Winter Wonderland

We had our first snow storm of the winter on Saturday. Saturday night we went out to play and build a snowman. Yesterday it was gorgeous with the bright sun shinning on the pretty snow. Ree is ever so happy that there is snow. I think we have a little snow bunny...she's already talking about going skiing and ice skating!

 

  

Today is the last day of 2012. It's been a pretty sad last month. Here's hoping that 2013 brings much happiness & joy. 

A huge lesson that has been learned this past year is to cherish every single moment. Good & bad. For we don't know when we wake up in the morning when our lives will be tipped upside down and forever changed.

Weekending

This weekend has been very sad.

Another precious baby was taken to heaven before he had a chance to live.

The Mommy & Daddy are devastated. And so are we. 

My husband has been going back & forth between them and here.

We got 6 inches of snow late yesterday into the night.

When he got home Ree wanted to go outside. She wanted a snowman.

So her daddy built her a big, 7ft tall one.

Today is shoveling out. Going to Mass. Possibly go visiting at the hospital. 

My sister is coming here to play in the snow with Ree. 

We'll go to my sister-in-laws later if the roads up that way are okay.

The last weekend of 2012 hasn't been how we had planned it. The beginning of 2013 will be so sad with saying goodbye to a sweet baby boy.

But we have Ree. We have family all around. We have so many things to be grateful for. Especially the newest little baby angel in heaven.

Linking up with Amanda at The Habit of Being

This Moment: Christmas!

Our Christmas was full of family & fun! Ree had a blast! Talk about tons of fun with little one's around! Like we have every year since she was a newborn we slept over my parents house. It's always lots of fun to wake up there and open presents!

When Ree wasn't opening a present she was under the tree. I guess she thought all the best presents were tucked in the back, not front & center!

I hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas and is enjoying the after Christmas peace that has descended! (At least it has at our house!)

Weekending...Christmas Style!

This weekend was a flurry of Christmas celebrating and preparing!

Saturday I finished all my wrapping. Worked a little bit more on the crochet afghan. That I decided would be wrapped almost finished. Only 3 more repeats of the border left!

Saturday evening we celebrated Christmas early with my sister & her family. What a blast! Christmas is always fun but when little one's are around it's even more wonderful!

Yesterday was finishing up the Christmas baking. Celebrating Christmas here with (more) pizza and more loved ones. Ree has been so spoiled already and it's only Christmas Eve! 

I am so happy that all my Christmas preparations are pretty much finished today. I can enjoy Christmas Eve day in a peaceful way without the rushing of wrapping or cooking. 

I hope everyone has a blessed Christmas with loved ones!

This Moment

Enjoying some ice cream with Daddy!

Yarn Along

Ever since December began my knitting and reading have been virtually non-existent. Too much other stuff to do to get ready for Christmas! I have 101 projects I want to do. All of which I've known I've wanted to do since at least this summer. All the sudden Christmas is less then a week away! 

But this past weekend my fingers were itchy. Not just for a knitting project but to DO something. To help somehow. We went to my mom's for a bit Sunday evening and we got talking about a website I came across, The Prayer Shawl Ministry, and how they are collecting prayer shawls for the survivors of Newtown. My mom has been a member of her Church's prayer shawl ministry for quite a few years now. She mentioned how she has a stash of prayer shawl yarn in her closet. When I asked if I could take some of it off her hands she said of course!

So Sunday night I cast on for the Sandy Hook Prayer Shawl. I'm not sure when it will be completed but as I am sure they will be needing prayers for a long, long time I don't think it matters how soon it gets to them. It will be filled with stitches that have my heartfelt prayers in them.

Reading has been even more scarce then reading around here for quite awhile. I picked up Anne Lamott's new book, Help Thanks Wow, last week at the library. I've only read the first few pages so far but I'm enjoying it. A book that needs to be meditated on as you go along.

Last week, before the horribly sad events of Friday took place, Ree & I went to my mom's to make Christmas cookies. Every year she makes about a 100 dozen cookies to gift. This year Ree was thrilled to be able to help roll the dough and decorate them. All By Herself. (The decorating that is).

She took her job very seriously and they turned out beautiful!

And then Friday happened and I kind of forgot about these pictures. My husband & I have been talking and praying all weekend and we keep coming back to we don't want Ree to grow up in fear. Everywhere we've gone since Friday morning we've been on constant alert. Our nerves have been on edge watching everyone, seeing possible threats in every person we see. 

But I don't want that for Ree. I want her to be the carefree, happy little girl that she is. And as her Momma I can make that happen. I can show her that the world really is full of wonder and awe. That (I believe) there are more good people then bad. That in order for our world to have peace and love we need to be that instrument. 

I read (one of many, many) articles over the past few days where a woman from Newtown was quoted as asking "What is the rest of the world doing? Are they going about their normal days like nothing has happened?" I can say for my family that no, we aren't. We are mourning with them. Feeling their ache from afar. Although only one state over it's really not that far away. 

We are thinking of what we can do in our spot in the world to make it a better place. We are holding our child closer. Thinking of ways to make her world more peace-filled and joy-filled. The lessons we have learned from Newtown will be long lasting. And we will never forgot the faces of those precious little one's who were ripped from their parents lives way too soon in such a horrific way.