remember that on a random day that I'm strapped for cash. It's like a reserve bank account in my winter jacket pocket.
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I absolutely love the way kids look when they wear winter clothes. I don't know if it's the beanies, mittens or big puffy jackets, but I think they look adorable. I just wanna eat them up, but I don't think it's socially acceptable.
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I love these cute winter boots people have been wearing lately. I even bought myself a pair.
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I finally have a child old enough that the Santa thing is starting to work. I love that just by saying, "Santa's watching", it changes my 3 year olds behavior from naughty to nice...well sometimes.
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I really like drinking hot chocolate on a cold night. I haven't always loved hot chocolate in the past, but this year some friends have introduced me to new ways of drinking it. Like with a Tim Tam or a cookies & cream Hersey bar melted in it, and of course marshmallows or cool whip (as if it didn't have enough calories before).
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Christmas all together. I really love Christmas. Like I mentioned, I don't like the cold weather, but I think that's part of the reason Christmas is when it is. The Christmas season has a way of warming your heart and soul and I love that.

So, those are a few things I love about winter time. I hope everyone has fun getting ready for Christmas and enjoys their winter season.