Griswold House.

Our family has been driving by this house around

the block from us for a couple of weeks now.

On the way home from Scouts tonight, Luke

and I noticed that there was a sign that

said to tune into a radio station and we did it!

Holy Smoke! The lights move in tandem with

the music. It is so much fun!!

During the day we drive by the house and

there are literally about 40 extension cords

going everywhere and plugged into every

available outlet and then some.

We notice that all of the neighbors have

their blinds drawn . . . This baby really

LIGHTS UP the entire neighborhood.

I certainly have to give them credit . . .

In the CHRISTmas spirit, I am excited!

Whew!

Getting back to r.e.a.l.i.t.y today was something!

We truly had a wonderful THANKSgiving week and

am so grateful for my many blessings.

This week is full of must-dos and I am

rearin' to go:

*Try not to think about missing Tim.

*Pray paperwork gets in motion

for PhD Internship.

*Complete Bible study.

*Write two BIG papers.

*Read.

*Write reflective essays on

my two current courses.

*Put finishing touches on my

CHRISTmas list.

*Bake chocolate chippers.

*Make gingerbread house patterns.

*Decide if I am going to make

a candy wreath.

*Pray that Luke passes his

Board of Review.

*Hope that Sam has a successful

interview at TMCC.

*Support Zach as he is in the

homestretch of the semester.

*Have broad shoulders when Mike

keeps dissing the CHRISTmas on

Broadway show that we are going

to on Friday come hell or

high water.

*Celebrate Jesus all week long and

be thankful that I have such a long

list that He and I are able to accomplish.

Here's to a great back-to-the-grind

week . . . See you on the other end!

Favorite CHRISTmas Carol . . .

This is one of my most favorite CHRISTmas

carols. It just gives me goosebumps EVERY

single time that I listen to it.

As we begin to celebrate the holiday season,

I am so thankful for all of my many,

many blessings and know that without

Jesus I would be nothing. I am so grateful

for the cross and the salvation provided

through Jesus and his resurrection.

Celebrating.Jesus.

Girl's Weekend.

Yes, I MUST report that our girl's

weekend whirlwind was a complete

success!! When my plane arrived in

Reno, I told Mike it would be awhile

until I arrived at baggage claim . . .

I have shinsplints from all of the

shop.shop.shopping!!

My mom and I have so much

fun together and the weekend

was a total blessing!!

Some of the highlights included:

*Fashion Show frenzy.

*Looking at a million and one

coats.

*Finding a coat.

*Navigating our way through

a bazillion people to find

my favorite store . . . Hollister.

*Loading up at Hollister . . .

getting the BIG DISCOUNT

two hours after the BIG SALE

was over.

*Yummy, yummy food.

*Sitting next to my Mom at the

movies.

*Watching my Mom open her

birthday presents.

*Teeerrific Mexican food.

*Cozy hotel sheets.

*Seeing two special friends.

*Last run to the mall.

*Great salad bar and yummy

soup.

*Finding the airport from

a different direction.

*Another memory.

Moms and daughters,

gotta love it.

Black Friday and Happy Early Birthday Grandy!

Happy Early Birthday Grandy!!

What a great day we had celebrating

in Las Vegas. We managed to cram an

airplane flight, shopping, eating, a flick,

and birthday celebration into one day.

My BIRTHDAY GIRL.

Black Friday was totally amazing!!!

The Fashion Show Mall was so much

fun all decorated for the holidays and

bustling with shoppers EVERYWHERE!

Try not to judge me . . .

The loot is pretty.darn.amazing!

Yippee for a great fun girl's day!!!

Happy note: UNR beat Boise State.

Sad/Glad Note: Tim left for his new

contract on Liberty of the Seas today.

Happiest THANKSgiving!

We had a HUGE family day

celebrating Tim's 24th birthday

one month early, Merry CHRISTmas

to Tim, and THANKSgiving.

Tim is heading out on

Liberty of the Seas tomorrow.

We are so proud of him and at

the same time are going to

miss.miss.miss him something

terrible. Bon Voyage Tim!

We had fun with our homemade

choco cake with yummy icing and

sparklers for candles.

So, so, so thankful for the love of

my life for sure!

Yummy, yummy!

Who could EVER ask for ANYTHING

more?

Everyone jumped in and made today

a success!

Our head carver and Oscar just

waiting for Tim to drop a little slice.

My wingman.

Best bros.

Love this crew.

We had fun celebrating and are now

getting ready to finish our celebration

by watching our THANKSgiving fave

"Home Alone 2".

My best pal.

I set the timer for two minutes to jot

down things I am thankful for in

no particular order.

*Jesus!

*Family.

*Friends.

*Being cozy.

*Support for my doctoral program.

*New church.

*House plans.

*DVR.

*Sewing machine.

*Cherry Limeaid.

*Cheater glasses.

*Snuggling on Sunday mornings.

*Health.

*Hope.

*Opportunities.

*Hugs.

*Hearing the kids say

"I love you".

*Sunday dinners.

*Chocolate chippers.

*Homeschooling.

*Scouts.

*Toenail polish.

*Snow.

*Watching the boys

play golf.

*Memories.

Times up! Happy THANKSgiving.

The Stockings Were Hung . . .

I made THE MOST dangerous discovery

last night . . .

I can sew when Mike is sleeping only

THREE FEET from my sewing machine!!!

It is dark, but I can use the light of my

sewing machine!! So, I took advantage

of this new found information and

finished our stockings at 2:33a.m.!!!

Loving my "elf-style" stockings hanging on

the stairway!!! I sure cannot wait for Santa

to fill them on CHRISTmas Eve.

These stockings are just one more

reminder of the many, many blessings

that I have been afforded in these

AWESOME people in my little family.

. . . makin' my list and checkin' it twice!

Bunt-A-Licious.

Ten hours of my life I will NEVER get

back, but it is d.on.e. Our CHRISTmas

bunting is up.up.up.!

Snow was p-o-u-n-d-i-n-g outside and

the carols were blaring inside!!

What a better way to spend the day

then mixing paper writing and reading then

to make a holiday bunting!!!

I am so grateful that I have the opportunity

to stay at home with my boys and

homeschool, go to school, take care

of grampa, and work on s.t.u.f.f.

"If you reach for the stars you

get only the stars.

But, if you reach for Heaven,

you get the stars thrown in".

-Mary Poppins

Oh, CHRISTmas Tree . . .

Yes sirreee, our CHRISTmas tree

is up!!! I wanted to have our

tree up before our Tim left as

he will not be here for his birthday

or CHRISTmas!! He is leaving for

the Caribbean on Friday and then

his ship goes to Spain in March!!

We are so, so proud of him, but so,

so sad to see him go. We have had

a ton of fun while he was here. There

will be a big hole when Tim leaves.

However, we are all excited to

celebrate Tim's 24th birthday

on THANKSgiving! We are

pulling out all of the normal

BIRTHDAY stops and cannot

wait to celebrate with him!!

We love.love.love our beautiful

CHRISTmas tree and will continue

scouring the storage for more

of our CHRISTmas decorations.

The.White.Stuff.

Luke COULD NOT WAIT to out into the

SNOW . . . The snow came down hard

all night!! We had so much fun watching it

at 1:00a.m. It looked so pretty as it floated

down and we could see it glimmer in the

street lights!! It is amazing how cozy you

sleep when it is snowing outside.

Yeah for new boots for Scout campouts!

Luke was walking around the block

getting the best tips on how to build

a snowman . . .

I think that Santa had better bring

some awesome gloves for digging

in the snow!!!

Our little neighborhood early this afternoon . . .

There is about 4" on the ground!!

We are absolutely love.love.loving Reno!

We thought that NOTHING could compare

to Boise, but we are thinking that the

Big R just might have it beat. It is so

beautiful here and EVERYONE is so friendly.

The foothills are so beautiful and it is

so fun to drive around at night and see

all of the homes lit up on the foothills.

We are getting so excited to start our

new home!!!

Rock-A-Doodle-Doo.

Getting too excited for our new

little home . . .

roooooooosters it is!!

I just could not stop myself . . .

Funky chicken dishtowels . . .

They are ALL over my sewing room!!

I had so much fun making them and

cannot wait to use them in our

new kitchen!!!

It is so fun to make things and store

them away until our home is

done . . . It's like CHRISTmas

all over again!!