Family photo op with French T-shirts

If anybody wonders where I get "it"--whatever it is, look no further.

Exhibit: A-- my mother..She's calm, non-expressive and in the background at all times--just like me.

She and my Dad, Terry, joined us for the holidays.
Mom and Dad are the only ones not wearing the white uniform.
Mom is wearing the scarf I made for her, and the necklace Joanna made for her.
The white uniforms inspired us to try four distinct weird poses, taken within a millisecond of each other via the tripod.
My kids wasted no time being themselves.
Notice who is doing the action, and who is sitting there calmly.
It's a mini-snapshot of our lives.
So, what are these crazy white shirts anyway?
After much disappointment, I came up with a solution. Well, what was the disappointment? And what was the solution?
Every time Will goes to France, (which is often--he's going for the fourth time in 18 months..) I tell him to "pick up T-shirts for the kids.. you know how they love T-shirts"..

And every time, he can not find T-shirts.
So, when I went to France with him (last year in September), I thought I'd make this right. I'm good at finding T-shirts and shopping. NO LUCK! Even in the airport, I could not even find a simple T-shirt that said "Paris"...
So, I went online. Surely, there must be something decent in French that would pose as a T-shirt from France. Nothing. Dumb sports T-shirts. Nothing cool. Definitely nothing my kids would like.

So, I did what most Americans do--I thought outside the box. I got creative. I designed my own. With the help of a creative young gal named Sara, the plan came together. She helped me make some creative design decisions.
I had one of Will's co-workers, Philippe from Dijon, translate a saying and then went to UBER prints, and had these made up.
Now, the real question is: what does it say? I think if you click on one of the photos, you should be able to get the front and back and translate.
I know that there are enough of you French-speaking smartie-pants out there..
who have nothing better to do than translate. In the meantime, you can just imagine
what I could possibly want to say in French that I could not communicate in English! Can you guess??

In case you can not read the T-shirt, the French saying is:

Chaque fois que Papa va en France , il ne ramène jamais de T-shirt avec le nom de la ville où il se trouvait ! Apparemment les Français pensent que ces T-shirts sont sans intérêt ou de mauvais goût .
Nous avons donc créé nos propres T-shirts en prenant des photos sur internet .
Ah Bon ! Bien sûr , les Américains sont malins comme ça !

Merry Christmas from the Webbers!

Whatever you are doing today--whether it is elaborate traditions or just sitting around doing your normal thing, I hope you will feel Christ's presence this day.

I have come to realize that holidays, special days, family times with or without friends will be nothing like the happy reunion we will have on THAT DAY when Christ gathers us together in his presence.

Some people are unhappy and lonely during the holidays. In a sense, we all are unhappy and lonely compared to what it will be to be constantly with Him. Whether you give or get gifts, no gift compares with Him. Whether eat a feast or barely eat at all, nothing will compare to His delicacies. Whether you have expectations met or unfulfilled, nothing will compare to the sense of fulfillment that will be when HE comes for us.

In the midst of tinsel, turkey, and temptations, may you find the place where rivers of delight are ever present. There is nothing like Christ. He is the best present of all.

Birthday curlies and whirlies..

Exactly one week ago, one brave-hearted organizing mommy took five children north to Wisconsin to visit their special friends.

even though it happened to be the birthday of one little blondie named Emily.
So, I called on the way north. "Hey, uh... it's Emily's birthday today.. and.."

Well, would you believe it? They made a cake, had balloons and presents for the child with about 3 hours notice?? Are they good friends, or what?? The oldest daughter of the family is also an Emily. She is holding our Emily. Sweet, eh?

Everyone had a blast at her party, even though she was the only 6 year old.

So, the next day was a special day because I was planning to stay in my pajamas all day.

Instead, my friend, Kathy, said, "Woman! What are still doing in your pajamas??"

And I gave her this look.

And then I got dressed. But I told her that I was not leaving the house. Fine enough, except the kids wanted to go Christmas shopping. So, I told them they could go if they could find a driver amongst the Morell boys. And Samuel (farthest on right) with the help of Hudson managed to "take care of the girls" all day for their shopping adventures.

They managed to also go out for lunch,
get an oil change, go to Walmart, try on wedding dresses at Goodwill and..

hit the coffee shop before heading home...

Oh, the patience of those young men!! Then again, with cute gals like these, it probably wasn't too much of a trial.

What do you think?
Can the guys handle them?
Bye-bye you guys! Thanks for the great visit..

And thanks, Sara, for making my six year old such a curly-whirly.

Shirley Temple..
Are you cute or what, little kid-let?

Frugal Fashionistas

There are two noteworthy fashionista bargain finds worth mentioning. This denim shirt/ jumper is one of the coolest bargains to date.

Specs: Liz Claiborne, tags on $70.00 new/--- Can you guess?? $14.99 Goodwill.

Also: top underneath--$1.50/ tank top. Jewelry made by Jo-Snazz, pants? can't remember/ probably Goodwill from a few years ago.
But here's something better. Sara, our guest who left this afternoon, is sporting a new hat, fingerless gloves and a scarf.
They were all made from a sweater.. The sweater cost $4.99. It was a beautiful mohair, rabbit fur, cashmere blend.
A gorgeous green color..
for a darling little gal..
Two "sisters" in the Lord--saying their last good-byes..
Until we meet again, little Sara.
It's been fun dressing up with you, Sara!

Fun times

Here I am laughing at the Camel falling on the audience in a live nativity scene.
Then I start to feel guilty about laughing about the potential of people getting hurt by this camel falling on everyone.
Maybe you've seen this going around on Facebook? The utter conflict of it all--wondering if you should bust a gut laughing or just send a donation to help clean up the mess...
Here's Sara. We did a million things while she was here, and at this moment, I have screaming teenagers playing some game that involves spoons. It's 11: 42 p.m. Now they are throwing oranges around. That was the pre-cursor to the game called, "Don't touch the trashcan"..
Let's just say this. The "trashcan" was our ottoman, which is now referred to as "the evil ottoman".. I'll let you piece the details of that story together.

This is making my home sing. Check out others at: moms the word.

Another day.. another day to celebrate..

Hold this snowball in your hand with me. It will only last a few seconds..
Soon it will melt away and we'll wonder where the time went. We'll wonder why

we never took the time to appreciate it more. We'll wonder what we were doing while the snow was melting..

What was it that allowed us to miss this moment?
And celebrate its freshness?
its spontaneity?

.. its contemplations..
its snuggle time..

Somehow I'll doubt that 20 years from now..

I won't regret not taking life more seriously..

because I know I take the serious things seriously..

and everything else is up for grabs..