It's a BLOGGY tour of homes...YA'LL

Okay I had grand aspirations... that just fell short. I do not have much to offer here. If time permits in the day I will add more tonight.


WELCOME... Come on in... (wreath on my door)

Here is our tree... notice it is heavy on the bottom with handmade, foam, unbreakable, pull off items. This was taken last week as I was afraid something would happen to it before I got a picture of it so there are more gifts now.



The mantle. I got the kids all new stockings this year from PBK. I just love them.
The banister going up the stairs... not too much just a touch of Christmas. I also could not help but to put up our Guatemala stocking somewhere in honor and thought of all that is going on in my child's birth country and in hopes that someday the future of adoptions will be more promising. Right there in the corner you can also see my little bucket for all our cards. I love getting Christmas cards, especially pictures and save them and scrapbook them too.
My "Fontanini" Nativity. I have more pieces in the curio but I only took a picture of the manger scene. I love it. My grandmother added to it as a Chirstmas gift for several years. I keep it out all year long. ( I keep in the the curio, because it is pretty... but it is not breakable it is made of resin).
Here is your treat for stopping by. I have had a "hankerin" for "Puppy Chow" since Ashley brought it to my house for a Sunday School girls night. So I made it (and ate it) last week.

All you do is buy rice Chex, Peanut Butter, Semi-sweet chips, powdered sugar and a little vanilla. It is so easy AND the recipe was on the box! YUMMMM!

I will share the Pretzel Salad I made for a family gathering later. It is one of my favorites. I tried to take a picture, but it just looked like a pan of Jello so it does not look that appealing.

Finally... because Eliza loves it and for your viewing pleasure...

A Burwood Christmas

Every year we meet with the extended family ( Papa's brothers and sisters)at the Burwood Community Center for Christmas ( because that is the only place that could hold us all). I lost count several years ago on how many are there, but as the family keeps growing...we just keep getting bigger. Thankfully we have been blessed and more keep coming in, but none are leaving us.

It'll be GREAT!

If you are in town and want to see an AWESOME, spirit filled Christmas Concert... feel free to stop by.

Headaches, Basements, and Arriola

First off... headaches. I have been suffering from migraines lately. The knock you down and kick you while your down kind of migraines. I am not sure really where they are coming from. The last time I really had them was when I was about 12 weeks pregnant with Baylor. ( STOP IT... NO I AM NOT) They ran some test then , gave me some meds I would not take and I dealt with them. Sure I have had a few headaches along the way but here lately, I have had them a lot. So this morning I went to the doctor to see if there was anything I needed to be doing ( not to mention that my aunt had a stroke at 32 and it scares me because she suffered from frequent headaches). He did some blood work, asked me to see the eye doctor ( having eye issues too) and told me that we would stay on top of it. (Shall I mention here that I went to a NEW doctor today so I would not have to drive into Cool Springs and I LOVED HIM... he is great and REALLY personable, and thorough and concerned). He gave me some meds to try out... so we will see how it goes.

Second... basement work. Brent decided it was time to finish our basement. So here we go! I am really excited and cannot wait to see the finished product. I am going tomorrow to pick out lighting and cabinetry for the bathroom down there I will share a few before pictures so you will feel you have had the Extreme Makeover treatment. We are framed in now and the HVAC should be finished today and perhaps the plumbing too. It should be a great space down there for the boys to just have fun! It has a bonus/ media room and bed room with a full bath and 2 other rooms that could be bedrooms but we are using as his/hers rooms. One will be my room for scrap booking/sewing/ homeschooling (another post for another day... something that God is telling me to pray about I am not saying we are doing it... just researching, praying and PRAYING). The other room is Brent's...whatever he wants -hunting-room. He can put his ducks in there and a his big gun safe and all his manly "stuff" and I do not have to dust it... it is after all... HIS ROOM!

A look from the bottom of the stairs looking left. ( the bedroom and bathroom)

A look to the right (our hobby rooms)

A look straight forward ( the bonus/media room)



Third... Arriola. Victor Arriola is an artist some of you may remember that I posted about him on my Favorite things list. He paints beautiful pictures and we hate that we did not bring one home with us from Guatemala. We found a gallery in California that has a contact with him and he wants to do a commissioned work for us of Antigua (I feel famous... I have never had something done for just me) Of course it is not free but he is going to paint it just for us and just of what we want. It is going to take about a month to paint and dry but he will also send a picture of him with the painting and hopefully a note about it. I cannot wait to have it hanging in my Dining Room... I will share it when we get it...someday!

So that's it... that is what "goes on" today (any October Road fans out there).

PS... hope you enjoy my new music. It freaked my mom out and she thought her computer had caught a virus again... she shut down and ran a virus check.

BUT MOM...

I thought it was Eliza fake lipstick that she carries around ALL THE TIME, even into the grocery. She puts it on and nothing happens, I put it on and... I have a feeling this is going on the blog.

Shots, Eczema, and Nightmares...OH MY!

Today Eliza had her 15 month well visit. It went very well (except for the fact that it was a 1 and a half hour visit). Our little squirt is still... a little squirt. In 3 months she has only gained 1 pound and grown 1 inch. Since she has been home she has only gained 2 pounds... but she is "right on track" and is proportional for height and weight.
My concerns for this visit... her skin and her new nighttime habits. Take last night for instance. 2:30AM a blood curdling screms beckons me from a crazy dream. I realize it is Eliza and she went from out cold to full on scream in less than 30 seconds. When I got to the top of the stairs not only was she screaming, she was shaking. It has been happening about 1 or 2 times a week for several weeks now (since Thanksgiving). At first I thought it was her dislike of wet diapers, then I thought it was her tummy (thanks to beans). After last night... my girl is having nightmares! At 2:30 in the morning, my speechless girl had me thinking she had to have been bitten or there really was something hiding in her closet. It took me until about 3:30 to get her down again and it still took a bit of fussing. Come to find out ( you think I would know my 4th time around) that nightmares are common at this age and development level. My childs imagination is running wild in her sleep, I just wish I knew what it was about.

My baby girl also has pretty severe eczema all over. I thought it might be allergic reactions, but this weather turning colder has really brought out the dry skin. The Dr. recommended I lube her up with Aquafor 3 times a day and skip baths alltogether for a while ( like seriously once a week... we will see how we both do with that one).

Anyway... my angel is right on track for all things a 15 month old should be doing!

EllieDub

I have never met Chris and Lindsey (but I have met Amelia that worked with them on this project). Chris and Lindsey are trying to bring their daughter home from Guatemala. Chris and Lindsey live right here in this area. Their strength, love, and passion really touch my heart ( you can watch their video testimony on the missions page on the site below). Please go over and check out their fundraising venture to get their daughter home. They are really cool! I hope I'll see you all sporting a cool T-shirt.

Ellie Dub