Thanks, Mimi

Allie had a good Christmas (despite the lack of photo documentation to prove it!) She was given toys, books, clothes & even cash! What more could a baby ask for? She has been thoroughly enjoying playing with her toys (her fav so far being her sing-a-long toy from Jannie!), and boy has she been looking stylish while she's been playing, thanks to Mimi!

I mean, I know she'd look cute in anything, but you've got to admit that this outfit is adorable!

You know your Christmas schedule is a little too hectic when...

You realize that you failed to take a single picture of your baby's first Christmas ALL DAY LONG!

This realization hit me this morning, and I thought: Wow! That is just ridiculous! Before you judge and dub me a terrible mother, let me just walk you through our schedule for the day, and then you'll probably understand.

Christmas morning 7:00 am wake up, get ready as fast as we possibly can, making sure to get enough formula, diapers, wipes, etc. to last the whole day, because we won't be back home until 9:00 pm.

8:00 leave to have Christmas with the Kendalls.

10:15 leave there to have Christmas with my fam.

1:00 leave to have lunch and gifts at Grammy's.

Allie went down for a much needed nap, so we decided to hang out at Grammy's and watch a movie until she decided to wake up.

5:15 Allie wakes up, so we head to Gran's (E's grandma) for dinner, gifts, & dirty santa.

8:45 head home - at this point doing our best to keep our eyes open!

Yes, there were lots of gifts, lots of fun family time, lots of food, and lots of Christmas memories, but sadly, nowhere in the craziness of the day was there a single picture of allie! This is probably an indicator that our schedule had a little too much going on...

I'm hoping that Ang came through and snapped a few with her nice, new camera that was basically connected to her all day! If so, send 'em my way, sis!

Merry Christmas from the Kendalls

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Faithful

Our God is a God who is FAITHFUL. In so many ways! The same God who is able to do miracles yesterday is able to do miracles today. The same God who was faithful in years past will be faithful for years to come. He is a God who is UNCHANGING! Praise God that when people falter and fail us, our God will never leave or forsake us!

Today, I am thankful, because our God is a God who faithfully answers our prayers and changes lives! It is an amazing thing to intercede on someone's behalf for years, and then for Him to allow you to witness the miracle of your prayers being answered! Yes, our God is a God who is able. He is able to "do exceedingly and abundantly above what we could imagine!" He is a God who was able to rescue me "from the pit" years ago, and is still rescuing people today.

Let me encourage you to remember that, although a situation may seem hopeless, our God is Able. Period. Present your requests to Him and don't lose heart.

Christmas in Cordova

Angie and I have been invited to participate in an in-home craft fair today, called Christmas in Cordova!

I'll have my adorable Christmas ornaments, some cute picture frames, and I'll have my computer set up to do custom designs for Uppercase Living. Ang will be there selling and signing her books, so for those of you who were dying to get one after my last post... here's your chance! I do hope you're able to stop by. It should be a great chance to get some last minute, unique holiday shopping done! There will be other vendors, such as Premier Designs, Southern Living at Home, monogramming, art, and much more!

It is at Amanda Cline's house today from 10-1. She lives just around the corner from me in the Macon/Houston Levee area of Cordova. Here address is:

10264 Green Moss Drive North - Cordova

I REALLY hope to see you there!

Need a Good Christmas Idea?

I bet I can help you out! It just so happens that my big sis, Angie, has written the most beautiful book about her sweet baby girl, Poppy Joy. Poppy was born two years ago this month, and although she only lived on this earth for 3 short hours, God has used her sweet life to touch the lives of countless people.

Angie is a writer by nature, and if you've read her blog at all, you know that she has an incredible gift to pull deep spiritual truths from some of the most mundane things of life, in a witty and riveting way. God used her gift of writing, to capture Poppy's story in an incredible way. The book includes excerpts of her blog, which she started to document her journey, and ultimately ended up touching the lives of people who were hurting all over the world. The book will not just be meaningful for someone who has lost a child, although, I know it would be especially moving to those. It is a story that tells of God's faithfulness. No matter what dark days you have gone through, you are currently traveling, or you have yet to know, it so beautifully shows that our God is a God who is able to carry you through any storm.

I know I may be just a little biased... but I feel I can say confidently that anyone you buy this for will be tremendously blessed. I can't think of a better gift idea!

You can go here to purchase a copy, if you're interested!

If you live in town, and want Ang to sign it, leave a comment, and we'll be in touch!

Already have the book? Feel free to leave a review here!

Superman Met His Match

For four years now, we've stood in awe;

It's true, your plays were rarely flawed.

It's 4th and 1? Some teams may fret.

But with Tim to run it, we never broke a sweat!

"Can you stop him?", some have asked.

It's been a strong, No... in the past.

Tonight, was different in some ways.

It was just not one of our greatest days.

We lost it all and lost it bad.

We left hurt, disappointed, and sad.

We lost the title, the season, and all.

We lost so bad, some even bawled.

But let us not forget the rest.

Afterall, Tebow will always be the very best.

He played with heart, and faith, and spirit.

So, those who criticize; I just don't want to hear it!

He ran and passed and scored some more.

Watching him, was never a bore.

The media and fans were all in a craze;

I've even heard Superman, himself, wears Tim Tebow pj's.

Who else was so fun to watch game after game?

I'd challenge you to come up with a name.

Who else could be so hard to hate?

Even for those of you who are and always will be Gator Bait.

So, don't lose heart, dear Timmy T.

For dear to us, you'll always be.

Things won't be the same when you are gone.

But somehow, someway, we will go on.

Tonight we lost; this is a fact.

And I am sad; I won't put on an act.

But, still I'd like to say, dear Tebow,

That you'll always be my football hero!

Everything to Gain and Everything to Lose...

Today's the BIG day!

Kickoff: 3pm

Florida vs. Alabama. Number 1 vs. Number 2. Tebow's very last SEC Championship. His last chance for a National Championship. His last chance for Florida's very first undefeated season. Yes, we've got everything to gain and everything to lose. It's all on the line.

My prediction? Gators 24 - Bama 20

We'll be cheering you on, Timmy T!

Oh, yeah...

Allie likes Christmas a lot, too!

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas...

The tree is decorated...


The stockings are hung...


The garland is up..


and last, but not least, the mistletoad is in place!


Phew! I'm so glad that it finally feels like Christmas around here! I usually am putting everything up on Thanksgiving, if not before, so I was a bit down yesterday when I realized I was behind, and we did not have ONE Christmas thing out in our house! Yesterday, my goal was to remedy this problem, and I'm so glad I did!

This year was the first time I've done lit garland on the mantle and in the kitchen, and OH, does it add a lot! After I finished those (and probably put a few too many holes in the wall while doing so...), I decided, why wait for Eric? I can tackle this tree! Now, let me say that I love my tree - all 60+ individual branches of it! =) Did I ever tell you that I bought my tree, all the lights, the stand, and the rubbermaid tub it goes in for $8? Any time I start to think that a pre-lit, 3 piece tree would be convenient to have, I remind myself of this unheard-of-bargain, and I happily go back to looking for the correct color-coated branch! In fact, it always feel like a great accomplishment when the last branch is put in place. I doubt any of you pre-lit 3 piecers feel this satisfaction, like I do!

My favorite part of the decorating process is putting on the ornaments. They are so full of memories. My grandmother always collects lamb ornaments for me from all over the world, since my name means little lamb. My mom usually always buys me a fun, whimsical ornaments each year, and these have turned out to be some of my VERY favorites! Eric and I have cute ornaments marking different times in our lives (our first Christmas when we were dating, married, vacations, honeymoon, etc.) I have included a few of my favorites for you:

Our newest addition that I won off of an AWESOME blog giveaway!


Two that we picked up on vacation. The snowman is from Eureka Springs, where we went for our 2nd anniversary, and the other is a handpainted ornament from Grand Cayman, where we swam with the stingrays!


This guy, I think, may be my very favorite. He always makes me laugh. You may not be able to tell, but he is about 1 1/2 feet long! This is one of those adorable ones from mom! Thanks!

This one was the year that Eric and I were engaged! I love the frogs!

Even though I didn't include them up close, I do have pretty and fancy ones, but my favs are always the ones with memories behind them! What are your favorite ornaments on your tree?

Oh, and thanks to Julie for buying my old camera, so I could keep the one I bought on Black Friday!! I have been playing with it on these shots and am just LOVING it!