tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71016349372209702792024-03-12T22:35:48.036-07:00Under A Shady TreeAllisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.comBlogger658125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-81255068036672945592012-02-04T16:04:00.000-08:002012-02-04T16:32:41.070-08:00Cookie Memories<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7oVd87g2hineB7MTkCtu8aPS59QLl3sgm-AZ94DKXckdt3HgzsPCKqqHUyNtkWdXOIJM23A4KxQXWnBMZwckyOLiyMa_N18KVE0pCjzq__TvAcD5p9mt8ywLTgJXHtga8s5GdJ40RKpk/s1600/417403_10150530451357336_932782357_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7oVd87g2hineB7MTkCtu8aPS59QLl3sgm-AZ94DKXckdt3HgzsPCKqqHUyNtkWdXOIJM23A4KxQXWnBMZwckyOLiyMa_N18KVE0pCjzq__TvAcD5p9mt8ywLTgJXHtga8s5GdJ40RKpk/s320/417403_10150530451357336_932782357_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705436200554230050" border="0" /></a><br />I'm thinking a lot about my mom. She passed away this month three years ago and sometimes I am stopped in my tracks, stunned at the thought of the fact that she is gone.<br /><br />Today I was making cookies for Chris--I gave the beaters to James, and was telling him how his Grandma always gave the beaters to me and Amy. Then I got really sad. Those pockets of happy and sad just come out--and they are unavoidable and they hurt. But at the same time, I know they are good for me. We grieve, but we remember. Sometimes we smile, sometimes we are sad, but in the end we are remembering a life, a person that we loved, who helped to make us who we are.<br /><br />Anyhow, the cookies were good.<br /><br />XOXOAllisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-84790368999459812722011-09-26T17:08:00.000-07:002011-09-26T17:22:34.085-07:00Something MissingWell Hello, Blogland friends!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6VWFHKLJ7qGYWSMbUHTGe1TMr5qbVVAZrh1EMOa-UpO64EFqplhqP8dElgeiPHZah-A2osxrkqOVER-VoOPkYpAtQtxVvvf8L7Ly94T11Gg9RiYtq0QWiepyei46cAPIrV9SkCv9v9Cs/s1600/smile.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6VWFHKLJ7qGYWSMbUHTGe1TMr5qbVVAZrh1EMOa-UpO64EFqplhqP8dElgeiPHZah-A2osxrkqOVER-VoOPkYpAtQtxVvvf8L7Ly94T11Gg9RiYtq0QWiepyei46cAPIrV9SkCv9v9Cs/s320/smile.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656825537432704626" border="0" /></a><br />Can you tell I have been busy? Its only been six+ months since I've posted. Remember that<a href="http://vintagepollyanna.blogspot.com/2011/02/new-venture.html"> job offer</a> I accepted back in February? Well--let's say that I didn't really have a full understanding of how much time would be left at the end of the day for me when I took it.<br /><br />Its a classic story, right? Getting back into the full-time world of work after five years of working from home and consulting. All of a sudden in this <a href="http://www.ovationbenefits.com/">new world</a> my time is not my own. It has taken some getting used to, and some strong organizational skills to navigate.<br /><br />I haven't been wholly absent from the social media sphere, however. My Twitter account, though mostly geared toward my work at Ovation has been growing steadily. I am also a regular poster on our blog,<a href="http://www.ovationbenefits.com/blog/"> OvationNation</a>. And even though I am enjoying the job immensely, part of me is missing. I've been mulling it over for a few days.<br /><br />I have a family blog, <a href="http://underashadytreeyouandme.blogspot.com/">Under A Shady Tree</a>. I have this blog, which combines my love of antiques, crafting, baking. But really, what it all is is storytelling. I am a storyteller through and through. But where do I blog when I have a few precious moments? Under A Shady Tree? Here? I feel pulled in two different directions. What I am considering is closing Under A Shady Tree and posting family content on <a href="http://vintagepollyanna.blogspot.com/2011/02/new-venture.html">Vintage Pollyanna</a>. Those of you who read VP get the occasional family tidbit anyhow. And why not? Its part of the fabric of who I am.<br /><br />And--I'm a marketer, through and through, and I gotta say, the ring that Vintage Pollyanna has as a blog name is so true. It resonates with me, and clearly with the thousands of readers who stop in here to lurk, or to read, or to say hello.<br /><br />I've missed you guys. I think I am coming home. Stay tuned.Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-81991916133095735782011-09-06T17:51:00.000-07:002011-09-06T17:52:17.878-07:00Ella Starts Pre-School<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHSwwLyyZbP_7Pxde2-4bq9qZOq72FcRRaN-qG7tlcBY5lDQcXIcgXADVFQfYxOm2PNa4-Cavk-MPReKw04xv207gMnEn6TNKZOV9MNN3mAxJURHelq9O3JNT9NAdARvZJMdmmXIyt9O4/s1600/DSC00061a.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 293px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHSwwLyyZbP_7Pxde2-4bq9qZOq72FcRRaN-qG7tlcBY5lDQcXIcgXADVFQfYxOm2PNa4-Cavk-MPReKw04xv207gMnEn6TNKZOV9MNN3mAxJURHelq9O3JNT9NAdARvZJMdmmXIyt9O4/s400/DSC00061a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649413958223636002" border="0" /></a>Get a load of the smile on this kid's face. Think she's excited?<br />WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BABY!?<br /></div>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-76787992994312105342011-08-30T17:29:00.000-07:002011-08-30T17:39:59.372-07:00Happy 3rd Birthday, Ella!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPiABMeIT9Bg5EMWus9eRqk7G18aAFzu9xFwd_DZta88GEjPrNVMhIYkupDuGM7Na55wzw6tnnoLaQp13onIXerUP_RXZ8mpQJhJi3ukxpHXfkSBzN06qvVfBKh2hkKC7ArFc6Iennjc/s1600/297817_10150268735997336_623807335_8094991_248252_n.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPiABMeIT9Bg5EMWus9eRqk7G18aAFzu9xFwd_DZta88GEjPrNVMhIYkupDuGM7Na55wzw6tnnoLaQp13onIXerUP_RXZ8mpQJhJi3ukxpHXfkSBzN06qvVfBKh2hkKC7ArFc6Iennjc/s400/297817_10150268735997336_623807335_8094991_248252_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646811592851831666" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4odo8a1vPi0kpaJGunl-PiNn705RpzY4rCjz0DfGh4TEUzyWnNd9N_gAhZzUKmmgFOjbu6OCZ-lBLzdkwigxi2cqin58kZcKui0nGTPAAFYpsqN6URFShbc-U4tgO0grbTpcdtyTzesw/s1600/333735_10150268735962336_623807335_8094990_6887857_o.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4odo8a1vPi0kpaJGunl-PiNn705RpzY4rCjz0DfGh4TEUzyWnNd9N_gAhZzUKmmgFOjbu6OCZ-lBLzdkwigxi2cqin58kZcKui0nGTPAAFYpsqN6URFShbc-U4tgO0grbTpcdtyTzesw/s400/333735_10150268735962336_623807335_8094990_6887857_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646811586137451202" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvUE82jyZPSMbit9jqsr3omgqJN5cMoSy_eI2avN-BqFhya_dbtOiK4kIsRyeEDWn5acTz8FSJGQQifclVcGItRczrlpUcEUxayyJpgbsxlOy4b10j7ayMkpQghFTeTT6lKxIw14ZTKx8/s1600/288899_10150268735867336_623807335_8094987_4956752_o%25282%2529.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvUE82jyZPSMbit9jqsr3omgqJN5cMoSy_eI2avN-BqFhya_dbtOiK4kIsRyeEDWn5acTz8FSJGQQifclVcGItRczrlpUcEUxayyJpgbsxlOy4b10j7ayMkpQghFTeTT6lKxIw14ZTKx8/s400/288899_10150268735867336_623807335_8094987_4956752_o%25282%2529.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646811279798996946" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi910H_M92Rdsv7RR6L-xNS2qDFudxQLnxkOB04WKloHBouwn4BthyVYW5qEDraak4ZQNb96ytL5djfAbUjlFiZ3dSCH40YKI_N-yV35hFCbcfx-uxyb7aXI30bT00WFdW4Nf-nyD_cm0I/s1600/287907_10150268735837336_623807335_8094986_7169977_o.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 310px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi910H_M92Rdsv7RR6L-xNS2qDFudxQLnxkOB04WKloHBouwn4BthyVYW5qEDraak4ZQNb96ytL5djfAbUjlFiZ3dSCH40YKI_N-yV35hFCbcfx-uxyb7aXI30bT00WFdW4Nf-nyD_cm0I/s400/287907_10150268735837336_623807335_8094986_7169977_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646811274394569202" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><div style="text-align: center;">Our Ella, now three years old--it is just unbelievable!
<br />You have such an amazing personality--
<br />either 100% princess of 100% imp!
<br />Your giggle, your smile, the way you bat your eyelashes at your daddy,
<br />the hugs you give your brother--always his little shadow and into everything he is.
<br />You tell everyone what to do--I think sometimes you are a little drill sergeant--
<br />and yet each night before bed when I am rocking you to sleep
<br />you are the sweetest thing in all the world.
<br />You have our hearts, always,
<br />and we wish you every happiness for every birthday to come.
<br />
<br />Love you baby girl--
<br />xoxo
<br />Mommy, Daddy and James
<br />
<br /></div>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-45370772563142848872011-07-05T17:26:00.000-07:002011-07-05T17:55:47.623-07:00Happy 5th Birthday James!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdfkCNtFAsmYktpjIN50kdn8ZNvxiOsG9FkbXNf20ho0HSD7sFHA25COxD7O-yFIVzK6XM4eqJ1O9ruR_SlrCD5u4uP5gpcNgi8mduNcQwJ0RYJGERnm1rBBtvdCdREOpRbfu0Wd1xAA/s1600/IMG_2451.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdfkCNtFAsmYktpjIN50kdn8ZNvxiOsG9FkbXNf20ho0HSD7sFHA25COxD7O-yFIVzK6XM4eqJ1O9ruR_SlrCD5u4uP5gpcNgi8mduNcQwJ0RYJGERnm1rBBtvdCdREOpRbfu0Wd1xAA/s400/IMG_2451.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626031653146120658" border="0" /><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRASuLXd6uUN50OH-U0K_57ff5PZNvwvA7dQOW6TZ0YQ13JvtAl5Xj59db18Ncu7eIlmVvKl5aWcFZ8xZ8l_oAlUzOY3eztjRi9DTLk2wPePEb8UpPGkigCx8lMg43DC_2IKJ0ou-nb8g/s1600/IMG_2459.JPG"><img style="display: block; 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margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 276px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyV1F6ipJbtKFaF3SfmVoqNb1tixXHULX2cjwlgq6rg9qw_ppgVPKAjF2ytY90f6bZnJQp2f_xiu7RY-17eRBTe0-gxkn626bURlGzfPR0TdLn2qFmTGqAfQwToAWJNFiEM882CawwaOk/s400/IMG_2336a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626029512465305042" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8wcRWBafWeqG5_2icgzrAnOn96Poxjz-bxEYCOnC8FfYlX9QLAVN2aE5XwvAMkHuFhwncDIiI9sc1rEYZBkWnL3DlED9olxPkdQ_2iVRN2apFB6qIyQrNu-DM9AowjRdkXvef7qCDLl8/s1600/IMG_2354.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8wcRWBafWeqG5_2icgzrAnOn96Poxjz-bxEYCOnC8FfYlX9QLAVN2aE5XwvAMkHuFhwncDIiI9sc1rEYZBkWnL3DlED9olxPkdQ_2iVRN2apFB6qIyQrNu-DM9AowjRdkXvef7qCDLl8/s400/IMG_2354.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626029508477234658" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFDi89cSjhEUr-mS92whM0zp3cVG9_M6B8pQhS21migKFw_TPFmxJiStjSE1e_oTq9Fy1egAE8J68MzesG2G-pcXexeeYr6l0SfEuP6j7OTml1gdfgZQfJUNQmuFrDArIkqrG4zZQZvQ/s1600/IMG_2348.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFDi89cSjhEUr-mS92whM0zp3cVG9_M6B8pQhS21migKFw_TPFmxJiStjSE1e_oTq9Fy1egAE8J68MzesG2G-pcXexeeYr6l0SfEuP6j7OTml1gdfgZQfJUNQmuFrDArIkqrG4zZQZvQ/s400/IMG_2348.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626029499572865858" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I love you, my dear boy, and am just amazed that you are five.<br />Five years of great big smiles;<br />big, warm, hugs;<br />hundreds of bedtime stories, silly knock knock jokes and impromptu songs;<br />hours and hours of Mario on the Wii, the Nintendo and the DS;<br />a million jars of peanut butter;<br />a bizillion donuts worth of "I Love You's."<br /><br />You are a sweet, kind and caring young boy<br />that is pretty good (most of the time) to your sister;<br />you do a great job being the "man of the house" when Daddy is on the road;<br />you never, EVER forget to clear your plate;<br />you are the best little reader I know<br />and you stole my heart from the very MOMENT I laid eyes on you.<br /><br />Happy 5th Birthday, my Love.<br /><br />XOXO Mommy<br /><br /></div>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-73336454619673310892011-05-31T17:00:00.000-07:002011-05-31T17:14:15.624-07:00No Seriously, I'm BackMaybe.<br /><br />That is, if this new life of full-time work, drive the kids back and forth to school, squeeze in laundry and grocery shopping, and oh maybe kiss my hubby once in a while doesn't grind the life outta me.<br /><br />Well that was cheerful! Aren't you glad you checked in?<br /><br />Naw, its not that bad. Really its not. The newness has worn off of it though, and while I do still love my job I guess I would say that the bloom is officially off the rose. My company is filled with amazing people doing amazing things but all of that amazingness is REALLY.HARD.WORK.<br /><br />And it should be, of course. I am working my ASS off. Am I using caps too much, do you think?<br /><br />Anyhow, now that I have belabored how hard the work thing is, let's talk about home. The kids are doing well. Other than the fact that Ella hurt her arm this weekend and I had to take her to the Doc first thing this morning and he looked at me and said "Do you swing her around by one arm a lot?" At which point I beat him over the head with my bag, grabbed Ella and went screaming from the room. Well, that is what rolled through my head, but instead I calmly answered "No, I do not." Turns out she basically just about dislocated her elbow at some point over the weekend when she fell off of her trike three times and bounced like a madwoman in the bouncy house all weekend long. The actual condition is called "Nursemaid's Elbow." And she is fine. Thank goodness.<br /><br />James is also doing great--well, except for that he had a fever for three days last week and I tried sending him to school all doped up with Motrin for one of them because I had a REALLY IMPORTANT MEETING which is I am sure exactly how he got sick in the first place, from some other mother saying "Oh honey, here, you're fine, suck down this Motrin and I'll pick you up at 1 when your fever magically appears. " I know. I STINK. Anyhoo. He's fine now, and had a great weekend.<br /><br />BTW, did you know we have a pool this year? I have never had one and I am so totally and unabashedly psyched about it! Plus, I get to watch Chris be the pool boy and pretend I am sipping a Mojito and my address is Wisteria Lane. He opened it this weekend and it should be all ready to go this Saturday which is his birthday!<br /><br />Alright, I better stop now, or else you will call the police and ask who took over my body because the Allison you know does NOT write like this on her blog. Let me clue you in--I do, sometimes. It feels darn good, too.<br /><br />Maybe I'll do it again sometime.<br /><br />PS Ella fell asleep in my arms tonight while I rocked her and sang her favorite good night song. If I am lucky enough to hold on to those moments in my mind forever I will be happy. I want to be 90 years old, surrounded by my family and remembering the moments when I rocked Ella to sleep and hugged James goodnight and he says "You are the best Mom, Mom, EVER." Truly amazing. My heart is full.<br /><br />Goodnight.<br /><br />XOXO<br /><br />AllisonAllisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-50717312607414489102011-05-09T16:49:00.000-07:002011-05-09T16:58:07.827-07:00Oh Where Has Allison Gone?Hmm, to work, to work, to work!<br /><br />I had hoped it wouldn't be quite so long between postings, but I guess something had to give! I felt terrible when I had to put Vintage Pollyanna aside, and now look at me, I am not blogging on Shady Tree, where I've been documenting my life for the LAST FOUR YEARS!<br /><br />I have read other blogs and seen how sometimes the authors come and go, ebb and flow, but I was always pretty consistent. NOT ANYMORE!<br /><br />I was in Tulsa last week visiting my grandparents with my husband, my kids and my younger sister. Amy was talking about how she missed the blog and I felt a little pang. ME TOO!<br /><br />Well, folks, here's to trying. Maybe if I can get here a few times a week I can get back in the swing of things. So I promise to put up some recent pics of the kids later in the week. Want to see if I keep my word? Check back! And Amy, thanks for being a great sister and for giving me that little nudge that I needed. Love you!<br /><br />And BTW, I had a lovely Mother's Day yesterday, and I hope all of you Moms out in Blogland did too. Mom, you know I miss you and I think of you often. A little lately I think of you in a happier way and less in a sad way. You will always be with me. xoxoAllisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-66780339814671647362011-03-15T16:33:00.000-07:002011-03-15T17:20:57.175-07:00My Little Star TwinklesMy little girl singing "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star."<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzU0kZy82L-P9QfMuuIEI80yt4m5Ie1CDVOn-SS16it0hA2HRSFy2-EzO8LbFwb-UDdUkfQmTCeQLfnIspWmw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />She makes my heart melt!Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-48990060963171482302011-03-13T05:31:00.000-07:002011-03-13T05:44:12.066-07:00A Grab Bag Assortment of Photos and ThoughtsHello? Is anyone out there still reading? I haven't posted for ten days, so if I have lost all of my Bloggy friends I won't be too surprised!<br /><br />I have been back to work for two weeks now and I have to say, it is thrilling and disconcerting all at the same time. Dropping my little ones at school at 7 in the morning is tough--but when they literally RUN into school and start laughing and playing I have to feel pretty good.<br /><br />We had some bumps in the road last week--not the least of which was the call I received around 12:30 on Friday letting me know that James had a temp of almost 102. I raced out of work to get him and got to see nap time in full swing for the first time. The kids were all on cozy costs with their special blankies and lovies and favorite stuffed toys from home, backs being rubbed by the teachers--it was a sweet scene. My heart broke a little when I saw my boy, passed out from his fever--but I collected him and then Ella and brought him home and made him comfortable. In times like those it is good to know that you have loving professionals who can take great care of your children!<br /><br />So work is great for me--I am turning my space at work into the "Un-corporate office" and am filling it up with vintage everything! Books, artwork, even a great repro birdcage that Dad brought down last weekend. I will post pics when I have it completed!<br /><br />On to the photos of the kids . . . ENJOY! (And hopefully it won't be ten days until I post a again!) xoxo Allison<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhbqA0wGLHrgtokUSp_F6EOSKrzzYM0XQnjSf2a2egoTHD67sV7OXz4DwANYaZVwecCE3i4opXdcH2UZj1VIwrQ2PmB1BlaSf2otPm6zubWnFs2Mdhq8xZvbw6yksbrHb4qxFJfuIJEMM/s1600/IMG_1759.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhbqA0wGLHrgtokUSp_F6EOSKrzzYM0XQnjSf2a2egoTHD67sV7OXz4DwANYaZVwecCE3i4opXdcH2UZj1VIwrQ2PmB1BlaSf2otPm6zubWnFs2Mdhq8xZvbw6yksbrHb4qxFJfuIJEMM/s400/IMG_1759.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583542272586670466" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEi71e1sbuDuT9-ggiUZw5OLOHdNDVw5LE1VxjZkwDjjgbaGTJy7XmlRUxJNdWiLJLZV6vvzImbFBvH1HxStRPY3fj9WRA8Wu5uEIoaFd4Qf9ZVrIErRgQyEY3plB5691NWtEbqelBlZI/s1600/IMG_1757.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEi71e1sbuDuT9-ggiUZw5OLOHdNDVw5LE1VxjZkwDjjgbaGTJy7XmlRUxJNdWiLJLZV6vvzImbFBvH1HxStRPY3fj9WRA8Wu5uEIoaFd4Qf9ZVrIErRgQyEY3plB5691NWtEbqelBlZI/s400/IMG_1757.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583542267691724018" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO7NhUs49h-_mi9C4h7FVwo3kfKP6POTRmiaO3f8TVEbX-p_C1lEA6vL7Qyz0RNqbpLIwDLfGS2g4_c0GcZUeV4ead7WFEV0bucIUk9I20V8h4ytCjLweUHW1oqQG-edD_mkelJ5X7LIc/s1600/IMG_1770.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO7NhUs49h-_mi9C4h7FVwo3kfKP6POTRmiaO3f8TVEbX-p_C1lEA6vL7Qyz0RNqbpLIwDLfGS2g4_c0GcZUeV4ead7WFEV0bucIUk9I20V8h4ytCjLweUHW1oqQG-edD_mkelJ5X7LIc/s400/IMG_1770.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583542034870830018" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGPKfXx531ysKPvlPGvUrLnVJDglWv2yrcWKQVvOvEJlaFpcvrSETvsxtOxqBil6S1EAq8M0lcVewWFvUT3s_3nAwLhCEkfbnjNLzf060NdkP9Wx8bHHvYU7nf2mxVEWBxNNctvGGvsWo/s1600/IMG_1779.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGPKfXx531ysKPvlPGvUrLnVJDglWv2yrcWKQVvOvEJlaFpcvrSETvsxtOxqBil6S1EAq8M0lcVewWFvUT3s_3nAwLhCEkfbnjNLzf060NdkP9Wx8bHHvYU7nf2mxVEWBxNNctvGGvsWo/s400/IMG_1779.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583542028091350066" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcVlVglH2mhE58G5vLUp84ew_FfvX-P75OJa6E71bvWpnHJV6LDqXdRJOGWVvGDxXIe3KbPhCvBSYSWWPVmdAT9JSZzRSXL4yVrA_L9V_LI9hIJf4fX_ZlhUbooPV3_F_j_zcCkk_zEs/s1600/IMG_1784.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcVlVglH2mhE58G5vLUp84ew_FfvX-P75OJa6E71bvWpnHJV6LDqXdRJOGWVvGDxXIe3KbPhCvBSYSWWPVmdAT9JSZzRSXL4yVrA_L9V_LI9hIJf4fX_ZlhUbooPV3_F_j_zcCkk_zEs/s400/IMG_1784.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583542024235932866" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyyk8xdauy8-LQrZM7US6cGJ8Byotj4hoBxscEN-CbT5msHi8NjucdFlXxC7B98g2KfhZDfjoaOSfycIEObGpLKbn6sS0J8i5pg9YM1MZWcIQnJ-NNYdNU-NU0cL6oJAHZOPpD7MQWVuc/s1600/IMG_1810.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyyk8xdauy8-LQrZM7US6cGJ8Byotj4hoBxscEN-CbT5msHi8NjucdFlXxC7B98g2KfhZDfjoaOSfycIEObGpLKbn6sS0J8i5pg9YM1MZWcIQnJ-NNYdNU-NU0cL6oJAHZOPpD7MQWVuc/s400/IMG_1810.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583542016039072466" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht30veN2NoGTZjaY9ug3YhfKl_V0e1U0lItQRyv0tFjuFsAeHuCKkaXoNyIl5BaGJxaY5LfKcYnNwT5jjIQcmhyOK7PoWIBxBFSm9VzEL65hJyHrYjRyuVnAXOtcpl7rGhdDt2PnBlodM/s1600/IMG_1816.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht30veN2NoGTZjaY9ug3YhfKl_V0e1U0lItQRyv0tFjuFsAeHuCKkaXoNyIl5BaGJxaY5LfKcYnNwT5jjIQcmhyOK7PoWIBxBFSm9VzEL65hJyHrYjRyuVnAXOtcpl7rGhdDt2PnBlodM/s400/IMG_1816.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583542010216278450" border="0" /></a>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-7250162146593532292011-03-03T16:49:00.000-08:002011-03-03T16:53:54.728-08:00The Man of the House (this Week)<span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><span class="messageBody">My boy has been Man of the House all week while his Dad is in Maine for work. </span></span><h6 face="trebuchet ms" style="font-weight: normal;" class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":"msg"}"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8PBPKmFYQXmbLr-IKoTp_C5d2_yJGsDzrXbkGSqH-cKtSpUDZ7NA3jG6BQadwFX_x-vHIz7hTRtWQSFqSmHgIT_6YIADcTYD_ls-0grIJw5XLtHFy2dXMJjGcml1JlB9eTAgIE4jU_7A/s1600/IMG_1878a.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8PBPKmFYQXmbLr-IKoTp_C5d2_yJGsDzrXbkGSqH-cKtSpUDZ7NA3jG6BQadwFX_x-vHIz7hTRtWQSFqSmHgIT_6YIADcTYD_ls-0grIJw5XLtHFy2dXMJjGcml1JlB9eTAgIE4jU_7A/s400/IMG_1878a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580020637643638642" border="0" /></a></h6><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><span class="messageBody">He has taken his job very seriously, watching over Ella and I with great care. What a love!<br /><br />After I posted this, I saw how the little pic of me in my sidebar is looking at this pic of James. Sweet! The look on my face is the way I feel about him--like I could just eat him up with a spoon!<br /></span></span>Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-41635821495288980382011-03-02T17:23:00.000-08:002011-03-02T17:33:34.919-08:00Ella Bella SchmellaThat's what James calls Ella, and I love it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wbBYLMtc8Qt8-_j17QM_4rUc3zALMCD_5xEChQ2HPQgS0KCtzcUtnbt_EcgdZTD-z81GQQi9ufUAReT2ncvW5tpn0PMxG_9_QAHqsHYzPH8TaVA5a56n5jtnHZMBzRlqNPQ3TSeLBMA/s1600/IMG_1858.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6wbBYLMtc8Qt8-_j17QM_4rUc3zALMCD_5xEChQ2HPQgS0KCtzcUtnbt_EcgdZTD-z81GQQi9ufUAReT2ncvW5tpn0PMxG_9_QAHqsHYzPH8TaVA5a56n5jtnHZMBzRlqNPQ3TSeLBMA/s400/IMG_1858.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579658905001886994" border="0" /></a><br />I had the brains to grab my camera tonight, and was snapping pics of my girl since she was being extra-special silly.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGjDMqBR1Bqd17UWL7bCRKCe3J-piX3EMftTRfPe-09yNawDBDOQ5U-368_pZ2G-KR321XeiqGlPGOqzsYK7S_9cCjVwEN39q6ZVm1AHceqx_K0kz3fugMefWxO_lA4BNcQ0weLV2Lds/s1600/IMG_1860.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGjDMqBR1Bqd17UWL7bCRKCe3J-piX3EMftTRfPe-09yNawDBDOQ5U-368_pZ2G-KR321XeiqGlPGOqzsYK7S_9cCjVwEN39q6ZVm1AHceqx_K0kz3fugMefWxO_lA4BNcQ0weLV2Lds/s400/IMG_1860.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579658903036145826" border="0" /></a><br />This week has not been so <span style="font-style: italic;">hard</span> so much as <span style="font-style: italic;">new</span>. New routines, packing lunches the night before, rousing the kids out of bed at 6 (I never had to do THAT before I started working!). I actually sang both of them to sleep tonite and they were doing this crazy thing--I think its called "yawning." I don;t know because that has never happened in this house before!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwBWPGFdeLuRaqYnxO3VsUOJ8l35k25Q1-ROmE3cH4Rg0_2ir9TbgpZDAdBTOW_lty-wq1ul_uU7ULQfqjunG1b_SQWsVCg-qAUH3LF5ol8QSArXr2ODVZuqE5E6U1-vZwYV5ssXCoo3U/s1600/IMG_1865.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwBWPGFdeLuRaqYnxO3VsUOJ8l35k25Q1-ROmE3cH4Rg0_2ir9TbgpZDAdBTOW_lty-wq1ul_uU7ULQfqjunG1b_SQWsVCg-qAUH3LF5ol8QSArXr2ODVZuqE5E6U1-vZwYV5ssXCoo3U/s400/IMG_1865.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579658897104750658" border="0" /></a><br />I am glad to see that all of the NEW has not changed my little sweetheart. She is still funny, and bossy, and just shining so brightly. Now it just seems that more people get to see that.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCuycf16zYEUwDc-vUm5XI9B8F5wtPYAVkB1fP2enDSa5sQpxiVqlqwwypMsPzDtcYR2Vv9KbLW-yx8Ga14HUFtEAgTT2T_NXUZ9kSzXyKEsRCdt_TxBGjo7esb-wPveq9cuD5MUjzI00/s1600/IMG_1866.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCuycf16zYEUwDc-vUm5XI9B8F5wtPYAVkB1fP2enDSa5sQpxiVqlqwwypMsPzDtcYR2Vv9KbLW-yx8Ga14HUFtEAgTT2T_NXUZ9kSzXyKEsRCdt_TxBGjo7esb-wPveq9cuD5MUjzI00/s400/IMG_1866.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579658892733834514" border="0" /></a><br />Yesterday her teacher told me that when James' class came through to go downstairs and play in the gym, each and every one of the kids in the class stopped to hug my little peanut.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0WmdUHrBlTh6iGpK_Q_EyatZGbRbCkpdNT3UJl_2va8mCIULA3xBBIztQXSRamdKEz3s1sI4Lw6Hdm5xoU7FOAsnG3A90lfqklHUDu6jOXRy8QjYabKFz3GxX7Ieuv1jyXiao9UJucK8/s1600/IMG_1873.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0WmdUHrBlTh6iGpK_Q_EyatZGbRbCkpdNT3UJl_2va8mCIULA3xBBIztQXSRamdKEz3s1sI4Lw6Hdm5xoU7FOAsnG3A90lfqklHUDu6jOXRy8QjYabKFz3GxX7Ieuv1jyXiao9UJucK8/s400/IMG_1873.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579658890437461874" border="0" /></a><br />No wonder she knows how to shine for the camera. She has her own little paparazzi!Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-32454214189596399782011-02-26T04:15:00.000-08:002011-02-26T04:26:57.297-08:00Unexpected BeautyI purchased a Christmas Cactus back in November and it never bloomed around the holiday. Imagine my surprise when I was dusting last week and found that one whole side of the plant was covered with blooms! I hadn't seen them because they were on the window side. A beautiful surprise!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPKOutk_wTmCb8WAsv56WMfq5x7sM_DPGUy5HKZtOaI5i5mLj0KIelz3-sj__OMxAb7639VGZToR2fhyphenhyphenZftwZHPL4UtkYlwDCLlc7Mfh6ezkkQZ2raWYtI245FVG-0J9VdLsXfv_kcsk/s1600/IMG_1825.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPKOutk_wTmCb8WAsv56WMfq5x7sM_DPGUy5HKZtOaI5i5mLj0KIelz3-sj__OMxAb7639VGZToR2fhyphenhyphenZftwZHPL4UtkYlwDCLlc7Mfh6ezkkQZ2raWYtI245FVG-0J9VdLsXfv_kcsk/s400/IMG_1825.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577970869244450738" border="0" /></a><br />As you can see my blogging as slowed to a near stall. No excuse for it really--just life taking over.<br /><br />I started my new job as Marketing Director at Ovation Benefits yesterday. Starting on a Friday was pretty fun! Ironically, 11 years ago I did some freelance work with the Ovation partners to help them develop their company name. Now here I am full circle, returning to them as their Marketing Director. I AM THRILLED. The outfit is smart, entrepreneurial, funny and filled with ideas about how to reduce chronic health problems for employees, thereby recognizing significant cost savings for employers and saving lives in the process. This organization is really not much of a departure from the work I have been doing for the last 9 years. I am looking forward to long relationship with them!<br /><br />Chris stayed home with the kids yesterday, but they will begin attending school full-time on Monday. We spent several hours this past Wednesday and Thursday with each of them in their respective classrooms, which are side-by-side. If one or the other gets lonely their teachers have promised to give them some time together. The staff is wonderful and the kids already have been hugging their teachers and playing with their friends. I know that when I drop them off Monday they will be fine, I will be the one who needs a binkie!<br /><br />Of course I am grappling with the guilt that many mothers feel when they have made the decision to return to work. I wasn't even really thinking about doing it until the fall when Ella would enter pre-k, but I knew that if the right opportunity came along I would strongly consider it.<br /><br />One of the great perks with this new job is that I will be able to work from home one day a week, and the hours are very flexible so that I can not have to worry too much about beating traffic to pick up the kids before their school closes.<br /><br />I have to thank a few people who have really been there for me over the last month and a half as I went through the most arduous interview process of my life. Chris of course, and my Dad and my sister, and then my friends Flan, Katie and Molly, and a few others who would be too shy to see their names here. I know that I have a strong network of friends and family who help to guide me through these difficult, exhilarating, and rewarding experiences. Thanks to each of you!<br /><br />Now I am off to enjoy the weekend. I hope you will to, and thanks for reading!<br /><br />XOXO<br /><br />AllisonAllisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-67659931469940348712011-02-18T04:17:00.000-08:002011-02-18T04:35:49.402-08:00Love You, Mom<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6sKNrEqD_bT3aSzUFRdyJlRp1njC1g2eO_CmEfzqVTg4CZ4hZ6wcXkB0v5MEwDGjozMut98r4sPayUxTu5Lrfv2jtDlIBaUMok79UxnoyJHlmQJiJ-uLkKOEqQ5LUwZGCoWrt1H0b1Y/s1600/gg6.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6sKNrEqD_bT3aSzUFRdyJlRp1njC1g2eO_CmEfzqVTg4CZ4hZ6wcXkB0v5MEwDGjozMut98r4sPayUxTu5Lrfv2jtDlIBaUMok79UxnoyJHlmQJiJ-uLkKOEqQ5LUwZGCoWrt1H0b1Y/s400/gg6.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575006292803355618" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Mom, Dad, Amy, James & I, 2006</span></span><br /></div><br />Yesterday was a hard day for my Dad, my sister, my grandparents and I. I know we were all thinking about Mom all day. She passed two years ago on February 17th and I remember that day as a blur. It is tragic losing a parent, and even more so when you aren't at all expecting it. I have a lot of feelings about her death, but mostly I try to remind myself to celebrate her life instead of mourning her absence.<br /><br />I was looking at some old photos and found these two that are remarkably similar. The first is of Mom holding my little sister Amy:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvux8TfGJMwGIPIiKiBkcDTpVJnpuPrxXakuzSxzRAWTySgPIEu79B-mn8a1vgGjhu5jSGaiq_uVyC5QO4yFkmA-Lp9ii__5Crj-1bDDkwaKOEXfXanSsOKJSu9EWDKJp1AdFtQQ0jLiM/s1600/scan0007.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvux8TfGJMwGIPIiKiBkcDTpVJnpuPrxXakuzSxzRAWTySgPIEu79B-mn8a1vgGjhu5jSGaiq_uVyC5QO4yFkmA-Lp9ii__5Crj-1bDDkwaKOEXfXanSsOKJSu9EWDKJp1AdFtQQ0jLiM/s400/scan0007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575006283999571906" border="0" /></a><br />The second is Mom holding James when he was just six weeks old:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAQl3R9SLlil6TawFWILDh2L0WyM6InoSeXpl479OIzwAws0uZnUDGfAcH4x9ROxduC61xSw1udShkNZeCymKfGnlbkCMCvt4xVvKR4GUK1ZQ2t_TW9urkXsALCLy_5-JpcJbL2vQ7Wiw/s1600/DSC01501.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAQl3R9SLlil6TawFWILDh2L0WyM6InoSeXpl479OIzwAws0uZnUDGfAcH4x9ROxduC61xSw1udShkNZeCymKfGnlbkCMCvt4xVvKR4GUK1ZQ2t_TW9urkXsALCLy_5-JpcJbL2vQ7Wiw/s400/DSC01501.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575006286630365874" border="0" /></a>What do I love most about these photos? You know it--her smile.<br /><br />In her poem "Remember" Christina Rossetti's last two lines say,<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">"Better by far you should forget and smile<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Than that you should remember and be sad."<br /><br /></div>I don't know that I think of Mom any less, but I try not to be so sad.<br /><br />It may sound cliche, but remember to tell your family how much you love them, because one day you may no longer have the chance.<br /><br />I told my Dad the other day that even though I had a truly wonderful, almost idyllic childhood, right now what I am most grateful for is the adult relationship I had with my Mom. Talking with her about motherhood, about parenting, about juggling work and home, about the weather, about recipes--those things are what resonate with me right now.<br /><br />Like any teenager and young adult obsessed with themselves, there were a few years where I was not close with my Mom. Once I grew up a little and got out of my own way, I had the wonderful opportunity to look at her as a friend. I am so glad that I did.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsoSmgU3vkmaot37uObN_fJGZQxpn-oYvWkDkkBEJ8N9uSIghGEbBGRpYvV4s9DSw4PfFp_oRcnUvy_hYjXubP0fI-bVQqeIlrar0oTXpkqur2G9TLattvdpvphpIywKyrnHv98fhJiOs/s1600/momandallisonathome.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 309px; height: 361px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsoSmgU3vkmaot37uObN_fJGZQxpn-oYvWkDkkBEJ8N9uSIghGEbBGRpYvV4s9DSw4PfFp_oRcnUvy_hYjXubP0fI-bVQqeIlrar0oTXpkqur2G9TLattvdpvphpIywKyrnHv98fhJiOs/s400/momandallisonathome.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575002675699111490" border="0" /></a><br />I love you my Mother, my friend. And I smile while I am writing that.<br /><br />XOXO<br /><br /><br />AllisonAllisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-60151688308603363562011-02-14T09:11:00.000-08:002011-02-14T09:17:43.264-08:00Happy Love Day!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbCqkW457fOMbsqwGTB1_95PFUkAxH4J8V3SvZD-yNDOMeSqVkic7TkYpfIX374MIgxs4U2ezNPPpBd5or8VPpsRWn-EWAbmLlqi_sCN3ihCC9oYoV2Nxf8KwwkhCGAvJtiOXYM-LsZs/s1600/PuppyLove.jpg"><span><span></span></span></a>I really do love Valentine's Day!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSoo4YHpyVnw7sxBARdeEHVHVH1qiHgyU0zc26CeVz2OAgdd4g049FD7VHL4fJm6biDo4Tpk_pCkrIljucXjV7X8m_EXja6naNpB3rLjRnLniqM0nkS6oL04TWQ9luWdBhgsT-jR54S6U/s1600/IMG_1679a.jpg"><br /></a>I took the kiddos to get balloons today and they came home with these.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSoo4YHpyVnw7sxBARdeEHVHVH1qiHgyU0zc26CeVz2OAgdd4g049FD7VHL4fJm6biDo4Tpk_pCkrIljucXjV7X8m_EXja6naNpB3rLjRnLniqM0nkS6oL04TWQ9luWdBhgsT-jR54S6U/s1600/IMG_1679a.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSoo4YHpyVnw7sxBARdeEHVHVH1qiHgyU0zc26CeVz2OAgdd4g049FD7VHL4fJm6biDo4Tpk_pCkrIljucXjV7X8m_EXja6naNpB3rLjRnLniqM0nkS6oL04TWQ9luWdBhgsT-jR54S6U/s400/IMG_1679a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573594079933525586" border="0" /></a><br />I had to laugh when James had initially picked a Sponge Bob Valentine's Day balloon, but then he said "I think it is just a little silly, Mom, and I would rather have one with cursive on it." So that's what he got!<br /><br />You might notice that the dress Ella is wearing is the same one she wore in the Christmas card photos. I am a little short of red clothing for her. I was laughing to myself when she and I were picking out an outfit this morning, because she has to much PINK. She's a girly girl!<br /><br />I am about to start making a heart-shaped chocolate cookie / bar with the kids for Chris. My Dad gave me a wonderful old heart-shaped baking pan and I am excited to use it.<br /><br />I snapped this photo of the pups yesterday. I feel like it is a great example of puppy love.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbCqkW457fOMbsqwGTB1_95PFUkAxH4J8V3SvZD-yNDOMeSqVkic7TkYpfIX374MIgxs4U2ezNPPpBd5or8VPpsRWn-EWAbmLlqi_sCN3ihCC9oYoV2Nxf8KwwkhCGAvJtiOXYM-LsZs/s1600/PuppyLove.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbCqkW457fOMbsqwGTB1_95PFUkAxH4J8V3SvZD-yNDOMeSqVkic7TkYpfIX374MIgxs4U2ezNPPpBd5or8VPpsRWn-EWAbmLlqi_sCN3ihCC9oYoV2Nxf8KwwkhCGAvJtiOXYM-LsZs/s400/PuppyLove.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573594096751809602" border="0" /></a><br />Have a wonderful day!<br /><br />XOXOAllisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-45071316287174664862011-02-12T11:28:00.000-08:002011-02-12T11:39:44.038-08:00Mmmmm . . . a Yummy SaturdayWhat a wonderful day it has been today.<br /><br />I am sitting here blogging while the aroma of minestrone is filling the house. Don't you love a homemade soup that fills you up with warmth and love? I always chop some prosciutto and caramelize it with some onions in the beginning to add a wonderful depth of flavor.<br /><br />I am just about to begin making bread from <a href="http://www.bigredcouch.com/journal/archives/2009/01/bun_in_the_oven.html">this recipe</a>. It is a tried and true recipe that gives you lovely homemade bread in under two hours. You can't ask for much more heaven than that. Well, after you have slathered it with some Kate's Butter from Maine, or Cabot.<br /><br />I just put Ella down for her nap. Lately she has been wanting to sing the pretty song, which is actually "You are My Sunshine" but I sing "You are so pretty" in the first line instead. She loves it.<br /><br />James and Chris are at this very moment sitting in the XL Center in downtown Hartford watching a Monster Jam Truck Show! James was so excited about it--this morning he woke up and told me that he had had a dream that was "Momster Jam-ish." I add "ish" a lot to things I say, it is a little quirk of mine that he has picked up. I can't wait to see the excitement on his face when they get back home. A little alone time for Daddy and his boy is a good thing.<br /><br />Before Ella's nap we made Valentine's Day cards for Chris and James. Ella is so insistent "Mommy, I CUT!" and "Mommy I GLUE!". What a personality! Sometimes on the phone my Dad calls her "his little Pumpkin." I love that--but sometimes it is more like his "little Jack O' Lantern," you know, one with a wicked face. She is a sassy girl, for sure.<br /><br />Wow, look at this--all writing and no photos. I guess you can tell that I am enjoying a moment of quiet.<br /><br />My bloggy friend Stephanie has been in my thoughts lately. I enjoy her writing style. I used to write much more in my blog, but got somewhat turned off to sharing so many private thoughts. I was reading her blog and remembering how good it feels to get my thoughts out. Not for anyone else, but just for me. And then a family friend let me know that she had started a blog. Her writing style is wonderful, and her thoughts are interspersed with poetry and photos from my home town. Reading her posts, and Stephanie's posts made me want to begin to write more again. So here I am.<br /><br />And did you see my new banner? James drew it a few weeks ago. Lovely for Valentine's Day, don't you think?<br /><br />I hope you all have a wonderful Love Day on Monday.<br /><br />XOXO<br /><br />AllisonAllisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-68723166345027517132011-02-10T15:48:00.000-08:002011-02-10T17:05:28.513-08:00Just Some Goings OnMy girl napping. I love this--two lovies, a pillow pet, her favorite cowboy blanket (handmade by a family friend) and her Minnie.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkWupteXLI6XQzEW0FKNyToIGGISnj3GqJLmoECBEOgVQHwvJyTwJ2x6SaSO2DPzKi5gpBkEJH07yUdmYKrsD46PpQkf13e8ElXOd_F4k6MlFbiJw4jIjz9VrAu7SpZ9tVwU0A6BzMgw/s1600/IMG_1551.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkWupteXLI6XQzEW0FKNyToIGGISnj3GqJLmoECBEOgVQHwvJyTwJ2x6SaSO2DPzKi5gpBkEJH07yUdmYKrsD46PpQkf13e8ElXOd_F4k6MlFbiJw4jIjz9VrAu7SpZ9tVwU0A6BzMgw/s400/IMG_1551.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572213475082317682" border="0" /></a><br />I was making dinner the other night and she had been very busy playing. "Look Mom!" she said, "an ice cream cone!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBJd58ez3azNdtjssGgDlCkXTVbQvMFk10pjxn0hm04kS8NUBuqm4L3AKGRVGei8MqFC6W3SxDQEsE1aZQ6iDdLMnTohNVfo0QrMt9kGS5H3UGo-2-Af9toVRRVwCFUpAWdhkvDYHUF3Q/s1600/IMG_1640.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBJd58ez3azNdtjssGgDlCkXTVbQvMFk10pjxn0hm04kS8NUBuqm4L3AKGRVGei8MqFC6W3SxDQEsE1aZQ6iDdLMnTohNVfo0QrMt9kGS5H3UGo-2-Af9toVRRVwCFUpAWdhkvDYHUF3Q/s400/IMG_1640.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572213468481632034" border="0" /></a><br />And then, of course, she licked it!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54q9ZGIsaJSwsAdDEI0h83LpCOzR0lBhaAM72rWAKdOxa-Vuj7HAnwuEwNYWSd5lNxhV7QbkdJp-7YLBysi1-KE8Zlpj43fzawIudvyLndwB0Yay0uwJFGPKpFGNY6-qPq8CFJ152ZN4/s1600/IMG_1642.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54q9ZGIsaJSwsAdDEI0h83LpCOzR0lBhaAM72rWAKdOxa-Vuj7HAnwuEwNYWSd5lNxhV7QbkdJp-7YLBysi1-KE8Zlpj43fzawIudvyLndwB0Yay0uwJFGPKpFGNY6-qPq8CFJ152ZN4/s400/IMG_1642.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572212988233317106" border="0" /></a><br />Here is what my son has been playing a lot of lately.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjyxpHYLhnykX-ZZ5Sd5w27TQYknb-aaCdu7sgR9MPiU42ZidZTFZVEKnrdrzUPri_QuCXzfCDhqZ4KGETD3iJTsETkn0K9akvk0ZabguxyAiUELdNY6DKeFXMhG3zL7xxuZ1Nzr03dY/s1600/IMG_1663.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjyxpHYLhnykX-ZZ5Sd5w27TQYknb-aaCdu7sgR9MPiU42ZidZTFZVEKnrdrzUPri_QuCXzfCDhqZ4KGETD3iJTsETkn0K9akvk0ZabguxyAiUELdNY6DKeFXMhG3zL7xxuZ1Nzr03dY/s400/IMG_1663.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572212977813981922" border="0" /></a><br />Chris got an old Nintendo off of Ebay and James get to play it for a little while every day as a special treat. We are taking an extended break from the WII--he gets a little too riled up. I like that the Nintendo Mario game is a little less involved.<br /><br />The kids were excited to get a package from Peepaw last week--in it was this fabulous chapter book on American Indians that James has been pouring over.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieFI0KsIYujJt3LQv_uSGTht8MuFW-qc4L3kadCMV6w6JA831_Nabg576k2drFLh0HNPbIj5SnC5N-IhP9N3pzDUWgkjzSDBKiiaOlGP1k4HPEbaM5o19JZYnVZunGjky0dblPTRMWJGE/s1600/IMG_1631.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieFI0KsIYujJt3LQv_uSGTht8MuFW-qc4L3kadCMV6w6JA831_Nabg576k2drFLh0HNPbIj5SnC5N-IhP9N3pzDUWgkjzSDBKiiaOlGP1k4HPEbaM5o19JZYnVZunGjky0dblPTRMWJGE/s400/IMG_1631.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572212973778857474" border="0" /></a><br />I was so happy to see him reading it. Sure he comes across words h doesn't know, but he sounds them out on his own and asks me what they mean.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipooROQtYrPyaAO9nSrZD390PKOVpRiGj-tmii9FPbkAxPTsf7DfJPsa7E3UgfdkteWsS1Uh-GsNjoFXndXAxR0-qM9fxRmECjmiFX8TA7WEOmIy1oppEYQ4lMhl2z91aU2SRbraZvHbY/s1600/IMG_1632.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipooROQtYrPyaAO9nSrZD390PKOVpRiGj-tmii9FPbkAxPTsf7DfJPsa7E3UgfdkteWsS1Uh-GsNjoFXndXAxR0-qM9fxRmECjmiFX8TA7WEOmIy1oppEYQ4lMhl2z91aU2SRbraZvHbY/s400/IMG_1632.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572212969367006802" border="0" /></a><br />And he's pretty happy about being such a good reader!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinLUY6zsPv3xEXc7CXJ00PLjo9FErNsyjviTNUdXiE4uoeS-wXSdqTMGsUB_yrrgeQLPYX1gU3gW9o2k71DThr_gP00DN7BCL9mrUCTIgQvnEefPh6VITqV9Oo-JTW6Pddtb12eO8ec50/s1600/IMG_1635.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinLUY6zsPv3xEXc7CXJ00PLjo9FErNsyjviTNUdXiE4uoeS-wXSdqTMGsUB_yrrgeQLPYX1gU3gW9o2k71DThr_gP00DN7BCL9mrUCTIgQvnEefPh6VITqV9Oo-JTW6Pddtb12eO8ec50/s400/IMG_1635.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572212968169894066" border="0" /></a><br />And here is a little video I shot of one of Ella's new stomping temper tantrums:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxHFT9Df9A_ypSbUY7y1G0pMYErZZmXSsfwQUzryrFP3kxD4Nvl6fzx65MYJaw5sQP0Bk5yizCWK_HhlmEk2Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br />That's it for now--I have an interview tomorrow for full time work with a company that I really admire. It is my second in the interview process and involves a webcast presentation that I had to put together. I have enjoyed being challenged a bit, but of course I am feeling guilty at the prospect of going back to work full time. We see how it shakes out. Wish me luck!Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-90671605853369603262011-01-27T05:55:00.000-08:002011-01-27T06:12:58.802-08:00The Downright Amazing Snowfall of 2011I am just STUNNED by how much snow we have gotten . . . take a look!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Kyn9Xr5I9-WSaMh87MwC35x5GhF63BUgsjf2u9OZ8mo2vuj_IxlbSuhnCGSI6AzKVTKPTXGCqMjVzx-ObadUJA2Hi_20cV3eEznSJ_7rZvmq_GLUzfqVqsRwCaxjbK7-qlDctR3hU_8/s1600/IMG_1388.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Kyn9Xr5I9-WSaMh87MwC35x5GhF63BUgsjf2u9OZ8mo2vuj_IxlbSuhnCGSI6AzKVTKPTXGCqMjVzx-ObadUJA2Hi_20cV3eEznSJ_7rZvmq_GLUzfqVqsRwCaxjbK7-qlDctR3hU_8/s400/IMG_1388.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566866232411551458" border="0" /></a><br />Oh, wait--that was last week. This is what we have now:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW44QDbKHr242OA-nvhUaWq2hSo3-7ZwC6bYzOwbWkdimwIOxTVXAbZbflTmspmLLVHU84PlfY-WjjHNFjcjyrKLAgrljrkwybR7mfjedbD04xXqRL_Nost25ewvgm2bxVMg4SgujPcQ0/s1600/IMG_1577.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW44QDbKHr242OA-nvhUaWq2hSo3-7ZwC6bYzOwbWkdimwIOxTVXAbZbflTmspmLLVHU84PlfY-WjjHNFjcjyrKLAgrljrkwybR7mfjedbD04xXqRL_Nost25ewvgm2bxVMg4SgujPcQ0/s400/IMG_1577.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566866229221085538" border="0" /></a><br />CRAZY! There just isn't any place to even put it now!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2TIBlXi9yf5do_zxSvrvyWUFXRsveopDWBxh7jfcqoNB9mirQF6TMx45iI16p1wMsHtXJXTcrKTpXem4WKhbi9gzfQGTcnNa0Uri_PuFZL2tCTG1yfFQq9E7rkr-6DjqNd-NM-CfFvQM/s1600/IMG_1574.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2TIBlXi9yf5do_zxSvrvyWUFXRsveopDWBxh7jfcqoNB9mirQF6TMx45iI16p1wMsHtXJXTcrKTpXem4WKhbi9gzfQGTcnNa0Uri_PuFZL2tCTG1yfFQq9E7rkr-6DjqNd-NM-CfFvQM/s400/IMG_1574.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566866223857602770" border="0" /></a><br />Check this out--after having just gotten 2 feet of snow last week, this is what we got last night--another foot!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKbFv3bo-2TjQXPXYchHKwkL0_3PEQGakCRTJvlFctFbXxxNWyw-43epHKNtEvYwmnPRqL7g4gcJFzYBgqz6CdPj1LKqhJNYiROQkZLN8uYwqrY-YbcEf4pWb67wtpdsrIbHy5wfZx-es/s1600/IMG_1571.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKbFv3bo-2TjQXPXYchHKwkL0_3PEQGakCRTJvlFctFbXxxNWyw-43epHKNtEvYwmnPRqL7g4gcJFzYBgqz6CdPj1LKqhJNYiROQkZLN8uYwqrY-YbcEf4pWb67wtpdsrIbHy5wfZx-es/s400/IMG_1571.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566866215485453938" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0qUwE_J0_mgNgXPG8bcEU06tAKiUNmv8A3rU_yK8WV8heSR1MnXOzBdnQvxGdEafegEYAf6khpnUAeQp6KJnppPz7JFAgUf_QYp1nI111pkeuqA4kQ7JYwbzFh11KOOlZtKKhmdlzdE/s1600/IMG_1571.JPG"><br /></a>It makes for some pretty phenomonal icicles, snowbanks and drifts!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZGUy011SQoA4N3Vd04fv4Jf354Hh9MJuEhRF9trlL2P_qBrrG02ZvVXJHxLbNCnIL4r3AaF0tCi-Ye7_y_QenZ8k1Fk336qxkQyZH_ZKO4rROX7ObLjlHtSwu9-LenZhKqj5NoSCkRk/s1600/IMG_1572.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZGUy011SQoA4N3Vd04fv4Jf354Hh9MJuEhRF9trlL2P_qBrrG02ZvVXJHxLbNCnIL4r3AaF0tCi-Ye7_y_QenZ8k1Fk336qxkQyZH_ZKO4rROX7ObLjlHtSwu9-LenZhKqj5NoSCkRk/s400/IMG_1572.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566865238616557266" border="0" /></a><br />The poor birds won't even be able to sit on the feeders today.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEt5nSCEnyD69PXKwEej-gSUlNFEG6yGawuWvvNnzoi8mBX8krnRByU0O3H8JU2nrG81KGJAXUU440nv1_VTCqZsNdPG4jPcSOIuSMJHBfpwL7QasX70Wisi3jOgOtZLPFlkQ_NEtydcA/s1600/IMG_1578.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEt5nSCEnyD69PXKwEej-gSUlNFEG6yGawuWvvNnzoi8mBX8krnRByU0O3H8JU2nrG81KGJAXUU440nv1_VTCqZsNdPG4jPcSOIuSMJHBfpwL7QasX70Wisi3jOgOtZLPFlkQ_NEtydcA/s400/IMG_1578.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566865232727573138" border="0" /></a><br />Luckily, Chris got a snow rake and spent two hours yesterday clearing the snow from the roof! There have been several building collapses around the state, and we heard on the news this morning about a barn collapse with four horses inside. So sad--we don't know the outcome on that yet.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9IfiuVS8HqXxM3MU_uZrFrddbX43MEa2XHcBrb8anLT1QJXffiVIcFE3L2AzgnqIykdm-u3G2wEjjqqb4M3gH_3cTW39e8OAyVCkS99ZRBNGy87diRTfWD7xM-rirf_Ckd6THymgCfM/s1600/IMG_1579.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9IfiuVS8HqXxM3MU_uZrFrddbX43MEa2XHcBrb8anLT1QJXffiVIcFE3L2AzgnqIykdm-u3G2wEjjqqb4M3gH_3cTW39e8OAyVCkS99ZRBNGy87diRTfWD7xM-rirf_Ckd6THymgCfM/s400/IMG_1579.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566865230682835826" border="0" /></a><br />There is a pool under here somewhere!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXRHKIqzKpxUCSWCLmquK33NALagFvHcWV2aU9Bp4IPCmnRXATeWuploZBi5twzWofaMmxkCnCgoFF-reE7EFceBpECc0CYRtUuVfqXfp97jue96dcF8Z_lA_sFA3ImCljeKn7r0wUKG8/s1600/IMG_1581.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXRHKIqzKpxUCSWCLmquK33NALagFvHcWV2aU9Bp4IPCmnRXATeWuploZBi5twzWofaMmxkCnCgoFF-reE7EFceBpECc0CYRtUuVfqXfp97jue96dcF8Z_lA_sFA3ImCljeKn7r0wUKG8/s400/IMG_1581.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566865226073179618" border="0" /></a><br />Check out Ella's little playhouse. I feel like a North Pole elf is going to step out the front door and wave any moment!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqjEwh2lTjBKOHu4-uaCIqZZxqYJY1xp8SD2jbE4xL81XRjBVF7KMYbKv6N39q_TsquZjXKuMIzwnMhOw74lxRg1ymIckJl-yoOYE8tgAdbBXstIb1Y5Vav6wqfH3zbcwln7MwDVaZBzo/s1600/IMG_1582.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqjEwh2lTjBKOHu4-uaCIqZZxqYJY1xp8SD2jbE4xL81XRjBVF7KMYbKv6N39q_TsquZjXKuMIzwnMhOw74lxRg1ymIckJl-yoOYE8tgAdbBXstIb1Y5Vav6wqfH3zbcwln7MwDVaZBzo/s400/IMG_1582.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566865221760249986" border="0" /></a><br />I do love the snow, though! But maybe not quite this month!Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-84610237803795005812011-01-26T17:54:00.000-08:002011-01-26T17:56:30.439-08:00A Big Day for James!He got his library card today!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0yO7XcfX_HHQihc31daKDeHsxmrHEd3j1MMan6Kh5CmsF3CoclKqUcpQi7QaZF2Ago7amD2rHW357VnMHwiZQbbhNdNokxPuW_qa4BYgn_IznbCc4YEJqCMQ0glVSXNxg1lveJI7Xic/s1600/James.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0yO7XcfX_HHQihc31daKDeHsxmrHEd3j1MMan6Kh5CmsF3CoclKqUcpQi7QaZF2Ago7amD2rHW357VnMHwiZQbbhNdNokxPuW_qa4BYgn_IznbCc4YEJqCMQ0glVSXNxg1lveJI7Xic/s400/James.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566678315894385650" border="0" /></a><br />Can you tell how excited and proud he is? I love that he is so excited about reading. That's our boy.<br /><br />Love you, buddy!Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-25384777319873611052011-01-22T16:00:00.000-08:002011-01-22T16:00:01.375-08:00Puzzle Fun<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6qDy6GwU_3nnh4s384m2SVtceJBl_PGrcXyHEQk-sIJt6laFBoSx6HvKpnkff1Ln4WBYffSZBjMOi-NujKnvvBM8p9PTrAmy2sqWbDHd_heOHVbFxDx_e6F2g2xd3XJNDLyiiAVdnhps/s1600/IMG_0647.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6qDy6GwU_3nnh4s384m2SVtceJBl_PGrcXyHEQk-sIJt6laFBoSx6HvKpnkff1Ln4WBYffSZBjMOi-NujKnvvBM8p9PTrAmy2sqWbDHd_heOHVbFxDx_e6F2g2xd3XJNDLyiiAVdnhps/s400/IMG_0647.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565006423302504418" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggx8pfp-2wdrU0D7RZgrYRe_4-PV048BKawoV9JMqiiSX_lpNH4Ep_acknxJjBb4ZCFHJKlfqCmjrVviufaU8ZwBWMJyu9kTbEoOVZSmMWQ0058fSz8i0S5XIccsVZvBWOqw_le576G-M/s1600/IMG_0651.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggx8pfp-2wdrU0D7RZgrYRe_4-PV048BKawoV9JMqiiSX_lpNH4Ep_acknxJjBb4ZCFHJKlfqCmjrVviufaU8ZwBWMJyu9kTbEoOVZSmMWQ0058fSz8i0S5XIccsVZvBWOqw_le576G-M/s400/IMG_0651.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565006205206086370" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCC6CY6JA7du-BECuupMkXkApGrlLZuKBBvV5QpUK2FMH6BouYfHmpGFedpYa6gqHpM_2wDlP-ApOEomrhQ2WmdN95ng7dAeuwu9A4vU2FpwRTHkdmHkM2GmSlSaAtrBwkGet8GUWj7Ek/s1600/IMG_0661.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCC6CY6JA7du-BECuupMkXkApGrlLZuKBBvV5QpUK2FMH6BouYfHmpGFedpYa6gqHpM_2wDlP-ApOEomrhQ2WmdN95ng7dAeuwu9A4vU2FpwRTHkdmHkM2GmSlSaAtrBwkGet8GUWj7Ek/s400/IMG_0661.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565006196679217842" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBQhMysNkadj0AXG24nHYFdwM6Kncv-nnjjHNN79ymzV4AY4g7SGvhICHfFojAlWbaOAH4KKH_wbqhpOxJs3in3vJdxsd6RM-xsZpxF9qbQnYcMaG0ctAreepuGDDm685yej-CvXffak/s1600/IMG_0665.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBQhMysNkadj0AXG24nHYFdwM6Kncv-nnjjHNN79ymzV4AY4g7SGvhICHfFojAlWbaOAH4KKH_wbqhpOxJs3in3vJdxsd6RM-xsZpxF9qbQnYcMaG0ctAreepuGDDm685yej-CvXffak/s400/IMG_0665.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565006183187978338" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirVOZx4OknvOJPRRH9KhvLng7S8qP2lM-IEFz0VH5uPz_3CVgARPBwa32tEC5gE-Xq0niKSJss3CdoePuC8LNsOmtJzPY_5sHjnZvukLDWyeoUDloWQf0-qQ8F_vTpiJ5GWOGbJqjFNJ8/s1600/IMG_0673.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirVOZx4OknvOJPRRH9KhvLng7S8qP2lM-IEFz0VH5uPz_3CVgARPBwa32tEC5gE-Xq0niKSJss3CdoePuC8LNsOmtJzPY_5sHjnZvukLDWyeoUDloWQf0-qQ8F_vTpiJ5GWOGbJqjFNJ8/s400/IMG_0673.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565006179404742866" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZl04Qc3LmRkw2i0l2Ip3oe5dWX3nUVNvE6ivioVgpCzqTPsmYaSXwIgJJgdN_xS1FkypuknRxBvsr7b_TDXNnpzqkEq0wnIhLQlEW2HInb0Po2pHwuJOeYOsovR30SwOlgRT6umrXCdQ/s1600/IMG_0679.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZl04Qc3LmRkw2i0l2Ip3oe5dWX3nUVNvE6ivioVgpCzqTPsmYaSXwIgJJgdN_xS1FkypuknRxBvsr7b_TDXNnpzqkEq0wnIhLQlEW2HInb0Po2pHwuJOeYOsovR30SwOlgRT6umrXCdQ/s400/IMG_0679.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565006171786551330" border="0" /></a><br />I think James received this puzzle when he was about two years-old. Ella has just about got her alphabet song down, so I thought it would be fun to pull the puzzle out and see how well she did putting it together. Looks like fun was had by all--including Rocco!Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-36625801656737204912011-01-17T14:05:00.000-08:002011-01-17T14:33:08.147-08:00For the BirdsYou may have heard that we received 23 inches of snow last week . . . we did! And we also made sure to take good care of our feathered friends as the snow fell. Here is a glimpse of the visitors we had, over a period of a few short minutes:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Goldfinch<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuRekZRMVXtY387Tzn6ldHvGkYBNpuLGo5gEPqyUyO9SvT_sGN7OVic0-u0szr-SKCakhaGfpLrYWRQMtbWhD6ZUf_VadRHHLKh11_n4fd8xi7OnfoYMF8XESErTDmanOO21uy2fkZiy4/s1600/IMG_1402.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuRekZRMVXtY387Tzn6ldHvGkYBNpuLGo5gEPqyUyO9SvT_sGN7OVic0-u0szr-SKCakhaGfpLrYWRQMtbWhD6ZUf_VadRHHLKh11_n4fd8xi7OnfoYMF8XESErTDmanOO21uy2fkZiy4/s400/IMG_1402.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563284573678924114" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Downy Woodpecker<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe3VjNk4jPz3taFVyTzwJUREe2JXEHW-2Ae-JnFqcYyQj2qB-t-l2zKFhz9_G4mr9GnZUAYoCbdBRLENFvPSpDB1sHZ_ISciWOp-KBXN1bjmcBzGWrEyh1eTbo2lXmtRVlbL9zrteHYK4/s1600/IMG_1392.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe3VjNk4jPz3taFVyTzwJUREe2JXEHW-2Ae-JnFqcYyQj2qB-t-l2zKFhz9_G4mr9GnZUAYoCbdBRLENFvPSpDB1sHZ_ISciWOp-KBXN1bjmcBzGWrEyh1eTbo2lXmtRVlbL9zrteHYK4/s400/IMG_1392.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563284576137665410" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Carolina Wren and Junco<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOuBKAE9KA9g2e8Ckfwap_NhY_jA2wZkWqBNJdHevw13Yp_tCX0x5giaopkbDtZSPhHBUAFUEKk6eRmP4dc9pWVPCuhjWYqSWUcSDYYu3rFK7DoSxY4j5aQWoQ_Hxx3zEy_jC5s2RQns/s1600/IMG_1415.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOuBKAE9KA9g2e8Ckfwap_NhY_jA2wZkWqBNJdHevw13Yp_tCX0x5giaopkbDtZSPhHBUAFUEKk6eRmP4dc9pWVPCuhjWYqSWUcSDYYu3rFK7DoSxY4j5aQWoQ_Hxx3zEy_jC5s2RQns/s400/IMG_1415.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563284565541455218" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Female Cardinal<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0Fgix5b0oQo36ADD6sMXiApvbycUmRtWTfTj01fGWvUd5q1l0QFylz8lHaPn-kroYoPYn9VrotNAhHS1L11aFyx2StWV6SfDTubKlkoDGrgsWUmiRTYQtjOACdtB-gbELKFlkpHr4hY/s1600/IMG_1472.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0Fgix5b0oQo36ADD6sMXiApvbycUmRtWTfTj01fGWvUd5q1l0QFylz8lHaPn-kroYoPYn9VrotNAhHS1L11aFyx2StWV6SfDTubKlkoDGrgsWUmiRTYQtjOACdtB-gbELKFlkpHr4hY/s400/IMG_1472.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563281116683698162" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Nuthatch<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09sE3EkBCBZrL0kxPwxCJmIqGA8e4v0eEFJChEH1LqpEUSbhjo2lxhVGK_xI8PodcLWLIeIH-tJOSnTueePjkS_RVuemTZTOw3hTLWBcQpuxdNq30xjeKZdDkdfPm-R0ZMIIOTUUhkHc/s1600/IMG_1421.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09sE3EkBCBZrL0kxPwxCJmIqGA8e4v0eEFJChEH1LqpEUSbhjo2lxhVGK_xI8PodcLWLIeIH-tJOSnTueePjkS_RVuemTZTOw3hTLWBcQpuxdNq30xjeKZdDkdfPm-R0ZMIIOTUUhkHc/s400/IMG_1421.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563281117951290434" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Male Cardinal<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXvMDzG62zsCkh0xOyY_AHQnG4QAiNQ-lV_gNVdme21csqupaWpll0zI2lPlpfhKERecYog0rZDf03H5uwl78NydgQxjxJfOTTB696j17SvqaBw-0CX-7CYlcJFgkuMmo7OuIN_GVg1lw/s1600/IMG_1474.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXvMDzG62zsCkh0xOyY_AHQnG4QAiNQ-lV_gNVdme21csqupaWpll0zI2lPlpfhKERecYog0rZDf03H5uwl78NydgQxjxJfOTTB696j17SvqaBw-0CX-7CYlcJFgkuMmo7OuIN_GVg1lw/s400/IMG_1474.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563281110335551394" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">House Sparrow<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJus3opeVGmA2F6t9w4onkYA_oDB5ee1wIJDL85w-kbsRQgNzqPA_4IjKqGHM2HxMxJZ-kV3pE8pepLQ47o23x7SmGk_MZWcCFuOF8TtXadPkq_2D9LtdgCM2ptBzMZhfDAwuB20UzaY/s1600/IMG_1432.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJus3opeVGmA2F6t9w4onkYA_oDB5ee1wIJDL85w-kbsRQgNzqPA_4IjKqGHM2HxMxJZ-kV3pE8pepLQ47o23x7SmGk_MZWcCFuOF8TtXadPkq_2D9LtdgCM2ptBzMZhfDAwuB20UzaY/s400/IMG_1432.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563281105228614370" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">House Finch<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE9zT8tCyF15xb4e1DUweBGazD0cnP04oMeG27kG5w6AGBAIwfjoXXHYUF9-GULaR53NfkiSAUHRtRIo0KcKBpGQhhuvxHBRnupWLMEP7o2SP5AJ7xsw5juzqBvFyDxZxIgDw_WGa4X0M/s1600/IMG_1456.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE9zT8tCyF15xb4e1DUweBGazD0cnP04oMeG27kG5w6AGBAIwfjoXXHYUF9-GULaR53NfkiSAUHRtRIo0KcKBpGQhhuvxHBRnupWLMEP7o2SP5AJ7xsw5juzqBvFyDxZxIgDw_WGa4X0M/s400/IMG_1456.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563281101896691826" border="0" /></a><br />I continue to be astounded by the beauty of this little corner of the world. And although these birds eat like a herd of cows, I love them just as much!Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-23443818912944407822011-01-11T06:07:00.000-08:002011-01-11T06:26:31.901-08:00Thanks Peepaw!Ella and James were very excited to receive some wonderful presents from Grandpa (or as Ella says, "Peepaw") last week!<br /><br />Did I say excited? Maybe I mean crazily happy, or gleefully surprised . . .<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxkQtcrZhMJWT9M6YewEG5eBFOUVzciKllXYirH_B9XCwGbaDAcDguE-41w7nWSh3nYlpaAY803SgulR07T334YXQIDsfVCtC5t_CSkG2sebL8rTY4L3MMLC0xFfLsRGaEjjbXHJ3JWIg/s1600/IMG_1116.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxkQtcrZhMJWT9M6YewEG5eBFOUVzciKllXYirH_B9XCwGbaDAcDguE-41w7nWSh3nYlpaAY803SgulR07T334YXQIDsfVCtC5t_CSkG2sebL8rTY4L3MMLC0xFfLsRGaEjjbXHJ3JWIg/s400/IMG_1116.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560932489379753218" border="0" /></a><br />Grandpa brought Ella an enormous dollhouse for Christmas, and he just sent her more people, kids and furniture to put in it!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKyW2JtlE-zPYdkQhp95WujR8j17JjGdBE74cc6fSWvO81EaEnCHyh95gDOSD1GT0nkN7aWDcstKqOSnxO2iFY_rdwf_NQpywsgM3O2XHBqTiJcFcUHFfHd3rGmzSiJZz2I2uP0jQhE4/s1600/IMG_1117.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKyW2JtlE-zPYdkQhp95WujR8j17JjGdBE74cc6fSWvO81EaEnCHyh95gDOSD1GT0nkN7aWDcstKqOSnxO2iFY_rdwf_NQpywsgM3O2XHBqTiJcFcUHFfHd3rGmzSiJZz2I2uP0jQhE4/s400/IMG_1117.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560932119722837634" border="0" /></a><br />She was ecstatic!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwv1PdxlXbsaVLXc5wM3h4gOyKpR_pSkdI1TC3MSHg7ZbVLMfWdxO_6-IxH63Rdx7Y3PLGc1iO2OY1lt4mAhUbOSvDeM9ohnEryEe-ep22pobNrVoOPhuvF8GSCnXxA0koqd5Sxc8M6hk/s1600/IMG_1120.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwv1PdxlXbsaVLXc5wM3h4gOyKpR_pSkdI1TC3MSHg7ZbVLMfWdxO_6-IxH63Rdx7Y3PLGc1iO2OY1lt4mAhUbOSvDeM9ohnEryEe-ep22pobNrVoOPhuvF8GSCnXxA0koqd5Sxc8M6hk/s400/IMG_1120.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560932116376538386" border="0" /></a><br />Here she is saying " Aww . . . beautiful!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXv4p-tOl3DxYriWbeuEOU2vHdJvEoVzFt1lUwfW9cbxMnVGUoBeLoR2q4Yg5kFf_xOdn5G4se-5h6bN71xDS4IUkzxrp0mx3iU6M63az7ql9xVQfzASnMKAoTGrFXRnE-q-4-b01aNLs/s1600/IMG_1125.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXv4p-tOl3DxYriWbeuEOU2vHdJvEoVzFt1lUwfW9cbxMnVGUoBeLoR2q4Yg5kFf_xOdn5G4se-5h6bN71xDS4IUkzxrp0mx3iU6M63az7ql9xVQfzASnMKAoTGrFXRnE-q-4-b01aNLs/s400/IMG_1125.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560932106856375490" border="0" /></a><br />"Look, Mom! A Mommy!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwa6cztjx9ahYw46KzE1rvRUlufiA42dsy_ELwv-7cJiEpQc9ZIjvN721iCed3YI1wf1yuycS9MRt5leRFRJsmwG4Ob_pZQWOsRcId05_TXNRvzOT3Wm2766-xlSMP1c_N76NBTaL5GA/s1600/IMG_1127.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwa6cztjx9ahYw46KzE1rvRUlufiA42dsy_ELwv-7cJiEpQc9ZIjvN721iCed3YI1wf1yuycS9MRt5leRFRJsmwG4Ob_pZQWOsRcId05_TXNRvzOT3Wm2766-xlSMP1c_N76NBTaL5GA/s400/IMG_1127.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560932098193555842" border="0" /></a><br />"Awww . . . pretty!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpjH4TkCFMNWvSDhAZ_lTvWcKH96HOYatJPcEpJnTQQ1CisU3Ip71IpJRMR1d2qK5GcQ5-TiD_utzaMLTr9CB5QN-muZQn5PE6JmZxuqAViWLhmtqdgwIHXmWYfA88HzQlwdBHQF1uUa0/s1600/IMG_1130.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpjH4TkCFMNWvSDhAZ_lTvWcKH96HOYatJPcEpJnTQQ1CisU3Ip71IpJRMR1d2qK5GcQ5-TiD_utzaMLTr9CB5QN-muZQn5PE6JmZxuqAViWLhmtqdgwIHXmWYfA88HzQlwdBHQF1uUa0/s400/IMG_1130.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560932094662370162" border="0" /></a><br />Already putting one of the little girls to "Baby 'night 'night" . . .<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMpey-jNa3yqUcToE8Dt3ntaGppnk4P26M03BAl25YD1o7j4267Ez7QVQSqSikPWLH44wWfvUbhUfB9xmfRl-mPyYn73ezcB7VlZNdecXhbf-3pTWXzeBTIQc9JUHM075-IcT0dumylhU/s1600/IMG_1136.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMpey-jNa3yqUcToE8Dt3ntaGppnk4P26M03BAl25YD1o7j4267Ez7QVQSqSikPWLH44wWfvUbhUfB9xmfRl-mPyYn73ezcB7VlZNdecXhbf-3pTWXzeBTIQc9JUHM075-IcT0dumylhU/s400/IMG_1136.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560931258985659298" border="0" /></a><br />"A kitty!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4fD31AC2164-eNfAabLhOMx8fF1pNStiROYgv10_DKb6wNddTSklqK4PEACUqI6-VXtkGWL_AU0ZErPVpW2PHOlVmDT_CjGERNw18k9mqUbpbLERfDUvOqZ_KgFDel-Y0_Q0b51CcUfY/s1600/IMG_1141.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4fD31AC2164-eNfAabLhOMx8fF1pNStiROYgv10_DKb6wNddTSklqK4PEACUqI6-VXtkGWL_AU0ZErPVpW2PHOlVmDT_CjGERNw18k9mqUbpbLERfDUvOqZ_KgFDel-Y0_Q0b51CcUfY/s400/IMG_1141.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560931253259684866" border="0" /></a><br />Seriously, EVERY SINGLE doll or piece of furniture that came out of the box received an equally excited reaction!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9PiBXlBUqDNELvi4w4asWQPaeBLSUkLndwsxOzACZpP4V_P0e6iiMD5HvqpjoTe2m2GixbXbHDr7RK01B_oAN6KZ6fiUPqfr2gou4kwLm-5QzFFvIIHHtMrU8BxlGE5oFqW6ircahOn8/s1600/IMG_1142.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9PiBXlBUqDNELvi4w4asWQPaeBLSUkLndwsxOzACZpP4V_P0e6iiMD5HvqpjoTe2m2GixbXbHDr7RK01B_oAN6KZ6fiUPqfr2gou4kwLm-5QzFFvIIHHtMrU8BxlGE5oFqW6ircahOn8/s400/IMG_1142.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560931247915891186" border="0" /></a><br />Grandpa, in case you didn't know it, Ella LOVES each and everything thing that was in the box! Thanks for feeding her dollhouse addiction--she and I will remember these moments ALWAYS.<br /><br />Now, on to what James got--American Bricks!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MmsNfa2KglHK2Ahi3OEuL75RfrqJ7z-eIxDbdp8dbMJZbFRCl-tXoWW7Y4Yj_YBIClxhmUNzRQnNR5UU1ihUq9HwbeisqHcK1jHqbBN3pNwRpW8jpu5U5GqFiSdQfiK7KxP6Lh7_rUk/s1600/IMG_1171.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MmsNfa2KglHK2Ahi3OEuL75RfrqJ7z-eIxDbdp8dbMJZbFRCl-tXoWW7Y4Yj_YBIClxhmUNzRQnNR5UU1ihUq9HwbeisqHcK1jHqbBN3pNwRpW8jpu5U5GqFiSdQfiK7KxP6Lh7_rUk/s400/IMG_1171.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560931241052707650" border="0" /></a><br />According to Dad, every middle class little boy in America had these--they are from the 50s and are made of wood.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCpUBnTRTzpRPTPhw8BDalTl4GSp3AiGo_6GmLxvX0IJh7Fo3Zm7G6U3iEEUcwX3ZDZTwe_TlvL2pGMyK3cEHBxNAAKbM2pP8PNYXgw8fJy0XNx3YVjyf5M62DMufcAwz2y6nj18RFKm0/s1600/IMG_1177.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCpUBnTRTzpRPTPhw8BDalTl4GSp3AiGo_6GmLxvX0IJh7Fo3Zm7G6U3iEEUcwX3ZDZTwe_TlvL2pGMyK3cEHBxNAAKbM2pP8PNYXgw8fJy0XNx3YVjyf5M62DMufcAwz2y6nj18RFKm0/s400/IMG_1177.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560931239906202338" border="0" /></a><br />Sadly, Dad was not able to have any of these when he was young. But now James has some!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiacwdUnqMkPz5EF6c7NAUMMsa0etlXXt-_RaULMHSEABytCqQ4BZZutYUH3TB4G6Q-Cj8YKMxNuCDnmTGOlKU6Xhr2eb1R30huLCRl0u7nLypjtaWpDy0lHgChl-AtSQNxCNUozp5S9EY/s1600/IMG_1175.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiacwdUnqMkPz5EF6c7NAUMMsa0etlXXt-_RaULMHSEABytCqQ4BZZutYUH3TB4G6Q-Cj8YKMxNuCDnmTGOlKU6Xhr2eb1R30huLCRl0u7nLypjtaWpDy0lHgChl-AtSQNxCNUozp5S9EY/s400/IMG_1175.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560930477494373202" border="0" /></a><br />I love the colors and the textures.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAaiK5Ay6UGAYiBBNLsr-onLZPyMGyhyphenhyphenqGTfXwv_LHIAJ-u0n46FLhkE5U3EzpVy82oZp-sA_tAV5HkhDXbpqsgYZye5hbEObeioK4IccQJCQ2IRzYyTWNTOVFCMOaSYpXAD5zuaPa4I/s1600/IMG_1176.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAaiK5Ay6UGAYiBBNLsr-onLZPyMGyhyphenhyphenqGTfXwv_LHIAJ-u0n46FLhkE5U3EzpVy82oZp-sA_tAV5HkhDXbpqsgYZye5hbEObeioK4IccQJCQ2IRzYyTWNTOVFCMOaSYpXAD5zuaPa4I/s400/IMG_1176.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560930472294350114" border="0" /></a><br />They have been keeping James and his imagination busy!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsL7qHZ0tB586QbsaiFK18M29AbJYJ0TYb5OJqBKb2N9QG1dCHuAoPJIoRT1tb6k16ALjGg5vYyjhLZMO0VuIjMrB3fEe5KxWzlXTRFEKM_DAY7a2nmKaU5i7hrXmyB1J8zwEI2kRzQ38/s1600/IMG_1179.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsL7qHZ0tB586QbsaiFK18M29AbJYJ0TYb5OJqBKb2N9QG1dCHuAoPJIoRT1tb6k16ALjGg5vYyjhLZMO0VuIjMrB3fEe5KxWzlXTRFEKM_DAY7a2nmKaU5i7hrXmyB1J8zwEI2kRzQ38/s400/IMG_1179.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560930465326433682" border="0" /></a><br />Aren't they neat?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgtOxXnLG9eaTsSenn9MDPT0HoN9LOi8NMaeH8qI0kyKk2CV0vQN4d6VzAU-f65iuJU7JeTBCSyKBV1xUu1rrsD6-E4u_fd9qqytMEN-WMq1AaVsuW_YxpdQ01SXwYe86wsv8_teXVZQ/s1600/IMG_1182.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgtOxXnLG9eaTsSenn9MDPT0HoN9LOi8NMaeH8qI0kyKk2CV0vQN4d6VzAU-f65iuJU7JeTBCSyKBV1xUu1rrsD6-E4u_fd9qqytMEN-WMq1AaVsuW_YxpdQ01SXwYe86wsv8_teXVZQ/s400/IMG_1182.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560930462624409458" border="0" /></a><br />Thanks Grandpa!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzSP-RhPF1ee4gJYDgsjxHPdNnkg3LllUb3yrOuOG-vJ8BRcJFSgdUNKsNE_mt7Qku9l_HgmcajX0IGx7ia7T_K134k7JNHUzCANMabUA41iEEu3U3pBMX-qIAqzN2w_arBlz8sjWnSY0/s1600/IMG_1185.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzSP-RhPF1ee4gJYDgsjxHPdNnkg3LllUb3yrOuOG-vJ8BRcJFSgdUNKsNE_mt7Qku9l_HgmcajX0IGx7ia7T_K134k7JNHUzCANMabUA41iEEu3U3pBMX-qIAqzN2w_arBlz8sjWnSY0/s400/IMG_1185.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560930446261080914" border="0" /></a><br />Love you!Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-74990167970445992362011-01-07T16:35:00.000-08:002011-01-07T16:43:52.338-08:00From Our Snow Family to Yours!I've been falling behind posting photos lately, I literally have 50 or so that I'd like to get posted and haven't taken the time to do it. So stay tuned! In the meantime, here are a few that I took during the last snowstorm.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSVUfWu0l3L91qB5ipwnCkV3e1JAJI_18sOJkZLMcMCMP4A0iMV8u0Lois12OSiAAeVwLRU9VnslzdZbP69ZsqGoIvzwhXNuSeHncE-OdLT05lQstih411Gf1Y2dDlqH8TyGz418cTcc/s1600/IMG_1043.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSVUfWu0l3L91qB5ipwnCkV3e1JAJI_18sOJkZLMcMCMP4A0iMV8u0Lois12OSiAAeVwLRU9VnslzdZbP69ZsqGoIvzwhXNuSeHncE-OdLT05lQstih411Gf1Y2dDlqH8TyGz418cTcc/s400/IMG_1043.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559608095536524866" border="0" /></a><br />Ella in the snow pants just KILLS ME! She looked like a little sausage. Here's Ella's Snow Girl:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJjq9ZshFvObEmwYhMoaSqDyNrfn82n3cs0gJ3gL73jkpLz6S6je_2aU_DmCtv6_SBPcdKVYFB7wJDZ0mhmVTrjoYODhQyL58IZGDpea6G2a1jh9VDbSscyWou3ViKngBr7PadWXymgv0/s1600/IMG_1059.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJjq9ZshFvObEmwYhMoaSqDyNrfn82n3cs0gJ3gL73jkpLz6S6je_2aU_DmCtv6_SBPcdKVYFB7wJDZ0mhmVTrjoYODhQyL58IZGDpea6G2a1jh9VDbSscyWou3ViKngBr7PadWXymgv0/s400/IMG_1059.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559607938234258226" border="0" /></a><br />My Snow Mommy:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGARYgBOAICPO6caEqb2KYRbSA3k3bJw2H33vSIhuzsMY65qrnwxFTBVmKrYv5Ee3_ZhnGgDxE09Y7va_gYueIdNVUnVIXel2okgroZ_f4Vc6xdzUsuPgOuMYy40AVHvstXH44tRjIqp4/s1600/IMG_1061.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGARYgBOAICPO6caEqb2KYRbSA3k3bJw2H33vSIhuzsMY65qrnwxFTBVmKrYv5Ee3_ZhnGgDxE09Y7va_gYueIdNVUnVIXel2okgroZ_f4Vc6xdzUsuPgOuMYy40AVHvstXH44tRjIqp4/s400/IMG_1061.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559607932125197378" border="0" /></a><br />James' Snow Boy:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwjQBPDUA_t3F9MPk0mHJoNPE-4F2zF4MW8Z8hWf_55Wb2L2umVf07IeU5_l-LzSECN22wi0dgMGZnLtHa5YW4ag5wRP8uqYfUTU8zTDoYEZBu6z3ebyJIxKK5kipZBVSicaP4Pop34Gw/s1600/IMG_1060.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwjQBPDUA_t3F9MPk0mHJoNPE-4F2zF4MW8Z8hWf_55Wb2L2umVf07IeU5_l-LzSECN22wi0dgMGZnLtHa5YW4ag5wRP8uqYfUTU8zTDoYEZBu6z3ebyJIxKK5kipZBVSicaP4Pop34Gw/s400/IMG_1060.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559607929634398178" border="0" /></a><br />And our Snow Daddy:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33pEGIsDilo-DxCmSKnJpnK5grUoOGRNExQOut25NPtZCBCwTQ_euOMsgjT15NtkLaXJu7V7Qh8ClihXThpElp3m8H4yKLPwobv4pdNtt242odrrn9RifprvbxVXAX6oPcRBpmddY_To/s1600/IMG_1058.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33pEGIsDilo-DxCmSKnJpnK5grUoOGRNExQOut25NPtZCBCwTQ_euOMsgjT15NtkLaXJu7V7Qh8ClihXThpElp3m8H4yKLPwobv4pdNtt242odrrn9RifprvbxVXAX6oPcRBpmddY_To/s400/IMG_1058.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559607922231859026" border="0" /></a><br />Chris didn't help because he was too busy setting up his new weather station thing that tells him a hundred weather readings. I didn't mind because to see his face light up like a kid on Christmas Day once he got it working was priceless.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIV2ZaZOC_9tNgu7Ws02H84XPdB1p1XdrZViREOzW5EjQg1-DykfY2zsylURFIHlv4m7dTOiB90zzOZ2TVJLmkv9lsm5STVfGynwtKKqG_UfGYJ4MmkQbHY82-wIVcsUktVJpuYlMveS4/s1600/IMG_1062.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIV2ZaZOC_9tNgu7Ws02H84XPdB1p1XdrZViREOzW5EjQg1-DykfY2zsylURFIHlv4m7dTOiB90zzOZ2TVJLmkv9lsm5STVfGynwtKKqG_UfGYJ4MmkQbHY82-wIVcsUktVJpuYlMveS4/s400/IMG_1062.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559607916147282002" border="0" /></a><br />Don't we look happy? The funny thing is that now when I hold up a carrot and ask Ella what it is she says "Nose!"<br /><br />HA HA HA!!Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-69445160124307054432011-01-04T04:10:00.001-08:002011-01-04T04:11:31.637-08:00A Year in Photos<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihVY7inwqpHkJP-PsbeePXioZxV5TcuC9lnM2iXXl2LHJnEIQvx7FYfbsHJPFidM-ZpS8Ddufjw9sX7bP-9yJhPmD5-_dq5FCdYURXN15-6ZP33Hsivc7in-adFZA1PhWeitf-j937O5Y/s1600/166654_483979367335_623807335_6293710_2710717_n.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 560px; height: 507px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihVY7inwqpHkJP-PsbeePXioZxV5TcuC9lnM2iXXl2LHJnEIQvx7FYfbsHJPFidM-ZpS8Ddufjw9sX7bP-9yJhPmD5-_dq5FCdYURXN15-6ZP33Hsivc7in-adFZA1PhWeitf-j937O5Y/s400/166654_483979367335_623807335_6293710_2710717_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558302017444267474" border="0" /></a><br />I made this on Facebook and thought I'd put it here. What a great year!Allisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-22317417193640258332010-12-31T16:25:00.000-08:002010-12-31T16:45:09.178-08:00Have A Happy New Year!To celebrate the close of 2010, I decided to pull a photo from each month of blogging from the past year.<br /><br />January<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkgXDsQsfxSa3llQrCD-TXUYn9l8DpSU4cINGPlrpBq-ykrLNRsuflLX6N4iKO0eFzW-v50efD3-jrZeXgfOvEeHcyWCzIMgKn72Gvh5MKVxnT73hFacgPJn1DyaRrOoNuQK2tRMiQy4/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkgXDsQsfxSa3llQrCD-TXUYn9l8DpSU4cINGPlrpBq-ykrLNRsuflLX6N4iKO0eFzW-v50efD3-jrZeXgfOvEeHcyWCzIMgKn72Gvh5MKVxnT73hFacgPJn1DyaRrOoNuQK2tRMiQy4/s400/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557011069551609298" border="0" /></a><br /></div>February<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDoTwof_9SNKaCp2AC8i2PODGgzXjlI0rPwOPXDqZmZefLOyeM7vPNQ4BbToS984ZAfBZ75qyNjoQ1jbIGCiDNZ702A5Jhbd2uy6ZORlcMWA1CAWYER684tQkY5izEdBdB_fz98ws7n6U/s1600/2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDoTwof_9SNKaCp2AC8i2PODGgzXjlI0rPwOPXDqZmZefLOyeM7vPNQ4BbToS984ZAfBZ75qyNjoQ1jbIGCiDNZ702A5Jhbd2uy6ZORlcMWA1CAWYER684tQkY5izEdBdB_fz98ws7n6U/s400/2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557011071696635234" border="0" /></a><br />March<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCcU8iLiaUrWDkrTIHReCAeTj_qZ-tUVqpWo2cTXOqh3nrE15mTtWy1hGqBXw4mQasN_N4I_FOYVjsrInUjsD_PXZak_ICi4w9ztaKbMp6It1960VsfueEfcVPXShz8C0JJBVBIjtRI8/s1600/3.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCcU8iLiaUrWDkrTIHReCAeTj_qZ-tUVqpWo2cTXOqh3nrE15mTtWy1hGqBXw4mQasN_N4I_FOYVjsrInUjsD_PXZak_ICi4w9ztaKbMp6It1960VsfueEfcVPXShz8C0JJBVBIjtRI8/s400/3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557010546820981954" border="0" /></a><br />April<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTApNz0uUla0uiGrngxCojeywc61c6Dt9ZMOppbXD9GoTcPdEXbLMDRdxLq9b3a9VCKl5fi-o0gAZLdD7sUdJzvjwPkcjxh-BJQjOoIqQ6rhLhUxlV4k2H-2Gtw7lEBcrdvuk_yuOX9E/s1600/4.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTApNz0uUla0uiGrngxCojeywc61c6Dt9ZMOppbXD9GoTcPdEXbLMDRdxLq9b3a9VCKl5fi-o0gAZLdD7sUdJzvjwPkcjxh-BJQjOoIqQ6rhLhUxlV4k2H-2Gtw7lEBcrdvuk_yuOX9E/s400/4.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557010544801179666" border="0" /></a><br />May<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQRrxYjtE_6GPobwvuLo1KxN8t4qqv-qOYjTK6G0MaitFE4AcOzylUDjUvB_1K6R8tEfFPQxYZ40-zSP2t8wnF7jL-30oc1sAAUJZUznmQwmQULUGMCrKhKPHQuUnkk3U0UmG5YLS7z-E/s1600/5.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQRrxYjtE_6GPobwvuLo1KxN8t4qqv-qOYjTK6G0MaitFE4AcOzylUDjUvB_1K6R8tEfFPQxYZ40-zSP2t8wnF7jL-30oc1sAAUJZUznmQwmQULUGMCrKhKPHQuUnkk3U0UmG5YLS7z-E/s400/5.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557010536529943362" border="0" /></a><br />June<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7knOnI4mYK7jr7RFgIra5-zzUZ-rh3c8f0sOxJP2kTJxJ_vq-51f8f3vB5heaxy-WJWszj1fHtK0dqTEo1GSc7EqmjNXWMYJ0fih2RogIyUHn88gCLZCNDJ3WWYjc6GDgMrp1m6gSeWw/s1600/6.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7knOnI4mYK7jr7RFgIra5-zzUZ-rh3c8f0sOxJP2kTJxJ_vq-51f8f3vB5heaxy-WJWszj1fHtK0dqTEo1GSc7EqmjNXWMYJ0fih2RogIyUHn88gCLZCNDJ3WWYjc6GDgMrp1m6gSeWw/s400/6.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557010533514322514" border="0" /></a><br />July<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ-ZCdO4lsbuI6-a7X9HOx7WTx52u1sDH-eNYgarMK00DW-VzUjOKkKjogbFxaApCeYN3DIMn6S2ktD9b5mzzEabcbmLV0kXirjEBvXi8fsZ57FkEX2Ond1SiY-O2jghU2VXuvdCbU5so/s1600/7.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ-ZCdO4lsbuI6-a7X9HOx7WTx52u1sDH-eNYgarMK00DW-VzUjOKkKjogbFxaApCeYN3DIMn6S2ktD9b5mzzEabcbmLV0kXirjEBvXi8fsZ57FkEX2Ond1SiY-O2jghU2VXuvdCbU5so/s400/7.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557010531447243746" border="0" /></a><br />August<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpBNff_770rW-YsOfZMWDKBLCKVWAhbjrDIB55uMskwopeKbdZmzZfU-_Z3bfE_8N2kYH15i03um3mjmGcXHJyCrRdFZqtb4Kus1qHsPp4JZ_8Z5SpEXjU9hHaTlvoMnnu_ojLOzsbi6c/s1600/8.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpBNff_770rW-YsOfZMWDKBLCKVWAhbjrDIB55uMskwopeKbdZmzZfU-_Z3bfE_8N2kYH15i03um3mjmGcXHJyCrRdFZqtb4Kus1qHsPp4JZ_8Z5SpEXjU9hHaTlvoMnnu_ojLOzsbi6c/s400/8.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557010142142526482" border="0" /></a><br />September<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-3K1mLp8NzrXJyvbDm5YaE83PO5XCfxc4EAge2ZWLoP5V1pRxHk6uXoZJ76xBiPvPYrQ1RLjgp_2zWi7L9iUpKYCkLpjNgJ_oBDC08YQEl7rWnMORhhvu9dOWIcQRSuhsTExRLPubqw/s1600/9.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-3K1mLp8NzrXJyvbDm5YaE83PO5XCfxc4EAge2ZWLoP5V1pRxHk6uXoZJ76xBiPvPYrQ1RLjgp_2zWi7L9iUpKYCkLpjNgJ_oBDC08YQEl7rWnMORhhvu9dOWIcQRSuhsTExRLPubqw/s400/9.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557010137656352322" border="0" /></a><br />October<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_WjxsiaNIQgBr_cj5CpByGhKMoDL5X3yIuRksCHVbhREDORASLPLgdDaeMoJVsjkj4t8lzyFB8Np1hQyOwjQHZTAs7CWzORyor5qCd6KtrPnGhYn0g8cCjBhwPO-YPu3TstiDFjegUx8/s1600/10.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 392px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_WjxsiaNIQgBr_cj5CpByGhKMoDL5X3yIuRksCHVbhREDORASLPLgdDaeMoJVsjkj4t8lzyFB8Np1hQyOwjQHZTAs7CWzORyor5qCd6KtrPnGhYn0g8cCjBhwPO-YPu3TstiDFjegUx8/s400/10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557010137464280754" border="0" /></a><br />November<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLqADxwvicYjAIu2shszdOlGp6BDhPS9Yx8VXzr7HIuH0SpeyhP2rRYDVdSVmB2BjHisUNNhy2cxaJm17iGK99fqH5UVcKAY0PJWoAd4nW7rYs0edDQ9_wlNsb9wtezXP8EVBKAU4nkF0/s1600/11.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLqADxwvicYjAIu2shszdOlGp6BDhPS9Yx8VXzr7HIuH0SpeyhP2rRYDVdSVmB2BjHisUNNhy2cxaJm17iGK99fqH5UVcKAY0PJWoAd4nW7rYs0edDQ9_wlNsb9wtezXP8EVBKAU4nkF0/s400/11.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557010141319171778" border="0" /></a><br />December (OK, I am actually cheating with this one--it was from our Christmas card and I didn't want to spoil it for my family and friends that were getting one!)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbfNXA7TuYQPT96eJp6kTRFJqRuVEbn1jghT_zScvDuScq1XJMIFNaHBUSuwRxGwawAhKT8C4KMEA0cbE_IB7cDDgUWLfneA6wqgQA2fZkn5QeSi_7RBM2jQz7yaRkwhCND7u2izFFHs/s1600/IMG_0377a.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbfNXA7TuYQPT96eJp6kTRFJqRuVEbn1jghT_zScvDuScq1XJMIFNaHBUSuwRxGwawAhKT8C4KMEA0cbE_IB7cDDgUWLfneA6wqgQA2fZkn5QeSi_7RBM2jQz7yaRkwhCND7u2izFFHs/s400/IMG_0377a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557010133857680354" border="0" /></a><br />Looking back thru posts from this past year, I realize that I am absolutely BLESSED to be living a life so rich and full with love and friendship. I never take that for granted. Never.<br /><br />And to you my friends, I wish you a joyous and prosperous New Year!<br /><br />All the best,<br /><br />AllisonAllisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7101634937220970279.post-5283315859397889302010-12-27T16:49:00.000-08:002010-12-27T17:19:27.879-08:00Christmas Day 2010The kids loved their presents!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWeUygSZvY9mXBCcDV1E-CgJNVoxhHZth18H3jed1A5TUxGiyQdntyoyD8QeC55kU4bZfyDftIVhrwuREMJlFJL-OFsohZ4gyzZBoFrBhmQDMMRh48UoXXDz7c-plEWAZ7D8jbHIEJP20/s1600/IMG_0795.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWeUygSZvY9mXBCcDV1E-CgJNVoxhHZth18H3jed1A5TUxGiyQdntyoyD8QeC55kU4bZfyDftIVhrwuREMJlFJL-OFsohZ4gyzZBoFrBhmQDMMRh48UoXXDz7c-plEWAZ7D8jbHIEJP20/s400/IMG_0795.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555532654982700034" border="0" /></a><br />This was the first time that Ella was really able to unwrap presents and she had a great time.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ5N3sYwVuX8tmgmThQ3q7B4WErvv1m7UNT43BGrkNI21cApw9T4qd0gp1-pyPRXoXinamesddXYfjtN36h6VMezcybiaTnnAQ_egJcAsljcQbwsS6quuznPRWi9mdOiJ8rpHn79nQsyE/s1600/IMG_0799.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ5N3sYwVuX8tmgmThQ3q7B4WErvv1m7UNT43BGrkNI21cApw9T4qd0gp1-pyPRXoXinamesddXYfjtN36h6VMezcybiaTnnAQ_egJcAsljcQbwsS6quuznPRWi9mdOiJ8rpHn79nQsyE/s400/IMG_0799.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555531424434854722" border="0" /></a><br />Digging into her stocking . . .<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLlOZzR_A5YC-kSYQWjb-gA007YpFarbyhW_jfp_gZKiTRdRa3g98MUKM76kmf0eUHIeJb7k5etLoTOXXVRJ0A46WfxTAZ6huy3oMKwYHAR5H9pfHUetB7qFzL8ks47in7U8DmnAZMe5w/s1600/IMG_0815.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLlOZzR_A5YC-kSYQWjb-gA007YpFarbyhW_jfp_gZKiTRdRa3g98MUKM76kmf0eUHIeJb7k5etLoTOXXVRJ0A46WfxTAZ6huy3oMKwYHAR5H9pfHUetB7qFzL8ks47in7U8DmnAZMe5w/s400/IMG_0815.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555531418465420722" border="0" /></a><br />James had told Santa that all he wanted for Christmas was the Mario Galaxy Wii game, and that's what Santa left for him!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfc2PCTMt4rHph3fZLToj9ThrJHdAH71RvISdCmmuT_QCNTO9jJh2UBijzXjIAcrH9kxpSuxyZkdddLKmPUUgej1P6o9w8utQOWuaTZ5iF0oUDJ9Kc02fpndd6cgHfUCVoGOzOZZvGi8c/s1600/IMG_0803.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfc2PCTMt4rHph3fZLToj9ThrJHdAH71RvISdCmmuT_QCNTO9jJh2UBijzXjIAcrH9kxpSuxyZkdddLKmPUUgej1P6o9w8utQOWuaTZ5iF0oUDJ9Kc02fpndd6cgHfUCVoGOzOZZvGi8c/s400/IMG_0803.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555531411673771746" border="0" /></a><br />Ella sitting in the bath tub of her new baby care center. Too funny!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5PfXzeVUdI32BBPPyh9N67aTDx9c2YpA9zOAKCgZFqvN92p3RY3wErxNaDwKIhXAmxLiM65sINZ127UVRF9_j4yaoHnJdwxDJuRo3lwKl1D6DgNVf7MqN9y51ZNh_np4ELieGWAyuyM8/s1600/IMG_0817.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5PfXzeVUdI32BBPPyh9N67aTDx9c2YpA9zOAKCgZFqvN92p3RY3wErxNaDwKIhXAmxLiM65sINZ127UVRF9_j4yaoHnJdwxDJuRo3lwKl1D6DgNVf7MqN9y51ZNh_np4ELieGWAyuyM8/s400/IMG_0817.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555531407143247282" border="0" /></a><br />Look at this gorgeous face . . .<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd7kLwAm-TkGeH6cpdICZHnZ0lBazAsPkSQd241fOfAFI2iA6YjCgYzYljT_gTd1Jw__Eiu0KeO2VhLjkJ1LJioUfl0DZQbiZ0tUxERZ5Jc2RXTvG9a8fr1APv2t7WHryNcx5TrWzWQjg/s1600/IMG_0824.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd7kLwAm-TkGeH6cpdICZHnZ0lBazAsPkSQd241fOfAFI2iA6YjCgYzYljT_gTd1Jw__Eiu0KeO2VhLjkJ1LJioUfl0DZQbiZ0tUxERZ5Jc2RXTvG9a8fr1APv2t7WHryNcx5TrWzWQjg/s400/IMG_0824.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555531405252980034" border="0" /></a><br />All dressed up in the Christmas outfit that her Great Grandfather picked out for her! She looked like a little doll. Thanks Papa Okie and Jane!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVah3TLq_0FFki4W1Nel59gVH5HRxzfeX_QYIJUUU27gqASypqKtfSZzpJPoCKh1ndCffXg4C0_q8ky118caYuHrXpUp1SoP-YE_grSCdBK7-hAzahpiAGgLpgveYImmTMTkKGIz-hWc/s1600/IMG_0851.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVah3TLq_0FFki4W1Nel59gVH5HRxzfeX_QYIJUUU27gqASypqKtfSZzpJPoCKh1ndCffXg4C0_q8ky118caYuHrXpUp1SoP-YE_grSCdBK7-hAzahpiAGgLpgveYImmTMTkKGIz-hWc/s400/IMG_0851.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555530168680018658" border="0" /></a><br />My Dad and sister Amy arrived from Maine at about noon. What a treat! Here is Ella opening a Victorian ornament from her Peepaw (as she calls Grandpa).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-3DYzjEwL_mfdqxdH-n2w8jJFMIyymZGtfPd_qteSomhhxAkxSIILDkgEnX1UeiSAZQTYCgIJQikTW2cztvBCwnNm7hWzOYGFffFZIdiaPVtkdWkTsxCswpZhkeD0zFilga8SZ6xn7OY/s1600/IMG_0860.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-3DYzjEwL_mfdqxdH-n2w8jJFMIyymZGtfPd_qteSomhhxAkxSIILDkgEnX1UeiSAZQTYCgIJQikTW2cztvBCwnNm7hWzOYGFffFZIdiaPVtkdWkTsxCswpZhkeD0zFilga8SZ6xn7OY/s400/IMG_0860.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555530165204426306" border="0" /></a><br />Dad was able to get a sleigh bell for James to coincide with the Polar Express story. James loved it and the handmade box that Dad made so much that he said "Grandpa! I'm going to put this in my collection!" He was referring to the collection of fossils, shells and feathers that Dad has been helping him to grow. The look of pride on my Dad's face was unforgettable.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJp1rxZYBHd-ThmF-FHqFpg_Rn7wFLi8ExjnefaS2reEucH8-PGl_M2wpkMj_RtRPeY6Y5RpK111ZBGAgEX2FDzJ-RKr_kflO_MeOWkCsc7UfTi-ogK9-3qul6GREHgxrazvXU_6LGL4Y/s1600/IMG_0865.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJp1rxZYBHd-ThmF-FHqFpg_Rn7wFLi8ExjnefaS2reEucH8-PGl_M2wpkMj_RtRPeY6Y5RpK111ZBGAgEX2FDzJ-RKr_kflO_MeOWkCsc7UfTi-ogK9-3qul6GREHgxrazvXU_6LGL4Y/s400/IMG_0865.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555530163083528978" border="0" /></a><br />Dad brought Ella this dollhouse for Christmas. We had seen it at an indoor flea market a few months back and Ella had fallen in love with it. It comes with people and furniture and everything! She calls it "My dollhouse" and she won't let James near it. It is the first thing she plays with every morning and the last thing she plays with before bed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSshydwoQXzbJ4-9EMPhXBnzKfvYd9R3Htvzn5lmgWM1pEEZqwnmcW64F0m3LUZ3aefzshnnR4MtSN7wib4BE9K2tdtezcQuIcGSnWAUlD0ZKmiZ53FLh9IZlysEwCmcihEu9gFdpc45o/s1600/IMG_0867.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSshydwoQXzbJ4-9EMPhXBnzKfvYd9R3Htvzn5lmgWM1pEEZqwnmcW64F0m3LUZ3aefzshnnR4MtSN7wib4BE9K2tdtezcQuIcGSnWAUlD0ZKmiZ53FLh9IZlysEwCmcihEu9gFdpc45o/s400/IMG_0867.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555530154207706978" border="0" /></a><br />Dad gave James a whole box of vintage stamps, art supplies and puzzles. Each box is a work of art in itself.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDKE6XmCRrrIWLMJxE5GwHAL4izQRumdajmbeNed8UqO0GEFOfrirUtFzYTNsvLiY0ANXESlvJ-HTlAN8NCf3qnNmN1mkwuwAoRgHKE3zK1oJEnr4lEJvNIK_a2cWydAZEU7IIdCLX2Cg/s1600/IMG_0870.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDKE6XmCRrrIWLMJxE5GwHAL4izQRumdajmbeNed8UqO0GEFOfrirUtFzYTNsvLiY0ANXESlvJ-HTlAN8NCf3qnNmN1mkwuwAoRgHKE3zK1oJEnr4lEJvNIK_a2cWydAZEU7IIdCLX2Cg/s400/IMG_0870.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555530149761299426" border="0" /></a><br />Ella opening a box with all of the dollhouse furniture . . .<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtwE3Iw7ueyi3QekTz6s-LXZFgQVt06WW3av0c7wl7XgsiPVpHCIIhwI0h4NMd3mJ5BSRWqV-mvuUzSFXVGUmYDYxoL_9JuPLLK2e56w3Aae7Hdf0BLlI3TSSJ3htfxrVNzr523jDWjIA/s1600/IMG_0871.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtwE3Iw7ueyi3QekTz6s-LXZFgQVt06WW3av0c7wl7XgsiPVpHCIIhwI0h4NMd3mJ5BSRWqV-mvuUzSFXVGUmYDYxoL_9JuPLLK2e56w3Aae7Hdf0BLlI3TSSJ3htfxrVNzr523jDWjIA/s400/IMG_0871.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555529520824691186" border="0" /></a><br />A little later in the day, everyone was playing Super Mario Brothers on the Wii. James was in HEAVEN as playing the Wii is a very special treat and his Auntie Amy and Grandpa and his Dad were playing with him!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnvTTGfum71RIiVWvh66Z7qCPsiZofZWPNgWSuAu1U8HtRrORfqOKOopGlTDYwVcEid6b30Um2SoKtYmct8vHtKp8yrHpE5PIFoKnSQxNDLe2BJsDuL8DyoSTzFieBuil6iZ6neyz-tIw/s1600/IMG_0874.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnvTTGfum71RIiVWvh66Z7qCPsiZofZWPNgWSuAu1U8HtRrORfqOKOopGlTDYwVcEid6b30Um2SoKtYmct8vHtKp8yrHpE5PIFoKnSQxNDLe2BJsDuL8DyoSTzFieBuil6iZ6neyz-tIw/s400/IMG_0874.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555529519233264626" border="0" /></a><br />One of the best shots of the day:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzy_5P4C4n2zXAdmYwjbr50JKKGxjoJp-bs2bjP_4dwdatfWUsfNaYiBLEDvhk0x9CCbxXD0qKjSYyCG6DzAEzEqPW-rX0Akd0z56J00t7-6Q7jF0fLPpx3zdMYW7OIsSYoOjKgkmOvMQ/s1600/IMG_0877.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 302px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzy_5P4C4n2zXAdmYwjbr50JKKGxjoJp-bs2bjP_4dwdatfWUsfNaYiBLEDvhk0x9CCbxXD0qKjSYyCG6DzAEzEqPW-rX0Akd0z56J00t7-6Q7jF0fLPpx3zdMYW7OIsSYoOjKgkmOvMQ/s400/IMG_0877.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555529514895063394" border="0" /></a><br />Amy brought a red bean bag for Ella. James already had one and the two of them squabble over it constantly, so this present was really for me I think! Thanks Amy!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhJlBwTsD6J7or_11Ug_yu2wM9RQVh9AyKZxPFsN0lX7FH6_bsxGudPXRKPF_RfVCP4CJqy50eYY4nMRHMNivvglV3ddReSg3TKeLzML-sfTFehWRXvF4u4lIXj8_XLSHfosA6Gy-uUfg/s1600/IMG_0879.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhJlBwTsD6J7or_11Ug_yu2wM9RQVh9AyKZxPFsN0lX7FH6_bsxGudPXRKPF_RfVCP4CJqy50eYY4nMRHMNivvglV3ddReSg3TKeLzML-sfTFehWRXvF4u4lIXj8_XLSHfosA6Gy-uUfg/s400/IMG_0879.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555529504949187234" border="0" /></a><br />A photo of Amy, Ella, James and Dad right before they left to drive back to Maine. Dad brought Beezus, his Beagle. She was exhausted from the day's excitement!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPy4bw-TPdyLpxS8V1ZUF-Qsa6bBQuIf3O0Yyrs2UXWeHRbjjE2uWXa31wgg6dq0_KYPHxz-j9a8PEV3lasosi1POHxvjq_xmjc8YVN5zl_q6T7Ao5RELvfafIlY7QETsijeH7nDKekk/s1600/IMG_0888.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPy4bw-TPdyLpxS8V1ZUF-Qsa6bBQuIf3O0Yyrs2UXWeHRbjjE2uWXa31wgg6dq0_KYPHxz-j9a8PEV3lasosi1POHxvjq_xmjc8YVN5zl_q6T7Ao5RELvfafIlY7QETsijeH7nDKekk/s400/IMG_0888.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555529502106090354" border="0" /></a><br />This was our second Christmas without Mom. I know she was in the back of everyone's mind as we celebrated together. I so wish she was there with us to share in the warmth and joy that our little family shared together that day. But instead of feeling sad, I am smiling, thinking that she watched all of the fun we had being together and was happy for us.<br /><br />Merry Christmas, everyone.<br /><br />XOXO<br /><br />AllisonAllisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11617984259059758253noreply@blogger.com5