Currently reading

My parents actually gave this book to Joseph for Christmas but I picked it up, read the introduction, and never put it down. It is really speaking to me and is just what WE both need right now. God has so much MORE planned for our lives than we are allowing Him to accomplish. We are allowing so many 'things' to crowd Him out and distract us from being still and hearing Him speak to us and direct our lives. God tells us to get rid of anything, be it sinful or not, that is keeping us from being still and listening... truly listening... for Him to direct our path. This is our goal this year... to slow down and be still and know that He is God and He is in control. I can't wait to experience the joy and the peace that comes from living in the center of His will!

Christmas with the Jennings

Friday December 23, 2011

We had Christmas dinner with Joseph's family at our house on Friday. His Dad, his brother & his girlfriend - Dee, and our family were there. Joseph's mom passed away two days after Christmas last year so this was the first without her. Joseph's dad is in a nursing home here in Tuscaloosa and we were so glad he was well enough to be here.

more Christmas

Christmas Eve at my sister's houseMy niece, Heather and her beloved retriever, Mindy (and Carlos trying to pop in there too)

My nephew, Jordan

All of my nieces - Hannah, Danielle, Heather, Elizabeth

Mom & Dad

Daddy playing the guitar - something he loves to do

Samuel - proud of his Ingram & Jones rookie cards

John Michael at the barn

Christmas at our house - 2011

Those who know me best know that I love to change things around in our house and I love to 'piddle' around with decorating and trying new things. Christmas comes with a lot of opportunities to make some festive changes to enjoy for a short while. While I do tire of the extra stuff/clutter that the Christmas season brings and I am usually ready to bid it farewell, I really enjoy it for the season.

Our Tree this year...

Joseph & I bought the star for our first Christmas tree in 1991 & it still works.

Our front door...

The old sled has been in Joseph's family for more than fifty years. His parents bought it before he was even born when they lived in Upstate New York. Wouldn't take anything for it!

Front entryway table... I found this Santa at a Dollar General many years ago and I still love him.

Every year we make some homemade goodies to share with our neighbors. This year we had two new families move into our neighborhood in the last few months and we had not met them yet. So, we decided to make some easy chocolate fudge and some homemade hot chocolate mix (recipe from my dear friend Karen), store it in cute little containers, and hand deliver to each of our neighbors. The boys loved this! We bundled up, packed the wagon with our goodies to deliver, and walked to each home, made our delivery and wished them a Merry Christmas. The boys were sad when the last delivery had been made and we enjoyed meeting our new neighbors. The hot chocolate mix was a hit...

A Pinterest Project from some reclaimed wood from our front steps we replaced earlier in the year. I didn't do anything to the red wood pieces... I left them just as they were and loved how they turned out. A Christmas Nativity...

Another Pinterest project some friends and I got together and did. I love this project and it was such a fun night!

We made a quick trip to Birmingham to see Santa and we have some precious memories of this occasion with John Michael. I will have to post pictures later but it is a classic complete with plaid shirt, boots, cowboy hat, and even the gun sitting across his lap. Too cute and soooo JM. The elves, Elfie and Bedford, showed up again this year too and many good memories were made with them. They even went on our cruise with us! Yep, they were hid out in our car all buckled up and ready to go. They got into lots of other mischief as well such as zip-lines, blue angels air-planes, cookies, etc. Such a great memory-maker for our family. It was a blessed Christmas. More family pics later.

more of the December blur

One of my favorite things about this cruise was the opportunity to get dressed up. We just don't do this as often as we used to and I miss it!

Cruise... Part 2 So... after an exciting day in Cozumel we boarded the ship and headed back to our cabin to drop off our shopping bags then headed back to our favorite spot on the Serenity deck. Our view for most of our time on the ship. Sunset later that evening... After a rocky night at sea, some Salsa dance lessons, a couple of shows, and some major laughs at the comedy club our get-away at Sea came to a close. We spent a few hours roaming around in New Orleans before heading home. We were anxious to see our boys and tell them about our adventure. They had a great time with my parents but were glad for us to be home. This was our first time to leave them for this length of time. It was good for them and good for us!

the December blur

December is always a busy month for everyone but this year it seemed even more so. Our wedding anniversary is December 7th and this year marked 20 years. Joseph has ALWAYS gone out of his way to come up with creative ways for us to celebrate 'our day' but since our kids were born we haven't actually taken a trip like we did before kids. This year he surprised me with a cruise to Cozumel to celebrate 20 years. It was awesome and a much needed escape from the daily routine and busy-ness. Of course getting ourselves ready to take a tropical vacation in the middle of December and getting ready to leave the boys with my parents for 5 days was crazy on top of the usual Christmas decorating, shopping, parties, etc. Let me just say that it was HEAVEN. While on the cruise ship we did absolute nothing but lounge on the Serenity (no-kids-allowed) Deck and sleep, read, eat, & sleep some more. Pure AWESOME-NESS! No laundry calling my name, no homework to check, no basketball practice, no snacks to make or dinner to prepare, no beds to be made... you get the picture. Honestly, I didn't realize just how much we needed it. Don't get me wrong... I love being a wife & mom and I realize how very blessed I am to have been given these roles to fulfill. But a break from the constant demands was much needed and much appreciated.

We left on Thursday morning - December 8th and drove to New Orleans, boarded the Carnival cruise ship - Elation at about 12:30, explored the ship, found our cabin, and had lunch on the Lito Deck. The food was awesome and let me just say that we were never hungry the entire time! We pulled out of New Orleans at 4:00 and the journey to Cozumel began. Friday we were at sea all day and were docked in Cozumel when we awoke on Saturay morning. We spent the day exploring Cozumel with our very own, very nice, Cab Driver/Tour Guide, Victor. He was very personable and we loved hearing about his family and their traditions & we really enjoyed spending the day with him. He took us around the entire island, he took us to a beautiful out-of-the-way spot (Playa Palancar) to snorkel, we had lunch on the back side of the Island at Cocunuts with the most beautiful view you could ever imagine. There is no electricity on the back side of the island but it was one of the best meals we have ever had! We made a quick stop to stick a straw in a coconut for a refreshing treat later that afternoon & hit some flea-markets to pick up some souvinirs for the boys and headed back to the ship.