Everything Must Come to an End

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu.  Adieu, adieu, to you and you and you.

To say that time flies seems so cliché.  Three hundred and sixty five days seemed like such a long commitment on January 1^st.  As I said in the beginning, I’m a starter.  I have a closet full of incomplete blankets and scarves, a craft drawer full of projects that I got bored with and never finished and a storage bin full of “things” I’ll eventually get back too.  And I must admit, quitting seemed like a wonderful idea on several occasions.  But as Napoleon Hill once said, “A goal is a dream with a deadline”.  And thankfully, I had three people remind me of my daily deadline (four, if you count Mom!).  So the lesson here….follow through, it’s well worth it in the end.

And oh, what a year it’s been.  The summary is stunning.  Will turned fourteen.  Hunter turned seventeen.  Austin turned twenty one.  Will started his first year of high school while Hunter began his final journey towards graduation.  Jeff and I celebrated our seventh year of wedded bliss.  Austin announced his career plans and pending deployment.  We spent another wonderful family vacation in Blue Ridge.  We all have a new appreciation for the Ross Heart Center at Ohio State.  Hunter got into the colleges of his choice.  Will went to his first school dance.  The house underwent major changes with paint, furniture and complete room makeovers.  Willow found a new best friend when we brought Zoey home.  And those are just some of the highlights. 

If you’ve been with me since the beginning, you know what the intention of the blog was.  It was a snippet of our lives – the good, the bad and the funny.  One small moment in a lifetime that was captured to give Hunter, Will and Austin a log of memories.  What I didn’t realize is the effect it would have on me and everyone else in the family.  It’s touched me in a way I’ll never be able to describe.  So the next lesson…share your life with others.  You never know what may make someone else’s day. 

In closing, I want leave the boys with one last thought.  It’s a quote that I’ve seen a million times, in a million places.  I’d read it and move on.  Today, it’s the perfect ending to the perfect year.

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with family.”

Happy New Year to everyone I love so much!  I wish you all the best of health, happiness and love in 2012.  If this year is any indication, it's only going to get better!  Thank you all for being such an important part of our lives.  I love you all!

Pocket full of Kryptonite!

Green apple Jolly Ranchers.  Could anything make them better?

When in doubt, make them into a drink.  Mark and I found a recipe weeks ago for Green Apple infused vodka and decided that new years was the perfect time to try it.  Mark supplied the candy, we supplied the vodka and we're all ready to chill it for tomorrow night.  Are we all excited to taste test our little experiment? Sure.  Does it look like something that could kill Superman?  Absolutely. 

The Last Updates

As promised, tonight finishes my "year in review" project.  It's awesome to see all we've accomplished, goals we met and how everyone has progressed throughout the year.  I'm reminded again how thankful I am for having started the project to begin with.  So here we go....


July 24, 2011 - I complained about our lack of rain.

And here are our YTD totals...what was I thinking!

July 30, 2011 - Will's Bedroom Makeover

After!

August 30, 2011 - Chelsea begins her deployment to Afghanistan.



And we're down to less than 40 days!



September 3, 2011 - College football started and we became a house divided.

Michigan came out on top, but both teams are bowl bound!

October 7, 2011 - The fence was done.  Another project checked off the list.

And the girls love it!!

November 30, 2011 - Our first snowfall of the year...and I was ready to move.

It's it's been the only snow!  So I'm staying in Ohio for a little longer.

Well, that's it.  It's been a wonderful year!  And with only a few days left, I'm actually wishing it would last forever.  There is no better way to close out the year than with all of the boys home! 

  









A Few Updates

Don't you love watching the news at the end of the year.  There is very little current news, but show after show of the year in review.  You'll see who was born, who died, the years best movies and music and the top events of the year.  It's a 30 minute overview of the last 365 days.  And each time I watch one, I realize the year flew by.  So here I am, with only four days of blogging left and I didn't want to be left out.  So here are some updates from the Thomas year....

January 3, 2011 - I couldn't decide on a paint color for the spare bedroom....

Here's the color I picked!

March 8, 2011 - Ohio State announces rule infractions and Tressel suspension

  

Urban Meyer was named Head Coach of Ohio State on Nov 28

March 20, 2011 - I showed off my new plant!

Here's the new plant...after Hunter forgot about it.

April 27, 2011 - The office was undergoing a little "spring cleaning".

The painting isn't done, but it's certainly clean!

 

May 21, 2011 - We found new tenants in the garage.

I don't have another picture yet....but the little bird is back and living on the top shelf!

June 10, 2011 - Hamilton Maineville Elementary Closed...indefinitely.

In Nov, the Little Miami Levy passed and the elementary school will reopen in August 2012.

Wow, what a year it's been.  Stay tuned tomorrow for the remaining updates!

Brotherly Love

Every one has one of those people they know.  The ones that no matter how much time goes by, no matter your age, when you get together its like no time has passed at all.  I remember taking this same picture years ago (although Jeff snapped tonights!) when the boys were all much younger.  Austin is in the door five minutes, the boys leave and this is how you find them.  Snug as bugs in the bonus room, enjoying a little brotherly love...and friendly video game competition. 

On a day like today, when the court was less than friendly to Hunter, this is always nice to see.  And now that the power problem is fixed, they'll probably sit up there all night.  Oh well, it's just nice to have all the boys home.

Christmas Hangover

Anyone out there have a Christmas hangover?  Not the "I went out and acted too jolly" kind of hangover.  Just the plain I'm tired, Christmas was a lot of work, is it really Monday kind of hangover.  The day after Christmas is always a busy one for us.  It starts at the crack of dawn.  Jeff and I hit every store in the area (and some more than once!) scooping up the after Christmas savings by the cart full.  Wrapping paper, bows, bags and tags.  I even found a couple of stocking stuffers for next year - yes, I start shopping on December 26th!  But as you can see, we had a little different approach this year.  In addition to our wrapping supplies, we also stocked up on organizational items that will make next year a little easier.  Pamela inspired me a few weeks ago with her well organized, well though out Christmas system and I'm going to try to duplicate it.  I don't know that I'll ever be that organized (it's a goal!) but I'm certainly going to give it a go.  So hopefully by the new year, our Christmas clutter will be all cleaned up and ready for next year.  Only 364 days until Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

It never ceases to amaze me how months of planning, shopping, wrapping and decorating all concludes with a one hour frenzy of gift giving.  That being said, it's my favorite hour of the year.  Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats the looks on the boys faces when they open that one special gift that Santa delivers.  And yes, we ALL still believe.  Thank you to Jeff, Hunter and Will for definitely the most special gift I've ever gotten (and I wasn't referring to my Michigan jersey!).  So now we're off to watch movies and fry foods.  Unless Hunter decides to continue standing outside in his nice, new coat.  Actually, we'd probably have to pull Will away from Skyrim to watch a movie.  So I guess Jeff, Mark and I will just sit here, enjoy the good company and enjoy the last of a wonderful day.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

T'was the Night Before Christmas...

And all through the house, not a creature was stirring.  Not even a mouse.  Unless you count the two dogs, the cat, the fish, Jeff and I.  Unfortunately, we have to wait until noon tomorrow for the holly and jolly of the season to arrive.  So we sit..and we wait.  And I got to thinking of all of the reasons that I love Christmas and love sharing it with all three of the boys.  Yes, they're all like little kids this time of year.  Which made me realize, the joy of Christmas has nothing to do with presents or decorations.  It's not the wrapping paper or the bows, not the lights or the tree.  It's the excitement.  It's the anticipation.  I read a quote the other day from Tad Carpenter that read "What I love most about my home is the people that I share it with".  That's how I feel everyday.  Christmas just makes it a little more special!  So hurry home guys, it just doesn't feel the same without you. 

Too Big?

Now that's a Christmas Tree!  At least 20 feet tall, bulbs on every bough.  The only thing more spectacular would be to see it all lit up at night. But not today!  The traffic was horrible and all of the Christmas crazies were out...so I snapped a shot with my phone and got out of dodge as quickly as possible. But it was a beautiful break from working on Hunters room (pictures to follow soon!).

I wonder if Jeff would think it's too big for our living room?

I forgot!

It always surprises me what I remember...and what I forget.  I can tell you that Hunters first word was "light" and Will's first word was "ball".  Hunter was a pea for his first Halloween.  Will was a puppy...to be specific, he was a dalmatian.  I can give you a play by play of our Disney trip that was almost three years ago, but ask me what we had for lunch and it'll take me 5 minutes to think of it.  So it's no surprise that I walked out the door today for basketball concessions and forgot my camera.  It was our last shift of the year and I wanted to make sure it made it on the blog.  Hunter spent most of his freshman year working the concession stand and now Will is doing the same - as am I.  I'll remember tonight forever though.  It's a rare occasion any more that I get to spend an hour with the boys..and only the boys.  So while I forgot my camera, I did remember to run in the rain with them, laugh with them, joke with them and have fun with them.  That's far more important that what I forgot.  So here's my picture...I didn't take it, but I figure it'll important to the boys one day.  Something they won't want to forget.

Father Solstice

The shortest day of the year.  And boy, did it feel like it.  I thought it was because we tried to cram so much into the day.  Come to find out, it's because it's Winter Solstice.  Meet Father Winter Solstice....he's as far down on my list as Mother Nature right now.

 

Christmas Humor

Who could use a good laugh to relieve a little of the holiday stress?  I know that I could!  So I thought I would make everyone smile tonight with a reminder that the season is almost over.  Now's the time to smile a little more often, hug a little tighter and enjoy the important things.  Since the boys start their Christmas vacation tomorrow, that's exactly what I plan to do.  Hope these make you smile!

The Christmas Fish

By now, everyone has heard the story of Will's goldfish.  If not, here's a summary...A friend (a girl!) called Will at 1:00am to let him know that she was at the end of the driveway with his Christmas present.  Will throws on shoes, opens the garage door and leaves to meet the girl at the end of driveway and is handed his present....a bag containing a goldfish.  Will runs back up the driveway, encounters a fox (I don't know, he was tired) and heads straight to Hunter's room.  Hunter awakes to a fish in his face and a panicked Will asking him what to do with it.  So they proceed to head to the kitchen, design a temporary tank out of my distilled water jug, dump the fish in and head to bed.  All while Jeff and I slept soundly.  Kinda scary, huh?

So a trip to PetSmart and $20 later, Will has a new pet.  And his new pet has a new, more appropriate home.  Thank goodness for teenagers...without them, our life would be so boring!

Thank You, Reese!

Just a quick follow up to yesterday!  As promised, we've decked out the car with Reese's Christmas present for Jeff.  Thank you, Reese...we love it!

The Ballard Family Christmas

First, I want to say thank you to everyone that made today so special.  It's still amazing to me that after all these years, we're still able to get together as a family to share such a special time of year.  I don't know any family that's able to get parents, siblings and all the kids together for the day...no matter what time of year.  And like any day, when you try to get thirteen of us in the same place, at the same time, you run into a few snags.  But nothing that good company, good food, fun stockings and thoughtful presents can't fix.  And who knew Snowman Poop could be so entertaining? 

 

 So I sit here tonight, thankful and happy for the day yet sad that it doesn't happen more often. It's the one day a year I wish we still lived close...so that these days could be more frequent. I love you all!

A Little Early

'Twas the night before Christmas...

Oh wait, that's next week!  Not really, since we're heading to Columbus tomorrow to spend "Christmas" with the Ballard clan.  It's one of my favorite days of the year.  The weather looks beautiful (although a little chillier than earlier in the week), the car is all packed and a few funny stocking stuffers have been tucked away in a bag.  Now, if the boys would just get home to finish up wrapping, we'd be all set.

Now I'm off to discuss Jeff's "man authority" with him...if you have questions about it, just ask him next time you see him.

Early Christmas Present :)

Nothing is better than an early Christmas present.  This wasn't one that I got to unwrap.  It didn't have paper, ribbons or bows.  It wasn't from Jeff, Hunter or Will.  No one could purchase it, promise it or guarantee it's delivery.  It was free....yet, priceless. 

Thank you Mother Nature!  I didn't even mind the rain you sent with it.  Goodbye sixties...I hope to see you again soon!

O Kay....I've Had Enough!

Anyone else find these commercials nauseating?  I mean, the tag line is catchy but the commercials are down right syrupy sweet.  My kids have never dressed up like Santa to deliver me a huge diamond ring.  Nor do I think that Jeff has gotten his gift for me approved by Santa either.  I could be wrong, but I doubt it.  And they must be making millions since Kay commercials are on every network, during every show...at least a half a dozen times.   Thank goodness for Tivo!

Christmas Gone Wrong

CONTENT WARNING:
The following blog contains scenes of extreme violence and should not be viewed by young children.

To each their own.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  I know, I get it.  Dad spent a lifetime drilling those into my head.  But some things are just tacky.  Unfortunately, we live right behind the Griswold's when Christmas season approaches.  A few more inflatables are added each year.  The unfortunate part is that they're only inflated a few hours...not per day, but per season.  So instead of a beautiful holiday display, it loos like a holiday graveyard.  So when Hunter found this picture today and emailed it to me, it made me laugh until I cried.  Looks like we're not the only ones that live next door to them!

One More

Ahh, one more acceptance letter down.  Just one more to go.  Fingers crossed (although I'm not sure that's necessary!).