It appears we need new net lights

Only one of the four strands now works. Bummer.

Boo-boo baby

Our poor little girl has a boo-boo on her belly and after determing that a cone on her head (!) would do no good to keep her from scratching it, Jax is now fashioning a little tube top around her skinny mid-section to help it heal.


After spending the day at the vet, the poor pup must be exhausted, because she is curled up on her dad's lap sleeping, which is so not like her. Here's hoping she heals before Christmas so she doesn't need the tube top for our trip to Atlanta!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I love decorating the house for Christmas. It just makes it feel so much more warm and full. Here are a few shots of how we decorate for the season in our home...

Crafty pillows

Through a friend's blog, I found another person's crafty blog post about making burlap pillows. I took the idea a few steps further and, using my A-W-E-S-O-M-E sewing maching and embroidery functions, created a couple of pillows of my own. The bench in the foyer was a little bare, so I think these make the perfect finishing touch for the holiday season! And maybe, when Christmas has passed, I will just flip them over to the plain side so my hardwork doesn't go wasted.

Catching Up: Trip to Atlanta

I missed a whole week+ in blogland and figured I should catch up and recap what we did on our second trip up to Atlanta in two weeks. My mom had had surgery during the week to remove a nasty cancerous "nodule" from her lung so while Ryan made the trek up to watch his team play in the SEC Championship, I tagged along to be with my mom and (hopefully) help her recupe.

While home, we all got to attend a cookie party at a dear family friend's house. It was a great idea and so yummy! Everyone brought cookies to share and there was a contest for best tasting and best looking. While I didn't bring any, I was sure to participate in the judging.

I also got to take advantage of being in Atlanta to see some good friends. The first long-time pal just had her second (!) baby girl so I got to drop in to deliver a handmade gift and see the new little one, not even a week old. She is beautiful, just like her big sis, and I was so thankful to have the time to catch up with her mom.

Then, on Sunday, it just so happened that another dear friend was having a baby shower, so I got to hang out with her a little before the party and then see some other great pals at the shower itself. I also delivered another handmade gift. I had been busy painting in preparation for the trip!

It was a short, short trip but as always so good to see family and friends. I can't wait to be back up in a week or so for Christmas!

Tidings of comfort and joy

I absolutely LOVE the version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" sung by Sarah McLachlan and the Barenaked Ladies. Perhaps an odd combo for a holiday tune, but their voices harmonize so beautifully and make the words of the song all that more powerful. I was rocking to it my whole drive into work this morning, on repeat, and actually got a little choked up belting out the words at the top of my lungs, thinking of how special this time of year is and what the true reason for the season is. I have so much to be thankful for, and God's love is number one. It is truly a message of comfort and joy to hear "that Christ our savior was born on Christmas day to save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray."

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care

Well, we don't actually have a chimney, nor do we have our own stockings at home with us (they're at our respective parents' houses) but I felt that the pup needed a stocking all her own. This is her first Christmas (with us), after all. So I got a little crafty, tried out the embroidery function of my sewing machine (finally! love it!), and put together a special little stocking for all of her treats.