Season's Greetings!

I really haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Tim and I have been quite preoccupied with getting ready for the holidays, various projects, including our biggest project: 4 kittens. They take up quite a bit of our time, and they are currently residing in the office, thus I am not in there as often on the computer. It used to be my place of creativity and serenity, but when you have kittens running up your leg all the time, it makes it kind of difficult! I probably won't be updating my blog(s) much until after the first of the year.

Until the next time I get a chance to blog, I hope everyone is having fun getting ready for Christmas! Christmas is probably my favorite holiday. I love the lights, the music, giving gifts, sharing time with family and friends, the yummy holiday foods, the Church services, etc. It is all too easy to get overwhelmed with all the duties and craziness that comes along with it though. I pray that through all the hustle and bustle of this season, that we are all able to sit back and reflect on what this season is all about. The birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the greatest gift of all!

Luke 2:9-12
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

Peace & Joy to you all
*love*

Thanksgiving

We had a really good Thanksgiving this year. Lots of fun with family, devouring way too much turkey and stuffing, and loving every minute of it. On Thanksgiving day, we had dinner up in McKinney at Tim's sister's (Amy) house. Tim's folks came into town from Kansas City, so it was great to see them and catch up on life. I love it when they are able to come down :) Amy has a wheat intolerance just like I do, so it's nice eating over there because she always has things prepared so that we can eat them! Except for the fact that she forgot to tell me the gravy had flour in it...oops! And within about 10 minutes of eating it, I knew I had been 'glutened'. That part wasn't so fun, but I didn't let it ruin my evening. All of us girls had fun chatting away all evening while the guys did their guy things and the kids played. My sister in law, Robin, went with her sister at midnight to head over to outlet mall to start Black Friday shopping, and Amy and my mother in law were going to get up at 4 to head out! Tim and I decided not to do that this year, which was good because we were so unbelievably tired, especially since Garbanzo has been waking us up every few hours to eat! She's nursing 4 kittens, so she's hungry all the time. We decided after that night that when we got home from Friday thanksgiving at my parents house, we were going to move them into the office so we could shut our bedroom door!

So back to Thanksgiving! Friday morning, I woke up and started preparing the gluten free apple tart I was so excited to make! I ran into a few issues...as in the dough kind of fell apart on me (the hazards of baking gluten free sometimes...), but I ended up piecing it back together, and it turned out AMAZINGLY good. Oh my word, I am in love with this dessert.

We went to my folks house around 1:00, and played a game of ladder golf, or whatever it's called. I forgot what it's called! But it's a fun game, even though my brother Mike beat me...oh well. And here's Peter giving a demonstration, and the lovely Beth showing her stuff.

We had a wonderful dinner that my mom and dad put together, and I ate way too much as usual. We got to video chat with my sister and brother and their families who couldn't be with us. At least they got to all be together up in Wisconsin for Thanksgiving :) We also celebrated Tim's birthday as a family (even though his birthday was on November 2) I still can't believe he's 30!!

It was a very relaxing, low-key Thanksgiving, both days. I am so thankful it has worked out the past few years to have thanksgiving with one family on Thanksgiving, and one family the next day. We don't have to rush through lunch with the first family, only to be so full and not be able to eat much at the second!

So we went home Friday evening, and had to get the kitties moved into the office. That was the best idea, ever. Mama took to the move quite well, even though she looked quite concerned at first, and so did the kittens. They love their new dwelling place -- more room to play! So they're happy, and we're happy that we can finally have a full nights sleep again.

Aren't they sweet?

*love*

Blessings

I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving spent with family and/or friends and are able to spend time reflecting on what it is you are thankful for this year. I am thankful for the amazing family the Lord has so richly blessed me with as well as my awesome and supportive group of friends (I love you all!) I am also thankful for a very loving (very patient!) husband who never ceases to amaze me. The Lord has blessed me abundantly, and I do not want to take that for granted.

So enjoy time spent with loved ones, enjoy all the yummy food (I know I will!), and make new memories.

*love*

Good Weekends

Isn't it the best when you can look back on a weekend and it was just a really good weekend? I wouldn't say I have terrible weekends usually, but a lot of times they're fairly uneventful, which is fine too. Tim had a gig with his band on Saturday at the Bone in Deep Ellum. So Mark and Esther picked us up at 11 and headed on down to Deep Ellum. We were all starving, so thankfully Cafe Brazil was just across the street. ah....Cafe Brazil. Now, I usually love Cafe Brazil, but I got their blackened chicken nachos. Sounds good right? Well, not when they put shredded cheese as well as liquid, cheeze-whiz, type of stuff over top. *shudders* I ate it, but man, it was kind of nasty. So, back to the Bone, their band ended up playing last. They did really good! Not too bad for their first 'club/bar' premiere. Check em' out! They'll be playing some gigs coming up here in the future, so stay tuned.
Afterwards we went out with friends, and some new friends, to the White Rhino Coffeehouse in Cedar Hill for some java and hot chocolate. This place is so cool! It's in a bungalow type house (which is my fav!!) and of course the whole time I'm thinking "ooo...I want a house like this....and hey, it wouldn't hurt to have a coffee bar in my house either...." ok...back to reality. So we sat, drank, had good conversation, and then it was time for Tim and I to head out to Beth and Peters for soup night. I am totally loving the fall weather that we are finally having. It was in the 40's - 50's that evening, and it was a perfect night for some taco soup and wine. Beth and I played a very competetive game of Candyland with Jessica (I lost) while Peter and Tim played Sorry with Jonathan. The kids went to bed, and Beth and I decided to go rent Kung Fu Panda. Tim and I had just watched it last weekend for the first time, but we can't help but share this one with others. If you haven't seen it yet, go out right now and rent it. It's freakin hilarious! I haven't laughed that hard at an animated movie in a really long time. Anyways, we all had a blast and it was just an all around, great day. Sunday was a little more uneventful, but that was ok, we probably needed it.

So here we are at Monday, and the week has definitely kicked into full gear. Today I spent the afternoon trying to teach myself a new responsibility at work. It's fun when you have hardly any training and then you need to some how know what you're doing :) Ah well...keeps work interesting. Tim had an interview today, which he said he felt pretty good about. We should know by Wednesday whether he got the job or not. It would be a huge answer to prayer, especially during these difficult economic times, but I know that if he doesn't get it, God has other plans in store for Tim/us and we'll be taken care of! We always are :) I'll keep ya posted!

*love*

Change

I decided to start a personal blog, aside from my creative blog. I want Sarah Carpenter Designs to focus in on my card/project designs...not that those arn't personal, but you know what I mean. So that's why I created 'with Words and Lattes'. Why the name you ask? Every time I sit down and have a good, deep conversation with a friend, it usually involves coffee or a latte. There's just something about having a hot cup o' joe in hand while sharing your life and catching up with friends. This blog is about having a conversation with you....sharing my life with you. Thank you for stopping by, and please feel free to comment at any time. Let me know your thoughts...I'd love to hear from you.

*love*