And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings.

I turned 26 on Friday. Which seems crazy old. I am officially closer to 30 than 20. Although, I still feel pretty young compared to all my loved ones who are turning 30! (holy crap that's old). I had a wonderful birthday weekend.
I started out having lunch with some of my favorite ladies

I love every moment I get to spend with these girls. And to top it off, I got to eat every kind of noodle/rice at the chinese buffet. Great time. 

And then I went to a meeting for conVERGE. Most people would hate to go to a 3 hour meeting on their birthday, but...I love meetings. I really do. Probably because my meetings are for cool things like youth events, instead of budget meetings and the like. And there was coffee. Great time. 

I enjoyed an easy evening, and got to go out to dinner with Lucy and some of my favorite fellows. I married one of them. The rest are still up for grabs. Any takers? (They hate that.) 

I spent most of Saturday listening to those fellows practicing for their show that night. I felt overwhelmed with joy watching this and listening to live Christmas music coming from my basement

Snow. Finally. It's all gone now, but I love it so. And so does my little pink snow bunny. She LOOOVES it. She's desperate for it. I will beg the good Lord every night to send us some for Christmas. 

Saturday night Joe, Kevin and Michael played at the Electric Brew. I love live music. I love it more when my friends are playing it. It was a wonderful evening out.  By the time I went to bed that night, my cup overflowed. 

Today, Sunday, we baked a million cookies at my mom's house. Lucy consumed enough sugar to...well...do permeant damage of some sort I'm sure. And then we came home, cuddle up, and I introduced her to White Christmas. My FAVORITE. 

I felt weepy the whole time. I don't know why. I just really love Christmas maybe. But there is something incredible about sharing traditions with your kid. I loved that she thought the ballerinas were Barbies, and she kept yelling "SING JINGLE BELLS!".  

This is Christmas. Family, a belly full of cookies, great movies, decorations, and Bing Crosby singing "Count Your Blessings".

When I'm worried and I can't sleep

I count my blessings instead of sheep

And I fall asleep counting my blessings

When my bankroll is getting small

I think of when I had none at all

And I fall asleep counting my blessings

I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads

And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds

If you're worried and you can't sleep

Just count your blessings instead of sheep

And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings

I am so blessed. So many good friends, that make me laugh and fill me with so much joy. A sweet little family in a sweet little house away from the hustle and bustle of life. Oh...and this: 

Who doesn't love a Keurig?! Hello perfect single cup of coffee when ever I want it. 

Note: I do know that Christmas isn't about cookies and Bing Crosby...although....no, no it's not. I actually have a post in the works about the true meaning, so keep a look out. I'm not a heathen. 

Polar Express Day at School

Jeff's school had a "Polar Express Reading Night". They had cookies, and pictures with Santa, and you wore your PJ's, and a "Conductor" read the story. It was really cute. And we took Lucy. I'll have to scan in the awesomely bad Polaroid picture we got with Santa.

We boarded a "train" to listen to the story:

It looks like she is listening so well. Lies. She was a crazy women.

I knew she was going to be going to school, and looking so grown up sitting in the seats, and playing with the kids...so I put her in pigtails and feety pajamas. CHILDHOOD FOREVER!

She listened for...5 seconds maybe? Then she ran away...

To read books: (she's such a rebel)

Then we went to visit Daddy's room:
And Lucy played with Daddy's tangrams.
And then she fell and bumped her head and made the saddest face ever:

You're welcome for the overly detailed post about my night!

Making Memories

I decided this month I would blog about the things we are doing to celebrate Christmas. It will help me remember this short precious time, and give me motivation to find new interesting things to do, and take pictures! I'll start with our new countdown tradition.

One of my favorite things as a kid was getting those cardboard advent calendars that had chocolate inside. Of us 3 kids, we took turns getting the chocolate each day. I loved it because my birthday was in December, so we always worked it out so I got the candy on my birthday. Jeff and I bought a wooden "advent calendar" that we fill with candy. We always make sure the other one gets it on their birthday. And Lucy really loves it too, but I thought I'd do something a little different too this year.

I actually go the idea from Pinterest. (If you are not on this, get on it, get obsessed. It's worse than Facebook) We found a Christmas/Winter book for each day until Christmas and wrapped it up, and put it under the tree.

(Actually, I got bored of wrapping, so I've only done 1/2...I'm kinda lazy)

And each night, Lucy gets on her PJ's, brushes her teeth and then she finds the day's date (She's actually got it right a few times...she's a genius), and opens the present. Then we take it in her bedroom and read it before bed. She loves it.

This is so easy to do as a Teacher's kid. She has so many books. I didn't buy a single one, I just pulled them from her shelves. Some are about winter, some about Santa, some about the REAL Christmas story. She loves it. It's nice to have a tradition. And I feel like it's teaching her to open one present and be thankful for it, to learn restraint by not opening them during the day. Although maybe I'm just teaching her to expect a present every night...

Day Thirty: 3 wonderful things that happened this month.

#1. Uncle Brent comes to visit

My baby brother got to come visit for Thanksgiving. And Lucy loves him. As a parent, you are always afraid how your kid will react to someone. I still remember the crazy month or so when Stella was scared of Joe who has been on of her favorite people since she was tiny:

And while I'm sure it broke Joe's heart, I remember Carrie feeling terrible that she couldn't make Stella love him. I was worried about this when Brent came. He'd been gone for a while, but the moment she saw him, she fell in love with him all over again (this happens a lot with Brent and women.) She pulled him around, shared her cookie bears, and taught him all about Strawberry Shortcake. It was a wonderful time. Christmas won't be the same without him, but we'll manage.

#2 Family "Tea" Party
Some of my most favorite moments in life are the unplanned ones. And even better if they include chocolate. We decorated for Christmas earlier than normal this year, and in the midst of it, we stopped and had a family "tea" party with hot chocolate and cookies. Lucy loved it. And it was a wonderful little family bonding moment. Although I mostly took pictures. Ha.

#3 KP Thanksgiving

I wish I had a picture for this. I went out the Sunday after Thanksgiving to help with a dinner Carrie was cooking for the neighborhood. I'll come to anything Carrie cooks at, but I was excited to be able to get to know the neighborhood more. I loved it. The dinner was fantastic, but my favorite was all the in betweens. Sitting and chatting with Carrie, drinking coffee and eating pie while David works, laughing with Stella, watching Devin try to play basketball in the little entry way. It was wonderful. And then we went to a late night movie. The Help. I cried like a fool. It was a fantastic day.

And so concludes my 30 days hath November blogging expedition. It was fun to (sometimes) blog everyday. It made me think, and take pictures, and share my life with my friends and strangers. I loved it. Now what to do for December? I've got some ideas up my sleeve! Stay tuned!

Day Twenty Nine: Some place I'd like to visit

I've never been. I want to go so bad. I want to take Lucy. I want her to get excited about meeting Princesses. I want to kiss Aladdin. (They allow that right?) I want to wear Mickey Ears the whole time. I want to swim with the Little Mermaid. I want to eat overpriced food, and buy overpriced souvenirs, and stay in Cinderella's castle. This will happen. Someday.

Day Twenty Eight: A skill I'd like to learn

I want to do this so bad. The first step is getting something besides a pocket digital camera. Unfortunately, a good camera isn't cheap. Someday.

I don't want to be crazy. I'm not going to take pictures like this:

Mostly because I'm pretty sure you can't learn to do cool things like that from Google. And you probably need some sort of natural talent, which I'm sure I don't have.
I just want to be able to take pictures like this:

And this:

Sigh. Someday.

(Thank You Joe Baughman for all these great pictures. I want to be you.)

Day Twenty Seven: Myself, a year ago.

This is the closest picture I could get to one year ago:

Look how weird and babyish Lucy looks?! Crazy what a year can do. This was September last year. But this is what I was doing exactly one year ago today (or the 27th...which is when this post was SUPPOSED to be written)

Man...I haven't played solitaire in a while...guess I know what I'll be doing the rest of today!

Day Twenty Six: Something I'm looking forward too.

SIKE!

Not pregnant.

Although I'm starting to get the itch. Newborn babies are all around. Give me another year.

Day Twenty Five: The contents of my purse

Various cold weather wear from my evening out Black Friday Shopping

My sad empty wallet

An empty tube of Project 7 Mints

House Keys

Cracker Barrel Crayons

A Ballerina Barbie

A barret

My phone

Day Twenty Four: Something that means a lot to me.

Day Twenty Three: 8 things you didn't know about me.

1. I secretly love the Harry Potter movies.

2. I once thought I could be a musician and played at a coffee house. I was terrible.

3. I was once in a band with Rachel Smith and Pat Quigley (who is now super cool and in real bands) for like, a week, until Pat quit because we sucked. (We did. Well...I did...and I played guitar...which is really important not to suck)

4. I was in FFA. Google it.

5. I'm super fascinated by polygamy. (How do those women not just kill each other all the time?! And if love is supposed to be "multiplied, not divided" why can't it go the other way? Why can't a women have multiple husbands?)

6. I would totally consider being a surrogate mother, if the circumstances where right.

7. I would rather talk to people via "chat" or texting, because I like to look at what I'm going to say, before I say it.

8. I hardly ever shave below my knees after the summer.

Day Twenty Two: Someplace I've traveled.

I'm not a traveler. Airplanes make me nervous. I'm very picky about my hotel. And...I'm poor. So traveling for me, now means a trip to Fort Wayne for 3DYC with Carrie. And I'm ok with that, until I remember Hawaii....

These pictures remind me of 3 things.

1. How much I was/am/will always be in love with Hawaii. (Even though I don't swim, surf, or snorkel).

2. I used to be thinner. And I'd really like to be that way again. (That second picture? I climbed freaking Diamond Head! Ok ok, so it was mostly stairs...but I DID IT!)

3. I really liked my high school friends. Especially Adam...who bought me stuff...(hence the last picture with his sad empty wallet)

Day Twenty One: Something I could never tire of.

I feel this needs no explanation.

Day Twenty: A childhood anecdote.

The best "childhood anecdote" I can think of happened when I was 13. It was the craziest, most embarrassing and probably most romantic thing that ever happened to me.

It was 7th grade at Cassopolis High. There was a boy. Let's call him...Jack. (I really hope someone reads this that remembers this. And I hope you laugh.) Apparently Jack had been in love with me since 5th grade. I walked into my homeroom one day to find a huge love letter on my desk from Jack. I wish I kept it, I wish I remembered it all, but I only remember one part:

"I can explain the eating habits of a rock wallaby but I can't explain the feeling I get around you."

Romantic.

Nerdy.

Awesome.

It was the sweetest, weirdest thing I'd ever heard. It ended with him asking me to "go out". How could I refuse? No seriously, how could I have refused? I really don't know. So I said yes. And we had the most awkward, sweet 2 day relationship of my life. He brought me chocolates. He hovered by my lunch table. He wrote me notes. We never talked in real life.

It ended with a note on his desk. Not my classiest move, but at this point I was 12! (A baby. I can't even believe it.)

This is where the story gets good.

I apparently devastated him. The only heart I've ever broken. And he seeked advice from one of my friends. Which was "You must do something drastic to win her back!" (We watched way to much TV)

So the next day at school,

which was my 13th birthday;

Jack came to school with a sandwich board sign that read:

"I love Amber Thomas with all my heart"

Which he wore most of the day. And put up on his music stand in band so the whole room could see. And finally, a teacher made him take it off.

This was supposed to be romantic. But I was mortified. Jr.Highers where in the same building as the High Schoolers, and they kept walking by me saying "You're the girl in the sign!". Ugh.

These romantic gestures continued.

One day he got in a fight with some guy who was "messin" with me. I don't remember the details, but I remember he got In School Suspension, because I was surprised to see him sitting in my home room the next day.

With a tape recorder.

And a microphone.

And the whole 7th grade.

I ran away before he could start singing.

Looking back at this whole event, I should have been flattered. I should have seen the romantics in it.

But I was 13. And self conscious. And the last thing in the world I wanted was for the whole school to look at me.

It makes me laugh today. The picture of sweet Jack in his sign, or sitting there ready to sing his heart out.

We are crazy as kids.

Day Nineteen: A silly self portrait.

What? This wasn't silly enough for you?

Ok, here's another. This is me. And my most prized possession:


What? You thought it was going to be something more sentimental? Nope. My Mac. My sweet little Mac Book Pro.

Yes! Caught Up! Almost to the end, but still some good ones left. Stay tuned. I might even write about my husband one day.

Day Eighteen: What I wore today

This post is a day late, which is fortunate because yesterday I didn't get out of my oversized Pink Floyd Shirt and leggings. Not that this is too much better. I got up at 6 today to go to a Craft Bazaar with the parents. And I didn't shower.


Jeans: Something that starts with a V. I got them at TJ Maxx for $19. Score.
Shoes: Olive Green Classic TOMS. Love. I hardly wear anything else.
Jacket: Columbia Fleece. It's getting sad and old. And apparently really short. It looks strangely short on me.

Scarf: T-shirt scarf I made myself. And purposely picked out to match my TOMS. Because I'm cool like that.

Purse: Oversized awesomeness from Charming Charlie's in Granger. (Go to this store. It's an accessory obsessed women's dream)
T-shirt:

The best T-shirt I've ever owned. It's this perfect balence of thick, sturdy material that's still super soft. And it's long. And it's from RemedyFM. And I stole it from Joe. Or maybe he gave it to me. The details are fuzzy, but it's mine now, and that's all that matters.

I pretty much wear some form of this outfit everyday. Sorry it's not more exciting. But that's my life. In fact, when I got home from running all my errands I said "Jeff! Quick take a picture of what I'm wearing today." "Why now?!" he said "Because I want to take a picture before I change into sweat pants. Which is exactly what I did right after these pictures.