Lookin' Back~ 2012

It's been 3 years since I've done a recap on our year around Hosmerville. With so many changes and the kids growing so quickly, I figured I gotta save the memories while I can.  2012, what a year of change and growth! 

1. What did you do in 2012 that you’d never done before? Umm, we moved 1,040 miles away from everything and everyone we have ever known and loved. No biggie.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't do resolutions, but I do like the idea of a new year and a fresh start, a brand new calendar full of unmarked pages. When I think about 2013 there are definite things I would like to accomplish, definite areas where I'd like to grow as a wife and mom, and in my walk with Christ.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes! It is killing me that one of my besties, Shannon, gave birth to beautiful baby Chase and I have yet to hold him, smell him, and indulge in all things baby. I'm afraid he's going to be a little man before I get my hands on him.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Thank goodness, no! There is such a grieving process with the death of a loved one. 2011 was filled with an overwhelming sadness in saying my earthly goodbye to my grandpa. In 2012, the process continued. I still think about my grandpa all the time and miss him so much. Some days are easy, some days are hard.

5. What states/countries did you visit? Well, we traveled through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and into Louisiana 3 times. One crazy, whirlwind round trip that I did with the kids and dog in an attempt to find school and housing before our big move and then once more from Michigan to Louisiana as we moved Hosmerville south. And, being so close to the western edge of Louisiana, one cannot live in Shreveport and not go to Texas every once in awhile;)

6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012? Trust in God. Not that I didn't have any last year, but I want this year to be the year where trusting Him is an automatic response in all situations. I want it to become natural and I want it to go deep.

7. What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? July 1st~ Tom said goodbye to us and headed to Dallas to start his new career with Chrysler. For the next 5 weeks, I played single parent while wrapping up our life in Michigan and preparing for our big move south. August 11th~ M day, as in Moving Day!!! August 13th~ arriving in Shreveport and having 24 hours to somewhat settle in before the kids started their school year.

8. What was your biggest achievement? Living my dream of being a SAHM!!! I *love* that I am so blessed!!!

9. What was your biggest failure? Trying to do it all in my own strength.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? worst.flu.bug.ever.

11. What was the best thing you bought? I'm taking this from 2009~ my children's education. We may be at a different school, but nothing compares to knowing that my kids are getting  solid education while being surrounded by people who live God's love in their lives and in their classrooms. 

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? I think our whole family deserves this recognition. We moved cross~country and not only have we survived, we have thrived!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Everyone makes mistakes, right?

14. Where did most of your money go? Moving from Michigan to Louisiana is expensive business!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Starting our life in Louisiana. I mean, if you're gonna have a completely fresh start in a brand new city and state, you might as well have a positive attitude about it, right?

16. What song will always remind you of 2012? "Blessed Be Your Name" by Matt Redman. No matter what, God remains constant. Bless His name!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
 a) happier or sadder? I'm pretty happy and content. So sad to be missing my Michigan family and friends! b) thinner or fatter? I'd better start being a bit more careful with my eating habits or else I'm not going to be able to be comfortable in my clothes. c) richer or poorer?  Blessed beyond what we deserve!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Coffee and playdates with friends while I still had the opportunity.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Worrying. Don't regret the past, find joy in today, and anticipate the future.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
 Just the 6 of us (we can't forget Ed;) Austin playing Madden 13 all day, while Lexi serenaded us to music from her new guitar and Audrey adjusted to riding her new "big kid" mountain bike.

21. Did you fall in love in 2012? An old love with God being slowly rediscovered and made new.

22. What was your favorite TV program? We cut out TV completely to save money but we do have Netflix. Lately we've been catching up on past episodes of "Cake Boss". I want to be Italian and eat lots of cake!!!

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Nope, hate makes your heart heavy and your life miserable.

24. What was the best book you read? I'm discovering the book of Esther through Beth Moore's "Esther" study. It has been absolutely fabulous to be so reaffirmed as all my lady friends know that "it's tough being a woman!"

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Lexi's guitar playing. I look forward to her developing her talent.

26. What did you want and get? My new "job"~ being a SAHM! (Although Audrey claims the only one with a job is Tom;)

27. What did you want and not get? A trip back to Michigan to spend Christmas with our families an friends.

28. What was your favorite film of this year? This is so lame but I really looked forward to "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days". Austin loves the books and Lexi picked going to the theater for her birthday celebration.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I don't even remember, 32 must not be the age to celebrate;) I did get to go shopping with Lindsey to the outlet malls and scrapbooking with her the following weekend, both for my birthday. And Shannon and I and our guys had dinner at Olive Garden to celebrate our birthdays.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Selling our Michigan house and not having to deal with the whole renting business~ ugh!

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012? If my pinterest boards were a true~to~life reflection of what is hanging in my closet, I'd be one hot mama! 

32. What kept you sane? Facebook~ it's my way to stay connected to all my faraway fam and friends and pinterest is my little "escape".

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? eh, no one really.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? I don't "do" politics. The presidential election sure did stir everyone up!

35. Who did you miss? EVERYONE!!!

36. Who was the best new person you met? How can I pick just one best new person after meeting so many great people!?!? The Bagleys~ Leon and Doris, Bill, Maty, and Will, Erin Curren (my best Louisiana friend;), our great new church family at Grand Cane Baptist, the list goes on...

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012~ God's plan for my life is perfect. If I can trust Him in perfect obedience to follow His path for me, He will bless me beyond measure.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year~ "Spendin' my life out in the desert, been gone so long feels like forever. I just want to be closer to you, I just want to be even closer. I am yours, you can have all of me, anything, everything, I just want to be closer"~ Shawn McDonald, Closer

Simply Christmas

When we lived in Michigan I had one of those vinyl wall sayings on my dining room wall that said, "Live Simply". It was a good reminder to slow down and take time to enjoy the little things in life. Little did I know that moving to Louisiana would SO simplify things that this Christmas found Hosmerville celebrating Christ's birth, just the five of us. All week long. Live Simply.

No trip to Michigan to celebrate the season with family and friends. No running here and there. No baking for this party, no cooking for that. No endless shopping trips for last~minute gifts before the next get~together. No keeping one eye on the party around me while keeping the other on the clock, lest lingering too long would throw the rest of the day's schedule helter~skelter. And I have to admit, it was really nice. A very simple Christmas season. Live Simply.

This year we had to make a very "grown~up" decision. (Grrr, I hate having to be responsible.) In doing so, Tom and I had to follow what our heads were saying and not what our hearts were feeling. And while we most definitely missed being a part of all the familiar activity of those established family traditions back in Michigan, perhaps the "isolation" of our family helped us to better keep the focus on God's gift to us, His Son Jesus Christ, the true meaning of Christmas. Live Simply. 

Never before has the Christmas story and God's great display of His love for us been so personally meaningful. To see my kids perform in the Christmas play (Austin as Caesar Augustus & King Herod, Audrey as Mary, and Lexi as a lamb), to see them and their classes spread Christmas cheer to the elderly and sick, and to celebrate with them in a very special candlelit Communion/Christmas Eve eve service; to see them "get" the real reason why we celebrate the season. That was the best gift of all. And perhaps had we traveled to Michigan we may have lost out on all these experiences that made the significance of Christ's birth 2000+ years ago so real to us this Christmas. So a very simple Louisiana Christmas. And I'm okay with that. Live Simply.

P.S. Maybe next year we will be able to celebrate with our Michigan family and friends and experience the true joy that comes with keeping our focus on Christ. You know, have our "Happy~Birthday~Baby~Jesus" cake and eat it, too;)

Just Randomness

I was going through some drawers in the kitchen today and found some papers I had tucked away. Notes I had jotted down and a card I had received. The notes are almost 3 years old. I came across them a couple of weeks ago when I was picking up in the girls' room (not sure how they ended up there) but the memories of my 5 year old Miss Audrey made me smile. The first was a quote from her on the morning of her fifth birthday. She woke up, we sang, and then she declared, "I don't feel like I'm 5". I love how little minds work, but I was slightly disappointed at her disappointment of not waking up and magically feeling older, bigger, and more grown up. 

The second Audrey~ism I stumbled upon took me back to a time when our morning routine anytime we were trying to get ready to go out the door and mommy was pretty stressed was a battle of wills and lack of patience. My girl is all about comfort and jeans don't exactly meet the criteria in her book. One particularly rough morning (where I'm sure we had already had multiple wardrobe changes) I finally managed to wrestle her into a pair of jeans. Boy, was she mad! Out of complete frustration and anger she exclaimed, "But I can't even toot in these!" (Did I mention her comfort criteria also includes the ability to pass gas while dressed?) God knows we all need a little humor in our lives with the frantic mommy times being when I need it most. He gave me that moment when Audrey threw that little tidbit out and it did just the trick. I calmed down, I even laughed, and then I took the time to jot it down.

Know what else God is good at? Loving His children. Even though the Bible is full of promises for His children to claim and He has never failed on making good on His promises, I still sometimes need to be reminded of this. The doubts and worries of every day life tend to creep in and before I know it my thoughts are consumed by them. The card I came across in the drawer was sent at exactly the right time by an anonymous someone who was used by God to be an encouragement to me. It was a reminder of His faithfulness during an unusually unsettled time in my life. Just like a quiet whisper from God Himself saying, "Hey, I've got you. I'm going to get you through this. Just trust me". 

Ok, that's it for now. Today has just flown by and it's pick up time for the kiddos. But I thought they could wait a few more minutes while I shared my heart with you;) If none of my ramblings make sense to you, blame it on my rush to get out the door and lack of time to sit and compose a thoroughly thought out post. Whew, what a day!!!  Sonic Happy Hour is calling my name. The Hosmers love Fridays!:)

Pinterest Insanity

This is the picture I posted on Facebook at 1:30 this morning with a caption that read, "1st grade snack time was so boring before Pinterest". Yes, perhaps boring but also a LOT less complicated. Did you notice I said I posted this in the wee hours of the morning? That's because this snack (the one that would be devoured by 18 hungry 1st graders in less than 2 minutes leaving nothing but a few crumbs with no trace of its former glory) took this insane mama over 2 hours to make. Grrr! How do I get myself into these projects!?!?

I'll tell you one reason why these 18 tiny reindeer and 36 frosty snowmen kept me up so late was because I knew that this project wasn't going to be exactly easy. As I made up the kids' "guinea pig" batch of donuts Monday evening, the black icing wouldn't stick to the powdered sugar and make cute little dots. I tried. And tried again. I gave up. I rummaged around my baking drawer and came up with a half a tube of black decorator's gel. I somehow managed to produce 9 Frostys that actually looked like snowmen. I carefully covered them with plastic wrap and hoped they'd still look like Frosty the next morning.

In a throwback to all of those "Not Me Mondays", I most certainly did not write "A Frosty Breakfast" on a slip of paper and tuck it into the kids' advent sock for Tuesday morning. Upon the kids reading their clue, it definitely wasn't me who produced a plate of sugary goodness, a plate of mini Frosty the Snowman faces (9 to be exact) and served it up for the kiddos' breakfast. All of the Christmas tinsel and glitter and bows would have definitely gotten to me if I had let them wash it all down with glasses of egg nog. So I didn't do that either. 

I reanalyzed and reprocessed and rethought the icing that defined Frosty's facial features ALL. TUESDAY. LONG. I knew I couldn't use the gel (it wouldn't dry and I risked smearing everything into a big black mess) and I had come to the conclusion that the icing I had mixed was too thick and therefore too dry to stick to the powdered sugar coating. So I decided that when whipping up the next batch of icing for the snack day Frostys, I would just make it not quite so thick and hope for the best. All of this to say I knew it wasn't going to be a simple assembly. So I procrastinated. For several hours. And despite "powdered sugar icing and how to get it to stick to a powdered sugar donut" being the focus of my day's thoughts and my attempted trouble shooting of the problem, I still ran into difficulties during the actual making of the snack day donuts.  Thus my insanely late night. Thus my late night of insanity. All in the pursuit of the ever~elusive title of "Wonder Mom". 

Let me save you some time and frustration by offering you my tried and true good~enough~for~who~it's~for "Reindeer and Snowmen Donut Assembly" instructions for you to follow. Or don't and come up with an easier and better method. But share it with me! (The reindeer were a last minute snack menu addition and assembled relatively easily.)

You will need:

2 bags of powdered sugar mini donuts, 1 bag of chocolate minis, a bag of pretzels, red hots, candy corn, powdered sugar, and black food dye. 

For the reindeer:

1. Mix up some powdered sugar with a few drops of warm water for the icing (sorry, no exact measurements but don't make it too runny) put it in a ziplock baggie and snip off a small hole in the corner.
2. Pipe out eyes onto donuts, let them dry for 10 minutes or so.
3. Add some black food dye to the remainder of your white icing and use this for the pupils (ziplock baggie again, but with a smaller hole). 
4. The reindeer noses are red hots, I wasn't sure if they'd stay by themselves in the donut hole so I secured them with a bit of the white icing. 
5. Antlers are just broken bits of pretzels (you can stick them right into the top of the donut). 

For the snowmen:

1. Finally, after lots of trial and error, I ended up taking a fork, dipping the tines into black water (water mixed with black food dye) and lightly poking the donut (to make a line of 4 dots for the mouth).
2. Take a tooth pick, dip the point into the black water and poke it through the individual donuts for the eyes and 1 or 2 more mouth dots to even out the smile. 
3. The nose is just candy corn. I cut the white tips off at an angle so it would look more like a carrot and stuck the yellow end into the donut hole. 

3 bags of holes made snacks for 18 with each child getting 2 snowmen and 1 reindeer. Snack time might be more fun now, but it's also a LOT more complicated;);)