Quick Fix - Mantle

First a little background...this home was a diamond in the rough when we bought it. It hadn't been touched since 1985 - oh my! I could see its great potential and also knew it wouldn't happen overnight. There were so many things fundamentally WRONG with some of the decor (think pink and blue duck wallpaper and peach walls - double oh my!!) . So we decided to pretty much live with the den as is for a while. Well, it has been almost 7 years now and I'm itching for a change!!!

When I decided to leave corporate life to stay home with BBC a while back our big projects really got put on hold. That is one of the reasons I am so excited about blogging! You all have such wonderful ideas and having my own blog keeps me motivated to keep plugging away with small, inexpensive fixes while we save for the big overhauls! I will most likely be repainting in this room very soon but needed a quick fix in the meanwhile.

I picked this mirror up in December at an antique store for around $20. It isn't exactly my style but it has interesting angles and I couldn't find another this size for that price. It worked well with my Christmas decor and was mostly covered up. I have always loved a mirror over the mantle. Our first home was a brand spanking new home with beautiful trim and moldings, high ceilings, and a nice open floor plan. I bought a beautiful mirror for the mantle there. It reflected the beautiful details. I was so excited to bring it to this home and realized...

The reflections were not quite as beautiful here...

(And I know you are jealous of that gorgeous fan - ha) Being a resourceful gal I decided to use the mirror elsewhere and resorted to a picture for the mantle. I'm SICK of that picture! Pictures limit my creativity. I need a neutral backdrop where I can change with my moods - ha! Having this mirror up here reminded me how much I miss that freedom. Still I knew I had to camouflage the view somehow. So here's what I came up with...

Here are two iron pieces from a retired SLAH product line. I have always loved these pieces in theory but I haven't found a place where I love them in our home. They just always looked flat against our walls. So my little brain started churning...

What if I took some brown ribbon and tied the two pieces together...

And then what if they would sit perfectly inside the mirror...

Would that do the trick?

I think so!!! How about you?

100th Post and Giveaway

This giveaway is now closed - winner to be posted soon! Thank you!

I can't believe I've written 100 posts! I'm still fairly new to blogging so I have been nervous about the giveaway. I hope you like what I chose! This giveaway represents a few of my favorite things...

1. I love iron. Instead of pictures my walls are filled with mostly iron work. I use it for serving pieces for accent pieces, etc. The iron and glass votive represent this obsession!
2. Gail Pittman, can we be friends? If you haven't heard of Gail Pittman, she is a Mississippi artist and she is famous for her hand-painted pottery. I have pieces from her original studio as well as from SLAH. The generous sized bowl is from her SLAH retired Brio collection!
3. Sharpies are my friends! Check out this post to see my main use of them and my obsession with organization.
4. Mocha chocolates - need I say more?
5. Vanilla scented hand lotion! This represents two loves - I can't live without lotion and vanilla will always be a favorite scent for me!
6. I love to entertain which reminds me I need to do it more often! I also love cookbooks - I can read them like novels! So I'm including a few. Let's start with Appetizers!
7. Our lives are so full and blessed and sometimes we just need an Easy Weeknight Favorite recipe, (or two)!
8. You know how I like quick, easy, and lots of WOW. How about serving up a Cake Mix Miracle?
9. All you wonderful readers take the cake, so I'll throw in a cake mix to represent my how much I appreciate you!
10. And finally, All You is my new favorite magazine! It is written for real women. I enjoy the fun and cost effective ideas for food, home decor, and fashion. Remember these cookies? I also enjoy the coupons. My favorite thing of all in each issue is the Picture Puzzle! I'm including a 2 year (24 issue) subscription to this magazine!

Well that's it! I hope you like it! Of course these aren't all of my favorite things but a good sampling nonetheless. You can enter the giveaway three different ways...

1. Give a little (or a lot) of LOVE! Leave me a comment!
2. Share the LOVE! Write a post about this giveaway or if you don't have a blog then email your friends with my link! Be sure to leave a SEPARATE comment letting me know you shared the love.
3. Get some LOVE! You can subscribe using the gadget to the right. Be sure to leave a SEPARATE comment letting me know you are a subscriber.

I will hold this giveaway open until Monday, Feb 2 at 10 pm central time.

I'm excited! I can't wait to see who wins! Good luck!

Busy Week and Another Ladies Ministry Event

Wow - has it really been a week since I last posted? I helped with another women's ministry event and spent the week preparing for that. I also am getting back in the swing of things with my business - having a great month so far! BBC turns 5 tomorrow (sniff, sniff) and we have been preparing for that.

We went out of town this weekend mainly because I had a SLAH party back in my home town. After a couple of weeks of purging items from the home, we stopped over at my best friend's consignment store and dropped quite a few items there.

We went to lunch with mom and the gang to celebrate BBC's birthday. If you are ever in Ft. Smith, AR and want some good ol' southern cooking, you MUST stop into Calico County just off Rogers Avenue.

They start you off with baskets of cinnamon rolls - yummm! I've never eaten anything there that wasn't tasty - I prefer Genne Lee's Vegetable plate.

I spent a good portion of my time working on the decor for our Women's Titus 2 (mentoring) Kickoff. This is a small ministry group and our budget was very small. I was asked to help with hospitality which included decor and coordinating food. My partner in this is Trish and she is a real live artist! Our goal was to have cheery and welcoming decor AND spend little if any money. Mission accomplished! I think between the two of us we spent well under $20 and then shopped from the women's ministry closet. Each ministry team member brought a sweet or salty finger food.

Because this is a mentoring ministry, the phrase "Growing Women In Christ" came to mind. So we decided to go with a garden inspired theme. It was fun to see all the different decor items from many other events (past and present) come together for our kickoff. I brought a few items from my SLAH stash to supplement. Check it out...

The towel bar is one of my favorite SLAH products. You can have lots of fun with it in the kitchen by changing out tea towels with each month. OR you can make a cute sign with leftover vellum, scrapbook paper, and ribbon like this one here. Using a similar concept, you can also bring special attention to a cherished photo! The Jubilation Cross is another of my SLAH products. The fabrics were from a recent event. We found the little birds perched on one shelf - there were just enough for the few tables we were setting up! There were a handful of little straw hats, too!

The flower arrangements for our centerpieces were also from a previous event - why reinvent the wheel? We found the garden plaques on the back top shelf. We grabbed a few other garden inspired items from the Dollar Tree like pink gardening gloves and seed packets to complete the look.

And this is how our food table turned out. Of course I brought plenty of SLAH serving pieces. It is so much fun to have all this stuff! We found the bicycle planter in the closet, too. So I stuck a bowl in the basket filled with spinach and artichoke dip. I just got this at Kroger for the sake of time. If I had budgeted my time better I would have brought my favorite recipe. Then I filled a wire basked with veggie chips and added a scooper. I had a lot of fun styling my food! I also took my chocolate chip cheeseball - always a big hit!

Isn't this centerpiece stunning? Trish took a little here and a little there and crafted this in about 10 minutes flat. It was even more impressive in person.

OK - gotta go. Got lots of fun posts planned for the week including my 100th post and a giveaway! Have a blessed week! Please continue to pray for Harper, Brayden, and all the other NICU babies! Glory to God for all the positive reports!

Tips for Packing and Storing

We finally got everything packed and stored away from the holidays - yeah!!! Now I can really move on to some of the fun projects I have planned. I am a little obsessed when it comes to organization. The good Lord gave me a brain for optimization and it is a wonderful gift! The only downside is that I am constantly looking for ways to improve which means I am in a constant state of change. Remember when I re-organized my kitchen cabinets? This is what I do when I get stressed and I get stressed if this isn't done. It's a vicious cycle - ha! Anyway, I figured I would share some tips that have really helped me over the years.

First of all let me say that we are blessed with lots of storage. Our home was built for the original builder's family so space was optimized (a builder after my own heart!). So we have this spacious dormer storage in both the master bedroom and in BBC's bedroom. These tips are designed with optimization in mind so they will hold value even if you have limited storage space!

So here we go...

Tip 1: Pack Logistically

What does that mean, you say? Packing logistically means I pack my bins by either like items (glass balls) or by rooms. It also means that I take full advantage of the space in each bin. Pack your bins like you are working a puzzle. Yes, I even stuff ornaments up in the angel's dress! Not a square of air to spare in there - ha!

Tip 2: Packing Materials

A good organizer will tell you a major tip is to purge unused items. I will totally agree with that and a fair share of our items either found their way into the trash, to a friend's home, or to the consignment store. One exception for me is packing materials. I hardly ever throw away bubble wrap or the air packs as seen here. They don't take up much space. You can use them over and over. AND if I do throw them away they'll just end up in a land fill for a million years. So why not put them to good use?

Tip 3: Packing Tape and a Sharpie

UPDATE: Shannon just informed me that nail polish remover will take permanent ink off the buckets! Why did I not know this already??? Ha! I will have to remember that next year! Thanks, Shannon!

Have I mentioned that I redo stuff all the time? When I first starting buying bins for storage I wrote on them with a sharpie. Did I pack the same way the following year - NO! Did I regret writing something so permanent - YES! BUT I have to have labels. My solution? Put a strip of clear packing tape on your bucket and then write the contents (all of them, trust me), with a sharpie. The tape comes off easily even after being stored in the attic. It doesn't even leave sticky goo behind! And as an added bonus, if you do like the way a bin was packed from the previous year, these labels will help you re-pack with little effort!

Tip 4: Store Logistically

I know what you are thinking - this is the same as number 2. OK, maybe it is similar but you will find new value in this tip. When putting your bins away, think about how you will use them next go around. You wouldn't want to put your fall decor back behind the Christmas decor just because it is easy to do it now. Think about having to pull out all those Christmas bins next year just to get to your fall items - and then you will have to put them back!

Likewise, think about how you usually decorate around your home. You have to put lights and garland on the tree before the ornaments so why not put the lights and garland in front of the ornaments! Or if you always start with a particular room, make that the first bin in the group!

Tip 5: Leave a Legend

I did mention I was a little obsessed, right? Well here's proof! Even through I have meticulously labeled all my bins with their precise contents and stored logistically I still can't remember what's in the bins in the back a year later without moving it all around. My solution? I make a legend of what's in the storage area and I tape it to the door. It saves a lot of time and frustration in the long run. Even if I totally scrapped the other ideas I would keep this one.

Well, I have lots of tips in this area but these are my top 5 for now. I hope you have found them helpful! I'd love to here if these help you out! I would also love to hear about your tips as well! Please leave me a comment! After all I am always on the lookout for improvements!

Please Pray!

You know Kelly's Korner is one of my favorite blogs to read. If you haven't heard, Kelly had her sweet baby, Harper, on Friday. Harper was having trouble breathing and was taken to a hospital in Tulsa that could better treat her.

Kelly is one of the sweetest spirits I've encountered in the blogging world. She shares her faith on a daily basis and is reaching out and helping so many others with her prayer blog. I am amazed at her strong faith in everything and especially now.

Please lift up this sweet family in your prayers. Here's an easy way to remember to pray often. Grab a pink sticker (you know Kelly loves pink!) and place it in a prominent place such as your cell phone, computer or refrigerator. Every time you see it, pray for Harper's healing and for strength and comfort for Kelly, Scott and the rest of the family.

While we are at it, let's also pray for Kelly's friend, Jenna, who is experiencing a similar situation with her new baby, Brayden. They are at Arkansas Children's Hospital.

There is power in prayer! Lots of prayer warriors are already on their knees and we are already hearing praises from both families. Let's keep them covered in prayer!

Perfect Solution for REAL Situations...

What do you do when you well-meaning mom buys your soon to be 5-year-old son a REAL hammer AND when your soon to be 5-year-old son doesn't understand why we need to throw out the REAL gingerbread house he so meticulously crafted? I'll tell you what I did - I let my brilliant husband come to the rescue and suggest that he get to use his REAL hammer to smash the REAL gingerbread house! "Won't that be fun?", his daddy touted. BBC quickly agreed and both problems were solved! Thanks DH, uh, or I should say BH!

January Door Decor

This is what is on my front door for January. I've had this up in January for a couple of years. Of course I tweak it each year. I found a stem of raspberries on clearance and knew I wanted to add them this year. I also pulled out some of the older, tired looking greenery and added in a few new sprigs. This is still one of my favorites but I think I will re-purpose the basket this year. I'm surprised I've had it this way as long as I have!

More Ways to Save

Just wanted to pop on very quickly to share another idea for saving and even making money! I promise to get back to my home projects after this one. This gets us one post closer to the 100th post giveaway! Speaking of giveaways, check out this generous giveaway. Be sure to tell Kara I sent you her way!

Now on to saving money. I deposited $82.07 into my account yesterday. This included three rebate checks ($4.99, $3.59, $5.99) and a check for $67.50 from the consignment shop. Ironically, using coupons at Gymboree, I was able to pick up most of BBC's spring dress clothes for right at that same amount. (I got 4 polo-style shirts, khaki shorts, button down and sweater vest for Easter, 2 t-shirts, and a pair of pants!) These are great clothes and resell well in the consignment shop! So I get to dress BBC well for virtually little out of pocket each season!

If you have children and/or like to update your wardrobe on a regular basis, I highly recommend looking into your local consignment store. It is a great way to save money on quality clothes AND make some back as well! Be sure to shop around and look for fair payouts and quality clothing (brand names, clean, no tears, etc.). Be a great consignor by understanding all the rules for the clothing that you bring in.

I'm lucky because my best friend owns an awesome store in Van Buren, AR. If you live in that area I recommend going to her store, Rags. She is very particular about what she takes in and her prices are more than reasonable. She has a generous pay-out plan as well! She carries clothing for children, men, women, & plus sizes, PLUS scrubs, shoes, and household items! Please tell her I sent you her way!

Simple Stromboli

Here's a tasty and EASY recipe for Stromboli. If I'm making it you know it is easy and your friends should say WOW! I got the idea for this dish from an old church cookbook. You know me I had to tweak to my liking. Here's how I do it...

Simple Stromboli
Olive Oil Spray
Bread Dough
Pepperoni
Cheese
Canadian Bacon
Pizza Sauce (optional)

Spray tray with olive oil. For the bread dough, you can make your own but I just use the frozen loaves from Kroger! I allow them to thaw for about a day and a half so they are easier to work with. Roll it out into a rectangle (as below) and place your fillings down the center. I usually do turkey pepperoni, mozzarella and Canadian bacon. This time I used what I had on hand - regular pepperoni, four cheese blend, and Canadian bacon. One day I think I will try with veggies but I know that will be tricky with the additional moisture.

Once you have your filling in place, pull sides up and overlap to seal. You may need to use a touch of water to help seal the dough. As you can see I do two at a time. For a single or double tray baking in a preheated 350 oven for about 25 minutes (or until golden brown) does the trick!

Allow to cool a bit, cut and enjoy! If I am feeling really fancy, I will spray the dough before cooking and add oregano and basil to dress up the tops. Sometimes I serve with pizza sauce and sometimes I just serve as is. Any way is tasty! Let me know how yours turns out!

Play With Your Food

Momma always said, "Don't play with your food". But I say why not? It can be so much fun! BBC has traditionally been very good at eating different foods. He is about to turn 5 and he has gotten quite picky as of late. I guess this is somewhat normal?

Anyway, we have to get creative as often as possible. We didn't have a whole lot in the house to eat so this is what we came up with for lunch . Better than a regular pb&j because I was able to sneak some fruit in there. A thin layer of peanut butter lines the bun. Then the banana dog and cherry preserves for ketchup on top. I threw in a few Cheetos for good measure.

Kid tested, mom approved!

(BTW - isn't that reindeer glass adorable? I got 18 of them on clearance for ten cents each! Can you believe it? I'm excited about the possibilities! We will keep a few for sure. We can fill with candy and give as gifts. We can put tall, slender candles inside and give as gifts. We can serve yummy drinks in them at our holiday party. We can do fun giveaways with them! Oh the possibilities!)

So while we were playing with food, we decided to try the Catch a Rainbow project found here.

It didn't exactly turn out as I imagined but it was still a fun project. it could be because I let BBC put the drops in. Or it could be that we used 1% milk. Or it could be that our bowl wasn't really all that shallow. That's what you get when you work with science. You gotta be exact and that is a good lesson as well!

So we turned to plan B to further review how colors interact with one another. This time we just used white cups, water, and food coloring to make a color wheel. So see, Mom, playing with food isn't so bad after all!

Would you believe...

I wanted to pop in and let you know what I've been up to these past few days. Would you believe me if I told you I was busy prepping for Christmas? My family was supposed to get together the Sunday after Christmas for our celebration. We had to postpone until today due to sickness and injuries. It was weird this week getting ready for a Christmas celebration in the middle of January! We had to do stuff like...

Make candy - it's a little messy but so rewarding!

Wrap presents...

I went the easy route and used bags this year.
I know, you expected more from me.

Did a little shopping for a few last minute surprises like this antique iron. A little birdie told me that my mom wanted an "iron that gets hot" because hers was on its way out. So I decided to get this and put a little note on it to let her know she could get it as hot as she would like - ha ha ha. Sometimes I crack myself up! She got a Rowenta as well. She liked the antique one best!

And here are a few pictures from today...

BBC realizing what this gift is.

This is my about to be 2yo nephew.
Isn't that the cutest Santa bag?

There were lots of fun gift inside.
His older siblings needed to help him out.

Storm Trooper love...
BBC and Cousin are the same age.
Fun to get them the same gift!

Well, I guess since our Christmas celebration was today, I can now finish packing up my Christmas decor and officially get ready for the New Year! I also hope to get back to my list of projects this week. Can't wait to share again soon! And we are getting closer to the 100th post give-away!

Bringing Sunshine Into the Lives of Others...

I have exciting news to share about my friend, Sunshine! You may know her better as Make Life Delicious! Well, her blog has just been scooped up into the Better Homes and Gardens Home and Family Network! Go check out her official banner across the bottom of her blog!

Sunshine is a friend in real life. She is one of the sweetest people I know! I have enjoyed getting to know her better both at church and through our blogs. She is also BBC's Sunday School teacher and I owe her a great debt of gratitude to her for helping him learn to love Jesus! I also owe the existence of my blog to her. She encouraged me to give it a try and I've had a ball since day one. She's my go-to gal when I need help or if I want to bounce an idea around. And her adorable hubby (pictured, too) is a techno whiz! I'm going to invite myself over very soon to pick his brain.

I hope BHG understands how blessed they are to be associated with Make Life Delicious!

"Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves." James M. Barrie

Newsletter, Subscribe and Recipe

My monthly Southern Living At HOME newsletter came out today! It contains the yummy recipe for the Roasted Carrot and Parsnip Soup pictured above. Want to take a peek?

If you like what you see, you can join the mailing list by sending me an email with Subscribe to Newsletter in the subject line! It comes out monthly and is full of yummy recipes like the one featured here, our monthly specials, and other fun tips for home decor, travel, organization, and more!

Speaking of subscribing, I'm beefing up my blog this week (before the month gets crazy) and I just added the spiffy new function that allows you to subscribe to my blog feeds! Why not get two subscriptions for the price of FREE today! I'm coming up on my 100th post and I have a fun giveaway planned (and no it isn't the eggs, ha!). Being a subscriber will have its privileges (hint, hint)!!!

I'm Not THAT Creative!

My mother-in-love (MIL) came by on New Year's Day to pick up BBC. In true southern style, she never comes to our home empty-handed. This trip yielded stickers for BBC, cabbage and peas for wealth and good luck this year, and this...

She said she wasn't sure if I could use them but thought she would bring them just in case. If you can't tell, they are gigantic eggs... She works with the Forest Service and a friend of hers there bought a grab bag of items at an auction that included these.

They have holes in each end where the contents were blown out. They are, well, weird. Why would someone go to this trouble? I tried to look online to see what kind they could be. Nothing I came up with looked like these. They are bigger than a normal chicken egg but not big enough to be an ostrich egg. The walls are very thick. The label on the box is from California - any ideas?

So here' s how I decided to use them - what do you think?

Just kidding! I consider myself to be fairly creative but I'm just not THAT creative. This post is just a tad tongue-in-cheek but I'm totally glad that I did it because I did find this sweet little surprise in the bottom of the bucket...that makes it worth it all!

I finally found the perfect place for them...

p.s. If MIL is reading this, I'm flattered that you think I AM that creative. BBC's curiosity was peaked so they did prove educational (even if I wasn't smart enough to identify them). And the sand dollar was worth it all! Thanks for always thinking of us!

p.s.s. I bet someone out there has a good idea for how to use these and I'll feel bad that I've tossed them. If you do please let me know by leaving a comment! Heck, even if you don't leave me a comment anyway just for fun!

Stretching our Bucks in 2009

A goal of ours in 2009 is to stretch our bucks a little farther. I did a quick post in 2008 on some of the savings we were realizing using coupons. It is amazing! There are so many helpful sites out there that do most if not all of the work for us! I am planning to beef up my blog this week and add links to my favorite money saving sites to help you stretch your bucks as well!

This is a GREAT week for savings at Walgreen's. Check out my score in the picture above! Even with average sale prices this is well over $100 worth of products! I did it in multiple transactions to use the register rewards. I used a $24 Walgreen's gift card from my previous EasySaver rebates. I got all this for right at $13 cash out of pocket and will receive around $12 in rebates from this purchase! There are a few splurge items (Christmas clearance and moisturizer) in there that weren't the best deals so I could have gotten out of there for even less.

Here are the deals worth mentioning...
Buy 4 boxes of Kellogg's cereal for $10 and get $3 register rewards coupon for next purchase. Couple this with 4-$1 coupons from the paper a few weeks back for even more savings!

Buy 4 boxes of Flintstone's Vitamins at $5 for each 60 count box and get $10 register rewards coupon for next purchase. Couple this with 4-$1 coupons from the paper yesterday for even more savings. Yesterday's paper also had a rebate where you can get up to $10 back. So I will actually make money on this deal by using the coupons. Even if you don't have the coupons you can net the vitamins for FREE!

Reynolds Wrap 20 ft rolls are on sale for $0.99 if you use the coupon in this week's Walgreen's flier. Couple that with a $1 coupon from the paper a few weeks back and you have FREE foil!

Garnier Fructis products are on sale for $2.99 this week. Use the $2 coupon found in the Walgreen's EasySaver Booklet for January and the $1 coupons from Sunday papers (there are several out there including in yesterday's) to get FREE shampoo, conditioner, or hair styling products!

Quaker Instant Oatmeal is on sale for $1.99 if you use the coupon in this week's Walgreen's flier. Couple that with $1 coupons (printable online) to get them for $0.99 each!

And finally, Electrasol Gelpack 20 ct is on sale for $3.49 this week. Use the $2.50 coupon from yesterday's paper to get these for $1 each! Even better, you can submit your receipt to Walgreen's EasySaver Rebates to get an additional $1.50 back on this purchase! I'm usually a Cascade girl but couldn't pass up this deal!

It has never been easier to stretch your bucks! To get more details or check out additional ideas for savings, check out this post at Deal Seeking Mom. I'd love to hear about any other great deals you find out there this week!

You Can Take the Boy Out of the Country...

BBC packed up on New Year's Day and went to stay with my mother-in-love, aka Mamu. She lives in the country and not the big city like us (ha!). BBC LOVES to go to the country. It totally cracks me up because his daddy tried his whole life to get the heck out! So, you know that old saying, you can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy, right? Well apparently that applies to your genes as well because our BBC is definitely a country boy!

This is an older picture of him and his Great-Pappy on the tractor. I haven't gotten the newer pictures from Mamu just yet. On his visit this week, he helped Great-Pappy and Great-Uncle Jerry move the cows from one field to the other. I hear that Great-Uncle Jerry even let him "drive" the tractor a bit. He helped Mamu haul dirt from the creek to her yard to fill in the holes. And he went for a chilly swim in the creek, er, I mean he fell in - twice! It's not as bad as you are thinking, though. It was near 80 here today!

He is back safe and sound at home tonight. I miss him when he goes on his visits. But I am also thankful for the time to myself. Almost all the Christmas (and fall, oh my) decor is packed up and I can't wait to share a few of my organizational tips for packing and storing items. I kind of have an obsession in this department!

Happy New Year!

So I was just going to check in really quickly and leave a quick Happy New Year Post. And as is most usually the case I decided I would just check one or two blogs before doing so. So I went to Shannon's first and found that she joined in a party over at The Roost. You know I can't resist a good party so I decided to join. This party is about showing off your top 10 favorite photos from 2008. What a great idea! I had a ball looking back at the year! Thank you Shannon and Jules!

BBC did his first sport this year - swim team. He had a fit just before going to get the trophy - oh the memories!

BBC and I love to do crafts together. We both like to be in control. This is what happens when a 4yo tries to take control from the momma. This picture made it into one of my favorite posts from 2008, too!

My gorgeous and sweet Southern Living at HOME sisters! I prayed for new girlfriends this year and my prayers were answered abundantly! We had a blast at convention in Nashville this summer!

My granny - still a poser after all these years!

My mom trying to walk on water. Does she set her standards high or what? Seriously - she slipped off the diving board and this is how the picture turned out - too funny!

My BFF came down and chilled with us on her birthday this year. BBC and I baked her this cake. She is not really 9 as the candles may suggest. She will probably kill me for posting this b/c we went au natural after getting out of the pool this day. I think she is radiant! Love you, K!

DH on our vacation (that I earned through SLAH) this summer!

BBC realizes he can roll his tongue!

BBC and the cousins at Thanksgiving!

BBC gave Santa a run for his money this year. He asked him tons of questions. He wanted to know everything from why he wasn't wearing a belt to where he parked his sleigh. He also confessed to him that sometimes he is afraid of the dark. It was hilarious!

What a fun year! Even if you don't join the party, I recommend that you peruse your pictures just for a fun review. If you do join the party, please let me know so I can check it out! Happy New Year!