Beauty in the Winter

Happy Belated New Year!
The end of the year came in a fury of life happenings. Before I knew it, it was Halloween, then Thanksgiving then Christmas and now the middle of January of the new year. I remember as a kid I felt like time stood still. It took forever for the next day to come and now... well as adults we know that time goes by a lot faster. We treasure the long day to get just one more thing packed into it before going to bed.

Because of this short time we have on this planet I always try to find some beauty in every day, be it a super long hug from one of my girls or the clouds drawing their own pictures for us to admire in the sky.

The holidays did come and go quickly for me. I did not feel as prepared as I usually am. Thanksgiving was spent with our good friends Mike, Chris, Dennis and Rose Chavez and their fmily. (No relation, just the same last name). All together we had about 35 people in their house. The following day we all went to the indoor karting place and raced each other. I am proud to say I beat a couple of the men. The kids had their own race and MacKenzie came in first. We spent one night eating leftovers and laughed all night long.

This was the first time in 10 years that Frank was home for both Christmas and Christmas Eve. We spent Christmas Eve at my sister Heather's. We did have a special guest with us though... my father in law Pete. Frank's mom was in the hospital for Christmas so Pete spend the evening with us and got to see the girls open presents in the morning. We were up at 6:00am.
Bailey was the baker this year. She made about 6 batches of fudge and peppermint bark. I didn't have any energy for anything.

New Year's Eve was spent eating 10pounds of crab with my dad and our good friends Tom & Jan. Like I said, the year went by way too fast. I am disappointed in the the pictures below. My camera didn't work the way it should have and Santa did not bring me the Nikon D90 I wanted.

"A life spent in making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)Irish playwright and critic

Take time to see the beauty in each day. I have posted my quote for the year. I hope you find as inspiring as I do. Love to all... XOXO

Flowering beauty in the winter.

Can something as simple as a flower bring smiles to faces?

What do you believe in?

I believe that love never goes away once found.

It could be a new love, current love or a past love.

So, love with all your heart never forget the euphoric feeling it gives you.

Treasure the memories, thoughts and feelings.

Life is too short to not appreciate what we have or have had.

We did have one snow day. As we know with New Mexico weather, it is melted by noon. I stayed home with girls and we went to the park and made snow angels everywhere. The beauty in having kids... keeping you young while playing in the snow. You can't beat that.

My dad golfing with the wii. It was pretty funny to watch. I think it is the most exercise he has had in years. Everytime he comes over the girls try to get him to bowl or box with them.

Frank spoiled the girls this year. I say Frank because he was the one who went shopping with me and said yes to everything I wanted to get them.

Mack had to have a "Holister" jacket. She better keep that for a couple of years...

The shoes I got bigfoot didn't fit her. She liked them, but we had to take them back and they did not have her size. She wears a bigger size shoe than I do. She is also an inch shorter than I am. I think she is going to be taller than me this year. Yikes!

Frank finally broke down and bought a wii. He is so opposed to any kind of gaming system that this was a huge surprise for the girls.

This was the only "good" picture I got of the girls in their Christmas outfits. The camera was not my friend this year. Maybe Santa will bring me one next year. Pleeeeasse.

All the Chavez kids getting ready to race at the karting track.

Just how many adults can you get around a small table? This was the best picture after about 8 takes. If some people would just learn to keep their hands to themselves...

Giving Bailey a good luck kiss for her Chrstmas band concert.

Can she be any cuter? She was the prettiest reindeer in the place.