o holy night

"O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining, it is the night of our dear Savior's Birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining, til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

The thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees!  Oh, hear the angel voices!

O night divine, the night when Christ was born."

My favorite Christmas hymn.  I've been reflecting quite a bit on these words through this holiday season, and it is the meaning of why we even celebrate Christmas.  We should constantly fall on our knees to our Savior and be in awe of His presence with us and how we were chosen as His.

Thanks to my friend Aud (and pinterest), I'll have these words hanging in our house throughout the season as a constant reminder of why we are celebrating Christmas.

well hello there...

...little neglected blog....  Life is great and we are enjoying it and staying so so busy (like I'm sure everyone else in the world is).  Starting two new jobs has been wonderful and I love them both very much and am very blessed.

We had a relaxing Thanksgiving holiday with the Carter family (and the extended Carters, too!) in Oxford.  The weather was awesome and we had some delicious food.

It seems as though every year when December comes, there is something scheduled EVERY day.  Why is that??  It is all usually things I enjoy attending, too, so then we are busy... a fun busy though!

I did finally manage time to make a little desktop calendar for December, so I hope you enjoy!  You can get it by clicking here...

Merry merry to everyone and let's all remember the reason for the season.

leaves

It's November y'all... My favorite time of the year continues.

A few years ago when I trained for the marathon, I spent a lot of time in our neighborhood and in surrounding neighborhoods.  This is when I really grasped the awesome-ness of a gingko tree.  The leaves turn BRIGHT yellow and they have the most unique shape.  No other leaf has this shape.  The thing about a gingko is that they are the SLOWEST growing... so if we planted one in our backyard to enjoy, we would probably never see it like the ones I see in Memphis.  Now that I'm working downtown, I've noticed they are all over downtown too and some huge ones on Front street.  As you can see, I love them.

That year, I put gingko leaves on the November desktop and brought it back this year.  Go download it here.

This month I'm reflecting (daily) on the things that I'm thankful for.... There are so many blessings in our life.

october time

It's October.  It's getting cold(er) outside finally.  Hunting season opened yesterday.  Fall is upon us.

Now I just need some pumpkins and mums.  I've been waiting while the weather wanted to be at it's last 90 degrees last week (hopefully).  This is my favorite time of year.

Check out the October desktop calendar here!

new gig

Well... it seems I've resorted to posting only desktop calendars and no life updates or any other non-important information.... but today starts a new chapter for my work-life!  I'm pumped about this new gig working with a gal I met right when I quit the previous job.  She has her own business and I'm working as her assistant on various fun projects, one being promoting overton square reno here in Memphis.  It will be a lot of fun so I'm really looking forward to see where I'm headed from here!

Also, it's turning into fall around here (my favorite time of year) and we had a perfect taste of it sitting around a neighbor friends fire-pit yesterday.  My kind of relaxing Sunday....

Lastly, if you need a new pandora station to listen to, I recommend Counting Crows.  It's my current choice of "the music I'm listening to lately."

they're back!

It's September 2012 and it's been 2 years since some of our best friends left America to live in Italy.  At the time it seemed like so far away that they would be back, and I feel like it's gone by so quickly and here they are, back in the states!  Welcome back Stephens!!

We can't wait to see them and I know they will continue to long for loving people and living for other people as they have done for the past 2 years.

Laura sent over this cute desktop for the month of September.  Fall is coming soon (I hope) and maybe I'll start sharing more life stories here.. life is happening and I continue to try to live in the present.

Go over here to find the September desktop calendar!

back to school

I'm working at a preschool now, so it's come back around that August means back to school time.  We had "meet the teacher" last night and it gets you ready for the upcoming school year and the excitement of something new.  More new-ness to me than my co-workers, but I'm continuing to live in the present and put my heart into what I'm doing at the moment.  Being present.

Another SUPER exciting thing for me in August is a trip.  Leslie and I are going to see our [not so] little brother in LA and are pumped.  Neither of us have been further in the US than Colorado/Arizona. We are calling it our first annual "sister retreat."  We haven't ever traveled on a trip just the two of us and I know we will have such fun and crazy-ness.  I'm sure she'll spill on me (and not her) or roll her suitcase over my foot multiple times, but that's my sister (right Jesse?) and I've recently come into her clumsy-ness so maybe I'll get her back.  :)

Also, our family celebrates 3 birthdays this month... My mom, Granny (she'll be 92!), and now Juliette.

Sounds like we are in for fun in August!

Oh, and you can catch the August desktop calendar (if you're interested) ----> here.