Friday, December 31, 2010

December 31, 2004

Look at us, so young and rested and kid-less! Behind us you see "our" bridge, the Pont Neuf in Paris. We are standing on the foot bridge just up from it, you know the bridge that "Sex and the City" made famous. It was actually important to us before the final episode of "Sex and the City".

In April 2002 I visited Paris for the first time with my then roomie, Amy. We fell in love with all things Paris, and since I have always had a love of bridges I added the Pont Neuf to my list of bridges that one day I hoped to be kissed on...I know silly romantic. It was just about 6 weeks after I returned from Paris that I met Dave and shortly after we started dating. At Christmas of that year he told me he loved me, but I was still unsure, so I held my cards until we had a 24-hour layover in Paris on our way home from Bulgaria. We were there in January of 2003, it was freezing cold, we managed to ditch the other folks we were there with and I led Dave to the foot bridge that overlooks the Pont Neuf. It was cold, and dark, but it was the perfect place to tell him how I loved him and there on the bridge we had our first kiss.

I had no idea in January of 2003 that in April of 2004 I would be married to Dave and we would be living in Germany...what a sweet deal. FOr New Year's of 2004 we met our buds Daren and Sarah in Paris and had a grand time. Sar took this picture for us. At that time I had no idea that in December of 2010 I would be back living in Atlanta with 3 children! How amazing life is! It shall be interesting to see what 2011 has in store for us.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Little Ballerinas

Tell me these are not the cutest girls ever! In mid-October I found a sweet little ballet program at a local church. It took us a little while to get into the rhythm of things, but the girls are now enjoying every minute of this special class. And they get to do it together which is a bonus!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

I Think I Need Glasses and Other New Year's Resolutions

I got my first pair of glasses when I was 8. They were red Charlie Brown glasses and I loved them. They were just for reading, and doing close up work, and that is all I have needed them for until recently (not that I still have those glasses). The verdict is still out (only because I haven't actually been to the eye doctor yet), but I think I might need an upgrade in glasses.

I was on facebook several weeks ago and our computer caught a virus...booooo! After Dave spent many, many hours trying to revive it from the dead we threw in the towel, and Merry Christmas to us, bought a new computer! But I think I might stay bitter for a while, so I am steering clear of FB...this might be good for my blogspot relationship. I am hoping for a better year of blogging in 2011. I know you are all holding your breath, but if you are wondering about my absence on FB, there you have it.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Christmas!




Don't say it, I know. It is the end of December 2010 and I have sorely neglected our blog this year. I am likely more disappointed by this than most of the world, so we'll see if I can revive it in 2011. In the mean time enjoy some photos of our December.
We started off the season with our annual trip to find the "perfect' Christmas tree. We decided to try a new tree farm this year because we wanted to find a tree that was very fragrant (which is hard to do when looking for a GA grown tree). However we hit a home run and will be making our way back to this family run farm again next year. We purchased a "Blue Ice" tree and it smells yummy (seriously). After we picked out our tree and rode the tractor back to the main area we roasted marshmallows by the campfire. All around this was a great experience.

And of course after finding the tree we decorated it! The girls enjoyed every minute of this activity while I held my breath, but nothing was broken this year, so all in all a win-win situation.

Our next fun happening was participating in our neighborhood's annual Children's Christmas Party. This usually involves cookies, hot cider, and making garland out of fruit loops and making ornaments out of pretzels that are then dipped in peanut butter and covered in bird seed. We then all march outside to the Christmas tree that sits at the entrance of our subdivision and let the kiddos decorate the tree for the birds and squirrels and/or whatever other random animal that wants to get in on the action.


HC and I made our second trek to see the Nutcracker. This year we opted to see a smaller version of the ballet done by a local high school company. It was a decent show, and Hadleigh Claire enjoyed every moment of it and has listened to the soundtrack at least several hundred times. She has also given Annelise a blow by blow, so both girls will be ready and prepared to attend with me next year.

Finally we celebrated Christmas! We attended the Christmas Eve service as a family which was very special. I just love being at our own church for this event. When we put the girls to bed that night we explained that in the morning they were to come downstairs to the tree. We would eat breakfast and then open presents. "Presents????" they exclaimed! They had no idea this was coming, so I was happy that we were able to make it one more year without them realizing that presents are tied to Christmas. I am guessing this will be the last year, but who knows.
For Christmas dinner we had a few friends over to the house and Dave cooked....ah...this year's theme was "Alton Brown" who is one of Dave's fav chefs from Food Network. He prepared potato and leek soup, spinach salad with warm vinaigrette dressing, and roast duck with oyster stuffing. It was amazing. For dessert our friends brought crepes with mascarpone filling and blackberry sauce. It was divine.

Last, but not least, I cannot believe that I almost forgot this, one of our best presents was that we had a White Christmas this year! The last time that happened in Atlanta was in 1882, so we feel super special. We had two White Christmases in Germany, so I am happy that we were able to have another one, and one with the girls. They made their way outside with Dave this morning to play before we headed out to church (which was delayed an hour).


Monday, December 13, 2010

Remembering Our Friends

I do not have a lot of time to write, but I wanted to share this story because it is so super precious to me. These are some links to my friend Jess' blog. She is an awesome photographer and friend from our Baumholder days. Jess was one of the chics I would do girls' night with, especially when the deployment started...and Nic was another one of the gals.

You should check out her site anyway and hire her immediately, but at least read these blogs in this order.

A little background to the story here
New pictures here
New story here