A Cure for January

We survived Christmas around here and New Year's just flew by. We didn't have our normal madhouse of UGA friends around here and while I missed seeing them, I sure enjoyed having some quiet time here at home. We had a week off after New Year's Day and I loved it.

We caught a basketball game....

Ali Grace and her friend Emily enjoyed Starbucks, Ali's favorite place on the planet.

Roxy got a new sweater from the Teacher of the Gifted...

And finally, the girls were able to wear their new Christmas clothes back to school....

Ali Grace with her iPhone...

And Addie Belle with her ipod touch...

After weeks of staying up late and sleeping in, it was tough getting back into a routine but we did.  The girls started Upward and Ali Grace is so blessed to be coached by Stephanie Jones this year.  Ali Grace thinks she hung the moon.

And that brings me to this... Y'all know I am really a warm weather gal. I love the beach. I love flip flops and ham sandwiches on the trampoline and painted toenails and sangria and fresh veggies from the garden and long days and the sound of frogs at the pond and late night swims.. If there IS a such thing as Seasonal Affective Disorder, I have it. Gloomy short days are tough on me, especially January. So imagine my excitement when I came across a tweet from @HomeDecorNews with a link to "A Cure for January".  Mercy. I must confess I hid in the bathroom at work and read the article. You can find it with a simple google search of "Kimberly's January Cure".  One of her cure suggestions is to find a piece of artwork and get going framing it. I have a tessellation done by a student last year that is gorgeous. I have  been meaning to frame it for almost a year. How I've managed to not spill tea or coke or something worse on it is beyond me. Today I brought it home. I'm going to get started framing it. I do feel better. I think it's working!!

And lastly- I blog mostly to remember. That's it. So I don't want to forget this conversation with Ali Grace tonight. She made me so blessed mad (you yankee or midwestern readers should know that the word "blessed" in this sentence is pronounced like this "bless said" Like as in "Blessed Assurance" Bless said... yes.. so anyhow she made me so BLESSED mad! She has a debate tomorrow at school regarding immigration. I think it's a super sensitive topic and not one to be debated in an uneducated manner. I'm not sure 6th graders can grasp the intricate political details, but maybe so. Anyhow, she asked me what I believed. I told her that while I believed the border should be secured, I also believed what the Bible said about immigration- 1) That the book of Exodus says that we should not treat strangers or foreigners in a bad way because God's own people were once foreigners in a strange land. She dutifully and quickly wrote down what I said... Boy I was thinking I was some kind of wonderful parent!! Then I went on to 2) God's people are called to be hospitable. and 3) I believe God calls his people to work with Him to help those in need. As I was wrapping it up by saying how I really think it's interesting how God seems to reveal Himself in amazing ways in the midst of people who are uprooted, persecuted, or hurting- she looks at me and says "are you wearing my Aeropostale socks?"  Okay..  I tried.

January is always tough and this one is no different. I was in a funk because I have been absolutely covered up at work and well... it's january. The official funk month. This afternoon the Tomlinsons called. They are coming to the Ponderosa for a visit this weekend!! I suddenly felt 100 times better. I get by with a little help from my friends. Maybe they will help me get my Christmas trees back into the Christmas closet.