Get Away

Stephen and I recently had the opportunity to get away for a night, just the two of us. It was heaven on earth.

My aunt and uncle have a gorgeous lake "cabin" nearby my hometown. They were super generous to let us have it all to ourselves.

We were gone less than 24 hours. But it was plenty of time to feel refreshed. It was relaxing, romantic, and downright fun.

I really love Capt' Steve.

We happy houred.

And wined and dined.

We watched the sunset and savored the gloaming of the day.

 
We grilled steaks. We had coffee by the fire. We listened to music. We read, prayed, and planned our future.

It was a good good time.

Couples, get away. Even if it's just one night.

Funny Christmas 2011

Christmas morning the men in my family struggled to regulate their body temps. My dad kept saying "Either something is wrong with me or something is not working. Is there a door open?" It was nothing that a giant afghan couldn't fix. We covered those menfolk up and they settled into a lengthy conversation about Christmases of their childhoods. The expectations. The disappointments.

It was a lovely Christmas morning.

And then here's a peak at the night life. The Jimmy Buffet themed Christmas dinner lives on - complete with cheese burgers in paradise, margaritas, and fruitcakes in the kitchen.

I have a good reason for being gone so long.

The past two weeks have been eventful.

Friday morning, December 9th Stephen (Grande, Capt' Steve) badly injured his right hand while working using a table saw. He is one half owner of a building and home renovation company, and he frequently does a lot of the work himself.

Two fingers on his right hand (ring finger and middle) were the most damaged by the accident. The severity of the injury led us to UAB in Birmingham under the care of a 24 hour on-call hand team. Stephen had a 4 hour reconstructive surgery that Friday night by an excellent orthopedic hand specialist (Dr. Chadhari).

My parents, my brother, and Stephen's parents came to be with us in the hospital. Our siblings took care of our children. Many of you texted, called, came to visit, brought food, visited, and prayed for us. Thank you, truly. THANK YOU.

This whole ordeal has rocked our little world. After all,  it is his right hand. He is right handed. He works using his hands. It has been an all too real reminder of the finality of this life and that our bodies will fail us.

We've had some really low moments. But by the grace of God, Stephen is recovering well. Really - he is. He will be spending the next 8-12 weeks doing much occupational therapy and wearing splints and bandages on his fingers. His hand will literally never look the same or function the same again. But thankfully his long term prognosis is good. It is predicted that he will regain much of his usage and function over time. In a year this will not be the center of our universe like it is now. It will be a part of our life. God works all things for our good. We know this.

So where are we now, 2 weeks out of surgery -- emotionally?

We are grateful. We are grateful that this injury was not any worse. We are thankful for the fantastic medical care we received. We are thankful for the healing that has already begun and that Stephen will return to work after the first of the year. We are thankful for each other and our children. We are thankful for extended family and friends. And we are most thankful for God's work in our life even through bad things. We are thankful for God's healing hand, the promise of His redemption, the birth of his Son, and the hope we have in Jesus. We have experienced much peace throughout this event, a supernatural peace. Our hearts are high. We are enjoying being together. We are enjoying the holidays. God is good.

We hope you all had the Merriest Christmas! Thank you all for reading my blog and for your friendships. This is a fun part of my life and I hope to return back to it soon.

Much love,

all the Spooners

We tried....

Peace I leave with you; 

my peace I give you. 

I do not give to you as the world gives. 

Do not let your hearts be troubled 

and do not be afraid. John 14:27

Set your minds on things above, 

not on earthly things. Colossians 3:2

Our Table Top Tree

So this year we opted for a table top tree.....again. I debated getting a tree at all, but when Stephen Small had such a grand time decorating my sister's tree I thought - Hey, why not? Life is short. By golly lets get a tree!  So this morning I bought a table top tree from Fresh Market (after breaking a bottle of wine in the wine section)....oops.

We spent the late morning decorating our tree. It was fun. It was messy. You have to get real laid back when decorating trees with the 2 and under crowd.

May I use this moment to tell the world how much I love table top trees?! They are so manageable. So practical for my stage of life. You see, I carry a gene that is overly burdened by the big Christmas tree thing. I have an aunt (Lynn Beck, my #1 commenter) who once threw her tree out before Christmas because it was too much trouble. And my grandmother used to keep a fake tree fully decorated in the back bedroom closet so all she had to do was shimmy it down the hall at Christmas time. The genetics on the Gillespie side of the family have a low stress threshold for Christmas trees.

Enter perfect solution: table top trees.

I've spotted a couple table top trees in old movies i.e. Gone with the Wind and The Apartment. Both films won best picture in their hey day. The t.t.t. makes me feel old fashioned and simple. And we all know I love to feel simple.

We had the Mariah Carey Pandora station cheering us on. And I used a tip I saw on Pinterest. Put your iPhone in a bowl. The concave shape amplifies the music. How cool is that?! Almost as cool as table top trees.

In other news, my Mama has come and gone.
Her visits never seem long enough. We had fun. We tried some new recipes. I ran a bunch of errands. I made a long to-do list and crossed every single thing off by 5pm yesterday. That's never happened in my life.

Too Blessed to be Stressed

If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back. 

                                                                                           -Anonymous

Sometimes I get to gripen' - complaining about my life. Being ungrateful. Feeling overwhelmed by the monotony of it all.

But it never takes me long to realize how foolish I sound as I start to rattle off my blessings.

I have food.
I have a warm bed.
I have soft furniture to sit on.
I have running water.
I have three pairs of yoga pants.
My children are healthy.
I have children.
My mom is coming to visit for 3 days.
My husband is kind.
I know Jesus.

I have earthly and heavenly riches galore.
 
I love this verse. I need to tattoo it on my hand - or my lower back - or my face.

Rejoice always; 

pray without ceasing; 

in everything give thanks; 

for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I'll end with my latest instagram photos:

I wish many good things for each of you this week :)

Coloring

There was a time when Stephen Small did not give a darn about coloring.

But - those. days. are. gone...

Now his coloring borders on obsession. Compulsion.

He can't stop.

I love it. His work gives me a thrill. It makes me smile and laugh. Occasionally he points to his picture and says "boat" or "eane" (plane).

Well, of course. Looks like boats and planes to me.

Christmas Craft : Popsicle Stick Tree Ornament

Stephen Small and I made these popsicle stick tree ornaments the other day. We loved it. I did all the glue gunning and he placed the buttons.

My goal was to make a craft out of supplies we already had --- no purchasing.

The inspiration came from here.

We painted the sticks with green finger paint then I cut them down and made the trees. All the buttons are from years of collecting extra ones that come with clothes.

To secure the twine I glued it between two popsicle sticks.

I used a glue gun, but maybe Elmer's would work. Or super glue. I don't know for sure --- my glue knowledge is limited.

They are hanging happily on my kitchen window. 

Crafts are good. Crafts are healthy. Crafts are good clean fun.



December is off to a good start.