Christmas snapshots

Well, Christmas has come and gone... only 363 more days till my favorite holiday returns! This Christmas we didn't spend a lot of time taking pictures like we have in the past - mainly because Gracie wouldn't sit still long enough! Out of 4 family/friend get togethers in 3 days we only managed to take 87 pictures and that's including Christmas morning at our house! Here are a few worth sharing...

Our house after Santa Claus came... just minutes before a "Christmas bomb" went off in our living room. So peaceful...


Our house after the present frenzy was over. If you look closely, Gracie is in there somewhere... (sort of like, 'Where's waldo')


Mark with his stocking... (doesn't he look so happy! - and tired!)


Anne with her stocking... (this is what Mark wakes up to every morning... scary, I know.)


"Officer Gracie" on patrol...


This little bike can zoom! We're talking at least 2-3mph! In fact, if Gracie weren't wearing two layers of clothing I think it could have probably done 4mph!


Mark's friend Jordan, and his family, were up visiting from Arizona. This is Gracie with their adorable little boy, Landon.

Santa pics... then and now

This year, like always, Santa claus made an appearance at our Church Christmas activity. When Gracie first met Santa Claus she was only 11 months old. How did she like him? Well, I think the photo speaks for itself...

Last year things went a little better. No tears, but no smiles either...

This year, she was ready for him! Not only did we see smiles on her face but she even hugged Santa! Looks like Santa has managed to melt into Gracie's heart... I think it has something to do with presents. :)

Snow day in the Woolley...

It snowed last night!!! Yeahhh for snow! Naturally Gracie woke up excited to see a blanket of white covering the ground... the first thing she said to me was, "Look momma! SNOWWWW!!!" I had started my holiday baking yesterday, but didn't quite finish it (Mark and I had to leave for a Christmas party) so I told Gracie that just as soon as I was finished baking then we could go outside. She waited patiently at the back door for about 30 minutes. As her patience wore thin she looked up at me and then reached for the spoon in my hand while saying, "here mommy, I'll do this". I guess I wasn't quick enough for her. :) When we were done with the cookies we raced upstairs to bundle up. It was a lot of fun playing in the snow - more so than it's ever been. Gracie's at the age where stuff like snow, Santa Claus, presents and baking cookies excite her. Fun times at the Francis house!


Gracie eating snow - I checked to make sure it wasn't yellow. :)


Gracie and Parker making a run for it.


Where's your hat silly girl?!


Falling over...


Gracie making snow art...


"You're silly mom!"


Mark came home at lunchtime and was able to watch Gracie play and take a few shots of us girls together. It was fun, but brrr... it was cold too!

Christmas Party

This year I decided to host an "Ugly Christmas Sweater Party". I kept it low key and invited only a small group of friends - there were 8 adults total. Due to the fact that these parties are so popular now (therefore the thrift stores are very limited in their selection) we had to vamp the rules and admitt any type of shirt as long as it was christmassy(?) and ugly. I'm glad we did, cause we ended up with a nice variety of 'christmas ugliness'. We munched on appetizers while we waited for the ham to finish glazing. Then we sat down for a relaxing kid free dinner. When we were finishing eating we cleared the table and let the games begin! We played a christmas dice game I found browsing the internet that we shall forever refer to as "Doubles!" - it involves dice, oven mitts and a present that has been wrapped about 15 times... it was so much fun! We ended the evening with a nice game of Cranium - boys vs. girls. I'm sad to report: Girls lost :( Next year fellas!!... next year! ;)

The Table ... it was nice to have something beautiful set up to offset all of the "ugliness".


The girls...


The guys...

Happy Anniversary

On November 12th Mark and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. We wanted to do something special this year so we started looking for romantic hotels online. We found an adorable hotel in Fairhaven, with a huge jacuzzi suite, so we made reservations and planned a weekend getaway. We spent 3 days/2 nights together and we both agree that it felt just like our honeymoon all over again. We soaked in the jacuzzi tub,
sipped sparkling cider, watched movies in our plush bathrobes,
played a nice game of checkers by the fireplace, talked about our life together - who we are now vs. who we were back in 1997 (when we started dating), where we want to be in 5 years from now and the good and bad things we're doing as parents. Also, we walked around Fairhaven - a quaint little town with cute litle shops along a cobblestone street. It was just a wonderful weekend and I can't wait to do it all again. I sure do love my hubby and I'm so glad I followed my heart 5 years ago. Happy Anniversary baby!!

Miracles

Today my father, a logger for more than 35 years fell out of a tree 30 feet off the ground. After he was done removing limbs from the tree he began to propel himself down when the rope tied to his harness came loose causing him to free fall straight down to the ground. His chainsaw hit first and then he landed on top of it. Lucky for him (and us) he just landed on the handlebar and not the blade. He hit back first and then his head. He was unresponsive for a couple of seconds but he came to and was able to walk himself to the car. His back hurts, he has a cut on his face and his front teeth are loose but the EMT says he should be okay. This all could have ended tragically. Miracles really do happen! I am overwhelmed with gratitude that my dad was protected today - I love him so much! Praise God.

Twenty nine

Well, November 1st I turned 29 years old and for some reason this particular birthday created an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment for me. You see, when I was 10 years old my mom was preparing to turn 29 herself and I can remember imagining what my life would be like when I turned that same age. My ambitions weren't large - in fact they were really simple, but they were mine and they were real. I wanted a loving husband that realized his potential, and mine, who loved God and loved me. I wanted 4 kids - I figured I'd start popping them out when I was 22 and be done by my 28th birthday. I wanted to feel pretty. I wanted a nice house and a sense of security. And most importantly I wanted Jesus in my home and in my heart. After reflecting upon the dreams of my youth I realized I was living them! What a happy birthday this was. Sure, I'm 20 lbs. heavier than I'd like to be but I really do feel pretty. I'm 3 kids shy of my earliest dreams but that's okay because the one kid that I do have is my pride and joy - besides, what was I thinking?! I'm not a machine!:) I am married to a man, that after 12 years together, still gives me the butterflies. He is strong, funny, caring, devoted and grounded. He believes in me and supports all of my crazy ideas - even the ones I come up with at 2 am. I love him and I love the home we share. And last, but certainly not least, I love Jesus! I love how he makes me feel when I reach out to him. I love teaching Gracie about him and I love how simple his gospel is. I love my life... mission accomplished.