Three Christmases

****I wrote the bulk of this post on Sunday evening, but wasn't able to get around to finishing it until tonight (Tues.)...have been so, so, SO sick! Blegh! Sorry for the delay!!****



I am determined to get this post in before 2009 arrives! :) So I sit here this afternoon on the couch, with just the tic-toc of the clock filling the air. My love is snoozing happily on the couch nearby and my little ones are snug in their beds for a much needed nap! I half wish I was napping too! With no voice and an achy, stuffy head, I'm not feeling my best today. BUT...neglecting this blog will only cause my memories of such a fun, happy few days to fade. So here I type.

Our Christmas this year lasted three days! I think I like it that way, in fact! It spread out the cheer and the time with family, which made it all the more enjoyable. The shotgun approach to seeing everyone in one day is just too hectic for my taste! Three days was awesome!

On Christmas Eve, the kids and I spent much of the day at home doing whatever it is we do on a daily basis. Laundry, wrapping up last minute gifts, playing...you know the drill. Ty arrived home in the later afternoon and we attempted to ready the kids in their cute, new Christmas outfits for a nice dinner at at Ty's cousin Michael's house. Luke unfortunately woke from his nap on the WRONG side of the bed, and threw fit after fit about not wanting to wear his new, oh-so-cute button down Christmas shirt. I have NO idea what his deal is with button down shirts, but this isn't the first time he threw a fit over one. Weird! Between the tantrums and my sluggishness from feeling rather ill, we ended up arriving at dinner nearly an hour late! SOOO unlike us! While we missed the family sitting down to eat together :( there was still plenty of food for us and we still got to enjoy the most important part...visiting with Ty's family!



All the kids ran around like crazy children (LOL!) while we chatted and visited, and when the little ones couldn't stand the waiting any longer, we all piled into the living room for them to open their gifts! We certainly were NOT expecting our kids to be part of the gift opening, but to our surprise and their delight, Luke and Ellie each had a couple of gifts to open! I think this little guy won the prize for the night's favorite toy! (Even though this pic is from the following day!)


We headed home sometime around 8pm, with a very tired little girl and a very wound up little boy who couldn't wait to get home to set out his cookies for Santa and put on his new Christmas jammies!



After Santa's snacks were all ready to go, Luke picked out his gift from Aunt Kim as his one present to open on Christmas Eve. He was delighted when he realized what it was! So delighted, in fact, that on Christmas morning, he asked if he could play 'pirate' BEFORE he opened his gifts from Santa! Seriously?!!









We heard the pitter-patter of little feet sometime around 6:30 the next morning, and we all headed downstairs to see what awaited us under the tree!





And let me just to you...the rest of our day was p-e-r-f-e-c-t! We had no plans for family or visitors until late in the afternoon, and with the rain falling steadily outside, we soaked up every opportunity to linger in the moments, enjoy our new gifts and marinate in the blessings of just being together! I made a delicious breakfast of homemade blueberry crepes and a yummy egg frittata thing-a-ma-jig!


A kiss from my little man....



When Ellie went down for her morning nap, Luke and I got to work making a birthday cake for Baby Jesus that we would enjoy after dinner!



He LOVED this part...especially when he could nibble of the chocolate chips or lick the beaters! (It was a chocolate chip cake that we made!) Once the cake was baking away in the oven, he kept me company baking pizzas on the counter with his new pizza play set that Santa brought while I prepared dinner for the crock pot! We planned to have gingersnap pot roast with sweet potatoes and carrots that evening and boy was it yummy!!!!!!

Sometime well after lunch, the kids napped and us grown ups finally decided it was time to get dressed for the day! (Oh how I LOVED lounging around in my jammies all day!!!!! It just seemed like that is EXACTLY how it SHOULD be! Perfection!) As the pot roast cooked away in the crock pot, we spent the remainder of the day (after the kids finished napping, of-course!) sitting on the family room floor, listening to music, playing with Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys! Ellie took care of her new little baby doll and learned how to give it a bottle, kisses and lots of snuggles while Luke worked with Daddy to build whatever it was their imaginations would muster up!





I caught Luke pretending to be a weight lifter with his Tinker Toys! He built the dumbbell himself! :)





Does this look like a happy kid or what?!





Before we knew it, dinner time had rolled around and we sat down as a family to enjoy a lovely meal in celebration of Jesus's birth! We ended the day singing "Happy Birthday" to baby Jesus and blowing out birthday candles on the cake we had baked for him! I think the birthday cake really drove the concept home for Luke as to what Christmas is all about and why we celebrate!
After all, He is the reason for the season!

Lighting and blowing out the birthday candles...





On Friday, we enjoyed our third Christmas at my parent's house with my side of the family. My sister, her boyfriend, and the girls were all there, along with my aunt and uncle (my mom's sister) and my grandparents. We opened presents and ate yummy, YUMMY fillet that Ty had prepared while we visited and reminisced about all sorts of things! The kids, as usual, LOVED just being together and after dinner, they entertained us with several rounds of wrestling and rough housing! It was well after Luke's bedtime when we again made our way home, and with no nap to speak of that day, he was asleep before we even hit the highway! His cousin's definitely wore him out!

Three Christmases...three days....and too many blessings to count! How fortunate we feel to have been able to share such a special holiday with those we hold dearest to our hearts! And how immensely grateful I feel now as I type to have my three beside me....they are my deepest joys and I love them so!!!!



Just as a little side note.....
Here they are in their Christmas outfits! (Even if it's a tad blurry and a terrible photoshopping job!!) I haven't ever bought them matching outfits for special occasions before (I'm just frugal that way and hate the thought of them only getting to wear an outfit once!) But I splurged a little this year and bought these! And I have to say..they are so darn cute in them! I'm glad I did! :)


This last one just makes me smile! Oh how they LOVE one another! This was right before Ellie planted a big 'ol kiss on Luke's head! :)

Still catching up.....

I am still playing catch up on my posts! While I had hoped to be able to fill you in on our Christmas (which was wonderful, btw!) I only have time tonight for some pictures from our visit with Taryn, Megan and Kailyn earlier in the week! We sure did have a great time! It was the first time I'd had all three girls here, along with my own two...well....I think ever! And it was about time! :) We had a blast together and kept pretty busy! I only have a few photos though, as I was either too busy with them to remember to pick up my camera or I just plain forgot to bring it along! But here's what I have with a little timeline mixed in for my own memories sake!

We didn't pick them up at my mom's house until late Sunday evening (8pm I think) as we had a birthday party to attend for a friend of ours. My sister was kind enough to allow me to trade cars with her for a few days so I could cart all 5 kids around, since our Kia is MUCH too small for a crowd like that! As Ty and I drove them all home, we glanced at each other and giggled from our spots in the front seat, knowing full well that this crowded of a vehicle is somebody's daily reality! We are happy with just our two, thank you very much! But I DID love the roars of laughter and silly conversations that happened as we all drove together! It was great for the short time we had 'em! :) Anyway....I digress....

When we got the gang home, it was bedtime for the younger ones. But not before Luke read Kailyn "The Poky Little Puppy"...one of my personal favs!


I had set up our aerobed in Luke's room alongside his big boy bed (a full), so all the kids got to sleep together! As I tucked Luke and Kailyn in and kissed them both goodnight, Luke pleaded with me to sleep next to Kailyn! As I left the room, both were cuddled up, side by side with their stuffed animals and blankets! Such a sweet sight! Taryn, Megan, Ty and I sipped hot cocoa and watched "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" until we were all too tired to stand it any longer! No pics from that night though!

On Monday, ALL the kids decided it would be fun to wake up at 5:45! And while I was prepared for this, 5:45 still seemed too darn early! LOL! We all shuffled downstairs and the kids snuggled under blankets together while I made waffles with whipped cream smiley faces for breakfast (and I chugged my coffee! LOL) Once we were all showered (I'm not lying when I say that it took me an entire 3 1/2 hours to get them all and me showered, dressed, fed and hair done for the day!) we headed out in the rain to Jump Zone...a bounce house place nearby! It was SOOOO much fun! The kids wore themselves out jumping, running, sliding and playing for about 2 hours! I even got to play on the bouncers too and let me tell you, it was FUN!!!!! Though most of the bounces had age restrictions on them that did not allow Ellie to participate, there was one or two that she could go into, so I would sit her on my lap and bounce with her while the other kids hopped wildly around us. She loved it!!! They had a toddler play area too and she was happy to play there while the big kids burned off their waffles and whipped cream! :) Again, no pics of the morning, since I forgot the camera! Duh!

We had lunch when we got home and I was surprised when Luke, Ellie, Kailyn AND Megan all opted for naps in the afternoon! Guess 5:45 WAS a little early!! Tayrn and I used the 'quiet' time to bond over baking some chocolate cookies followed by preparing dinner to pop into the over later on. When everyone was rested, we played some games and waited for Ty to get home from work! I snapped these while we were engrossed in a game of Twister! Ellie wanted in on the fun too!




So did Tess....

Luke just decided that shooting rubber bands was more fun!

Ellie gave up on the game and just watch awhile...


Once Ty arrived home, we sat down to enjoy the dinner Taryn and I had prepared earlier and before we knew it our neighbors were arriving to share dessert with us before heading out to look at Christmas lights! I have to say that I think the seeing the Christmas lights was one of my favorite memories of their stay here. To have all the kids, pajama-clad and happy all in one car together on a cold, drizzling winter night was so much fun! They giggled and sang along to the Christmas songs playing on the radio and at each house we stopped at, I just soaked in all their little comments of awe and wonder! Even little Ellie loved it and would exclaim "wwwoooooowww!" at all the beautiful light displays! As we finally ventured home, we tucked all the kiddos into bed (minus Ellie who was in her own room already fast asleep!) and I read several Christmas stories aloud to them as they wound down from the night. It felt a little like The Waltons as we kissed each of them goodnight and turn out the lights! LOL! So fun!

Tuesday was a less eventful day, with just some errand running in the morning, lunch at home, naps and lots of scootering and playing in the backyard most of the afternoon! Luke absolutely ADORED having his cousins around to play with! He was in heaven the whole time they were here! He loves them so much! Here are a couple last shots I took Tuesday morning as they all were playing in my room....

I dropped them back off with Jenn around dinner time Tuesday night, figuring that Luke would be a little sad at returning to an empty house. To ward off any of those feelings, I had saved his gingerbread house to decorate that evening! It has now become one of our little Christmas traditions and we just loved working on it together as a family! I decided that I wanted to be in the mix decorating too, so I only have these couple of photos...one from the beginning and two of the finished product!


Luke really was happy here, though you wouldn't know it by the look on his face!

He wanted a silly shot too...


AND FINALLY......(yes...there IS an end to this post!!!) I really wanted to share these couple of pics I took of Ellie Christmas Eve morning! Mostly because I just love how they show her little dimpled chin....my most favorite of her features!




And this one just made me happy!

Just stopping in.....

A favorite from LAST year.....

I think I downplayed in my mind all the last minute things that needed to get done today when I imagined being able to sit down and blog about the last few days with the girls being here. LOL! Its just not going to happen today! :) BUT....I DID want to pop in to wish each of you...my dear friends and loved ones, a VERY, Merry CHRISTmas! It is my prayer that you are blessed abuntantly with your loved ones close tomorrow! Merry Christmas, friends!

Forgotten pics....

As I was uploading pictures tonight from the past few days with the girls (more on that tomorrow probably), I came across a few that I wanted to share from last week, but had forgotten about! I think these were from last Wednesday when the weather was dreadfully cold (I think the high was 36!) and it rained all day! We had hoped for snow that day, as it seemed everyone around us was getting a good dusting, but for whatever reason, our little neighborhood stayed just a degree or two above freezing that day and we only received rain! :( A bummer for us!

Since we were stuck inside all day, Luke and I were both experiencing a little bit of cabin fever and decided a little impromptu craft session was in order while Ellie napped! We dug through our pantry to see what we could use to make something.....anything and came up with the fixin's for this cute little snowman! And of-course we just had to sip hot cocoa doused with whipped cream while we worked! :) Here are the missed pics.....








Isn't he a cute little marshmallow snowman??? Luke named him, but now that its been a few days, I can't seem to recall what his name was! And since Luke's in bed now, guess I can't ask him till morning! :)


Okay...that's all! :) Just wanted to share those so that I keep track of things for myself! :) I hope to get back to blog again tomorrow to recap the last few days with the girls being here! We had a great time with LOTS that kept us busy! More on all that soon! Night!

Party of Seven????

That's what we'll be saying if we are brave enough to go out to eat in the next few days! :) We have my sweet nieces staying with us for the next couple of nights, so we have now morphed from 4 to 7! How sweet it is though to have 'my girls' under my roof for a spell! Won't have much time for bloggin' though (we've got some serious fun planned!), so I guess my little video of Luke's Christmas musical at school will have to wait a few more days! (He did great though, btw and those kiddos were SO darn cute!!!!!) Look for another post soon! Until then......

16 months and 16 years on the 16th

Remember my affinity for dates? Well yesterday was another one of those kinda random, kinda special days to me! :) It was 16 years ago last night that Ty and I first met. At 15 and 17, we knew nothing of what the years ahead of us would bring and had NO idea that one day we would be married! Many of you know the story...some of you don't and for the sake of saving face (LOL!) I won't go into detail of that night! :) Suffice to say that we were at a little high school get together and our life paths were permanently altered on that cold, December evening! :) I love you, sweetie! Can you believe it's been 16 years?!

Yesterday also brought Ellie's 16 month birthday! My, how the time is flying! She is such fun at this age! And a little heart breaker in the making! Blowing kisses to everyone... waving hello to complete strangers or cars passing us on the freeway....flirting and giggling with people in the stores....strolling over to me from across the room just to plant a tender kiss on my lips! Ooohhhhh how I LOVE her!!! At 16 months, her communication is exploding and she seems to understand everything that we tell her or ask of her! She also communicates her desires quite well, and has officially mastered the whiny "uuuhh-uhhhh", combined with the abrupt turning away of her head as she squeezes her eyes shut when she doesn't want something! LOL! She has her moments of drama and it is in the moments that we can see the drastic differences between boys and girls! :) But we love her immensely and I am so, so, SO thankful for the blessings of having a little girl! Momma loves you, Belle!

And quickly before I go...Luke seems to be doing better. The fever has been gone for a day or two, but as I suspected, was replaced with a stuffy nose and a case of the sneezes. Just a minor cold...nothing of much concern....but boy! It sure made him feel crummy for those first couple of days! We are hoping he feels well tomorrow, as he has his Christmas musical at school in the morning! Thankfully, Ty and my mom will be joining Ellie and I to watch our little man in his first-ever performance! :) I'll be sure to grab some video to share with you guys!

Off to 'officially' start the day now (even though I've already been up for a full 2 hours!) :) Bye!

Fevers, pigtails and Buddy Holly

Weird combination, no? I'll explain.....

Fevers.....

When we got back from the wedding yesterday, we found Luke lying under a blanket on the couch, still in his pj's from the morning (it was 6pm!). He was hot to the touch and rather lethargic. :( Poor baby! The thermometer revealed a 101.5 fever, but there were no other symptoms, really. Gloria reported that he had played much of the day, ate lunch, and napped well, but woke from his nap complaining that his tummy hurt. He refused a snack and just wanted to curl up on the couch to watch tv until we returned home. Hmmm. His fever continued through the night, despite Motrin, and when I crawled into his bed to snuggle with and comfort him sometime around 4am, he was HOT, HOT, HOT! So...no church for us today. He has been feeling 'ok' since he got up, but a little on the sensitive side which tells me he doesn't feel 100%. Not sure what is causing the fever...but I'm sure the next 24 hours will reveal something.

Pigtails.....

Ellie is wearing her hair in her first official set of pigtails today! :) That is just a fun little thing for me to share! :) She still has that fine, long-in-some-parts-and-short-in-others baby hair going on, but I decided to attempt some low piggies today and I think she looks ADORABLE! :) Just like a sweet little GIRL! I LOVE it!

Something about Ellie's smile here makes me think of Gloria (Meemaw!)

And lastly...Buddy Holly....My mom celebrated her birthday on Friday (don't worry Mom...I won't publicly share your age!) It was my parent's 38th wedding anniversary that day as well! Unfortunately, my dad was out of town all last week on a business trip, so my mom was going to be alone much of the day. :( As a cool little surprise, my sister Kim arranged for a singing telegram for my mom! Knowing that my mom most likely would NOT answer the door to a strange man dressed up like Buddy Holly, the kids and I arranged to bring her a yummy lunch so that we could be there with her when her birthday surprise arrived. The telegram guy came right on time and serenaded my mom for a good 10 minutes with his Buddy Holly impersonation! My mom was SO surprised! She LOVED it! (Thanks, Kim! It was a perfect idea!) Here is a little video clip....but again, don't forget to pause the playlist on the sidebar first!

He was a little kookie, but it was a lot of fun and my mom thought it was great! You were such a good sport too, Mom!!! Happy Belated Birthday and Happy Anniversary! Love you guys!

Catching up...

We've had a fun few days 'round here! With Christmas shopping pretty much completed on Sunday afternoon, we spent that evening decorating our Christmas tree with Luke. Ellie is still a bit too young to participate in that part, so once she was down for the evening, we set our minds on beautifying our tree! Luke helped hold each strand of colored lights as I wrapped them round and round the tree and he squealed with delight when he got to climb to the tip-top of daddy's big ladder to place the star atop the highest branch. Our tree is just a tad bit crooked this year :( so Ty had to help along Luke's placement and straighten out the star! But Luke was full of pride for having dawned the finishing touch on our tree! He was so much more into decorating this year, which was A LOT more fun for me! He was interested in each and every ornament and the story of where it came from or who gave it to us. He LOVED looking through them as they sat on our table, awaiting to be placed on the tree and was so well-behaved when we asked him not to touch certain ones! The best part came when we were all done and we scurried to turn off all the house lights. He had crawled up into my lap as Ty turned out the last lamp and in sheer, breathless delight he exclaimed "Ooohhhhh...Mom!! It's beee-uuuu-teee-ful!" And it was!

On Monday, we baked some Christmas cookies and worked around the house much of the day. Nothing too exciting there. I was surprised that day when Ellie hardly seemed to notice the tree and took very little interest in touch or exploring it! Yay! She still has yet to really pay it much attention! Amazing to be for a little girl who LOVES to get into just about everything! But so far so good! We'll see how long it lasts! :) LOL!

And last evening, Sarah and Laura came over to 'rap while we wrapped'. After all of our kids were tucked tightly into bed, they came over to sip tea, each snacks and, best of all, to catch up on lost time. (We were hugely productive too in wrapping all of our Christmas gifts, which was AWESOME!) But the best part was just to be together and spend some time! It was well after midnight when we finished! :)

Today, we got to meet up with Sarah and Hudson again to celebrate Hudsy's birthday! We got to revisit the awesome Cabazon Dinosaurs and the boys had a blast! There is a whole new section open now with an amazing collection of dinos to explore and even one that the boys got to RIDE on! They dug for dinosaur bones in the huge sandbox together, and even Ellie enjoyed getting dirty in the sand with the boys! It was a fun morning! We came home for naps (I even got one today.....it's been months and months since that happened last!! It was great!) and then Luke spent the rest of the afternoon playing with his cowboy guns in the backyard that he got at Cabazon today (that was his reward for filling his bean jar again!) When the sun had sunk far into the horizon and the air was much too chilly to stay outdoors any longer, Luke came in and I was able to record this little video of him practicing his bible verse we've been working on this week. I am so proud of him and I just had to share!!! Ellie wanted to say hello too! :) Oh! And don't forget to pause the music on the sidebar to the left before you watch this!

Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, for unto us a son is given and the government will be upon his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

This kid has SUCH a good memory! I am constantly amazed at the things he is able to recall and memorize! And to hear him recite Scripture.....oh! I am so proud of him!!!

Oh! I almost forgot the mention that on Sunday Luke also got to sleep in his new 'big boy' bed for the first time! We will be painting and decorating his room (finally!) for his birthday present this year and part of that included him moving up to a full size bed! His crib, which converted into a toddler bed, also converts into a headboard and foot board! And while we are still waiting on the conversion kit to arrive (its been 12 weeks already!!!!) we decided to just go ahead and move the box springs and mattress into his room for now until the rest arrives (hopefully) in a few weeks. For now, I bought him a warm set of camouflage sheets and he is just over the moon about it all! He LOVES it! Ty and I do too....having the big bed makes reading stories before bed MUCH more cozy since we call can snuggle there in bed together! :) I have been (for months!) on the search for good, new bedding for him, but am having little luck in finding something that is both affordable AND generic enough to last the next several years. While he would love firetrucks or dump trucks or trains now, we know that in two or three years time, bedding like that will lose its luster so to speak. So we are looking for something very boyish, but simpler, like stripes or something, with red, blue and browns as the main colors. I totally know in my mind what I am looking for, but have yet to find it under $200 for just the quilt! Yikes! Pottery Barn Teen has the best options at this point, but unfortunately we can't afford what we like there right now! :( So the hunt will continue and the painting and such will just have to wait until the bedding is purchased, so we know what colors to go with. If you all have any good websites to share that have cute boy bedding, please,please, PLEASE let me know here in the comments! I am in need of some serious help!

So that's life for us this week! So far, at-least! Nothing very poetic or inspirational from me lately! :) Just normal life, I guess! :) Ellie and I will run errands while Luke is in preschool tomorrow and then it'll nearly be the weekend again! We will celebrate my mom's birthday and my parents anniversary this weekend, and Ty and I will also be getting away for the day on Saturday to another San Diego wedding (what's up with all this stuff in SD lately??) I am not complaining one bit though...I always relish time alone with my honey! :) Hope you guys have a good rest of the week! Night!

Wrapped up

I officially finished all my Christmas shopping today! Hooray!!! And suffice to say that I did pretty well at avoiding all those dreaded crowds and long lines! :) (Very few things make me grumpier than long lines and crowds at Christmas time!) I'm sure like many of you, a good chunk of my shopping was done online this year (isn't cyber shopping GREAT?!) So now its off to get my holiday baking done and wrap up those gifts...and with plenty of time to spare! Yay!!!

Tagged

I have an online fellow blogger (Hi Kristin!) who often participates in a game of tag via her blog and it's always fun to read. A few days ago, she was tagged with this mission and asked anyone who was interested to play along. AND...since I'm am now a free woman (!) I decided to indulge in a little game just-for-fun!

If you are a blogger you now have a mission. As soon as you read this, drop everything, grab your camera and take pictures of where you blog from. NO CLEANING!!! THEN, tag some lucky ducks and spread the love.

So...keeping in mind that I JUST finished working and haven't gotten to the clean up part...here is my desk (as scary as it looks!)

Actually, from a bit of a distance, it doesn't look quite as bad as it looks upclose. But everything under the sun is currently littering my desk...here's what's there..

-a coke from lunch

-books from the coffee table in the family room to be returned to the bookshelf here in the office

-my glasses

-my calendar (aka, my life)

-bills to be paid

-receipts to be filed

-pictures from a recent order that need to be put away

-forms from a recent shoot that need to be filed

-a copy of our wedding vows

-a little piggy bank from my Apples of Gold bible study to remind us to be a good steward over our money

-a spool of ribbon from those fancy little napkin rings I made for Thanksgiving....waiting to be put away

-the phone

-catalogs to go through and throw away

-the video camera

-a wedding invitation

-my christmas list :)

-my to do list (that is currently buried under the mess that needs to be added to my to-do list! LOL!

-a check that need depositing into the bank

-and then just the usual 'desk' stuff

Phew.....I need to tidy up!

But anyway...this is my little spot where I blog from. And about 50% of the time, this is precisely how it looks! :) We're all human, right?! So now I'm going to tag a few of you...if you're willing to play along. (And btw, I still haven't figured out how to type your names and link it directly to your blog, so here's just a list!) Diana...Kelli...Sarah...Kim B. Have fun!

Back to a normal way of life....

Today I am celebrating the fact that my photography work for this season is now COMPLETELY DONE! Yaaaaahooooooooooo! I rushed home while Luke was at school today to cram in as much work as I possibly could in hopes that I might get it all done. And when I pressed (send) on my final order just a little while ago, I literally did a victory dance all around my house! LOL! Its that feeling of relief, accomplishment and exhaustion that I used to feel as I'd walk out of my last final for the semester in college... having studied for hours and days...into the wee hours of the morning or before dawn to get it all done! It has been a long few months for me! Wonderful, but LONG! I am very much looking forward to FULLY being my husband's wife and my kid's mom again! And while I know that I have not just recklessly abandoned them these last couple of months, I can't help but feel as though I have failed to fully be there for them in the ways I strive to and that this hectic lifestyle we've been living for awhile now is...well....too hectic! After all, the whole reason why I stay at home is to make sure my family is and feels that they are my first priorities. I'm not one to enjoy the super-busy, always on the go lifestyle. I like the quieter side of things where there is time to enjoy the simple pleasures of playing with my kids, cooking for them, taking walks, adequately taking care of my responsibilities around the home and to be with friends. And I'm so, so, SO looking forward to getting back to those things! I have learned much these past several months...in my photography...about myself, and about the things that are most important. I am so grateful for those lessons and for the blessings God has laid before me! My photography stuff is wonderful....I love doing it, but it is not my purpose and it is not my goal. Its time to get back to the really good stuff! :)

Thanksgiving Weekend

What a full weekend we had!!!


Thanksgiving Day was awesome! We celebrated here again this year, with Ty's side of the family and my parents joining us for a yummy dinner! It was a perfect day! For the first time in several years, the weather was cool and cozy, which made the preparations for the day all the more enjoyable! It actually felt like Thanksgiving this year! :) Can I just tell you that I LOVE Thanksgiving?! The food...the family...the memories. Mmmmm.....just warms my heart! I told Ty that I think my favorite part of Thanksgiving is the memories it stirs. Whether I am baking a favorite family recipe or ironing Grandma's beautiful, white linen table cloth... fond, long forgotten memories begin to steep in my mind and for the briefest of moments, I can relish in time gone by. I love moments like that!


Our gathering this year was a little smaller than last, with 13 of us here together. It was a perfect size! Just enough to fill our home but not too many that it became overwhelming. We were all able to sit together between two tables set up in our dining room and family room, and how nice it was to linger there after a delicious meal and all share in conversation together. Family. That is how it should be! I hope there are many more years to come that are as cozy as this one and I pray that Luke and Ellie will begin to build wonderful memories like I have!


For whatever reason (uh...can you say b-u-s-y?!) I have few pictures of our day. :( Luke managed to evade my camera completely that afternoon, and the only decent shots I seemed to get were of the tables before all our guests arrived! LOL! Here are a few of those though....






How'd you like my little napkin rings?! I have to admit, I was kinda proud of those...made 'em myself! :) Yeah...just call me Martha Stewart! :) LOL!!!!!

Anyway....here was Ty working on deep-fryin' that huge turkey of ours! He always does such a good job with the turkey! It turned out fabulous!!!!




And the final pictures of the day were of a sweet moment between Ty and Ellie as I caught them dancing again to Carrie Underwood's "All American Girl" in the family room! He even dipped her at the end when the song was done! I love them!!!!





How I managed to not even think of taking a group shot at dinner, I don't know. I'll blame it on the wine! :)

Friday was another day to celebrate for me! It was my last official photo shoot of the season! Whooohooooooo! AND....it was for my dear friend Heidi, so spending some time with her was a treat in itself! The rest of the day was spent putting away the fall decorations in preparation for Christmas, relaxing just a smidge and then after the kid's naps, we ventured out of tag our Christmas tree!

On Saturday, we went with Krystal, Will and the kids to Knott's Berry Farm. It was our first time there in many years, and of-course our first time with kids. I received several free tickets from a friend that had to be used before the 30th, so we ventured down for a little 'free' family fun! :) We had a nice time! The park wasn't too crowded, the weather was amazing and the kids were super well behaved! Ellie made us giggle every time a roller coaster would pass overhead because she would invariably holler out "Woooooowwww" at each one. Cute girl! And Luke had a blast riding all the kiddie rides with either Ty or me. By 3 o'clock, the lack of naps had taken its toll on the munchkins and we decided to head for home. Luke was so worn out that he nearly fell asleep on Ty's shoulder as we walked to the car and was out before we left the parking lot! But overall, both kids were a pleasure to be around all day! We had a lot of fun!

Sunday, our anniversary...was mostly just spent around home. We went to church in the morning and headed home to hang Christmas lights and decorate inside a bit. Since we were away last weekend and celebrated then, it almost didn't feel like it should be our anniversary. But we prepared a nice dinner together as a family and just enjoyed being together!

That's what its all about anyway, right? Family and being together! Nothing is better than that!