Family Bowling

After so many days off from work and school, we were running out of things to do.

This apartment only has so many rooms...and you can only do so much in here before you go bonkers!

Easton has a phrase he says.

He says "I wanna do somethin fun".

That's normally how we can get him down for a nap with a promise of something fun when he wakes up.

Last nights 'somethin fun' was Bowling.

It was going to just be the three of us, but the whole Farrar clan was in on the bowling trip!

I'm pretty sure it's going to take a lot to top this fun.

We did end the night on a sad note.  Easton cried all the way home.  He doesn't cry.  Hardly ever, if at all.  

However, he started crying and there was no consoling him.  Holding his stomach and arching his back like he had cramps or something.  This lasted all the way home.  Sad, sad boy. 

He finally cried himself to sleep on my chest on the couch. 

We had a long night on the couch together.  No more tears once asleep, thankfully. 

I sure hate not knowing what's wrong.  I want to fix it so badly.

Happy New Years Eve!!!

Lil' Gator Fun

Santa brought this little boy a Gator.

I can't wait till we have a place for him to ride it whenever he wants.

For now, he's pretty content filling the dump truck part of it with his toys and dumping it and filling it again.

We took it to a big empty parking lot to let him drive yesterday.

He had a big time!

We don't have steering down just yet.  So circles do us just fine!  He gets into the turns real good.

Like I said.  Steering isn't his strong suit.  Yet.  It's just a matter of time!

Also...that house I told you we were building, well...these pictures are in the back yard!  

I can't wait!  Can't!  Wait!  Till we can just GO OUTSIDE and ride this thing.

Not haul it down 19 steps, into the bed of a truck, a 15 minute trip and unloading. 

Just to ride.  

Cannot.  Wait.

Till then, we'll go to empty parking lots and work on our steering.  

A Christmas Recap

This Christmas was a lot of fun.

I enjoyed teaching Easton about Jesus.  His birth.  In a barn.  The Wise Men.  The Angel.  

His momma and daddy.  Mary & "JoJo" 

{Funny story: We were talking about Mary and Joseph being Jesus' mommy and daddy.  Easton made the connection that Joseph in his class at school is called JoJo, so Jesus' dad is now JoJo!  LOVE HIM!}

This year, no different than the rest we had 8 different 'events'.  I'm not joking.  Eight.  

It's craziness.

I wish we had a day or at least a half day at each spot, but it all gets crammed in 2-3 days.

Nevertheless, we make the best of it.  

We try to enjoy each spot as much as we can before moving on to the next spot.  

Easton had a random temperature Sunday night along with complaints of right leg pain that would literally bring him to his knees when it hit, but other than that we were healthy for the most part.  The leg complaints continued through Wednesday, when I had finally gotten a doctors appointment scheduled, but I ended up cancelling it for fear of more germs and also the leg pain wasn't mentioned again.  

Easton wasn't 100% but he kept up with the hoopla as best he could.

Short naps Christmas Eve & Christmas Day were made up for with sleeping in a little later the next morning. Snuggled in momma and daddy's bed till 8 or sometimes 9 o'clock.  

I won't go into the details of where we went at what time, who got what, etc, etc.  I'll just let the pictures do the talking!  And...out of the 400+ pictures I took, I am in 6 of them.  We have one family picture...at the end of the day...after it had misted rain on us every time we got out of the car (gross hair for mom).  I have very little pictures of the grandparents and the great-grandparents.  This makes me sad.

Needless to say, I'm making a list of PICTURES TO TAKE CHRISTMAS DAY for next year.

And dearest family or friends, if you don't mind...if you see the 3 of us together...me and my boys, please suggest a family picture.  I'll owe you big time!  And I'll love you forever.  Promise.

Love this!  My Great Grandmother (Easton's Great-Great) gave him this little rocking chair.  

That's her little sweet self in the background.

Yep.  That's the family picture.  I told him to go ahead and go duck hunting during nap time.  

It gave me extra time at my momma's.  Win for us both.  

But.

He comes to the next function like this.

Family loves you like you are.  Right?  

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

I know we did!

Merry Christmas!

 

 

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

 

 

See you in 2013!!!

It's heavy right now.

What does one say?  What does one write after something so tragic.  Do I write?  Do I not?  It's very heavy on me, so I think the best thing for me to do, the theraputic thing for me to do...is to write.  Forgive me if it's a hubub of words. 

As the text alerts came in on Friday, I had to shut them out.  The word of a shooting was being discussed while we were signing Christmas Cards in our Conference Room at work.  I knew if I attached myself to those words I'd lose it right then and there.  Over people I didn't even know.  Circumstances I didn't fully understand.  So, I tuned it out.  I continued signing until the cards were signed and headed back to my cubicle to read the news myself.

I checked the internet to find that the shooting was at an elementary.  Numbers were still coming in.  I think there were 18 when I checked. 

When Lance called to see if I'd heard the news is when I lost it.  And, I don't feel like I've shaken that gut wrenching, chin quivering, heart ache feeling since then. 

Twenty-Six innocent lives.  Children.  Women.  Innocence.  Lives lost that day because of one man's selfish, careless actions. 

How?  How do you go on after something like this?  I have no connection to these families, don't even know anyone who lives in CT, yet, I feel so connected.  Perhaps it's because I'm a mother now.  Or maybe because I'm sensitive?  Or maybe yet, it's because I'm a Believer?  Or maybe, just a mere human with concern and regard for others.

Whatever the case may be, this has flat shaken me to my core.  The 'what ifs?' of this tragedy stop me in my tracks.  The thought of losing my own, the feelings are unbarable.  Tears burn my eyes and streak my face just thinking of that.  But these families?  These 26 families, this is their reality.  It's not their 'what if?'.  The pain that I feel is no where compared to what they are dealing with.  The tears that I've shed over 26 strangers is nothing compared to those who actually loved these children, these heroic women.   

Why am I connected?  Why am I concerned?  Why am I so invested in this?  As a Christian, we are called to carry one anothers burdens.  And when something like this happenes, whether you want to face it or not, reality is...it happened.  I think it's part of loving and honoring those who were lost to watch the footage, read the reports, click through each and every picture, see each name, read a small paragraph about what each one was like.  Their favorite color, their hobbies, their personalities.  So many of them sending me right to tears as they reminded me of my Easton.  How?  How as a parent do you go on after losing a child.  The least I can do is read about these precious lives.  Lives lost to such evil.

The thoughts and questions and fears each one had while this tragedy was happening have swirled in my head since I clicked on the link on Friday.  It's just too much.  This world is just too much sometimes. 

John 18:36 "My Kingdom is not of this world...but My Kingdom is from another place." 

So what now?  How do I, Annie, move on from this?  When I think about the coward that took these lives, I can't help but see the pain.  He had to be suffering deep within to feel the need to take these lives.  Did no one see it?  I want to see it.  I want to see the hurting and the broken.  I want to be a light in someones darkness.  Could someone have reached out to him?  Did anyone try to show love to him?  We will never know those answers and perhaps he had all the love in the world and all the care in the world, but was still in the dark.  Not knowing Peace.  Not knowing THE Prince of Peace.  Lord, help me be Peace to those around me. 

I think the best thing we can do today and tomorrow is to show love to others.  We all have brokeness and hurt and mess.  But can we not just take a moment to see others the way Jesus does.  With outstretched arms.  With Love.  With a tender heart.  Quick to forgive.  Slow to anger.  Lord knows I'm guilty of falling short of all of these, but I want to be different.  I want to be changed.  I want to be a strong woman of God that my husband is proud to call his own.  I want to be a mother so reflective of Jesus, that my footsteps lead Easton to Jesus.  For me, this is how I will honor these 26.

The love must start at home.  Jesus must be shown at home.  At all times.  To all people. 

As I drove from work today, towards school to pick up my boy, I looked in the rear-view mirror.  All I could see were raindrops and deep angry blue clouds.  Quite descriptive of how I felt.  But no more than a mile or two down the road, the sun popped out and in that same rear-view mirror was the brightest most magnificent rainbow.  Gods reminder to me, that even though there are clouds, He is always there.  It may not be in the form of ROY G BIV, but it's there.  Hope.  Peace.  Joy.  Grace.  It's always there.  His free gift. 

I have seen this quote countless times over the weekend and find it comforting:
"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of "disaster," I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world." Fred Rogers

May I be a helper.  May I raise my boy to be a helper. 

Tonight, along with the last few nights and days since this has happend...I've rocked a little longer, I've kissed a little more, I've lingered a few more minutes at his classroom, I've bent down for 'one more kiss...and one more hug (for the 5th time)' as I leave him at school, I've cherished a little more, I've loved a little harder.  God knows I love this child more than life itself, but these days, it seems a bit more intense.  And that's fine with me.  I never want to lose sight of the precious gift that I've been given.  Tomorrow is not promised. 

 

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. 

It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around

outside your body." Elizabeth Stone

I'm sure none of the families of the 26 will ever read this, but my prayers and deepest heart ache is with them.  I am truly sorry for the loss of these precious loved ones. I pray that they find the Peace and comfort that is waiting for them with arms streched wide, ready to hold each one.  Your sweet loved ones will NOT be forgotten. 

A few of my favorite blogs touched on this today.  I thought you might enjoy them too. 

Ann Voscamp
Bits of Splendor
Tales of Me & The Husband

Ginerbread House- a First for us both

I don't recall ever making a Gingerbread House when I was little.

It was a little more involved than I had expected, but we got it done and made memories while we did it!

I built the house the night before.  Who knew you had to let the thing set up for a few hours before you could decorate?  Yea.  Me neither.

However, night two.  We were ready.

I'm a little too Type A for this activity, as I wanted things symmetrical and balanced but after a few attempts to guide Easton where things should go, I gave up and did what I do best.  Take pictures.

He was so proud of the finished product!

I think it looks pretty good for two rookies.

I did however, see this pin on Pinterest and I think next year we'll make a Candy House with Pretzels instead of Gingerbread. 

Happy Gingerbread House Making!  

Duck Hunting {she ain't no yuppie girl}

It's Duck Season.  Did you know that?  Well...me neither...till now!

This weekend on a whim Lance and I got a quiet afternoon to ourselves.

So what did we do?  Well.  Duck Hunting of course.

 

I swear, it's all this man thinks about right now.

Last night there might have been a minor case of the sads when he realized there is

only.5.more.weekends.left to hunt.

 

The shame.

 

Either way, last weekend I got to experience part of duck hunting, minus the 4am wake up call and the freezing temps.

I might still be a bit yuppie for that.  Momma likes her sleep.

 

And let me tell you, it's really a lot of work!

We back the Jon boat (named Peter by Easton) into the lake.

I hold the boat by the dock.  Lance parks the truck.

I don't do trucks with trailers.  It's embarassing how bad I am at that. That's a lesson for another day.

We then take a short 10 minuts boat ride to their spot.

At this point, we climb some stairs (on the side of the lake) Lance gets a dolly, removes his motor and gas tank from his boat, to put on Boat B that stays at the lake.

We walk across a small strip of land where Boat B is waiting.

We then load up Boat B, attach the motor and gas tank, and cross the flooded corn field.

 

We boated up and down this stream (channel, canal, river???) Lance showed me a few other blinds on the lake and we tried to find some ducks...

 

Their blind is a nice little set up.

It has a garage of sorts on the back to pull your boat in and camo it so they ducks don't see you.

 

That picture right there on the left is their 'blind'.

And all those ducks in the water are decoys.

Windy days are good for duck hunting...it makes the ducks appear like they're moving.

I learned a lot while on this little trip.  I'm just imparting some of my knowledge upon you.

You're welcome.

 

Then here on the right is the man bag.  It's a camo brief case of sorts.  Full of all sorts of things.

This part tickled me...toilet paper, shotgun shells, beef jerkey, pistichios, a warm hat.

You know.  The necessities. 

I hope this isn't like telling the contents of a womans purse.

Or going through your dads wallet. 

 

Anyways.  We stopped in at a popular location.

Where he'd seen some ducks hanging out before.

He checked.  I stayed in the boat.  He's got waders.  I don't. 

{I do now...he surprised me with some on Tuesday!  Roses?  Jewlery? Chocolates?  Nope.  Camo.}

 

Then we headed to his blind.

To wait and see what we'd find.

You do a lot of waiting in duck hunting.  And eating.  And resting. 

After a few minutes, he decided to see if I could shoot the shotgun.

He went first.  I wanted to watch him to see the kick back.  The force.  The noise.

It's loud!

My turn.  I'm pretty sure I might have just closed my eyes and pulled.

And I missed the coke can he'd thrown in as my target {that we also went and got once we got back in the boat...we didn't litter}.

But now that I know what to expect, I could probably hit a stationary object.

Flying duck?  Probably not. 

 

Hunting time is over at 3pm, and wouldn't you know at 3:10 we saw about 12 ducks.

Lance said they know what time it is.  When it's safe to fly freely.

Mother Nature.  She's a beautiful thing.

 

After this, we began the journey back to the dock. Jon Boat B across the flooded corn field. Remove motor. Remove gas tank. Prop boat up so it doesn't fill with water. Dolly across field. Put motor and tank on Jon Boat Peter. Back to the dock. Lance back the trailer down. I hold the boat. Load 'er up. 

 

Also, a few minor rules I learned on this trip.  Because we all know I'm a sucker for some rules:

Rule #1:  Don't LAY a gun down.  You prop it up.  Barrel Up.  If it misfires, at least it goes into the sky.

Rule #2: Always hold onto the gun in the boat.  At one point we hit something and I let the gun slip out of my hand...big no-no.

Rule #3: The person not responsible for getting the boat back on the trailer, is responsible for unloading the boat.   

 

Hunting Etiquette if you will. 

 

Would it have been my choice for a toddler-free Sunday afternoon?

Not likely.

But.  I'll do whatever it takes when it comes to being with my man.

And you know what?  It was pretty fun!  Relaxing.  So quiet and peaceful.  I kindly enjoyed myself.

 

 

DIY Freezer Paper Stenciling

I don't know what it is about December, but I have busted out some crazy crafting skills.

I have a running list on the fridge of things I want to do!

 

The other night after making the glitter deer head you're seeing all over pinterest, I had an idea to put that same deer head on a shirt.

 

A trip to Publix and Joann's and we were well on our way!

 

Supplies:

Pre Washed Shirt

Stencil of choice.  Here's mine.

Freezer Paper (I found mine at Publix)

Fabric Paint

Paint 'dobber'

Pencil

Exacto Knife

Directions:

1.  Trace silhouette onto freezer paper

2. On a hard surface (card board, old magazine, etc) use your exacto knife to cut out around pattern

{for mine, I even cut out the little white pieces in the antlers...as shown}

3. Remove silhouette from freezer paper, being very careful at the corners not to tear.

4.  Place a piece of freezer paper/wax paper/shirt board between shirt (so paint doesn't stick) and put your freezer paper SHINY SIDE DOWN onto t-shirt and iron.

5. After ironining, begin dobbing paint onto shirt. Edges are important.

Let dry and add another coat.  Glitter takes more coats than regular but it doesn't have to be solid.

6. WAIT UNTIL ITS DRY to peel off freezer paper.

I know you're going to want to peel it off and see those nice crisp lines, but I ASSURE you, you want to wait until it's dry!  And I also assure you, those lines ARE crisp!

Trust me here.  Just wait.  Unless you want to be tweezer-ing around the edges of your wet glitter deer head. 

 

Once dried, carefully remove freezer paper from shirt.

Wait 72 hours to wash.

Wash inside out.

I don't dry mine...but it's up to you!

 

And there you have it!

DIY Freezer Paper Stencil Shirt!

The possibilities are endless!

My Little Donkey

At church every year, the childrens ministry puts on a live nativity during the Christmas season. 

 

It was this weekend.  Easton was a donkey.

 

I wasn't sure how it would go.  Sometimes he's shy, sometimes he's a ham.  They were putting it on between services and we all gathered around to watch our little kiddos and pray that they would cooperate.

 

And as in true Easton form, he went right with the flow.  He wore his grey sashed drape and held his donkey face right up like he'd done this before. 

 

I am constantly amazed by him.  So many times I wonder what's going to send him in a tail spin, or make him clam up and be shy, or when he won't cooperate, but most of the times, he does what's expected of him. 

 

I'm so thankful God chose us to be his momma and daddy!

 

 

Duck Dynasty @ Bass Pro!!! {Embrace the Camera}

Last Sunday was no different from the rest.  We went to church then headed to Bass Pro to run off some steam, look at Duck Hunting gear, play on the boats and possibly get a picture with Santa...They have the best Santa and winter set up in town.  The whole right side of the store is set up for the kiddos.  Easton LOVES it.

Anyways, we pulled up and there were cars...everywhere!  I ran in and let the boys go park.  I headed to the Customer Service desk for a return and struck up conversation with the gal behind the counter.

 

'I can't believe the store is this packed!  I thought we'd be ahead of the game for Santa pictures, but this IS the best place for Santa so they've come to the right place!'

 

'Aw, thanks hun, but this ain't for Santa.  This is for Duck Dynasty.  They're here.  400 people been camped out overnight for tickets.  Tickets were gone by 9am!'

 

SAY WHAT????  Duck Dynasty at Bass Pro?  Are you kidding me!?  Well we've just died and gone to Heaven.

 

They were going to be signing their book from 12-2.  Of course, all tickets were sold out, but you can bet your biscuits we'd find away to sneak a peek of Willi and Kori!  We're huge fans!  We've been watching Duck Dyansty since before it was the cool thing to do.  We're ahead of the game like that. 

 

So, we hunkered down.  For an hour.  In the same spot.  With a 2 year old who just wanted to 'go look at the boats'.  Which is outside.

 

So, we sat.  In the Home Decor section of Bass Pro by the door where we knew {Because Lance gets the inside scoop} they'd be coming out of.  And yes...Bass Pro does sell home decor.  Curtains, rugs, shower curtains, switch plates.  All camo.  I suppose this isn't for your tricked out deer stand or duck blind either, some folks really do put this in their homes.  That's where I draw the line.  I'm all for a man in camo, or even my boy, but my home.  Nope.  Off limits.  However, when the day does come, I'll proudly hang a deer head or antlers on the wall...but THAT is really where I draw the line. 

 

Anyways.  40 minutes we waited.  And of course, I didn't have my big camera...someone who parked the truck forgot to bring it in...so grainy cell pictures will have to do. 

 

And the time finally came!  Out comes Willie and Kori!  To say we were excited is an understatment.  Of course, Lance is always calm, cool and collected, but I tend to get a little overly excited.  That's why I'm on camera duty...that way I don't act a fool. 

 

Lance got a high five right out of the gate from Willie.  Super nice guy!  And Kori, she's just as beautiful in person as she in on the show.  We didn't stick around to try to get a formal picture, but we did hear a little of his talk befor we left.  And he's just as real and kind and normal as I'd hoped. I love that they are a family of faith and they are open about it.  They are influecing so many in such a positive way!    

If you don't watch Duck Dynasty, you're missing out!

 

 

 Head on over to Emilys blog for the scoop on Embracing the Camera!
She's got lots of great bloggers linking up!

 

  Happy Thursday!

A Charlie Brown Christmas Tree & Ruffle Tree Skirt Tutorial {Hey, that's Pin-tastic!}

I had big visions for this Christmas Season.

Hoping and praying we'd be in the new house by now.  What?  You didn't know we're building a house?  Well...we are.  Maybe one day I can get those pictures posted so we can have some progress pictures.  But it's all good.  For now, just take my word for it.  Okay?

But.  We aren't in the new house.  We're in the apartment.  The 1100 square feet apartment.  They say 1100, but I don't know where the other 800 is, because right now, it feels TINY.  Teeny.  Tiny. 

Nevertheless, Thanskgiving weekend came and almost went and we had no tree up.  I scored a new skinny 7 foot tree from Tar-Jay, because let's be honest, we left The Big Massive Tree at the old house for the new owner to have.  You had to put it in, branch by branch.  Fluff it out.  And it was huge.  Beautiful, but huge.  So, we thought it best to stay at the old house.  I hope she likes it. 

Last Sunday night, after Lance had been Duck Hunting {all.weekend.long}, we decided to get the tree up.  We all bundled up, walked across the parking lot to our 2 storage closets to find the Rubbermaid Tubs {in the very back of the closet} that housed all of our treasures.  Such a cozy image right?

We located the tubs and headed back inside.  I had made a pot of chili so we decided to have a bowl of that first.  Easton doesn't like chili so he had ham and mandarin oranges and fritos. 

After getting supper out of the way and somewhat cleaned up, we continued on with the tree.  Mind you, we had to rearrange the living room because there is not a spare inch.  Anywhere.  But I actually like the new set up.  Maybe we'll leave it this way until we move up.  Tree included.  {Kidding.  Sort of.}

Typically we watch Christmas Vacation while we put up the tree.  That's one of Lance's childhood traditions, and it goes better as a family movie than Steel Magnolias.  That, of course, would be my choice.

 

Nevertheless, we got the tree up.  Got the limbs fluffed out, lights strung and ornaments hung.  It's not perfect, but it's ours.  This year, at least.  And, it gives quite a cozy glow at night time.  That's my favorite part. 

Two boys fizzled out about 10 minutes in to the big tree, but we were all together.  That's what matters.  Lance keeps calling it a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, but I kind a think it's cute.  It'll work for now. 

It was so fun watching Easton this year.  We set up a little tree in his room and he took great pride in picking out ornaments to go on his tree.  He placed each one with care and thought. 

 

I finally got him the Little People Nativity, that I'd been wanting to get and we put that under the tree.  We've already had quite a few discussions about Baby Jesus.  We talked about Baby Jesus' mom and dad being Mary and Joseph.  He prefers to call them "Mary & JoJo".  He has a Joseph in his class as school that they call JoJo so Joseph, Jesus' daddy is now JoJo.  It's got a nice ring to it. 

 

Each year, we have our favorites that we can't wait to see.  For me, it's the quilted ball on the left.  I LOVE THIS ORNAMENT.  I made it years ago at church.  Had to be 15 years ago.  Lance thinks its the ugliest thing ever, but I love it.  His favorite ornament is that snowman in the middle.  It's actually a set of 3 sashes, but we only have 2.  His mom had these on their tree gowing up.  They are from Avon I believe.  They smell like pine.  However, this year, they are a little less fragrant than I remember.  Anyways, Cindy found the exact ones at the Goodwill and gave them to us.  They're a nice reminder of his childhood I think.  And that last one.  I pulled it out this year and just boo-hoo'd.  Look at that little bitty hand.  Each year, I make his handprint on an ornament.  I just can't believe how tiny it was, and now how grown up he's getting.  They really do grow too fast. 

 

And, since it's Monday, and I'm showing you our tree, I thought I'd show you the tree skirt too.

Remember, last years tree was MASSIVE, this years, not so much.  However, with some tucking and folding, I managed to get the tree skirt in the little corner that we do have.  Because, lets face it.  This sucker is way too fabulous to remain on the hanger in my closet through Christmas.

 

For this tree skirt, you'll need:

2 Yards of Felt- match it to whatever your top color is.

{to decide how big you need your material, determine the width of the base of the tree as well.  ex. if you want it to stick out 3 feet around the tree, double that for a 72 inch square, to trim down to circle.}

Then you'll need 2 Yards of material.  I used linen.  It tears nicely.

Glue Gun.

Bags and bags and bags of glue sticks.

PATIENCE.

 

To start:  Fold your bottom material in half, then half again.

Cut a circle out of the center folds of your felt.

Round the outer edges of your felt. 

Mine is more like a rounded square instead of a circle, but just go with it. 

Then, tear your strips of linen.  Tear and tear and tear.

Begin on the inside of the tree skirt.

Glue the short end of your long strip of fabric and begin pleating.

I worked in about 18 inch sections.  I'd run a strip of glue then I'd pleat my fabric as I went.

It doesn't have to be perfect.  Once I got to the end of my glue line, I'd go back in and glue at the top of most pleats so it would lay flat.  Continue this all the way around.

For the second row, do the same thing except have it overlapping slightly. 

You need a big surface to work on, I used the living room floor.  Every night.

 

This does take quite some time, but you can make this on a much smaller scale.

 

Last year, it was perfect under our tree...this year, it's not perfect, but it works!

 

So, what are some of your favorite ornaments?  Do you have a tradition while putting up the tree?  I'd love to hear some of your family traditions as well.  I'm a sucker for tradition. 

 

 Head on over to Ashley's blog for more fabulous baking, crafting, decorating ideas!