Adair CMas Flair

This post is going to be HEAVY with pictures.  Most of my family and some of W's have never been to our home for the holidays. We always travel to them so, when I talk about something in our house or what I am decorating for the holidays, or collecting etc. our family cannot visualize it at times because they have not seen my love for Cmas decorations.  Yes, we I have a lot!  I LOVE this time of year and having the house full of the things that remind me of family members, memories of special moments, things that mean Cmas to us etc.  They are warming to our hearts.  I know the true meaning of this season is Jesus and celebrating his birth but I love the coziness of these collected things that remind us of special times and family.  I am seriously a collector in this area and each room has its own decor theme.  I can tell you a story about every item in our house.  They have been collected over the past 17 years.  Augh - has it really been that long?   Just so you know, our house has not always looked like this.  Just ask W.  Our first 3 years of marriage we did not even decorate.  We would place a wreath on our front apartment door and some lighted garland out on our balcony in Chas, SC but we did not have a tree or anything.  We typically flew out of town to see the family sometime before CMas eve and I felt like "why decorate, we are not here at all?"  We would leave for our break sometime before the holiday and spend almost 2 full weeks between all the family until returning home after New Years.  Maybe that is why I am making up for lost time now ??? but I know my love is also fueled by the desire to give K some wonderful CMas memories as well as collect things to hand down to her one day.  It's important to us that she enjoy seeing all the lil things and sharing the memories of each ornament, snow globe, dancing/singing toy and can look back years to come on helping me get them unwrapped from the attic and setting them in their special spots.  I have many wonderful memories of helping my parents and my grandparents decorate for the season and carrying that tradition over to my baby sounds like a great idea.

Front Door

K did not want to get rid of her cinderella pumpkin this year and I couldn't see throwing out pumpkins that were not bad yet so... we stole this idea from a friend off of FB. Our porch snowman...

pictures I took today of the porch once it got a bit darker...

I made this wreath 3 years ago.  I am thinking I may need to add more bling to it next year. 

Entry

 The entry area and dining room have a Nutcracker theme.  I have many memories as a child attending the preformances of the play and also as an adult.  K has also been to several versions of the show the past 3 years.  She adores getting them out of the box, unwrapping them and playing with them.  They may be special decorations but she is allowed to play with them.  We have aready repaired a couple of them.  Many family members have given us these special guys.  They are loved and treasured!  I have them on the entry chest of drawers, above the door in the windows, sitting on the tea trolley in the dining room, on top of the armoire in the dining room and on a small side entry table.  Some are new, some are old, some are sparkly and some, Not!

 I found a nutcracker snow globe last year.  It plays one of the the songs from the show. Before Bomb@y closed I found this nutcracker toy Cmas tree.  You wind the tree and pull a plug on the drum base and the tree spins and plays O Cmas Tree.  K gets a kick outta seeing it go round and round and playing with it.

 Our stockings hang from the stair railing since we do not have a fireplace in this house. 

My aunt Carolyn gave me the singing santa many years ago. K loves him!  He sings a lot and dances.  I made the wreath on the closet door in LR 9 yrs ago and the door hanger '"peace" was in my first apartment 15 yrs ago.

We drop all our Cmas cards (not the picture ones) in the robin box that I had in my 1st apt. as the season goes on.  K loves digging them out and asking questions about who sent what again and again and... 

Dining Room 

I am slowly adding to this garland every year.  Last year I added the lights.  This year I added some sparkly beads and feathers.  What will I do next year?

This dining room light is such an eyesore to me so this year I could not handle it anymore and I decorated it!  I wanted to do an upside down CMas tree but, those guys are expensive and I didn't have enough time to try and make one on my own using a form, garland etc.  So, this is what I came up with instead.  Maybe next year it will be a tree?

My snow that our FitzNFloyd santa sleigh and reindeer are on is white rabbit fur.  It is so so soft! 

Kitchen

The theme in here is gingerbread houses and candy santas.   My collection GREW once we moved here so most of this stuff is newer.  I love the craftsmanship, detail and use ability of FitzNFloyd.  There used to be an outlet 5 minutes from mom and dads house.  I would get in trouble every time I visited.  They had awesome sales (50 to 75%)... that is where any CMas money would go every time I visited. 

 All those times shopping for FitzNFloyd. Most of those moments were with my aunt Tina too. Some of these pieces were given as gifts though. The top 2 houses were from mom and dad and they are music boxes that play Cmas carols. I had them in other spots the past few years and K would wind them and dance to them all the time. They should be down for her but they seemed to fit better here on the bakers rack this year. 

There is a santa candy jar my aunt Tina gave me years ago...when I was in my first apt... that I love seeing and filling every year.  Have I said I have awesome family members?  Even married and away they still send us a small gift every year that I love and cherish.

 This is how I feel this time of the year!  Giving is so fun!  I am thankful we have been blessed to be able to give.

My MIL gave us these cute guys.  I love them.  They are baking gingerbread cookies and such.

 W had an advent calendar as a kid and wanted K to have one too.  I took the idea a step farther after we paid $15 the 1st year (she was 2 yrs) for a paper one filled with candy.  I couldn't see paying that much money and trying to hunt one down every year so thanks to PBK her 3rd CMas I discovered this one that needed some fixing up online and grabbed it for a steal.  K looks forward everyday to coming home and finding what candy is behind each door and counting down the days until CMas day.  I love filling it with different candies she loves!  The silver reindeer were in my first apartment and I thought they looked cute beside this house.

 More FnF fun.

It seems "Rudy" our elf on the she!f got into the santa candy jar last night.  He must be helping himself because candy is everywhere. 

I made this gingerbread candy cane wreath in LR also.  It used to hang on our back door to the garage.  Now it hangs on our kitchen wall.

Den
This is the coziest room to me!  I love laying/sitting/relaxing in here this time of the year.  There is not a fireplace but with the tree lit and the garland on the hutch on... it is so peaceful!  We love it!  Our tree is huge.  I purchased it the year W was deployed.  We had a tiny 4 foot tree and I was determined K was going to have a nice tree the year her daddy was gone plus I wanted a nice tree for the hubby to come home to.  Even if it was Jan 30th. We waited to open gifts with him that year too.  So I purchased a 10 ft tree.  Drug it out of my car  Piece by Piece because it was entirely too heavy and with sheer will power and determination I got that thing up the stairs and into this house.  I will NEVER do it alone again!  It truly was for the love of CMas and giving K and W a tree that I got it together.  Yes, I sat on the floor bawling after it was together but I did it!  We started collecting ornaments years ago but our collection was still small especially when I put them on this giant.  HA!  This tree has evolved... there are many special irreplaceable ornaments on it.  We sit and talk and share memories all the time while gazing at it.  We have ornaments from our wedding day, ornaments from aunts, ornaments from special times (W deployment ... a few family members got Chr!stopher Radk0 ornaments that represented the US or patriotism, as well as Ks birth)  etc.  Since this room has a santa theme the ornaments that are on the tree are mostly Chr!stopher Radk0 santa ones.  I know they are expensive but there are tricks to getting them cheaper if you shop, watch and collect them slowly.   I think it makes them more special that way anyway. 

 My Dad bought this santa sitting reading when K was 2 yrs old.  Santa reads the N!ght before Cmas story, his head, lips etc actually move.  K loves it! 

 My MIL bought K the nativity scene when she was 3.  It is all wood pieces and the barn doors actually close and lock.  She moves the pieces around all the time.  The animals and shepherds are never in the same place! 

 Awe!  The couch.  We have had the pillows since we moved into our home in LR.  Then it was my way of making our den festive.  Again, we didn't go crazy on CMas decorations because we would travel and we were not home much, even though we owned our own home.  Mickey and the puppy sitting on the couch, play music and move.  Again, K loves them!  CMas is for the kids. 

 We started collecting snow globes in LR that had special meanings to us.  I have CMas carolers, santa reading a list of naughtys and nice kids, a nutcracker scene and others.  They all light up and play music.  We have 2 sterling bells currently.  One dated 1999, the year we married and 2005, the year of Ks birth.  Then we have a plate for Santas cookies, reindeer treats and a mug for milk.  The two side pieces are again... FnF musical pieces.  The plates are from our denby wedding registry and we added the holly pattern plates soon after getting married. 

I have had this reindeer since my 1st apt and after seeing K enjoy playing with him I found a sleigh and a porcelain vintage santa to add to her playing enjoyment. 

Again, many treasures from dear family members.

Loft

The loft area is ever evolving.  I have great ideas for it but I am not going to take over the toys just to decorate it ...yet!  I asked K this year if she wanted me to put the small tree up there with all the angels and bell ornaments we have (from our home in LR) and she was not so thrilled about it so... I have just added a few items for now.  It is all about her and the CMas things She has created over the past 5 years or special gifts she has been given.

From our home to yours... Merry Christmas!

Game 4

Pre-Game Players and Parents Pledge

Team Huddle

Kick Off Cheering between best-ies

Working on getting into the mix

Game 3

This game was as much fun as our first game.  The other team players seemed a bit smaller than some of our girls but 3 of their girls knew how to use their arms and keep everyone out of their way when they wanted the ball.  They also outran our girls, but our girls played better offense.  They kept the ball on the opposing teams side of the field most of the game. They ran down the field faster than our girls but I am hoping that was because it was an early morning game and the girls were a little sluggish.  I think K could possibly have stayed beside the faster girls but she did not run as much this game.  She skipped some.???.  Please don't ask me why, I am not quite sure of the reason. 

She had her game face on and had fun playing.  She played all the positions again.  She blocked 2 possibly 3 attempted goals as the goalie.  We are proud of her!

Pre-game... The Players Pledge

So sweet... K and Sarah during the players pledge.

Starting players on the line. 

Two players with completely different views.  K showing her game face to the opposing team.  Who knows what they thought of her!  What an intense girl.  Sarah checking it all out. 

**These you should enlarge... look at her face!

Bryn ran up and got into the pre-game smack talk with K. 

And yes, I saw LOTS of smack talk although I have NO idea what was coming out of her mouth.  Surely it was good sportsmanship words.

K snarling at the Tigers with a few missing teeth. 

I still laugh seeing these pictures and I can not believe she did that!  She comes from a competitive family on all sides so I suppose I can not blame her.  We're not sure where the smack talk and pre-game stare down came from though...we definitely haven't coached her up on that (Yet) ...according to Wade).

Corner kicking

What form!!!

 Sarah and her determination

CBC girls... all three girls go to school together. 

Lexi, K and Sarah 

The coach rotated the girls again but this time he put in 5 players together and relieved them with the other 5 girls.  K, Sarah and Lexi worked together as part of their 5.

 The goalie cheering on her teammates.

 Tunnel time

Bryn, Lexi and Sarah

K and Kelly (Kelly is the coaches daughter)

The girls won game 3!  The score was 3 - 1.  K was so excited to be a part of the winning team.  I can't wait till the next game...

Kicking for fun...

Awe, the life of soccer.  I was around it most of my childhood life while my brother played and now... K is playing soccer.  To be a soccer mom!  hehe  minus the suburban or mini-van, thanks!!!  K's team, the Gators have had 3 games now and she has played in 2 of them.  We missed her 1st game due to a death in the family but she is picking up the sport and the spirit of the game quickly.  

The verdict...K LOVES it!  I have a feeling we may be playing this sport many more seasons.  She is already dreading the summer coming because she knows soccer will be over.  She loves this fast paced game and we think her favorite position is defense.  She is wonderful at guarding the goal and being the goalie.  She falls into this position naturally.  Although the coach rotates the girls in forward positions and defensive positions, K always falls back and guards the goal when the opposing players get near. 

Being on the sidelines as a parent is Totally different!  I am loving watching her play and encouraging her and her teammates on.  I think I yelled more in game 3 than in game 2 and possibly more than Wade did.  oops!   It is fun and cute watching them play and figure the sport out. 

The Gators Game 2 pics (K's 1st game)... chomp, chomp (with arms out)!

Sarah and K

Sarah sooooo proud to be Number 1! 

The girls got to pick the number they wanted to be.  The smaller jerseys were numbered 1 to 8.  Numbers 9 and 10 were larger... hence K needing one of them.  She chose number 10.  Kyle what number were you?  I sadly cannot recall it.

Pre-game photo ops from the mama-razzi!

Pre-game huddle time

K cheering on her team on the sideline as she waits for her turn to play.  Again, the coach is Great about rotating all the girls so they each get plenty of time to play and learn all the positions.  She intensely does NOT want anyone to score a goal on her team.  More pics on her feelings for this game are below...

This is Sarah's second year to play.  She wants to score goals! 

 (To see the intensity in her face, click on the picture to enlarge it.) 

I Love Sarah's intensity to get the ball moving down the field!

(another pic to click and enlarge)

K and her 1st corner kick op.

Yes, we are learning to control ourselves more with time.  teehee  Sooo cute to see her trying so hard though.  ...enlarge this pic too : )

Getting in the mix and playing the game... I LOVE IT!!! Wade and I are seeing sports in completely different positions - as a parent.

 enlarge these too

Her 1st throw-in

You canNot miss this face so enlarge it grandparents!

 This may be "ONE" of the pictures of the year.  (You have not seen the pics from game 2 yet)  This is K's "BULL face" or game face.  She got to go to her 1st Tuesday practice before we had to head out of town (missed her 1st game) but we made it back to town so she could attend her 2nd practice as well.  While we were getting ready for that 2nd practice she looked at herself in the mirror, put up her muscles and then snarled at the mirror.  I said "sweetie, what are you doing?"  She said, "MOM, this is my bull face!  I am getting ready for the big game!"  I said, "K, honey, this is just practice, not a game."  She said "Mom!  I know but I have to have on my game face there too."      All I can say is OH MY!  Whose child is this?

 K as goalie...stopping a ball from going in.  She stopped 2 balls from going in this game. 

Sarah attacking the ball again. 

By the way, K loved when the ref called for a ball from the players and Wade threw in hers first.  It was not expected or planned but K enjoyed every moment of knowing "her" ball was the game ball.  She talks about the grass stains now.  They lost 2-4.  But, they had a great time playing and I know K learned a lot.  She even discovered that there are time when you may play a game against someone you know.  One of her friends from school at Parkhills and her Ballet class last year was a player for the other team.  They were both quite shocked to see each other. 

Another note to remember for future knowledge.  She has yet to say she is nervous to play or practice in front of everyone.  I am not sure what it is but the kid is scared to death of a stage and she has NO problem getting out in front of people sitting on the sidelines yelling at her.  I think, nope, I know, she loves this game.  You know how she is always asking what "her talent is."  I think we may have found it.  I think she is destined to play sports.  If it is a new chapter with soccer, who knows?  I'll post game 2 pics soon. 

Thanks Amy for asking us to play.

Leaving an impression

My uncle Brian emailed W and I this very sweet and thoughtful letter while we were in the midst of some hard days.  We were trying to figure out what God wanted us to do...what was the "right" thing to do according to His word, what was best for our family and for my health.  This letter shocked both of us in a positive way.  It was amazing having a family member reach out and tell us "Don't give up."  God was wonderful to us because He worked through Brian at just the right time. 

A few weeks after Brian left us here on earth I re-found this message.  To this day, this message means more than I can explain to both W and I and it once again had amazing timing when I read it.  I will cherish this for the rest of my days.

We know you are in better hands Brian but you are and will be missed here.  We will remember you!  Thank you for touching our lives, being such a strong Christian and being my uncle.  Love, K


Here is a portion of the letter...




From: Brian E. Sn0dgrass

Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010 12:09 PM
To: 3adairs@satx.rr.com
Subject: Our Request for New Life



Wade and Kristi,

Don’t Give Up!
Psalms 37: Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. …and what a priceless desire.



A Prayer for New Life

Heavenly Father, I come into Your presence to intercede on behalf of Kristin and Wade Adair in their efforts to conceive new life.  We pray these things in faith believing, You, Heavenly Father are the Creator of everything seen and unseen. Thank you, for the gift to W and K of little K. It is their earnest desire to give her a sibling, and in doing so, praising you and glorifying your Holy Name.

I pray that, “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may move close to the Adairs and make your face to shine on us on them. Please intervene supernaturally and grant their request for new life, ensuring successful conception and full term delivery to birth and that all physical attributes are normal and healthy in every way for the baby. We speak a blessing unto Kristi that she be granted good health throughout the pregnancy in provision for the baby. Please protect Kristi and the new life she will carry. Surround Kristi with that protection and love. Let her know You are always there.

We understand the magnitude of this request and pledge undying commitment and praise to you.

We pray that this child live a long and healthy life in you. We pray that “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto this child, “the eyes of your understanding and be enlightened, that this child may know what is the Hope of His calling, and the riches of the glory of His inheritance,…and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us who believe.”




Thank you Jehovah Jireh, our Provider. Thank you, Jehovah Shalom, our Peace, Jehova - Nissi, Our Victory!   “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you”,

W and K, “with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever!”




Thank you, Father.

In Christ’s Holy Name, Amen"

Decision Made

I have found some peace.  Don't get me wrong.  I am still wounded and troubled on occassion by many small reminders but otherwise I feel good about our decision and what is next in our life and road together.

We will try IVF again.  Not tomorrow because right now, it's a matter of waiting.  We need to get the money together "once again."  Then we will also have to wait our turn at the clinic.  Wi!ford Ha!l does not schedule appointments for IVF patients every month.  They do their IVF procedures in Jan, Apr and Aug of each year.  They see 3 to 4 groups (weeks) of IVF patients.  I have No Idea how many total patients they see a day or month but I know they have long. crazy. busy. days during IVF cycles.  These doctors still continue to see their IUI patients as well as perform any other hospital functions such as making rounds, weekend calls, dealing with any patient pressing issues and seeing "new patients."

After W and I gave ourselves time to think and heal from this failed cycle,  we decided we would like to try IVF one more time.  Here is our thought...  I am not getting any younger.  Yes, people over 40 have children all the time.  But, Do I want to be pregnant over 40?  No, not really, but you know, I trust God.  God has a plan for our family and if his plan for us is to spend quality time with K and grow together even more before we add to our lil nest, then I will accept it.  Even at the ripe age of 40.  It is so funny to me how our opinions and views can change or grow on some issues.  Right now, what was My Plan has not worked out.  I would have had our 3 kids and a beautiful busy life if we were living according to my dream.  But, there is a purpose greater than I can see... I know that!  Do I like it that my plan is not falling into place?  I will answer that with a question.  Can I change it?  No, I have tried!  I am hardheaded and it seems possible that God needed me to hit the wall a few times before I was still enough to listen to him on this topic.  I can now see that my desire, monterary means, age, stress, weight, etc etc can not change any of what I have or do not have currently.   I thought I knew all that but I now think God needed W and I to grow closer to each other again and to Him again.  Are we being tested and molded into something new?  Something greater? 

What I can change and will prepare for this next time is to have a positive outlook.  We will not give up yet.  God said our road here on earth will not be easy all the time.  This could possibly be "our time" to show our faith, our persistence and some grace.  I have also researched a lot and discovered if I want to "help" myself some, I may be able to add a few supplements to my daily routine to possibly help my egg quality.  I am also leaning toward checking out acupuncture.  I have had several friends who have utilized these services with great success and positive outcomes.  I figure I will also try to lose a few pounds the next few months before it's our time to cycle again.  Can't hurt, right!  I know I have been told repeatedly about no dieting becasue it can greatly change your numbers and affect your egg quality or quantity but I am not going to be extreme and try to starve myself or anything.  I think I will try to be smarter about what I am eating and HOW MUCH.   Stepping away from the table a bit sooner should help, right? 

That's the decision we have made for now.  We think we will be asked to be a part of the April cycle but we are not certain about that.  The doctors will give us a call when they start planning for the next cycle.