I was talking to my friend Tiffany this morning and we were talking about how we'd love to see each other, but it's too cold to go outside. This morning when I checked the weather it was 32 with a wind chill of 22. We live in FLORIDA!!

We are home. We had a fabulous Christmas with lots of family and lots of gifts and lots of food. I'll post photos when I get them on the computer and have a chance to go through them. We have 2 cameras worth, so be patient.

We have been at my parents' house since Monday and it has been fun seeing them and having some Christmas time with them. Yesterday Jennifer and Anne Morgan came over and we opened our presents to each other. It was great b/c it wasn't chaotic like Christmas Day can often be and the kids would sit and play with what they got before opening another gift. It was sweet b/c it was just a few of us sharing with each other. Don't get me wrong, I find the chaos of wrapping paper flying, shrieks of joy and "thank you's" being shouted fun to be around, but it has been a bit overwhelming for the kids to have so much going on at once. I like the idea of spreading out the love a little. (I have tons of photos, but will had later.)

Yesterday was a much needed, great family day. Brandon stayed home and got to sleep in instead of going down to Orlando for the Niceville (state championship) football game. The kids and I were really glad he stayed here with us. We loaded everyone in the van once he woke up and headed to Destin to run some errands. I had a couple stores to return things to and it was nice to have him along to stay in the car with the kids while I did that. We went to Destin Commons and let them play for a little while and then drove thru Sonic for lunch.

Last night I heard singing coming from Christopher's room. He's not much for singing songs, but this week he's started to show more interest. I realize it's Jingle Bells. Sort of. I grab my camera, set it to video and start to sneak down the hall to capture his version. Unfortunately he came out right as I was halfway down the hall. I got him to sing it again and I am hoping to get the video on here soon. Here's how it goes:

Last night we had our Sunday School party, without kids. We all brought our appetizers and arrived at the home that was hosting and can I just say that as soon as I saw the front door I was in love? I think I heard beautiful music and people gliding around and was in my own dream-like world as I walked through the house. I didn't hear what anyone was saying b/c I was dreaming about my family growing up in this house.

It is my dream house. For starters, the neighborhood didn't look like you were in Florida. Secondly, it wasn't cookie cutter homes where you get your choice of one of three models and the house appears 2 months later. It was perfect. It had a beautiful, lush, sticker-free yard. A small little patio out front and the most perfect dark wood doors with windows in them.

You walk in and there was a gorgeous Christmas tree in the middle of the den (I don't like the words "living room," nobody uses them!) and then you turn to go into my kitchen. It was the absolute perfect size. The island/counter with stools curved and when I stand there washing dishes I can either see, to the left a little, my children sitting at the table with chairs and a bench eating a snack OR, if I turn a little to the right, see them lying on the floor coloring next to the fireplace. Did I mention that the wall with the fireplace was brick and it had the most comfy chairs there? I didn't want to leave. Seriously, if they had more children I probably could have hidden and they wouldn't have noticed.

There is a door in the kitchen that leads to the basement. Now this is a thing we didn't know about in Montgomery. You couldn't have basements there. I love basements! This one was, like the rest of the house, perfect. It had the big tv with the kids Christmas tree and at the back of the room, another counter/stool combo and a fridge. They had Christmas movie posters on the wall too. I loved it!!

It was all I could think about on the way home. It wasn't until we arrived to pick up the kids that I realized I hadn't said one word since we left b/c I was dreaming about our family growing up in this house. Brandon told me to ask them for the floor plans. I think I'll do that. I don't know when we'll settle down, or even where we'll settle down, but when we do, this is the house I want to build. And then I'll have the original owner come and help me decorate it. She had just the right touches. It wasn't formal, it was neatly comfortable.

I'm off to make lunch for my kids in our yucky kitchen that who knows how long it's been here, but I'm so very thankful to have. They say it takes 3 houses to figure out what you really want and I think we'll have a couple more under our belt in the next few years. Have a great day!

I'm not a huge news person, but I do like to turn on Good Morning America in the mornings (thanks Aunt Mel for the intro) to hear if anything important has happened since the day before. I don't always get to "watch" it, but it's just nice to hear adult voices.

This past Monday I turned it on and heard the sad news that Diane Sawyer was leaving at the end of the week and moving to another part of ABC news. One of the things I loved the most was hearing her and Robyn and their sweet voices in the morning. They always seemed to be so happy and truly care about what they were talking about, even if I didn't.

Then, another shocker... Chris Cuomo was leaving too! I think that he's adorable and I'm sad I won't get to hear him teasing his co-workers in the morning. It seemed like such a fun group of people to be around. He's going to be doing news still, but kind of all over the place and mostly with 20/20.

I recorded Friday's show so I could watch it on my own time and say goodbye. I did catch one part and I had to share the quote with you. I think Diane had said it earlier in the show and quoted it wrong so she was correcting herself. I think it's from Dr. Seuss? "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." I absolutely love that! I've always been a little slow when it comes to goodbyes b/c it just doesn't sink in for me for a while that it's really "goodbye" and not "see you later".

I just finished reading a Christmas book (The Christmas Blessing) last night and it's the sequel to The Christmas Shoes. I had a lump in my throat reading the last 20 pages, but I'm so glad I did. If you want a super quick read, I highly suggest this one. The quote from above just kept going through my head the whole time I was reading it. It's a beautiful way to look at life too. Having lost a loved one several years ago, I know how tough it can be, but being a Christian gives you such peace about it. That's not to say there aren't tears to be shed, but I find joy in knowing I will get to spend eternity with that person in heaven.

So, on that note. I don't mean to be a downer for the day, but hopefully help give you a new way to look at things. I don't really like goodbyes b/c I prefer to think that I will always see you later!

Our busy weekend starts tonight. Well, it's not as busy as supposed to be b/c we have decided to pass on a few of the events. I had a party last night, b'day today, 2 parties tonight and one tomorrow night. That's five total. We've never been invited to a Christmas party yet and we had 5 in one weekend this year! We are only going to attend the residency party tonight and the S.S party (no kids) tomorrow night.