Day 3

I got some decorating done at the church, but I wasn't completely convinced that my floral arrangement was "Christmasy" enough. After I finished it, it really looked like a fall bouquet. Once I got it all in place, I asked Dave if it looked too fallish. His answer? "Well...if you want it to look more like Christmas why don't you put some poinsettias in it?" It IS poinsettias!! That's what I get for asking a man for an opinion about flowers...

Day 2

The boys put up their very own tree in the playroom today, with very little help from Mom. They sure have admired their work...

That was the easy part of my Christmas decorating! I just handed them a pile of ornaments that they could use and turned them loose. If only the rest of the house were that easy...

Day One

Melissa is sharing a daily photo for the 25 days of Christmas, so I thought I'd join in and see if I can keep up!

I seriously thought about having a "name that Photo" contest with this picture. To me this one is more than a thousand words. How do you narrow it down to one small caption?! A little boy, still in his jammies, and yet already outfitted for the trail, looking at Black Friday ads trying to decide what he wants for Christmas. The very serious look of concentration only adds to the preciousness of it. Yeah I just made that word up, it just seemed to fit right there. Anyway, stay tuned for the next 25 days and I'll try to share a bit of Christmas spirit...through the eyes of little boys.

The Happy Couple Returns!

The happy travelers have collected their mini cowboys and returned to the home front. We had a great time in the Smokies, and from all reports, the boys had just as great a time at Granna's.

THE CABIN

The cabin was something right out of a fairytale storybook. It was just oozing with charm, and the pictures simply do not do it justice.

The front porch would have been so very inviting had it not been 29 degrees...
We found the fireplace to be much more inviting...actually it was a necessity is what it was. We would have literally died without it.

The mirror is on hinges that swing open to reveal the TV cleverly hidden in the wall.

I loved the way it was decorated in blue and soft yellow.

The bedroom was complete with fireplace, jacuzzi, and more charming decor...

The kitchen was just as cute as the rest of the cottage.

We were so pleased with our cottage, had privacy, a great view, had an old fashioned Victorian flair and yet was loaded with modern luxuries, too.

THE FOOD

What's a good vacation without good food? That's my favorite part of a vacation. We nearly ate ourselves silly. This is at the Applewood Farmhouse. It was kinda neat to sit in porch swings while we ate our home cooked meal.

And the apple fritters were to die for!

The Italian Chocolate Toffee Cake from none other than Johnny Carino's. MMmmmm....

Then there were ribs from Calhouns, steak from Texas Roadhouse, doughnuts from Krispy Kreme......

THE BILTMORE

This is a handsome pack mule I picked up to carry my bags.

The Biltmore was breathtaking. Or maybe that was the frigid below freezing air. It was all decorated for Christmas with fantastic trees and mantle dressings. But if I had tried to take pics inside, I'm afraid Barney Fife would have wasted no time giving me a citation...

THE SHOPPING

The smokies are chock full of wonderful places to shop. If only we'd had more time...and money...

The vacation was a much needed time of relaxation.....except for all of the arguments. Oh, no. The arguments weren't between me and Dave. All of the arguments went on between Dave and the TomTom.

Before we could go anywhere, he had to ask ole Tom what was the best way to get there, and then sit in the parking lot and argue with it until it agreed with the way he wanted to go in the first place. Sometimes I wonder about modern technology...

Now we're back to reality. The day after we got home Carson brought me back into the whole Mommy thing with a bang. He picked styrofoam berries off my centerpiece and promptly stuffed them up his microscopic nostrils. It was kinda wild for a little while but let's just say it's all OK now and the nostrils seem to be clear and functioning properly.

Guess the dreamy vacation's OVER...

Happy Anniversary To Us!

November 20, 1998

10 Years ago today The Fogleman Family began.

It's been a wonderful 10 years, and it just keeps gettin better.

God has Blessed me with a jewel of a husband.

2003

2006

2007

2008

And now, we're off to the Smokies to celebrate! We'll have 3 days with no sippy cups, pull ups, crayons, Thomas the Tank, Buzz Lightyear, or Cowboy paraphernalia of any kind. I'll post pictures when we return...IF we return......

A Little PhotoStudio Trick...

What did we do before Photo Studio? (or for you lucky ones who have Photo Shop) I just thought I'd share a little editing trick that came in handy for me in this last photo shoot. I took several shots of the same pose, but having the fidgety subjects that I have, they didn't BOTH look good in the same photo. Jackson looked nice in the first one, but Carson was being himself...

Carson looked nice in the second one, but Jackson was being himself. (He has a terrible habit of quickly glancing away from the camera.)

Enter Photo Studio.
There's no such thing as a bad shot when you can edit! Unless you have those annoying blurries... Anyway, first, I layered the two shots with the second one on top. Then I "erased" the bad Jackson to reveal the good Jackson that was layered underneath. And Voila! Now I have one photo with two happy faces looking at the camera.
Then I can take it over to Picnik and put some neat little finishing touches on it. I am really digging the "Vignette".

Go try it! But be warned...it's addicting!

The Majority has spoken...

Thank you all for voicing your opinions! Now I'm a little bit embarrassed to give my own personal opinion. I just love A.

I love it because it is SO not real. It's just a mere dream of mine. The boys look so blissfully content to be snuggled up together. So calm...so peaceful...so cozy...So far from the truth. And the blue eyes. Man, I love those eyes! But why live in some fantasy world? This is just so NOT their personalities. (sniff, sniff...excuse me while I grab a hanky) But thank you Gillian for standing with me for "A"! You're a real pal.

But Let's hear it for "B"!!!

It won by a landslide. I must admit that B is much more in line with their true character. These guys live life out loud. Personality just oozes out of them...well, especially the little one. So you all have helped me to settle an inner battle. I'll use "B" for the Christmas cards because it really does capture the "real" boys... and I'll hang a large matted "A" on the wall just to look at when they're having their wild and hilarious "B" moments. And really, "B" was my next choice anyway.

Fall Photo Shoot

Leaves have completely taken over our yard. So me and the guys headed out doors for a photo shoot before we rake them all up. Hey, I'm all about cheap back drops. I always get frustrated getting the boys to cooperate for pictures, so I got smart this time. And well....I bribed them. Yeah, I admit it, I'm a terrible mother. I told them if they did good, they could play with my scrapbooking punches and cutters. Not the dangerous ones, mind you. You'd have thought I told them they had won a lottery to the toy store. I don't know what I was thinking.

Anyway, now that I have the pictures, I'm not sure which one(s) to put on our Christmas cards.
So this is a poll...Which photo should go on the Christmas Card? And the second question - Black and White or Color?

A.

B.


C.


D.
D. (the colored version)

E.


The rest of them are just individuals. They can't fake all that sweetness for very long. They simply HAD to be separated.

The bribery did it's little trick, and they cooperated like little angels. But I'm finding out I wasn't as smart as I thought I was. I'm still cleaning up little tiny slivers of paper. These guys literally made confetti out of a pack of printer paper.