Wordless Wednesday

(Kris and Presley, 9th Anniversary date night - Aug. 2007)

Christmas Meme

This time of year I feel like I don't have anything to write about, yet life is really busy. Go figure! I was looking back at what I had written last year (trying not to repeat myself) and was reminded of this meme. I did a Google search of Christmas Memes and selected questions from several sites that I thought were different and interesting. You may or may not like memes but in their own way they do help you get to know someone better, right?!?

Decorations outside? We have wreaths on all the windows and front door, and lighted garland and small trees in urns surrounding the front door.


Real or artificial tree? We have an artificial tree for two reasons:
1) we have to decorate before Thanksgiving because we always host the BSU Christmas Party the Tuesday after
2) we have allergies and I am not willing to chance it.


Tree topper: star, angel, something else? Currently our tree is topped with a star but we have used an angel some years.

Wrapping paper or bags? I always wrap if possible!

Favorite Christmas movie? Two movies make the list: Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas and Elf.


Do you read the Christmas story? Yes

Do you display a Nativity scene? I have a Fontanini set that I continue to collect and a wood carved set bought during a mission trip to Guatemala.



Stocking before or after presents? Santa fills our stockings so they get "opened" at the end of Santa.

Do you like receiving Christmas letters/photos? Absolutely! One of my favorite things about Christmas. My mom has a friend from college that always wrote lots of details about her kids lives and every year I LOVED to read her letters!

Do you take pictures with Santa? With my children being deathly afraid of mascots, pictures with Santa are hit and miss. Some years we try it and others we don't.

(Myself with Santa, 5 years old - December 1980)

(Wes with Santa, 14 months old - December 2003)

[Ann Elise (almost 4), Bankston Hays (13 months), and Wes (6) with Santa - December 2006]

Does Santa get a plate? For sure! This may sound strange to some of you, but it was one thing that kept the "Santa secret" going strong for us Carters - my mom would put one of her gray hairs near the plate and we would always squeal because we thought it was from Santa's beard! HA!

Do you enjoy Christmas shopping? Not at all. Totally stressful!

Favorite holiday smell? cookies baking

Warm fire or sleigh ride? I'd take both...and on the same night :)

Snowball fight or snowman? Probably snowman

[Wes (5) and Ann Elise (almost 3), December 2007]

What do you do on a snow day? Like to get up and watch it fall, drink a big cup of coffee, lounge in my pjs, get layered up and talk a walk/play outside, come in and sit by the fire and thaw out, play games as a family, watch a movie, etc.

[Bankston Hays (13 months) and myself - December 2008]

(Ann Elise, Kris, and Wes - December 2007)

2010 Reading List

I have written several posts about how much I enjoy reading. I love getting lost in a character's life. I like that you can experience a different world for a little bit - most often a world that will never match your own. But perhaps my favorite thing comes in the details that the written word provides the reader.

I have written before about this season of life and how I am not able to read as much as I would like...and even written about the flip side of that - I have read as much as I would like.

I have taken a post or two to write about different authors that are intriguing me or a certain series that I can't. put. down.

I have even written on a few books and how I want them incorporated into my kids' lives.

A close friend of mine from college is an avid reader and has inspired me on more than one occasion. She once told me that her grandmother keeps a list of every book she has read - kinda like her own card catalog - and my friend had started doing the same. She explained it was a good idea to be able to look back and see how much you had read, how your interests had changed, and remind yourself of stories that gripped your heart. The more she talked, I liked it too!

A few years ago I started my own list. I just keep a list by author because it's the main way I look for library books. I find an author I love and keep visiting their shelf until I have read everything they've written. It works for me. Taking an hour to browse the shelves or search the Dewey Decimal system with a toddler (or two, or three!) in tow ain't fun! This year I added a list for the year. I don't do New Year's resolutions so I didn't set a goal - I just wanted to see how many I read and what I read.

2010 Reading List
Return by Karen Kingsbury
Rejoice by Karen Kingsbury
Lavendar Morning by Jude Deveraux
The Witness by Dee Henderson
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Reunion by Karen Kingsbury
Fame by Karen Kingsbury
Forgiven by Karen Kingsbury
Found by Karen Kingsbury
Family by Karen Kingsbury
Forever by Karen Kingsbury
The Last Song by Nickolas Sparks
A Thousand Tomorrows by Karen Kingsbury
Beyond the Clouds by Karen Kingsbury
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
The Kommandant's Girl by Pam Jenoff
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Cassidy by Lori Wick
Swan by Frances Mayes

When I read back over this list I remember lots of great stories. A few titles stand out more than others. A few titles I wouldn't necessarily recommend, but a few titles I would emphatically say "you have got to read this book"! I also see that I start the new year off with a reading binge (the last book was read early summer) and having the kids home for the summer plus the whirlwind events of the fall, end the year with a reading diet. If I had just kept going I could be close to 50 books!

On that note, I do hope to read one more book before Christmas, Unafraid by Francine Rivers.

Francine Rivers always does an unbelievable job of connecting you to her characters. She has drawn me in on more than one occasion and had me living right alongside John the Baptist (just ask Kris - HA!). I think Christmas is a perfect time to read this book because it is Mary's story. If my list is any indication of my reading habits, I would bet that 2011's reading list will continue with the Lineage of Grace series :)

Wordless Wednesday

(Ann Elise, 3 - June 2008)

Blog Worthy!

For those of you who have children deathly afraid of mascots...there is hope!

Wes has been terrified of anything resembling a mascot his. entire. life. I am talking about some serious wailing and gnashing of teeth - like crawling under the bleachers, kneeling behind Daddy's legs, even scouting out Seymour's whereabouts from across the arena just so he'd know where he was lurking at all times...and don't even think about suggesting a high five!

But as of last week, the tides have turned....


Wes has found a friend in Seymour :)

Wordless Wednesday

(Bankston Hays, 13 months - December 2008)

Thanksgiving Getaway

I really love Thanksgiving Break! Our kids get a whole week off from school and that makes me happy. I love having everyone at home all day. There are no lunches to pack, quarrels over brushing hair, or math sheets. It is just family time. We tend to get a lot done around the house and next to nothing makes me more happy than checking things off my "to do" list!

For the last three years we have opted to take a day or two and get away. It slows our pace, allows us to enjoy nature, and have fun together.

This year we had decided not to do an overnight trip. So we planned a day trip to Dunn's Falls and were very excited about hiking the surrounding area and seeing the waterfall. We had to adjust our plans once we arrived because they were closed! But, thanks to a map app, we quickly reorganized a new destination not too far away :)

We ended up at Clarkco State Park. The kids were exclaiming their famished state long before we arrived so the first thing we did was enjoy our picnic lunch!


There were several really nice playgrounds that we all enjoyed!





The park has a gorgeous lake!


They had several large pavilions with lots of picnic tables.


Some of the pavilions even had these stone fireplaces that I thought were really pretty.


We chose to walk a portion of the five mile nature trail. The leaves were really beautiful.


And the kids had a great time climbing over fallen trees, finding little critters under leaves, and listening for wildlife.


There were people fishing under the shade of the big trees.


There were cabins available for rent that sat on the water's edge.


It was really peaceful!


We had a great time getting away and would definitely visit this park again. YAY for Thanksgiving Break!!!

Ann Elise's Kindergarten Thanksgiving Program

The week before Thanksgiving Break, we got to see our little Indian perform with all her classmates.

They were each given an "Indian" name - Ann Elise became Princess Snowflake :) The students decorated headbands, necklaces, and a pillowcase turned vest with symbols and designs illustrating their new names.


The Kindergarten classes had been practicing for several weeks learning songs about Thanksgiving and thankfulness and memorizing Bible verses. They performed in the church sanctuary and did a great job!

(Ann Elise is on the top row, third from the right)

After the performance we walked back to the classroom and snapped a few pictures with Princess Snowflake!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A number of years ago, my good friend, Christi, mentioned that she had her boys make a list of things for which they were thankful during Thanksgiving. I decided it was a great tradition for our family to adopt!

We have tried different ways of making our list in order to change it up a bit. While they are still young I have focused on making turkeys with their hands and feet.




Last year I must have run out of ideas...looks like I let them color, cut, and paste a turkey and write their own list :)


I hope to keep them in a 3 ring binder and add to it year after year! It has been fun to read back over the years and see how they have matured in their thankfulness....or should I say will have matured :)

I would LOVE to know if you have any ideas of ways to make turkeys!

Wordless Wednesday

(Wes and Kris - Walnut Street Bridge, Chattanooga - March 2006)