"The Designer Blog"....

I somehow stumbled across "The Designer Blog" this afternoon. I spent a lot of time on their blog before i noticed that they have a "freebie" section.

Yeah. I loovvveee meee some freebies!

And then, i noticed that they are having a give-a-way!

I've always wanted to have my blog "done" professionally. I do okay at it, but, well, lets just say that having someone who knows what they are doing, do my blog would be a dream come true.

They are giving 30% off their services of custom and pre-made designs for your blog till January 31st. But the best part?

Designer Blog is

GIVING AWAY THREE BLOG DESIGN GIFT CERTIFICATES of $30, $50 and $70!!!

Doesn't just one of those certificates have my name on it? Oh, yes, you can order, too, but i'm really pulling for me to win, not you....just kidding you have to go and leave an entry at their blog.

So, hit the button above and go visit them. Really, i promise that you won't be sorry!

The Flower Girl...

It was hard to call Emma the "Flower Girl". I wanted to call her the "Flower Child" (yeah, i know, that doesn't work) or the "Flower Baby" but none of those fit. I kept hearing my voice scream in my head "But she's NOT a Flower GIRL! She's a Flower BABY!"

But looking at these photos, well, you can see that she isn't a Flower Baby. She's not even a Flower Toddler no matter how hard i try to convince myself that she is 'maybe' a Flower Toddler.

The truth is, Emma was the very pretty Flower Girl at Haley and Mike's wedding.

Haley is the oldest daughter of one of my best friends, Janice and her husband, Burt. Mike, the groom, is in the military, who after a tour or two in Afghanistan, is now stationed in New York. Haley, bless her heart, has never really driven in the snow or has ever really been too far away from her little town home. It is fun to see their lives start together and to see how they and their families have come together to know and love each other.

But back to the Flower Child Girl....

I was worried that Emma would be "the" reason that folks remembered Haley and Mike's wedding. Because, face it, at 3 1/2, well, being a Flower Girl can be a lot of stress. But Haley and Mike's wedding will be fondly remembered in years to come due to a very, very beautiful bride, a handsome groom and the love that they have for each other. The love from their family and friends surrounded them on their day. It truly was a beautiful day for Haley and Mike and their families.

And that's just how a pretty wedding in a little country church in Georgia should be remembered.

NOTE: Only two photos of the above were taken by me (the one of Emma and Robert walking away and her eating a snack). The others were taken by Lauren Sanders and Melinda Ragan.

Ways to be...

...more like Emma.

1. Giggle in your sleep. A lot.

2. Sing. Any time. Any where. And at the top of your lungs.

3. Say "wuff you" for no reason.

4. Remember to bless the "twress" and "da sun" during your prayers.

5. Slurp your milk while eating cereal because "it so gooob". Ask others (who you don't know, btw) to also slurp their milk.

6. Run around in your panties as often as your mother will let you.

7. Kiss your toys often and with mushy kisses. Lick your Mom with kisses.

8. Ask for Cheerios so you can look through the Cheerio hole and scream "I see you!"

9. Ask to see "Ms. Jwanice" and "Msss. JoJo" at least a hundred times a day.

10. Ask to go home often, because you miss your 'stuff'.

Photos of a White Christmas

Merry Christmas....

....to all my friends and family. Know that you all are treasures to me!

Christmas Eve 2010

...was spent a little differently than it usually is. On Christmas Eve, we make it a point to go to the mall and see Santa with Emma and people watch. But this year, well, this year, we stayed put. With Emma not feeling too well and coughing, we did a pj day and watched movies, listened to our Emma's favorite Christmas CDs, and wrapped gifts.

It was a a nice day....

Emma was excited because tomorrow (Christmas Day) is "Jwesus and abuela's birthday".

My Mom was a Christmas baby....

This year was a little different for me, too. Instead of being overcome with the fact that my Mom wasn't with me, i found myself telling Emma about all of the fun things that i did with my Mom when we were getting ready for Christmas. How we would bake. How we would laugh with Aunt Claudine until our sides hurt. How we made fun of gifts from year's past. How we spent so much time in the kitchen, just like Emma and i were doing.

The gifts that my Mom gave me of herself and memories continue to live on.

And that, for me, is the best gift of all to realize this Christmas.

We also wrote Santa a note this year from Emma. Santa, i'm sure, will leave a note for her, too.

I was also thrilled this morning to get a package from a friend who sent me quite a few Guatemalan ornaments. This was my special gift to Emma and i was thrilled that it made it here in time for Christmas. Emma was so excited to see the ornaments! We talked about Guatemala and how these ornaments were made in the country where she was born. We hung them on the upstairs tree.....and it was perfect.

Just like the entire day was.