Traditions

I'm always so interested to hear about Christmas traditions that other families have to help make the holidays special.

We have a few. Every year Kay and I start making Christmas cards (in October), with Isabel and now Gabe helping. This year Becky and I made hers together, which was a lot of fun (there were two bottles of wine involved in that particular "tradition"...yum).

We also use this special "Santa" plate to leave the jolly old elf his Christmas eve goodies. Isabel likes to write him a note...

One of the kids' favorite traditions is having a little 2 foot Christmas tree in each of their bedrooms. They decorate it themselves, and on Christmas Eve, Santa leaves them a tiny gift right in their own rooms! They love it!

So, I wanna know...what are your favorite traditions, that you do with your kids or that you did as a kid yourself? Sometimes a new tradition can be a great idea, too, so let's share!

Tuesday Tag

I found this tag on the Wife o Riley's blog, and thought I'd play along. You don't know how hard it is for me to do a post without photos, but I am giving it a try. Here goes:

8 TV Shows I Watch:
1. Trueblood
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. CSI (the original, in Las Vegas)
4. Six Feet Under
5. Big Love (I'm on the first season; thanks for another addiction, Becky)
6. Extreme Home Makeover (when I need a good cry)
7.
8.

Okay, I can't think of eight. I don't watch that much TV; I'm too busy scrappin' or bloggin'...

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:
1. Woke up
2. Went grocery shopping
3. Took Gabe to preschool
4. Went to work
5. Checked my email a hundred times
6. Took care of my patients
7. Drove home
8. Blogged

8 Favorite Places to Eat:
1. Outback Steakhouse
2. Cracker Barrel (Momma's pancake breakfast with coffee...yum!)
3. Bronte Bistro (bellini's in the morning after night shift, anyone?)
4. Larosa's Pizza
5. Popeye's Chicken
6. Olive Garden
7. Grand Finale (once a year, for a special occasion)
8. Valley Vineyards (once every couple of years)

8 Things I am Looking Forward to:
1. Isabel's Ninth Birthday
2. Dinner with Becky and Catherine at Valley Vineyards
3. Waking up Christmas morning with my kids
4. Next year's vacation (hopefully to Disney World)
5. Being satisfied with my weight/body (does this ever happen?)
6. Catching up on my scrapbooking this winter
7. Spending New Year's Eve with my family, instead of at work
8. Redecorating/repainting my living room this winter

8 Things on my Wish List:
1. Having enough money to pay the bills and then some
2. Taking another cruise with Joe (15th anniversary, baby!)
3. Finding a way to make a living with my scrapbooking talent
4. Going on a mission trip with my kids and husband
5. Taking my whole family on a Disney cruise vacation
6. Making family cruises an annual event
7. Being able to survive on less than 4 hours of sleep a night, so I could have more time to do fun stuff
8. Die a happy woman, at an old age, on a beach, with a margarita in one hand, a copy of Twilight in another, and Robert Pattinson fanning me with a palm branch while I take my last peaceful breath.

8 People I Tag:
Oh, if you're reading this, and want to play along, or are desperate for some blog fodder, take it and run with it. It'll be fun...

Christmas Spirit

Our search for the perfect Christmas tree began early Sunday morning. We played church hooky (hey, it was for a good reason, right?) and headed to our favorite nursery to find our tree. With a few inches of snow on the ground, it was beginning to look a lot like, well, you know...


Last year, we found a GREAT deal on a tree at Home Depot. It was huge! It was beautiful! It was only $25! It started dropping its needles before we even got it in the door... (It was probably cut down in September).

We learned our lesson, and we knew what to look for in a tree this time. We searched high and low,

'til we found the one that was just right. Look, there it is!

Oh, yeah, this is the one! We all agreed, the price was right, and after trimming off the bottom we loaded it into the truck and brought it home.

Elijah wasn't too interested in helping with the decorations, but Gabe and Isabel were thrilled to be a part of it. We played Christmas music (loudly), sang and danced and hung ornaments and strung lights and found the perfect spot for each of our decorations. We are now officially in the Christmas spirit, thank goodness. I was beginning to have my doubts that I would be feeling it this year.

Gabe cast away all my doubts, however, when he decided to listen to my heart with my stethoscope (which he dragged out of my nursing bag). After a silent moment of intent listening, he declared in an amazed voice, "I hear Jesus in your heart, Mom!".

Oh, my. Indeed you do, son. Indeed you do.

May we all have Jesus in our hearts this holiday season, and may the rest of the world be able to hear it, stethoscope or not.

Card frenzy!

So many people ask me how I find the time to scrapbook and make cards.

Here's how:


Elijah and Joe play ping-pong, video games and computer games. Isabel entertains Gabe by playing babies and telling stories, while Ellie supervises. Truly, I am blessed with these children of mine, who understand my addiction to all things crafty.

My latest venture was an order of baby shower invitations for a friend. Adorable, pink, polka-dot and beribboned cards were the goal...

I made forty of them, with the assistance of Kay, my most-supportive and ever-helpful mother-in-law. Just finished them up before putting the kids to bed, then snapped a few photos so I could remember what they looked like later.

This was a fun project, but I'm glad they're done. Now I can get my Christmas cards made!

If anyone is ever in the need for some handmade cards, leave me a note. I'm always happy to make them, and my prices are very reasonable. And they make great gifts :)

Happy Birthday, Lula!

Today is a special, two-post kind of a day. Things are better on the homefront, thanks for asking and for your kind comments yesterday. I have an award to pass on...please see post below.

This post, however, is just for Lula. Happy Birthday, girlfriend. Hope this sexy little pic of Rob makes your day. When I last spoke to him, he said he was leaving those crazy Britons behind and heading straight to Pennington Gap so y'all could discuss the book. Not Twilight, the other book, you know the one. So make your excuses to Scotty, get a sitter, and get ready, 'cause here he comes...

Seriously, Lula, you are an amazing blogger and more than that, an amazing friend. Your posts make me laugh until I need to change my Depends, and your phone calls brighten my day (or night, as the case may be). I can't wait until we can play Rock Band and drink more Mike's Hard again...

Hope your birthday is a great one!

Love, Heather

I needed that!

Last week I received an award from a fellow blogger, Wife O Riley, for being a blog that "encouraged" her. What she didn't know was just how much I was the one needing encouragement, and this award totally brightened my day.

I pride myself on being a positive person, handling the problems that come my way with grace and a good attitude. Something I forgot: God doesn't like pride. Leave it to Him to knock me down a notch, so I will realize that I am not at all above feeling overwhelmed, just like everyone else. Okay, God, I get it...now can I get back to being in control (even though that is just an illusion)?

Passing this award on is easy. It requires no rules, your computer will not explode if you don't post it within 24 hours, your friends will not sigh at yet another meme they are "assigned" to do...really, this is a great award. Take it with the knowledge that you encouraged another woman/mommy blogger/friend with the thought that she is not alone in her life, that you have been where she is, and that we're all in this together.

So many of you have encouraged me on any given day. These are the people who stick out in my mind today:

Michelle, my sister

Becky, my BFF

Catherine, my first blogger friend

Lula, my inspiration

Heather and Tiffany, for all the SITS love (even thought I didn't win a single thing for SITmas)

Kori, her strength and faith are amazing

Lizzy, the most honest person I know

Betty, who is just so stinkin' sweet (and adorable)

Jen, my nurse friend and mom extraordannaire

I could keep on going, but I'll limit it to these ten fabulous women for now. Thank you all so much for your kind words, your ability to make me laugh, and your friendship. I love you.

Something's in the air...

Something is in the air today...

At least five different times, Gabe has broken down in tears, looking a lot like this, (but with warmer clothes on):

And when Gabe has a day like this, you can only imagine what my day is like. I have gotten nothing done today (well, other than hop onto SITS nearly every hour to get my name in the proverbial hat). No laundry, no cards made, no Christmas shopping or even decorating done. AHHH!

Wednesday will only be more hectic, between exercise (which I desperately need) and work (which I also need, for the money as well as some time away from the photo above).

Oh, my goodness.

If I seem a bit overwhelmed, it's because I am. After this busy weekend, I'll be feeling a lot better. Oh, and if I ever get my frickin' vacation money so I can buy some Christmas presents; I'll be feeling a lot better then, too.

C, I think I'll be needed that Robitussin toddy right about now...