A Christmas Morning Moment

As 2010 winds down, we find ourselves so very blessed! With a new little one on the way and Patrick just amazing us more and more everyday, we look forward to 2011! I hope you have a wonderful new year! I'll be back next week!




Just a moment from our week, one to savor and remember always. Thank you Amanda Soule for your inspiration every week!

A Christmas Caroling Moment

Here's to you and yours this fine Christmas Eve! Thank you Amanda for your inspiration every Friday! What's your special moment this week?

Elving at School!!

I remember Christmas as a child fondly. Especially in school. It seems as if it's very different today than it was back then. My husband tried to bring in white holiday lights and they were promptly sent home. The reason? A Fire Hazard. I remember my third grade teacher, working with us all to make ornaments...they were snoopy ornaments of clear plastic that we painted and glittered....and we had a tree in the room, granted an artificial one, with real lights! Colored ones! Oh, it was grand. It seemed as if the whole month of December was a holiday month!



Now? Not so much...but I can't seem to let go of that squirreling around, making gifts for moms and dads, hiding them, keeping secrets...you know....the fun of childhood!



My students asked for days about the "fish bowls" on the windowsill...and I was happy to share with them on Monday that we would be making gifts for moms and dads. They didn't have to be Christmas gifts, they could be solstice gifts, New Years gifts, even late Hanukkah gifts...I didn't care what colors they used, I made them all available...containers of blues, some of reds and greens, and others of rainbow colors...tissue papers, cut into tiny squares. They took their time carefully creating mosaics on glass. Today we tied sweet colorful ribbons around our votives and sent them home secretly....hopefully they'll have the same memories I grew up with...

And the Winner Is....

Nicole!




Although there weren't many comments, some of you took the time to leave sweet comments! I'm glad we've all got such fond, if not even funny moments of our parents! Thank you so much for playing! This was my very first giveaway and I hope to do more in the future!

Nicole, drop me your email address and I'll drop the book in the mail TOMORROW!

Have a great weekend everyone!

A Peekaboo Moment

I hope you are all finding time to play in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season too! Thanks to Amanda Soule for the inspiration to share our moments! What is YOUR moment?

Because I Said So!

Do you remember hearing this familiar phrase as a child? Perhaps there was a moment when your mom or dad couldn't come up with a more logical reason or they'd run out of patience, and this spurted out of their mouth? I'm sure it's happened to many of us. I'm sure many of us use it today! I'm not quite there yet, with my two and a half year old, who doesn't push those vocal buttons juuuuuuuust yet, but I've seen it happen. We all say we won't be like our parents, and then something surprising comes right out of our mouths! It's that reflection of who we've been raised by! No matter how much we try to do things differently, our parents are still there, deep inside of us.

When I heard Keller Williams, one of my favorite singer songwriters had written a childrens book *and* released a kid's CD, I was all over it! What a great CD to add to my collection! What a fun book!

This book takes a look at the absurd things kids tend to ask for, alligators, hippopotamus', and finally, realizing that something more modest might be most appropriate ;)

I think it's so cute that I've got a copy of the book JUST FOR YOU! Looking for one more Christmas gift? It's your lucky day! I'm hosting my very first ever give away right here on River-Girl! How to enter? Just tell me one great memory you have of your mom or dad from when you grew up! I'll be closing comments on Friday morning, right before I post my "this moment" and mailing the book out Saturday morning! So tell your friends! Get in on the goodness! Thanks for stopping by!

Comments closed! I'll be posting the winner a little bit later!

An In the Womb Moment

Now...obviously...this one can't go without a FEW words...

"What could be possibly wrong with that scanner?!" I thought to myself....for weeks on end...where I had NO energy to trudge past the evening sickness that had me in it's grasp..but as I see light through the clouds, at 16 weeks, I share with you...Baby Number 2, due in May! The Conroys are becoming FOUR!

Have a great weekend everyone! What is your special moment? I'd love to visit some of them!

Thanks Amanda Soule for all of your inspiration in gathering so many amazing moments in ONE place every week!

We headed out on this blustery morning to the Christmas Tree Farm.



Joe and I didn't always buy from a farm. We used to head over to Home Depot and pick out a tree, often at night, and bring it on home. When Patrick came along, we decided we wanted to create a tradition.



There is just something special about picking your tree right out of the field and cutting it yourself. The trees stand so majestically out there...in the crisp winter air. So many to look at, so fresh.



We wandered a bit, meandering through the fields, but we knew we really had our eye on a concolor fir this year. They are interesting trees, lighter in color, longer needles, some gnarly branches..and a very interesting citrusy scent!



It didn't take us long before we'd lopped one off to take back to the base. Afterall, when it's 32 degrees out, how long do you want to spend in a field?!



The tree has graced our living room. It smells divine. I may have decorated last week, but it finally feels like Christmas now!

Felted Penguin!

This little guy has been rather faceless and wingless for about a year. Last year, when the Christmas issue of Martha came out, I was quite excited to take a shot at needle felting. I had gotten as far as the body and head when I had stabbed myself one too many times and had other Christmas gifts to make. I told myself, "It's just a penguin, I can finish after Christmas, as a winter decoration!"

There he sat, lonely, in the felt basket, for nearly a year! When I saw him a few days ago, pathetically calling me, I decided to give him another chance. I'm glad I did!

I'm finally feeling back up to crafting again, so I took out my needles and gave him a few stabs here and there, and in the end, ended up with the most special little penguin. After all, the bench needed a buddy anyway!