Happily Ever After...

Ummmm...... yeah. Birthday part 1 is usually followed by part 2. Except when you have my life right now. ~My son is moving next week to VA to start his new life (that doesn't involve us) and we have to move all his wordly goods to a storage unit while he is living in temporary housing and searching for a roommate. ~Lucky for me, the packing and storage unit still involve me, because he is moving away- Did I mention that already? ~MY FIRSTBORN IS MOVING AWAY. There. I said it.(choke...sob...sniffle...) ~His new life may just be with a beautiful Christian girl that has totally captivated him, like we have never seen before. Think Happy Mama tears. And sad. But mostly happy. (I think .) The "How to Parent" manual doesn't detail the conflicted emotions you will feel when your firstborn flies away. Far, far away. So yeah... there's that. I've decided to live in denial for the next few days. We aren't moving our son's wordly...

Gianna has never really had a REAL birthday party. She turned one in China, her second birthday was cancelled due to tornadoes, and we were checking in to the hotel last year on her birthday, the night before being admitted to the hospital for major surgery. She was DUE a fun party this year. We let her chose her party, and she wanted to go back to her beloved dance studio for a princess ballet party. Great choice! Every birthday princess needs her beauty sleep. This was our first attempt at curlers and they turned out so cute-even before we actually took the out! She's dressed and ready for her party! Does she look a little like Betty Boop? To my utter joy, my sweet, squishy baby let me squeeze her like crazy. And recited Genesis 1:1 thirty five times because I asked her to. Surprise! Gianna picked Cinderella as her favorite princess. (again) She is a loyal fan! Aria and her cousin Aspen opted for the oh-so-modest Ariel. Makes a mom proud. Or scared. Mostly the latter. Betty Boop...

Gianna, is well ..... Gianna . She marches to her own beat. Rarely hears your drum, and could care a less if she does. She has HER beat and she is happy, thankyouverymuch. Because of this, we have more than a few exasperated moments. More than a few. (As in, I can easily lose count before 10 AM on how many times I have had to remind myself to be patient, to respond lovingly, and to count to 10.) Case in point : We are rushing around the house trying not to be late for art class, and the ONLY instruction I give her is to put her shoes on, while I: start the car, let the dog out to potty, grab coats, make lunches, find backpacks, throw a load of laundry in the dryer before it mildews, start the dishwasher, find my purse, my shoes, and grab a to-go mug of coffee. And she has been told we are late, so she is well aware of the need to hurry. "Mommy, MOMmy, MOMMMMMMYYYYY. Is this the right foot? Is it? Is this the right foot???" (Mind you, she never actually moves to find me, ins...

I don't post much about my boys, primarily because they are no longer boys, they are men,(sniff) and I want to respect their privacy. But today, I decided to violate my own rule and brag a bit on both my boys in a few posts. For my birthday this year, my oldest son, Justin decided to give me the gift of a date night out with him. His life is pretty busy right now- He is on the graphic design team for a major children's clothing retailer, church and care groups, he has become quite the gym rat, and he has a love interest that is not necessarily in the same state. He may be moving away.... Despite it all, he is a faithful firstborn son and accept the responsibility that brings. He calls several times a day to check on me when his dad is out of town. He watches the girls twice a month so his dad and I can date. I know that, God forbid, if anything ever happened to his dad, he would step in to assume the roles needed to care for the girls and I. A date night was the perfect gift. ...

February is a notoriously insane month for our family. We begin the month with our anniversary, then we a have a birthday palooza, and when we finally recover- it's March. I took absolutely no photos of all the birthday festivities, so I decided that it was time to pull out those unpublished Christmas photos. Matching Christmas Eve jammies. Gianna named her doll "Brenda" which is another story for another time. Brenda??? We believe in lots and lots of vanilla steamed milks when it's cold. Happy Birthday Jesus cake. His got photographed before it was consumed. Ryan and mine weren't so lucky. Bentley likes to observe all the fun from his perch. (He thinks he's a cat.) Ahh, the coveted zhuzhu pets. This years hottest item. At the height of the frenzy these little $8 rodents sold on ebay for $50. I am not crazy, however, and bought them early. Since my girls don't want TV with commercials, they had no idea what they were. Thankfully, they loved them any way. S...

May your day be filled with kisses. And snuggles from those you love. May you enjoy unexpected surprises. (Like 3 inches of snow in GA) And may your snowman.. ...be Chinese. Happy Year of the Tiger!

"Hi, let me re-introduce myself. My name is Cristy, and I have a blog that I have SORELY neglected. I'm so sorry for those who thought f or sure that our house had burned to the ground, or that I had contracted the bubonic plague, or possibly that I had been carried away by a pack of rabid possums. I just wanted to reassure you that I am indeed alive." So, hmmm, where have I been for the past, say 3 weeks or more? Homeschooling. Swim lessons twice a week. Art class on Tuesdays. Science club on Fridays (for which I am the room mom, which literally means I stay in the room for 2 hours each week to help the teacher. Weird, I know.) Piano lessons. Did I mention homeschooling? Ah, yes, and then there is play group on Thursdays (which I wouldn't miss ever. I promise Aimee. Unless of course I am carried away by rabid possums and then I will you my entire stash of chocolate chai.) Oh, and a few friends and I started a girl -scout- like group called "Keepers at Home...