From Chaos Comes Happiness

Where, oh where, do the days go? I missed Christmas here on the ol'blog . . . the busyness of the season took hold, and the time completely got away from me. Before I knew it, I was putting away Christmas presents and thinking of the New Year! Oh, how bad am I? I do hope you and yours had the most loveliest of Christmas holidays!   We certainly had a wonderful one in our happy chaos home. From major family visits, to good food and lots of laughs, I am in a bit of a holiday fog right now. I'm anxious for the new year to begin, feeling like it's time to move on and start anew. Oh, how I love the New Year! I thought it was time to do something creative again, too . . . hence the new header. Back to the basics for me. I haven't had my little "Annalee" on my blog header for quite some time. She was calling me, so I had to add her in today. Not sure how long I'll keep the layout this way, or the font, or the header, but it works for now.  I just needed...

I'm looking at everything with new eyes lately, wide open . . . as if I have never seen before. I used to think that I was a pretty laid back person - enjoying the little moments in life and not spending time on the negative. But I think I was totally off. And after all that has taken place in our country the past week, I feel like my eyes are wide open . . . for the first time in years. I'm saying yes to a lot more . . . because I finally understand what really matters. When Katie and Ella asked if they could make cupcakes with the dear friend all by themselves yesterday, I knew the kitchen would become a huge mess and I'd be left to clean it up . . . but I said "YES!" Because, all that really matters is that we are living our lives to the fullest - laughing and loving and enjoying our moments - because every single moment is a precious one. And when they held their just frosted and slightly under baked cupcakes out for me to see, my heart filled with jo...

  When I look into their eyes, I see them. The children . . . . I see the Life. The Light. The Beauty. The Good.   These are my daughters. My angels, who continue to bless me each and every day. Who have taught me how to love and be loved, unconditionally.   I have hugged them a thousand times this weekend.   I have held their little heads in my hands, and have looked deep into their eyes, and thanked them for coming into this world for me.   I can't find the words to write tonight. My heart is broken for the souls of Newtown, CT. My tears fall for each of them, and for their families. For their angels. For their pain. For their spirits. For their faith. For what they have ahead of them.   It's too much to comprehend right now.   I just pray. And pray and pray.   For when life is too hard to understand, I have to give it up to God. I don't know what else to do. ...

Earlier this week, my friend Nicole at Destination Unknown wrote a great blog post about her love of Christmas Music. And if you have read my blog for any time at all, I am sure you can assume that I am, in fact, a lover of Christmas music too. Nicole's blog inspired me to share my own homage to the Sounds of the Season, and as expected . . . there's a story to tell. Christmas music has always been a special part of the holiday season for me. Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald . . . I grew up with the classics, and my love for them has grown even stronger through the years. I knew very early on that Christmas music would always be a big part of me. It makes me sing out loud in seconds, it can bring me to tears in minutes, and it can immediately transpose me to another place and time in my life. I can remember very clearly being a young child and waiting patiently for the radio stations to start playing Christmas music. It was a big deal...

I've been pulled towards blogland, again. The universe is telling me it's time to get back. I want to desperately catch up with dear friends from all parts of the globe and share my stories right back with them. It's a good feeling. I've been sort of burned out on the blog front for at least a year (yes . . . that long! ) It all started back in January . . . when C.O.U.R.A.G.E. set in. Remember the "Word of the Year" thing? Well, if you don't - please allow me to refresh. Every year for the past five years, I've followed the movement of a "Word of the Year" with a number of other blogland souls. The concept? To come up with a word to live life by or through or with . A word that would motivate you in your adventures. A word that would inspire  you in your days. I love the "Word of the Year" idea. In 2008, I longed for PEACE In 2009, I yearned for BALANCE In 2010, I sought to CREATE In 2011, I ho...

Back in 2009, I did a " December Daily " scrapbook for our family. It wasn't my idea (although, I would just LOVE to take the credit for it)! Scrapbook extraordinaire, Ali Edwards , came up with the concept years ago. In 2009, I jumped on the wagon and joined along . . . for I felt life was passing me by way to quickly and wanted something to stop and capture (in my humble opinion) the most magical month in the year for our family. December. I love that I can pull out that book from 2009, and see exactly what I was doing . . . today. Like, taking our family Christmas card photo . . . I love that I can look and see the photos of my girls and remember their winter coats that year, or see how the curls on their sweet heads curved around the edges of their hats just so . . . Oh, December of 2009 was a wonderful month. I did it again, in 2010.   Our dearest friends, Kathleen and Maggie, came over for dinner on December 9th, 2010. It was a great night. I r...

We're back! From a whirlwind 6 days in the most magical place on earth . . . DISNEY WORLD! Now the 5th of December . . . I am officially 5 days behind on my December Daily. I have so much I want to share with you, so many posts to write, so many thoughts to tell you about . . . I feel like I'm back . . . ready to blog again, ready to tell some stories, ready to share our adventures. It feels . . . WONDERFUL!!! I finished my temp consulting job I was doing, the day before we left for Disney. The "Two Week" turned "3 month" project came along at a really perfect time for me. I had been officially unemployed for a little over a year when my old employer called me (back in August) and asked if I could help them out with the project, and I think it was exactly what I needed to get myself back into the groove of real life again. While it was all good (and a great way to make money), I am glad that it has finished and I can get back to what was normal for ...