Ash of All Trades

Welcome to 2011!  Here we are a new year and a new beginning.  My New Year's resolution this year is to enjoy every moment.  If 2010 taught me anything it is that anything can change in the snap of two fingers - sometimes for the better and sometimes not so much.  For 2011we have the following exciting changes: 1. Justin will GRADUATE in August (he is getting is MBA through PennState) 2. Chloee will be 4 and Caylee will be 2. 3. Caylee will potty train and move to a big girl bed! 4. We will take the girls on their first plane ride - to Pennsylvania for Justin's graduation! 5. Chloee will start Pre-K after our PennState trip. 6. Praying that I will become an aunt this year! 7. Take the girls to the snow for the first time. 8. Try to Blog 3-4 times per week! 9. Eat lots of new foods! 10. Learn how to make homemade breads in my new bread machine! 11. Finish our backyard! 12. Change churches - we are trying to go local in an effort to become more involved! ...

Today is a day to say goodbye to 2010!  The girls and I spent the day cleaning up the remaining Christmas decor and preparing for a new year.  To say that I am happy for 2010 to be over is an understatement.  This year brought with it: - My Baby turned 1! -Very long and scary hospital stay for my dad. - My First born turned 3! - 7 close deaths; six of which were to cancer and four of which occurred after Halloween. - Several new babies were born!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -My sister started college in Arizona (UofA) - Justin went to Pennsylvania for the first time. - Justin & I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary! - We went on our 1st trip without the girls! And much much more.  This year was a mixed year some happy happy times and some very frightening times yet I can't say that it was a BAD year - if anything it was a year of growth and strength and most importantly BLESSINGS! As we close this year I feel completely blessed to live the life I live and to h...

Greetings all and I hope you had a wonderfully Merry Christmas!  We enjoyed ourselves over here with lots of decorating and traditions plus family visits and more.  Here is a bit of a recap from the last few months!  Above is our gingerbread house the girls so lovingly helped me decorate.  Chloee was in heaven organizing pieces and carefully placing them on while Caylee munched away 3 candies in her mouth per one on the house.  Mommy had to personalize it was a C for my girls! Decorating the tree was a big hit for both of the girls.  Chloee was so excited since she remembered last year and since she got her annual Hallmark Ornament to hang.  We kind of went crazy this year (okay okay we do this every year) and bought the biggest tree we could find - let's just say the girls now have a 12 inch stump to sit on not including the other 12 inches we cut off.  Tall and broad that is how we like our Christmas trees. December also brought with...