New Beginnings

I've always heard it said that we learn something new every day of our lives.  I don't know that this is exactly true but I can say that I certainly learned a LOT in the year 2012, ranging from the very silly to some of the most heart-wrenching and thought-provoking lessons; and behind almost every disappointment in life has lurked a blessing just waiting to break forth.

I have been truly blessed on a number of levels, have seen and endured a lot of changes, have survived milestones and growing pains, and am all the better for it.  As we move forward into 2013, my prayer is that I can continue to feed from the positive, draw strength from the negative, and relinquish from my life that which only tears me asunder.

 

I don't make New Year Resolutions but I do have a lot of plans for this upcoming year and I have set a few goals for myself and for my family, and I'm currently in the process of rearranging scheduling so that some of these goals can be met in a reasonably short period of time.

 

I eagerly welcome 2013 - upgrade to a better quality of life - in progress!

 

Let's Party!

Miss Ma'am had herself a grand time ringing in the New Year.

 

This is the first year since Miss Ma'am was 2 that JD's been home on New Year's Eve and we all had quite a wonderful evening with good food, a little non-A bubbly, some front yard fireworks, and a whole lot of fun!

 

I Love This Girl!

 

New Year's Eve - Gangnam Style

 

Laughing at herself!!  She was

so funny trying to do that Gangnam Dance!

 

Bring On 2013!  (and before anyone goes over the top,

this was Sparkling Cherry Juice)

 

Front Yard Fun!

 

Some of the fireworks were rather pretty for an inexpensive box-set.

 

The Midnight Hour

 

Celebrating With Sophie

Our poor Sophie Girl wasn't too keen on all the excitement.

 

After three tranq-treats that were spread out over a seven hour

period of time, poor Sophie acted like she was the local town drunk;

rolling on the furniture and floor, and howling as though

she were actually singing.  She was quite entertaining - Poor Baby!

 

She's another Daddy's Girl - spoiled rotten, but she

seemed most comfortable with JD the majority of the evening.

 

She was finally able to relax once all was quiet again.

 

 

Happy New Year, Y'all!!!

 

 

 

This is USS Retired signing off ...

Christmas In The Country

One of our Christmas traditions, it seems, is to spend a few days with family during the season, whether it be the week leading up to or following Christmas Day.  Miss Ma'am absolutely LOVES when we get to visit with her grandparents and she loves being in the wide open space that The Country always affords.

She even commented this year that she wished we lived there.  Not only because we'd be closer to her grandparents but because she just feels free.

This doesn't surprise me at all.  Here on the homefront, she has to live with me or her Daddy shadowing over her almost constantly.  It's not that we don't live in a safe area, but we do live in a subdivided neighborhood where you could reach out the window and shake hands with your neighbors, very little yard, and the only place she has to ride her bike, or her scooter, or skate is in the street; and while she's very careful when she's at play, I just simply don't feel comfortable with the idea of her not being under a watchful eye.  She has to live day-to-day with a lot of boundaries.

In The Country, though, she's able to walk out the door and go as far and wide as the fields are open.  Of course, she does still have boundaries - she's not allowed to venture into the woods without someone with her, but she's free to run and lose herself in nothing more than having the time of her life without feeling that I'm smothering her.

Over The River, And Through The Woods

When we left home, it was 72° and the further north we traveled, the colder it got.  With temperatures expected to be extreme, we certainly packed well for the journey - making handy the items we might need along the way.  The drive up was one of the longest I've ever experienced.  For starters, we got out with a late start and it was well after dark before we arrived, and the winds were so high that I got motion sick from the van swaying as we were traveling and I wasn't even the one driving.  By the time we stopped for a late lunch/early dinner, I was so sick that I couldn't eat, so Miss Ma'am & JD ate and then we stopped in at a truck-stop to refuel and JD (God Love Him) found me a bottle of Dramamine which helped tremendously but didn't completely relieve my symptoms.

This photo was taken by Miss Ma'am's request when we

stopped for dinner and her Daddy told her that she looked

like Medusa (one of her favorite Greek Mythology characters).

 

Y'all can see from the photo above how hard the wind was blowing, and at some point, even I had to purchase myself a boggin because the wind was blowing so hard against my forehead that it was causing me to have a brain freeze headache.  It was very reminiscent of the three years we spent in Groton.  I'm just going to tell y'all that I was never so glad to arrive anywhere in my life, and after a third dose of Dramamine and a good night's sleep, I was good to go by the following morning.

 

I'd like to add right here how grateful we all are to my Aunt L - who graciously always opens her guest home to us when we visit.  Nowhere else in the world would we find an entire home to spend as long as we need at no cost to us, and while we love spending time with my parents - it also affords us the privacy we need while away from home.

 

She's always loved to play on the terrace wall at Aunt L's.

 

Getting her groove on (at Aunt L's home)

 

Christmas Time Again

Y'all think she's spoiled enough?

 

Celtic Women CD - one of her favorite groups.  

 

What could possibly be in this Huge Box??

 

Remember the new stereo she asked for this year?

Well - Here It Is!

 

Miss Sassy Pants modeling the arrow quiver from Uncle M.

 

 

Free To Run

I do believe our Sophie Girl loves The Country just as much as Miss Ma'am. 

She, too, was able to run free most of the time we were visiting.

 

Run Girls, Run!!

They both enjoyed the wide open spaces, and the genuine giggles

coming from Miss Ma'am just made me smile with delight.

 

 

Enjoying The Good Life

Granddaddy already has her driving ...

 

She's just right proud of herself and, again,

tells me how she wishes we could move to The Country.

 

JD helping her with target alignment.

 

Our Little Archer - she's loved the bow & arrow since she

saw the Chronicles of Narnia movies, but has taken

an even more increased interest after seeing the movie Brave.

 

Gathering the spoils ...

 

 

Happy Anniversary

During the time of our visit, JD & I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary.  How gracious my parents were to keep Miss Ma'am and Sophie for the greater part of the day and over night.  We enjoyed some fine dining at the Longhorn Steakhouse (I had to comment on how quiet it was without Miss Ma'am along - and to be honest, I kind of missed the little sugar lump).  This was then followed by a very pleasant evening at the movie theater where we saw The Hobbit.  I must admit that I was a little flabbergasted once the movie ended, telling JD that there was so much more to the story (he's never read the book).  It was at this point he told me that the book was being made into three different movies and I literally sighed with relief. 

 



Miss Ma'am took this photo of us on Aunt L's front porch the morning of our big day.  I know I look a hot mess with no makeup but I wouldn't trade this photo for the world.  I love this man with all my heart and soul, and fall in love with him over and over again on a number of different levels.  Every day, he gives me just one more reason to love him more than the day before.

 

The Company of Family

She loves her Granddaddy

 

Adores Her Grandmother

 

Her "annoying cousin," MC, Jr. who's at that 'NO Pictures' age!

 

Loves her Uncle M with all her heart but he likes

to play shy in front of the camera.

 

Sophie Girl and Precious with MC, Jr. and Miss Ma'am.

She's always referred to all the male cousins as "those stinkin' boys"

and MC has always been her "annoying cousin" but she loves him

bigger than life, and she misses him and everyone else something fierce.

 

The time we have to spend with family, no matter how short, is always treasured.  Our visits to The Country are so few and far between - and truthfully, we're lucky to get to visit once a year these days.  I really hated to see our time come to an end.

 

Did I mention how cold it was up there?  On our last evening, we all went out to dinner at the Golden Coral (Miss Ma'am's choice because she likes the giant chocolate fountain) and as we pulled in to the parking lot, it began to snow.  Yes!  You heard that right.  Mind you, it was just flurries for a little while with nothing accumulative, but I looked at JD and said in no uncertain terms ... Take. Me. Home!

 

 

This is USS Retired signing off ...

Christmas At Our House

For someone who was so far ahead of the curve by December 01, with all my shopping done, I don't even know how I managed to get behind schedule to the point that I was just starting to wrap gifts on the night before Christmas Eve. I did manage to get a little decorating done and our Christmas was just as beautiful as it ever is.  

While it's somewhat a hassle sometimes in the initial process with stringing lights (because I'm beginning to think the pre-lit trees aren't all they're cracked up to be), the tree is still my favorite of all our decorative pieces. There are a lot of memories on this tree. When JD & I first married 13 years ago, we proudly displayed an all-angel tree, but year-by-year - the angels have slowly been packed away and replaced with memories of our years together as a family.

One of my all-time favorite traditions is hanging ornaments and telling stories of what each one represents, and just in general - taking a memorable walk through the yesteryears.

This is our angel who has watched over our tree for the last 13 years.

Miss Ma'am's ornament this year is this beautiful ballerina.  At the time we bought it, she was quite enjoying her newest adventure with studying ballet but she has since become bored with it and has decided to move on to other things. 

I don't know why it is, but for whatever reason, I absolutely adore my cardinals.  These guys have been on my Christmas tree for years even before JD & I met.  I just can't imagine any tree in our home without them.

And this is possibly still my favorite ornament of all.  This star was chosen the year Miss Ma'am was given the opportunity to pick her ornament herself - back in 2008.  It does a momma's heart good to know that Jesus is the center of her young daughter's life, and I pray and hope sincerely that He always will be.

 

A Visit With Santa

This past summer, the reality of all the holiday characters were revealed to Miss Ma'am and while she hasn't taken issue with any of them not being real, she's still holding on to the Magic of Christmas.

 

 

We spotted Santa on the front porch of one of the old homes downtown that's being renovated, and stopped in for a tour.  Miss Ma'am's interest in the history of the old home was just astounding and the highlight of our visit for her was when the tour guide allowed her to pick a portion of cotton from a bramble branch that was used to decorate the fireplace in the basement.  She was so excited about it, that she took it to school the following Monday for show-and-tell in her Social Studies class.  

 

Even though she doesn't play, she seems to be drawn toward organs

and pianos. This very ornate piece of furniture certainly made

for a darling photo, and perhaps piano lessons are in her near future.

 

It's Christmas Eve

With gifts all wrapped and waiting under the tree, Miss Ma'am was really excited to get things rolling.  In past years, we've always opened all the gifts from under the tree on Christmas Eve to make room for Santa's Big Delivery and despite the revelation of truth, this year was no different.   

 

She's ready to get things underway.

 

With gifts all sorted, she can't believe all THIS is for her!

 

'The Night Before Christmas'

 

One of my most endeared traditions has always been hearing 'The Night Before Christmas' right before we head to bed for the evening.  In past years, it has always been JD who entertains us with this story, along with the 'Real Christmas Story' that he always reads from the Bible.  I recall the year we were in Groton, CT and he was deployed for the entire winter holiday season - and the tremendous feeling that engulfed our little apartment when he surprised us with a call on Christmas Eve and read to us over the phone.  It was most certainly a Christmas to Remember on a number of levels.  This year though, same as last, Miss Ma'am decided she would be reading the story.  I absolutely love that she loves to read and even more so that she loves to participate and join in on our family traditions without ever tiring.

 

See this face all aglow?  She was listening rather intently as her Daddy

was reading from the Bible, the story of Jesus' Birth.  She looked as

 though her heart was just overflowing with the love of life.

 

Santa Stop!

 

 

This year's Santa Stop seemed so minuscule as compared to the past but with desires leaning more toward more 'grown up' items, the cost of said items tends to reduce the quantity.  She asked only for four things this year, two of which we were able to find.  The Fuzion Scooter that allows for stunting (not my favorite item), Creationary - a lego board game that gets the creative spheres of the cranium geared up with having to build the picture on the cards out of legos, and a new stereo were her original requests.

 

And then, nine days before Christmas Eve (while she was visiting with Santa) she asked for arrows because she was down to only three.  Well - when you wait until nine days before Christmas Eve to tell Santa you want arrows, they're very difficult to find (and apparently a very popular item this time of year).  We were able to find her a stealthy foam target though for practicing and she was just as tickled with that.

 

Christmas Morning

The one single thing I miss most about Christmas morning is getting to see the excitement on Miss Ma'am's face when she sees what Santa has left.  She was up before the roosters this year, at 4:30 a.m. after not having gotten to sleep until about 12:30.  She still gets so excited on Christmas Eve that she just can't get to sleep. 

 

Gotta love the Magic of Christmas!!

 

She was crazy excited to get her very own

laptop, complete with accessories!

 

Mongoose Skates - they grow with her feet from size 5-8.

If she doesn't quit growing so fast, she may be needing a

new pair by next Christmas!

 

Tie-dyed pillow pet with a peace symbol on its paw.  This makes

pillow pet #5 and just for the record?  This is the last one she's

getting!!  (Okay - I'm the Mother who spoils my child with her

every heart's desire [within reason, of course], so if she gets another

one next year, y'all can hold it against me then.)

 

Of course, Christmas Morning wouldn't be complete

without a stocking full of goodies.  This year's stocking held

less candy than usual and more pre-teen goodies - gift cards,

jewelry, perfumes and powders, a new wallet and a mini flash light.

 

And let's not forget our Sophie Girl ... who quite

enjoyed her own stocking full of treats and new toys.

 

From everyone here on the homefront, we hope all our family and friends and loyal fans had a fantabulous Christmas filled with abundant blessings.

 



 

 

 

This is USS Retired signing off ...