Thankful......

for my beautiful, wonderful friend Kristin. She lost her father this week after a battle with cancer. Her dad was so awesome and I have such fond memories of him from growing up. Kristin and I always knew to ask her dad when we wanted to go somewhere or do something as teenagers because we knew we could sweet talk him into anything!! He was quiet and wise and wonderful and will be missed very much.
Much love and many prayers sent from our family to the Rains Family today......

A little......

visit to Louisiana to see Nana, Papa, Emmy and Austin for their birthdays!! Yep, they all have birthdays in February. So the girls and I took a solo flight out there to spend a nice, relaxing weekend. Eliana stayed in someone's arms the entire time we were there. She loooved it. She is such a snuggle bug. Papa was in heaven rocking her to sleep every chance he got.

Aubrey was Nana's little sewing prodigy. She was in Nana's sewing room making dresses for her dolls, pillows for mommy and daddy and all sorts of creations. I think she may have a talent for it like her Nana!! She loves to "craft" more than just about anything. (Other than her undying love for her horses and animals.......and any game or activity that involves them.)

Austin wowed us all in a very intense basketball game!! It was the last game of the season and his team was undefeated. It was a close game, well played, and they came out victorious!! Austin is an amazing athlete and we are sooo proud of him. Watch out NBA!

Emmy was thrilled to hang out with her nieces. She spoiled them both. We are also so thrilled for Emmy that she is engaged!!! She and Jarrell got engaged during Christmas time and he is such a great guy. We can't wait for the big day....

It was a great visit and of course we look forward to the next one. We love our "Wood" family!!!

SNOW!!!

So I think Atlanta is the best place to live. Four real seasons, driving distance to the beach and the mountains, major airport to anywhere you could want to go, and on and on and on.

But I truly love the winter in Georgia. It is short and almost every year you get that one (and usually only one) magical snow. Heavy enough to play in all day for one day and then pretty much up and out the next day or so........I LOVE IT! It's the perfect winter for me and then I am ready for spring.

This year we looooved our beautiful snow day. We actually got three this year! But this first one was the best and we had such a great time. Schools closed, neighbors came out and we all played and enjoyed the beautiful winter wonderland. Our neighborhood is sooo pretty in the snow I think with all the rolling hills and the wooded lots........makes picture taking alot of fun!

We played outside until we were freezing and soaked and came in to a hot fire, hot cocoa and some marshmallow roasting.

Aubrey has seen the snow before and loves it........she was sooo excited when it started to fall. This was Eliana's first snow! We bundled her up in an oversized snowsuit (thanks leslie!) and plopped her right down in the middle of it. She had no idea what was going on but smiled all the same as she watched her big sister and friends throw snowballs and make a snowman.

Let it Snow!!

My Funny Valentines.......

So a few "rough" pics of my girls for Valentine's!
Not the greatest pics due to bad photography on Mommy's part and little to no cooperation on the girls part........but alas, Valentine's is blogged.
Thank you Mimi and Nana for the precious Valentine's outfits!!
And on this Valentine's Day I am loving my big girl and my baby girl and thanking my husband for loving me and giving me such a sweet and amazing family!!
I love you Jon, Aubrey and Eliana!
Happy Love Day.

I stand up in my crib now.......

Oh yes I do!

I can stand and cruise and go all over the place! But don't even think about making me do it on my own..........No interest in solo standing or solo walking. Maybe next month......

New Year....

Yes, I know it is already the end of January but I still do want to post my New Years Resolutions. Because I LOVE to make new resolutions. I love new years and fresh starts and all that good stuff.....

So these are my resolutions/wants/wishes/desires for 2010....

First of all, I want to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Because I still feel like a kid most days. (Especially when I argue with my 5 year old the finer points of how to properly brush her American Girl doll's hair. .....Maybe one of my resolutions should be to stop arguing with my 5 year old... :)

But I still love to sing. And I love teaching.....but most of all......

I LOVE being a mom. I love my girls. I want to be the best mom in the whole world. And when I think of jobs I would like to do or careers I would like to have, it all seems to revolve around how I can do something else and it still make me a better mom. So I am looking, and bound and determined to find that perfect balance between fulfilling my creative/singing/performing self and being that wonderful mom to these wonderful girls. And doing it all with grace.

I would also like to find the desire to become a better cook. For my poor husband. He says salads are his favorite meal but I believe it's because there is nothing better or more appealing for him to eat. I would like to think that I could be a better cook if I really desired to......( I HATE cooking) but I think that would be deluding myself. So here's to a new year of trying really hard to want to be a better cook and expanding my repetoire of meals beyond salad and pasta.

I want to be more mindful of each day and each moment. Enjoy every second and NEVER sweat the small stuff.

I want to be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, teacher. I want to give more of myself and be a blessing to others.....

Those are my resolutions for 2010.

I am thankful for a truly amazing year behind me and so far I am loving the journey of the year to come.

Teresa's Design...........

Has launched it's website!!!
Check it out at:

http://www.teresasdesign.com/

My mother makes beautiful dresses, bags, shirts, skirts; does applique, embroidery and so much more.......check out her site!
Great gifts for any little girl (or her mom) that you are shopping for!!

Eliana's Christmas outfit!!!

Wood Christmas!!

The weekend before Christmas my parents and sister and nephew came to visit us and celebrate a Wood Family Christmas weekend together! We had such a wonderful time..........drinking hot chocolate, making gingerbread houses, going to see the lights at Life University (and freezing to death!!), watching Christmas movies, opening presents,ice skating and just hanging out together as a family. We did alot in 4 short days!! :)
Nana and Papa enjoyed their grandkids.....and Emmy had fun hangin with her nieces. Austin loooves his cousins. He is so sweet to these girls! He just hugs and kisses them (well, when Aubrey will let him) and he loves to hold and cuddle with Eliana.
It was a wonderful weekend! We love our family and so glad we got to spend time at Christmas together.........

Eliana.....9 months old!!

Still so much posting to catch up on including an amazing Christmas, visit with my family, New Years, etc. but for starters......

Miss Eliana (aka Ella, Ella Bella, Ella Grace) turned 9 months old!!!

Completely impossible to believe that my baby girl is that big. She is crawling, pulling up and standing holding on to things, and saying "da da da da da", some version of "all done", and "hi".........whenever I try to get her to say "ma ma" she looks at me and laughs. She loves to laugh, smiles all the time and loves to listen to music. She looooves music. To be expected since she spent her 9 months in the womb with me singing at least 4 hours everyday and listening to the sounds of "Jesus Christ Superstar Gospel" in surround sound..... :)

Her 9 month appt. is this week so I will be sure to update her stats but I am quite sure she is tall for her age......she wears 12-18 month clothes! (The update.....20 lbs. (75th percentile) and 30in. (95th percentile) and thankfully, perfectly healthy!!! She is super tall....definitely gets that from her daddy and not mommy!)

Things have definitely changed since she started crawling! No more putting her down somewhere and expecting her to stay still! She is all over the place. She is curious and excited and so so happy about everything. She is our little sunshine.....making all of us happy the minute she smiles at us. She loves her big sister. She crawls all over the house after her and wants to be big like her for sure. She tried to dive into the bath tub the other night to get in with her big sis.

So much fun to come and so thankful for the past 9 months with this sweet precious baby girl.

Merry Christmas......

Here is a wish for all of my family and friends for a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy, Healthy, Safe and Abundant New Year.........
I am reminded each and every day of the kindness and love I am surrounded by and I am so thankful for each person I am privileged to be a part of this journey of life with.
Merry Christmas to everyone........
All my love and best wishes.

More Christmas posting to come!!!! It has been an amazing holiday season for sure with so many memories to post........stay tuned!