We are alive

To live is to feel,

to enjoy,

to be constantly aware of the new

that reminds us we are alive.

~ N.I. Lobachersky

A Christmas Promise

Oops, so I lied when I said I would post Christmas earlier in the week.  Oops!  At least I am posting it before January is over, right? 

Here are some outtakes from Christmas in San Antonio...

Happy Layla, still waking up, seeing her new kitchen for the first time. 

We spent Christmas morning at MiMi and PoPo's house and it was a lot of fun.

That is Layla with her new Rice Baby Doll...she looks like a flapper!

And mommy putting Layla's new necklace on her...

Layla is wondering where all the cookies went to that we left out for Santa...he must have been hungry!

She absolutely LOVED the new shopping cart she got...actcually - she loves BOTH!  Her NaNa and PaPa got her one too...

She is showing it off to PoPo in the below pic.

Ethan, my nephew...

And his sister, my niece, Paige.

Layla did this funny gasp-giggle laugh while opening her presents this year.  It was adorable and luckily I got it on video because I have never heard it before (or after) this day.  So cute.  Believe me.

That's Dah-lin.  Her look a like doll.  She named her all on her own.

And with PaPa! 

It was a wonderful Christmas and I know we are so blessed!

Be You

All I can do is be me,

whoever that is.

~ Bob Dylan

One Word Wednesday - 12th Edition

GRATEFUL

What ONE WORD does the above photograph make you think of? 

Please DO share.

My 1st Wishful Wednesday - 3 minutes

Okay.  So here is 'my first' Wishful Wednesday and I am pretty excited about this fun little game, if you will.  A big thank you to Kelsey at The Seattle Smith's for the wonderfully fun idea and for making me learn how to do 'my first' ever McLinky!!!  (Hope I can get that figured out!?!)

Apparently how this works is Kelsey will give us all a "I WISH" _________ and we fill in the blanks.  The one for this week is below.

'I wish' .... I could spend three

minutes in ___________ shoes!

This is so much fun....and hard.  Hmmm....I need to marinate on this one for a minute....

...I mean, you only get three minutes so - no doubt - make it fun!  It is not like you can change the world in three minutes.....so......

'I wish' .... I could spend three

minutes in HALLE BERRY'S shoes!

For many reasons....let's begin with the obvious.

She is gorgeous.  With short hair...

...or long...up or down...

...poof-y...

...to down right almost non-existant!

Plus, she goes home to this...

And, I'm sorry honey, but he can touch my hip like this...

Anytime he would like to.  Yes, please.

And frolick in the waves with a super-duper cute, genetically blessed baby girl!

In addition, I would like to look this hot while preggers...

...and this hot while not...

And I would love to have her kind of cash

to go shopping on her kind of level!

And it would be nice to get awards on her kind of level too!

I mean, come one. 

Ya'll remember this tear jerker of an acceptance speech, right?

It is a classic, in my book.

She looks effortlessly elegant on every red carpet I see her on.

Do I even need to go into the list of other actors she has worked with?????

Need I say more?  Nope, I didn't think so....besides I am sure my three minutes are UP!  That was fun. 

I wanted a perfect ending...

I wanted a perfect ending.

Now I've learned the hard way.

Some poems don't rhyme,

and some stories don't have

a clear beginning, middle and end.

Life is about not knowing,

having to change,

taking the moment and making the best of it,

without knowing what is going to happen next.

~ Delicious Ambiguity

I need help...

....back help, that is!  (Probably among many others things, depending on who you ask....moving on.)

I am in some major, MAY-JAH pain.  I need help.  But, living with back pain for over 17 years - yes, I was in my early teens when my back pain developed - I have accepted the fact that no one can truly help you.

Unless...

1.  You wanna be on pain killers the rest of your life.  Uhhh, no thanks.
2.  You pay half a million dollars to a chiropractor.  Uhhh, no thanks.
3.  Or you have back surgery.  Uhhh, not NO - but HELL no!

So.  Here I am.  Hurting. 

Hurting like I have never EVER hurt before.  Kidney stones do NOT count.  Different kind of pain.  Oh yeah, and the c-section too.  Don't count that either. 

So I have been giving the website a good look over trying to see how I can help myself.  And this picture really does show where I am hurting so bad.

And the fact that you can see a really hot bod + a little booty helps!  But, I still hurt.

And I think this could be it.

What I do know is...two of my vertebrae in my lower back, L4 and L5, to be exact are buldging.  I found this out in 2005.  So, it is possible one or both of those disc are now herniated.

Can someone out in bloggy land help me?  What should I do?  Stretches?  Exercises?  Has anyone experienced this before?

Please. Help.  I am desperate. 

Wedding Amazing!

Michele M. Waite is truly what I call an AMAZING wedding photographer.

Her style is unique.  Quirky and fun!  What more could you want????  This is her.

How cute is she?  And her precious little blessings...

These are only SOME of my favorites after scouring her website...I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.  I just want a session with her...no wedding.  Just a session.

And some of the lucky folks she has photographed!

THIS is my favorite - by far...dream-like!!!!

And some more breath taking scenes...

She has a blog too!  (Exciting!)  Click here to check that out!  Her website can be found here!