Update

We are alive, just passing around, and fighting a wonderful stomach virus for a little while now. I'll update soon with pictures and stories from Christmas. Hope everyone else had a happy, healthy and safe Christmas and if you are local hope you enjoyed a beautiful white Christmas!

A Rainy Cold Sunday Afternoon

It really isn't unusual in our home to still be in our pajamas at dinner time. Not every day, but lots of them.I realize there are people out there who think this is lazy, or unproductive, but I could care less, it works for us. This afternoon, however, would have been a complete waste if spent in anything other than p.j.'s. We took advantage of a very cold, very dreary, rainy day and took a day off. We stayed at home, just the four of us and it was the best! First of all, we have never done it before, but Mckenzie recently acquired a bead set from my mom and so we made bracelets. This is mine:
Mckenzie did not want words on hers so she had a heart and color bead bracelet (far left), Konnor wanted a super hero bracelet, yes, we were shocked too, so Aarik had to have a Captain America bracelet (3rd from left) and Konnor has Iron Man (far right).

This was our first "family" art/craft project in a VERY long time and it was frustrating and fun all at once.

Then it was that time of day when, if we've been locked in all day, I start baking. This almost always happens just before I should be making dinner. Must be that 3:30 crash. So today we made a pound cake. One of our favorite pound cake recipes. Unfortunately I did not have any whipping cream on hand to make our favorite fresh topping :( It was still a yummy treat. Of course we only had taco soup for dinner by the time we put this together, but, hey, it was perfect for this day.

The kids with all of our creations.

AND, I had to throw in one from last weeks "snow" because it's fun to see your kids get so excited about snow.

So grateful for afternoons like this when we get our "excuse" for relaxing, not-so-productive family time.

Inspiration

I shared this link awhile back on Facebook but I love it so much I wanted to share it again. For anyone who thinks they can't accomplish something bigger than themselves or who feels like they may not be adequately equipped, I present to you my newest hero.
http://www.good.is/post/homeless-running-hero-tackles-his-biggest-goal-a-full-marathon/

He finished and he finished well ( 3 hrs 48 minutes). It's never a bad thing to find something you enjoy and use it as a vehicle to get past something in your life that you may not know how to work through otherwise.

Where do you find Peace?

I mean, aside from the Temple or other holy ground. Is there a place you can go, in your every day, not so planned life where you can find your thoughts, or feel like yourself again after a long day of lock down in stay at home motherhood with freezing cold temps outside, or sitting in front of a computer all day at work? Anyone who knows me knows my "place". I found this quote about running and I love it so I'm sharing it and asking you to tell me where you go to find your kind of PEACE.

"I run because it's my passion, and not just a sport. Every time I walk out the door, I know why I'm going where I'm going and I'm already focused on that special place where I find my peace and solitude. Running, to me, is more than just a physical exercise... it's a consistent reward for victory!" -Sasha Azevedo, Model and runner

What happens after your kids watch "Barney's Christmas Star"? This...

I tried to load this directly from my computer and it would never work so I finally just did the youtube thing(first time for everything, right?) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpcMNp4GXf0

Today I thought....

Dear Father in Heaven, thank You for my blessings, all of them, and the ones that are disguised as trials, please help me to endure them well (much better than I do now) so that I can see them for what they really are. Thank you for my sweet little family, the true friends that are always there, even when we've taken a break. Thank you for giving me legs that can run, lungs, a strong heart and the desire to run so that I can attempt to keep my sanity. Also, thank You, Lord, for Shrimp n Grits, because how else is a good Southern girl supposed to make it through this weather?! Amen.

I also wondered why it is that I can't upload the cute video of Mckenzie decorating the tree to this dang blog! It loaded on Facebook, so what am I doing wrong on here?!?! Anyone who knows, feel free to answer this one. Thanks- Me