Welcome 2009!

I must say that I'm excited about the year that is ahead...

A year ago today, we moved to Oklahoma...I feel like it always takes about a year to feel settled and planted in a new place...so I'm excited about this next year of feeling like this is where we belong! Enjoying another year of beautiful seasons...spending more time with the friends we've made...getting more involved with our church...continuing our homeschool adventure! Lots of fun things to look forward to also...like my annual college roommate reunion...more ladies night out with my new friends here...and I'm really looking forward to my sister's wedding this summer!

We've done some "spring cleaning" yesterday and today, and I must say that it feels good to begin the year feeling a bit more organized and clean! We still have some things to hang up and work on later today, but walking in the living room and kitchen feels like a breath of fresh air. I miss the coziness and warmth of our Christmas decor, but I must say that I'm enjoying the clear spaces today!

Since I was lazy about sharing Christmas pictures last month, here's a few photos that I love from December!

Brent's parents gave each of the kiddos a "gingerbread village house"...they love to see the little lights inside. The village fits perfectly on our desk in the kitchen. (Hadleigh and Nathanael each made the "Adore Him" banner at Chapel School! So cute!)

I have been waiting and looking for several years for "family stockings". I wanted matching ones, which meant I wanted to wait until we know our family was "complete". I found these at Pottery Barn and have promised Brent that I won't change my mind about liking them when next year's stockings arrive in stores!!! (Does he know me well or what?)

The wreath that Mom and Dad always send us looks so beautiful on our door this year! (especially without having a storm door to squash it flat!) It is such a special tradition and gift...a little bit of our Blue Ridge Mountains out here in Oklahoma!

The tree on Christmas Eve. There is something I love about seeing it all lit up without any other lights on right before I go to sleep on Christmas Eve. Still a little bit of childhood magic :)

My three little reindeer and their jingle bells! Both sets of grandparents sent several activities for us as a family...it was so very special for the children to do different activities that their grandparents would have shared with them had we been in Asheville.

And last, my ceramic Nativity finally made it's Christmas debut. There's a funny story behind this! When we lived in Wichita Falls, there was a great little paint-your-own-pottery place that my friend Jamie and I liked to go to. This was my second (and final) project I made there. I began it in the early fall of 2006 (before Nathanael's first birthday), hoping to have it done for Christmas. It was a very intricate project with 15 pieces...I planned out all the colors first, and then slowly began painting. It probably took 5 or 6 or 7 visits to complete. At the beginning of December 07 (during one of Madeleine's naps) I finally finished but because of the glazing and firing process, I didn't get it until after Christmas. Needless to say, I was very excited to set it up this year. I put it in the window behind the kitchen sink...I loved seeing it throughout the day there...but I'm going to try to find a more "fitting" place for it next year!

Maybe soon I'll have some organized house pictures to share!

Hope you have a very happy New Year!