Christmas countdown

Only 4 more days till the big guy in the red suit arrives!!! I am so excited, I feel like a child. I haven't been this excited for Christmas in a long time. I think my excitement stems from Hudson. I feel his energy and anticipation and it fuels mine. This is going to be such a fun year with him. He has really grasped the concept this year. I think Christmas morning will be absolutely delightful. A tornado of wrapping paper and squeals and I CANNOT WAIT!!!!

Whenever he gets a present he says "FOR ME!?". It is so sweet! Amazing how things change as we get older and start expecting things.

I love his innocence right now. I know it will only be a matter of time before that precious innocence is gone and it breaks my heart. I hate the thought of all the things he'll be exposed to over time. I just want to bottle him up. There's nothing sweeter than this time we've been given with him. There are days I get so frustrated with him and he drives me crazy. There are times when I want the questions to stop, the whines to come to an end, times I want some peace and quiet besides bedtime, and times that I wish he would stop following me around the house. Then later I feel guilty for wishing those times away because I know this time with him will be fleeting in the grand scheme of things. I know all you moms out there can relate.

Most importantly I pray you all remember the reason for this season and share that with your families. God sent his son to earth. To walk with us in the flesh. To be ridiculed by the ones He made and ultimately die for us. Be thankful.


On a lighter note: here are some pics of Hudson and Santa from last weekend. He loved Santa this year. They were an adorable pair. I hope you all have a very and blessed Merry Christmas!!!!

 He was starstruck.

 Talking to Santa. Look at that little hand. :)

Merry Christmas to Buddy

So. We have a dog. I know, he is never mentioned on this blog or in any of my conversations. He is usually completely, totally neglected. Poor Buddy. He lives a hard life in captivity with plenty of food and water in a huge backyard. He used to be an inside dog before Hudson came along and when Hudson became mobile Buddy sought refuge in the yard and never really begged to come back in...until it becomes unbearably hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Who can blame him?

He hasn't been in the house in a few months and he was disgusting. Smelly, dirty, and muddy. Poor Buddy.

The temperatures took a plunge to freezing and so that means its time to bring the pup indoors.

For those of you who haven't met Buddy in person: he's huge. He weighs 113 pounds. He is very energetic when new people come around or when guests arrive. He has never used the bathroom in the house--he'll hold it for hours until we come home. He is a pretty good guard dog when he's not eating or sleeping. He loves Lantis and I. He let's Hudson use him as his jungle gym. He is extremely patient with Hudson. I think Hudson drives him crazy following him around the house and talking to him, but he tries not to let it show. He will sleep for hours if you let him. He just lays in whatever room we are in and watches us do our thing. He is literally the perfect family dog. I am so ashamed that I dont mention him more or give him more credit for the wonderful animal that he is.

Lantis and I rescued Buddy when he was about a year old. Now he's somewhere in the neighborhood of 7. He came to us house trained and looking for love. We have adored our years with sweet Buddy. Now we get to watch our child adore Buddy as well. God blessed with a wonderful creature to care for.  

 We had Buddy groomed yesterday so that he could enjoy the comfort of the indoors for the next few cold months. Last night I was able to capture a few sweet moments with Buddy and Huddy. Hudson in his Christmas PJ's and Buddy in his festive collar. They are quite the pair. I love my boys!

 Buddy loved his Christmas collar. Lantis did not.

Hudson and his elf, Theo.

The Sacrifice

I have a must read and must see today over on my Lens Envy blog.That's all I can write because I'm too busy crying. :*(

http://lensenvyphotography.blogspot.com/2010/12/kris-birmingham-al-military-photography.html

Please thank a soldier and give their family members a big hug.

The Christmas Clean out

I get crazy wild hairs in my you know what sometimes. I decided (just a few short weeks before Christmas) that our attic and guest room closet needed to be cleaned out. I have an incredible knack for timing.

Everything that we dont have a place for gets tossed into either the attic or closet. I think I've attempted a clean out before but this time it was for real! Probably because I realized that we wouldn't be able to get the big Christmas tree out of the attic unless we cleaned out some things. AND since Santa will soon be here, we needed to get rid of some old toys.


Lantis went out of town for a week before Thanksgiving and I decided the closet would be my chore. It was packed with cocktail and dressy dresses that call for special occasions and several of my old pageant dresses and lots of my old school projects and boards. (I have an interior design degree for those who dont know and in school we were required to do projects, drawings and color boards that take up way too much space...and took up way too much of my social time back then) So....most of that stuff had to go.

I cleared out the closet and then the attic. I took re-sale-able things to a consignment shop, I made a big Hannah Home pile (which still needs to be picked up) and I made a trash pile (which is still waiting on L to dispose of). I also have a few things still sitting in wait in either the attic or closet that need to be put on craigslist or in our next yard sale. Now the closet and attic are in much better shape and Lantis came home to a much less cluttered home. :)

In addition to the clean out I also was able to get most of the Christmas decor up while Lantis was gone, so he not only came home to a cleaner house, but a decorated one. Funny that when he's gone I get tons accomplished...just saying...

Over the four day weekend we just had I guess the cleaning spirit came over Lantis as well and he started cleaning out the garage! It looks cleaner than it ever has! The tools are all put away and on shelves or in cabinets. The riding toys are all neatly arranged, the old HVAC tools have been sent on to a new owner (YAY!), the golf/hunting/and tailgating stuff has all been neatly put away, and the Costco area (the shelves where I keep our bulk food, paper products, and cleaning supplies) has been neatly organized--so much so that it freed up a couple of extra shelves for Hudsons smaller outdoor toys.

We still have a lot that we probably don't need and could get rid of. I still have a few more boxes and things to sort through but I think I've done as much as I'm going to do before the end of the year. This will suffice for now.

Its amazing what 5 years in a home and a baby will do to your storage areas.

Now...we're redecorating the living room. I know. This was a very sudden project. I have wanted new tables in the living room for awhile and Lantis said if we could sell them we could start over. Lo and behold, I mentioned to a friend that I wanted to sell them and they wanted to buy them! We just delivered all of our occasional tables--coffee table, end tables, and console table--to our friends over the weekend. Currently we have no tables or surfaces in our living room so I hope no one comes in and expects to have somewhere to set down their drink. :) I have no idea what I'm going to get to replace those things. I did buy a new rug, I'm moving some of our artwork and paintings around to make things feel new, the stereo is holding up a lamp, installed a new TV and I'm shopping for tables. That's as far as we've come so far. I will keep you updated on project clean out and redecorate. I'll post pics when I'm finished!

Oh Christmas Tree

I really wish the lights had been on in this pic...

Thankful for my little helper

This past weekend was Thankgiving holiday. I wish I could tell you about all the fabulous things that we did, but that would be a lie. Other than a couple of family gatherings, a couple hours of Christmas shopping on Black Friday and photo shoots we stayed at home all weekend. We had a little lazy time, a little movie time, a little kitchen cooking time and a some cleaning/organizing time.

See...a couple of weeks ago I started a cleaning out and organizing project which will have to be a post all on its own because its that ridiculous. We trudged through a few to-dos on my list and I felt like we got a lot accomplished.

Sunday morning Hudson helped me make homemade biscuits or bippits as he says. You've heard me say before and I'll say it again: HE LOVES TO HELP!!!!!! He gets crazy with his desire to be involved. Even when I tell him I'm doing something that he can't help with, he starts literally climbing the cabinets to get up and watch and TRY to help. It dawned on me that he would probably LOVE flouring, rolling, and cutting out biscuits so we dove in--elbow deep in flour. And he loved it! I threw the bippits in the oven and left out a handful of dough for him to play with while they were baking. He made snakes, turtles and balls with his dough. He almost didn't want to stop playing with it long enough to enjoy the wonderful warm fruits of his labor.

Anyway, this is a good example of our Hudson-centered weekend. I am so thankful for him. He lights up my life and brings true joy into every moment. We love that boy so much and he absolutely steals my heart every day. I know you other moms can relate!! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Fur-real

I have a new love affair with fur. Yes, fur. I never thought I'd wish for another fur coat after my infamous white rabbit fur coat I owned as a young girl (that I wore until the sleeves were up to my elbows) but friends, it has happened. I think it all started a few weeks ago with Rachel Zoe. She is constantly in fur, animal prints, and ridiculously obnoxious and huge faux fur collars. (Faux fur of course since PETA likes to throw paint on celebrities in real animal fur) Then I saw Kate Hudson wearing a vintage fur coat very similar to this one. How cute would this be with jeans, boots, and a casual shirt?

I am loving this little Cruella Deville number for a dressy occassion...

Oh friends, I DIE FOR THIS ONE...I'm digging her hat too!

Hello grey coat that I would wear even in July because you are so gorgeous.