Christmas at the Cellon's

Taylor (8mo) and Alice (11mo) playing with Alice's new walker car!

The aftermath. See Bailey's Nemo pillow on the chair Grammie made? Awesome!
Alice- I could eat her up!
Uncle Johnny with his loot
Aunt Lindz and Alice recovering from a stomach bug (that they joyously passed to everyone else except my immediate family- even my Mom and Dad got it somehow!)
Grammie, Bailey (with a Nemo fishy) and Poppy
Uncle Blair and Alice(poor pitiful alice was so sick)

ring-a-round-a-rosie

ring-a-round-a-rosie. pocket-full-a-posie. ashes. ashes. we-all-fall-down!

Bailey and Taylor love dancing with Grandma! (I think Grandma likes it too!)

Haiti

Many of you may not know, but I went to Haiti on a Medical Mission Trip in 2002. It was for only a week, but what a life-changing week for me. As a young nursing student, I saw poverty like that week that I still haven't seen since (even the Tsunami hit Banda Aceh was better off then regular day Haiti). My heart has been so burdened for this country. I have been to the Port Au Prince airport. Ya'll, it is the roughest airport you would ever see.....one bathroom for the whole thing. I did not spend much time in Port Au Prince excpet to fly in/out of, but it was a very crowded, very poor place to be. My prayers are that God will bring healing to this country that has known spiritual, emotional and physical desolation for many, many years. Blair and I are hoping to adopt a child from Haiti from Compassion. So many children are hopeless and despair there....I can't even imagine how many more are now orphans. God, save them!

Taylor 8 months, Bailey 28 months

Grandma Patterson, Bailey, Grandpa Patterson, Taylor
While we were gone, Taylor turned 8 months and Bailey 28 months. Here is what they have been up to:

Taylor-
*you are a master-sitter at this point and are VERY close to crawling. You love to play with your
toys and eat paper (yuck).
*you sleep from 7:30-7:30, waking up twice to eat.
*coo and say dada indiscriminately
*were eating some baby food, but since then have turned up your nose to any food other then milk, although you love water out of your sippy
*LOVE Snickers the cat and Bailey and think both are hilarious
*takes 2 naps a day
*you are a joy to be around and overall are a very content and smiley baby.

Bailey-
*you are talking up a storm and say pretty much anything. My favorite is when we pray and you say "Amen, Amen Taylor" for your sister :)
*love the Wonderpets, Dora, Blue's Clues and anything having to do with Nemo (every fish is a Nemo fish)
*moved from a crib to toddler bed (with about a week of rough transition)
*hop or run everywhere you go.
*love to color/draw/chalk/paint
*go very easy to daycare/church. You don't even want to say good-bye!
*are the apple of your parent's and grandparent's eyes.
*love hot dogs, oatmeal, pumpkin muffins, nuggets, and all fruit.

Merry Christmas

Uncle Travis and Aunt Natalie reading some of our new books to us






Bailey's new Little People castle with all her WonderPets and Little Blue keeping guard.

Christmas Eve

(above pic- Mom and I wrapping last minute gifts)

Christmas Eve at my parent's was a very nice day and evening. Blair and I had the privelege of going out to eat in Destin (even though it was freezing and torrentially raining). We went to a Asian Fusion place and I had Pad Thai (yea!), then we caught the movie Invictus (highly, highly recommend). It was great going on a date- thanks Mom and Dad for watching the girls!

Tales
Bales
All ready for Christmas fun!

Christmas Lights in DeFuniak

Only in NW Florida can you go to college 4 hours from home, marry a local boy whose brother marries a girl from a town very near Crestview, who happens to be cousins with my roommate. Yes folks, I am from a hick town if there was ever one! We met up with my sis in law and her family in DeFuniak for the local Christmas Lights around the lake. The prisoners put these up every year. It was a nice walk and great tradition to start.

Bailey and Cousin Alice (now walking!!!)
Dinosaurs for Christmas?


The girls: Taylor, Anna, Alice, Alana, Bailey (Anna and Alana are my sis in law's sister's kids).

Christmas Trip Day 2

Are you ready for Christmas.?.....
I love my Grandma and her view of the Lake!
Bailey and Billy Bass....pushing that button over..and over...and over...
Playing with Grandma, having lots and lots of fun!

Captain Blair Thomas Cellon

Congratulations Blair! We are so very proud of you. (I forgot to take my camera to the actual ceremony, but wouldn't have had a chance to take pics anyway as I was corralling the Tales and Bales the whole time). Blair's boss gave an awesome speech about Blair and what an awesome Marine he is. Such a special time for our family (other then getting lost on the way to his job.....I think he works in the safest place on the planet....you can't even get there with directions :)).

BRRRR!! (snow to come?)

10-Day Forecast

NEW: Larger Radar Maps & No Ads

			High / Low (°F)	Precip. %
Tonight Jan 03		Clear	18°	0 %
Mon Jan 04		Sunny	39°/23°	0 %
Tue Jan 05		Sunny	40°/23°	0 %
Wed Jan 06		Sunny	41°/25°	0 %
Thu Jan 07		Partly Cloudy	45°/32°	20 %
Fri Jan 08		Rain / Snow Showers	36°/23°	40 %
Sat Jan 09		Mostly Sunny	38°/21°	0 %
Sun Jan 10		Mostly Sunny	36°/30°	0 %
Mon Jan 11		Partly Cloudy	49°/35°	10 %
Tue Jan 12		Partly Cloudy	51°/38°	10 %

Christmas Trip Day 1

The Cellon Clan took a 10 day road trip and traveled to Florida over the Holidays. We had a blast, but are not ready to head back in the car for awhile :). Here is day 1 in Crestview:

Bailey playing with her "food" that she got from her cousins, the Odle family. Thank you guys!
Grandpa and Bailey
Bright-eyed and ready for Christmas to come!

2010 Goals

A few of my goals for 2010 for all to see and keep me accountable!

1. Wake up at 6 am everyday and have Quiet Time with my Lord first thing- I normally wake up at 6:30, and it is hard to wake up at 6am after being up with Taylor several times a night, but I have realized the need to get up before them now that there is 2! I have been having my QT during nap time, but need to start freeing up that time for chores.

2. Support my Husband- Be diligent in all I do. Have the home be a haven for him to rest and come home to. Live my life in such a way that he knows he is number 1 on my priority list (besides God). Make his lunches the night before. Get up with him and make his breakfast to take with him. Ask his opinion on meals, girls activities, my activities. Serve as a FRA with his unit. Thank him daily for all his hardwork and provision. Encourage him to go after his goals.
Date nights 2x/month until he deploys (make daycare reservations/ brainstorm ideas to do).

3. Eat healthier- I have lost all the baby weight due to nursing, and have cut dramatically down the "processed food and sugar substitutes", but have gotten in a habit of using more sugar. I am trying to cut the sugar out of my coffee and tea. I also need to decrease running through the drive thru to once a week (even for a diet coke). Continue with my meal planning (best help ever)

4. Exercise 4x/week- Currently I walk 45min-1 hour with some friends (with kiddos) 3x/week. I need to continue that and then add a day or two of more intense activity. Going to the gym is now feasible with Taylor being 8 months old. I will start running once it warms up a bit. If nothing else, I need to do a Shred/ Tae Bo video at home when the girls are occupied. Baby weight is gone, but sure needs some toning!

5. Keep up with the Blog at least 3x/week- I have a new camera and love taking pictures with it! I want to be more diligent about documenting my girl's lives. This blog is our family scrapbook and I need to do a better job at updating it. I also plan to include more of my personal ideas/ goals/ struggles and triumphs in the worlds of parenting, military life and homemaking.

6. Be a better homemaker- I am painfully aware of my shortcomings in the areas of cooking, cleaning and creativity. I am going to implement a cleaning plan (looking at the motivatedmomsplanner), continue to practice my cooking (which has improved a lot in 2 years, especially with all our dietary restrictions), and plan a monthly project (sewing, crafting, etc). I know with most of these things practice makes perfect, and I need a LOT of practice!

7. Be a better Mom- I need improvement in doing crafty things with Bailey. Once a week, I want to find simple craft ideas to help her have fun and learn about whatever she is passionate about. I want to start reading to Taylor at night before she goes to bed.