Merry Christmas!

I hope you all have had a wonderful day with those you love!

I just can't help myself!

Can you blame me?

Ah, marriage...

My hubby and I had a funny chat this morning. Well, it started yesterday and went something like this:
Me: Did you throw away my new Fitness magazine that was in the bathroom? Him: Hmm...not sure. Was it the one that had been sitting there for months? If I did throw it out, it is in the trash bag in the garage. Me: No, it was not there for months! It is the January issue! I hadn't even read the whole thing yet. Him: Well, maybe you shouldn't leave them in the bathroom. Me: Aack! **POP**
That last part was the sound of me busting a vein in my head. As I walk out to the garage to retrieve my magazine, I notice his muddy shoes that have been sitting there for months. Actual months, not a psuedo-Aaron month.

So, this morning I asked him if he would like to wear the mud-crusted buggers and get them out of the garage. He declined. Then we laughed about how funny we are and how our own stuff can be strewn about the house and we can rationalize that to no end, but if the other has something out of place we freak out. He brings up my water glass in the kitchen (he cannot handle the fact that I use the same glass all day) and I laugh as I think about how there are currently (in addition to the pair in the garage) three pairs of his shoes sitting in various spots throughout the house. It's a good thing we can have a sense of humor about these things.

@#$% shoes!

'Til It's Gone...

People here in Virginia just haven't got a clue about how blessed they are to be surrounded by woods. There are trees everywhere here. And what do they do with them? They tear them down! I can understand to a point, because really, if you want to build anything you have to tear some down since every square inch is covered in them. But sometimes I wonder what they think they will do when they are all gone, except for a few pockets here and there. There are still deer all over here - to say nothing of racoons, rabbits, possum, squirrels, chipmunks, snakes, frogs and crazy birds. Where on earth will they go?

These pictures are just some snapshots taken last month on the road leading to my neighborhood. I love this stretch - it is windy and heavily wooded and so alive. A new bunch of homes was added on one side, but I have been okay with that, since the rest has remained the same, but now there are currently two developments under way and a new one was begun this morning. Which is where this is all so (seemingly) randomly coming from. The same woods I went creeping through with my brother shortly after I moved into my house, the same woods that were so full of critters I could barely walk without hitting a web, are now being bulldozed to make room for a PUD. I was so upset when I drove past this morning I almost veered off the road. It really just breaks my heart.

And I know there is a war on. Or two. Or hundreds. And I know there are any number of crimes and tragedies happening on any given day. But maybe that is why this is is all the more important. Maybe because life is the way it is, I need the wild, innocent places. I hope people here realize what they are doing before it's too late. After all, you don't know what you got...

Santa!

I know it is the common wisdom that waiting in line to see Santa for an hour and a half is the parental equivalent to a root canal without the happy gas, but honestly, even as I stood there bouncing Dylan the whole time, back aching, I kind of enjoyed it. Sick and twisted? Masochistic? Maybe. But look at the end result. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Easy like Sunday mornings...

Few things can compete, as I have come to learn, with spending a lazy Sunday morning in my jammies with my family close at hand. Good conversation, good food and good company. Life requires little else.

Sadly, one of the other things that life requires is good sleep - something Aaron and I have been sorely lacking in the last 7 months. So, the project of the day (yes, I will have to get dressed soon!) will be to get the crib down from the attic and assemble it in Gabe's room, so the boys can start bunking together and we can reclaim our bedroom. Hopefully. We have yet to run this idea past Dylan, but I get the feeling he isn't going to be too thrilled with it. But we need our sleep!

The South has made me soft...

Here it is, the middle (almost)of December, and I am complaining about the chilly weather and it's almost 50 degrees! Back home the high temp is the same as our low! What am I whining about? I should just enjoy it while I can, because I know next month it will turn cold and the wind will blow and I will long for the good ol' days when I thought 50 was cold. Here are some pictures of my boys taken here just last month! Never thought we would get to play on the beach in November! No wonder I have gone soft.

Wow, my very first blog!

I guess I must be one of the cool kids now! And my husband is going to be so impressed that I did this all on my own.

I'm hoping, since I live on the other side of the country, that my friends and family will take a look at this from time to time and see what is happening out here in Virginia.

This being my first post, I am at a loss as what to say, but I am sure I will get the hang of it!