Missed my calling in life

This past week I have been super busy organizing this house. We live in a fairly small house (but much bigger than the townhouse we lived in for four years while attending seminary), so I like everything to have it's place and not be cluttered. This is a complete different outlook and change from when I was in high school and college. I guess living in a tiny space for four years will make you get organized pretty fast.

Anyway, Jess works from home, so our bonus room is his office. Our garage has also become Grace Church's storage unit at times as well. Well those two areas had become quite disorganized and I was over it. We actually have been working on the bonus room for a year now, so it was time to do something about it. The Sunday after we got home from being gone for a week we cleaned the garage. We were going to take the Christmas decorations down, but Jess said he would work on the garage since it was a nice day for 45 minutes. Well that 45 minutes turned into 2+ hours, but I didn't complain one bit. I now can get out of my car in the garage without bumping the car door into boxes and huge coolers the church uses. The garage isn't perfection, but it is SO much better. 

And now it is filled with trash and items we will be donating, but those things will be gone on Monday!

After getting home from visiting family for Christmas we came home with a lot of new items thanks to very generous parents and grandparents. Again, I like everything in it's place, so I cleared out space for the new items. I went through and organized the kitchen cabinets, hall way closet, guest closet, went through every single one of Canon's toys, and cleaned out his room. I got a lot of new serving dishes for Christmas so I needed space in the kitchen cabinets. I refuse for our house to be over run with toys, so we got rid of the old to bring in the new. I also cleaned out the hall closet, so we could put all of C's art and craft supplies in it, neatly organized by paints, colors, playdoh, and paper. Since C does not have a play room (the bonus room is Jess's office and I like having a guest bedroom) I bought C a new bookshelf to put his toys on. I used old baskets I had along with a few cheap new ones to organize his toys into cars, blocks, music, balls, ect. I love our new system and I will have to say Canon is playing with more toys now instead of just the toys that sat on top of his big toy baskets bins. 

Whew.

So last night and today we tackled the bonus room. Wow. We are not done, but we are A LOT closer than we were before and the room finally looks good! We went through boxes, papers galore, dusted and vacuumed everything, hung things on the walls, put up a new bookshelf, and the list goes on. I am even going to get a space for my new sewing machine!! 

It has been an exhausting week, but I am so glad we are tackling projects that have been on our to do list for months or maybe even a year. :) Now the next big one - our master closet. That project scares me a little, well maybe A LOT! 

What organizing tips do you have? 

Christmas Eve

This year was a little bit different than the past few years due to Jess leaving for church a lot earlier than Canon and I needed to leave for the Christmas Eve service, but we had a great day!

Jess left shortly after Canon's nap, so Canon and I got ready for the Christmas Eve service. Jess's parents came over early to hang out before heading to church. We attempted to get some photos of Canon, but again he wasn't too interested unless you were making a complete fool of yourself to get him to look up.

Canon with his "guitar". He "plays" this thing all day long. 

I think this one was right after he threw himself on the ground in protest of taking pictures. ha! 

Such a sweet boy.

The Christmas Eve service was very nice. We had a great turn out at the church. We had Canon stay with us during the service and he did wonderful. I was very emotional during the service. I ended up having to get up and walk out. I was very overwhelmed that Will wasn't there with us. I went out and talked with Jess in the hallway and was able to go back in the service after 15 minutes.
We came home and put Canon in his new pajamas (which he ended up not wearing). Canon had such a difficult time falling asleep and didn't go to bed until midnight. 

Things I am thinking about

Just got home from being gone for a week visiting family for Christmas. We had a great time (blog posts to follow about trip), but we are all more than exhausted. Our home looks like a tornado ripped through every single room and my to do list is a whole page length long. So needless to say I have a lot on mind.

Things I am thinking about...

don't want to take down the Christmas decorations (means Christmas is over and it's a lot of work)

jess got lots of brownie points today for cleaning up the garage with me

i think i could eat cold pizza every evening for a snack

i really wish i slept better at night

i love that canon says, "what you doing mommy" about 50 times a day

i wish i poured my time into getting to know more people

i am sad all the Christmas cards won't be coming anymore, i love mail

i wish i had more pictures of will

i want to be more crafty

i need to go buy some dry shampoo

i just took the longest shower ever and i feel very relaxed

i like reading books to canon

i like orange soda and am kind of craving one

jess and i are kind of hoping our fish didn't make it (some friends kept them for us while we are gone and we haven't even called to see when we are going to pick them up, ha)

i like having painted nails

I could go on for hours. Goodnight!

Preparing for Christmas

Before Christmas day arrives there is a lot to be done....

There are cute Christmas outfits that need to be worn to church by the cutest little boy I know!

There are lots of errands to run. :)

Christmas goodies to be made! 

Canon was such a fun helper. He really got into it. We made fudge and chocolate covered pretzels.

Pretty lights to be seen at Opryland Hotel.

More trips to see Santa. 

This time we were just going to wave again, but he wanted to sit on his lap this time.

A birthday to be celebrated.

I had a birthday on the 23rd. Jess and Canon went over and beyond to make my day special. Jess made french toast for breakfast followed by a morning and afternoon of letting me relax. I got to have my favorite lunch. For dinner he surprised me by taking me to a restaurant where some of our friends were awaiting to surprise me! It was a wonderful dinner hanging out with friends followed by GiGi's Cupcakes! I even got a pinwheel necklace I have been wanting, a gift certificate to the spa, a travelers cup, and a sewing machine from Jess and Canon! What a wonderful birthday!

And lots of food to be eaten.

This afternoon we had our Christmas lunch. Since we are on staff at a church we will be spending our Christmas Eve and Christmas morning/early afternoon at church, so this afternoon was our day to have our Christmas lunch. We will be eating yummy left overs for lunch after church on Christmas. 

We also let Canon open up some Christmas pajamas to be worn tonight. He was at the least bit interested. ha! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas without Will

Last year around Christmas we talked about how much fun it would this year with two little boys. So of course this year, it looks a lot differently then what we had expected. I have gotten sad every time I have gone Christmas shopping, wrapped presents, when I received our Christmas cards (wishing Will was in the picture with us), and talking about all the plans we have over the Christmas holiday.

I am thankful through this experience that the Lord has continued to lay people on my heart that are also hurting this year due to divorce, losing a parent, child, or spouse, ect. I have spent a lot of this Christmas season praying for people and just having an overall awareness that even though this is a happy season for many, this is also a very sad season for many. I don't say this to pat myself on the back, I say this because I am glad the Lord has opened my eyes and given me more compassion toward others. I unfortunately have still gotten caught up in the busyness, selfishness, and anxiety that tends to take over people's hearts during the season. I do feel like more than ever the Lord is convicting me of this in my own heart and teaching me through my sin.
I challenge each of you to think of someone that may be having a rough time this Christmas season and commit to praying for them and possibly reaching out to them. We have been blessed by the people that have done that for us these past few weeks.

We have been thinking for a while what tradition we could start this year in memory of Will. We bought a stocking for Will that is very similar to Canon's and we will be filling each year with gifts for a family in need. We know of a family that is in need and they have three boys. Jess and I went out the other day and bought gifts for the family. We hope to share Will's story with each family we buy for in Will's honor each year. We also want to tell each family about the hope of Christ and what His birth means! This year we will wait to fill up the stocking until Christmas day as we want teach Canon about giving to others. We of course will also visit and decorate his grave each year! I am really excited about these traditions.

This past Sunday we were able to share Will's story at our church. The church did a video of me sharing our story and this video was shown during the service. Until Sunday we had not publicly shared with the church. I feel the Lord really giving me a peace and a push to share about Will, how the Lord is enough, and how much the Lord has grown me and continuing to grow me. Making the video was harder than I thought it was going to be. That evening I was teary eyed all night because I feel like I didn't say everything I wanted to. I feel like Jess and I are Will's only voice and I wanted to give him the recognition that I feel he deserves. I ended up being pleased with the video. I have gotten quite a few positive responses and I pray that the Lord will use me for His glory the way He feels fit.

Will will be missed this Christmas and every Christmas to follow.

We are thankful we have the hope of Christ!  

ICE and Santa

Going to Ice and seeing Santa

This past Friday we headed to Opryland to see the ICE exhibit with Jess's parents. I didn't quite know what to expect, but I thought it was really fun! It was the Madagascar theme this year. Canon loved it, but had to be carried around the entire time since the parka he had on made him waddle like a penguin. He was the cutest penguin I have ever seen though! He didn't seem to mind being carried either. They also had slides toward the end of the exhibit. I wasn't sure Canon would go down them since he wasn't allowed to go with Jess or me, but he braved it and seemed to love it.

Our little penguin.

Canon slid so fast it knocked him backwards everytime. He couldn't get up on his own due to the parka, so this lady had to drag him up from the floor every time and he would give her weird looks. ha!

After the ICE exhibit we headed to the Opryland Hotel to eat and see the Christmas lights. Santa was also there, so we decided to go and just wave at him. Canon had not been a fan of santa, so we were just going to wave from a distance. Well he saw all the other kids sitting on his lap, so he asked for a turn. We took him up there very slowly and told santa he was unsure. Luckily santa was very nice and did not try any fast moves on Canon. Canon first stood at his side, then gave him a high five, and then agreed to stand in front of him. Santa tried to get him to sit on his lap, but Canon said no. This was Canon's first experience and picture with santa.

After all the activities we headed back to my in law's. We left Canon there to take a nap and hang out while Jess and I went on a little date. We headed to the mall and then ate at Pei Wei. We had a really good day! 

Catch All - Part 2

Catch All Continued...

3 - My mom came into town the second week in December to do some Christmas shopping. We got quite a bit done in a few hours while Canon was at Mother's Day Out and then we picked him up and took him shopping with us. I cooked dinner that evening and then my mom watched Canon while Jess and I went to a Life Group fellowship. Mom and I stayed up so late watching the weirdest movie and we completely regretted it the next morning. We were pretty tired, but we hit the stores again and then we had to say good-bye. It was a successful time with lots of fun too. Canon was super cute and sweet with his Mam-aw! I hadn't been Christmas shopping with my mom in four years, so it was really nice. 

4 - Christmas Parties.
We have been to quite a few Christmas parties in the last few weeks. We first went to a Christmas party for all the life group leaders of our church. They had an amazing meal and delicious desserts and the company was even better!

A little photo shoot before heading to the Life Group Leader's Christmas Party.

This is Canon's new face he likes to make when taking pictures.

In this picture he is saying, "mommy see, mommy see" . He always wants to see the pictures right after you take them. :)

Then, Jess and I hosted a Christmas party at our house for our life group that meets at our house. We had appetizers and desserts. We also did a dirty santa exchange. It went over very well and we had some good laughs. We really love our life group and are really enjoying getting to know each person.

Jess and I also helped organize and put on our first Christmas Bash for our church. Whew. Jess and I really learned that we plan things a lot differently. I am sure people got a good laugh at Sam's Club when we had an argument/ "discussion" over cheesecake. ha! It turned out great and everyone had a wonderful time. We had around 100 people show up and we also had enough cheesecake!! :) I may or may not help next year. That is up for discussion. 

5. LifeWay Christmas Program.
Canon and I headed to downtown Nashville the 14th to see the Christmas program and LifeWay. It was so good!! I am very impressed! Canon went on stage with Thom and Nellie Jo as they welcomed everyone. I thought he would freak out when he looked up and would see hundreds of people looking at him, but he was only concerned about taking the microphone away from Thom so he could talk in it. :) Canon was the entertainment for a while as well as he air drummed (very hard I might add) through the first 4 songs. Everyone was pointing at him and the choir was very amused. Most of you know Canon loves music and lives for it most days. He sat through the entire program (1 hour and 15 min.) and was happy as could be.

We have had a wonderful and busy December already and it isn't even over yet! I am very thankful we have the ability to be busy and that we get to enjoy so many things!