Christmas Card 2010

Oh Holy Night Religious Christmas Card

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17 months

Really? Has it been that long already? When did my baby transform from an infant to a toddler?? To be honest, yesterday, the 6th of December, was actually the day she officially became 17 months, and up until yesterday I would celebrate the 6th of every month in some way. Yesterday came and went and I really didn't think about it. Does that mean I love her any less? Not hardly, in fact I love her more and more each day and I think part of me forgetting temporarily can be attributed to the fact that as much as I want her to remain my baby, she is becoming quite a little young lady.

She is learning what seems to be a new word everyday. I wrote out a list of all the words she can say today, and I'm sure there are more to be added that I can't recall, but here's a little preview of what I get the pleasure of hearing every day!

baby

bye bye

uh oh

mama

please

thank you

hey

ba ba

cup

ball

bubble

duck

cow

Papa

Pawpaw

GG

Mia

Me

tree

book

car

train

cookie

bow

cheese

bag

Moo

Choo Choo

nose

eye

teeth

and last but definitely not the least, no (which I wish I could have left off this list!)

She is repeating things like crazy and mimicking me all the time, in a good way. She is so funny. I just love watching her grow up.

She's doing so much more these days. She loves to read and read aloud to us. She says "Moooooo" anytime she sees a cow. I know there is so much more to update, but I just can't think of what else right now!

I have pictures that I need to post tomorrow.

Hopefully she won't be 18 months before I blog again!

Tis the Season....

To be jolly...

I say "tis the season"... to send Christmas cards!

And what better way to do it than by choosing Shutterfly to make them for you!

I love most everything about Shutterfly. In fact, just this past Friday I was able to get 101 free prints from them and the quality of the pictures that I got yesterday (so fast!) is unbelievable!

I will definitely be using Shutterfly to make my cards this year, and it would be even better if I could get them for free, but I need help choosing which design! Last year I made my own on Picasa, and they were ok, but let's be honest, not Shutterfly quality!

So, here are my front runners!

I'm also thinking I know someone who loves coffee and Molly Grace, wouldn't this be perfect??

Check out these and other designs here. One of my favorites parts of Christmas over the past years has been watching my fridge fill up with cards and pictures of the people I love the most. It is a daily reminder to me of how many people I am so blessed and thankful to know! Time to go take some pictures so I can get my cards out, only 24 days til Christmas!

Could it be true Shutterfly?

So I have read a couple of blogs that say that Shutterfly is giving away 50 free Christmas cards to bloggers! They have the cutest designs and even if it isn't true, I will probably be getting mine through Shutterfly anyway! Check them out!

my dream

One of my favorite TV shows is "Friday Night Lights". My friend Bret discovered his love for FNL and then decided it was something I need to love as well. It took several months, but I finally watched my first episode and fell in love instantly.

It's just one of those shows that makes you feel good. It can make you like a once "bad" character that at first you hated. It's just plain good and if you haven't watched it, you definitely should.

I was re-watching season 4 the other day and there was this one scene where Tammy Taylor (the wife of head football coach, Eric Taylor) was talking to her daughter Julie about deciding which college she should go to because Julie was trying to make her mom's dream come true and this is what she told her:

"You're my dream, baby. I got what I wanted. I got it all, and now it's your job to dream up whatever you want and I will support you to the ends of the earth to do that."

I had watched that same scene before but this time, it had me in tears. Years ago, my dream would not have been to be at mom at 23 but now, it is my dream. I love it and those words spoken from a fictional mom on TV describe what I feel for MG.

And that is one of the many reasons why I love Friday Night Lights.

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose.

Moving and Change

So....

I recently read a post from Sarah at To Him Belong about being SOOC or "straight out of the camera". She talked about how we sometimes edit our lives to make it look like everything is perfect when really there are hard things going on. You should definitely read it here.

Here's is my attempt at being real and SOOC.

My cousin/roomie, Kim, decided a couple of months ago to apply for a mission trip called The World Race, where she will travel to 11 different countries in 11 months. She was accepted and will be leaving July 1. Only 5 days shy of MG's 2nd birthday. While I am so so so happy for her and know this is all in God's plan, it leaves me without a roommate.

Right now, financially, I cannot afford to safely live by myself. I don't know many people that are single and able to be my roommate in the small town that I live in. With that being said, I am left with very few options.

I have decided that what is best for Molly Grace and I right now is to move in with my mother. While I know it will be good for me and my mom, but it is something that is very hard for me to do. I have been out from under my parent's home since I was 18 and I have supported MG on my own for the past year. It is hard for me to accept that I need the help. Honestly, I do though. Although I am a single mom, I have never lived alone with a baby. I truly do not know how people do it, live alone with a baby. I get overwhelmed at the thought of trying to get ready and take care of MG when someone else is not there to occupy her.

So, that's what going on. I am sure God is teaching me something about pride in all this. It has already helped me to see what really counts in life, and that is that MG and I will have a roof over our heads, beds to sleep in, food on the table, and a love between us that doesn't change no matter where we move.

Halloween 2010

Although this was Molly Grace's second Halloween, it was her 1st Halloween to be able to Trick or Treat! To celebrate this special event, I knew she had to have a super cute costume. Since I'm not all about the typical Halloween costumes for babies, and I don't have enough time or enough craftiness I enlisted April of Hair Flair Bowtique to make MG something wonderful. She made MG the CUTEST Dalmatian costume, complete with a tutu, shirt and leggings, collar and headband with ears and bows. It was adorable, one of a kind, and made especially for my Gracie girl!

Kim's coworker and friend, Tammy, invited us over to her neighborhood to trick or treat so we headed over Sunday night to get our candy on. I had worked with her on saying "trick or treat" but when it came to actually saying it for other people, she was too shy. She did say "thank you" and "bye bye". I was one proud mama. Her favorite candy seemed to be suckers and surprisingly I think she enjoyed giving out the candy to other trick or treaters better than getting it herself!

Here are some of the cute pictures I got of the little Dalmatian! She was a busy little puppy and it was hard to get to sit her to sit still for a picture so most of them are of my little on the go puppy!










It was so wonderful getting to experience Halloween with MG. She had so much fun. I had had the worst day Sunday and watching her and being with her while we were trick or treating turned my whole day around. I can't wait for next year!

Check out all of her pictures on my Facebook page!