Life after Hilton Head...

On the way home from Hilton Head, we stopped in North Carolina at cousins Curteis and LaTisha Calhoun. Aunt Marty and Uncle Brian, cousins Anie and Spencer Jenkins were there. So we spent the night and morning just hangin' out...getting plenty of love and hugs from Aunties...

Making sure there were plenty of children to entertain and be entertained...we added six extra people by just showing up!
Making sugar cookies with Aunt Marty was a definite highlight...

Do you think Eleanor had fun?

Life doesn't get any better than this! There is no way Garrett cannot be enjoying this cookie!

Thanks to the Calhoun family for hosting our little sleep-over (no birthday rollovers were reported) and for all the hugs and laughs and food and cookies. All the first cousins once removed - we just call them cousins for short - had a wonderful time playing and getting to know each other better. The house was decorated so festive for Christmas and seeing my cousins and Aunt and Uncle was so refreshing. I have wonderful Thanksgiving memories with all the cousins and aunts and uncles and grandmas and grandpas and missionaires and invited guests from all walks of life. I can honestly say that all my aunts and uncles are like second parents to me. I am blessed with a family and extended family that loves each other and I know they love me. They would do anything for me, so being able to see them every once in awhile is so much fun and gives me an emotional boost, not just from their hugs, but from the love I know they have for me.

If you want to know how much I love you, count the waves...

MEMORIES OF HILTON HEAD, SOUTH CAROLINA

THANKSGIVING 2008 If you want to know how much I love you...count the waves.

It's our favorite place to go. We play in the waves, relax in the sun, watch the dolphins swim just feet from the shore, make memories that last a lifetime, squish sand in our toes, enjoy the salty wind on our faces and build sandcastles to the sky....

My first trip to Hilton Head and I am already hooked!

The Beach Princess - you can't go to the beach without proper jewelry!

Xander loves to surf the waves (no matter the temperature of the water) and watch the dolphins swim just off the shore...

Garrett loves to surf, chase the seagulls and snuggle in his towel with a hearty snack to be ready to do it all again!

The things we do for mom and her pictures....

Are we done yet?

We're done!

Twelve years of marriage, four kids and every day, good or bad, is worth it. Jason is the best husband in the world and I am the luckiest wife in the world!

I have to have my royal robes to draw in the sand, but I will settle for a good beach towel if I must...

Brothers..friends...buddies...pals...it doesn't get any better than this!

THE DAY FAMILY 2008

Jason, Jenna, Xander (10), Garrett (7), Eleanor (3), Savannah (2 1/2 months)

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Today I was feeling very overwhelmed....the dishes weren't done, the laundry is sky high, there are boxes of Christmas decorations all over the house with only half the decorations up... there was a holiday concert to attend, Christmas shopping to finish, a baby that needed to be nursed, Christmas cards to write, a three year old that needed to be picked up from preschool, an inbox for my email that read "you have 135 new emails", a child's homework that needed to be taken to school and turned in because I forgot to take it out of the diaper bag and just general picking up all over the house and little things on the "to do" list that have gone from "should do" to"critical - you'd better get them done today or else!"

It was not the "most wonderful time of the year" at that moment.

So, as I am driving, I have to stop for geese. Yes, geese. Our neighborhood has about 50 of them that live in the neighborhood ponds year round. They were going to cross the road. They started across and then stopped and looked around, then some started back from where they came from and the others watched their friends, trying to decide if they should come or go. At first, I wanted to just drive through them and see what would happen to geese plastered to an SUV...but I waited....and waited....and waited.... Eventually they all got across. It took eight full minutes for about 12 geese to cross the road.

I went on my way, a little bit calmer and I realized, I needed to sit and watch geese today and realize how blessed I am for my four wonderful children, my husband whom I love with all my heart (I got flowers from him 2 days ago!) and my life in general. It is, by far, not perfect....but it isn't too bad. I turned on the Christmas music and finished the holiday shopping, picked up Eleanor from preschool, nursed the baby, turned in Garrett's homework, listened to Xander's concert at school, nursed the baby again, put away the boxes and scrapped the holiday decorations that aren't done, fixed dinner, ordered Christmas cards online, sat down and watched Kung Fu Panda (complete with popcorn) with the kids ( there is no school tomorrow), finished the dishes, let the kids sleep together in the playroom and put up the Christmas lights where they are sleeping. The excitement of the kids and the bright colors in the darkness reminded me: It really is the "MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!"