Dec 22, 2011

2011 CHRISTMAS CARD



AWWW, I wish I could figure out how to get this on here without it being so 
blurry.  

This is our Christmas card this year. 
It says:

Wishing You JOY This Christmas
(the odom family)



We took pictures on the beach with this amazing sunset as the background  
over Thanksgiving weekend.





We were going for a Christmas card picture similar to this,




but the girls HATED something about every picture
and 
HATED the shirts that THEY chose. 
I kept telling them to wear white shirts, but they of course would not listen to me. 
They think the shirts came off looking like pajama tops. 




Cannot believe that this is my baby!



They begged me to not use any of these because they thought they were u.g.l.y.
but





I thought they were beautiful.





As the sun went down, the sky got even more beautiful
and the girls ended up being silhouettes .







I told them to jog towards me....




and it reminded me of Charlie's Angels....




so I told them to show me their guns...






I wish this one would have worked out. 
#1 (left) didn't cooperate.


Here is one with the flash turned on...



Another one of #3....
because she is my baby after all. 



They decided to run towards me



 and not stop...



and finally the last little drop of sun. 



Dec 21, 2011

PARTY AND PRAYERS


Our sorority party was on Saturday and it was a success.
We had a great group of girls here.

This is a picture of some of them. 




Before the party, we all worked hard getting things ready. 
Well, at least I did.

I am pretty sure the girls were supposed to be doing something else
besides yoga under the Christmas tree!!





My other critters also got bored with the whole cleaning and sprucing agenda...




But,
after #2 dismissed the yoga class, I got some work out of #1 in the dining room.
She got her first lesson in silver polishing. 
Thanks to the movie "The Help",  it is now a cool thing to do. 
Believe me, I took advantage of her interest to polish and started pulling out things that had not seen the light of day in years. 





Here is a little peak at some of our Christmas decorations around the house:


These little snowmen are a conversation piece. 
Everyone wants to know why one is in being punished. 





I moved this little guy around trying to find the perfect place for him. 
He ended up in a urn with some Christmas balls on top of him.
It looks like he is taking a bubble bath.




Our tree in the family room is decorated with all of my ornaments I have collected 
on trips, the kids ornaments they pick out yearly, ornaments from my relatives trees (that I may or may 
not 
have decided to "borrow" from them when they were not looking)
 and many other sentimental things that aren't necessarily Christmas things. 
My grandfathers  red lantern is on the bottom left side in this picture. It is the lantern he used when he was a little boy.  My great grandmothers sifter is on the right side, half way up. She used it (so I am told) to make biscuits everyday. It is the one I use when a recipe calls for sifting. 
The other day we had to go get it off the tree to make cookies!!
I have plaster footprints from all of my pets I have had
and they also are hanging on the tree somewhere. 

It is also full of snowmen and Santas. 
They are my type of men. 




The foyer...



 opens up to the dining room...




and the tree in there is decorated with burlap ribbon, gold and crystal ornaments and 
a parchment paper banner. I love the contrast of the burlap and crystal. 
(My dining room is not photogenic!)


Looking from the other direction...




it is ready for the party. 
We served dinner buffet style from the dining room table. 


On the kitchen table, hor dourves were served...




Brittany attempted a Martha Stewart impression before anyone arrived.




My sweet girls before the party...


Can you believe how grown up #3 is!!!
When I first started blogging she was a little girl. :(


The outside of our house...



wears Christmas well.  




I have a snowman on our front porch with his very own tree...


it is decorated with snowflakes, mittens and hats.
It is cute,
but
this little pillow always steals the show.


Like I said,
#3's sorority party was great and 
we are ready for Christmas!!
Are you?


**************************



Since you have read this far,
let me add a prayer request:

My dad is having shoulder surgery tomorrow morning.
Please pray for him to have an easy recovery. 
It is so different since my mom is no longer here.
He is trying so hard to be independent and trying to convince us he will not need any help.
This is not the perfect timing for anyone to be having surgery and it is an added stress on us all.
I will be traveling back an forth and doing what I can. 

Thank-you! 

Dec 15, 2011

FA LA LA LA LAS VEGAS


We have been busy.
Tis' the season.

We also have been out of town. 
Art had a conference in Las Vegas and me and #3 went with him.

SHE (#3) could afford to go and miss school
because she has an  A average for the semester 
and is exempted from all of her exams.  
She is a smart one.  

I have A LOT to catch up on.....
I have been busy getting ready for a big party at our house.
I am having #1's sorority here for their Christmas party.  
It was such a good idea back in the summer,
but now this holiday season is a blur because of it.  
But,
I do love it!
I love all of the planning, cooking, decorating and watching my girls do all of the cleaning!  ;)


So back to Vegas....
I had such a great time with Barrett. 
She is a joy to be around. 
She is easy going, appreciates the same things I do, goes with the flow and never really complains. 


We stayed at the Bellagio...


and had a great view of the fountain show. The rooms have the music piped in. 



This is the view we woke up to...


The Bellagio had wonderful Christmas decorations.
Their tree is the largest in Vegas. 





While we were there, we watched the progress on this large flower mural.  






The polar bears were all made of flowers...













One day it was sooo windy...


it was all over the national news.



We still spent most of the days walking in and out of the different hotels. 
(are they resorts?)

We walked through the mall at City Center. 

It was being built the last time I was there and so I was anxious to see it.

I spotted the perfect Christmas tree!  
I am not so sure what the tree looked like,
I just liked what was under it!!



Look at the names on those boxes!!


While dad was busy at work,
we couldn't resist treating ourselves to some great lunches....




I am now regretting that HUGE milkshake

and crepe...


and gelato....


When we were tired and too full to keep walking we headed back to our room so that 
Barrett could do some homework.  




At night, daddy could come out to play...





We went to Mesa Grill, Bobby Flay's restaurant.
It was great! 



The last picture I took in Vegas was this.....




while walking out of the hotel.  

Five hours later we were home and in full Christmas mode.  

Fa La La La La 
La La La 
La
!