See what I mean?

Pure terror.

I love Christmas break!

We are in Claremore visiting Brandon's parents this week. It's awesome.
I slept in this morning, then we hung around the house for a few hours, no stress!
Tonight, we went to Bass Pro Shop to take pictures of the girls with Santa. It was hilarious. Portia was close to tears the whole time, terrified of Santa. Margot was ok until she saw that Portia was nervous, then she started to tear up too! Goobers.
After visiting the North Pole, we went to dinner, where Margot ate as much as a full grown man, and Portia spent the whole time worrying about weather or not we were going to steal her mac-n-cheese. Portia was cracking me up at dinner. She had to go potty at one point, and here's our conversation while in the restroom:

Portia: Ok mommy. Go potty.
Me: I don't need to go potty.
Portia: Oh yeah, I need to go potty.
Portia: Mom, no body gets to eat my mac-n-cheese. You potato-head.

What a silly kid.
We ate till we couldn't eat anymore, and headed back home. The girls stayed home with Grammy and Papa, and Brandon and I went to the store. By ourselves! When you're a parent, this is a huge deal.
What a good day!

hug your babies tighter today

Some of the scariest things to me about being a mother are the things I can't control. Like illness, accident, and disease. But the scariest thing to me is the rest of the world. The world is a scary place.
Today, there was a school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. A man went into an elementary school and shot and killed 27 people, including 18 children. My heart is breaking. I can't fathom how the families affected must be feeling.
It terrifies me that my daughters could be put in situations like this one someday. We have recently started trying to teach Portia about stranger danger, and what to do to stay safe. But what if that isn't enough? My biggest fear in the world is that my children will be lost of hurt or afraid and I won't be there to help them.
I hope and pray that the families affected by this tragedy feel the love of the Lord, and are able to move on with their lives. And I pray that my family will be safe from the scary things in the world.

dancing queens

We took a break from cleaning today to have a little dance party.





And apparently today is "treat day." That's a new one.

just a little blast from the past for ya

You're welcome.

Things I Learned While Camping

I love camping. Maybe you wouldn't think it to look at me, what with my 5 inch stilettos and this hairdo, but it's true.
Every summer while growing up, my family went on a camping trip, everywhere from the beach in Florida to high up in the Colorado Rockies to our own backyard. I also went camping with the Young Women at church every summer for 7 years.
Now, I should clarify. When I say camping, I don't mean sitting in an air-conditioned RV with a stove and a bathroom. I mean pitching a tent, making a fire, gathering water from the nearby stream to boil and drink, bathing in the creek, the whole nine yards.
I love every minute of it. I love sleeping under the stars, eating crappy food that you cooked on a tiny stove over the fire, even bathing in an ice cold stream. It's awesome!
Let me tell you a few things I learned while camping.


1. I learned some basic survival skills. From Girl's Camp, I learned how to build a shelter, start a fire with just sticks, purify water, make a splint and a turniquette, and even tell the difference between Poison Oak and Poison Ivy. From my family camping trips, I learned how to cook on a fire, stay warm and dry at night, and shave my legs in the wild (it's crucial folks). I also learned that my mom is deathly allergic to Poison Oak and Poison Ivy.

Mom, look away! You might get a rash!

2. I learned that the beach is my most favorite place to be. We went camping in Pensacola FL one year as a family, and it was amazing. White sand, huge waves, millions of jellyfish. Wait, what?
Yeah, I said jellyfish. They were everywhere; I must have been stung a hundred times,  but it was still fun.
If I could live on the beach, I probably would.

Me and Carrie, in our swimsuits. 

3. I learned how to entertain myself in long car rides. When we went camping every year, we drove sometimes 12 hours or more to get there. That's one boring drive folks. 

4. I learned every cheesy camp song ever written. Girl's Camp does that to ya. I hated them, but I sang them.

5. I learned how to be a leader. At Girl's Camp, I was a YCL, or Youth Camp Leader, for several years. A YCL's job is to help younger girls with their hike, take them swimming, and teach them some of the things they need to certify. I was always assigned to the 12 year old girls, most of them had never been camping before. It was a blast teaching them and getting to know them, and I am still friends with a lot of those girls today!

6. I learned that we live in a beautiful country. Sleeping under the stars and hiking through the woods shows you that.

7. I leaned that if you give a raccoon donuts, he will love you forever. But he might still try to maul you, so don't get too close.

8. I learned that if the name of the campsite is anything like "Camp Runamuck," turn your car around and drive away. It will be crazy.

9. I learned that my sister and I look really good in snorkels.

You know you're jealous.

10. This isn't really something I learned, it's just one of my favorite memories. 

We were camping in Pensacola, and my mom wanted us all to get up early and watch the sunrise on the beach. 

My mom LOVES to watch the sunrise. Maybe it's because she enjoys the beauties of nature, maybe it's because she wakes up at the crack of dawn already and wants company, we may never know.

Anyway, we didn't have an alarm (we were sleeping in a tent for cryin' out loud) so Mom woke us all up at the hour she thought was close to sunrise. Turns out it was closer to 3 am, but we didn't know that at the time. We drove to the beach, set out a blanket, and settled down to wait for the sun. And we waited. And waited. Aaaaaand waited.

It was cold that morning, actually really cold for Florida in August. We were dressed in  T-shirts and shorts, and I remember just being freezing. It was really cloudy, and after about 3 hours of waiting, we started to realize that the sun wasn't going to show. You see, there was a storm off in the distance over the water (something else we didn't know) and the clouds were hiding the sun. 

Finally, after what seemed like forever, we started to beg to go back to our tent. We were hungry, cold, and tired. But my mom is nothing if not persistent, and assured us that if we waited, something good would happen. We crawled under our blanket on the sand and my dad got the Coleman cook stove from the car. He made one of the best tasting breakfasts I can ever remember. White rice with curry in it. We ate it in mugs, all curled up under our picnic blanket. 

Then, something good did happen. Remember that storm? Well the sun actually had come up, even if we didn't see it, and we got to watch the storm out over the ocean. It was one of the prettiest sights I can remember. We could see every swirl of the clouds, and even the rain as it came down, all miles away. It was amazing. 

I guess I did learn something. I learned that the simplest joys are the best. And I learned that my mom has good ideas, even if they do involve getting up at 3 am.

reset button

The girls didn't sleep well last night. Portia woke Margot up in the middle of the night, then they both got up early. Needless to say, by 4 pm, we were all cranky and needing to reset.
For Margot, that came in the form of another nap before dinner. She crashed in her room.
Portia and I made dinner together. She came in the kitchen and sat on the counter while I made spaghetti.  We sang silly songs and drank juice, and giggled about things that 3 year olds find humorous.
I think we both needed that time to hang out, just her and me.

That's what Christmas is all about.

Some Christmas videos for you!

A conversation

Portia: I love kittens.
Me: Do you like puppies?
Portia: No, they will scare me. But Margot knows how to eat them.


What?