four friday faves.

[1] The Jim Gaffigan Show on TV Land ... so so funny.
[2] Madewell ... I first heard of this clothing site/store a few months ago. After seeing so many rave reviews, I took advantage of their extra summer sale a couple of weeks ago to get a few new tops. Love love.
[3] "Be Strong" print from Jones Design Company ... just ordered this to hang in our family room near the front door.
[4] New Orleans ... we have a special trip planned next month, and I can't wait!

four friday faves.

[1] Guitar children's tee from Honey Bee Tees ... such a cute company + they are having an end of summer sale right now. [EOS2015 gets you an extra 20% off]
[2] "Touch the Sky" by United ... I'm sure I'll get tired of this song at some point, but for now, I can't hear it enough.
[3] Luna Bars ... one of my favorite mid-morning snacks. [so many flavors & yummy!]
[4] IKEA ... we will soon be updating our family room [yay!], and IKEA is responsible for the inspiration. :)

twenty-fifteen.

I love it when the calendar rolls to a new year ... I love a fresh start; a new day; a chance to make some changes ... So I love coming up with some goals to strive for.

#1 Read more. I read some great books in 2014, but I also have books that are waiting to be picked up off our bookshelf ... Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, and Gifted Hands by Ben Carson are just a few on my reading list this year. I also want to read more to the kids. We go in and out of phases where I read aloud to them. We all love it, and I want to make that more of a habit around here.
#2 Serve more. I want to have eyes that are open and a heart this is willing to serve others this year in ways I never have before - whether in big or small ways ... and I want to teach our children to do the same, leading by example.
#3 Prioritize more. I am guilty of letting whatever I mark off my chalkboard wall to-do list determine how I measure my daily success. Working hard, managing a home, and providing clean clothes for my family are certainly very important, but I don't want to ever communicate to my family that my to-do list is more important than them. Instead, I want to go to bed each night knowing that in some way I showed Gus and the kids that they are such a treasure to me.
#4 Run more. I really love to exercise, and going for a run has been my very favorite. But after falling twice last year, I cut back for fear of falling again. I want to get over that fear, and run some races as well this year ... including a 10K.
#5 Listen more. This one is really hard for me when it comes to Gus and the kids. I'm not good at turning off my brain or putting my phone down when they want to tell me something. And I like to think I'm pretty good at pretending I'm listening when I'm actually thinking about something else. Truth is, I need to be listening to them ... I need to hear  Gus and the kids need to know I care about what they have to say, no matter if I'm really interested or not.

So these aren't necessarily my "new years resolutions" that tend to be broken by mid-January. It's about baby steps to changing some things about myself or making time for the most important in life. Thank goodness "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." [Matthew 19:26]

end of the year re-cap.

I never got around to posting about our November, and now it's the last day of 2014! So here's the end of our year, mainly in photos.

Last soccer game of the season ... and it was freezing!

We had such a great time at the Centennial Homecoming celebration at Gus' parents' church, First Presbyterian Church in Havana. The last picture of Gus was in one of the photo albums on display ... looks a lot like one of our boys :)

The dreaded stomach bug invaded our home in November [very thankful Gus was spared], and this sweet guy would not leave my side. I think I had him worried :(

Baking cookies with Nana & enjoying an art afternoon with Mama Anne ...

Studying Anatomy @ CC ... learning about pig organs from Dr. Franz + tracing bodies and pasting organs!

End of the semester field trip to Mission San Luis with all of the Tallahassee CC locations ...

 

Annual tradition ... Getting our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving @ Lowes.

We headed to Disney for a week the Sunday after Thanksgiving [i posted about it here and here] ... we were packed down!

We participated in Havana's annual lawnmower parade ... and won first place! Gus' parents & neighbors always come up with a great theme and float each year. This year's Frozen theme was a huge hit with everyone. We had the perfect Elsas, Annas, Sven, Olaf & Kristoff to participate.

We had our Sunday School class over for an "Ugly Christmas Sweater" party, which included a wrapping game ... it was hilarious!

Making ornaments + cookies :)

Ice cream party with Matthew & Hudson's CC classes @ Winthrop Park ...

Christmas Eve @ Aunt Susie & Uncle Dave's!

 

Christmas day :)

Random photos the past two months ...