I really love being a mama. 

Vail, Colorado

Jason and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary on January 8th of this year. We decided to celebrate a few weeks early and flew to Vail on December14th. (That gave me Saturday to clean up after our at- home Christmas and put everything away and then drive the older three girls to Memphis on Sunday to meet Jason's parents. They stayed with them while we were on vacation.) 

We had an easy trip getting to Colorado. Everything went according to plan and we arrived at the Four Seasons late that evening. 

We had a nice little balcony off our room but we didn't go out there except to take these pictures. 

That first day we slept in as late as we wanted and then walked around town all afternoon.  There was an outdoor ice skating rink that had a fresh layer of snow on it and I ran out there and wrote a message. 

We also found a little movie theatre that served you delicious food while you watched your movie and so we ate our lunch and relaxed. Later on that evening, we went to supper at a nice restaurant where they had made personalized menus with our names on them. We took our time eating and then walked back to the ice skating rink. Ice skating is one of my most favorite things to do and Jason had never been, so it was fun to get out there and watch him bambi around. :)

Then next day started out bright and early. We had made a reservation for a snowmobile tour. I wasn't sure how much fun it would be but it proved to be better than I had hoped. 

We had a great tour guide and the scenery was just unbelievable. I know it doesn't seem that amazing in the photos, but I promise it was. It was all so fresh and pure- and quiet. 

Driver man only tipped the snowmobile once. :)

The rest of the trip was filled with more walking around, sightseeing, and fun restaurants. Our early flight out was cancelled so we ended up getting home much later that anticipated. As in 10 hours later. We stopped to get Nora from Rachel's house and just transferred her little sleeping self from the house to the car to our house. While we had a great trip, it was so wonderful to be back at home with her tucked in between us. 

The next morning, we were pulling out of the driveway by 9am and heading for Tennessee to have Christmas with Jason's family. 

And thus begins part three of my holiday recap...

Life

The three older girls are playing basketball. It's a lot of fun to watch them learn and it's fun to see the different ways they approach the game.
Elaina just loves playing sports. She puts a lot of heart into her game and smiles the whole time.
Claire is such a funny mixture of approaches. She is very prancy and proper with her arms and her running, but after her first game, a fire was lit under her and she has a very strong passion to learn how to play well and really has a desire to win. I will say she's been a very good sport and hasn't let losing get her down. They won their first game tonight and she was on a major high.  Very, very hyper little girl.
Eily just wants someone to tell her what to do. Tonight, she almost got hit in the head with the ball because she was motioning to her coach, "Is this the exact spot where you wanted me to stand?" WHACK! Eily needs rules and needs to follow those rules. I'm curious to see if she loosens up by the end of the season.

Nora is still just Nora. She is constantly charming. She is constantly in trouble. And she found a tangle in her hair so she's convinced she is a grown up now. Only big girls have tangles.

Jason has been officially diagnosed with Lymes Disease. I have just started all my researching and to be truthful, I feel a bit overwhelmed. He also had carpal-tunnel surgery on his wrists. Poor guy- he's had a rough start to the year.

I hope you are all doing well. I would love to hear from you. 

Day 7

It's 9:56am and I am still in bed.  I should clarify that I've been working on computer things for the past hour- not sleeping. Although I've thought about sleeping. I've also remembered some important things that have to be finished by this weekend that I had forgotten about so now I've added those to the every growing list of despairs. Nah. I'll do it. I always do.

We had a crazy December. We had to celebrate our "at home" Christmas on the 12th because it was the last day we would have together at home before the new year.  That evening we went out for dinner and a movie and then stopped at Creekmore Park to ride the Christmas Train.

2015

I have all these things on my to-do list but I've been so proud of myself because instead of running myself ragged trying to get them accomplished asap, I've worked steadily, but took breaks. I've stopped to build a puzzle with Eily.  This morning, I let school be my only focus instead of to-do list combined with school. (And let's be honest here- that's never a pretty scene.) I haven't panicked about the huge pile of laundry on the couch, although I've come close a time or two. I've read a devotional to the girls, and I've cooked good, wholesome food for my family.

I downloaded a lot of photos (189 to be exact) and will soon have a post or two with all our holiday happenings, the details on our trip to Vail, and update you on Jason's health situation. I will not, however, post all those photos.

Happy New Year :)