[emma magnolia, 6th birthday]

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oh, hello!

i really didn’t mean to abandon this little space for the last month, but apparently i needed a break. there were a few major (major!) projects hanging over my head, two little girls’ birthdays to plan and orchestrate, some personal business that (despite my best intentions) i got entangled in, and many days spent working on the school auction and yearbook. i’ve been so busy/tired/otherwise entertained that i haven’t edited more than four or five personal pictures in 2012. it’s felt like i was forgetting a part of myself, but it was necessary beyond words.

soooo…let’s start fresh, shall we?

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hello, world. welcome to the little spot where i dump my favorite pictures and rambling bits of conversation.

i’ve missed you. there’s so much to share.

xoxo

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[eliza belle (sticking her tongue out, playing with her food), 1st birthday]

[oh, the cheeks!]

[Robert Indiana LOVE statue, Indianapolis. very late 2011]

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[good things]

~ annual pictures at the LOVE statue
~ 60-degree days in january
~ hand-addressed envelopes
~ indiana basketball
~ breakfast at tiffany’s (although it’s terribly sad when she throws cat out of the cab…)

[not-so-good things]

~ baby with a fever
~ going to the dentist on a freezing morning. having my mouth numbed to fix a cavity. power going out in the office, causing dentist’s drill to stop working before the work is finished.
~ having to return to the dentist next week (and twice next month. eek.)
~ cravings caused by giving up diet coke and artificial sweeteners

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ah well…
hope your weekend is filled with lots of love and way more good than bad.
xoxo

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the way we run through the holidays is always *just this short* of being hectic/frantic/absolutely insane. any week with 32 hours+ of driving is just a wee bit exhausting, but it was great; we feel so lucky to have seen/spent so much time with some very dear people. pictures/photo-evidence coming shortly, right after i unpack, find room for all the new toys, grocery shop, find/book a spot/send invitations for the girls’ birthday celebration, go to the post office, wrap the secret santa gift for tonight’s “staff christmas party” at church, and pour more orange juice for my still under-the-weather spouse.

i’m excited for the new year, excited for the possibilities, the promise, and that extra day in february (leap years really are the best). in the spirit of perpetual and obsessive list-making, here are the words i chose to guide me through…

[12 for 2012]

~ prosperity
~ patience
~ magnetism
~ harmony
~ advantageous
~ abundance
~ kindness
~ impeccable
~ stretch
~ punctuality
~ magic
~ generosity

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i’ve been playing carols on the piano, the kids have been playing with new blocks and books and wrapping paper (all eliza wants for christmas is paper). we’ve had donuts and coffee. we’ve danced and laughed and made plenty of merry so far.

there’s still plenty of christmas left to celebrate, and this year we’re taking our time.

hope you’re feeling festive and loved, my friends. you really are the best.
xoxo

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very cute early-childhood christmas program at school this morning. this is our third and final year in the program (they’re no longer “early childhood” after kindergarten *sob*), and it was the best yet. the k-kids recited a poem (Emma was a goose), and it was total sweetness.

they had to wear jeans, so i dressed these up by sewing some silver garland around the cuffs. clearly my bedazzler was not available, or i’d have really blinged it up…

we’re off to see the rockettes now, and dream sweet dreams of magical santas and a world where i can still grow up to be a tap dancer.

see you soon!
xo

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