Chari Tree Chat

I have been a rather absent blogger, I know. Really... things were supposed to slow down after Christmas!! What you are about to read is a pretty random catch-up post. Hold on for the ride! :)

Of course, we are super excited about officially starting the adoption process! It will be a few weeks before we are able to go to the next step - a meeting when we learn more about the process and the agency we have chosen. I know that everything will happen in God's perfect timing. and He has just the right little one for our family! :)

The past few weeks have been a time of transition for me, as well as for my coworkers. As many of you know, I work at a wonderful church bookstore/library. We have had several people recently (including manager and assistant manager!) who have made the decision to move on to different stages of their lives. (whether to another job or to be a full time wife.) It is so hard to say goodbye - even though they will still be close by! We aren't just coworkers, but friends as well! But change, though hard (especially for me!) isn't always bad, and I am excited about getting to know our new manager! I think she has some exciting ideas! :)

I've been wanting to share a few pictures of Mark's birthday party. Unfortunately, I didn't get very many on my camera, so I've been waiting to upload Angie's pictures... she did get a few more than me! :) I think the bit of decorating I did turned out rather fun! :)

The most popular of the goodies, especially to bottle on the right! Angie figured we had to have "Nerds" at Mark's party... and the bottle was so easy to grab and pass around! :)

Love this picture! Isn't Angie a good photographer? :)

I just realized I had this picture of Mark with his parents! I have wonderful in-laws! :)

Ok, I had to include this picture, although it is a bit fuzzy! I just love the expressions! :)
That's Mark's "baby" brother, Dustin, on the left. Then Angie, Andrew and Mark.

 

This is long overdue, but thank you to my bloggy friends for the "Stylish Blogger Award!" Karen, Pamela, and Jennifer!

I'm supposed to share seven things about myself, but I'm not sure what to share that I haven't shared before! And I'm supposed to pass the award to other bloggers, so I'm passing it on to YOU! :)  I have so many favorites! :) I think YOU deserve the award! :)

Another random bit: I want to do my hair like this:

I don't think it's going to happen... I tried. Maybe if I had an entourage to fix my hair, it could look this cute... oh. well. :)  The screen shot is snagged from the new BBC version of Emma - very beautifully done! :)

So there you have it! One of my longest posts in "recent history!" Very random and it's getting late so I hope it at least makes sense! :)  I hope everyone has had a great week!!

Finished Object Friday

Remember the pumpkin? Well, umm... it got another makeover!! :)



It's not long until Valentine's Day and I thought it would be fun to continue decorating my pumpkin for the new season!!
 

I had plans fore Easter even, but unfortunately Mrs. Pumpkin won't be with us much longer. She is beginning to succumb to the second law of thermodynamics. bummer. It would have been so much fun to have a pumpkin shaped Easter egg! Oh. well. :) Have you done any Valentine crafting or decorating?
(oh. and yes the pumpkin is a bit goofy... my neighbors probably think so too! :) You can see last year's Valentine craft here. I have it up again this year - love it!)  :) 

Thank you all for the sweet comments about our adoption process!! Your love and support mean a lot to us!

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1. Nikki

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"A journey of a thousand miles...

...begins with a single step."

~Chinese philosopher 

Tonight Mark and I sat down and filled out the preliminary application for adoption. We also ate cheesecake. :) 

I feel like we have just taken the first step in a very important journey! It's exciting and scary at the same time. Exciting to (hopefully soon!!) be welcoming a little one into our home and hearts. Scary because we don't know what lies ahead in our journey. but mostly exciting... :)

Happy Birthday!!!

Guess who is turning 30 today!!

 My sweet hubby!! :) Here he is with the cheesecake I made him, and his "geeky" shirt! :)

Can you guess what the shirt says? (Here's the answer...)

I am so blessed to be married to this guy! :) I hope he has had a good birthday!

Love you, Mark!!

Enjoying Winter

There's a saying about Texas.... "We have winter here, last year it was on a Tuesday." :)  That's about right some years! This week, however, it's been very cold and started off with a nice snow on Sunday... snow that's still around in spots! Each time I glance out of the window, it's like getting a little surprise! I forget in my daily tasks that there is still snow on the ground. It's amazing that it's lasted this long, usually it's gone by the next day!

Here is my view Sunday afternoon from the living room window:


We didn't build a snowman this year...not quite as much snow as we had last year. But we did enjoy watching it coming down and I did make some snow ice cream! YUM! :)  I also made some three bean chili and Mexican cornbread to warm our insides on that cozy Sunday afternoon! :)


It was pretty yummy!! and the fresh cilantro really added a nice flavor.

I've also done a bit of this:


I still feel sooo blessed to have this wheel! I remember looking at taking a spinning class or two, just hoping I would know how to make my own yarn! I have been given such a wonderful gift!! I'm hoping to ply my first skein soon! :)

I hope each of you is having a wonderful week so far! Did you get any snow? (of course, those of you farther north may be happy to send us what you got!) :)

Finished Object Friday

Yes, I'm still around! This has been a real doozy of a week for me. Work has been crazy. But today starts my weekend and I'm going to ENJOY it! :) 

I hinted a while back at some Christmas sewing, but I didn't want to chance anymore pictures than that! Well, now it's done (finally!) and gifted, so I can share! :)  Of all the mothers and sisters in our family, Mary is the only one who hadn't got an apron from me yet. And she has been wanting one for quite a while. This year I drew her name for our Christmas exchange and I knew I'd better deliver! :)

I was a little tired of my basic apron style that I've done so much, so this time I went with something totally different. I designed it from the bottom up. (really... I started with the skirt and went from there!) :) I got my inspiration from this apron designer, but kinda did my own thing. No patterns for me! (nothing unusual!)



I love the ties in the front. It can really be done both ways, but I love this way! :)  Mary had shown me an apron she liked - it had lots of rick rack, so I was sure to add some to my design. I think it really made the apron. :)
And I think she liked it...



So how about you? Do you have any Christmas crafting projects you're free to share now? :)

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1. Nikki (Star Blanket) 2. Someone is turning 2 3. Fringe Fleece Scarf

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Books and the New Year

There are so many good books to read, and I'm not even sure where to start! :)  I used to be quite an avid reader - and still am by most standards - but I don't read as much as I did before becoming a housewife and the advent of computers! :) 

I thought I would keep track of all the books I read this year... well, the ones I'm reading for the first time anyway! :) I want to remember what books that I am planning to read as well! :) I want to read a mix of works, Christian fiction, classics, and non fiction. I thought it would be interesting to see what all I read in 2011! You can keep up with what I"m reading on my new page at the top of the blog! I'll try to post comments with the ones I finish, so you can have an idea of whether you want to read them or not. :)

Christmas Memories

"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree:

the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other."

Burton Hills

This holiday time has come and gone so fast. I'm not sure what is the best way to slow things down, but every year I want the next to be different. If I had a resolution for the new year, that would probably be one of them! I am always so sad to see Christmas time go, the tree dismantled and the lights around the neighborhood put away for another year. But I want to share a bit of our Christmas with you and in doing so, hang on to those last threads of Christmas cheer before I totally let them go for yet another year. Here are some of my favorite Christmas memories:

Family gathered around the table:


Playing games:

Opening presents:





Silly brothers... all the same height! ...or almost... When did that happen??


Beautiful Christmas table:


Working on puzzles - we did four over the extended weekend!


more games!!


Christmas at my parent's home:








Baking with my hubby!


We rang in the new year quietly with my family, and enjoyed New Years Day with our church family - a yummy dinner and fun games! Thanks to our friends for opening their home each year!






I hope each of you had a blessed Christmas season! We are looking forward to seeing what God has in store for our family in 2011!! :)  Hopefully a little one, or at least a lot of progress to bringing our little one, whomever they are, home!