It's Friday

And today that means I'm going to participate in Five Question Friday (#5QF on Twitter).

1. How often should adults have birthday parties? Gee. I honestly don't know. Personally, I prefer to celebrate them in a small way. Cake, maybe a special meal with those closest to you. So at this present time, that would mean me, Ben and Zoë. If my immediate family were here, we'd likely celebrate it with them but not on the day of. Because I reserve the day of for my own family now. That's the way I like it :) And Ben agrees.
2. What was your room decorated like when you were a child? Honestly, we weren't really allowed to hang stuff on the wall so the walls were bare. Literally. (Well, that is until my sister and I decided since would couldn't make holes we would tape posters up. So, of course, we hung pictures of our favorite boy bands and the like. Your normal middle school girl type stuff.)n However, it was painted a pastel yellow which sort of compensated for the bare walls. I shared a room with my little sister and for a while we shared a bed. BUT, after a couple years of that my parents bought us matching twin size beds and this old timey quilt with a little girl on it. (Matching of course.) Not anything I would pick. But it was a bed. So I'm  not going to complain. 3. Do you have any traditions for Easter? If so, what? And do you have a why behind that? As of yet, no. Because of finances we haven't done anything for each other. And since Zoë is only a year old, which means she was only a couple weeks old last Easter, we haven't started any with her either. Ben and I were talking about this the other night *cough* I asked this question *cough* and there were a couple of ideas we threw out there. One, let me say that I would love to continue what my mom did for us with our Easter baskets each year. Easter holds a lot of meaning for me because of my belief in Christ. Though the cross plays a huge part in that belief, without the resurrection, which is what Easter celebrates, the cross is meaningless. That said, my mom always made sure that our baskets tried to somehow convey this very important meaning. To get a better idea of what this can look like, you can hop on over to my sister's blog, A Dollop of My Life, where she wrote a great post on how she did this for my two (almost 3....YAY!) nephews last year. Second, apparently Ben loves the chocolate bunnies and wants to make sure our kids get one every year. (Of course, we did not buy one for Zoë this year.) I'm talking, that is the only thing related to Easter we have bought/done every years since we've known one another, four years. I have to say I find this hysterical because if you were to ask Ben, who is a history buff, where Easter originated, you would get an approximately 15 minute speech about how 1) he will not tell his children this story until they are older and 2) it's a pagan holiday that was turned Christian in some weird way or another. I don't know. He's told me twice. Point #2 is all that I can remember from what he's told me. It's actually kind of gross and inappropriate so...I'm pretty sure I'm glad I don't remember. And the bunny somehow ties into that. Yet, that choclate bunny. Oh that chocolate bunny. The minute the candy comes out and we're at the store together I hear, "Hey, the chocolate bunnies...You want one?" (aka I want one but don't want to just ask for myself. Ha!) We also discussed how we think it would be fun to do an Easter Egg hunt. Whether with a group of people or do our own or both, we're not really sure. But Ben said that was something he really enjoyed and would love to do for our kids. As far as preparing for Easter, because Zoë will be a little older where she will be able to start grasping small bits of an entire concept next year, I'm hoping to find some decently priced resurrection eggs this year. My sister also recommended a couple of books this year and one of them, The Story of Easter by Patricia Pingry, is a board book that I plan on purchasing also. For now, that's the plan. I'm sure it's apt to be tweaked a little, but the general idea is to keep it Christ-centered.
4. Do you get Good Friday off? If so, any plans? Umm...for the time being, I get no days off. The hubs helps out some when he's home but that just usually means I'm off somewhere else cleaning or cooking or what not while he's watching the babe. Thus, no plans. It was just a normal day for us.
5. Did you wear hats & white shoes to church on Easter? (Or was that just in the South?) Well, I am from the South. The deep South. As in you almost can't go much more before you're in the gulf, deep South. And we never wore hats. Maybe because that wasn't something my mom liked. Or our budget just didn't allow for it. Or a little of both. I'm not really sure. White shoes? Yes ma'am! every year. With white socks if need be. Will I do this for our children? Probably not. I'm not all in to dressing up for Easter. Nor is it really fitting into our budget. It's just not something I really care about. And there you have it. If you wanna join in, hop on over to Mama M.'s blog by clicking her lovely 5QF button I posted above. You can paste your link over there!

2012 Christmas

So if you want pics of my christmas, you're more than likely going to have to refer to my sister's blog because, well, I just don't remember to bring the camera out very often. And, because I'm so wanting to at least slightly improve my photography skills, I almost always had the camera on manual which almost always left me without the shot I aimed for.

Anyway, I'm gonna give you a quick recap of what this Christmas looked like. Well...I'm gonna try to make it quick.

So we left Houston the Friday before Christmas after the hubs got off. And because Zoë's teeth decided to cause problems while I was supposed to be packing, we had to do that once he got home. That left us leaving here right around 7 pm. Not bad considering he got off at 6 and didn't make it home until around 630ish.

We were ever grateful that we were able to leave Friday because that meant four full days in Baton Rouge which allowed us to spend time with his family, ample time with mine, and even some time to see Ben's nanny. (Aka godmother. "Nanny" is the cajun name for a godmother.) We weren't able to see any friends with all the things my mom had planned for us and many of them were out of town, as well.

Saturday morning was spent recouping from arriving in BR after midnight and Zoë's teeth promptly crashing sleeping party, not allowing us rest until 230 am. Good times!

Saturday afternoon/evening we spent with Ben's family. I forgot my camera so I have no pictures from that. We enjoyed spending time with them, getting to see our nephews from his side.  (Yep, we have two nephews on each side of our family, but that could change depending on what Linds' baby #3 is. She finds out in January and I can't wait to find out!) And of course, no time with a newborn is complete without being peed on :) He went through the diaper and onto both my shirt and pants!

SCORE: Caleb 2 - Aunt Meg 0

I think he was aiming to make it hard for me to win before he even scored!

Sunday my entire family got together for lunch and my mom made her amazing lasagna! Our family is so large now that we almost ate the entire pan. Crazy!

I did have my camera out for a sec and happened to snap this jewel:

One of Brayden's many "I want to hold she" moments :) Love that kid!

(Oh and btw, he wants his new little sibling to be a girl and name her Zoë too! HA!)

Christmas Eve was spent hanging out and enjoying one another's company. Not much happened that day, which was a great time for Ben to catch up on the zzz's lost Saturday morning...night?

And then there was Christmas. Zoë's FIRST christmas! She loved the paper a lot. Which was good because that's all we got her ;) Here is a pic I snapped. (I'm not posting the video, though that it mostly what I got since my sis had her camera out and going.)

If you're child likes rattles/objects that make noise, they will L.O.V.E. this phone. Zoë is also enamored with the string, as you can see.

My dad carved a watermelon. Though it was hard to capture an entire pic of the thing, I still must show you his mad, awesome skills:

Heck yes!

Oh and I was also able to take a picture with the Hulk:

Couldn't believe he wanted to sit on my lap :) Made my day!

Captain America, Iron Man, and Hulk posed for me too!

From Left to Right: my hubby, Brayden, and Drew, my bro-in-law

I was also able to capture a very sweet pic of Zoë with her Great, Great Aunt Rina:

Love them both SO much!

Christmas was a crazy busy day with lots of family to spend time with and enjoy one another's company. We shared laughs and enjoyed watching the kids play with all their new toys. 

I must say my favorite part of our time in Baton Rouge was watching the cousins interact. And boy did they play with each other. Zoë LOVED being around both Connor and Brayden and there were many times one of the boys, sometimes both, would walk up to her, lay down next to her, and start talking or pat her. They played quite well together. Connor and Brayden even liked to be like her, or in Brayden's terms, "I'm doing what she doing." (Gah! I don't think you can understand how much I LOVE how he calls her "she" at times. In his mind, if he's not using her name then he should refer to her as "she" and it gets me. EVERY. STINKIN'. TIME!)

And just for the record, I love all my nephews the same. I just love how he calls her "she".

I also miss my greeting from C-man every time he saw me: "Hi Medan! HI MEDAN! HI!!"

Miss those boys so!

Well, that's a wrap! Christmas was great. Hope all of you guys enjoyed yours. And may your new year roll in greeting you with a warm welcome!

Headed Home

Well, the time has come for us to say good-bye to our family here in Baton Rouge. I'm not going to type much as I want to spend my last moments here with them.

Who knows the next opportunity we will have to all be together like this. It is a bit difficult when you factor in, well next time it will be four, grandkids, nine or more adults, and a total of over 15 hours driving time between everyone.

That just makes it all difficult.

Hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas holiday and isn't keeling over too much from an over indulgence of sweets. I know I had more than my fair share and I will also miss all the good Louisiana food we ate while we were here. Boudin. Red Beans and Rice. Cracklins.

*sigh*

I'm feeling like I ate too much just after typing that. HA!

Anyway, safe travels to all who are braving the roads. Pray my sister and her family make it home, guys. Arkansas has seen some bad winter weather and their family is going to have to drive through some form of it. So pray they make it home safely. And that her boys do well for a 3.5 yo and a just turned 2 yo.

Christmas Break

Hey there, you guys!

We made it safely into Baton Rouge last night and are enjoying the company of our family. Just wanted to let you guys know I will be taking a couple days hiatus from the blog as we spend the little time we have here with our loved ones. (Then again, I accidentally take hiatus' all the time so this one probably doesn't come as a surprise :])

Hopefully, I will have some pictures and a few stories to share once I come back.

May you, as you hopefully enjoy your holiday season, be reminded of the reason we celebrate: the birth of Christ who came so that we might be able to have a relationship with the Creator. He is the reason to celebrate this season, for had He not chosen to Love, there would be no hope of an eternity with Him.

Merry Christmas!

"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this." Isaiah 9:6,7 NASB

From Our Home

To yours.

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and since we couldn't send a card out to everyone we know or my few faithful followers:

O Tannenbaum (Wordless Wednesday Version v. 6)

*WARNING: minor picture overload. You have been warned! And yes, I used the traditional, original language of the carol. Hoping it was properly placed online*

O Tannenbaum,

O Tannenbaum,

wie treu sind deine Blätter!

Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit,

Nein auch im Winger, wenn es schneit.

O Tannenbaum,

O Tannenbaum,

vie treu sind deine Blätter!