365 days later.....

Well, here we are again on the last day of another year gone by. Wow, I can't believe how quickly times passes when you are a grown up. I can remember as a child thinking that Christmas would NEVER come.

2007 has been a year of many memories. Over the last twelve months, my family welcomed a new little cousin, moved to a "new" house, celebrated a wedding and said goodbye to a beloved pet. We've celebrated birthdays and traveled to near and far- away places. We've laughed and we've cried.

As I think about 2008, the first thing that comes to mind is April 15. Not because of Income Tax Day but it's the day of my 40th birthday!! I don't know what 2008 will hold for us, but we'll just take it one day at a time, and thank the good Lord for whatever may come. May God bless each of you and keep you safe in 2008.

Here's a look back at the Isbells in 2007:

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Twas the Day Before Christmas

and all through the house, the Isbells were preparing, the kids and each spouse....

Well, today was a day filled with fun and excitement as we got ready for Christmas Day. Jim headed off to the office for a few hours of work. So me and my folks, who came down on Saturday, had a day to finish up our Christmas preparations.

This morning we cooked a ham and carved a fried turkey. This afternoon, my mom and I took Madison shopping for some new PJ's. After Madison picked out a "pretty" black and red negligee/thong set, I decided it was time to leave the mall for good! Caleb and Papa went to Barnes and Noble to spend some time together over hot chocolate and Caleb's new book on how to train beagles (for our new stubborn beagle mix dog, Maggie).

Once we all arrived back at the house, our usual Christmas Eve festivities began with the making of the Christmas cookies. I had to put a stop to the fun after 10 minutes of decorating resulted in 1 empty white icing can and red sugar all over the floor! Wow, I hope Santa likes icing and red sugar.....and he's not diabetic!







Following the sugarfest, we all got ready to go to our candlelight service at church. It was a wonderful service that included Christmas carols, the Lord's Supper and ended with everyone singing in a beautiful candle lit auditorium. I am happy to report there were no close calls this year with Madison's candle and some woman's Aqua Net hairdo.

After church we drove around to look at Christmas lights. One of the large subdivisions here in town had luminaries out; it was so pretty. We saw some very pretty decorations and a few that rivaled Clark W. Griswold...but who doesn't love Christmas Vacation?! On the way home we traveled to one last house that is famous in these parts for their decorations. They also allow you to get out and enjoy them, so we did....



Tonight we chatted with my brother, Constantine, who is now stationed in Seoul, South Korea. We both had our webcams turned on, so we got a tour of his new apartment and my kids entertained him and his wife by shoving their face in the camera and making crazy noises! Ugh. But the miracle of modern technology brings him closer than miles separate us!



Well, last and not least, the day ended with my first viewing of A Christmas Story. No Christmas eve would be complete without this, in my book. So as we wait for Santa Claus' arrival, I'll watch Ralphie drink his Ovaltine and wear the pink bunny suit!





I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas....remember Jesus IS the reason for the season!

Tagged.....I'm it

Well, thanks to my good friend Heather I have been electronically tagged. I wasn't exactly sure what was expected of me so I did what I normally do.....consulted Google, and this is what I found:

Turns out there is a game of Blog-Tag going around the blogosphere in which bloggers are sharing five things about themselves that relatively few people know, and then tagging five other bloggers to be "it."

Although Heather went with a list of 8 items, I am going to follow my google results and go with 5 items! :-) The pressure of coming up with 8 random items was just too much.


1. I played the clarinet in high school.

2. My favorite dessert is Crème Brûlée.

3. I have a condition called hypothyroidism, which in plain terms means my thyroid died on me when I turned 30. I think the politically correct term would be "metabolism challenged". *sigh* I can't wait to turn 40 next year.

4. I wear a size 9 shoe, which confirms what they say about girls with big feet-- they wear BIG shoes! :-)

5. I've had surgery on my left foot about 3 times because it was not growing properly as a child. The last time was when I was around 13 and no problems since then (see #4).


Well, there you have it. 5 useless facts about me, which took me about 20 minutes to come up with. So, you see Heather, 8 would have cost me the rest of my afternoon!

Now I shall tag my friend Teresa, because she is the only other person I know with a blog! I shall also challenge some of my friends who read this to get started on their own blogs----ahem my GNO buddies!

'Tis the Season

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....but not feel like Christmas. I believe the high temperature yesterday in Tuscaloosa was close to 80 degrees! While I was out shopping Monday I saw a young lady sporting a tube top sun dress....it's December for crying out loud, isn't there a law against such acts? And no it's not a case of jealousy, everyone knows there is no way I could "work" a tube top dress!

I finally got the Christmas tree decorated and the stockings hung,and I have watched Christmas Vacation twice, so it is officially Christmas season at the Isbell house. It wasn't according to Madison's time frame but I can't live by a 6 year olds calendar!

We've been quite busy with Christmas parties, school and church activities. Last week the 1st graders at our school had a Christmas presentation that involved Madison dressed up like an angel. Well, you know I had to switch my schedule around at work to witness the blessed event! I even made the child's costume, well sorta. I added some sequins to her Princess Leia costume from 2 years ago and fashioned her angel wings out of foam board and tinsel. Check out my little angel:



This past Sunday our church had a Christmas concert that included our children's choir. It was an awesome concert and I thoroughly enjoyed watching my kids sing on stage. So, I thought I would add a few seconds of each of them singing in the concert.....sorry the video is not that great, but I had to take it with my digital camera. The battery died on our video camera from Caleb entertaining himself with it during the first performance!

Madison:


Caleb:

Holiday Fun

I'm not sure how many of you have seen this, but I have spent the last 15 minutes laughing at how funny this website is. I realize you will all find out how simple my mind really is, and I am not ashamed!

Oh yes, and I feel obligated to inform you that this will be the ONLY time all the Isbells will be dancing together!

So for some simple holiday fun click HERE