Have yourself a Merry little Christmas...

Welcome to a little holiday tour of my home! I love opening my house up for visitors during any season of the year, but especially at Christmas time. There is just something about the sights, sounds, smells and memories of Christmas. As my good friends Katrina and Sarai have already said, I wish you were here with a steaming cup of hot chocolate, but this little virtual tour will have to do for now.

The Christmas tree is in my living room in front of the large windows that face the street. I love to sit on the couch by the light of the tree and just relax. Last year I discovered that my Christmas decorating taste had definitely changed and revamped my tree to a red and gold theme. Tucked in the tree are some super sparkly snowflakes which might be my favorite! On the mantle you will find my needlepoint stocking that I have had for a long time and the mantle is decorated with some fun garland and ornaments.

So here are a few other random shots from around the house...Enjoy!

One of my favorite traditions as a child was getting a new Christmas book each year. Even though I do not have kids of my own, I continue this tradition to share with the kids in my classroom. I bought Great Joy last year after Christmas and am so excited about sharing it with my class. My mom bought me One Snowy Night because the pup on the front reminded her of Barkley!


My mom gave me a special gift last year that I love to display at Christmas. It is a picture of her and her sister on Santa's sleigh when they were little girls. I love having this family memory in my home and it serves as a wonderful reminder of my special Aunt Donna and the love she had for this time of year and our family. I am not sure you can really see it in this picture, but it is so special!


This year may you BELIEVE in the magic of this season and the love that was born that Christmas night so long ago. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Dear Blog Readers...

Dear Blog Readers...

Could someone tell me what I am supposed to do with the rest of my life? That is all...Thanks!

Love,
Brooke

All I want for Christmas...

Some people want two front teeth, or lots of presents under their tree, but my Christmas wish was quite simple this year. And it all started with a little adventure in Raleigh with my favorite gals and a little Christmas goodness...



I have to say that if you know me at all you know my deep deep love for all things Shane and Shane. I will forever be grateful to my friend Sarai for introducing us a few years ago. I have seen them in concert countless times, follow them online and love their music. The lyrics are amazing, the guitar is out of this world and their hearts for the Lord are huge. So we knew that we had to make it to the Christmas tour this year. Our goal, to have our picture made with the Shanes. Sounds simple enough...right! You know how most people would be if they were in the presence of Brad Pitt or Matthew Mcconaughey, well that is how I found myself, when we spotted Shane B. at the sound board before the concert. The logical thing would have been to go and ask for a picture, but we were speechless, like 13 year old girls. Now Beth, was the brave one and stole a shot before the show.



Well, the show started and we have missed our chance...but all of that was lost once the music started. Not only were the Shanes there but Bethany Dillon and the ever fabulous Phil Wickham (love him!). Here is a little mid show picture...


When the show was over, we were determined to meet Shane and Shane. So we waited for a while and chatted and plotted. We were confident and ready. We glanced back at the merchandise table and a man with blinking antlers caught our eyes! There he was...Shane B! So, being the brave women that we were, we went and waited patiently in line and the Christmas wish came true...


We also met Bethany Dillon and got a quick picture of Phil...




Even though there might be 14 days til Christmas, my Christmas wish has already come true! It truly is the most wonderful time of the year!

Tag...I'm it...

I was tagged by my dear friend Christal to share 7 random or weird facts about myself. So enjoy!

1. I have a famous name...most of you probably already know this but my name is Jessica Brooke Simpson. So you can impress all your friends by letting them know you are friends with good ole' Jessica Simpson. By the way, I do know what Chicken of the Sea is!

2. I have a long list of words that make me cringe when they are said. I would tell you what they are but I would have to kill you! Don't worry though, if you say them I you will know it!

3. I have a secret desire to visit Cleveland, Georgia and Babyland General Hospital...I am obsessed with the names of Cabbage Patch Kids (thanks Lori, Beth and Sarai!). We even found one named Sarai...that's right spelled with an I!

4. I have had to file 2 worker's comp claims while working at my school. One for trying to cut my finder off while making clocks with my kids and one for falling in a hole and spraining my ankle! Me, clumsy...no way!

5. Broadway shows are really exciting to me and I would go to them all if I could. My person favorite of course is Wicked but I have seen Mama Mia, The Lion King, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, The 25th Annual Putnam County SPelling Bee, Rent, A Chorus Line, Legally Blonde and hopefully many more. I have actually seen some of these twice and maybe three or four times.

6. I attended the World Odyssey of the Mind competition when I was in 8th grade in Boulder, CO. Odyssey of the Mind was a creative problem solving competition and our team made it to the world finals. It was an amazing trip...such a great experience.

7. My very first job was working at K-Mart and I had to wear one of those super cool red vests. I even got to announce a Blue Light Special once!

The other part of this tag is to tag seven friends...So I tag...
Kristi
Jayme
Suzanne
Amanda
Nina
Robyn
Lisa

If you read this...

Dear 4 people who might read this blog...

Sorry I have been a blog slacker and have not updated in a while. It is not that I have not had things to say to you...just I guess not sure what to say! So...I promise to update with a much better post soon. But for now here are the top five things that have happened since I last blogged...

1. Went to see Wicked with some super cool friends
2. Thanksgiving with the family
3. Christmas decorations are in process at the Simpson home...woohoo!
4. Saw my super precious Goddaughter sing some very cute songs at her Thanksgiving play
5. Got to spend some good friend time with Shannon...my friend who moved far away to Mississippi

I am sure there are a million and one other things I could tell you about and I will update more later.

Until next time...
Brooke