Farewell 2011....

This was my view as 2011 faded away....

Beautiful!


We brought in the new year at the lake -- just the four of us. And it was nice! We have been been going non-stop since Dec. 1st, so this was a perfect way to end the month. As we sat around the dinner table, we discussed what our resolutions are for 2012. Here is what we came up with:

Sam will appreciate what he has and try not to ask for new things a lot.

Lily will help others by donating her toys and clothes and if anyone needs help crossing the street, she will be there to help them!

John wants to "live in the moment" more and not worry about things so much. (Personally, I think he is already good at both of these, but who am I to change his resolution.) Me? Well, I want to do better with eating in and cooking healthy/creatively. Wish me luck!

While we all have little quirks about ourselves that we want to improve for the new year, I think ultimately, the best thing we can hope for is to make a change in ourselves that can help others make a change in themselves and so on and so on...

A neighbor shared the following story with me and I want to share it with you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A man decided that he would change the world.
But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change the country.
But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his community.
But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his street.
But, be wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his family.
But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change himself.
AND HE WAS SUCCESSFUL.
AND HIS FAMILY CHANGED AND THEY AFFECTED THEIR STREET.
AND THE PEOPLE ON THE STREET AFFECTED THEIR COMMUNITY.
AND THE PEOPLE OF THE COMMUNITY AFFECTED THEIR COUNTRY.
AND THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY AFFECTED THE WORLD.

Hoping to affect others~
Laurie

December Fun!

My goodness, December has been non-stop! Not just non-stop fun....but non-stop errands, parties, eating, shopping...you get the idea. But, even though I may complain a bit (yes, just a little), I do love it all!

So, here's a little glimpse of what our December has held! It all kicked off with my hairdresser, who now lives in Canada, coming to our house for a night of primping! Amanda got married this Fall and has since moved to Canada; but she was home for Thanksgiving and was able to take care of her two FAVORITE clients!

1st place for beautiful bride goes to...Amanda!

So, maybe I clean dishes in this sink, but it also works well for shampoo and conditioner!

Beauty comes at a price!
(P.S. Her 2nd favorite client -HA- is my forever friend, Nicole! Don't you know that John and Sam loved this evening of girls and hair cuts and colors and eyebrow waxing...?!?)

Next, John's mom came for a quick visit and we journeyed into downtown for a new adventure. We went to the Shakespeare Tavern for their opening night of "A Christmas Carol". We could all use a bit of the "classics" every now and then, right? Well, this was awesome!

We had a great dinner of traditional English pub fare and then watched a wonderful production! Sam and Grandma were even asked to say a brief line in the play! "Merry Christmas, sir!" They did great!




This was the beautiful sight when we left the theater!
And this was the sight as we pulled into the neighborhood. Precious!

Our latest fun was an impromptu visit to the local skating rink! Let's see, we've lived here 9 years and haven't visited this place. So, to kick off the kids Christmas break, we gave it a try !



Oh my gosh, it was soooo fun! And the kids did sooo good! We will definitely have to repeat this adventure!

So, at this point, I'll probably leave you until after Christmas or maybe even New Year's. We have lots of family fun planned and I want to soak up every minute of it! I wish blessings to everyone and a 2012 full of happiness!

Good Tidings~
Laurie

Miracles

Isn't this the perfect time to talk about miracles?!?! We will celebrate the ultimate miracle in a little over a week -- the birth of Jesus!

Well, last week, was Sam's chorus concert and they sang one of my favorite songs of all time: Sarah McLachlan's "Ordinary Miracle". This song points out the everyday marvels that we take for granted...ordinary miracles. ie: the sky knowing how to snow, no need to teach a seed to grow, the sun coming out and shining bright and disappearing every night. Oh, those ordinary miracles are amazing!

What other miracles have we seen in our own lives? Me? I have two precious miracles that call me "Mom". I soak up the miracle of the seasonal changes...spring to summer to fall to winter and then it starts all over! And who knows the miracles of everyone we pass on the street -- surviving cancer, being adopted into a loving family, delivering a very premature or very sick baby who lives a happy, normal life.

Miracles are all around! Listen to these precious voices explain the ordinary ones!




Teary~
Laurie

Full of thanks!

See what happens when you finish your Christmas cards and complete 75% of your shopping list?!?!? You get to blog! Yay!

So, we took our thankfulness into Alabama for Thanksgiving and joined the rest of the family at my sister's home. In addition to the turkey, dressing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, seven different desserts -- and the list goes on and on -- we:

Played some basketball:

Shot some guns:

Made some wishes:

Did I mention that we ate?:

(Complete with a "Red Solo Cup" with names written in Sharpie!)

We also did a little shopping, played lots of games and had lots of laughs! I am thankful for these special people in my life!

Full heart and belly~
Laurie

Playing catch up....

O.k., let me fill you in on our recent happenings!!! First of all, let me share with you what I've learned. (And I think I've said it before.) I went into this school year with the thought that having both kids on the same schedule and having an empty house from 7:00 - 2:30 that I'd be so organized and just begging for things to occupy my time. Well, I was WRONG! What I have realized is that I'm a sucker for volunteering! Between the copying center, the media center, the PTA public relations, and kindergarten and 4th grade classrooms....my second home is at the elementary school.

And I really wouldn't trade it for anything! My kids love for me to be at their school! Yep, they even hug me when they see me in the hallway! And it's so fun to see all of their friends and have them wave at me when they pass in the hallway. So, in case you had some vision of me sitting around the house looking like this:

I'm not!

I came across this next little sweet treat while I was "surfing the internet" and just had to make them! Three little ingredients made some yummy fun treats! Take these three things:



"Glue" them together with the chocolate icing and voila! Edible acorns!

With some help from Nana and the kids, we made over 250 of these and shared them with their classes for Thanksgiving!

Back at the school, the students did so well in their Boosterthon fundraiser they won the opportunity to tape their principals to the wall! Seriously....take a look!

*Sam's opportunity to tape!

When it's all said and done....duct tape is really strong! Mr. Freiberger is about 6'6" (quite intimidating for an elementary school student), but the duct tape did it's job well!


Oh, and one more thing that's keeping me busy.... Zac! Still cute, but a handful!

That's my first part of the catch-up, because guess what...I'm off to the school!

Mrs. Moore~
Laurie

Wow...

has it really been a month since I've last blogged?!?!? Well, guess what...........



I'm not blogging now either! Just letting you know that the Moore family is alive and kickin'! I promise, I'll post within the next couple of days, but for now I'm:

decorating, shopping, writing, wrapping, cooking, cleaning, car pooling, mom-ing, dad-ing (when John is out of town), loving, hugging, kissing (well, only with the kids...when John's out of town), caroling, hustling, bustling, vacuuming, washing, drying, exercising (totally not as much as I need to), decking, dusting....

and then I sleep, I wake up and it all happens again.

So, keep your faith! I will return!

Phew~
Laurie

Bragging Rights

No one likes braggers, am I right? I don't. But.... (You knew that was coming!), a mama has to brag once in a while. That's what we do! Annnd, it's my blog, and I'm gonna do it - na, na, na, na, na!
So, please bear with me! Here goes:

Do you remember a couple of weeks back when I posted a picture of Lily holding a certificate similar to this? Well, guess what! Sam came home with one of his own! He was chosen as a "trustworthy" student! And with that... another kids meal from Shane's rib shack! Man, I may not have cook if my kids keep this up! Way to go, Sam!



Then came Halloween! Can you guess which one is Sam? Lily was a ninja and Sam was a 'faceless ghoul'?!? We hosted the Pre-Trick or Treat dinner, then all 48 guests headed out for the goodies! Well, I had wanted to add something different to the night and asked the kids if they'd like to, as well. They agreed and so we asked the neighborhood to write thank you letters to soldiers and Sam and Lily would pick them up as they made their rounds. Believe it or not, they remembered to ask for the letters and came home with over 30 letters to the troops! So proud that my sweeties wanted to do this!



And last, but not least, Sam and Lily made their way into the local paper for a food drive their school had organized! They were so excited to see themselves in print!


And the bragging mom that I am, is so glad that they want to help and please others! I don't make them do any of this! They hear about it and want to be a part...of which, I love!

So come on, let me brag~
Laurie