ETA: 2011!

I'm heading West for a few days, folks! Be back soon with updates on holiday festivities and a trip recap! Until then....

Merry Christmas, Everyone

Merry Christmas!

We hope everyone is enjoying wonderful time with family and friends on this special holiday!

Remember to take pictures...

Remember to tell those you love just how much they mean to you...

Remember to be thankful for He who gave His life so that we could live...

We got snow here, today!

We finally got a "white Christmas"!

Guess What?

... It's the start of my "BURFDAY WEEK"!

Yep, you got it!

I'm super excited.

I have always loved my "week"... lots of me reminding my loving family that it's my "burfday", sweet stories from events long ago, having all the glittering Christmas lights lit up everywhere... It's g.r.e.a.t. - even though I have to share it with my favorite holiday!

I found this lovely little picture today and felt like it encompassed everything about this time of year - cupcake = birthday, tree = Christmas... PERFECT!

Hope everyone enjoyed the snow flurries today! What a special way to kick off such a special week! :)

I had a pretty AWESOME day...

... I DID IT.

Full post to come, but for now, I must admit how excited and utterly thankful I am for this day and all who have been such an integral part of it! Today was the perfect birthday/Christmas present a girl could ask for.

**Thanks Momma and Daddy! Thanks for being my biggest cheerleaders :) Today was a super special day!

(key the music from Charlie Brown's Christmas)

SO... after much debate and discussion as to whether or not we were going to put up our own Christmas tree here at school, Dave insisted we have one. When I brought up the subject, I was thinking "small, table-top tree"... you know, the ones that are just a little bit bigger than the small ones you have in your room as a kid, but not really big enough to put in the floor somewhere. The ones you could actually go a chop down from an open field somewhere because we're not really needing something HUGE. Dave did not quite agree. He also did not agree to my feelings of getting a "REAL" spruce, Douglas Fur or anything of the kind :( Nope. So there we were... standing in the Target, looking at (wait for it) FAKE trees. Yep, I said it. I vowed I would never give in and have another fake tree after my mom promised me we N.E.V.E.R. had to put ours up again, but, we have one and I'm thankful and excited for the bit of Christmas spirit it brings to our home! I have a nice little evergreen scented candle (*thanks Sandye*) I shall light to make myself feel as though my new friend is straight from the wilderness.

**Let the people of blogland note, though, there WILL be a r.e.a.l. tree in my house next year and for every year after that (when space shall allow for one). Dave has promised.**

As for decorating our tree: We had nilch as far as decorations went, because 1. I hadn't planned on having a tree, and 2. I've always just had a small tree that my mom gave me, with miniature ornaments. SO... in addition to purchasing our new friend, we also scored some glittery balls at a g.r.e.a.t. buy and colorful "sticks" my mom and I eyed the week of Thanksgiving (that Dave hated the moment I picked them up and said we "needed" them... they are VERY glittery, what boy would like them?) and Ninnie made me a beautiful tree skirt for my birthday that completed the ensemble!

I'm glad we decided this was necessary and started our own little tradition. We had quite an adventurous afternoon trying to pull our dream together, but I think it's just perfect!

Special to my Mom: I hope you're proud of me! This is the first tree I've decorated without your expertise, but I think you'll like it! It's not quite finished, but it's snazzy nonetheless! Thanks for all the "training" in Christmas decorating these last twenty-something years and always letting me add my own little touches to ours at home! You've taught me so much... and I keep figuring out just how much little by little, day by day! You're the greatest. You truly are :)

"Oh, Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree..."

My surprise trip home was wonderful! Mom and I cranked up the Christmas tunes Wednesday afternoon and hung all of our garland and bows from the porch railing and put out the miniature spruce trees by the front door! There's nothing I look forward to more than spending such special time putting up our decorations with my mom!

Thursday, after an exciting trip to our honey hole, we had one more thing on our list to look for in order to complete our outside decorations. In lieu of actually finding a double-sided extension cord adapter thingy, we found "Humberto"! Yep, we found our tree! And thanks to the nice men, they put him up on Mom's car and tied him down all nice and tight so he would have a safe ride home!

I'm looking forward to heading home again soon to finish the decorating and see Humberto all relaxed and filled out!

It's that time...

... for our friends at Rockefeller Center to light that wonderful Spruce!

...and for my other friends to kick their way into a holiday season of all things bright!

If you haven't guessed it yet, I am so excited for Christmas! I love everything this time of year bring with it! Hope everyone finds the reason for the season and enjoys loads of family time and makes a lot of wonderful memories! God has blessed us all! Let us remember how and why it all began!

Happy Holidays!

Let the decorating.............. B.E.G.I.N!

I'm heading home for a minute or two to surprise my mom! We usually purchase our Christmas tree over Thanksgiving, but we just got so darn busy this year. I can't image her picking out our little ombre' without me (yes, I said ombre'. For years now we've given our Christmas tree a Spanish name. "Pedro, Jose..." You get the picture!). I love Christmas and all the decorating that comes with it! It's always given me so many special memories.

Hello 2-7!!!

Dearest Dave,

I hope this year is FULL of wonderful things and gives way to all of your wildest dreams!

I hope you continue to reach for the stars and know that I'm behind you 110%!

I pray you find being another year older an exciting adventure, and not merely just "another year in the books"!

Life only gets better year by year, and I'm super excited to be spending mine with YOU :)

Happy December first, my love!

(Can we please put up Christmas decorations, now? I definitely don't mind them on my special day - which is coming soon!)

--Duck

YAY! Happy Birthday, My Davis!