my blessed life

I know I haven't been blogging much this month.  It has been nice  to step back from the computer a little more and just enjoy  the Christmas season with my family.   Here's what we did this month: Mr. B just keeps losing his baby teeth~he's got a super-gappy mouth right now:) We took in a local, musical performance of A Christmas Carol. The kiddos had fun caroling with our homeschool group at a local nursing home. Of course, there was the annual "fun" picture with Santa (we always do the freebie one at Bass Pro). While we were at the Bass Pro Shop we hung out a little with the Robertsons. We had tons of fun at our church's Christmas party's photo booth! The Princess helped me make lots of Christmas goodies. We loved looking at the local Christmas lights! Our family had its now-traditional meal at Patti's 1880 Settlement. We did a little ice skating in Nashville~then grabbed lunch at ou

{Edited} : What was I thinking?!  Apparently I forgot entirely that I MUST have black-eyed peas on New Year's Day!!  What kind of a Southerner am I?!  So nevermind the Hamburgers Diane on Wednesday.  They're definitely getting bumped for some black-eyed peas.  What I'd love is some Hoppin' John's, but I don't think my kiddos would like it.  So we'll be having plain ol' black-eyed peas (which are delicious anyway!) cooked with ham, fried potatoes, and maybe a green of some sort.  We'll see... ***** Ah ...is anyone else ready for some routine and organization after the busyness and craziness of the holidays?!  I sure am!! We've thoroughly enjoyed the holidays--especially all of the yummy food!!--but I'm ready for everyday, normal again:) This is my first menu plan in almost a month!  That tells you how busy and, at times chaotic, our schedule has been...lol Here's what on the plan for this week: Monday: Chicken & Wild Ric

Welcome to a little Christmas tour of our home!   I'm so glad you've dropped by.  We are busy at our home preparing for Christmas.  Our days are filled with baking and candy making, shopping,  sending and receiving cards, crafting, playing, and lots of holiday spirit! I always enjoy Christmas home tours and am honored that you've come by for ours as well.  If you've visited in previous years, you likely won't see a lot of new things.  I love holiday traditions and am very sentimental about my decor (my family just loves it when I wax poetic about all of my favorite ornaments..lol).  I've tried to photograph some things from  different angles and focus a little more on details for you though.   Enjoy! {our front room~we call it "the library"} {our family room}  {the kitchen} {our learning room}  {Mr. B's tree}  {The Princess' tree} {t

This week we had the opportunity to view some original art by one of our family's favorite American artists: Norman Rockwell.  The Frist Art Center in Nashville will  have this exhibit until February 9th, if you're interested.  It's well worth the visit!   My parents, especially my dad, have always been fans of Mr. Rockwell.  I well remember a large art book (the only one my parents ever owned) of his works.  I would look through it over and over, enthralled with the faces of our country's history and the emotions they told.  Rockwell certainly knew how to speak to the human emotions and expressed them so well in his art. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing so many of his works (over 40 paintings plus some sketches, Saturday Evening Post covers, and a short film) in person.  They are such detailed oil paintings!  And to think he used to paint one a week   for the Saturday Evening Post for years is truly amazing!   We a