christmas, and life

remember in my last post when i said that God doesn't give us a glimpse into the future for a reason.

thank goodness he doesn't.

it's so minor, but a week after i had the broken down car, i had a wreck. 

that all probably led to my frustration and i yelled at the lady that hit me.

not my finest moment.

so now i've had a rental car going on a week, and i will be so happy to get my car back.

i'm thankful no one was hurt, that her insurance took liability without a fight, 

and once again, strangers showed up with kindness.

one man put a spare on so i could limp back home, 

a couple others stopped to offer help, 

and another lady and her husband heard the crash, so they ran down to us and stayed there,

took pictures for me because i was shaking too much, 

and even took a broom and cleaned up the street.

did i mention that the wreck was in my neighborhood. 

it was. i had just left the house. 

but, i just made a cup of decaf, which always makes me happy, so i'll write about the good stuff.

we've decked the halls, made our gingerbread house,
{our 4th year to make one. year one here, year two, and year three.
looking back sure does tug at your heart. i guess that's the life of a mom},

brought out the mis-matched christmas dishes, 

started reading christmas books, and snuck in a few pieces of christmas candy.

this nativity that we inherited from kevin's parents has grown to be my favorite part of christmas.

kevin put up the star of bethlehem this year, and i just love it even more.

this child.

i said, smile boyd.

he's a mess, and so is his giant gingerbread cookie that he decorated,

and i sure do love a good mess.

the other night boyd said to me,

mom, there are some kids in my class that say santa isn't real.

that's just disrespectful to santa.

i just smiled and agreed with him.

we are 9 days into our advent calendar,

and christmas is sneaking up on us.

boyd always looks forward to this calendar,

and i love this small tradition that we have.

boyd is signed up for basketball.

looks like we're trying all the sports.

this picture of him makes me smile.

for the love of wristbands, and unzipped v-necks...

 my car is wrecked,

our pre-lit tree has a section of lights out that i'm leaving out, 

and i'm aggravated about a stupid fruit tray of all things, don't ask.

life is far from perfect,

but perfect is boring.

love,

nicolle