In total, I think we hosted 16 people, other than our family, for the Christmas holidays. That's a whole lotta crazy fun right there. Let's start with the Nutcracker. For the fourth year, my mom took the girls and I to Ballet Austin's Nutcracker. As usual, it was fabulous. We've managed to time it so we arrive in just enough time to park, use the bathroom, pre-order our intermission drinks and find our seats right before the curtain comes up. This ...

May the joy of today bring you hope and peace throughout the year. From our house to yours, Merry Christmas! I'm enjoying some time off from the blog until Epiphany in January, but I'll probably pop in once or twice to share our Christmas and a wrap up of 2014. Until then!  

This time of year brings about lots of talk about gifts. Gift guides. Finding the perfect gift. Saving money while buying the perfect gift. Returning the gift. And wishing for a different gift. But, you know what? For me, this season has been about appreciating the gifts I already have. And, more importantly, realizing what my greatest gift really is. People. That's right, people. Of course my faith is a gift and it is a supreme gift of my Creator. ...

I know, I know. I promised this a few days ago and then I promptly disappeared from the blogosphere. I'm blaming it on the non-napping 7-month-old (for reals) and end-of-the-year design crazy. As I tweeted earlier today, these last few days before the break must be what it's like to ride a bull. Hold on, baby! Here we are, just days away from the fourth, FOURTH, Sunday of Advent. It's really here. And, as I reflect back on our Advent ...

Lotta sap, Clark. The weekend after Thanksgiving, we hit the road for Elgin to choose our Christmas tree. Scott and I have always been a real tree kinda family. Well, that first two years, we had our sweet little fake tree while we were graduate students and didn't have two nickels to rub together. By the way, we still have that tree! For many years, while we were in Indy, we enjoyed fresh-off-the-truck-from-NC Fraser firs. Then, we moved to Texas ...

Oh, I'm sure you've got it allllll under control this last week of school before the break. Cards mailed. Packages wrapped. House decorated. Shopping complete. I'm just positive. But, in the off-chance that you aren't all ready to deck the halls, here's hoping this quick and affordable teacher gift might save you some stress - and some bucks - as we enter the homestretch. You can certainly make this for neighbors, friends, co-workers or other folks you love. First, you ...