10 For 2010

1.  I started a blog! 

Imperfectly Wonderful World began in May.

If you would have told me in January that I'd be writing my own blog, I wouldn't have believed you.   I'm so glad that I started blogging.  It's been so much fun, and I've met so many wonderful people.

2. Mark and I have been married for eight years on June 29th.
It just seems to get better the longer we've been married.  I'm lucky to be married to a really great guy. 

3. Ben turned one on June 1st.

4.  Will turned four on November 3rd.

5.  Mark turned 37 on July 25th.

6.  I turned 33 on September 16th.

7. My grandparents have been married for seventy years in September.

8.  We took a group of students in my 7th grade Texas History class on a field trip to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas in May.

9.  We took our first family of four road trip in June.

St. Louis, Missouri

Indianapolis, Indiana

Cincinnati, Ohio

 Chicago, Illinois

10. We made memories and we had fun!

Will and Ben

August 5, 2010

Sorry, Santa

Dear Santa,

Sorry about not leaving homemade cookies. Mommy and Daddy said you would like the Pepperidge Farm cookies. Tell the reindeer we hope they enjoy the organic spring mix. We’ll have homemade cookies and carrots next year.

Love,

Will and Ben

On Christmas Eve I planned on making homemade sugar cookies with Will. I had the colorful sprinkles and all of the ingredients we’d need to prepare a special treat for Santa. After a week of baking and cooking, I just didn’t have it in me. We’d spent all day at my in-laws celebrating Christmas with Mark’s family, and I was exhausted. I really had good intentions of baking cookies, but at about 7:30P.M. I looked at Mark with a panic and said, “We didn’t make the cookies!”.  He told me to not worry about it and just enjoy those last minutes with the boys before we put them to bed. I’m so glad he said what he did.  It helped me take the pressure off myself. Instead of stressing out, I just sat in the living room floor and played with the boys and their new toys. Before Will went to bed we had him go to the kitchen and set out some Pepperidge Farm cookies for Santa. We assured him that Santa would really like them. I asked Will what we should leave for the reindeer. He told me carrots, of course. Being the slacker, unprepared mom that I am, we didn’t have carrots. Instead of carrots we left some organic spring mix. I told him the reindeer would really like that, too.

And they did!

Dreaming Of A White Christmas

 After the boys tore open their gifts and played in the tent that Santa left them set up in the living room, Will asked the cutest question.  He asked, "Is it snowing on Christmas?"  Last year we had an unusual winter and received more than our normal amount of snow.  We even had a white Christmas!  So special for us Texans who aren't used to the snow.  Since last year was a white Christmas, Will thought all Christmases should have snow.  Too bad they don't.  Despite a "snowless" Christmas we still had a wonderful day and made some precious memories.  Mark and I say this every year, but we think this was the best Christmas ever.

The boys at the window looking to see if there's snow.
This is probably my favorite photo of Christmas morning.

The tent! 

Santa had a hard time putting up the tent in the living room without waking up Will and Ben.  It was a Christmas miracle that neither one of the boys woke up ;)

A few gifts were opened outside of the tent and several were opened inside the tent.
The boys received lanterns for camping.


Will was so excited about the crayon maker.  I know it's for older kids, but he really wanted.  I promise we'll supervise closely.  The reason I'm showing you this photo is so you can see Ben in the background.  He opened the lantern and didn't want to look at anything else for at least five minutes.  He was all about his new lantern.  Best $5 that Santa ever spent!

Will taking more gifts to the tent to open.

Ben unwrapping his sleeping bag.

The TV was blocked by the tent so the boys had to watch their new DVDs on the portable DVD player.  They didn't seem to mind at all.

Ben was so excited this year!  Too cute!

Will's Christmas pajamas that he refused to wear until we told him that he couldn't have any candy from his stocking.  It's no surprise that he agreed to put them on after that.  Yes, we're those parents who bribe our child.

Mark and Will

Papaw Jerry and Mamaw Carol stopped by on Christmas morning to see what Santa left the boys.  They posed for a quick photo inside the tent,.

Papa Ralph had Christmas dinner with us.  He brought each of the boys a handmade rabbit.  A lady who lives down the hall in his assisted living home makes them.  Very sweet!

I hope this was the best Christmas ever for you and your family.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Acts 20:35

Acts 20:35

It is more blessed to give than to receive.

What does this verse and my new Hudson jeans have in common? 

Really nothing, unless I explain a few things and then you'll understand. 

These Hudson jeans were an early Christmas gift from my sweet husband.  He bought them for me a few weeks ago.  Since we've had kids we don't do Christmas gifts for each other.  I know it sounds terrible to some of you, but we're both happy buying for our children and don't really care if we get anything.  Since we don't do gifts for each other, the jeans were a big surprise.  He knew I had been wanting them for a long time, but I'd never splurge and buy them.  He found them online at Piperlime and bought them late one night after I'd gone to sleep.  He planned not to tell me but realized that if he kept them until Christmas we'd miss out on returning them if they weren't the right size or I didn' t like them.  So the next morning when I woke up he said, "I need to tell you something.  I bought you something online last night."  I was excited because we never surprise each other.  My heart skipped a beat.  I had no idea what it might be.  He told me he bought the jeans!  I felt kind of silly getting so giddy about a pair of jeans, but I was so excited.  I don't know if it was more that the jeans are awesome or that my husband was so thoughtful.  Anyhow, I was tickled!



That surprise was such a treat this holiday, but one other thing topped that feeling of excitement.  We have a family in our church who needed some assistance this Christmas.  Several church members got together and decided to buy gifts for the family.  We chose the girl who was in junior high.  I figured we see kids that age every day so I could probably figure out what she might like to wear.  We went to Old Navy and found two cute outfits.  I had so much fun shopping in the girls' section and picking out the outfits.  There's just something about the feeling you get in your heart when you give something to someone, especially someone in need.  It feels really good.  I know buying those outfits was supposed to be altruistic, but I don't know if it was.  The feeling that came from doing something for someone else and not for myself outweighed any joy I felt over my nice, new Hudson jeans.  Don't get me wrong, I love my new jeans, but I love the feeling that came from giving even more. 

Isn't it really what this season is all about? 
Giving

John 3:16-21
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Holiday Cookie Exchange

The ladies at our church had a cookie exchange on Sunday night. I came up with the idea and my friend, Jami, hosted it at her beautiful home.  We all came together to visit, eat, play games and exchange cookies, of course.  This was the first time we've ever had a holiday cookie exchange, and it was a big hit.  There are many great things about the small church I attend in our small town, but one of the neatest things is the mix of young and old.  We had young moms my age and older ladies who are the age of my grandparents.  Such sweet fellowship.

We couldn't have a cookie exchange party without cookies and the ladies didn't disappoint.

Another view of the goodies.

Group photo

Jami's stunning Christmas tree.

Getting ready to play some party games.

Waiting for the games to begin.

Just another view of the ladies before we played games.

Let the cookie swapping begin!!!

Stephanie and Shana are going to have happy husbands when they see the goodies they bring home.

My mother-in-law, Carol, on the left and her friend Louise.

It looks like Louise got caught with her hand in the cookie jar :)

Nikia is a hoot!

She made this her profile picture on facebook.  I think she made a comment about being the Cookie Monster, ha!

Regina showing off her plate full of cookies.

Sheri models in a lovely Vanna White pose her cookies.

I feel so blessed to have so many wonderful ladies in my life.  What a special and fun way to celebrate the holidays.  I hope that the Holiday Cookie Exchange will become an annual event for us.