new year's eve... (12.31)

of course i forgot to take an actual photo...

i definitely ended 2009 in a joyful yet very tired state..

some words to make up for the inadequate picture:

...favorites...

time with meggan & randy

wii tennis

board games: loaded questions & in a pickle

fun laughing with their fun/funny neighbors

ball dropping (anti-climactic:)

new year's kiss!

decaf coffee... hot and gooood..

meggan's decadent blueberry cobbler with sauce.. mmmmm!

.....it's been a good year.

there's so much to be thankful for.

and so much to look forward to!!

this technically concludes the photo-a-day project i started last year...

wow.

...still working on an idea for this year.

just as good but even more meaningful.

not sure yet...

i'd like to keep the photos going, but different....

i guess we'll see..........

american girls.. (Wed.12.30)

random work photo....

these girls' grandmother actually won that American Girl doll at the end of summer when we had our AG party...

she was so excited and said she'd save it for her granddaughter for Christmas.

i was impressed.

she also said she'd bring the girls in after Christmas to take a picture with the doll... and she did.

wow.

simple enough, but i was still impressed some more...

girls' night #6.. (Tues.12.29)

this makes week 6... :)

glad for those girls...

big and small!

♥

sewing challenge.. (Mon.12.28)

officially planning to make the bridesmaids' dresses for our wedding!

ahhh!

and

yay!!

(i would never go-for-it if it weren't for meggan & joan..

but, because i have their help, i'm excited!!)

[I'll call this project #8]

bitter-sweet liberty.. (sun.12.27)

good times at Liberty with the church-crowd..

last shot of 'the band' all together for a while...

reese is leaving us for NYC

and Chris is joining the church-planters in Shallotte..

pokey's back! (sat.12.26)

and i'm so glad!!! :)

i lost my little buddy a while back..

j. and i have had some good times with this lil guy

& his sidekick gumby -(or is it the other way around)

glad jeremy was thoughtful enough to get us a new set for Christmas! :)

ebenezer joy... (Fri.12.25)

i could never choose one photo for this day..

too many 'favorites' to choose from.

thought this was a good one though...

thankful for JOY!!

♥

Christmas favorite.. (thurs.12.24)

the night my brother and his family comes over is one of my very favorite parts of the whole year!!!!

they both got pianos.. and loved them...

seriously cannot believe how big they all are.. ♥

girls' night #5 (tues.12.22)

finally documented!

glad the mid-shift didn't keep us from gathering this week..

(thankfully stacy & cheryl were up for meeting me in the cafe!)

thankful for girl-time...

it's good for my soul!

♥

food party.. (Sat.12.19)

break room table the saturday before Christmas...

nice!

hope. (fri.12.18)

yay for the meaning of Christmas!!

all the holiday-stuff has sure been fun...

shopping, wrapping, treat-making, craft-doing...

but this is the really good stuff.

the Christmas-sermon-series at church this year

has been refreshing and completely encouraging to say the least!

especially for me being right in the center of all the holiday retail-frenzy

it's been nice to be reminded of why we do what we do...

why we give..

why we love...

why we should keep on fostering hope and joy!

if God could be humble enough to come as a baby

-and live and die so that we could know God-

we could certainly humble ourselves enough to take note

and let our hearts respond with gratitude and worship!

waiting..(thurs.12.17)

you know that part in 'O the places you'll go' where dr. seuss talks about waiting?!

this line made me think of that!!!!

he calls it 'the waiting place'

..no need for details, just glad i made it in and out of that waiting place!

family night..(wed.12.16)

fun times with mom and kayla making chocolate dipped pretzels!

dad and jeremy got to hang and talk too...

glad we planned this night before the holiday came and went..

good times with the g-family! :)

work christmas cards...(tues.12.15)

took me longer than i'd like to admit

but i'd say it was time well spent... ♥

crushed egg.. (mon.12.14)

yep, I was the crusher of that guy...

fun times with the goff girls (at the steadman's)

we blew the egg out and made ornaments..

very very cool craft.

this was my first try

obviously

i got better

here's the almost-finished product...

it says 'peace on earth'

(that ribbon gets glued on top :)

merry christmas! (sat.12.12)

hahaha..

me playing around trying to get a christmas shot with the jk-mugs! :)

we didn't do Christmas cards this year,

but if we did it may have looked something like this!

o Christmas tree.. (Fri.12.11)

love this time of year

when it's acceptable to have a tree in the living room!

I always fight it...

stall and drag my feet

and then I start to want it

more than presents

I want it to take over my heart

and I realize that the living room

is a good place to start

yay, Christmas

c'mon over!

preacher ford.. (thurs.12.10)

johnny ford's ordination service

at mt. zion missionary baptist church

what not to wear.. (wed.12.9)

love the colors.. and even some of the sparkles,

but that's where it stops...

department stores here I come...

(for the bridesmaids)

ocean blvd. sunrise...(tues.12.8)

down by the beach for an early meeting......

the picture from my little phone doesn't do it justice!

wish i had more time to walk on that sand and listen to those waves...

maybe on my next day off from bookland!!

♥