ISU Winter Get-Together

I had a great time hanging with my girls in Buffalo Grove/Arlington Heights/Palatine yesterday. We, Lisa, Lilian, Jessi, Danah, Heather and I, got together on 12/28/10 for a day of impromptu fun. We had fun at Jason's Deli catching up and making Lilian totally squirm with our conversations. We also went shopping and bowling. It isn't too often that I can enjoy winning with a score of 113. That was a blast!!! We also went out to a nice Mexican restaurant. Jessi and I loved the day so much, we just didn't want to leave and we finally took off at 1am and I got home safely at 4:05 am. What a day!

Blessings

I am finding that this time of year I can really appreciate how truly blessed I am. I am so fortunate to have a family in good health and that will pour out love and blessings over me. I am also feeling fortunate that money isn't too tight when it comes to paying all the seasonal bills. I attribute this to my Father who provides. I also am thankful that I have wonderful in-laws that give so generously.

I have been wanting to repay these blessing and after hearing WBGL's ads for the Random Acts of Christmas I finally obeyed the call to give. If you read any of the needs listed on their website, you might have also found yourself teary-eyed as I was. Some people wanted things like a couch to sleep on, postage stamps, a car to get to work, groceries, car repair, cabinets, cleaning supplies, dog food, cat food. It just makes me put my life in perspective. Today, my husband and I had the opportunity to bless a family in Mahomet. The sparkle in the mom's eye as I gave her the small gifts made my heart happy. They will have something to open this Christmas.

I just wanted to share this small piece of love I got to experience today and maybe you could help out someone this season too. Merry Christmas!

My first newborn photo shoot

So, Amy was great enough to let me try out some photography on one week old baby Troy. He was so precious! He was such a good model, and mom was a great sport even though wardrobe and position changes stressed out Troy.

Here are a few of my faves below:

Christina's Senior Recital

Monday night Christina, my sister, had her recital in Decatur. She did good! She got an A. Here is a video collage of the event...

Good weekend

Friday night was like a fairy tale come ture. I got to eat out at TGIFridays with the family: Rose, Michael, Stephanie, Olivia & Vivian. We went to the Hilton Garden Inn where Rose was staying and swam in their heated pool. As I sat in the jacuzzi, huge snowflakes began falling to the ground. I could watch them from the comfort of the tub. I really enjoyed it. The drive home was a bit long due to inexperienced drivers in the snow.

Saturday was pretty nice in that I got to go out to eat with the hubby. We ate at at the Great Impasta and I enjoyed the meal with my bubbling Moscati to wash it down.

Sunday, Chris and I spent a few hours in the kitchen making healthy meals that lasted all week. We made spaghetti with whole grain noodles, ground turkey, zucchini and squash. We also made turkey & veggie chili. What a good weekend!