Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Tradition!

Did you catch that Fiddler On The Roof reference?

No?

Ok, then.  Anyway...

We have a tradition in our family that dates way back.  Like 6 years.  Ok, so that is way less than a millisecond in geological time, but for us it is important. See, Craig and I,on our first date (that lasted 10 hours and several different locations), went to Bellingrath Gardens to see the Christmas lights display.  We also got engaged there, a year after our first date.  (Not to the day or anything, but you get the idea).  This place is special to us.  So, we make sure to go every year to see the lights.

This year, we were especially excited to take Canon since he has been gaga over Christmas lights all season.  Though he wasn't as vocal about it as I had anticipated, he was mesmerized by the sights.  I think he was also a little overwhelmed.  Not that blame him.  It is a lot to take in.

This year, we took my youngest siblings with us.  My sister and two of my brothers, along with my brother's friend, made the hour long journey that did not disappoint.  Amazingly enough, even the too-cool-for-school young adults enjoyed themselves.

So without further adieu, feast your eyes on one of our Christmas traditions. Oh, and fair warning:  photo overload ahead.

One of my brothers and my sister being goofy...


Another brother being goofy...notice a family trend?










Ah, here is the spot where Craig and I we got engaged!




My sweet baby angel























 Never forget the real reason for the season!  Praise Him from whom ALL blessings flow.









I will be back with more Christmas goodness soon!

I hope you had a wonderfully blessed Christmas!!!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

A Plethora...

As promised, I am back with a look into my gallery wall.  I have been a little obsessed with them since I saw a little blog talk about one.  You may have heard of them.  www.younghouselove.com  They are only like the gurus of DIY.  They've got mad decorating skills and I am happy to be a stalker follower of their daily grind.  Anytime I start talking giddily about something I saw online, my husband immediately says "did it come from younghouselove.com, bowerpowerblog.com or jasminestarblog.com" in a jeering sort of way.  I still don't know know why he isn't as obsessed as me.  He will come around.  Oh yes.  He will come around.

But I digress.  Back to my gallery wall.  I started collecting pictures frames - some from IKEA, a couple from WalMart, a few from yard sales - but the bulk came from the Waterfront Rescue Mission (aka my favorite can'tfeelguiltycausemyshoppingisdoinggood store).  They kept piling up until one free Saturday when I took them out to spray paint them. 





See, in order to have the gallery wall of my dreams all of the frames had to be white.  That way everything looks unified even if they really aren't.  So I laid out an old tarp and lined up everything that needed painting.  (Note:  there are some non-frame items here but that will be for another time - when I have figured out what to do with them.) 



I wiped everything down with a damp cloth to make sure it was clean then got straight to priming everything with spray primer.  After a couple of coats each, I proceeded to spray a high white gloss paint over everything.  I sprayed to my hearts content.  Once my heart was content I found that I had two more coats to paint.  Not so fun, but it was worth it.




Once everything was dry (and several weeks passed since I am a procrastinator), I made a template from scrap paper and used painters tape to mark off the wall placement.  In retrospect, I probably didn't have to do this and I doubt I would do it again since I think eyeballing it would get the same result.



And, several weeks later (since I am the world's worst procrastinator), I actually hung the frames.  Only then did I put pictures in them.





So let's chat about what is in the frames.  All of the photos, save for the 8x10 of Canon on the far top left, the beach shot on the far top right (WRM), and the wedding picture of my man and me are our personal photos.  There is an oversized key and a carved cross (found at Waterfront Rescue Mission, heretofore mentioned as WRM).  The large awesome frame was found at WRM and will (hopefully) soon house a world map as soon as I find something to back it with.  Yes, I was stupid and got rid of the picture that was in it - it was a hard back painting!  For now, it is holding the Christmas cards we receive.  The letter 'd' and the small yellow garland ball both came from the Dollar Store.  The green botanical print came from the WRM.  It is really cool.  It is actually printed on canvas and has a handmade quality to it.  Of course the prize of the entire wall is the original artwork by none other than Canon Dupuis.  Yes, it is the only one available.  Yes, it is extremely valuable.  No, it is not for sale.  ;)

Most of these frames do not house what shall forever remain in them.  I am still shopping through my house for the perfect addition to the wall, so I will keep you updated.

Until then, have a great day!!!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

A Call for Love

I read a very powerful blog post today.  Let me preface this by saying that although I may not agree with everything said (i.e. I DO believe that the only truth is God), I do agree with the call to love everyone.  After reading this post and some comments towards it, I felt the need to comment.  Then I felt the need to share this comment - not because I want praise for it - but because I need the reminder every day to let my light shine.  To make that my priority.  To To profess always, with my actions and words, the love of God to those around me.  So here is my response, my reminder to myself.

"I am a Christian and I have never understood the bigotry that some people feel. I absolutely believe that we should hate the sin, but not the sinner. We are actually called NOT to judge, but to love one another as Christ has loved us - that is the second commandment and one of the most important. It doesn't say love one another unless you don't like something about them. The disgusting behavior that some so-called Christians perform furthers Satan's work and shows all non-believers not who Christ is but who Satan wants them to see. God has never, and will never, hate anyone. He loves each of us. We are His children, regardless of what we do. If your child were to come home drunk, high, covered in tattoos or profess to be gay, would you stop loving them?! I know I couldn't. It wouldn't matter if I didn't agree with their lifestyle. They would still be my children that I love more than life itself. We are completely incapable of understanding, but God loves each of us even more than that. I can't fathom that. While we as humans sit around writhing in our hatred for others, His heart breaks for all of us. Sin is sin, no matter what type. Our judgements, our hatred, our stone throwing is just as "bad" as those we are judging. Actually, worse, since we profess to be something we are actually not living. So this is a call to all CHRISTIANS. Be the light. Stand firm in your faith and remember that God loves EVERYONE, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or lifestyle choices. Profess the gospel always - use words if necessary. The more we do this, the more His light shines throughout the world. THAT is our calling. THAT is our job. THAT is what we will be judged for when our time comes."

If you would like to read the blog post that started all of this, please follow this link.  

Have a wonderful day!!! 

 

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Do you hear crickets?

Apparently, I forgot how to blog while on vacation for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Sorry about that!  Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

I am working to get my house decorated for Christmas.  Pictures to come as soon as something actually happens.  I am also working on editing photos from Halloween (I know) and Thanksgiving.  I will have those for you soon.  Until then, I will leave you with some pictures of our random happenings. 

First, we went to visit Craig's mom in Foley, AL.  She lives in a gated community, complete with fountain (oooh, fancy).  Anyway, she has some really cool trees outside of her house. I have a black thumb so I can't tell you what they are, but they peel like a bad sunburn.



 They have some of the most amazing skies at sunset.


And the fancy schmancy fountain:


 (Not a good shot, but you get the idea.)

Here is Craig's mom, affectionately known as "JJ" to Canon.


I happened to catch an airplane during a walk in Pensacola, FL.


And finally, we took a walk through our neighborhood one afternoon and the boys had a great time!


But alas, you will have to tune in next time to see that adventure!

Have a great day!!!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Break Time's Over!

Sorry for the delay in posting.  I took a couple of days off to enjoy my long birthday weekend.  On Friday, I got a massage (courtesy of a fabulous coupon that gave me more than half off!!!) and spent the day shopping with gift cards that I have received (free stuff!!!). 

Then Saturday came and it was time for my baby's first hair cut.  He did such a good job.  He had to sit in Daddy's lap since he is so little, and aside from a little squirming (nothing a pretzel stick can't fix) he did great!  






We then spent the evening with my best friend and her family.  Sadly, no pictures of our sweet babies (and future spouses) playing together.  We were having too much fun eating, watching football and just catching up.

Sunday was spent in church and then throwing a gender reveal party for my brother and sister-in-law.


The cake was made by Shannon Munday and it was perfect!


The proud parents-to-be:

It's a GIRL!  

Both of the dads had to skype the party since they weren't in town, so Morgan was showing the picture proof of gender to them after they opened it.

I can't tell, but I think they are excited.

 All in all, it was a good weekend.