and a Happy New Year!

Heading to the beach today for New Year's Eve - firecrackers & hot cocoa with the kids...may God bless you in this new year.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:33-34

Fa La la la la la la la la

Just had to share our tree drama - notice the end of it is sticking out of the box? That is because we cut a hole in it. It should have broke down into 3 pieces (instead of 2) but it would not come apart. Besides pulling it apart with a "come along" (I quote), this was our only option. My beautiful, ez decor, pre-lit tree may never be the same again. It really was easy to decorate but I do not know why it would not come apart. Craig's sanity & godliness was tested. (Mine had already left...:)

Just so you can see how happy he is......he was so proud that I finally agreed to the plan. (What choice did I have...he & the chainsaw and my $167 tree?) I told him I was glad he was so efficient & sweet, bless his soul for being married to me! I knew I should have had those Pearsons help me undecorate, at least we may have had more manpower!

Go tell it on the Mountain

the December Blog challenge is almost over! Yah! Actually, I enjoyed it but I became a slacker the last few days but my goal is to have 31 posts...I will by December 31st...:)

I'll be back again someday! (Frosty)

The Pearson clan, that is. I doubt Frosty the snowman will ever show up in Bmt. but I hope the fam ventures again! They are all gone this morning & now we are cleaning up, taking down the decor & regrouping. Fun was had by all - we went to the Woodlands for great food & fellowship, shopping on Friday & mayhem with the kids all the time! Will had had a bit of adjustment - he just likes to eat, watch "Cars" & hang on his moma - tough isnt' he? Claire woke up brokenhearted that everyone was gone. Post pics later. :)

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

The girls loved their dolls. It took me 30 minutes to fix Faith's hair like Kirsten. She has been trying to read the book about her. She traveled from Sweden with her family to America. Her last name just happens to be Larson!
Claire is enjoying her toddler twins - she named them Maley & Will. :)
Will did this all morning - he loves cars, he has drove them all over the house. He is napping or he would be outside with his new ball!
I am off to make Spinach Madeline. Merry Christmas & God bless you & yours.

Merry Christmas to all & to all a good night!

Cutest photo op ever!!!!!!!

He was having a great time...
time to add sisters! - Photo Op still going strong!
AAAHHH! Photo Nazi showed up - mayhem began...
Add parents - hokey - i look ridiculous - better luck tomorrow!
The girls had a ball tonight. We had a Happy B-day Jesus party, went to church, ate at Ma & Pa's & then came home. We put reindeer food in the yard, had our Advent lesson, read Luke 2 & off to bed they went. . . easily, wish it was like that every night!

So be good for goodness sake!

My girls came to me today as I was on the phone (I guess that was a 1st clue to the problem) & preceded to spill their guts! They had cut Madeline's hair - she has a full layered look now. Madeline is a doll Faith got for Christmas last year. Throughout the spill, I also heard Claire cut a bit of her hair. (This upset me most b/c Claire got stuck in the short line for hair - I managed to trim it in the spot she hacked & you cannot tell - I think.) I am quite pleased with myself that I did not head south during our convo, I preceded to lecture on the use of scissors. I asked them to turn the culprits over & wouldn't you know Claire had 2 pairs of fiskars - she had also hidden a pair under her pillow! Lovely.....is it time for school yet? j/k...

This is not quite the look of our doll but you get the picture. She is a big, nice doll with a now layered bush cut... :) And now, they are sooooo happy to be cleaning up the red hair & their room!

Holly Jolly Christmas

in their pjs! aren't they cute? they were going to open them on Christmas eve but we went to look at lights tonight with hot cocoa in hand & we just needed new jammies. i got them all at kohl's - great deal!

claire fell asleep in the car so she is a bit fussy & will is so ready for bed! faith looks so much better & must be feeling great - she keeps eating!

With the kids jingle belling

everyone telling you "Be of good cheer", it's the most wonderful time of the year!

"Be of good crazy" was how it was at my house this morning. I do not know why but we could not get out the door for church. I guess it was sin that I slept until 6:45, that rarely happens.

When Claire gets to coughing, she needs breathing treatments so asthma does not flare up - our machine broke in the middle of her treatment. I called a friend to borrow one in case I cannot get one tomorrow morning. I should have know what my morning was going to be like...

As we all began to get ready, it was smooth sailing. Craig always leaves early to get ready for busing & teaching. Around 9, I was putting on make-up (in a 45 square foot bathroom) while Faith was brushing her teeth. Claire tore in to use the restroom & in one split second, Will followed her & put his hands in the toilet! Ugghg! It was a mess so he had to get washed up. He got mad & knocked my powder off the vanity. (Yes, it broke, no big deal, it only costs $25.) At this point, I think, "Lord, let me parent in the Spirit, not flesh." Then, I decided to dress him since he was clean. Well, he hated his darling train sweater. But, he wore it.

After Will was completely dressed, I realized he was dirty. As I changed him, my cell phone rang. I asked Faith to get it, she brought it to me as the land line rang, it was my in-laws. They are in Tyler & wanted to make sure it did not freeze so Jeannie's plants did not die. Faith said Pa said it was 82 in Tyler, it was really 28. Craig was on my cell, one of his workers was stranded on the interstate & could not get there to bus, so I had to call a replacement. I think I had poop filled hands as we discussed the matter.

Everyone was loaded in the car & I spilt tea all down my clothes so I had to change which meant I needed my boots - I looked 10 minutes for them - found them under the computer, I am sure where I had left them!!

I needed to leave about 9:15 for Marriage Builder's Class - we left at 10:00 - so much for going. I also wanted a pic of the kids in front of the tree - it did not happen. I took it when we got home. Still wild huh?

Everyone dancing merrily

Today was Claire's day to shine!

We call her "Cindy -Lou-Who!"
Her class is so sweet!

She took her hair down as soon as we got in the car. :)

Oh Christmas Tree

Or a poinsetta tree - this is for Faith's teacher. Isn't it a cute idea? (it was not mine) The kids choose a gift card in any denomination for the teacher. She has received everything from Rao's to Sonic to Target - a real blessing this time of year! It made we want to teach again so terribly! I cannot wait to go back - j/k! Gotcha huh? (I doubt any of you thought I was serious...:)


We chose Dunkin Donuts b/c they have my fave lattes & the girl's donuts. I did get a little West End Wanda feedback but what did I expect? Drives me crazy but I remained steadfast with a godly attitude - I think.

Mary, did you know?

I just love this song. The words are so true & powerful. I love this line: This child that you've delivered, Will soon deliver you? I think reflecting upon it reminds us Christmas is everyday in our hearts (I think that is a S.C. Chapman song?) or it should be everyday. I just felt like sharing that.

Laid down his sweet head...

Will has an ear infection - the first of any of my 3. He has been on an antibotic since Sat. & still needed a shot yesterday, it is not budging. So, when the 3 laid down their heads last night, so did I, at 8:00. First time in a very long time, Craig woke me to see if I was pg....I am not..:)

Good thing I rested b/c my darling baby boy has not napped today & woke up with 103.6 fever, he may need another shot tomorrow.

Nine ladies dancing

but we only had eyes for one! This week is Open House at Bonnie Cokinos' School of Dance.

Faith is in Ballet 1 this year.

Actually, Craig & his parents went and watched today. I will go to her Thursday class.
She is doing so well, we are so proud!

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads

As I am blogging, I realize the cut outs were a success, I am thankful I am through. These are the cookies going in the oven, I need new pans , a rolling pin & cookie cutters before next year.

The angels were much smaller than the trees so they browned quicker, I learned a lot too!
The girls & their dough - they loved rolling the best. The gingerbread men had too skinny of necks & kept breaking. They still have some left to decorate.
The finished trees - these are for Claire's class party on Tuesday. They taste yummy!
Oh, and this is Will, while I was icing this morning, he was crawling in & out of the tupperware cabinet - he did not care for cookies...:)

I realize some of you may think my post title is a poem or story but it is listed as a song.

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas.....

everywhere you go. .....SO much for a non-busy weekend at home! We have been busy: Faith & I ran errands early, in the rain. Cookie cut-outs took all day & were interrupted by baby Will having an ear infection. (I feel awful, my kids have never had them so I kept wondering why he was so fussing & pushing his ear...duh... He never ran fever but I am so thankful for ibuprofen.) We are icing & decorating cookies tomorrow. (We ate the 1st batch of icing!) It got cold...brrr..yeah! Then, we went to a party for a dear friend of ours. So, busy it is...pics of cookies tomorrow?!?

Tender Tennessee Christmas

Today - normal Friday...Faith has school, Claire had dance, got caught up on the books since i lacked a computer all week. Made dinner, watched Grinch (the movie, not cartoon) with the girls and put kiddos to bed. THEN, I made cookies, roll out sugar cookies, ALONE. Did you hear me? ALONE! I stress this b/c Paula & I have made them each for 4 years, at least. BUT, we missed the hurricane year (i cannot go there). Anyway, they moved to Tennessee (hint post title) and we have had a running joke on her coming here to HELP me or me going there for her to HELP me make cookies. She has done them for as long as she has been married, like 35 years. (hehe!) So, tonight, she emailed me after she had gone to a concert, read below.

The man that was the featured artist was Buddy Greene. He is a founding member and was the co-writer for the song "Mary Did You Know". He sings country and plays the guitar and harmonica. It was so good. He was an elder at the church when Jeff was a deacon.

They said there was a surprise guest at the end, and sure enough, Amy Grant walked out and sang "Tender Tennessee Christmas"!! We were in the second row by the middle aisle. It was great! She also sang with the group and sang "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". They ended with "Go Tell It On The Mountain" It was so good.

just thought I would let you know how our night went.

I also saw some more friends that I hadn't seen yet.

Talk to you tomorrow. I will be rolling cookies out also. Call with any questions.

Paula


I wish I was proud to blog my response but I can't , I showed a little tad tiny bit of jealousy (out of sadness) - sorry! Pics tomorrow of cookies...:)

Nothin' for Christmas...

the computer got nothing! What? They said there was not a thing wrong with it? WHAT?! Then, why does it keep crashing? They said it must be my accessories that are hooked up & to hook them up one at a time until the problem happens again. Then, un-install & re-install that program. I thought that was why I hired them, anyway, I'm back...

***i did post recipe ot the king ranch casserole in the comment section of the previous post by my sister, notice i am no author on her blog!?!?***

Up on the housetop click, click, click

That click, click, click must be Hilary doing a little pacing. She told me today that she is kinda bored without a computer. She must be slowly losing her mind... earlier she sent me a text message that included this photo of a King Ranch Casserole she made. I am guessing that she might be addicted to sharing her life with her blog readers? Or maybe Claire reminded her to take a picture and blog about it!

At least she is keeping herself busy. I am betting she jumps every time the phone rings, in hopes that it is the computer tech guy telling her that her computer is ready to be picked up...

I can tease her because I can totally relate. I would probably in tears by now if it were me!! It is easy to get used to be "wired!"

Everybody knows a turkey ...

and some mistletoe help to make the season bright...Isn't the next line about mashed taters? Will loves them!

Bless all the dear children in thy tender care

2nd Sunday of Advent: We did it on Monday. We had a busy Sunday b/c we took Craig's grandmother to her church open house so we opted out of a tired Advent celebration for Monday devotion. The focus was on love and John's message of repentance in Mark. We talked about how God's love frees us from sin as we seek Him at all times (not just at Christmas) and keep ourselves clean from sin.
The girls enjoy stories of John the Baptist so we also heard Faith's rendition of him dressed in camel hair with locusts & wild honey all over him. Claire wanted to know how he stayed clean if he had honey on him? So, we had to re-teach & go over "washing white as snow" once more. And, I said I was not sure he was covered in honey, he just ate it but Faith insisted he was covered in it, (I guess she was there with him?) We always read a bible story at night time but building upon it each week to the "coming" of the Savior's birth is really exciting to them. This year we will have our Happy B-day Jesus party after the Advent wreath on Christmas Day. I am enjoying all of our memories we are making this year & I cannot wait to build on them each season.

I'll be home for Christmas

Hopefully, my computer will be home soon. It is going to the computer doc today, it keeps crashing. I have important work stuff on it so I cannot afford a failure! I know you all are so disappointed that I will have to deter from my 31 December postings. (I have sooo many people who check my blog! ha!) Never fear, special elves will help me. Maybe I can still manage to blog a bit. :)

City sidewalk, Busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style

We had a really busy Saturday. We went to the Wellness center in the morning for Breakfast with Santa (he was the most fit looking Santa I had ever seen!) from 9-11. Then, Claire had a Spiderman b-day party to attend from 11-1. Faith opted out of that one to rest because she had a girly party at 1:00 & the Nutcracker at 2:30. We dropped our gift & well wishes off at the little girl party & headed downtown. Loved the Nutcracker Ballet but it was long & we were starving. Then we continued on the b-day part circuit to a party at the bowling alley, but we did a drive-by & just dropped off our gift. We came home by 5:00 to see Daddy & Will. I cooked dinner and Daddy gave 3 little ones a bath & they were all in bed by 7:30! Not asleep, Claire was still talking about her day, I wish I had her energy! If I had it to do all over again, we would have skipped the Nutcracker & planned it for next year.















Don't they look sweet but busy? Next weekend, just fun times at home! Actually, I love that the best. :)

Hark, the herald angels sing!

Sweet as an angel - just had to post about little Claire, feisty but strong. She went to outreach with Craig last week & had so much fun. She loved "learning & sharing about Jesus!" (I quote) I am most proud of her but also proud I found jeans she can fit in: Levi's Size 4 slim, aren't they cute? I cannot believe she will be four years old in less than a month. (Btw, I did spell check the word "feisty"- it did buck the i-before-e rule.)

Silent Night, Holy Night

Ever seen anything sweeter? (I say that a lot huh? No need to answer me, just humor me). The 3 all nestled down for a long winter's nap. It was silent.

Faith, the scholar. Claire, the little mommy. Will & Lightning. I thank God for their
individuality.

All I want for Christmas

I received this in an email this week, thought it was funny.

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground.

I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple,which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze,but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy. If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog. If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles tobrighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always, MOM

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

*Santa has asked that this gets passed on to all the mommies you know.*

I played my best for Him...pa-rum-pum-pum-pum

Blue Christmas

Blue Bell, that is.


Our fave (especially faith's) ice cream this time of the year, check out this yummy recipe. I even saw a $1.00 off coupon while browsing the Blue Bell site.

The First Noel (or Candle)

This song post idea is kinda hard, wouldn't you know someone much younger & more creative came up with this song idea but I can't quit, it is only day 3!?! :)

This is a new tradition at our house, the Advent wreath. Sunday was the 1st day we celebrated Advent. The symbolism this week was hope and our devotion concentrated on Jesus being the light of the world. The girls enjoyed this special time and I shared stories of celebrating this custom as a child, one of my fave memories growing up.

I had intentions over T-giving to get greenery at my sister-in-law's house in Tyler but we forgot. So , I stole mine from Kroger. Seriously...I picked up scraps off the ground after I grocery shopped last week. So, they would have swept it up anyway. Like I said, building traditions and memories. Special thanks to sis Kelli for the idea, I am excited to share it.

A Baby Just Like You

Isn't he the cutest thing ever? I am glad he is still a baby, found this Christmas song by J. Denver.

Deck the Halls

To keep up with Jamie's blog challenge, this is my first post with a Christmas song title. Adrienne said my tree looked bare, many presents under it now. Too bad, she is not here to wrap them, she is the expert. :)

Millson Christmas

This is the first annual Millson Christmas, Mills & Larson girls that is! Faith, Elizabeth, Claire & Molly got together today to celebrate the season with art & baking. Molly, the darling 2 year old redhead decided to duck the pics but I will get her next year!

Karen is in charge of the cookie baking & I am in charge of art. She was so patient with the girls' cut-outs but we had issues with my peppermint cookies, they looked like snakes so I made peppermint disks. They tasted good!

Our art work was handprint ornaments, marble painted candy canes, pretzel glitter charms & some funky trees that I messed up. We also had wooden snowflakes but our time was about up so we decided to save those for another time. We plan to make it a tradition each year, the first weekend in December (I know it is Nov. 30th but that fit around our schedules). We are building memories in our children's hearts that we hope they will hold precious one day. Merry Christmas!