Thinking back on 2011...

Last year I said no to making a Christmas card and regretted it all year (and not just because of the guilt from beloveds for not doing one!). I was determined to get ours done this year and opted to make my own (sorry Christine who is the most talented photographer in the universe!). I am truly glad I did because at the time I was unreasonably and selfishly focused on the stresses of life.  Making my card and going through the tons of pictures from the year made me realize just how blessed I am.  And how much fun we had!!  I always feel like I don't have enough time with my kids but you'd never know it to look through our amazing adventures in 2011! And lets be honest..the bumps suck but it could always be worse not to mention its really the bumps in life that make us our best selves. At the least they make us more real which is something I personally strive to be.

So these didn't make the cut for the card but I love them just the same...I think they need no caption!

I love design...

I LOVE design so imagine my excitement when a friend introduced me to Pinterest! Here are some favorites that I happened upon in my pictures on my laptop though...

Fabulous Pendant

Is this couch cozy or what? 

I will have a dining room or study this color one day...ahhh!!

How couldn't a chicken be at home here?...

..or here!

Note the "hide away" behind the curtains..perfect reading nook

what a home should be!

love this entry..

dream kitchen

or this...oh the colors!

Happy New Year!

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"Cheers to a new year and another chance to get it right!" Oprah Winfrey

Isn't it refreshing to get a clean slate every January?

EB resolves to lose a tooth, see Justin in concert (if mom allows), & learn to play the guitar.

Hughes resolves to quit biting nails, create a Tate jersey, & spend more time with his mom (ok maybe that was coached a tad).

Hamp is already down for count. I say he gives up pacifier.

Hank says "play more"...good one!

"For last years words belong to last years language and next years words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning."  Amen T.S. Eliot!!  

My resolution might just be to take the voice from 2011 and make it even more wise & beautiful & authentic in 2012! Here is to new beginnings...CHEERS!

I love books

I love books.  Always have.  I can recall as a young child the feeling of being transformed to a new land or adventure through books and loving it.  I married someone who loves books...maybe even more than I do.  Needless to say our home is filled with books and Paul won't let any of them go.  Every room has books...novels, history, cookbooks, self help, coffee table, design, sports, religious, fiction, childrens...we love them all!  

I am reading a wonderful book right now and when I really love a book I find myself recommending it to everyone I love. I even end up buying a copy for at least one friend.  I haven't even finished my current book and I've sent Mom a copy.  I hope she loves it as much as I do.  As I grow older, I often find I am still transformed by reading a book but often its my character that I want to transform...I read a beautiful story set in France and I vow to relearn my French (which I am about to do in fact!) or I read an incredible story about an incredible woman and I too want to be more than I am being. This book is definitely inspiring and I hope I will once again be transformed by reading it!  Maybe it'll even stick!

This picture was of two boys chilling with their "kid beer" after chasing big bucks.  Like fathers, like sons.

Hughes LOVES animals and especially LOVES sea turtles! So imagine his excitement when his sister saw this turtle & scooped him out of the water for her brother!  Of course, we carefully loved on him, posed for a picture, and then released him back into the sea.  What a special happening!!  Thanks Aldreds for a great trip to the beach!

The Fun of being YOUNG

E.B. attended her second 'wedding' as flower girl (the first being a little more official).  Parks 'married' her grandfather's new bulldog, Lumpkin "Lumpy" Allgood.  Mary also proudly served as flower girl at this momentous occasion.  It was so much fun watching them take their roles seriously & dote on one another.  Will be fun to pull out these pictures again one day and even funnier to see if they are as attentive of bridesmaids later in life!! Lets just hope Parks doesn't marry any more dogs!