Countdown to Christmas...

4th Day of Christmas...November 24th:

I love, love, love Christmas lights!! In fact, I find them very distracting as I drive home from work at night. I am probably paying way too much attention to the glittering and sparkling lights than the traffic in front of me. I am sure this will be an issue at some point!

Tonight was the first night that I have driven through Downtown Old Littleton since they put up their Christmas lights for the year. And it is beautiful! I will look forward to my commute home for the rest of the season!

From now until Christmas...

Christmas time is really my favorite time of the year. I wait all year for it and when it finally arrives, I cannot wait to get the tree up, the stockings hung and presents wrapped. Maybe it is because I have so many fond memories of Christmas growing up...so many traditions! So this year, I vow to do something Christmas-y every day from now until the big day.

I am a couple days behind posting, so I am going to play catch-up now.

1st Day of Christmas...November 26th:

We decorated the Christmas tree at my parents house and because Sam is in town, we did Christmas presents for Sam and Eva. It is a month a way from Christmas and my child was already spoiled rotten!!!

2nd Day of Christmas...November 27th:

Eva met Santa for the first time and she did great!

We also did a little shopping followed by lunch at Cheesecake Factory with Jen, Brian and Sam.

3rd Day of Christmas...November 28:

Christmas tree up and stockings are hung!!! I think it looks better in person.

Eva's Thanksgiving Outfits!

You know me...Eva didn't just have one Thanksgiving outfit! She had to have a wardrobe change!

Check out the turkey on her bow!!

Thanksgiving!!!

Today I am thankful for so many things...hard to name and number them all, but I can certainly try!!

I am thankful for coffee, I thankful for red wine, I am thankful for music and movies--especially Audrey Hepburn movies, I am thankful for hot baths, although I rarely ever take one. I am thankful for ice cream and chocolate. I am thankful for a clean apartment. I am thankful for cold weather on Thanksgiving (70 degree temps in AZ just doesn't feel like Turkey Day to me). I am thankful that I have a good job. I am thankful for a camera that can capture all of our memories. I am thankful for my college degree and how hard I worked to earn it. I am thankful for high heels and good fitting jeans. I am thankful that I am almost back into those pre-pregnancy, good fitting jeans. I am thankful for all of the huge bows I put on Eva that I think are so cute!! I am thankful for artwork. I am thankful for books and free speech. I am thankful for cell phones and text messages.

And now for the important stuff....

I am thankful for my sister, who is a huge support to me...who I never believed my dad when he said she would be my best friend, and it turns out that it is true. I am thankful for my brother-in-law...because he makes me laugh, is so sarcastic, but most importantly, loves my sister so much. I am thankful for my handsome nephew...without him, I may never have decided to have a child of my own.

I am thankful for my brother...who, with all of our drama in the past, I love very dearly.

I am thankful for Drew's sisters, who have become my own as well.

I am thankful for my extended family...aunts, uncles, cousins...while we are all so far away from each other, I never forget for a moment how special they all are.

I am thankful for my amazing friends, new and old...my support system and shoulders to cry on. I have to mention that I am thankful for all of my "J" friends...no more or less than my other friends, I just happen to have a lot of friends who's names start with "J" - Jeniffer, Jen, Jenny-Mack, Jenn Wingert, Jennifer Paytas, Jill, Julie.

I am thankful for my Daddy--I am thankful that he is here with us to share another holiday and I am thankful for the person who died so that he could live, I am thankful for my madre, who is a beautiful person and takes such good care of me and my family.

And for the really important stuff...

I am thankful for Motley...I adore this dog, love how he cuddles and snores and has unconditional love for everyone.

I am thankful for Peanut, that we were able to save her and give a good home where she is loved more than I can say.

I am thankful to have been blessed with a beautiful and healthy baby girl, who makes everyday just a little brighter, who warms your heart when she smiles and breaks that same heart when she cries.

I am thankful for Drew...for all of the difficult times we shared together, that have helped shape our lives today and for knowing that we are better for all of it. I am thankful that I have a partner who loves me, supports me, challenges me, makes me laugh and cooks for me everyday! I am thankful that I have someone in my life that makes for a wonderful partner and an amazing father.

Of course...the list goes on and on. Thanksgiving is so special because it gives us a time to remember all of the blessings we have in our lives...blessings that we may take advantage of every other day of the year.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday with your friends and family and pumpkin pie!!!

Thank You Julie!!!

About a week ago we received a special surprise in the mail!!! Some really cute hats that our friend Julie sent for Eva. I have been meaning to get a picture of her in them for the entire week...now I have finally done it!!!

Thank you so much Julie!!! It is about 20 degrees here today and the hats will definitely be useful!! Thank you for thinking of our baby girl!!

The snow is here, time to ski

What a great day today. Big Spoon and Little Spoon (Daddy and Uncle Glembo) got to hit the slopes today - Daddy for the first time this season.

A blue sky, bright sun, new skis, season pass and some new chairs for afternoon lunches in the parking lot with the sock monkey.

I can't wait until Eva is old enough to pick a board or some skis, get into some lessons, and be the cutest, gnarliest little princess to hit the slopes. Ski days with Daddy followed by the best dinner after a long, hard day in the sun....grilled cheese, tater tots, and a hot bowl of soup.

The best part of the day was when I got home, told Eva of the day's festivities, and then getting her reaction when she realized she's a couple of years away from joining in......

That's Daddy's girl!!!

Sunrise in Colorado

I truly believe that Colorado is one of the most beautiful states and places to live in all of the country. If we could just add an ocean somewhere, it would be perfect. I feel blessed to have grown up here, but it took moving away for a couple years to really realize what a wonderful place that it is. I am so excited to be back. I love taking the dogs to the dogs parks here (and not having them almost pass out from heat exhaustion), I love hiking, I love being near family and friends again, I love that Drew got to go skiing this past weekend, I love being outside in the crisp fall (should be winter) air. I could give up driving in the snow, but it is worth it when you look out on a winter morning and see a fresh dusting of snow and then cuddle up inside, near the fire with a hot cup of coffee and a good movie.

And of course, there are the beautiful sunrises. I think they might even rival those in Arizona.

I am so excited to be here again and I am so glad that we get to call Colorado home for my family!

Our Baby Buddha

Many of you know how interested Drew and I are in Buddhism theory. Well we recently realized that we have our very own Buddha!!!

Do you see a resemblance??

Happy Anniversary!!!

Here's to 5 years of marital bliss and many, many more to come!!!

We love you Jen and Brian!!!

Thank you

I'm coming in a little late today, and hate to post on top of Erin's touching tribute, but this is something I read every year and would like to share with everyone else because it's awesome, and reminds to close my eyes and mentally throw a thank you out to EVERYONE who is, or has been, any form of a veteran. I personally know very few people who have been lost while defending this country, but I know my father still wonders what happened to his childhood friend who went MIA and to this day has never been found. To him, to everyone Erin mentioned, and to everyone I've never met but who are always ensuring my daughter can grow up with the freedom to do anything - THANK YOU.

WHAT IS A VET

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity. Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can't tell a vet just by looking.

What is a vet?

He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.

He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.

She or he-is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.

He is the POW who went away one person and came back another-or didn't come back AT ALL.

He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat-but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.

He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.

He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.

He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket-palsied now and aggravatingly slow-who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being-a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.

He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.

Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU."

"It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag."

Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC

Happy Veterans Day

Is it odd that we all say "Happy" Veterans Day? I don't feel "happy" per se about this holiday, but rather it stirs up feelings of pride, devotion, fear, sadness and sacrifice.

I am proud of all of those that I know who have or are currently serving our country, keeping our freedom safe and our families secure. Including, but certainly not limited to my father, Carl Hargroves Jr, my grandfather Carl Edward Hargroves Sr, my sister Jeniffer Cox, my brother-in-law Brian Cox, one of our closest friends Jason Robinson, my uncle Jerry Roberts, Drew's uncle Jeff Wimer and many, many others.

You don't realize how much these people are sacrificing until, after they have a baby, they have to go to post and sign a document showing who is to take care of their child if they are sent to war. This is just one of the many precautions that our military personnel have to take. These things are things that you and I, who are not in the military, don't have to ever think about. And yet, it is so easy for society to "forget" what our service members are giving up.

Yet, at the same time, while they are sacrificing their lives in order to protect the citizens of America, they have also gained something much more profound than any of the rest of us will ever know. They have a deep passion for what they do. I go about my day, go to work and wonder why I don't have a feeling that I am doing something good for the world...do those serving in the military ever feel the same way or are the confident that they have chosen to live their life in a much different way than the rest of us? They have not chosen a job, they have chosen a lifestyle and all of us here in America are reaping the benefits.

Saying thank you does not seem to be enough, so I urge everyone to never take our freedom for granted. For over 230 years, men and women have given their lives to protect ours and the future of all Americans. Never, ever forget that and honor them, not only today, on Veterans day, but everyday.

A Veteran is someone, who at one point in their life, wrote a blank check payable to the United States of America for an amount up to, and including, their life. That is beyond honor and there are way too many people in this country who no longer remember that fact. Happy Veteran's Day to those who have served and are currently serving. May God continue to give you strength.

The Magic Yellow Blanket

Eva has a very cuddly, very soft, very comfy yellow blanket that my friend Jen gave her...long before Eva was ever here. In fact, it was the first baby gift that we received! We call it the magic blanket, because normally, all we have to do is wrap her in it tightly and, no matter how fussy or cranky she is, she calms down! It doesn't always work, but when it does...it works almost instantly! And there really isn't anything better than holding a sleeping baby in a cuddly,

Magic Yellow Blanket.

Even Motley likes the Magic Yellow Blanket!!!