Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light,
Next year all our troubles will be
out of sight,

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the yule-tide gay
Next year all our troubles will be
miles away,

Once again as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Will be near to us once more
Someday soon, we all will be together
If the Fates allow
Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.
 **********************************************************************************
Up to 4 years ago, for as long as I could remember, Christmas was spent with my parents.  Sleeping with my sisters on Christmas Eve and spending both Christmas Even and Christmas Day with my family.  Even after Josh and I got together, this was our tradition.  After Keelin was born she was brought into the fold.  When we moved to Georgia, we continued to come "home" for Christmas.  We missed the Christmas I was pregnant with Max, due to the fact that I was 7 months pregnant (and the the thought of driving 13 hours did not appeal to me!) and Kristin was due in January and I wanted to be close by in case anything happened sooner!  We went back to NY for Max's first Christmas and then that was it.  We decided to start our own traditions here in Georgia.  The first year was very hard for me.  I cried a lot that Christmas.  I really missed my family.  I was determined to do everything like my mom.  I would prepare the same Christmas dinner.  We would wake up and do our stockings first.  Eat breakfast and then open Santa presents.  Get dressed and snack, then open the tree presents.  Each year got a little better.  Kristin and I started a Christmas Eve tradition of our own by spending the day and evening with each others' families.  My kids now sleep together on Christmas Eve.  They wake up in their own house for Christmas Day.  I still make the same dinner as my mom.  I still make her sour cream babka for breakfast.  But I have started some new traditions-a breakfast casserole, a new mashed potato recipe, a family picture by the fireplace....little changes here and there. I love our new traditions.  I love being with my little family on Christmas Day.
With our family ever growing and me still missing being with everyone I know that, "Someday soon, we all will be together, If the Fates allow"
So everyone....Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas....

xo~M

Here are some of my favorites..... 

 Max helped me make the babka this year.

 My sweet niece, Caroline

 Josh and our girls

 Me and my boy

 This was right after Aunt Kristin asked Max if he thought Santa could fit down the chimney.  He is seriously checking it out!

 2 out of 3 sistas....we miss you Bean!

 My other niece, Evelyn, belting out a tune....

 Uncle Josh helps Caroline open up her new cars.  Love her little hand on his leg.

 Max likes his new hat

 Our annual Christmas Day portrait

 One of El's favorites...new basketball...to go with her basketball hoop!

 A canvas I made for Kee with lyrics from one of her favorite songs.

 The Hulk!

El's GA hat!

Random Moments 2

 This is what happens at our house when there is NO soccer!

 Max really wanted to put the star on.  Josh stood on the half wall with Max while I said a prayer...

 Max the monkey!

 This cute face...This was the day we went to Breakfast with Santa at my school and I locked my keys in the car.  Max was having a great time running in the parking lot.

 My sweet Ella and Aiden at the annual Naffky Christmas Party!

 Ella gets a Zoey smootch!

 First night of Hanukkah. 

 Happy Hanukkah!

Very serious crafting face....

Enjoy!

xo~M

Things that are senseless

#1.  There is this sweet boy.  He loves to cook, but does not like to try any of the food.  He holds hands with his friends.  He has an infectious giggle.  He has a stuffed monkey he called Ooo Oooo and a bear named, Buddy.  They often came to school.  He used his hand as a puppet to talk.  These are just a few things about this 9 year old.  The night before Thanksgiving his mom and dad checked on him in his bed.  2 hours later, he had passed away.  His name is Joey and he was a student at the school where I work.

#2.  A beautiful 11 year old girl, named Lily who loves to sing, lost her battle with cancer yesterday.  Lily lives in our community with her family.  My daughters have prayed for her at church.  We have participated in Lily and Rally fundraisers.  We have followed Lily's facebook page.  Keelin wants to wear Lily's favorite color to school tomorrow. 

#3. 20 children are gone after another senseless act.  I am a teacher.  I work in an elementary school. I have been reading the accounts of Sandy Hook.  My heart breaks for all of it.  Knowing that I would have done the same for my students, knowing that my childrens' teachers would do the same is a sobering thought.  Going into what is the "most wonderful time of the year,"- I will leave the house tomorrow in green and white.  I will meet my colleagues for a prayer before we begin school. And we will move on. 

xo~M

In the Wild....

(late post! This was from Thanksgiving)
Love our ventures when we come down to Gainesville to visit the Barnett-Pratts:)  We go on hikes and search for creatures all over.  From the lizards on the neighborhood walk to the horses on Paines Prairie to the gators at Alice Lake on campus.  Ok so we were most successful with the lizards and gators.  Not so lucky with the wild horses this year.  Not for lack of trying or distance covered.  Max was way disappointed about the horses but we picked up his spirits with gator sightings.  The prairie was beautiful though.  We saw a plethora of banana spiders, crickets, butterflies, even horse tracks-but no horses.  After the prairie we went to the University of Florida campus.  We had hoped to get on the football field and the track but everything was locked up tight.  So we headed over to Alice Lake, a preserve on campus and found some huge turtles, lots of fish, cranes, and several alligators!  Max didn't want to leave the gators.  He was fascinated by their eye sockets and the fact that one was missing an arm.  He made up stories about how that must have happened. On Saturday we visited the retired horse farm.  Not wild horses, but horses just the same.  Max's favorite was, Sly a blind retired police horse.  My favorite was a 2000 lb retired police horse named, Graystoke who kept nudging me in the behind!  So funny!  The holiday would not have been complete without drama...in this case a visit to the ER by one Ms. Keelin, after falling onto her wrist while riding on a ripstick.  This is not deterred her desire for said ripstick....and she promptly put it on the top of her Christmas List.  Enjoy the venture pics....

xo~M

 5 sweet kids on the Prairie

 Max and Abby

 I love this one of Abby peeking around Max

 Happy Thanksgiving!

 Ella feeds a horse

 Proof that I was on the trip!

 Hand in hand running on the prairie

 One of Max's gators

 Loved the reflection of the osprey on the water

 Maxer

My buddy, Graystoke....

The Harvest

Step 1:
Twist the loofah from the vine.  If the loofah does not twist off...have Josh run in the house for a pair of scissors.

Step 2:
Make sure you have the "How to Harvest Loofah" web page up on the iPad

Step 3:
Hit the loofah against the ground to loosen up the seeds.

Step 4:
Pop the bottom off of the loofah and shake the seeds free.  Good seeds for the next planting will be black....light, pliable ones are not as viable.

Step 5:
Peel the loofah.  Max was so excited about this.  He peeled a minuscule piece and decided it was a better job for daddy.  On account of icky-ness.

 

 

Step 6:
Rinse off the loofah with high pressure from a hose.  This will free up the rest of the seeds.

Step 7:
The website says that you can keep the natural color of the loofah (no bleaching) but I saw on another sight that it is good practice to bleach to make sure you kill any mold spores.  I opt to bleach!

Step 8:  After bleaching/rinsing....allow the loofah to dry completely in the sun.  Do not over dry, it will become hard. 

We have 6 more to harvest....get ready for loofah and home-made scrub for xmas!

xo~M

The loofah that went bump in the night

Max's loofah saga continues.  Josh and I are up in our bedroom.  I fell asleep.  Josh was watching the Falcons/Cowboys game.  I was startled awake and Josh had jumped out of bed when we had heard a huge bump.  It sounded like one of the kids had fallen out of bed but Josh was at our window.  He said, "the loofah all fell!"  I was half asleep but then when I woke in the night a few times, i was thinking about Max's loofah.  The plant he had been growing from seeds since April.  Over 6 months this plant had taken over the back of our house, from the dirt up to the gutters.  When I woke in the night, I worried about the loofahs' flight down to the ground.  Was it smashed to a million pieces?  Did they break off the vine? I was worried that Max would be devastated.  All that time he spent watering and marveling at its growth.  I was afraid to look out the window in the morning.  When we went downstairs, we all went outside.  And there, lying in my daisy bushes...still attached to the vines, were Max's loofah.  Safe.  Phew.....One looks ready to harvest, so stay tuned!

xo~M

Josh took this one with his phone just to show how big they have really gotten!

The loofahs new home....Max's picnic table

The last lingering vine off the gutter

The loofah awaits harvest