Festival of Trees

I was really looking forward to going to the Festival of Trees. I had been before when I was younger, but couldn't really remember much about it. I'm not sure now if I'll go again. It is for a great cause...only I didn't realize what it was about and was not prepared. I was looking to be uplifted and instead I was depressed and trying to control a sob. Most of the trees have been dedicated to people and children who have passed away and then people buy them and the money goes to Primary Childrens Hospital. Again, there is no better cause....I just wasn't ready to see pictures of children that had died. Beautiful trees!

Our first big storm.

This was supposed to be a big one. People were let out of work early and were cautioned to stay off of the roads. There was a lot of snow coming, but more importantly it was going to be very cold...in the teens and lower for the evening. Combine the two and you have a deadly storm. Luckily it wasn't as bad as anticipated. It was a good storm, it did snow a lot and was very cold. For the most part people did what they could to avoid it and stayed off of the roads. It may not have been a blizzard, but it was and is very COLD!!!!!! It doesn't even look deep, but it fell very quickly. The ground was covered in minutes and you can't tell by the picture that it was still snowing and a white out.

The Christmas bells are ringing.

I love Christmas! The music, the lights, the giving...there is nothing quite like the spirit of the season. There is something very special about the way life and people can be temporarily transformed and suddenly there are more reasons to celebrate than there are to complain. I love it!

Happy 7th birthday, Rieley!!!

Wow! I can't believe how big Rieley has gotten. Especially this past year. Suddenly she is reading like crazy and every time I look at her I see a big girl. I am so proud of her! Rieley is such a sweet, smart and caring girl!!! Happy birthday!

Playing in the leaves.....next door.

Unfortunately we do not have an adequate amount or style of leaves to fall in our own yard. Thankfully(for us and the neighbors) we can rake the leaves next door and party.

Every day life.

These are just some of the things that I encounter on a daily basis. I sure am grateful for all of the little things!

Pretty shoes

I am on the hunt for the annual Christmas outfit. I am actually starting ahead of time this year in the hopes that I will give myself enough time to find things I really like. So far I am on a roll. Okay, so I only found the shoes but I really like them! Especially the green ones for Leyton. I had gotten gold sparkly ones for Rieley but she wants the red ones too. SO I'll exchange them.