Ella's journal entry

"If I lived to be 100 years old, I would live in a gloomy house. Why? Because that's where old people live. I would live with my quiet husband Bob. During the day, I would walk around the neighborhood two times. When I come home, I'll be sweatin' like a dog."

Ella's journal came home today from school and I had to chuckle when I read this entry. Her class celebrated the 100th day of school last week by dressing up like they were 100 years old. So fun to get into her little mind on this topic.

A summary of Christmas2009/New Year 2010

My poor neglected blog . . . has it really been 2 months since I last made an entry? Shame on me!

Christmas was lovely this year. We spent it at home with our little family and enjoyed our young traditions. Also, Cory made some slap-ya-mama good Cinnamon Buns that I found the recipe for on a new blog that I'm addicted to - The Pioneer Woman. (Thanks to Jenn C. for leading me to it). We inhaled them on Christmas day and even shared 3 pans of them with some families in our Supper Club. I think I loved them the most! Brewed coffee in the icing was the draw for me . . . mmmmmm.

The day after Christmas we drove half the distance to NC and stayed in a hotel north of Atlanta. The next day we completed our trip to Winston-Salem and spent 3 wonderful days with my mom and dad. We rounded out our trip with a taste of real winter in Banner Elk. Our Christmas celebration with Cory's mom and dad was snowy and the girls loved it! I packed all of their outdoor gear and they were able to go sledding, make a snowman, and Hannah Jane and Maggie's favorite - eat snow. We feel blessed to have a lot of our grandparents (the girls' great-grandparents) still living. While in NC we saw my Grandaddy Harold Hipp and his wife Loretta. We also spent an evening with my Mama Margie. And our visit with Don and Linda overlapped part of Cory's Granny Thompson's visit. Papa T wasn't with her this year. He was placed in a nursing home back in the fall. We saw aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters and one new brother-in-law. I believe that family is 2nd best to Jesus when it comes to Christmas. I love our extended family even if it' a little dysfunctional. Who's isn't?

We're now back into the swing of things in Louisiana. The girls are back in a routine of school, dance, piano, basketball and church. We love our little life here. Cory's job continues to go well and I love being at home - even though I complain about it a little from time to time. Maggie will be 3 in April and the Baby Bug has bit me big time! Stay tuned to see if Cory comes around to my way of thinking . . .