It is cleaned up, packed up, put up, and vaccumed up.

Growing up, I always felt such sadness at seeing the lights come down. I do have to admit it still makes my heart ache a little to see all of the dark houses again. However, in my house, it feels so exhilarating to get everything up and clean and fresh again. New hopes and dreams start to fill the nooks and crannies of the house where trees, decorations and wrapping once stood. The house is light and airy and ready for 2008.

However, today, on the last day of 2007, I feel a need to recap ...so stick with me.

1.) J. and I have had a rough season this holiday, but we are stronger! AMEN for stronger!

2.) Sister, Dub and their boys (whom we absolutely adore) moved "home" for a season. We were able to pray together, cry together, laugh uncontrollably together, and do life together. We are not sure where 2008 will lead them, but we are amazingly thankful for the time of 2007.

3.) J. was diagnosed with yet another reason why 2008 has got to be the year of health for our house.

4.) Wonderful friends and family came to our house...can I just tell you how much I love having people over. Last night, we were telling the story again about how God put us in this house, and I will forever stand amazed. Today, I walked through asking myself and praising God for His precious gift! When we were in the process of buying it, we prayed that it would be used to bring Him glory. It is amazing what a blessing it is!

5.) We got to spend another year with my grandparents....blessing!!!

I could go on and on....we have so much to be thankful for!

As for the new year, I pray we will be in His presence every moment, and fulfilling His will for our lives.

Happy New Year!!

My Favorite Moment

Have you ever watched someone go back in time?

My grandmother will be 85 in a couple of days. My Meme is a mess. She is fiesty, bossy, and simply precious. She got a couple of comfortable outfits for Christmas. We asked her to try them on because she has lost an enormous amount of weight, and we wanted to make sure they didn't fall off of her. I have to admit it makes me tear up just to think how daring and vivacious she was when she came in, threw down her cane, and posed for the camera. At that moment, I saw the young vibrant woman that has influenced my sister and I. I love her so much.

Happy Birthday, Meme!

Now you just have to admit that the foot out to the side makes this outfit!

This second pose is with Sister and our Sister-In-Law. SO CUTE!!!

Spidy Christmas Morning

This year, the theme was Spi-da-man (as Tanner would say). The boys wanted everything you could think of with Spiderman on it. So, Santa came through. They have Spi-da-man chairs, games, toys, clothes, etc.

In fact, I was told that I was Peter Parker since I was taking so many pictures. Too much fun!!It was a Spidy Christmas!

Sweet Face

This year was especially fun during the holidays. Our nephew, Tucker, is about to turn 4. He "got" Christmas this year. It made the whole holiday that much more fun.

One of the many things that we talked about was being good. He tried so hard to be good. He kept telling us, " I am being good, Aunt Mandy."

Well, my dh was playing with T, which he loves to do, and told him that he had to have a "sweet" face when he was being good. So, Uncle J. showed Tucker what that sweet face should look like. I wish I had taken a picture of that, but I didn't get the shot.

I have to admit...Tuck got pretty good at the sweet face.

See for yourself...

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all of you GREAT JOY throughout the new year!

Christmas At Our House

Well, it is December 27th, and I am finally getting the pics done for BooMama's Home Tours. I apologize, but we had Spiderman presents to buy, Spiderman tooth brushes and toothpaste to find, and Spiderman paper to wrap. As you can tell, we have had a very Spidy Christmas!

So, welcome! Here is my front porch.

On my front porch stands this guy. We got him back when we were living in the townhome. At that time, we didn't have a front porch to decorate...so, he would scare the mess out of us by standing in the living room. We always would jump and think someone was in there.

This is one of the wreaths that hang on our front windows. I have always love the simplicity of wreaths. So, it was a joy when dh decided that he could do that, and he fixed these wreaths up perfectly!

Okay, now you guys come on in.

















Here you can see some of my collection of department 56 houses. I love them! I started collecting them when I was in highschool.













This one is very special to me. It was given to my grandmother, but she gave it to me just a few months ago. She knew how much I loved it, and she wanted it to be with me. I love you, Meme!















This is our Christmas Card Tree. I love it. I believe it came from Pottery Barn, but I am not sure. It has been a while since I got it, but I absolutely love it. I hate taking it down because I love seeing all of our friends and family.

This is our tree. We had to change to shatter proof, plastic balls this year. We have a 2 year old nephew that loves balls...so, I didn't want to worry the entire time he was here, and it simply isn't worth being upset over. I was pleasantly suprised whith the look of the plastic balls. I figured they would be quite hideous, but they are really quite stunning. I even took some close ups so you could see!


























Our nativity scene is one that I found many years ago. It sits on our fireplace. It is the focal point of the house when you come in. I love that. It is my desire that He will always be the focal point of our house.



















Finally, I wanted to show my school pride by giving you a glimps of just how crazy Aggies are. We will buy anything with A&M on it.