Nutcracker.

I am still floating on clouds after watching

the Nutcracker ballet today with my Mom!

We had so much fun!!!  The ballet was

so beautiful . . . the costumes were past

amazing . . . the scenery and the snow

fall were breathtakingly incredible!!!

It was a great girlie day today for sure!

Boys avoid anything remotely named 

"The Nutcracker".  ;0)

We looked adorable, but our pics were

dark for some reason!!  You will just

have to take my word for it!!!!

Two days until CHRISTmas . . . truthfully,

it will be bittersweet when IT is all over.

Getting through this season has been 

pretty.darn.difficult.  I was just praying

with the boys before posting . . . as they

said, "We made it another day".

"When I pray, you answer me, and

encourage me by giving me the strength 

I need."  -Psalm 138:3

Yummy CHRISTmas Snack.

Holy CHRISTmas cow!!!  Imagine this:

popcorn, white chocolate, M&Ms, and

pretzels lovingly stirred together and topped

with CHRISTmas sprinkles.  Yessiree! It

is pretty.darn.yummy.  We are now rolling

around the floor in a sugar coma!!!  This

looks like a yummy CHRISTmas beach

snack to me!!!

On the Mike side: A pretty difficult day 

as his ashes were delivered today. They

will be buckled in safely by me as we

make our way down I-15 to one of our

family's most favoritist places.  It seems 

as though the days get more difficult before

they begin to get better.  I do know that

it has been said that joy comes in the

morning!!  I am really anticipating that!!

"We are pressed on every side by troubles,

but we are not crushed and broken.  We

are perplexed, but we don't give up and quit."

-2 Corinthians 4:8

Target Practice.

 Well, CHRISTmas came early for Luke today!

The brothers all chipped in and bought Luke

a rifle for CHRISTmas!  

 They.could.not.wait.to.hit.the

open range!!!

 It was cold, but a gorgeous day for

outdoor fun and bro time!!!  Shooting

is ALWAYS at the top of the list

for our boys!!!

Bottles and clay pigeons and targets. Oh, my!

"The eyes of the Lord watch over those who

do right, and His ears are open to their prayers."

-1 Peter 3:12

'tis the Season.

 CHRISTmas most certainly has a different

feel around our home this year.  It is so

difficult to grasp the concept that two people

who were celebrating with us last year at

this time are now celebrating with Jesus.

 Truthfully, we haven't established whether

or not having CHRISTmas "right now" was

a blessing or not.  Usually on December 20,

we are sugar cookied out, over stimulated

with all of the CHRISTmasing, and ready

to dive into the gifts.  

 CHRISTmas will be most definitely

celebrated differently this year as we

get ready to load up the sleigh and

head to Laguna . . . one of our family's

most definite hot spots.

 We all immediately agreed celebrating at

home just didn't seem possible this year.

I am excited to get to the beach, snuggle 

with my crew, and listen to what God has

for us during the CHRISTmas season.

While we are celebrating differently for

our family . . . we have most definitely not

lost sight of the fact that it is our Jesus who

is the true reason for the season and cling

to His many, many promises.  We are one

blessed family and so grateful for our 

many, many blessings!!!

"The Lord is my strength and my shield;

my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped."

-Psalm 28:7

Court of Honor.

 Tonight was Luke's first Court of Honor

with Troop 219.  While it was difficult

to attend this event without our Dad, we are

so thankful for our family and friends who 

came to support the many accomplishments

of our Luke.

We realize that all of these "firsts" will be

difficult.  We also realize that new and old

things will be difficult . . . It is just plain

difficult.  We know that our God is in control

and are so very grateful for our many

wonderful supporters.

We are excited for a new day tomorrow!

"We can rejoice, too, when we run into

problems and trials, for we know that they

are good for us . . . they help us learn to endure."

Romans 5:3

It's A Wonderful Life.

Tonight my little covey of quail and I

baked a batch of yummy CHRISTmas

M&M peanut butter chocolate chippers

and snuggled up to watch one of our

favoritist CHRISTmas movies.

. . . Everytime a bell rings, an angel

gets his wings.

We are so grateful that we know that

our Dad is celebrating CHRISTmas

in Heaven this year.  He has truly

earned his wings!!!  Love that we

KNOW this is true and that we will

be celebrating there one day soon!!

Healing.

"I carry your heart with me.  I carry it in my

heart.  I am never without it.

Anywhere I go you go my dear." 

E.E. Cummings penned these words and

they are now a part of me.

The healing process is.NOT.easy.

We know that we have just begun.

We are still trying to figure out our

new normal . . . perhaps part of our

new normal is going to the movies, 

watching two three-hour flicks and

coming home at 2:30a.m.

We are excited about our CHRISTmas

time off together!  We are navigating

through the season cautiously!!

Onward.comrades.